xt7kwh2dc248 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7kwh2dc248/data/mets.xml The Kentucky Kernel Kentucky -- Lexington The Kentucky Kernel 2000-03-08 Earlier Titles: Idea of University of Kentucky, The State College Cadet newspapers  English   Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Kentucky Kernel  The Kentucky Kernel, March 08, 2000 text The Kentucky Kernel, March 08, 2000 2000 2000-03-08 2020 true xt7kwh2dc248 section xt7kwh2dc248 KENTUCKYKERHEL

m. NCAA/SEC

Associated

. Temple

. Iowa state

. Tennessee

. Arizona
IO. LSU
11. Florida
12. Syracuse
13. Texas
14. Tulsa
15. Oklahoma
16. Kentucky
17. Oklahoma State
18. Indiana
19. St. John's
20. Maryland
21. Connecticut
22. Purdue
23. Miami. Fla.
24. Kansas
25. Illinois

RPI top 25

I. Cincinnati
. Kentucky
.Duke
. Tennessee
. St. John's
. Arizona
. Texas
. Syracuse
. Stanford
IO. Temple
11. LSU
12. Iowa State
13. Indiana
14. Maryland
15. Oklahoma
16. Kansas
17. Florida
18. Connecticut
19. Michigan State
20. Oklahoma State
21. Tulsa
22. Auburn
23. Ohio State
24. UCLA
25. Oregon

Getting there

Student
ticket into

Students will be eligible

to purchase tickets
to the first/second
round games UK
plays in.

The lottery will be held

Monday, Mar. 13. and
tickets will he sold
via the voucher
system. More details
will become available
when UK's
tournament
destination is named.

Call the student ticket
office at 257-1757 for

more information. If
UK advances to the

 

press top 25
I. Cincinnati
. Stanford
. Duke
. Ohio State
. Michigan State

 

Sweet Sixteen,

tickets for those next
sessions will also be

available for
purchase.

SEC
preview
Dome,

sweet
dome. l4

Editor

Matt Ellison

Writers

Matt Ellison.

Nathan Hutcinson

Mien
Chris Rosenthal
Photography

James Crisp.
Amy Crawford

Advertising

Deanna Masden

i

 

 

Wednesday, March 8, 2000

 

SHOWTIME

http: www.kykernecom

 

Let the games begin: UK gearing up for
another run in SEC, NCAA tournament

By Matt Ellison
SENIOR surr wmrrn _

They live for this
time of year.
After an up and
down November. De-
cember. January and
February. UK has now
gotten where they want to
be: into the month of March.
UK coach Tubby Smith sports
an impressive 16-1 record in the
first month of spring since he be»
came UK’s head coach. The team has
never lost a game in the Georgia Dome
since it opened in 1992. which just so hap-
pens to be the site of this weekend‘s South
eastern Conference Tournament.

“When you play the kind of schedule
we've played. it can sometimes take its toll.“
Smith said following Saturday's 8630 victory
over Florida. “But the heart of these kids is
bigger than Rupp Arena. That's why l‘m
proud to coach these kids."

“We wanted to come out and make a
statement to the rest of the country.“ center
Jamaal Magloire said. “It's March. and we're
here."

Yes. they are. But so is the rest of the
league. UK was one of three teams to tie for
the SEC East title. along with Florida and
Tennessee. The tiebreaker format evaluated
the three teams' records against each other.
and by virtue of their season sweep of Flori-
da and split against UK. the Vols secured the
top seed overall in the SEC Tournament.
with UK seeded No. 2.

And along with the No. 2 seed comes a
first~round bye. something Kentucky is glad
to see come their way.

“It's very important. especially with
only 10 guys on our team," said guard Saul
Smith. “No help's coming. That extra day off
is going to help us not get any injuries. We
can worry about our academics. practice
and get ready for the tournament."

Since the SEC Tournament was revived
in 1979. only one team (Arkansas) has ever
won four games in four days. UK has won
the last three SEC Tournament titles. all

against different opponents.

But UK knows how tough the road to a

Diaper dandy

fourth straight title will be. especially with
four teams (UT. UK. Florida and LSU) all ty-
ing for the top record in the conference.

"That just goes to show you how tough
the balance is in the league and how tough
the SEC is." Smith said. “We know we have
to stay focused and play our best ball in At-
lanta. and continue to build on what we did
(against Florida)"

Still. the Cats‘ performance against
Florida has served notice to the rest of the
league: Don't count UK out.

“I would call this a statement game."
Magloire said. “It is letting the SEC, as well
as everyone else. know we are serious. The
road to the SEC always has to stop here and
now we're No. 1."

“I wasn‘t surprised they won." said UGA
coach Jim llarrick. “But I was surprised
they handled them so efficiently. They just
beat the (log out of
them."

“We knew if we JNS‘I‘DE‘
had won that game. How the NCAA

we would have been a

No. 1 seed." Florida brackets are

coach Billy Donovan determined I 6
said. “But we didn't
take care of business."
And when you A look back at
ask the coaches 1
around the league the UK women S
why UK has been able $8350" I 7
to win so many games
despite their shooting
woes. the answer
comes back to the
same things. Defense. Offensive rebounding.
Defensive rebounding. Shot-blocking. All the
other things. except shooting the ball well.
“The first thing about them is their low-
post presence." Donovan said. “I think Ma-
gloire. with what he does for that team.
should he player of the year. They've been
able to overcome their shooting percentages
if they haven‘t shot well especially because
of Camara. Magloire and Stone inside."
“They really go after the ball. They're a
great rebounding team. When they're getting
almost 20 offensive rebounds per game. they

See SEC on 2

Mill: tinsel KERNEL surr

UK's Keith Hogans, Inserted into the starting lineup against Louisville, has helped the Cats go
from 4-4 to their 40th Southeastern Conference regular-season championship.

 

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IHELQLILH PQIAIQ'S GUIDE

Hoops on TV

SEC Men's
Tournament

UK vs. Arkansas/Georgia, first
round
Friday. 9:45 pm. Jefferson—Pilot

UK vs. TBA, semifinals

Saturday. :1: 15 pm. Jefferson-Pilot
UK vs. TBA, championship

Sunday. 1 pm. (‘BS

NCAA Tournament

NCAA Selection Show

Sunday. 6:30 pm. CBS. ESPN

First/Second round
games

Begins Thursday. March 16.

at 12:15 pm. (TBS
Regionals

Begins Thursday. March 23.

at 7:30. CBS

National semifinals
5:30

Saturday. April 1.
and 8:00 pm. CBS

National
championship
game

Monday. April 3. 9 pin.

C BS

“It’s
March
now.
Either
you win
and you
keep
going, or
you lose
and call
the dry
cleaners
‘cause
you’re
headed
home.”

-Tennessee guard
Semelta Randall

TOP 006: Geor-
gia guard CoCo
Miller, twin of
Kelly Miller,
averaged 15.0
points per game
for the Lady
Bulldogs this
season, and
helping UGA to
a No. 2 ranking
nationally.

SEC Women's
Tournament results

First round

UK 67. Alabama 63: Mississippi State 75.
Ole Miss 59; Florida 96. Arkansas 86: Vander-
bilt 80. South Carolina 58

Second round

Georgia 63. UK 45: Tennessee 91. Florida
79; Mississippi State 66. Auburn :36: Vanderbilt
59. LSU 46

Semifinals

Mississippi State 62. Georgia 61; Tennessee
61. Vanderbilt 53

Championship

Tennessee 70. Mississippi State 67

NCAA Tournament

Women's selection show
Sunday. 5:15 pm. ESPN

Final Four

Friday. March 31 and Sunday. April 2.
times TBA. ESPN.

mt cuwrono | KERNELSTAFF

Georgia's Kelly Miller (23) was named the SEC
Women's Player of the Year.

 

At the
point

Saul Smith has
contributed to
“K's recent
success. While not
posting stellar
numbers scoring,
Soul's assist-te-
turnover ratio in
the last four
games is about
3:i.

JAMES CRISP |
KERNH sun

 

 

Continued from page i

don't need to shoot that
great of a percentage."

Ranked first in scoring
defense. second in field-goal
percentage defense. third in
rebounding and second in
blocked shots. the Cats make
it ditficult for opponents to
get that many points on
them.

"We know that if our of-
fense isn‘t clicking. our de~
fense will keep us in a lot of
games." Saul Smith said.

11K won‘t be changing
much of their winning for-
mula as they head into post-
season play. coach Smith
said.

“This time of year is a
reward for all they‘ve done

during the regular season."
he said. "We don‘t really do
that much differently.
maybe work on fundamen-
tals and shooting a little
more. I'm a guy that would
rather lighten up and not
tighten up at the end."

And not that much has
changed about the Cats‘ 0f-
fense since the beginning of
the year.

“We‘ve felt our offense
was pretty efficient all year
long." he said. “We‘ve gotten
excellent team play. We've
pretty much gotten the same
shots we had earlier."

But the coach is wary of
the one-and-done format of
the postseason.

“It‘s a tournament. Any-
thing can happen." he said.
“We feel like we're playing
pretty well. but one game
doesn't make a season.“

 

 

 

 

 

littoxlngton, ill:

SMITTYBILT.

 

 

395 Codell lirivo

266-2463

 

 

 

 

 

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* mmswmmnwu Minute“ 1 A:

 

1W-

The rest of the
nation waits

Scouting the country: After weekend of games, the landscape for
this year's NCAA tournament has changed dramatically

By Matt Elliso_n

SENIOR SIAWw'miER

Has there ever been a week-
end that changed the landscape
of college basketball heading
into the postseason more than
this past one?

Prior to this weekend. the
four No. 1 seeds were consid-
ered to be a lock. Duke was in
the East. Cincinnati was in the
Midwest. Stanford was in the
West. Arizona was in the South.

Now. only Duke and
(‘incinnati are considered locks
anymore. courtesy of a wild
weekend in the Pac-10. Arizona
went 0-for-Oregon. losing to
both ()regon State and Oregon
on Thursday and Saturday, re-
spectively. And UCLAprobably
earned an at-large bid courtesy
of their overtime victory
against then-No. 1 Stanford.

"We haven't been in a close
game for a while," Stanford
coach Mike Montgomery said.
“and we kind of loosened up.
We made some mistakes. We
hadn't faced a situation in a
while where we had to think for
40 minutes."

Their loss is UC's gain. as
the Bearcats climbed back up to
the No. 1 seed. something they
hadn't seen since their loss to
Xavier in December. But rank-
ings mean little to coach Bob
Huggins and the rest of the UC
squad. who are looking to
avenge their recent rash of sec-
ond-round upsets in the NCAA
Tournament.

“We don‘t think much
about those things.“ he said of
rankings. “We come in every
year and want to win every
game. Our seniors want to win
every game and they look at it
as an expectation, and that has
gone down to the freshmen."

Kenyon Martin, UC's All-
American center. has been sup-
ported by two freshmen ._ De-
marr Johnson and Kenny Sat-
terfield 7— who have been in the
starting lineup for most of the
season. They come into the
Conference USA Tournament
as heavy favorites.

And another beneficiary of
the Pac<10 turmoil is the Big
Ten. who boasts two represen-
tatives w No. 5 Michigan State
and No. 4 Ohio State W who
tied for the regular-season title.
Both went to the Final Four
last year and return most of
their players. And both teams
have peaked toward the end of

the season. usually a good indi-
cation of post-season progress.
"I think our roles have
been defined better." said 081]
coach Jim O'Brien. “especially
by some of the younger players.
They've gotten some experi-
ence. and we have been able to
get contributions from differ-
ent guys in different games."
Michael Redd. the OSU
guard who averaged 19.5 points
per game last season. has seen

 

Familiar faces

his scoring average drop to 17.2
ppg this season. but the team
has a better record. The same
can be said for Michigan
State‘s Mateen Cleaves. whose
team enters postseason play at
the same place they ended last
year in the top five. The
Spartans also boast the Big Ten
co-Player of the Year in for-
ward Morris Peterson. who
leads MSU in scoring and
rebounding.

It wouldn't he a tournament without UK meeting Rick Maierus and the
Runnin' Utes, would it? UK has knocked out Utah three times in the '905.

 

W

Want to win your
tournament pool?

Things to remember: Look at all the
numbers, not just the popular ones

By Matt Ellison
SENIOR STAFF WRITER

And now. ladies and gentle-
men. my Final Four predictions
are as follows:

Four teams will play in In-
dianapolis. Three will go home
as losers. One will be crowned
national champions.

Of course. since the brack-
ets haven’t been announced.
you really can't say who's going
to win which games right now.
But there are plenty of ideas
floating around when it‘s time
to pick your basketball pool.

Call it Gambling 436: The
Theory of Picking an NCAA
Tournament Correctly.

0 Power rankings are
10.355 times more important
than any AP or CNN/SI. Coach-
es' Poll. Betty Crocker/ National
Rifle Association Poll or other
voting poll. Remember. voting
once was responsible for Jesse
Ventura‘s election to the high-
est political office in Minnesota.

That‘s right: polls are a
popularity contest. with those
getting more media exposure

I (Kentucky. Michigan State.

Florida and Cincinnati) ranked
higher than smaller schools in
the middle of nowhere (Tulsa.
Oklahoma State and Kent).
When you’re selecting a game,
especially if it's a game between
two close seeds. you're better
off going to the RPI or Sagarin
ratings than you are any poll.

But on the other hand:

0 Power ratings often
screw over the smaller schools
who play in mid-major confer
ences, Case in point: The Col-
lege of Charleston. year after
year. spits out 25-5 records
without many games against
big-time opponents. That's be»
cause they won‘t play them.
This year is no different. with (7
of C coming into the tourna-
ment (courtesy of their auto-
matic bid) at 20-5. and an RPI
rating of 98 (schedule strength
265).

I Doublecheck any choice
which involves a smallconfer-
ence school. Generally speak-
ing. teams who win their con-
ference tournament and were a
longshot to do so don't stick
aroum‘l very long. But those

who come in with a history and
a season of domination under
their belt can hang with the big
boys.

0 It‘s okay for a conference
to get more than one team in
the Final Four. In fact. confer-
ences have had two or more
representatives in the Final
Four eight of the last 12 sea»
sons. This year's likely candi~
dates include the Pac-10 (Ari-
zona and Stanford) and the Big
Ten. But you have to go back all
the way to 1988 when Kansas
beat Oklahoma to find a time
when the two teams played
each other in the title game.

0 Teams can win without
much depth. but they can‘t win
without good guard play. Case
in point: Last year's UConn
team wasn‘t nearly as deep as
Duke. but Khalid EI-Amin.
Ricky Moore and Richard
Hamilton were capable of out-
playing anybody on any other
team, and they did so in the ti-
tle game. This year. several
teams have the potential to ride
their backcourts to the title:
Michigan State (Mateen
Cleaves. Charlie Bell. Morris
Peterson). Ohio State (Scoonie
Penn. Michael Redd). Duke (Ja~
son Williams. Chris Carrawell.
Nate James) and Indiana (A.J.
Guytdp. Michael Lewis).

 

 

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 A4 at UNESDAY MRCH a, :coo , KEUCKERNEL'S SEC/NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW 2000

 

.IHESQUTHEASIERNLQNELRENCEJJMRNAMENL

 

. i

Home sweet dome: Youth, parity should make
for quite a SEC Tournament

Youth has been served in the Southeastern Conference this
year.

Perhaps in no year ever has the conference seen such an
influx of young talent. But more importantly. this young tal-
ent has formed the backbone of several teams who head to
Atlanta this weekend with sights of winning the SEC
Tournament.

For starters. Alabama. due to injuries and other mal—
adies. has played four freshmen extensively. Arkansas
plays four.

But no team has benefited more from the play of fresh-
men this season than l.SU and Florida. LSU's Torris Bright
has manned the point guard slot for the Tigers. and his un-
selfish play (read: passing to Stromile Swift and Jabari
Smith) is a big reason why LSU is a favorite to make it to the
finals.

Florida has benefited from the presence of four fresh-
men guards Brett Nelson and Justin Hamilton. and for-
wards Matt Bonner and Donnell Harvey. who ranks
among the SEC leaders in rebounding. The Gators are
the best in the SEC at shooting three-pointers. and when
they jack up as many as they do. good things happen.

Tennessee comes into the tournament still smarting
from last year‘s first-round upset loss to Mississippi
State. and their depth and athleticism will cause
matchup problems for any team they encounter along
the way.

But of course. Kentucky's going back to a site (the
Georgia Dome) where they've won all 1.3 games they've
played there.

Somethings got to give.

MATT reason

FILE PHOTO

Sophomore stud

LSU sophomore forward Stromile Swift leads the Tigers in
scoring and rebounding, not to mention highlight-reel dunks.

sac TOURNAMENT BEARD? ' "OWN }

Dome. Sweet “0"“

9...": 3.1.8:. at

 

 

 

 

Coach: Tubby Smith (3rd year, 63-13)

This Year: 22-8 (12-4 SEC, tied for lst SEC East)

Loading Scorer: Jamaal Magloire (13.2 ppq)

Leading Rebounder: Magloire (8.8 rpg)

Outlook: You know about the offensive struggles. But UK's
defense will wreak havoc on the rest of the field. The perimeter
shots MUST fall in order for the Cats to win the tournament.

.,,.

Cwo_aeh: Billy Donovan (4th year, 49-41)

This Loar' 23-6 (12-4 SEC, tied for lst SEC East)

mm Mike Miller (14.0 ppg)

Loafingltobogoor Donnell Harvey (7.2 rpg)

Outlook: They've beaten up on pretty much everybody else in the
conference except Tennessee. If the whole team comes with their

A-games, they'll find themselves in the title game.

Coach: Jerry Green (3rd year. 41-18)

This Year: 24-5 (12-4 SEC, tied for lst SEC East)

Leading Scorer: Vincent Yarbrough (15.2 ppq)

Leading Rebounder: Yarbrough (7.2 rpg)

Outlook: immense talent with a tendency to squander leads at
inopportune times. Remember last year‘s first-round upset? Tony
Harris and the rest of the Vols sure do, and they want to avenge it

Cough: Kevin Stallings (lst year)
.7 , ‘ . -,. _. ‘ _. This Year: 18-9 (8-8 SEC, 4th SEC East)
vZAJ-VLEJLEJZEV m ,._, Sega-or: Dan Langhi (22.7 ppg) ..‘
Leadingltebounder: (tie) Langhi and Anthony Williams (7.3 rpg)
O_utlo_ok: Langhi carried the Commodores this far. Now it's time for
some other players to step up (guards James Strong and Atiba
Prater) and provide scoring. Potential to do some damage.

Coach: Jim Harrick (lst year)

This Year: 10-19 (3-13 SEC, 6th SEC East)

leading Scorer: D.A. Layne (17.9 ppg)

Leading Rebounder: Anthony Evans (9.0 rpg) ..
Outlook: Who knows with this team? They've given UK two tough
contests, and Harrick is a coach who knows how to win in the post-
season. Too dependent on Layne's outside shooting to make a run.

Coach: Eddie Fogler (7th year, 93-85)

This Year: 13-16 (5-11 SEC, 5th SEC East)

Leading Scorer: Herbert Lee Davis (9.9 ppq)

Leading Reboundor: Tony Kitchings (4.9 rpg)

Outlook: Started to play better toward the end of the season. A
team that doesn't respect the Gamecocks’ ability to play defense
could find themselves in a serious struggle. Maybe one win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ce . v '..i|S (6th year, 96-59)

This Year: 21-8 (9-7 SEC, 2nd SEC West)

Leading Scorer: Chris Porter (14.6 ppq)

Leading Rebounder: Mamadou N'Diaye (7.8 rpg)

Outlook: The team became mired in mediocrity after their early
conference win over UK. You know what happened to Porter:
but what happened to guard Scott Pohlman’s jump shot?

Coach: Mark Gottfried (2nd year, 17-15)

This Year: 13-15 (6-10 SEC, 4th SEC West)

Leading Scorer: Schea Cotton (15.1 ppg)

LeadlnthoOoundor: Erwin Dudley (8.4 rpg)

Outlook: A trendy pick to do some damage, the Crimson Tide
possess a good gang of scorers and not much of an inside game.
But postseason play lends itself to perimeter players, so

Coach: Nolan Richardson (15th year, 314-118)

This Year: 15—14 (7-9 SEC, 3rd SEC West)

Leading Scorer: Chris Walker (11.8 ppq)

Leading Rebounder: Joe Johnson (5.4 rpg)

Outlook: Arkansas just can't seem to find the right combination
this year to remain consistent. Potentially dangerous opponent
for anyone, but inexperience will cost them eventually.

Coach: Rick Stansbury (2nd year, 20-13)

This ~Your:14-15 (5-11 SEC, tied for 5th SEC West)

Loading Scorer: Tang Hamilton (14.3 ppg)

Loafing [abandon Robert Jackson (7.0 rpg)

Outlook. They've played some good teams close, but close only

counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. Their offense is too
impotent to power any potential upset.

 

Coach: Rod Barnes (2nd year, 20-13)

This Year: 17-12 (5-11 SEC, tied for 5th SEC West)

Loading Scorer: Marcus Hicks (14.6 ppg)

Loading Roboundor: Rahim Lockhart (8.4 rpg)

Outlook: The Rebels have two good players in Lockhart and
Hicks, each of whom are capable of carrying Ole Miss to no more
than one win in this tournament.

.E--- John Brady (3rd year, 21-33)
This Tog: 24-4 (12-4 SEC, lst SEC West)
mm Stromile Swift (16.8 ppg)
mm Swift (8.3 rpg)

m Frouiworst to first in one year. This team has depth.

athleticism galore and very little experience. Their talent, how-
eveninightbeenoughtocarry‘therntothotitle.

 

KENTUCNYNERENLMSEC/NCAA rounnawcur PREVIEW 2000 . wumuim norm _'io ‘ A5

 

J—

The long, hard road

t0 the big dance

 

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FlLE PHOTO

Last year's championship game featured two No. 1 seeds - Duke and Moon - in the championship game, with
the Huskies coming out on top. Which teams will wind up with No. 1 seeds this year?

The contenders, please: Stanford, Cincinnati and Duke tops

They‘ve sat at the top for most of the college

-, basketball season. Now it's time to prove their

worth in one of the most grueling formats of de-
ciding a champion.

The seeds were set until this past weekend.
where Stanford and Arizona both lost. Michigan
State and Ohio State proved they're contenders
and Syracuse continued to slide.

Cincinnati showed some signs of vulnerabili-
ty late in the season (they lost at home to Temple
on Feb. 13). but sticking UC coach Bob Huggins
with a loss is like pouring kerosene on a bonfire:

, Beware of the explosive results.

Stanford. although they lost to Arizona head
to-head once. is regarded as the better of the Pac-
10 duo, although the athleticism and pressure of

. Arizona might have exposed an Achilles' heel in
' the Cardinal. who have more depth than an

 

ocean trench. They've even got twins (Jason and
Jarron Collins) who replace each other in the ro-

tation. Arizona will benefit from the presence of

Richard Jefferson. who returned to the lineup on
Mar. 2 after sitting out two months with a broken
foot. What will his return do to the team chem»
istry: can they get used to his aerial onslaught in
time? Their loss to Oregon didn‘t help things.
Duke is about as quiet a No. 1 seed as you
can imagine. Although their young talent has
gained some attention. their core of experience
(Chris Carrawell. Nate James and Shane Battier)
is enough to will any cast of characters to the
title. especially the way they've played lately.
By the way. we haven't even mentioned lowa
State. who won the Big 12 regular-season title.
Here we go...
- MATT ELLISON

"as. W» “F

 

 

 

 

 

Who's king of the mountain? Look to the top of the
polls, where four giants sit and wait to take on all who
dare stand in their way of a Final Four berth

"I think
they‘ll be
fine. They

were pretty
devastated
after the

loss."

— 80b Huggins.
Cincinnati head coach.
ioilowrng his team's
loss to Temple on Feb,
13.

“Once we
get into a
game,
there are
stretches
when we
play really
well."

— Mike Montgomery.
Stanford head coach,
when asked about how
consistent he thought
his No. l-ranked team
had played throughout
the regular season.
This was before their
loss to UCLA.

“1 think
we’re
capable of
playing
with
anybody,
but no
one’s really
afraid of

9.9

US.

— Jim Boeheim,
Syracuse head coach.
when asked if his
team’s mid-season skid
had forced him to
rethink his team's
postseason chances.

 

Coach: Mike Montgomery (12th year, 235-132)

This Year: 252 (14-2 Pac-lO)

Leading Scorer: Casey Jacobsen (13.9 ppg)

Leading Rebounder: Mark Madsen (9.5 rpg)

Outlook: They're talented and deep, with a freshman (Jacobsen)
leading them in scoring. But the jury’s still out on how they would
match up against an athletic team (see Arizona and UCLA).

Coach: Bob Huggins (10th year, 247-82)

This Year: 28-2 (16-0 Conference USA)

Leading Scorer: Kenyon Martin (18.9 ppg)

g goboundor: Martin (10.1 rpg)

7 ' Their coach is the perfect person to whip a group of
hungry athletes into a title team, and Huggins and Martin have put
Cincinnati on/the brink of their first Final Four berth since 1992.

Coach: Lute Olson (16th year. 395-120)

This Year: 24-6 (13-3 Pac-iO)

Leading Scorer: Loren Woods (15.6 ppq)

Leading Rebounder: Michael Wright (8.3 rpg)

Outlook: 50 what it they're young? So was the i997 squad that ran
through Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky on their way to the
title. They can do it again this year.

Coach: Mike Krzyzweski (20th year, 542-214)

This Year: 24-3 (15-1 ACC)

Leading Scorer: Chris Carrawell (17.8 ppq)

Leading Rebounder: Carraweil (6.1 rpg)

Outlook: Duke wants to make it back to the Final Four since they
haven't gone in oh yeah, they go just about every year.

.1 ,'

Coch: Tom 1220 5th yera, 88-41)

This Year: 23-7 (13-3 Big Ten)

Leading Scorer: Morris Peterson (16.9 ppq)

Leading Rebounder: Peterson (6.3 rpg)

Outlook: Considered by many to the top of the second-tier teams.
the Spartans went to St. Petersburg last year and bring back most
of the players who took them there.

Coach: Jim Boeheim (23rd year, 549-193)

This Year: 24-4 (13-3 Big East)

Leading Scorer: Etan Thomas (13.8 ppq)

Leading Rebounder: Thomas (8.8 rpg)

Outlook: They ate up a soft early-season schedule while whining
that they weren't getting any national respect. Despite their mid-
season struggles, this is a team to be reckoned with.

 

  

I WEDNESDAY. MARCH 8. 2000 I W “'3 w W amen 2000

Seeding the field of 64:
not for the faint of heart

The chairman speaks: C.M. Newton, former selection committee chair, reveals the process

By Nathan Hutchinson
“Ti-Milly? __

On the Wednesday before Selection
Sunday. the NCAA Tournament Selection
Committee disappears into the Hilton in
Kansas City with the daunting task of pick-
ing the 64 teams that will compete for a na-
tional championship. For the next four
days. the nine-member committee has to
examine piles of statistical data to deter-
mine which teams deserve an invitation to
the Big Dance. where those teams will be
seeded and how the tournament will be
bracketed.

Retiring Kentucky Athletics Director
CM. Newton knows the process well. For
the last seven years he was a member of
the committee. serving as its chair the last
two. Newton's tenure on the committee is
over but his experiences shed light into
how the process works.

For the members of the committee the
selection process starts as soon as the first
basketball hits the court. All season long,
committee members are expected to watch
games study statistical data and read con-
ference team reports in an effort to have
the field scouted before they even reach
their “war room“ in Kansas City.

“They try to come in on that Wednes-
day night really having a good idea as to
VV hat teams nationally deserVe to be in the
tournament‘ Newton said

Along with the 29 automatic bids. the
committee selects 33 zit-large teams to
round out the field. The selection begins

the first night when the committee nomi
nates 20 teams. Any team that gets the vote
of every committee members is automati-
cally 1nV ited to the tournament Usually six
to nine of the top ranked teams are nomi
nated the first night. After the initial vote
all the teams mentioned on committee
member‘s ballots are put on an at- large
board and the ranking process begins. The
committee nominates teams in groups of
four and the team that receives the most
votes gets invited. Any discussions involv
ing a school represented on the committee
must take place without the committee
member present

There are many different an5 to rank
the nominated teams Newton said.

“You start with wins, then you look at
the RPI (a computer power rating system,"
be said. “The Sagarin is one tool the coach—
es ranking is one I always looked at the
AP rankings whatever statistical data you
have. Strength of schedule' 15 critical."

On top of these statistical tools each
committee member takes their own ap-
proach to ranking the remaining teams.

“I always looked at how a team did on
the road because nobody plays on their
home court. so that was an important thing
to me," Newton said. “I wanted to know
what the teams did 1n their last 12 games. A
team going into this tournament needs to
be on an up- -tick rather than a down- tick."

The selection is the most important
part of the process according to New.ton

“You can play Vour way out a bad seed but
if you re not selected you dont have the

opportunity." he said.

After the teams have been selected the
seeding process begins According to New-
ton the entire field must be seeded before
the bracketing can begin

“The only way to balance the brackets
is to seed p.roperly We seed them one
through 64." he said.

After the committee determines the
seed of each team they go about the process
of determining the brackets. The commits
tee gives regional preferences to the top
four and bottom four teams in each brack-
et. Other factors must be taken into consid-
eration in the seeding process. Teams are
not allowed to play on their home floor and
the committee also tries to avoid having
teams from the same conference play be-
fore the regional finals. Most importantly
the committee tries to keep the brackets
even.

“It‘s critical that the East be the same
strength as the West and the North be the
same strength as the South." Newton said.

The committee has just four days to go
through this entire process along with de-
termining the officials that will work the
tournament. The committee has little time
to (tihink of anything else during that week-
en .

“You have a hard time turning your
mind off from basketball." Newton said.

Newton is glad his time on the commit-
tee is over and he refuses to engage in what
has become national tradition.

“I won‘t miss it. and I'm not going to
second guess them either," he said.

 

W

Picking the brains of the experts

Who's going to be where: Some of the nation's top college
hoops experts predict trends, teams to watch out for

By Nathan Hutchinson
STAFF WRITER

With less than a week to go until Selec—
tion Sunday. the question of which teams
will be neighbors in Bracketville is still up
in the air.

After a weekend that saw several top
ranked teams stumble against lesser-
ranked opponents, the battle for the four
number one seeds has gotten wide open.

“I can‘t recall seeing this much compe-
tition for seeds at the top of the brackets
this late in the season." said Jerry Palm of
College RPI.eom. Just a week ago it seemed
clear to college basketball gurus that
Cincinnati. Stanford. Duke and Arizona
were the odds-on favorite to receive a top
regional seed. But after Arizona dropped
consecutive games to Pac-lO bottom-feed-
ers Oregon and Oregon State their chances
for a number one seed are slim according
to Sports lllustrated‘s Seth Davis.