Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER SEATTLE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The face value of an NCAA Final Four ticket this weekend at the Kingdome is $70, but you won't find one for that price.
How does $500 for both sessions sound? Or, you can call Phil, advertising in Wednesday's Seattle Post-Intelligencer. For two Final Four seats, he will trade four seats to two Sonics' NBA games or a week in an Arizona condo.
OK, the best road to the Final Four may be to become a coach. Of course, that also may be the road to high blood pressure.
However, one reason the NCAA Tournament's last three games have become such a tough ticket is because it's a coaches show.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches holds its convention in conjunction with the Final Four annually. The coaches have almost one-fourth of the 38,600 Kingdome seats this weekend.
The general public had access to 9,460 seats, through a lottery last April. That's about the same number the coaches get, and it's much better than last year, which is better than next year.
So, what happens to the rest of the seats? Each of the competing schools in the Final Four get 3,500. The local organizing committee took 4,000. The NCAA's corporate partners and staff share about 2,000.
Each of the 302 schools with Division I men's basketball programs may purchase between eight and 12 tickets, depending on recent NCAA Tournament success. If a school has made the tournament in the past six years, it has access to 12. If not, eight.
Some numbers:
Last year, the NCAA received a record 533,193 ticket requests from 267,498 applications. The 23,000-seat Charlotte Coliseum had only 2,014 seats available for the public.
This year, the lottery applications dropped to 98,886 for 197,114 tickets, and the Kingdome has 9,460 available. Next year, in the last scheduled Final Four in a ``traditional'' basketball arena, everyone will really be squeezed.
At the 20,000-seat Meadowlands in New Jersey, only about 1,000 tickets will be available through the public lottery. Each of the 302 schools may purchase only two apiece. The four semifinal teams will get 2,800 each.
Starting in 1997, the Final Four is scheduled through 2002, only in domes: the RCA (formerly Hoosier) Dome in Indianapolis in '97 and 2000, the Alamodome in San Antonio (1998), the ThunderDome in St. Petersburg, Fla. (1999), the Metrodome in Minneapolis (2001) and Atlanta's Georgia Dome (2002).
WELL-HEELED: North Carolina is a two-point favorite over Arkansas in the Final Four nightcap Saturday, and you won't find much debate on that line from Virginia.
After Sunday's Midwest Regional final loss to the defending champion Razorbacks, several Cavaliers said they thought the Tar Heels were a better team than Arkansas.
``I just think Carolina is more talented,'' said senior forward Jason Williford in the UVa locker room at Kemper Arena. ``It's close, but I've got to go with the ACC.
``I think [UNC] center Rasheed Wallace causes problems inside for Arkansas. For a center, [Dwight] Stewart doesn't play that much inside for Arkansas. I'm not sure he can defend down there.
``[UNC's Jerry] Stackhouse and Corliss [Williamson, the Hogs' star] is an even matchup. I think the Arkansas guards, [Corey] Beck and [Clint] McDaniel get in foul trouble too much.
``Carolina isn't as deep as Arkansas, but Carolina has a better first five. and if Arkansas goes to that 2-3 zone like against us, Donald Williams, Stackhouse and [Dante] Calabria could kill them with 3s.''
COACHSPEAK: The coaches began trickling into their Seattle Sheraton Convention headquarters Wednesday, and the No.1 topic of lobby discussion was Jerry Tarkanian's position as front-runner for the Fresno State job.
Other speculation? How about Stan Van Gundy, fired after sending a good Wisconsin program under .500, being interviewed at Duquesne, where the candidates also include Drexel's Bill Herrion and Fran Fraschilla of Manhattan.
Former Indiana guard Steve Alford, who guided Manchester (Ind.) to a 30-1 record and the Division III title game, has been interviewed at Southwest Missouri State ... and the lobbying in the lobby is just beginning.
AW, SHOOT: Supposedly defense wins championships, but shooting will get you places, too. North Carolina, Oklahoma State and UCLA rank 2-3-4 nationally in the nation in field-goal percentage and are among the eight (of 302) Division I teams that entered the NCAA. Arkansas is hitting .456, which is not in the top 50. However, in 10 straight NCAA wins, the defending champion Razorbacks have allowed only one team to shoot better than 45 percent - Syracuse, .500 in this year's second-round game.
DRIBBLES: A No.4 regional seed never has won the national championship, giving Oklahoma State, which emerged with that number from the East bracket, another potential distinction. ... North Carolina's fifth Final Four trip in 15 years also gives the ACC 11 national semifinal appearances in the 11 years since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985. That's five more than any other conference.
by CNB