Jay Bilas Thinks South Alabama Shows Selection Committee Favors Mid-Majors

During last night's ESPN show analyzing the NCAA Tournament brackets, the subject turned to South Alabama, which made the Big Dance even though half of its wins came against teams that aren't in the RPI Top 200. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas doesn't think that's fair:

"If you're in a major conference you're going to get hammered for not going out and killing yourself in the non-conference. Let's be honest about it. If you're in a mid-major they're going to give you a break. That's OK, I just wish they'd admit it: They give the mid-majors a break. It's OK, but let's not go through this charade of it being the 34 best teams because I don't think that's what we're getting."

Bilas, of course, is a former player and assistant coach at Duke, so to the extent that he's biased, he's biased in favor of the power conference teams.

But with all due respect to South Alabama, I do think he's correct, in that particular case, that the Jaguars (who 75th in the Pomeroy ratings and rank 67th in the Sagarin Predictor) really aren't one of the 34 best at-large teams, and that choosing them in the field of 34 was an attempt to give a mid-major a break.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-17-2008 @ 9:02AM

Gamecock Man said...

Well, the Jags have spent most of the year ranked in the top 34 of the AP Poll and the RPI. Just because you and Jay Biased don't know much about them doesn't mean they're not a good team. Typically, mid-majors have to beat some good teams OOC in order to get in, and the Jags did that, beating Miss St, San Diego, and coming up just short against Vanderbilt in Nashville. They had the profile required for mid-majors to get in, so that's that. And sure, they had some embarrasing losses, but who didn't? Kentucky, anyone? The bottom line is that the idea that the selection committee favors mid-majors is patently ridiculous--there have been less and less mid-majors offered bids over the last few years, despite the recent successes of mid-majors teams in the tourney. And look closely at how many mid-majors they matched up against each other--South Alabama vs. Butler, for example. And of course you have Butler, a team that spent most of the year in the top 10, with a 7 seed. WTF?

3-17-2008 @ 9:12AM

Mike said...

It makes no difference, besides a coaches bonus or pay increase for next year, but, there might be an upset of a #4 or #5 seed, but there will be no schocker in this tourney at all. The top 2 in each bracket will be in the final four,,,,easy. The teams overall in the tourney are just not that good this year. There is the top 7 teams this year and thats that. It is the first year in many years that the NBA is going to be much more interesting than the college tourney which has really 6 teams with a chance to win it, thats it, 6 teams, heck, there are more teams in the Western conf. of the NBA with as much a chance to win the NBA title.

3-17-2008 @ 10:01AM

reality said...

How deluded is Bilas? Favors mid majors? Tell that to Dayton and Illinois State when Kentucky and Villanova and Baylor make the field. Kentucky 17 wins and who did they beat out of cinference? 8 Big East teams? If Bilas wants to impress us with the number af games he's seen and his knowledge he has failed. What he has done well is suck up to the major conferences. I'll turn off the tv when he is on because his uniformed opinon is of no value

3-17-2008 @ 3:58PM

Adam Bacarella said...

Jay as I look ahead into the tounrnament I see an intriguing matchup in the sweet 16, south reion of no.3 Stanford to play no.2 Texas... Just wanted to know how you thought this game would play out because of the creative guard play of Texas vs. the bigs on Stanford.

3-17-2008 @ 5:11PM

r1979h said...

Bilas' venomous ACC mouth strongly campaigned against Ky. getting in.He just doesn't get it. Ky. has a stronger history and tradition than any of his ACC teams. As many championships as N.C.and Dike combined. Didn't work mouth!!! Try getting a woman.Might give you something else to be jealous of.