ODJ: Seed This Before

Two weeks later, I still can’t figure out why the Selection Committee gave Temple a No. 12 seed while St. Joseph’s got a No. 11 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Don’t let anybody tell you next year that seeds don’t matter.

Two weeks later, I still can’t figure out why the Selection Committee gave Temple a No. 12 seed while St. Joseph’s got a No. 11 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

While the Hawks lost to an imposing but flawed No. 6 seed, Oklahoma, the Owls got stuck with Michigan State, a perennial Final Four threat that once again proved its power with a second round victory over Pittsburgh.

The Spartans have advanced to the Sweet 16 seven times in the past 11 years. With Coach Tom Izzo in charge, they are one of the few sure things in the national tournament picture – more dependable than Florida or Kansas or Duke.

That’s what the Owls were facing in Denver.

Leading into the game, some characterized Michigan State-Temple as an upset special, pointing to the Spartans’ first round loss to George Mason two years ago. They forgot one thing: That George Mason team went to the Final Four.

In fact, in its 10 NCAA Tournament losses over the past 11 seasons, Izzo’s squad has been eliminated by a Final Four participant on seven occasions. Quite simply, it takes a great team to beat the Spartans.

The Owls weren’t great this year, but they were certainly better than the Hawks. How much better? The Owls were two Mark Tyndale free throws away from a three-game sweep of their Big 5 rivals.

So why did the Hawks get a higher seed?

I honestly think the Selection Committee simply forgot about the Atlantic 10 after seeing the results of the championship game.

St. Joe’s obviously played its way into the tournament by defeating Xavier in the A-10 semifinals. Temple (judging by its seed) was clearly not in the at-large field. And what I think happened is that St. Joe’s was given the 11 seed no later than Saturday afternoon, before the title game. Temple needed to win to get in.

Prior to the A-10 finals, the numbers clearly favored St. Joe’s – primarily the RPI and its quality road/neutral wins over Xavier, Temple, and UMass. The Owls had most of their big wins at home.

But the title game erased any numerical difference between the two teams, right down to their overall record of 21-12. They were separated by just three spots in the final RPI. Both teams finished 8-8 against the Top 100. Temple actually played a tougher schedule, but St. Joe’s had more road wins. None of these differences were statistically significant.

What was significant was that the Owls beat the Hawks two out of three times, including the title game, and most importantly, they were playing much better basketball at the end of the season.

One team carried a seven-game win streak into the NCAA Tournament. The other went 5-5 in its last 10 games, including two losses to the Owls. All of the other numbers were equal. And the Hawks got the higher seed?

The only explanation, and I really believe this, is that the committee never re-examined the numbers after the A-10 finals. They just plugged Temple in as the No. 12 seed.

With all of the last-minute mischief being created by Georgia and Illinois in their conference tournaments, and the attention given to properly placing the higher seeds (particularly teams like Drake, Butler, and Kent State), they simply gave zero thought to the A-10 also-rans.

Because it wouldn’t have taken much effort to flip-flop the Owls and the Hawks. And it wouldn’t have had any effect on the seeding guidelines, since the two are in the same conference.

Maybe I’m just bitter about the fact that Temple got stuck with the morning game in Denver, suffering the exact same fate that Pepe Sanchez and friends suffered 10 years ago, when they were digested by West Virginia before lunchtime in Boise. I certainly wasn’t yearning for another trip to Birmingham, where St. Joe’s lost to Oklahoma.

I’m not even sure the Owls would have fared any better against Sooner big bodies Blake Griffin and Longar Longar, especially considering how Sergio Olmos struggled against Michigan State non-threat Drew Naymick. But I don’t think Oklahoma would have held Dionte Christmas to three points.

None of this matters now.

Just don’t let anybody tell you next year that seeds don’t matter in the NCAA Tournament.