There's no doubt which NCAA Tournament team Southern Utah State College is rooting for to win the national championship. If Xavier (Ohio) University, which has already beaten Kansas State and Georgetown, and next faces Texas this Thursday, goes on to win the whole thing, SUSC's stock as a card-carrying Div. I member could go way up.
The Thunderbirds not only beat Xavier this season, but they beat them in their gym, the Cincinnati Gardens, in front of an opening night sellout (6,600) crowd that was expecting an Xavier rout. The score was 97-90, SUSC. Xavier Coach Pete Gillen said afterward, "We were outhustled, outplayed and outcoached."Thus inspired, the Musketeers went on to never lose again. Well, almost. To date they are 28-3 since that setback against the Southern Utahns (28-4 overall). And now, the team that had the distinction of losing first-round NCAA games in 1988 and 1989 to, respectively, Kansas and Michigan - both of whom of course went on to claim the title - is cruising into the round of 16.
"I remember when we came back from that trip (to Xavier)," said SUSC assistant coach Steve Hodson, "we were very proud of who we'd just beaten and a lot of people around Cedar City didn't know what we were going on about."
The last couple of weeks have added considerable luster to that win.
Xavier's surge has also caused even more consternation over the T-Bird's run of rotten luck after that upset win. Their playmaking guard, Kelvin Lee, who broke Xavier's press and scored 32 points, suffered an ankle injury shortly thereafter and was hampered the rest of the season. And two starters, DeMar Beck and Roger McDonald, suffered season-ending injuries not long after the Xavier game.
"We were a really good team when we beat Xavier," said Hodson. "After that we had a few setbacks and had to regroup." The Thunderbirds finished the year - only their second as a Div. I school - at 13-15.
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WOE IS THE WAC: The Western Athletic Conference's NCAA tournament reputation took another battering this season. BYU, Colorado State and UTEP all lost opening-round games. That puts the WAC's alltime NCAA tourney record at 50-82. Percentage-wise, at .379, the WAC ranks 19th among Div. I conferences, and dead last among the 12 leagues that have been to the tournament more than 100 times collectively.
The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-10 rank 1-2-3 on the alltime list. The Big Ten has a 168-92, .646 mark, the ACC a 162-89, .645 mark and the Pac-10 is 130-88, .596.
"It's aggravating," said BYU Coach Roger Reid, lamenting over his team's two-point loss to Clemson, a defeat that helped the ACC's reputation just as it hurt the WAC's. "Coming close just doesn't get it done. We talk about respect for our league, but to get it we've got to win some games."
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PERSPECTIVE: Speaking of BYU's Reid, the WAC and District 13 Coach of the Year is scheduled to undergo hip surgery April 4. Dr. Kent Samuelson, a world-reknowned surgeon, will perform the operations at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake. The coach will have both hips replaced, five days apart.
"I have some committee assignments at the Final Four and a few other things that need to get done," said Reid, "otherwise, I'd like to do it right now. Hopefully, our recruiting will be in order by the 4th. Signing day is April 11."
Despite a good deal of pain, Reid said he's still glad he made the decision to wait on the operation until the season ended. "I'd waited 11 years to coach BYU," he said, "I'd learned how to be patient."
In addition, he said enduring the months of walking on crutches had a positive side. "It's taught me persepctive," he said. "I've got more empathy for other people now. Something like this makes you realize you're very fragile. You go along thinking you're infallible, because you've always been strong and fast. Then you start thinking, hey, just to be able to walk, that's a privilege."
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ADD SUSC: For the appearance at Xavier, SUSC got a flat $14,000 guarantee. Apparently the Thunderbirds quickly wore out their welcome. Xavier officials have not asked them to return.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Philadelphia 76ers forward Charles Barkley on why he considers himself the best power forward in basketball, over the Jazz's Karl Malone: "Well, he's the only one comparable. But his body is so different from mine. That's the main reason I say I'm the best. With a body like that, he's supposed to be awesome. With a body like mine, I'm supposed to be a couch potato."