ESPN analyst thinks Tigers, Phoenix are victims of big-school bias


ESPN.com’s very capable women’s college basketball writer, Graham Hays, sees dark motives in the NCAA tournament selection committee’s seeding decisions: It’s all about maintaining the Power 5 conference monopoly. As evidence he points to matching two of the very best “mid majors,” — Princeton and a certain team well known to people here at UW-Green Bay — in an 8 vs. 9 first-round game. One of them will be sent home on opening day, sparing at least one major-conference team the trauma of having had to face a scrappy outsider. That’s Hays’ theory, anyway. Not sure we believe it… although, now that he’s raised the issue… the six other No. 8 and 9 seeds in the field who could have been possible opponents for either the Tigers or Phoenix are Big Ten, Big East, Big Ten, Big East, Big Ten, ACC schools. Read the Hays article. Of course, the bracket as designed also ensures a spot in the Round of 32 for either Princeton or UWGB, so who knows? In any event… Go Phoenix!