Read the opposing arguments from Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan.
These tournament debate topics, though we are actually beginning our first tournament season here at TSD (can you believe we’re not even a year old yet??), are fairly formulaic. That does not, however, mean they are bland. Today’s “surprise” debate encompasses anything from whether a team should have earned a bid and did not to which teams were mis-seeded to a surprising amount of love for a particular conference.
I am choosing a snub here because of one so egregious that it almost seems impossible for the tournament Selection Committee to miss. Nevertheless, the exhausted Mississippi State Bulldogs came within one tenth of a second of defeating the number two team in the nation and earning an SEC conference tournament win and an automatic bid. Instead, an intentionally missed free throw turned into a lucky bounce for Kentucky, then into an extension of the game into overtime which prevented a physically and emotionally spent Bulldogs team from receiving an earned ticket to the Big Dance.
And it all happened with a mere one tenth of a second left on the clock. Mississippi State had their ticket to the Big Dance signed and sealed before Kentucky’s SEC freshman of the year DaMarcus Cousins delivered a game-tying layup. One-tenth of a second, after leading Kentucky for a substantial amount of the second half and notching big shot after big shot to keep the Wildcats at arm’s length, Cousins found himself in the right place at the right time (in front of the rim to catch an air ball three point attempt from player of the year candidate John Wall) and lived up to the moment by making a big play.
The problem with Mississippi’s State snub is that they were not expected to win. They greatly surpassed what appear to be incorrect expectations. Sure, the team took Kentucky to overtime in the regular season too – another notch in the team’s belt, proving how talented they are – but here they were a tenth of a second away from certain tournament berth.
Through all of the analysis and boring interviews of committee chairman who had plenty of non-answers in his memory bank, it all boils down to how a team finishes a season. I know of no basketball team that is exactly the same at the beginning of the season as it is at the end. The ups and downs of a team matter a great deal, and character of a team is determined throughout the course of the season, and then defined when the pressure is at its highest point. The journey to excellence took longer than expected, apparently, for Mississippi State. While the Bulldogs ended the regular season with two straight losses, the nothing-less-than-impressive performance in the SEC tournament should have been enough to earn a place in the NCAA tournament.
If the Selection Committee uses the tried and true fallback of claiming to have reviewed a team’s “entire body of work” – even though the committee talks specifically about the importance of how a team ends the season – Mississippi State gets a passing grade. First, Mississippi State is one of the few teams in the country to beat another conference winner, Old Dominion, from the Colonial conference, in regular season play. Also, unlike Florida, for example, the Bulldogs won their conference division in the regular season. They beat a supposed tournament team in Florida in the first round of the conference tournament and then defeated a team in the second round, 20th ranked Vanderbilt, by ten to advance to the championship game.
And what a championship game. An exhausted and admittedly lacking in depth Bulldog team – which also happens to feature the conference defensive player of the year in center Jarvis Varnado – refused to give in to second-ranked Kentucky’s up tempo game. Varnado delivered a typical superb performance by grabbing nine rebounds, blocking five shots, putting in 18 points, and holding Kentucky star DaMarcus Cousins to just 10 points. Dee Bost, MSU’s point guard LITERALLY had no backup to spell him during the game – or the entire tournament – and ended up cramping badly at the end of regulation and in overtime. Through all of that he still managed to pour in 16 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Guard Ravern Johnson connected on four of eight three point shot attempts to lead the team with 20 points. Despite a great effort and wonderful defense, Kentucky’s Cousins connected on a layup with one tenth of a second left in the game.
Surprisingly, MSU’s near victory and excellent tournament performance did not convince the Selection Committee. I can easily rundown the several other teams that I believe should not be in the tournament but are (Minnesota and Florida come quickly to mind), the fact is that the Bulldogs were snubbed despite a solid resumé. Perhaps Starkville, Mississippi simply is not a big enough media market to warrant inclusion in the tournament.
The SEC was one of the strongest conferences in college basketball this season, and Mississippi State – a division champion in the regular season – was one of its strongest teams. While other teams have a legitimate beef with the Selection Committee for being excluded (Virginia Tech loses out to Wake Forest… REALLY????), it is Mississippi State that has the biggest gripe. But, the best way to prove the team was snubbed is to win the NIT beginning Tuesday night.
Posted by Sports Geek 
