This season’s NCAA Tournament field will be known for its contrast in predictability and elements of surprise.
The four top seeds – Duke, Connecticut, Villanova, Memphis – had been clear for weeks. But almost no one thought Air Force would make the field, and the Falcons instantly became the lightning-rod team in the field. And who would have thought the Missouri Valley Conference would get as many bids (four) as power conferences such as the ACC, Big 12 and the Pac-10?
Clear from the selections Sunday was how little stock the committee puts on the RPI and how much is based on such aspects as how a team played down the stretch and strength of schedule.
“I think the fact that we made some of the decisions we made will dispel some of the feeling that (the RPI) is what teams are evaluated on, and this is what’s going to get teams in or not,” selection committee chair Craig Little- page said Sunday in a teleconference. “What gets a team in the tournament is a team that performs well in the conference, a team that attempts to schedule solidly outside of the conference, and does its share of business in terms of success in those games.”
To the committee, Air Force, which finished 24-6 but lost to Wyoming in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, fit the bill.
“We had discussions and questions asked similar to: ‘What is a really tough team to beat? Who is a team that a particular school might not want to play?”‘ Littlepage said. “We took into consideration those sorts of factors and felt at the end of it that Air Force presented us with somewhat of a unique team that is a very difficult team to beat and a very, very worthy at-large candidate.”
The 16-team Big East, which many thought could get as many as 10 bids, finished with eight, most in the field. The SEC, maligned early in the season, got six.
Gonzaga, a team thought to have an outside shot at a No. 1 seed, received a No. 3 seed. Texas, which shared the Big 12 regular-season title, got a No. 2 seed, as did Pac-10 champion UCLA and Big Ten regular-season champion Ohio State.
Duke, given the No. 1 overall seed, and Gonzaga will be two of the more intriguing teams to watch. Both are looking for bounce-back stories but are coming from different places.
Gonzaga hasn’t advanced past the second round in the past four tournaments, something that has begun to make its supporters restless. Gonzaga coach Mark Few takes exception to the criticism.
“I think each situation is different and the game ends up being a unique situation, and I don’t think you can make just generalizations about which team does this, or just broad generalizations about not advancing,” Few said.
Duke lacked its normal punch in last year’s tournament when star guard J.J. Redick struggled to score. The Blue Devils were ousted by Michigan State in the Sweet 16.
“The NCAA Tournament for me last year was disappointing, obviously,” Redick said. “But last year’s team basically got everything we could out of it. We had to put so much emotion and mental preparation into every game that by the end of the season we were just drained.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
