In case some of you haven’t heard, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team qualified for the 2002 NCAA Tournament this season. After winning its first game, it was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by the University of Texas. Why is this such a big deal? The game was played in Dallas, Texas, which is not far from the UT campus. In the past few years, some teams who have qualified for the NCAA Tournament have been almost punished by being sent halfway across the country to play its first couple of games. For example, in 1999, No. 1 Connecticut played their first two games in Denver, Colo., then played its third and fourth in Phoenix, Ariz., before making the Final Four in Tampa, Fla. That’s not what I call rewarding a team. To fix a problem such as this one, the NCAA developed something called the “Pod System.”
The “Pod System” was designed to reward teams with good seeds and good season by putting them closer to home in the NCAA Tournament. Instead of the old format where eight teams from the same region will play in the same place, eight teams from possibly two different regions will play at a venue that suits two higher seeds.
For example, No. 1 Duke, which comes from Durham, N.C., was sent to Greenville, S.C., to play its first- and second-round games. The No. 2 seed in that region, Alabama, was also sent there because Greenville was determined to be the closest venue to Tuscaloosa, Ala. Although Duke and Alabama are on opposite sides of the bracket, they played at the same site, which has never happened. But this is where it gets complicated.
The general idea that the NCAA wanted to accomplish was to reward teams who are seeded one through four in their respective regions. The others will be at the mercy of the selection committee.
So, this year, as it applies to MSU, the Bulldogs were given a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, and were sent to Dallas, Texas, as were the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners, who were the No. 2 seed in the West Region. Dallas was determined as the closest venue for both the Bulldogs and Sooners.
But something went wrong in the selection process. The Texas Longhorns, who were given the No. 6 seed in the Midwest were also sent to Dallas. If MSU and Texas both won their first round games, they would collide in the second round for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Both teams won, and last week, Texas beat MSU.
My argument is this: Why was Texas rewarded? Why were we punished? I was lucky enough to be able to attend the games last weekend, and I was amazed, sickened rather, by the number of Texas fans at the American Airlines Center. I’m not saying the crowd is the only reason that Texas beat MSU, but it was a big reason. It could have been compared to a Texas home game.
The NCAA needs to rethink its selection, seeding and placement process, or at least think about sending more tickets to the schools. The point is that it wouldn’t have been so bad if Mississippi State had been sent more than only about 450 tickets. If you’re going to “punish” MSU by making it play a team who is only a few short hours from home, then send the school that was rewarded with a high seed a good amount of tickets.
Regardless of what Texas coach Rick Barnes says, Texas got lucky. Texas would not have won that game if it had been played anywhere else, I guarantee that.
It wasn’t just the Bulldogs who were victimized last week. Texas Tech and Georgia could make a great case for being punished. Southern Illinois, the No. 11 seed in the East, was sent to Chicago to play their first- and second-round games.
Now, I agree, Texas Tech wasn’t as much of a victim as Georgia eventually was, but still, why is SIU playing in Chicago? Southern Illinois beat Texas Tech and then beat Georgia, who was the No. 3 seed. The only difference in this region was the fans. The University of Illinois was sent to Chicago to play its Midwest Regional games.
Now, when SIU and UGA played in the second round, Illinois fans cheered for SIU because they are from the same state, there is no rivalry between the schools, and everyone loves and underdog. Southern Illinois had the crowd behind them and was able to upset Georgia on its way to the Sweet Sixteen, where it eventually lost to Connecticut.
Another reason this system is not as effective is that it seriously reduces the chances of upsets. Sure, a few upsets have occurred this year already, but you’re going to see fewer low seeds make the big, memorable upsets that make this tournament famous. That’s the only reason some people even watch the tournament anymore-to see David slay Goliath. If this system is not revamped, Goliath becomes unbeatable.