Selection committee puts political correctness ahead of basketball, again

Whatever happens with the bubble teams, the NCAA Tournament selection committee has already made its most outrageous, indefensible, egregiously absurd decision of the year. According to ESPN's Andy Katz, Tuesday's play-in game will feature MEAC champion Coppin State against NEC champion Mount St. Mary's -- not SWAC champion Mississippi Valley State, which is, by any objective measure, one of the two worst teams in the NCAA Tournament.

There is no basketball-related explanation for this decision. None. The only reason they've done it is because of their reluctance to pit two historically black universities, the MEAC and SWAC champions, against one another. This kowtowing to political correctness, despite the MEAC and SWAC consistently producing the two worst teams in the field, has been a recurring theme since the play-in game was created in 2001. But never has the situation been so blatant as this year.

Mississippi Valley State is 15-15 against Division I competition, #229 in the RPI, and #318 (out of 341!) in the Pomeroy ratings. Mount St. Mary's is 18-14, #159, and #169, respectively. Mississippi Valley State won the worst conference in America, according to the conference RPI ratings. Mount St. Mary's won the ninth-worst conference.

Coppin State and Mississippi Valley State aren't just the two worst teams by far in this year's tournament, they're two of the worst teams ever to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. There is no possible justification, under the selection committee's own criteria, for putting any other two teams in the play-in game. Yet the committee has done exactly that -- because they care more about Jesse Jackson's approval, apparently, than about following their own rules and procedures and creating an intellectually honest bracket.

Jim Nantz and Billy Packer will probably focus their annual inquisition of the committee chairman on the alleged "snubs" of various mediocre major-conference teams. If so, they'll be missing the boat completely on the day's real scandal. They need to ask the chairman about this decision, because it is totally ridiculous, and it's about time someone held their feet to the fire for this egregious nonsense.

Comments

[Jay Johnson]

I'll take a possible higher road to this than kowtowing to political correctness.

Perhaps, they felt that Mt. St. Marys was deserving of an opportunity to actually win a NCAA tournament game, thus hopefully insuring that a 20 loss team didn't actually make it into the field of 64 that comprise the actual bracket.

On a more interesting note, Georgia is still hanging in there, with an 8 point lead with a minute and change to go against Arkansas.

[JD]

Or the NCAA could do the right and logical thing and kill the play-in game altogether.

Also, GEORGIA WINS!

[USC 2L]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=3221302

[Andrew]

I blame Obama.

it's just a game...