Loss of USIU May Fracture Alliance of Independents : Basketball: CSUN and other Division I colleges had counted on the San Diego school to ease scheduling difficulties and form a postseason tournament.

The decision Friday by U.S. International University to drop its basketball program effective at the end of the season leaves Cal State Northridge without a soulmate in a quest to form an alliance of NCAA Division I independents.

USIU Athletic Director Al Palmiotto was the leader of the American Alliance, a group of Division I independents that had agreed to play each other twice each season, beginning in the 1991-92 season. One game would be played on the road and the other at home.

The decision means that CSUN, which was scheduled to play USIU twice this season, will not have to scramble to find replacements.

Palmiotto also was behind efforts to initiate a single-elimination postseason tournament in 1992-93.

The alliance-tournament winner would not automatically qualify for the 64-team NCAA tournament but would be considered for an at-large berth based on its record and strength of schedule.

Not only was USIU one of the teams facing the same predicament as CSUN--playing as one of the few Division I independents on the West Coast--Palmiotto was in charge of the alliance’s next meeting set for Nashville, Tenn., after the NCAA convention Jan. 7-11.

USIU, CSUN, Cal State Sacramento, Southern Utah State, Northeastern Illinois, Chicago State, Wright State, and Kansas City-Missouri have all scheduled one another for next season and Youngstown State has shown an interest in the alliance.

Without USIU, the alliance will have to engage Youngstown State or another school to prevent its numbers from shrinking and to maintain an even number for the proposed postseason tournament.

Other difficulties could arise if NCAA member schools vote at the convention to return next season’s 25-game schedule to 28 games.

From a long-term perspective, CSUN Coach Pete Cassidy does not applaud the loss of an alliance member, but he is more concerned about getting into the Big West Conference with what he calls the sister California State schools--Fullerton, Long Beach, San Jose and Fresno--and two schools in the University of California system, Santa Barbara and Irvine.

In the meantime, the alliance makes Northridge’s games more meaningful than a completely independent schedule.