NCAA gets it wrong with play-in game

Try to forget, for a moment, that on one of the most exhilarating days in the history of college basketball in Maryland, the NCAA popped the state's balloons even before CBS ' selection show went on the air.

[announcerguydrew]

Pathetic on the part of the NCAA, Just play the game at the Civic Center then,geez.

Why not make Georgia play Coppin State then when you think about it ???

[craig]

Mount St Marys shouldn't be in the play-in game, Mississippi Valley State should be playing Coppin

[Ronnie]

Steele, don't you ever have anything positive to say???

[Gary]

My point exactly, David. The conference tournament champs should not be penalized by having to play in a play-in. The last two at-large teams should be in the play-in because they didn't take care of business during their conference tourney.

[Missing the point]

This is great! For one night every person in the country will be filling out their brackets and the only game that matters is Coppin and St Marys. They will be a passing blip on the highlights once the 64 kick off but they own the show for one night.

[Allen]

You talk about injustice worse then you wrote about. Just assume that Ohio U is NOT selected to the NIT. Ohio should Riot in the streets [ kidding. ] Ohio beats the Terps in Terp land 8/1/2 dogs. Ohio beats G Mason by 11 in Athens. G Mason goes to the dance. Ohio U better. Commen sense. I'd like to see my friend [ Gibbons own ] play one more time. LW. Thanks.

[Rich]

"What did Kentucky do to skip the Tuesday game that Coppin didn't do, besides be named Kentucky?"

You're kidding right,Coppin is a nice story but thats it.I'll tell what Kentucky didn't do,they didn't go 16-20 and lose 9 games in the MEAC,get a gripe

[Eric]

Tough luck, Coppin. You guys lost 20 games. Maybe the NCAA should put in a rule that any sub-.500 conference tournament winner gets an automatic bid in the NIT, not the NCAAs.

As for MSM, with an 18-14 record playing in a weak conference, they were also going to be a 16 seed, but maybe Mississippi Valley State (17-15) should have been put in the play-in game instead of MSM.(All the other 15/16 seeded teams have much better records.) Certainly RPI and strength of schedule matter when determining high seeds and which bubble teams are in/out, but does it also matter at the bottom of the field? I think the selection committee ranks the four teams on each seed line, so the 16 seeds are ranked too, and MSM came out below MVS.

Funny comment you made about Georgia. Despite their record, didn't they just win the SEC Tournament? There's a reason power conference teams are never in the play-in game: those teams are better than the play-in teams.

[Chris]

you gotta be kidding me Steele, Coppin and Mount St. Mary's would not have made the tourney if they had to play in the conferences that Villanova and Kentucky do

[Chris]

And you missed the other Maryland school playing on Tuesday night. The Terps play in that other tourney on Tuesday as well.

[Mike N]

I think the conference tournaments need to be restricted to the top 50 to 75% of the their leagues, depending on league finish, so that these bottom feeders can't get a lucky streak in the last three days and slip in, dragging down the quality of the whole show. It would help aleviate some of the carping about who deserves to be in. It would also be more sensible to automatically seed the conference season winners and be done with it - but we all know the tournaments are about making money, but they don't want to make that fact obvious by eliminating the NCAA bone for winning one.

[Attila the Hon]

Just another example of the sport of basketball using & abusing the Baltimore market. Uckfay ouyay, NCAA tournament committee! It may be next to impossible, but here's hoping either Mount St. Mary's or Coppin State slaps North Carolina with the upset of the millennium.