Mr. Holland’s Opus Is Keeping Dean at Home

It won’t count in Dean Smith’s assault on Adolph Rupp’s record, but North Carolina actually picked up two victories Sunday, first winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title game and later picking up another “W” when the NCAA pairings were announced.

The Tar Heels rode their 12-game winning streak into a No. 1 seeding and home-conference advantage in the first two rounds as members of the NCAA selection committee apparently teared up over the prospect of having Smith break Rupp’s record in North Carolina.

Smith needs two wins to surpass Rupp’s win total of 876 and--dang it, boys--why not have him do it next weekend in Winston-Salem, where the Tar Heels will open against 11-18 Fairfield on Thursday? And then, here’s the great part, Smith can break the record against Bob Knight’s Indiana team on Saturday.

Wonder if CBS will want to televise that?

“We talked about whether that was almost too good a location for North Carolina,” said Terry Holland, Director of Athletics at the University of Virginia and the chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee.

The committee decided it was not, though the Tar Heels, if you’ll check the records, finished third in the ACC standings, behind Duke and Wake Forest.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt North Carolina is one of hottest teams in the country,” Holland said. “I don’t have any question we did the right thing in that particular case.”

Anticipating the problem Duke fans might have had with it, the committee saw to it that the second-seeded Blue Devils also stayed close, with opening-round dates in Charlotte.

None of the other top-three seeded teams really could beef.

Kansas, the real No. 1 team in the country, lobbied hard and won the right to open in the Southeast instead of the Midwest. Why? The Jayhawks could not play a first-round game at Kansas City because the school is hosting the sub-regional there, and Kansas did not want to open at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Kansas preferred Memphis in the Southeast. Wish granted.

Kentucky? Yes, the Wildcats got shipped out West, but what could they say? The defending champions were only too pleased to pack after winning the No. 1 seeding over Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina, which swept Kentucky in league play.

“That was one we wrestled with for a long time,” Holland said.

The moral? It’s good to be Kentucky.

South Carolina ended up with a No. 2 seeding in the East.

Minnesota? The Gophers get to stay in the Midwest and open in Kansas City with a freebie against Southwest Texas State on Thursday. Call this payback for snubbing Minnesota from the tournament last year.

Holland said that, because of the lack of upsets, this was the least gut-wrenching process in his five years on the committee. He said most of the bracket was finalized after lunch on Sunday.

Michigan won’t want to hear that.

The Wolverines, who believed they were on the bubble and needed to beat Ohio State on Sunday to make the tournament, actually were penciled out before the national anthem.

“We did make the decision before that game was played,” Holland said.

The decision was that Michigan--4-6 in its last 10 games--was out.

The job of eliminating bubble teams was also made easier when Texas Tech pulled out of contention after admitting it had used two ineligible players.

Holland wouldn’t say whether Texas Tech would have made the field otherwise.

“It’s impossible to tell,” Holland said. “To their credit, they called us very early in the process and withdrew their name from consideration. We weren’t even close to even voting for teams. It was never a factor for us.”

None of this mean schools that were left out weren’t steamed, but Holland had a pretty good answer for those bounced from the bubble:

--Southwest Missouri State. The Bears had a strong case, with a 24-8 record and a respectable 42 in the Rating Percentage Index rankings. If any mid-major conference deserved an at-large bid, it seemed to be the Missouri Valley. But Holland said eight losses were too many for a mid-level school that did not win either its regular season or tournament title.

Southwest Missouri State, coached by Steve Alford, was also 10-1 against teams ranked 150 in the RPI or higher.

“A lot of their wins came against that bottom 150,” Holland said. “You can’t afford eight losses if you are in that category.

--Syracuse. The Orangemen were 19-12, but only 9-9 in the Big East.

“I look at some of the teams in the tournament and I’m amazed,” Coach Jim Boeheim told the Associated Press.

Syracuse, however, was a shaky No. 60 in the latest RPI and played only the 69th strongest schedule.

--Fresno State (20-11). Jerry Tarkanian said he had no problem with not being selected. If you have been following the news, he’s got other things on his mind.

--West Virginia. A great case on paper. The Mountaineers finished 19-9, and 11-7 in the Big East, numbers that figure to get you in. But the Big East is down this year, and West Virginia ranked only 87 out of 305 in strength of schedule.

--Hawaii. The Rainbows were 20-7, but ranked No. 50 in the RPI, 110th in schedule strength. The committee said “Aloha.”

--Florida State. The Seminoles finished 16-11, beat Maryland, Clemson and North Carolina in the ACC, but also ended up 6-10 in a conference that already received six NCAA bids.

“They certainly received consideration,” Holland said. “But you’d have to say with only 16 wins, with a seventh-place finish in the conference, it’s very difficult for them to quite get up in that upper echelon.”

--Tulane (20-10). The committee strongly urged schools to finish the season with gusto. Tulane wasn’t listening. The Green Wave went 5-5 in its last 10 games and flamed out in the Conference USA tournament.

--Michigan. Let’s put this kindly: The Wolverines folded up like a cheap wallet down the stretch, finishing 19-11. Michigan slid 13 spots, from 27 to 40, in this week’s RPI.

Did any school win over the selection committee with a dramatic, late-season win?

Yes, and the school’s name is Wisconsin, which pulled off an upset of No. 2 Minnesota on Saturday.

“I’d have to say those late games do carry some importance,” Holland said. “You like to see teams up against the wall and perform well under tough circumstances.”

Did any school get in because of its schedule maker?

Yes, and the school’s name is Texas, which finished only 16-11 but wooed the committee by losing to some of the nation’s best teams, going 1-4 against top 25 competition.

“They did exactly what we ask teams to do. They played an extremely tough schedule,” Holland said.

Which were the last two teams to make the field?

The committee doesn’t discuss such things, and the answer is Oklahoma and USC.

Did any conference make out better than the others?

Well, the Pacific 10 has to be doing flips about getting five teams in the field to the Big East’s four.

The ACC and Big Ten each got six berths, which seems odd when you consider how much better the ACC is.

The Atlantic 10, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC each received five bids, which sounds about right. The Big East and Conference USA had four, and the WAC had three.

Did the 64 most-deserving teams make the tournament?

Ah, no.

Here are the worst 10 to make the tournament, according to their RPI ranking (out of 305 division I schools):

1) Fairfield (231). 2) Jackson State (214). 3) Southwest Texas State (182). 4) Murray State (166). 5) Navy (160). 6) Charleston Southern (147). 7) Coppin State (137). 8) Tennessee Chattanooga (131). 9) Montana (124). 10) St. Mary’s (93).

Did Terry Holland’s school, Virginia, make the tournament?

Yes, but Holland had to leave the room every time his school was considered in discussions.

Honest.

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Bubbles Burst

Schools that had a shot to make the NCAA’s 64-team field, but were left out:

* SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE (24-8): Too many losses for mid-level school? You bet.

* SYRACUSE (19-12): Hey Jim Boeheim, when you can’t even top .500 in your conference (9-9 in Big East) what do you expect? Right, an NIT spot.

* FRESNO STATE (19-11): Needed to win Western Athletic Conference touranent to get in.

* WEST VIRGINIA (19-9): Haunted by not surpassing 20 victories; 11-7 in Big East. Schedule not very strong.

* HAWAII (20-7): Need to make more waves with a weak schedule, No. 110 RPI.

* FLORIDA STATE (16-11): Beat some Atlantic Coast Conference powers, but finished 6-10 in league and overall record not impressive. No way could get in as seventh club from conference.

* TULANE (20-10): Must come through down the stretch. Five losses in last 10 games is coming undone.

* MICHIGAN (19-11): Slid like a California mudslide last few weeks. Found deserving place in NIT.