Random notes:
▪ To be sure, Mitch Barnhart and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament selection committee had a tough job this year, what with COVID-19 producing prolonged pauses, postponing some matchups and canceling others, and leaving teams with a wildly uneven number of games played. Still, when you examine the 68-team field, you can’t help notice some head-scratchers.
▪ Colgate is No. 9 in the NCAA NET computer rankings, but the 14-1 Raiders are just the No. 14 seed in the South Region, with a first-round matchup against No. 3 seed Arkansas.
▪ Loyola Chicago is No. 10 in the NET rankings, and No. 9 in Ken Pomeroy’s analytics, yet the 22-4 Ramblers are the No. 8 seed in the Midwest, with a first-round matchup against ACC Tournament champion Georgia Tech.
▪ St. Bonaventure is No. 23 in the NET and No. 25 in kenpom, yet the 16-4 Bonnies are the No. 9 seed in the East, with a first-round date against LSU, who lost by a single point to Alabama in the SEC Tournament finals.
▪ Michigan State made the field — albeit for a First Four game — despite being ranked No. 70 in the NET, which put the Spartans behind Indiana (63), Xavier (61), Kentucky (60), Seton Hall (57), Louisville (56) and Memphis (52).
▪ Speaking of Louisville, not saying the Cardinals should have been among the 68, but how did Syracuse end up an 11 seed and avoid a play-in game? While Louisville was 1-6 in Quad 1 games, Syracuse was 1-7.
Plus, Jim Boeheim’s club was 2-7 in road games, with its two wins coming against Boston College and North Carolina State, neither of whom made the tournament. Syracuse lost by 14 at Duke, by 17 at Clemson, by 23 at Virginia and by 20 at Pittsburgh.
▪ West Virginia is the No. 3 seed in the Midwest and Oklahoma State the No. 4 seed in the same region despite the fact Oklahoma State beat West Virginia on both March 6 and March 11. West Virginia lost three of its last four games. Oklahoma State won eight of its last 10, including a victory over No. 2 Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
▪ Kentucky ended up playing 13 games against teams who made the NCAA Tournament field. The Cats went 4-9 in those games.
▪ Good luck to Richard Pitino, let go at Minnesota after eight seasons, but who less than 24 hours later picked up a new gig as the head coach at New Mexico.
▪ Appearing on ESPN 680 in Louisville on Tuesday, ESPN’s Jay Bilas said this of Indiana’s firing of Archie Miller: “The Indiana fan base has not helped the program. . . It has cannibalized the program.”
▪ Really? Miller took over a program with a great tradition, a rabid fan base and dedicated donors in a geographic area where you can recruit good players. In four years, Miller went 67-58 overall and 33-45 in the Big Ten, including 12-15 and 7-12 this year.
▪ Compare that to Nate Oats, who took over an Alabama program with little tradition, at a school dominated by football in a geographic region that is often apathetic toward basketball and won both the SEC and the SEC Tournament in his second season.
▪ Former Kentucky associate athletic director DeWayne Peevy is looking for a new basketball coach in his new job as head of DePaul athletics. After parting ways with Dave Leitao, Peevy said he is giving himself 30 days to find a new coach. Reportedly on the candidates list: Former UK assistant Orlando Antigua, now an assistant at Illinois, which just happens to be a No. 1 seed and my pick to win the Big Dance.
▪ Let’s wrap this up with kudos to former UK assistant football coach Dean Hood, whose Murray State Racers are off to a 3-0 start in the OVC’s spring season. Murray has beaten UT Martin 14-10, Southeast Missouri 24-21 and Tennessee Tech 36-31. The Racers get Tennessee State at home on Sunday. All games can be streamed on ESPN Plus.