Pitt’s seeding and where they play was the major story today. Heard Rome rant, ESPN’s “Around the Horn” panned it, various commentators on Sporting News Radio broadcasts layed into it. No one could make sense of the decision, and the committee did itself no favor with Bowlsby’s comments from yesterday about the higher seed only getting the neutral court for the first game.
The newspapers around the country are mostly picking Oklahoma State to come out of the East. No surprise that papers in Texas like OSU. But then so do the dailies in California.
Well, I found one bold prediction giving Pitt the National Championship, no less. From New York Newsday
A little controversy right off the bat when Pittsburgh, seeded third, has to play No. 6 Wisconsin in Milwaukee in the second round. It’s bad enough that the Panthers lost to Marquette in the Elite 8 a year ago. Now they have to face an arena of cheeseheads. They win anyway and benefit from the upset of No. 2 Oklahoma State by John Calipari’s Memphis team in Kansas City. Saint Joe’s rolls through its foes but is denied a storybook ending one victory from the Final Four by a Pitt team strong on muscle and defense.
I think he was still a little flush from the BET. Speaking of being flush from the BET, this column from Shaun Powell shows how NYC residents still think of the Big East.
In the years to come, the Big East, as we will know it, will be largely missing from the NCAA consciousness during the fall and winter months.
In that sense, The Big Sleep Conference will be on grizzly bear time. The member schools will snore right through football season, so please, do not disturb.
But do not pity, either. To be honest, the conference could give a BCS about football.
This is about the Northeast, this is about the spring, and this conference is about basketball. Always has been, and with Miami leaving, always will be.
I mean, this is absurd on its face. He does know that all of the new BE teams coming in are mid-west and from Florida? Right?
Of course there are those that see Pitt as ripe for an opening round exit.
I hope someone from the Pitt coaching staff or one of the players starts printing these out and pinning them up to let the Pitt players know how little the national media believes in them.
