Already this morning I’m seeing and hearing WVU get criticized and/or ripped for reaction to its positioning in the NCAA Tournament. Seems a little misplaced to me.
WVU was given a No. 2 seed in the East Region Sunday night and I don’t think that came as a surprise to the Mountaineers. They wanted a No. 1 seed and they talked up the possibility, but when you talk about something so much and on such a big stage, people start to listen. As Big East champs, they had a pretty big audience to speak to, so they put their goals out there for others to digest. Or accept.
Crazy-as-a-fox Seton Hall Coach Bobby Gonzalez nailed it this week. With the loss to Notre Dame, it was assumed the Pirates were out of the NCAA Tournament, but Gonzo gave a half-dozen reasons why that was bogus before relenting and revealing one reason his team was in trouble.
“I think we should be on the board. I think all this talk about the bubble has burst and now we’re out and we’re done and we lost and that’s it and it’s over, I don’t think people know what they’re talking about. I don’t think they have a clue. I think they listen to what everybody else says and they repeat what they hear.”
So it’s a twist the other way, but publically the Mountaineers wanted to talk about the No. 1 seed and even seem confident they’d get one in hopes others might, too. Privately, it was a little different and most figured they’d be left out in favor of Duke, provided the Blue Devils won the ACC Tournament.
Turns out the Mountaineerw were left out, though in favor of Syracuse, which was jumped by Duke, a decision I still can’t grasp. And I’m not alone. CBS’s Greg Anthony last night pointed out Syracuse had the edge in four meaningful measures and asked the selection committee chairman “how you could possibly see (Duke) being a better No. 1 seed than Syracuse?”
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