Winds headed to different dance--The Macomb Journal
MEN’S BASKETBALL: In a number of cases, mid-majors get to stay close--The Post-Tribune
March 15, 2006
By Mike Hutton / Post-Tribune staff writer
Too bad Valparaiso didn’t make the NCAA Tournament this year.
It appears this is one time that the NCAA selection committee was receptive to the needs of the mid-major teams — at least to a certain extent.
Valparaiso coach Homer Drew has written a letter or two in the past, urging the deal brokers of the NCAA committee to try to keep his team relatively close so the Crusaders fans could make the trip.
The results? Seattle one year. Arizona another time. Orlando in another instance. Oklahoma City in 1998, when the Crusaders eventually made it to the Sweet 16.
The few times they were relatively close — Cleveland and St. Louis — the Crusaders were matched against Michigan State, which went on to win the NCAA Tournament, and Kentucky.
With all the uproar about the number of mid-major teams that made the tournament, (four from the Missouri Valley Conference and two from the Western Athletic Conference), there hasn’t been much talk about how some of those mid-major teams also stayed relatively close to home.
This year, teams such as Oral Roberts don’t have to travel far. The Golden Eagles play Memphis in Dallas.
The same applies to San Diego State.
While Indiana might be happy that it got a six-seed in the Oakland regional, one thing the Hoosiers need to be wary about is that the Aztecs get to play in an arena in which they’ve already won.
San Diego State beat Utah 72-67 earlier this year at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. San Diego State coach Steve Fisher was happy when he heard the news about where the game was being played.
“We are excited that we play Indiana in the first round,” said the man who led Michigan to the national title in 1989. “I do like the fact that we are going to familiar territory, Salt Lake City, where we played very well and won this year. It’s not going to be a strange environment for our kids and I think that is an advantage to us.”
Said junior guard Brandon Heath: “I don’t know if (playing in Salt Lake City) will be an advantage. It’s good that we get to play in a place that we’ve played in before. I know we’re used to the altitude because so many of our conference opponents play up there.”
From IU’s perspective, the West Coast trips have yielded mixed results in recent years.
In 2002, the Hoosiers started their run to the NCAA title game in Sacramento. In 2001, Mike Davis’ first season as coach, IU suffered a disappointing loss to Kent State in the first round in San Diego.
If you’re a Hoosiers fan, it’s hard not to wonder where they might have gone if Roderick Wilmont’s 10-footer at the buzzer had gone in against Ohio State in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan State, which finished behind IU in the Big Ten standings but with a higher RPI and more wins (22-11), gets to play its first-round game in Dayton as the No. 6 seed in the Washington D.C regional. The Spartans also lost in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
The Hoosiers were unaffected by the site of the first-round game. This was a team that, until recent weeks, looked like it might not make the tournament at all.
“Everyone is 0-0,” Marco Killingsworth said. “It takes six games to get to the national championship. It’s important for us to go out there and take it one game at a time.”
Contact Mike Hutton at 648-3139 or mhutton@post-trib.com
How IU has fared out west in the NCAA tournament.
Since 1980, the Hoosiers are 8-3 out west
2002 — Sacramento
W, 75-56 against Utah
W, 76-67 against UNC Wilmington
2001 — San Diego
L, 73-77 to Kent State
1995 — Boise, Idaho
L, 65-60 to Missouri
1992 — Boise
W, 94-55 against Eastern Ill.
W, 89-79 against LSU
1992 — Albuquerque
W, 85-74 against Florida State
W, 106-79 UCLA
1989 — Tucson
W, 99-85 against George Mason
W, 92-69 against Texas El Paso
Denver
L, 65-78 Seton Hall
Here is a look at where some of the mid-major teams are playing at in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
Oral Roberts
Seed: 16
Home: Tulsa
First-round site: Dallas
Regional: Oakland
Kent State
Seed: No. 12
Home: Kent, Ohio
First-round site: Detroit
Regional: Oakland
Bradley
Seed: No. 13
Home: Peoria, Ill.
First-round site: Detroit
Regional: Oakland
San Diego State
Seed: No. 13
Home: San Diego
First-round site: Salt Lake City
Regional: Oakland
Southern
Seed: No. 16
Home: Baton Rouge, La.
First-round site: Greensboro, N.C.
Regional: Atlanta
UNC Wilmington
Seed: No. 9
Home: Wilmington, N.C.
First-round site: Greensboro
Regional: Atlanta
Albany
Seed: No. 16
Home: Albany, N.Y.
First-round site: Philadelphia
Regional: Washington D.C.
Murray State
Seed: No. 14
Home: Murray, Kentucky
First-round site: Dayton
Regional: Washington D.C.
Winthrop
Seed: No. 15
Home: Rock Hill, South Carolina
First-round site: Greensboro
Regional: Washington D.C.
South Alabama
Seed: No. 14
Home: Mobile
First-round site: Jacksonville
Regional: Minneapolis
Choe's Basketball Diaries--Chicago State Athletics
ORU Atop the Commissioner's Cup Standings After Winter Season--Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles
Teilane Named Region 4 Finalist for 2006 Kodak/WBCA All-America Basketball Team--Western Illinois Athletics
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