It's all in the name for Flames, 'Dogs and Racers

Sporting News, The, Jan 12, 1998 by Mike DeCourcy

Perhaps if the average SAT scores were higher at Illinois-Chicago, or if Gonzaga produced more U.S. presidents, or if one year at Murray State cost the same as a three-bedroom townhouse in the suburbs, one of them might be the school that seems out of place among the powers in the top 25.

Instead, its Princeton

Is it because the Tigers are a better basketball team? Because they've accomplished more against better opponents? Or is it because the Princeton name has a high-gloss finish to it and the others do not?

"I think you can feel a little frustrated that they judge you not by your performance but what it says on your jersey," Gonzaga coach Dan Monson says. His team began the season on top of the Top of the World Classic, defeating Tulsa by 38 points, followed by Mississippi State and then a title-game upset of Clemson, ranked No. 5 at the time. But Monson's Bulldogs didn't wind up in the polls.

"Instead they just say, `Let's see if it's a flash in the pan.' Then we go and lose at the buzzer at Michigan State, and they kind of forget about you."

Poll rankings mean a lot to schools like Gonzaga. A place in the poll can mean a TV game getting tossed their way when schedules are made next summer or an unlikely recruit signing a letter of intent in the spring.

Coaches at mid-major schools try not to think about that, but with Princeton inching higher, they have every right The Tigers are a wonderful basketball team that plays a fascinating style, but they are getting preferential treatment.

Consider the case for each team:

Princeton. Led by guard Brian Earl, a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, the Tigers started 11-1. They beat Texas, NC State and Wake Forest on neutral courts and won at Rutgers; those teams were 28-16 through Saturday. Princeton generated acclaim for playing a tight game in a loss at top-ranked North Carolina.

Gonzaga. The schedule forced the Bulldogs onto the road after the stunning performance in Alaska; each of the losses in an 11-3 start were away from home against major opponents. The Michigan State defeat was by a single basket, and the most damaging loss, against Washington State, was the Bulldogs' seventh game away from home in 14 days.

Their three victim in Alaska had a combined record of 31-11 through Saturday. Power forward Bakari Hendrix leads Gonzaga with 19.1 points per game. Paced by Matt Santangelo and Richie Frahm, the team shoots .457 from 3-point range.

"I loved that team on film. They've got a big guy, they've got shooters, they've got a point guard," says Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, whose Spartans have explored this territory well. They lost at UIC.

Illinois-Chicago. It took a stunning last-minute shooting display by Marquette star guard Aaron Hutchins to lift the Golden Eagles and prevent UIC from ruining their unbeaten start,

UIC's only major win was against Michigan State, although You could tack on Illinois State and not get an argument as to its quality. Those two are 15-6 combined. The Flames also lost by a point at Illinois.

"What they've got, and it's a big key, is a lot of veterans -- four- and five-year players," Izzo says. "They're athletic and rebound well. And they play aggressive, solid defense."

Murray State. With Chad Townsend and De'Teri Mayes continuing the program's impressive run of backcourt stars, the aptly named Racers beat Dayton at UD Arena, hardly an easy place to steal a win. Over Christmas in Puerto Rico, they took down Iowa State and Arkansas after a one-sided, opening-round loss to Michigan, their first of the year.

Murray's three major victims have a 26-13 record.

Coach Mark Gottfried had lobbied since he arrived at Murray to get the Racers into an exempt tournament, but mostly was brushed off. They were invited to Puerto Rico only because Wright State chose to pull out.

"The trip cost us $40,000," Gottfried says. "That's a pretty good hit for us, but when else do we get to play those teams on a neutral court?"

One thing all four schools have in common, a significant ingredient in their impressive starts, is a refusal to sell themselves exclusively as victims.

"Everybody has to do it a little bit at our level, but we have to be selective," Gottfried says. "You're just not going to have a chance to build your program if your're going out and playing four or five games and getting pounded."

With what Princeton's Tigers have in front of them, it's not out of the question they could arrive in March with a 26-1 record with maybe one win against an NCAA Tournament team. It would be interesting to see how high they'd be ranked in that circumstance, and what the selection committee would do with their seeding.

The other three play in conferences more competitive than the Ivy, which has only one other team over the .500 mark. Unlike the Tigers, who need only to win their regular season to get an automatic NCAA bid, Gonzaga, Murray State and UIC have to hope their non-league work impresses the committee should they suffer upsets in conference tournaments.

We've put ourselves in position that if we can continue on, we maybe can force the committee's hand either way," Gottfried says. "Whether we can do that, who knows, because it's awfully difficult to go through your league and lose only one or two.