It May Not Be Bubbly for Some of Selection-Maker’s Dozen

When the members of the NCAA tournament selection committee complete their task of putting together the 1997 field of 64, they might consider making a toast to their efforts with champagne.

After all, they were overwhelmed by “bubble” teams in the final stages of the selection process, so why not enjoy some of the bubbly?

On the eve of Selection Sunday, there were probably 12 teams on the NCAA tournament fringe--USC along with Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, Southwest Missouri State, Syracuse, Temple, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Virginia and West Virginia.

The tournament hopes of these teams became more tentative with these developments Saturday:

--In Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals at Greensboro, N.C., North Carolina State continued its improbable run through nationally ranked opponents with a 65-58 victory over No. 22 Maryland. The Wolfpack, which defeated No. 7 Duke on Friday, plays No. 5 North Carolina for the ACC championship and conference’s automatic NCAA berth.

--In the Big Ten, Wisconsin stunned No. 2 Minnesota, 66-65, at Madison, Wis. Minnesota is still expected to get a No. 1 regional seeding, while the Badgers probably earned an at-large berth--meaning there will be at least five Big Ten teams in the tournament.

--In the Big 12 Conference tournament semifinals at Kansas City, Mo., Missouri reached the final against No. 1-ranked Kansas with a 89-80 victory over Oklahoma. Missouri was the 10th-seeded team and came into the tournament with a 13-16 record.

--In the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals at Memphis, 24th-ranked Georgia defeated No. 4 South Carolina for the second time this season, 78-63. South Carolina, which has beaten sixth-ranked and defending national champion Kentucky twice, was under consideration for a No. 1 regional seeding.

Just after third-ranked Utah defeated Texas Christian, 89-68, for the Western Athletic championship in Las Vegas, there were probably 57 berths filled for the tournament, 29 of them automatic. The NCAA pairings will be announced today in Kansas City at 3:30 p.m. PST. Here how the NCAA selection picture looked after Saturday’s games:

ATLANTIC COAST

Do you believe in miracles? North Carolina State, 16-13 and a No. 76 Rating Percentage Index, is making a charge through the ACC tournament that would have made Jimmy Valvano proud. The Wolfpack is in a must-win situation for an NCAA berth, while North Carolina (23-6 with an 11-game winnning streak) is in line for a No. 1 regional seeding that seemed like it would go to Duke (23-8) or No. 8 Wake Forest (23-6) two weeks ago. No. 13 Clemson (21-9) and Maryland (21-10) slide into the tournament with sub-.500 records over the last five weeks. Virginia (18-12 and No. 25 RPI) is on the bubble, but remember, former Cavalier Coach Terry Holland is chairman of the selection committee.

ATLANTIC 10

Rhode Island (20-9 and No. 30 RPI) probably earned its first NCAA berth by advancing to the Atlantic 10 final, where it was a 61-56 loser to No. 19 St. Joseph’s (24-6). The Hawks, who will be making their first NCAA appearance since 1986, broke a 55-55 tie with 16 seconds left on Duval Simmonds’ leaning shot in the lane. Whether the NCAA committee is leaning toward Temple (19-10 and No. 39 RPI) or Massachusetts (19-12 and No. 35 RPI) is uncertain. No. 11 Xavier (22-5) sewed up a generous regional seeding by being nationally ranked all but one week of the season.

BIG EAST

Boston College (21-8) kept getting better as the Big East tournament went on, leading by as many as 21 points in a 70-58 victory over No. 21 Villanova (23-9) in the championship game at Madison Square Garden. It was the Eagles’ first appearance in a Big East final since 1983. Providence (21-11 and No. 43 RPI) and Georgetown (20-9 and No. 64 RPI) figure to mix it up in the NCAA play while there are mixed signals on the tournament chances of West Virginia (19-9).

BIG TEN

Wisconsin (18-9 and No. 32 RPI) put itself in position for its second NCAA appearance in 50 years with its upset of Big Ten champion Minnesota (27-3), which had won its previous 12 games. Guard Ty Calderwood made two free throws with 11.8 seconds to give the Badgers a one-point lead, then tipped the ball away from forward Sam Jacobson as the Golden Gophers tried to set up for a last shot.

Wisconsin finished in a tie for third place at 11-7 with No. 15 Illinois (21-9), while Iowa (21-9 and No. 33 RPI) and Purdue (17-11 and No. 28 RPI) shared second at 12-6. Purdue, which got a career-high 27 points from Brad Miller in a 77-69 victory over Illinois at West Lafayette, Ind., probably made the tournament on the strength of defeating its last three nationally ranked opponents. Iowa makes a return NCAA trip on the strength of guard Andre Woolridge, whose 34 points in a 75-59 victory over Northwestern (7-22, 2-16) made him a dual Big Ten leader in scoring and assists.

No. 25 Indiana (22-10 and No. 14 RPI) took a detour in East Lansing, Mich., on what looked like a 12th consecutive NCAA trip, losing 63-60 to Michigan State (16-11 and No. 78 RPI) when it missed three three-point shots in the final 11 seconds. The Hoosiers and Spartans are tied for sixth place at 9-9 and could be joined today by Michigan (18-11 and No. 27 RPI), which plays Ohio State (10-16, 5-12). Postgame NCAA news conferences won’t be the same without Bob Knight.

BIG 12

Kansas (31-1) can enter the NCAA tournament with the second-most regular season victories by defeating Missouri (16-16). Nevada Las Vegas entered the 1987 tournament with a 33-1 record. No. 16 Iowa State (20-8) and No. 18 Colorado (21-9) limp into the tournament after embarrassing losses. Texas Tech (19-9 and No. 20) took itself out of consideration with two ineligible players, perhaps leaving the door open for Oklahoma (19-9 and No. 44 RPI). It’s an open-and-shut case for Texas (16-11 and No. 24 RPI).

BIG WEST

Pacific (23-5 and No. 99 RPI) probably must win today’s tournament final in Reno to qualify for an NCAA berth, even though it is one of only 25 teams with 23 or more victories. Pacific, a 71-54 winner over Utah State (20-9) in the semifinals, plays Nevada (20-8 and No. 89 RPI), an 80-63 winner over New Mexico State (20-9). Pacific’s last NCAA appearance was in 1979 under former USC Coach Stan Morrison.

CONFERENCE USA

Marquette (22-8 and No. 67 RPI) played four games within a span of 66 hours, but was no worse for wear after a 60-52 victory over North Carolina Charlotte (21-8 and No. 36 RPI) in the tournament final in St. Louis. Fourteen hours earlier, Marquette had defeated the tournament’s top-seeded team, No. 10 Cincinnati, pulling away at the end as it did against North Carolina Charlotte--which it had lost to by 20 a previous meeting. North Carolina Charlotte figures to join Cincinnati (25-7) and slumping Louisville (23-8 after an 18-1 start) in the NCAA field. Tulane (20-10) may be snubbed after losing its first conference tournament game for the second consecutive season.

MID-AMERICAN

Miami of Ohio (21-8 and No. 77 RPI) shot 68% in both halves to turn out the lights for last year’s NCAA representative from the MAC, Eastern Michigan (22-10 and No. 84 RPI), in a 96-76 victory in the tournament final at Toledo, Ohio. Devon Davis, Ira Newble, and Wally Sczerbiak--all 6 feet 7--combined to make 30 of 39 shots, score 69 points and get 26 rebounds. Eastern Michigan and regular-season champions Bowling Green (22-9 and No. 65 RPI) don’t figure to get NCAA berths.

PACIFIC 10

USC (17-10 and No. 47 RPI) could have assured itself of an NCAA berth by finishing second by itself in the Pacific 10, but a 94-84 loss to Washington knocked the Trojans into a three-way tie at 12-6 with No. 24 Stanford (20-7 and No. 34 RPI) and California (21-9 and No. 21 RPI). The latter two figure to join Arizona (19-9), a fifth-place finisher at 11-7 but a season-long member in the Top 25, in the NCAA field.

Conference champion UCLA (21-7) looks for some respect by not getting shipped out of the West this year.

SOUTHEASTERN

South Carolina (24-7) must have had No. 6 Kentucky and a possible No. 1 regional seeding on its mind rather than Georgia (24-7) in the SEC semifinals. South Carolina guards Larry Davis, BJ McKie and Melvin Watson had a combined 31 points on 10-of-31 shooting, while Georgia’s backcourt of G.G. Smith--son of Coach Tubby Smith--and Ray Harrison was 17 of 22 for 43 points. Kentucky (29-4) reached the tournament final with an 88-70 victory over Mississippi (20-7 and No. 45), which should be NCAA-bound on the strength of a victory over the Wildcats in January. Kentucky now is in line for a No. 1 regional seeding. Vanderbilt (19-11 and No. 29 RPI) could be the SEC’s fifth representative.

WESTERN ATHLETIC

No buzzer-beating, game-winning shots were needed by Keith Van Horn as Utah (26-3) breezed to the tournament championship and solidified its bid for a No. 1 regional seeding. Van Horn had 37 points and 15 rebounds against Texas Christian (21-11 and No. 58 RPI), which has the look of a non-NCAA qualifier. No. 14 New Mexico (24-7) and Tulsa (23-9 and No. 18 RPI) will make the NCAA field.

THE OTHERS

The remaining automatic bids went to:

AMERICAN EAST--Boston University (27-4).

BIG SKY--Montana (21-10), an 82-79 winner over Cal State Northridge in the tournament final at Flagstaff, Ariz.

BIG SOUTH--Charleston Southern (17-12).

COLONIAL ATHLETIC--Old Dominion (22-10).

IVY--Princeton (24-3).

METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC--Fairfield (11-18).

MID-CONTINENT--Valparaiso (24-6).

MID-EASTERN--Coppin State (21-8), which defeated North Carolina A&T;, 81-74, in overtime in the tournament final at Norfolk, Va.

MIDWESTERN COLLEGIATE--Butler (23-9).

MISSOURI VALLEY--Illinois State (25-5). Southwest Missouri State (24-8) will get at-large consideration.

NORTHEAST--Long Island University (21-9).

OHIO VALLEY--Murray State (20-9).

PATRIOT--Navy (20-8)

SOUTHERN--Tennessee Chattanooga (22-10).

SOUTHLAND--Southwest Texas State (16-2), which defeated Northeast Louisiana, 74-64, in the tournament final in Shreveport, La.

SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC--Jackson State (14-15) became the 13th team to qualify for the NCAA tournament with a losing record by defeating Mississippi Valley State, 81-74, in the tournament final at Dallas.

SUN BELT--South Alabama (23-6).

TRANS AMERICA--College of Charleston (28-2).

WEST COAST--St. Mary’s (23-7)