Do you ever confused with the NCAA Tournament selection process? Do you find yourself wondering what mysterious ingredients go into determining the NCAA Tournament field of 65?
You're not alone. In an effort to shed light on the selection process, the NCAA arranged a teleconference this week with Lee Fowler, chairman of the NCAA Division I basketball committee. His assignment: take some of the mystery and suspicion out of the mix.
Although he did a nice job of handling questions, I'm not sure he actually cleared up much of anything. There will still be a dozen teams across the country — perhaps including Utah — complaining that they were overlooked, when the bids are announced today.
Still, you can't accuse the selection committee of not trying. Fowler says it considers everything, weighs every important factor. That may well be true. When one reporter brought up the possibility of teams from power conferences getting invited despite weak conference records, Fowler replied, "We strongly look at what kind of people they play outside their league (too)."
That can't be good news for the Utes, in their search for an invitation and favorable seeding. This year they executed the quadruple lutz of scheduling by playing St. Francis, Troy State, Whitworth and Saint Mary's. (It should be noted that this was St. Francis, Illinois, which ranks, at best, second among four schools named St. Francis.)
However, the Utes also played Alabama and Texas, which helped their RPI rating considerably.
One reassuring note to many fans: Fowler allowed that conference tournament games won't be considered more important than games during the regular season.
"We talked to them (committee members) about that. That it's (what happens) over the entire season, not what they do the last game or so."
I assume that means if the Utes had lost to Colorado State last Thursday, it wouldn't have been any more embarrassing than losing to them during the regular season.
One of the more difficult situations involves injuries. Some teams struggle through part of their season when a key player is injured. Should that team receive a bid when the player returns, despite a questionable record?
Fowler reassured that the committee has information on every team and considers all pertinent factors, injuries included. What he didn't mention is what to do with teams that actually get better when a star player is injured. Utah, for example, didn't really hit full stride until Chris Burgess went down with an injury. Had he returned in time for the NCAAs, would that improve their chances?
Only the all-knowing selection committee knows for sure.
As usual, "quality wins" will be factored into the formula. Beating a ranked team will go far toward securing a bid, whether the win was early or late in the year. On a similar note, that win the Utes scored over Whitworth will count just as much in December as it would in February — very little. And that 15-point loss to Alabama is still a 15-point loss to Alabama, no matter what time of year.
Another key to the selection process: "Road wins are more important than home wins."
Great. Now they tell the Cougars.
An interesting side note is that the committee is hoping to have teams play as close to home as possible. That cuts down travel risk, as well as cost. In some cases, though, it could still mean covering considerable distance.
If I were a fan I wouldn't complain about travel, even if I had to fly to Malaysia. Nothing's as bad as traveling to Snowbasin for the Olympics. Compared to that, getting to, say, Greenville is a snap.
Fowler said helping fans save money on travel is important, but saving money for the schools isn't much of a factor. Cost, he said, "is not a major consideration."
Same thing my wife says when she's shopping.
Anyway, the waiting is over today. Once the teams are announced, there will be the usual cries of unfairness. That's to be expected. If the Utes don't make the field, just remember one thing: It won't be for lack of consideration.
Maybe the selection committee just figures anyone can do a quadruple lutz.
E-mail: rock@desnews.com