Pacific-10’S Good Showing Earns Honors

Following is a subjective look at some of the best and worst performances through the first two rounds of the 1997 men’s NCAA basketball tournament:

Worst performance by a so-called power conference: Southeastern Conference. The first round was a nightmare for the SEC, with No. 2 seed South Carolina shocked by Coppin State and third-seeded Georgia upset by Tennessee-Chattanooga. Also making a quick exit in the first round was No. 9 seed Mississippi and No. 10 seed Vanderbilt. Only top seed Kentucky survived and advanced to the second round.

Worst performance by a so-called power conference (Honorable Mention): Big Ten. The Big Ten was rewarded with six tournament bids, even with its poor performance the past two years. True to form, five failed to reach the Sweet 16. Only Midwest top seed Minnesota remains.

Best performance by a so-called power conference: Pac-10. The Pac-10 justified its five bids to the tournament by landing four teams in the Sweet 16. The conference showed its strength when California knocked off Villanova of the Big East and Stanford bounced Player-of-the-Year candidate Tim Duncan and Wake Forest of the ACC.

Worst performance by a coach three years in a row: Villanova’s Steve Lappas. In 1995, Lappas took the Wildcats to the tournament as a No. 3 seed and were shocked in the first round by Old Dominion. Last year, Villanova was seeded third again and fared a little better, losing to Louisville in the second round. As a No. 4 seed this year, the Wildcats were bounced in the second round again, this time by a California team missing its top scorer, Ed Gray.

Best performance by a team nobody knows: Tennessee-Chattanooga. The Moccasins received an automatic bid to the tournament and were assigned a No. 14 seed. They upset No. 3 seed Georgia in the first round, then stunned Illinois on Sunday. With the two wins, they became the first No. 14 seed to reach the Sweet 16 since Cleveland State in 1986.

Best performance by a team nobody knows (Honorable Mention): Coppin State. The 14th-seeded Eagles shocked South Carolina, a No. 2 seed, in their opener, and almost did the same to Texas in the second round, losing 82-81.

Worst showing by a popular Final Four selection: Cincinnati. The Bearcats and All-American forward Danny Fortson were given a No. 3 seed in the Midwest region and seemed to have a good chance at a trip to the Final Four with Minnesota and UCLA as the top two teams in the region. The Bearcats didn’t make it out of the second round, losing to Iowa State.

Best player during the first two rounds: Providence’s Austin Croshere. Croshere opened the tournament with 39 points in the Friars’ 81-59 win over Marquette, then followed with 21 in a 98-87 upset of No. 2 seed Duke. His 60 points are the most of any player in the tournament through two games.

Worst performance by a coach that doesn’t intimidate anyone anymore: Indiana’s Bobby Knight. In the past, being paired up against Knight’s team in the early rounds was a death sentence. After the Hoosiers were bounced from the tournament in the opening round for the third straight year, the mystique associated with Indiana is just about gone.

Best player you’ve never heard of: Rashid Bay of St. Joseph’s. The junior guard had 22 points and five assists in the Hawks’ first round win over Pacific, then scored 23 points - 10 in overtime - to help pull off a come-from-behind victory over Boston College.

Best motivational speech by a coach in the locker room: Pete Gillen of Providence, whose 10th-seeded Friars were down 46-42 at the half Sunday against No. 2 seed Duke. “I threw everything I knew at them. I made up some stuff from Edgar Allen Poe. Then a quote from Walt Whitman. But the kids were nodding, so I knew I was getting through,” Gillen said. Providence won the second-round game, 98-87.

Best performance by a coach chasing a milestone: Dean Smith of North Carolina. Smith recorded win No. 877 in the Tar Heels’ 73-56 second-round victory over Colorado, passing Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp for most career wins by a coach. Smith deflected attention after the game, crediting his current and former players.

Worst performance by a coach whose team just won: Phil Martelli of St. Joseph’s. Martelli, instead of reveling in the moment after an 81-77 second-round overtime win over Boston College, used the stage to blast the media for referring to his 2,900-student school as St. Joseph’s of Pennsylvania. “We’re the only St. Joseph’s in Division I,” he said. “Can we lose the P-A?”

Best performance by a No. 1 seed: Minnesota. Considered by many the weakest of the top seeds, the Golden Gophers defeated Southwest Texas State in their opener 78-46 and beat Temple 76-57 to reach the Sweet 16.