UCLA was sent packing, Fresno State was left home and Kansas suffered the worst of Bloody Sunday as the NCAA drew up the bracket for its 1996 basketball tournament.
Those were just some of the subtexts in the 64-team draw. Others? California, Clemson and Santa Clara receiving at-large berths despite some pretty mediocre performances. Minnesota, Tulane and Providence left to join Fresno State on the list of worthy teams that were snubbed. And San Jose State (13-16) joining Central Florida (11-18) as the requisite sub-.500 teams that grabbed automatic bids as conference tournament champions.Defending national champ UCLA, after winning the Pacific-10 Conference championship by three games over Arizona, was stunned to be passed over for the No. 3 seed in the West Regional in favor of the Wildcats. The Bruins were shipped out to the Southeast Regional, where they were seeded fourth - they'll open against Princeton on Thursday at Indianapolis. It marks the first time in Pac-10 history that the conference champion has been bumped out of the West.
The battle in the West Regional could be fierce, though - five of the top 15 teams in the Associated Press rankings landed there, including Kansas, which was one of three upset victims Sunday.
Kansas was shocked by Iowa State 56-55 in the title game of the Big Eight Tournament, costing the Jayhawks one of the four No. 1 seeds.
Purdue swooped in and got it instead, and will sit atop the West bracket. Also on Sunday, No. 1-ranked Kentucky suffered an 11-point loss to Mississippi State in the championship game of the Southeastern Conference tournament, and San Jose State, directed by former USC coach Stan Morrison, earned an automatic bid by stunning Utah State 76-75 in overtime in the Big West tournament finale.
Kansas (26-4) paid dearly for its final-hour stumble. "It changed the situation as far as Kansas was concerned," said Bob Frederick, selection committee chairman - and, ironically, Kansas' athletic director. It opened the door for Purdue (25-5), which had given up hope for a top seed following an upset loss to Iowa on Saturday.
Teams which had their hopes dashed altogether Sunday were even more miffed when they surveyed the at-large teams that were invited ahead of them.
Fresno State (20-10) was hopeful of earning a bid in the first season of coach Jerry Tarkanian, a longtime NCAA nemesis. Minnesota (18-12) had a strong finish (seven wins in its final nine games) to its credit. Tulane (18-8) and Providence (17-11) also appeared deserving.
Instead, the selection committee opted for several teams of questionable credentials, among them California (17-10) and Stanford (19-8) of the Pac-10, sixth-place Clemson (18-10) of the Atlantic Coast, and Santa Clara (19-8), the West Coast conference regular-season champion which lost in the first round of its conference tournament - at home.
"I knew it, I knew it," Tarkanian muttered when he realized his team had been passed over. He added: "I think we should have gotten in, but I'm not going to have sour grapes. Any time the committee has to pick in a situation like that, it is going to be very, very close. I'm disappointed the Pac-10 got four teams in and the (Western Athletic) only got two teams in (Utah, New Mexico), because I think our league basically is comparable to the Pac-10's."
Cal coach Todd Bozeman, whose team lost its final two games on a swing through Arizona State and Arizona, said: "I thought we deserved to be in. I didn't think the trip would play as big a part in the decision, despite what everyone else was saying. I think the Pac-10 Conference has grown over the years."
Kentucky's 84-73 defeat Sunday didn't seem to hurt the Wildcats' tournament status.
Kentucky coach Rick Pitino seemed to think the loss might serve as a welcome wake-up call for his team. "As great as people make us out to be," he said, "we couldn't have made a great run in the (NCAA) Tournament unless we lost tonight, because things have come too easy. The loss will help us. It shows us we're not invincible."
Tell it to San Jose State. The Spartans may be proud of the fact that they won nine of their last 10, but they still can't escape the fact that they were a dreadful 4-15 at one point this season.