Cutting tournament travel to a minimum is a goal set this year by the NCAA men's basketball selection committee. However, it will have a minimal effect on the most-traveled team in the NCAA: Hawaii. UH could end up in
West in NCAAsBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comShould the Rainbows earn a second consecutive trip to the "Big Dance," Hawaii likely will be kept in the West or the Midwest region. The Rainbows would be booking travel on March 10 out of Tulsa, site of the Western Athletic Conference tournament, and the subregional sites that are most geographically convenient may be Sacramento (Midwest bracket) and Albuquerque, N.M. (West bracket).
Having Hawaii already in the middle of the country on Selection Sunday makes placing the Rainbows easier. However, the NCAA selection committee members said they'd like to make it easier for a team's fans to travel as well.
"It's a problem, because two-thirds of our teams are east of the Mississippi (River)," said committee chair Lee Fowler during Wednesday's conference call with the national media. "We hope to eliminate as much travel as possible. The new bracketing system should keep people closer to home."
Fowler, the athletic director at North Carolina State, fielded questions on selection of teams with sub-.500 conference records, consequences of injuries and suspensions for bubble teams, and balancing the brackets. When it comes to picking the 34 at-large teams, "Our charge is to pick the best teams," said Fowler. "We won't just look at conference records."
Every team is asked to submit reasons for players missing games, either with an injury or a suspension. Fowler said that a missed game is considered a missed game, regardless of the situation.
"As for the RPI, we use a little different system than the one on the Internet," said Fowler. "We go through a lengthy process to select the best teams. The RPI (ratings percentage index) is only one factor."
That would be good news to Hawaii if the committee were selecting teams today. The Rainbows (22-4, 13-2) moved up from 43 to 30 following Thursday's win over Tulsa; the Golden Hurricane (22-5, 13-3) are still higher at No. 28.
"We're looking at the entire seasons, conference and outside of conference," said Fowler. "We're also not looking at past (tournament) experience. For example, Gonzaga has done well the past three years and has built a case for a higher seed. But we're only looking at this year's performance.
"And I don't think 20 (wins) is a magic number any more. We evaluate the whole season. Everyone who wins their (regular-season) division or conference will be automatically put into consideration, regardless of how well they do in their (conference) tournament."
Fowler said the committee is taking fans into consideration. There were numerous complaints last year, particularly after Maryland, Georgetown and George Mason were all sent to Boise, Idaho.
"But, overall, the most important things are getting the best teams in the tournament and balancing the bracket," said Fowler. "There's also a fine line in preserving neutral sites vs. less travel."
"I think it's a good thing, to keep you in your region," said Hawaii coach Riley Wallace.
Wallace predicts that a WAC team will go to Sacramento. WAC Commissioner Karl Benson, in his first year on the selection committee, is assigned to oversee that tournament.
ESPN.com placed Hawaii in Sacramento in its mock pairings this week. The Web site predicts that the Rainbows will be a 12th seed, and would play fifth-seeded Miami, Fla. In the other first-round game is Ohio State, which has Slobodan Savovic on its roster, the younger brother of Hawaii guard Predrag Savovic.
Tulsa is penciled in as an eighth seed, facing Western Kentucky in a first-round game at Greenville, S.C.
Net notice: Hawaii coach Riley Wallace was the lead subject of Andy Katz's Daily Word on Friday on ESPN.com. Wallace said he did not talk to Katz about the matter but did confirm details.
According to the article, Wallace is negotiating an extension to the contract that expires April 30. Wallace, who is the favorite for coach of the year in the WAC, has a $160,000 overall package and is expecting to receive a bump in pay for what he hopes is a five-year deal.
"The 60-year old Wallace should have the Warriors in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons," writes Katz.
Wallace declined to tell the Star-Bulletin how much of a raise his agent is seeking.
Also, both Hawaii and Tulsa are on ESPN.com's "Cinderella Watch" for NCAA Tournament bids.
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