Emmert has promised action once the Commission on College Basketball releases its reportGetty Images
The NCAA men's and women's tournaments "treated us to a three-week bender's worth of fun," but the "seedy side of college basketball will again be front and center" later this month, according to Nancy Armour of USA TODAY. The Commission on College Basketball on April 25 is slated to present its "recommendations on reforming the game" (USA TODAY, 4/3). The AP's Eddie Pells noted NCAA President Mark Emmert has "promised action" once the commission headed by Condoleezza Rice releases its report and recommendations. But Emmert has stated that he would "not support anything truly game-changing." Pells noted at risk is the game of college basketball itself and, "most notably, the future of a tournament that shows, time and again, exactly why the sport is worth saving." The MVP award for this year's NCAA Tournament "may as well have gone to a 98-year-old nun, Sister Jean," while the event was "turned upside-down" with the first 16 vs. 1 upset. Pells: "The sport is overdue for a good scrubbing. But if, someday, everyone really is playing by the same rules, will that ruin the event we love?" (AP, 4/2).
AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Villanova last night claimed its second national title in three years, and SI.com's Andy Staples writes Villanova coach Jay Wright has "built a sustainable machine that mixes NBA-ready talent with developmental projects who may themselves grow into NBA-ready talent." The small-ball system Villanova employs has "become the envy of college hoops because it has proven capable of winning big even without one-and-done talent" (SI.com, 4/3). In DC, Jerry Brewer writes, "Be like Villanova? Yes, slimy college basketball peers, be like the Wildcats." Villanova's run "amounts to the most inspiring multiyear example of an unselfish championship culture and exquisite roster construction" college basketball has seen since Florida won back-to-back titles in '06-07. Villanova is "just the eighth school to win at least two NCAA men's basketball championships in a three-season span." They did it with a "style that defies the one-and-done, go-for-your-money, quick-fix, build-an-instant-contender mentality that now haunts college basketball" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/3). THE ATHLETIC's Dana O'Neil writes Villanova is "actually better than a blue blood." They are "now the preeminent program in college basketball." Wright's culture "seemed quaint, a respite from the reality of the sport." Now it is "proven to be not just self-sustaining but wildly successful" (THEATHLETIC.com, 4/3).
ENOUGH TO MOVE THE NEEDLE? FS1's Jason Whitlock noted women's basketball is "trending up" and said, "I could make an argument that we might, 20 years from now, be talking about, ‘Remember when (Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale) hit back-to-back buzzer beaters to beat UConn and then Mississippi State?'" Whitlock: "That may have been the moment that women’s college basketball started gaining real traction. ... I do think they captured our attention with this Final Four" ("Speak For Yourself," FS1, 4/2). In DC, Deron Snyder writes the women's Final Four "produced two overtimes, two buzzer-beating game-winners, and countless displays of skill, athleticism and resiliency." The action was "compelling and thoroughly enjoyable." Snyder: "I'm glad I decided to watch." But Snyder writes as much as he "enjoyed the weekend action," he does not "anticipate much change" in his viewing habits. Snyder: "Women's basketball is unlikely to earn a larger slice of my free time" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/3).
