Committee members damned if they Duke, damned if they don't
If Duke beats Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon for the ACC championship, the NCAA Tournament selection committee will be faced with an impossibly delicate decision:
To give -- or not give -- the ACC a trio of No. 1 seeds.
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| Coach Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils are resented like no other team. (Getty Images) |
Anyway ...
The West Coast has the most attractive alternative to an Illinois-and-ACC top line in the 2005 NCAA bracket. That alternative is Washington (27-5), which has been floating under the No. 1 radar for reasons unknown here. The Huskies' résumé is vastly superior to Kentucky's, and is slightly better than that of Kansas and Oklahoma State -- and that won't change if Kentucky wins the SEC and Oklahoma State wins the Big 12.
But is Washington's résumé superior to that of Duke (24-5)? That's the question the committee will have to answer. Both teams have five losses. Both teams, if Duke wins Sunday, will have won their league tournament. If Duke loses to Georgia Tech, the question is moot. The debate might continue between Washington and a group including Kansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State, but Duke will drop from the picture.
But if Duke beats Georgia Tech ...
It'll be prickly. Duke isn't accustomed to being a sympathetic figure, but if the Blue Devils are beaten out by Washington -- or anyone else, for that matter -- for that last No. 1 seed, they will have reason to believe it's an anti-ACC thing.
North Carolina has to be a No. 1 seed. So does Illinois. Wake Forest, despite its loss to North Carolina State in the ACC quarters -- a loss that came with Deacons All-American Chris Paul suspended, a factor the committee will consider -- still looks like the third No. 1 seed.
That leaves Duke and Washington. Washington is No. 5 in the RPI, Duke No. 6.
Washington has a better record against the RPI Top 100 -- 17-4 to Duke's 15-4 -- but Duke has a better record against the RPI Top 50 (6-2 to Washington's 7-4). Both are 5-2 against the RPI Top 25. If Duke wins Sunday, it will be 7-3 in its past 10. Washington is 8-2.
These résumés are close -- this close.
Washington has beaten Arizona twice, plus high seeds Oklahoma, Alabama and Utah. Wow.
