This is unfortunately a non-gender specific issue now. ESPN is ruining college basketball and there can be little doubt about it. In the good old days of ESPN when it was a great network that focused more on showing as many games as they could instead of dedicating themselves to specific teams, it was wonderful. College basketball was terrific. But we've now reached the age where ESPN dedicated three networks and an online outlet to one regular season game between Duke and North Carolina and did so on a Saturday in conference tournament season. What an insult!
Don't confuse the issue here. Teams like Duke, North Carolina, Florida, UConn, Villanova, etc, etc deserve the larger portion of coverage because of their superior teams. Anyone can understand that. But the state of ESPN and their inordinate amount of focus dedicated to a very select, very few schools perpetuates the notion that if you're not playing these teams, then you're not playing division one basketball.
The Missouri Valley found a way to beat the system this year. They went on the road and beat decent, but not great teams. The new RPI formula allowed them to jumpstart their RPIs in the out of conference slate then they compteted with each other and all earned high RPIs. But ESPN guys like Dick Vitale and Digger Phelps refused to give them credit (Vitale even nearly alleged conspiracy among the selection committee when they didn't include Cincinnati, obviously ignoring Hofstra and Missouri State).
Yet the Big East is NEVER called out for their schools' out of conference schedules, which are very often pathetic. UofL is a prime example this year and they were rewarded with a one seed in the NIT. And they're not atypical. That is the norm much more than the exception in the Big East.
ESPN has sold their souls to the big conferences and the money they bring in.
What brought on this rant this morning? WKU's women being left out of the NCAA women's tournament. The Lady Tops are the highest RPI team (17th) to EVER be excluded from either the men's or women's tournament. They are in a decent conference (#9 statistically), they have a good strength of schedule (in the 40s), they won 13 straight games before losing the conference finals on the champions home court, they have two all american candidates, and they beat four teams that are in the tournament (MTSU, LaTech, Louisville and Arkansas.)
What was the committee's explanation? Well apparently since we lost our conference title game we were thrown in the pool with other teams. Teams like California (RPI in the 60s) and Missouri (RPI 93) who got in the tournament. They claimed WKU's strength of schedule wasn't good enough despite playing LaTech, Charlotte, Louisville, Arkansas, Arizona State, and Vanderbilt out of conference. What seems obvious is they favored big conference teams. Why? Because that's who they see. Why? Because that's who ESPN shows. Have you ever seen a women's game on ESPN that didn't include UT, Stanford, Duke, North Carolina or UConn? No. And you won't.
Nancy Lieberman of ESPN when asked a tongue in cheek question about when the Big Six conferences were just going to eliminate the other conferences, actually said that was a good idea. She was oblivious to it being a joke because that's exactly what they are trying to do.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
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2 comments:
ESPN is just trying to pull in all the ad dollars they can and if the "Mid-Majors" did that I'm sure we would see more of those teams playing. It is the nature of the beast. Money, money, money. They learned from the NCAA when it comes to that.
As for Dickie V, he was championing the small schools last year. I thought it was so funny to see him now turn after blasting the committee last year for not letting the smaller schools in to now blast the committee for letting the smaller schools in and leaving out the bigger schools.
Cincinnat, Hofstra, Missouri State, none of them would have won more than two games tops so to argue and fight over teams that have no shot to win makes no sense to me.
You said yourself its about money. Well, schools get money from making the NCAA. Schools get recruits from making the NCAA. Schools get students from making the NCAA.
What do they get for making the NIT? Listen, it makes a difference. Maybe not in the title game, but to those schools it matters.
ESPN is of course making money. But there's very good basketball played outside the Big Six. But they don't want you to know that. Example, Elgrace Wilborn was all over Top Plays last year. He's a freak. Well, he was just as acrobatic and impressive this year, but since WKU signed a deal with FSC to show our home games, Elgrace never once made Top Plays, even when he and Michael Southall combined for 15 dunks in an ESPN televised game. What made Top Plays that night? Three high school highlights.
ESPN stinks.
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