Sports Chat - March 17, 2008

Union-Tribune writer Jay Posner answered questions from readers during a Monday morning chat session at uniontrib.com/chat.

Jay_Posner(P) Good morning, everyone. I'm here for the next hour to answer your questions on college basketball, and if you want to sneak in something on Sports Media or anything else, I'll do my best to answer.

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srcohn(Q) Good Morning Jay-- Do you think the Kyle Spain "issue" cost the Aztecs a NCAA tourney bid? I know its just speculation but if they had won a few more regular season games to pad the record??

Jay_Posner(A) I think that's an easy argument to make. Not only because the Aztecs probably would have won more regular-season games, but also because it would have made them a better team in the MWC tournament. And a few more wins could have made the difference between NIT and NCAA.

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Jay_Posner(P) I don't want to have to go all Hacksaw on everyone and start begging/demanding questions ("Do I have to type the freaking keyboard myself?''), but there must be something you want to ask.

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diego72(Q) Who do you think has the best shot at making the final four?

Jay_Posner(A) I think UCLA certainly got the easiest draw, although UConn could be a stumbling block. The South is a toss-up between Memphis and Texas; I would favor Texas because they'll be playing in Houston and because Memphis can't shoot free throws. In the East I guess I'd have to go with North Carolina, and in the Midwest I'm leaning toward Kansas. That's a lot of favorites, but those teams were pretty dominant during the season.

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diego72(Q) I'm from Raleigh, and Carolina is my team. What are their chances of actually winning the national championship, and who is their strongest competition?

Jay_Posner(A) I think they'd have to be considered the favorite at this point, especially with their first four games in Raleigh and Charlotte. The teams I mentioned as Final Four teams would be their toughest competition; I'd say UCLA would have the best chance. How great would it be to see Tyler Hansbrough go against Kevin Love in the national title game?

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moderator(Q) The following question was submitted via e-mail by Paul: How do you see Clemson doing in the Tourney ???

Jay_Posner(A) Based on how they played over the weekend, I give them a decent chance to get to the Sweet 16. They should be able to beat Villanova, which got the last at-large berth into the tournament, and then I'd rate their game with Vanderbilt a toss-up. After that, though, they'd probably run into Kansas, so that might be as far as they can go.

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moderator(Q) This question was submitted via e-mail by Jim: Can you add the location of the first and second round sites to your bracket chart on page D10?

Jay_Posner(A) Jim, I had the same thought when I looked at the bracket in the paper this morning. I will make that suggestion to our editors and hopefully they will agree that's a good idea.

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westcoasthoops101(Q) Hey Jay- do you see Bill Grier leaving USD for a bigger conference job? He's apparently been rumored for the Oregon State opening, but I would honestly much rather be at USD if I were him. He has a lot of young talent and the future looks bright. I think leaving Alcala Park would be a big mistake for Grier.

Jay_Posner(A) I guess it depends on your timetable. I'm sure at some point if Grier continues to win, he'll get a good offer from a good school and leave. But I don't see that happening right away. However, I also must say that I don't know Grier, so I can't say for sure what his thoughts on a career path might be. He did stay at Gonzaga for a long time, though, so maybe he'll do the same here. Obviously the longer he stays, the better for USD.

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westcoasthoops101(Q) 2 quick questions- What do you think that USD needs to do to hang around with UConn? Also, do you see Steve Fisher leaving SDSU anytime soon? He's a good coach, but the Aztec program seems quite a bit behind the likes of BYU and UNLV lately. I think a change may need to occur sometime in the next few years. Not to mention the fact that there have been more than a few players with questionable "character" problems to say the least. In my opinion, SDSU would be well served to bring in a young, top assistant from a big program like USD did.

Jay_Posner(A) This sounds simple, but USD needs to make shots. If they can convert from outside, that can nullify UConn's size advantage. But they can't afford for Brandon Johnson to have a game like he did in the first home meeting with Gonzaga, the Big Monday game, where he couldn't make anything. As for the Aztecs, I don't know that SDSU is quite a bit behind those other schools. They were doing well this year before the Spain incident. I think Fisher did an amazing job building this program, and I can see him hanging around for at least a couple more years. It also would help if the wizards at the MWC would take away UNLV's home court advantage in the tournament.

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USD_dancing(Q) why is one of the "west" pods played in tampa, florida where USD has to travel to?

Jay_Posner(A) The NCAA changed the system a few years ago to allow the better teams to play closer to home. So the teams in the same regional don't get together until the Sweet 16. If you're a lower seed, like USD, it often means you get stuck traveling. It's not just the West where this is happening. The East regional, for instance, has pods in Raleigh, Denver and Birmingham before everyone goes to Charlotte.

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westcoasthoops101(Q) I don't really know about other good options for the MWC tourney though. Denver didn't seem to draw a ton of fans, and the best places out here in California or Arizona are a bit far for most MWC teams.

Jay_Posner(A) How about a rotation between the MGM Arena in Vegas and the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, where the Utah Jazz play? UNLV and Utah would have a home-city advantage, but not a home-court advantage. I think that would be the best solution. By the way, San Diego could be part of that rotation if we actually had an arena.

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USD_dancing(Q) I understand the NCAA change to allow better teams play closer to home, but the west pod is the most extreme situation, going coast to coast, don't you think? Charlotte to Denver is not as bad as Phoenix to Tampa. OK another question: why is there such little media coverage of the remarkeable fact USD qualifed in both the men's and women's NCAA tourneys? ESPN ran a story about the Oral Roberts vs. IUUPI finals which is exactly like USD's story, but we get no love? Why?

Jay_Posner(A) The West probably is the worst, since two of the other three pods are in Washington, D.C. As for the lack of publicity, that's a good question. I would think that would have made a nice little story, especially since USD hasn't been a basketball power. Maybe when ESPN moves some of its operations to L.A. next year they'll get a better sense for those kind of stories.

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USD_dancing(Q) You mean Bob Knight doesn't like Bristol, CT? Is UConn beatable? Do they have stereotypical Big East size, if so, how can USD overcome that?

Jay_Posner(A) Someone once said the best thing about Bristol is seeing it in your rearview mirror. I've never heard anyone dispute that, either. UConn is beatable because it hasn't played well lately, splitting its last six games. But the Huskies are big, with a 7-3 center who blocked 4.5 shots a game. USD is going to have shoot well from 3-point range to have a chance. And somehow the Toreros are going to have to find a way not to get killed on the boards.

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Jay_Posner(P) OK, everyone, thanks for the questions. Make sure to check out the U-T and sosd.com all week for coverage of USD's men and women in the NCAA tournament. We'll also be staffing the Anaheim pod.

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