Fresno State Sentenced To Nit For Good Reasons

Monday morning began with a jolt no cup of coffee could match. Dick Vitale and Jerry Tarkanian were venting on the television about the NCAA tournament selections.

Tark, with those sad eyes of his, was pleading the case of his poor Fresno State Bulldogs, sentenced to the NIT. Look at Clemson, he said. Clemson had a losing record in the ACC. Clemson doesn’t belong in the NCAA field.

Only by Tark’s subjective standards.

Here’s the real deal: Clemson is 18-10, Fresno 20-10. No great difference. Fresno was 13-5 in the Western Athletic Conference, Clemson 7-9 in the ACC. Big difference. But the WAC doesn’t compare to the ACC. Put Fresno in the ACC and the Bulldogs go 4-12.

The bottom line for the selection committee was victories against teams among the top 50 in the computer-generated RPI rankings. Clemson had seven, Fresno three. Providence, another bubble team, had two.

Now that Tark’s been dismissed, let’s move to Dickie V.

His earsplitting gibberish centered on Davidson’s exclusion. Davidson is 25-4, he yelped. Davidson went 14-0 in the Southern Conference, he yapped.

Davidson played three games all season against top 100 teams, losing two. Enough said?

West

From the fan’s perspective, the West is by far the least attractive region. But of course you never know what’ll happen - maybe every game will go to overtime, or South Carolina State will shock Kansas in the first round. Maybe. The West also is the weakest region, and the one with the greatest possibility of seeing its top seed fail to make the Final Four.

Best opening-round matchup: Iowa vs. George Washington. Eleventh-seed GW has a solid team and a lot to prove, having barely missed out on a bid last year. Iowa, the sixth seed, is coming off a season-ending upset of Big Ten champion Purdue. The Hawkeyes are looking to carry the momentum forward.

Sleeper team: George Washington.

The giant killers aren’t done yet. GW ended UMass’ winning streak, and it wasn’t a lucky break.

Most likely upset: Santa Clara over Maryland. Maryland went 8-8 in the ACC. Santa Clara picked up an atlarge bid despite losing in the first round of West Coast Conference tourney, but the Broncos beat UCLA and played Villanova tough early.

Midwest

Don’t be surprised if the Midwest Region has a distinctly Southern flavor when the final two teams meet later this month in Minneapolis.

Top-seeded Kentucky comes in as a team favored by many to win the national championship.

Wake Forest, led by the dynamic Tim Duncan, is the No. 2 seed after capturing its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference crown. Both teams have a relatively easy draw.

Best opening-round matchup: Iowa State vs. California. The Big Eight champions opened a few eyes with the squeaker over Kansas. California’s frontcourt combo of Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Tremaine Fowlkes could give Iowa State fits.

Sleeper team: Tulsa.

The Missouri Valley Conference champs are led by little-known star Shea Seals. The 6-foot-5 swingman has been lighting up the league all year, averaging 17 points per game. He’s also a terror on the boards and has come through in pressure situations all season.

Most likely upset: Canisius over Utah. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champs are making their first appearance in the tournament since 1957. If last year’s tournament was any indication, the MAAC is a conference not to be taken lightly.

Southeast

The Southeast Region may be the toughest and most intriguing of the four. There’s very few cupcakes in the field and plenty of potential for upsets.

Best opening-round matchup: Indiana vs. Boston College. The Hoosiers have come on strong after a very weak preconference showing. The Eagles, meanwhile, have made a triumphant return to the tournament after being picked to finish near the bottom of the Big East. These two teams met in the Sweet 16 two years ago, with BC prevailing.

Sleeper team: Temple.

The Owls’ schedule always ranks among the nation’s most difficult because John Chaney wants his players tournament-tough. This year’s victims included Kansas at the Meadowlands and Villanova.

Most likely upset: Virginia Commonwealth over Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are coming off an ego-inflating SEC championship victory over Kentucky.

East

Massachusetts should make a beeline to the regional final, with one possible snag in the semifinals against Marquette, a No. 4 seed on the prowl having defeated Louisville, Memphis and Cincinnati in recent weeks.

Look for Georgetown to bully its way through the other bracket, although another roadblock beckons. If you really love a mystery, check out No. 3 Texas Tech, 28-1 and the most ignored team in the land.

Best opening-round matchup: No. 5 Penn State (21-6) vs. No. 12 Arkansas (18-12). A David and Goliath coaching matchup. Jerry Dunn has done a bang-up job in his first season as coach of the Nittany Lions, but Nolan Richardson has taken his last two teams to title games.

Most likely upset: No. 11 New Orleans over No. 6 North Carolina. Tic Price beats Dean Smith? It could happen. The Privateers have won 16 of their last 19 games, whereas the Tar Heels are shaking off the effects of an ego-crushing defeat by Clemson in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.

Sleeper team: No. 8 Bradley.

Don’t let that loss to Tulsa in the Missouri Valley tournament final throw you. The Braves are a veteran team that was good enough to beat Georgia Tech and Tulsa (twice) earlier this season.

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