Few selections are surprises; RPI hit

By Eddie Pells

Kansas State freshman-of-the-year candidate Michael Beasley will meet another freshman, USC’s O.J. Mayo.

The inexact science of putting together the NCAA tournament bracket turned out to be pretty exact this time around.

No big beefs with the top seeds — North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA.

No snubbed bubble teams with shout-it-to-the-mountaintop complaints — even if Arizona State and Virginia Tech do have somewhat compelling arguments.

And no defending champion, either. But not even that was a surprise.

Florida, completely rebuilt after winning two titles in a row, was written off well before Selection Sunday after losing its last four games, including the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

So, let March Madness begin, and call the Tar Heels (32-2) favorites if you must. Led by Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina earned the overall top seed in the tournament and won’t have to leave its home state on the road to the Final Four in San Antonio. Carolina’s first two games are scheduled for Raleigh, its next two for Charlotte.

“It’s an advantage if you play well,” said Carolina coach Roy Williams, trying to lead the Tar Heels to their second title in four years. “Just because the crowd’s cheering for you, I’ve never had a crowd win a game. I know it sounds wacko.”

Only four teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference made it, something of a surprise considering it was the top-ranked conference in the all-important RPI.

But what does the RPI really mean these days?

Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg is certainly no fan. His team got snubbed despite being ranked No. 53 on the list.

“We need to get rid of the RPI totally from people’s train of thought,” he said. “Because one second, the head of the committee says the RPI is inconsequential, and the next second he says they can use the RPI to eliminate a team.”

That might have been the case with Arizona State, which was 83 on that list despite quality victories over third-seeded Stanford and Xavier and two over rival Arizona, which made it off the bubble for its 24th straight NCAA appearance.

“While Arizona State is very good, the committee didn’t feel it was one of the best 34 at-large teams in the country,” said Tom O’Connor, chairman of the selection committee.

Arizona State’s spot might have been stolen by Georgia, which won four games at the SEC tournament — including two in one day after a tornado ripped past the Georgia Dome — to complete an inspiring run into the tournament with a 17-16 record.

“We found out we had more than we thought we did,” said coach Dennis Felton, who likely saved his job with this remarkable string. “We kind of persevered.”

Georgia opens against Xavier in the West region.

The final bubble spots went to Villanova, a 12th seed in the Midwest, and St. Joseph’s, an 11th seed in the East that beat Xavier twice.

Baylor got in as an 11th seed in the West, an impressive rebound for a program that nearly disintegrated after the murder of Patrick Dennehy by a teammate in 2003.

Kentucky made it as a No. 11 seed in the South despite growing pains under Billy Gillespie, who’s in his first year at the school.

Kansas State was an 11th-seeded bubble team, but how could the committee resist bringing freshman-of-the-year candidate Michael Beasley into the tournament — then pairing him against another sensational freshman, O.J. Mayo of Southern California? They’ll play Thursday in a first-round Midwest region game.