Tue, Mar 14, 2006 page18

• NCAA tournament draw stirs debate

  HOOPS Duke, Connecticut, Villanova and Memphis secured the top seeds, as was expected, but pundits were upset by the way some other selections panned out

  • AP
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  The top seeds for the NCAA tournament went as predicted: Duke, Connecticut, Villanova and Memphis.

  As for the rest of the 65-team field, it was tougher to decipher a method to the madness.

  While the Big East had a record eight teams make the tournament field, most thought it deserved a ninth.

  While the mid-major conferences made inroads in the at-large process, several teams still were overlooked.

  No. 6 George Washington, at 26-2 with the best record in the tournament, drew only an eight seed in the Atlanta Regional and potentially faces a top-10 matchup against top-seeded Duke in the second round.

  And big-name teams such as Michigan, Cincinnati and Maryland were left out completely.

  There were enough complaints with Sunday's selections to rile up even the apparent winners.

  "I think we're excited we finally got an at-large team in," Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Thomas Yeager said. "But it's been bittersweet because we thought we had a third team that looked very much like, if not better, than some of the teams that got in."

  The questions ranged from minuscule to extraordinary.

  By taking so many Big East teams, the selection committee nearly had to change its policy. Had Cincinnati (19-12), which seemed a virtual lock before Syracuse's surprising run to the Big East title, gotten in, the committee would have altered a rule prohibiting conference teams from facing each other before the regional finals.

  Chairman Craig Littlepage said there was a contingency plan in place that would have given the committee more flexibility.

  Instead, the committee used its last two at-large selections on Bradley (20-10) of the Missouri Valley Conference, expected to make it, and Air Force (24-6), a major surprise. Both were seeded 13th in their respective regions.

  "We had a discussion and the questions that were asked were similar to `Who is tough?' or `Who is another team you wouldn't want to play?'" Littlepage said. "Air Force provided us with some unique things. I think there were enough things to grab onto that this was a solid selection."

  At Cincinnati, Littlepage's explanation was met with dismay.

  "I thought, honestly, we'd be in the 10, 11 range," Bearcats interim coach Andy Kennedy said. "For us to be completely off the board is shocking."

  A few things did go as planned.

  Duke earned its 10th No. 1 seed, tying North Carolina's record, while UConn earned a top seed for the fourth time. Duke and UConn were the only teams ranked No. 1 this year.

  Villanova and Memphis are both making their first appearance at No. 1 even though Allan Ray's eye injury created a discussion about dropping the Wildcats a notch.

  As usual, the biggest conferences dominated the 34 at-large picks. The Big Ten and Southeastern each had six teams, second to the Big East, while the Atlantic Coast, Big 12 and Pac-10 all had four.

  The mid-majors also made progress. Among the new multibid leagues were the MVC (four) and the Colonial (two), although both commissioners had hoped for more. Utah State, which was left out in 2004 despite being ranked in the Top 25, also made it this time.

  Duke (30-3) opens the tournament Thursday in nearby Greensboro, North Carolina, against Southern University. Texas, the No. 2 seed, plays Pennsylvania in Dallas. The other games in that regional are at Jacksonville, Florida, and Auburn Hills, Michigan, where third-seeded Iowa, the Big Ten champion, faces No. 14 Northwestern State.

  Memphis (30-3), which lost one game in Conference USA this season, leads the Oakland Regional and plays Oral Roberts, which was last in the tournament in 1984, in Dallas. UCLA was the No. 2 seed and the Pac-10 champions face tournament newcomer Belmont at San Diego. At Salt Lake City, third-seeded Gonzaga goes against Atlantic-10 champion Xavier and at Auburn Hills, fourth-seeded Kansas will play Bradley.

  Connecticut is the top seed in the Washington Regional. The Huskies (27-3), who were beaten by Syracuse in the Big East quarterfinals, play Albany, the only other team making its first appearance, in Philadelphia.

  The other game has eighth-seeded Kentucky against No. 9 UAB. Illinois, last year's national runner-up and a fourth seed, faces No. 13 Air Force.

  Villanova (24-4) is the top seed in the Minneapolis Regional. The Wildcats will open in their home city of Philadelphia against the winner of Tuesday night's opening-round game between Monmouth and Hampton. The other game in that doubleheader has eighth-seeded Arizona against No. 9 Wisconsin.

  The Final Four is April 1 and 3 in Indianapolis.

  NBA

  Alonzo Mourning sparked a fourth-quarter surge while Shaquille O'Neal watched from the bench, and the Miami Heat earned their latest come-from-behind victory Sunday by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-92.

  LeBron James scored 47 points for Cleveland and Dwyane Wade had 35 for the Heat, but it was Mourning who took charge during the decisive stretch. The Heat backup center finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes.

  O'Neal played only 2 minutes in the fourth quarter, and he sat on the bench for the first 7 minutes of the period.

  Pistons 94, Bobcats 78

  In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and Tayshaun Price added 23 as Detroit improved to 28-2 at home.

  Detroit needed only 62 games to reach 50 wins, breaking the team record set in 1988-89 by four games. Detroit needs to go 14-6 in its final 20 games to break the franchise mark of 63 wins.

  Tony Delk added 11 points for the Pistons, while Antonio McDyess had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Ben Wallace had 15 rebounds and eight points.

  Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 18 points -- only two after the half -- and Melvin Ely scored 15 off the bench.
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