Chasm divides low, high seeds

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Mar 21, 2008 by DAVID RAMSEY Sports columnist

DENVER

- Scott Sutton stared at the shiny wooden court as he walked slowly to a halftime talk with his Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. The coach had crashed into a sad, obvious fact.

His team did not belong on this court -- the one he was staring at -- with the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Sure, the NCAA Tournament offers thrills and surprises, but it also bores us with ridiculous mismatches.

That was the case Thursday at the Pepsi Center when Pittsburgh's Panthers mauled Oral Roberts 82-63.

If you witnessed this disaster of a basketball game, please accept my condolences. It was a long, excruciating afternoon. Watching the snow melt in your backyard would have offered more drama.

The Golden Eagles are proud they've traveled to the NCAA Tournament three straight seasons as representatives of something called the Summit League.

Here's the catch: The Eagles have fallen by a total of 51 points in those three losses. They don't belong here.

No way Oral Roberts ranks among the nation's top 64 teams. Syracuse and Arizona State and New Mexico and a dozen other teams that missed the tournament would crunch the Eagles.

Yes, the underdog sometimes stuns a traditional power. In 2006, No. 11 seed George Mason roared all the way to the Final Four.

But for every George Mason, there are a dozen teams like Oral Roberts. Sometimes, those oh-so darling tournament Cinderella types suffer from a rather pressing problem -- they can't shoot or defend.

Pittsburgh competes in the deep, ruthless, 16-team Big East, which shaves off four teams from its 12-team conference tournament. Oral Roberts wouldn't even play in the Big East Tournament.

Pittsburgh star Sam Young was calmly eating a ham sandwich in his locker room after the game. He arrived at Pepsi Center, he said, expecting a battle. After all, this is the fabled NCAA Tournament.

"I think they would finish somewhere near the bottom of the Big East," Young said. "I thought they would come out more ready."

In the past 15 years, the line dividing college basketball's haves and have-nots has blurred. Used to be, even the biggest stars - - Alonzo Mourning, Tim Duncan -- stayed in school four years.

Not anymore.

Michael Beasley of Kansas State ripped through the Big 12 as a freshman. He was the most exciting, most talented player in the college game.

Barring a miracle, he'll soon transport his excitement and talent to the NBA. With Beasley, Kansas State would have been mighty. Without him, the Wildcats will be rebuilding.

The NBA embarks on merciless raids of the best college teams. These quick strikes drain the college elite and allow unknown teams from obscure conferences to receive long, happy rides in the NCAA Tournament.

But don't be deceived. Yes, there are occasional shocking plot lines, but March Madness remains pretty sensible.

Pittsburgh spent the winter battling against the Georgetown Hoyas and the Connecticut Huskies. These battles exposed every weakness and forced the Panthers to evolve into the nasty team on display Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Oral Roberts fought against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos. In the end, it was simple. The Golden Eagles weren't prepared for this challenge.

A few minutes after his team's surrender, Sutton seemed dazed. He sat, staring at game statistics.

"Someone is going to have to play awfully well to beat them," he said.

Coach, someone is going to have to play an awful lot better than your Golden Eagles.

Columnist David Ramsey can be

reached at 476-4895 or david.ramsey@gazette.com.

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Ramsey Says What? at

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