Keegan: MVC, parity for real

By Tom Keegan     Mar 20, 2006

Those too consumed by melancholy to watch the NCAA Tournament, given Kansas University’s early exit Friday night, missed entertaining action that revealed a thing or two about this college basketball season.

For one, though it’s no excuse for the Jayhawks losing a game in which they came out tight, it’s indisputable they lost to a team playing at a far higher level than a typical No. 13 seed.

Bradley center Patrick O’Bryant was a confident monster, and forward Marcellus Sommerville was strong again Sunday in the Braves’ “upset” of Pittsburgh. The pressure is on the higher seeded team, and that was evident just watching Bradley slapping hands in warmups before the game against stiffer KU.

It’s also tough to argue now that the Missouri Valley Conference didn’t deserve a fifth bid, namely Missouri State, considering Wichita State joins Bradley in the Sweet 16.

If you’re scoring at home, that’s two more MVC teams in the Sweet 16 than for the Big Ten. That powerhouse league’s six teams went a combined 3-6. The recurring theme throughout the Big Ten season was that teams couldn’t win on the road. Now we know why. The league was full of decent teams, but didn’t have any standouts.

The Mo. Valley has one more team standing than the Big 12, represented now only by Texas, which can advance to the Elite Eight with a victory over West Virginia. For the Big 12 to get back on its feet, the three schools with hiring openings must make wise choices. Iowa State could end up with either Northern Iowa’s Greg McDermott or Creighton’s Dana Altman, whichever coach Iowa doesn’t hire. Kansas State’s in the running for Bob Huggins, and Missouri could do worse than UAB’s Mike Anderson.

The mid-major conference’s success is further evidence of the emergence of parity in college basketball. Here’s more: Guess how many schools have made it to the Sweet 16 three years in a row?

One.

Just the school coached by the man whose beak is inescapable for any TV viewer of the tournament. He’s pitching cars now, not credit cards, yet still using the same words. You know, “truth” and “leadership.” At the very top, the rich get richer, so there is an exception to the parity that rules college basketball.

Just 25 percent of last year’s Sweet 16 teams are back: Duke, Villanova, Washington and West Virginia.

Four schools seeded higher than sixth remain: 7. Georgetown; 7. Wichita State; 11. George Mason; 13. Bradley. None of the 20 starters from those schools is a freshman. By contrast, first-round flameout KU started three freshmen. Second-round victim North Carolina started two. Obviously, experience still matters in the tournament.

So does having an All-American candidate or two. Twelve of the 22 finalists for the Wooden Award are still playing. Duke (J.J. Redick, Shelden Williams), Texas (LaMarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker), Villanova (Randy Foye, Allan Ray) and West Virginia (Mike Gansey, Kevin Pittsnogle) have two players apiece. Schools with one finalist: LSU (Glen Davis), UCLA (Jordan Farmar), Gonzaga (Adam Morrison), Washington (Brandon Roy), and Boston College (Craig Smith).

The best conference? Four Big East schools remain. No other conference has more than two left.

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