Walking around the ballroom at Midtown’s JW Marriott — where the broadcasters for the NCAA Tournament were gathered — one could find all levels of college hoops obsession.
From Charles Barkley asking a reporter which teams were in the Big East to Doug Gottlieb expounding on the fall of the Missouri Valley Conference. One thing shared by all was a distinct opinion on unbeaten Wichita State.
Greg Anthony, who is replacing Clark Kellogg on the Final Four announcing team and joining Steve Kerr and Jim Nantz, can relate to the team’s situation. Anthony was part of the 1991 UNLV team that entered the tournament undefeated, staying that way until being stunned by Duke in the national title game.
“They could be the best team in the country. Florida is in that conversation, too,” Anthony said. “Any time you go through a season with a bull’s-eye on your back it is extremely difficult. And it’s not as if this is some team no one knew about it. This is a team that went to the Final Four a season ago, Gregg Marshall’s done an unbelievable job, and they have next-level talent on this squad.”
But some doubt the Shockers’ credentials playing out of the MVC and whose biggest win of the season came over St. Louis.
“A lot of people, and I am not one of them, have doubted them being a No. 1 seed saying their strength of schedule isn’t good enough, so they aren’t that good. So, they’ll get extra motivation from that,” Anthony said.
Enter Gottlieb. The CBS Sports college basketball analyst is perhaps the most outspoken of Wichita State’s detractors. Gottlieb doesn’t question their talent, just their place among the best teams in the country.
Though most have 34-0 Wichita State as a No. 1 seed, Gottlieb said he believes they deserve a No. 3.
“It’s JV basketball compared to the other leagues,” the former Oklahoma State guard said. “They are playing against inferior competition.
“Had Syracuse or Kansas played the exact same teams, what would we be saying? All these people saying Wichita State is a 1 seed, how many of them are going to pick them to win a national championship? How many of them are going to put them in the Final Four?”
It’s this kind of debate — along with the bubble talk — that makes the NCAA Tournament March Madness.
We will find out the selection committee’s conclusions on Sunday night when the field of 68 is announced. Florida and Arizona are considered locks to join Wichita State on the top line with a group of others having a chance to claim the final No. 1 seed with a conference tournament title.
We also will find out soon how far Wichita State can keep its impressive run going. Kerr said it will not be as easy as last year when the Shockers advanced to the Final Four and led eventual champion Louisville in the second half.
“The real question with Wichita State is the change from being the Cinderella to being the favorite,” Kerr said. “It’s a lot easier to play in the tournament as the underdog and now you play as the undefeated team trying to match the Indiana team of 1976 [the last undefeated team]. A lot of pressure now, as opposed to last year where they were just kind of on a fun ride and seemed like they were loose and that’s a big adjustment to make.”