Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503100073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Medium
The Hokies don't plan on taking any chances today against Southern Mississippi in the first round of the Metro Conference tournament at Freedom Hall.
``The way I look at it,'' said Tech junior guard Shawn Good, ``we'd better win.
``Hey, we all remember last year when they [NCAA and NIT selection committees] both left us out. We can't rely on them. We don't want to leave it up to anybody but ourselves.''
Fourth-seeded Tech (20-9) and No. 5 Southern Miss (15-11) tip off the tournament at noon. In other first-round matchups, No. 3 Tulane (21-8) faces No. 6 South Florida (16-10) at 2 p.m., and No. 2 Louisville (16-13) meets No. 7 Virginia Commonwealth (16-13) at 7 p.m.
Heading into the Metro's final tournament - Tech is joining the Atlantic-10, VCU is going to the Colonial Athletic Association and the other five schools are merging into a new league - the most-asked question here is how many Metro teams will make the NCAA field.
Although the Metro finished the regular season rated third among all conferences in the Rating Percentage Index, there is much debate over just how much that means.
Last year, the Metro was rated fourth in league RPI, yet still sent only one team to the NCAA - Louisville, which got an automatic bid for winning the league tournament. The Metro got no at-large berths.
The number heard most this year is three - the tournament winner plus two at-large spots.
With regular-season champion UNC Charlotte considered a strong bet to already be in the field, that leaves only two spots for three teams - Tech, Tulane and Louisville - provided none of the long shots wins the tournament.
``I think we should have four in,'' said Bill Foster, Tech's coach. ``The Metro had four [teams] four years ago, and the league from top to bottom is tougher now.
``Who knows? Maybe we won't get four. It would be very hard for me to understand how we couldn't get three. It should be a lock for UNCC, Virginia Tech and Tulane at this point. But for any of us, the only sure way is to win the tournament.''
M.K. Turk, Southern Mississippi's coach, isn't as confident as Foster when it comes to the Metro and the NCAA.
``I think UNCC and Tulane have bids already wrapped up,'' Turk said. ``And I think if somebody else wins the tournament, we'll get three [bids]. If Virginia Tech or Louisville get to the finals, they'll probably get in.
``I don't put a lot of stock in that RPI stuff, though. I don't know how much the [selection] committee looks at the RPI. They talk a good game about the numbers, but there's got to be a mystery involved when a conference is ranked as high as we were last year and got only one team in.''
Louisville, despite playing its usual tough schedule, appears to be in the most dire straits. The Cardinals may have only one chance - win three games in three days on their home floor.
However, Cards coach Denny Crum said he thinks his club will get a bid if it wins only one or two games.
``With 17-18 wins against the country's seventh most difficult schedule, I don't know how they couldn't put us in there,'' Crum said.
The Hokies, who have the highest RPI rating (27th nationally) of any Metro team, can make things much easier, Foster said, ``by taking care of business here.''
Tech has that chance against USM, the only club it swept during the regular season. Tech won both meetings by 15 points, 87-72 in Hattiesburg and 76-61 in Blacksburg.
``The trifecta, that's what we need. We've got to get 'em again,'' Tech forward David Jackson said.
``We want three wins, not one. I don't think anybody here will be happy if we don't win the tournament.''
The Golden Eagles enter the tournament with a season-high three-game losing streak. But Southern Miss is dangerous, Foster said.
``Our guys have a lot of respect for them,'' Foster said. ``Both of those weren't 15-point games. They were in both games until we spread it out at the end.
``They can run about nine guys at you. They're the best offensive rebounding team in the league, bar none. Their best offense is getting it on the glass and going and getting it.''
Tech must hold its own on the boards and keep USM firing away from outside. The Golden Eagles are the worst shooting team in the Metro (42.4 percent). In their last two losses, guards Kelly McCarty and Damien Smith combined to hit only seven of 38 shots.
Keywords:
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by CNB