Oh, the Madness!

We don't really have an office the way most folks do, so we don't do an office pool for the NCAA Tournament. However, I have more people at home in my own house than many people have in their offices, so the tourney in the Jones house is a big enough event even without the wagering. In the interests of full disclosure, let me say that this is the 16th time Jeanette and I will have picked the tournament, and I will be attempting, this year, something I have never before accomplished: winning twice in a row. In fact, my wife has beaten me 13 of the 15 previous years. You marry a Kentucky girl, you have to be prepared for what comes with that.

There's been a good deal of carping about the tournament selections, as there always is, so let me address that first. I've seen Air Force play, and they are absolutely maddening. They are different from practically anyone else in basketball. They are a good selection. I know all baout their RPI, which is mostly composed of games against the other teams in the MWC, which isn't a very good league in many ways. But in the preseason they did not lose to anyone. They beat Miami and Georgia Tech out of the ACC. They're good. They'll give Illinois a tussle.

Brent Musberger pointed out last night something that I think people forget, which is that the tourney committee did not leave out anyone that was going to win the whole thing. So for all intents and purposes, we can just deal with it and be happy that this year we get to see Bradley and Air Force instead of Cincinnati and Maryland. And we should be happy about that.

My own favorite team, BYU, did not get an at-large bid despite winning 20 games. We're not all that surprised out here in Cougarland, though we are disappointed that the NIT gave us a 6 seed and forced us to play on the road. We really don't have any reason to be disappointed. First off, last year we won 9 games, so this represents a significant improvement. Second, we have all but one player back next season, so we should be in very good shape next year. Third, we do have postseason, and we get to play Houston instead of, say, Illinois, so that represents a better chance to have some success, which is key for young players. But most of all - MOST OF ALL - we shouldn't be disappointed that we weren't selected, because we actually had a chance to get in. All we had to do is win our conference tournament.

Let me illustrate: in 2004, the University of Utah (referred to, in this space, as the Spewts) won every single football game it played by at least 14 points. As a reward, the Spewts finished the season ranked #5. This is so impossibly asinine that it bears repeating. Utah won every game - EVERY game - by two touchdowns. No team was even close to defeating them. At 11-0, the team was selected to play in a BCS game, against a woeful Pittsburgh team that didn't even play as well against Utah as Air Force did. And that was it. Many cheered the fact that the BCS could be "broken" by a mid-major football team, as if congratulating themselves on having awarded the fiercest knight the ribbon for Mister Congeniality. Most of us in mid-major land, however, saw it for what it was: proof that no non-BCS team can ever again win a national championship. If Utah can't do it with a season like that, then it categorically cannot be done.

There is no other sport, college or pro, where a team can win every single game it plays and not end up champion.

BYU didn't go to the tournament, but Monmouth did. Is this fair? Sure it is. Monmouth, tiny little Monmouth from West Long Branch, New Jersey, has a conference tournament and they won it. So they are in. BYU has one, too, and it didn't. Nobody can say they didn't get a chance. This isn't college football, after all. And if Monmouth, tiny Monmouth, wins the rest of its games, it will be national champion. Period.

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it. Hope the football guys are watching.

Cj

P.S. We are also picking the NIT here, since it has a bracket this time, and last night I went 7 for 8, missing only the Temple game, which went to overtime. So we're starting out well.

P.P.S. However, I chose Hampton over Monmouth in the NCAAs, so I'm already 0-1. Sigh.

P.P.P.S. Full disclosure sucks.