South Region Preview: Purgatory for Falling Conference Champs – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By PAUL NEWBERRY%^$
AP Sports Writer%^$
%^$The NCAA South Regional became the whipping post for champions that didn’t%^$fare so well in their conference tournaments.%^$
%^$At the top of the list is Cincinnati.%^$
%^$The Bearcats (28-3) were a certain No. 1 seed until the Conference USA%^$tournament, when star center Kenyon Martin broke his right leg in a stunning%^$10-point loss to Saint Louis. Now, Cincinnati is No. 2 in the South behind%^$Stanford (26-3), which received a top seed for the first time.%^$
%^$Coach Bob Huggins was clearly perturbed by Cincinnati’s slide, pointing out%^$that his team is No. 1 in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI). The Bearcats had%^$hoped to play in Cleveland with a top seed in the Midwest.%^$
%^$”Tell me the last time a team that was No. 1 in the RPI hasn’t had a No. 1%^$seed,” Huggins said, fuming. “It’s crazy. I don’t understand that. I don’t%^$understand the rationale.”%^$
%^$He blasted the NCAA selection committee for taking into account that%^$Cincinnati won’t have Martin, one of the favorites for national player of the%^$year.%^$
%^$”How do they know how good we are without Kenyon?” Huggins said. “They%^$judged what we were for 37 minutes without Kenyon. Did they take into (account)%^$the fact that our guys just sat there and watched a very traumatic experience?%^$Did they take that into consideration?”%^$
%^$The No. 3 seed in the South is Ohio State (22-6), a Final Four team a year%^$ago. The Buckeyes were also in contention for a No. 1 until the Big Ten%^$tournament, when they were stunned in the quarterfinals by a Penn State team%^$they already had beaten twice.%^$
%^$Two other major conference champions also were placed in the South after%^$tournament defeats.%^$
%^$Tennessee (24-6), the No. 4 seed, shared the Southeastern Conference title%^$with three other teams but was hurt by a loss to South Carolina in the%^$quarterfinals of its league tournament.%^$
%^$Miami (21-10), co-champion of the Big East, lost to St. John’s in the%^$semifinals of the conference tournament. With that, the Hurricanes slipped to%^$No. 6 in the South, one spot behind Big East rival and defending national%^$champion Connecticut (24-9).%^$
%^$Then there’s North Carolina (18-13), which survived its highest number of%^$losses since 1989-90 to extend its record streak of NCAA appearances to 26 in a%^$row. The Tar Heels are seeded eighth in the South.%^$
%^$”Our players were excited when they saw the announcement,” coach Bill%^$Guthridge said. “I know they are not satisfied with our record and look%^$forward to competing in the NCAA tournament.”%^$
%^$North Carolina won at least one game in the NCAA tournament for 18%^$consecutive years before losing in the first round to Weber State last year.%^$This season, North Carolina dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time in a%^$decade and was ousted from the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference%^$tournament by Wake Forest.%^$
%^$North Carolina got in, albeit with its lowest seed since 1990, because of a%^$non-conference schedule that included Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana,%^$Louisville, Georgetown, UNLV, Miami and the College of Charleston.%^$
%^$”I am glad the committee rewarded us for playing a challenging%^$out-of-conference schedule,” Guthridge said. “I was afraid I may have%^$over-scheduled.”%^$
%^$The South Regional opens Friday with the first of two rounds at Nashville,%^$Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. The regional semifinals and finals will be held in%^$Austin, Texas, the following week.%^$
%^$At Nashville, Cincinnati starts off with North Carolina-Wilmington (18-12),%^$Tulsa (29-4) takes on UNLV (23-7), Ohio State (22-6) meets Appalachian State%^$(23-8) and Miami faces Arkansas (19-14), the surprise winner of the SEC%^$tournament Sunday.%^$
%^$Stanford highlights the Birmingham half of the bracket, opening against%^$South Carolina State (20-13). North Carolina meets Missouri (18-12), Tennessee%^$takes on Louisiana-Lafayette (25-8), and Connecticut plays Utah State (28-5).
