Adam Glatczak writes the "Wednesday Onions" column for CollegeHoopsnet.  Bookmark the "Wednesday Onions" homepage and come back each week!

Onions

Maybe it says something about how boring the non-conference season has become with the lack of upsets of ranked teams. Maybe it’s an indication of the level of play in Division I. For whatever reason, though, the big story so far this year has been, of all things, the number of upsets by supposedly inferior non-Division I teams.

We’ve seen Fisk U. beat lowly Tennessee State-for the second year in a row. No huge deal there considering how bad TSU has been. But you also had both Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage winning a pair of games against D-I schools in their Thanksgiving tourneys and macho NAIA team Cedarville beating Wright State. Now we’re warming up.

We have an unknown NAIA school, Lubbock Christian, beating Bradley and Rhode Island, both on the road. Heck, both of those schools could be in the NCAA tourney in March. Then, there’s Chaminade beating a depleted but still dangerous Villanova team, Virginia Union beating Norfolk State and Emmanuel over Citadel.

The kickers came last week, when two of last year’s NCAA teams lost at home. Christian Brothers, another Division II school, beat Troy State with only eight of its 15 players traveling to the game, and just a week after the Trojans had went to San Diego State and walloped a very good Aztecs team. And earlier in the week, Williams, a pseudo-Ivy League Division III school, went to Holy Cross and showed the Crusaders that the defending Division III champs can beat D-I competition, too.

Now, in the past, we might have maybe one or two upsets a season where, say, Howard Payne beat a second division Southland Conference school or one of the dregs of Division I. Not any time in recent memory have we had so many upsets, and of such good teams. In fact, the only season that even compares to this was 1988-89, when UC Riverside and Alaska-Anchorage beat top 10 teams Iowa and Michigan, respectively.

The sheer number of upsets in 2003, though, trumps that, so naturally one has to wonder why so many? You can’t just blame it all on the ol’ “we didn’t come to play” excuse. Heck, even Troy State benefited from the type of home cooking normally despised here-the Trojans were whistled for just seven fouls to the Bucs’ 17, and still couldn’t win!

What the heck is going on here?

Well, there are only so many conclusions one can draw from these types of games because, of course, they aren’t on TV and it’s kind of hard to be at all of them. But we’ll try to analyze the data that is available.

One reason there are more of these type of upsets is that there are simply more of these games being played. With so many schools afraid to play anybody on the road out of conference, you’re finding a number of middle and lower level Division I schools having to go outside Division I to find a home game.

And you can’t exactly blame them; if Oklahoma can bring in Arkansas-Pine Bluff solely for money and a guaranteed win, what’s wrong with Appalachian State playing Piedmont, just to get a home game before January? These schools also know that even a win over Nicholls State hurts the RPI a lot more than a loss to Fisk. They know that lower division opponents don’t count in the RPI, so it’s almost an even-money proposition with the risk usually no greater than the reward.

Exempted tournaments also play a role in scheduling. While the NCAA still has its idiotic 2-in-4 rule in place, the number of Division I schools eligible for these tourneys is going to remain slim. As long as these tourneys are able to survive, though, (which unfortunately won’t be for long) teams like Lubbock Christian will get chances they otherwise wouldn’t. In fact, LCU never would’ve been in the Las Vegas Invitational if UTEP and another school hadn’t backed out late. They came in no doubt intended to play punching bag, and left as co-champions.

More important than scheduling, though, is that some of these teams pulling upsets are just good. Christian Brothers is 9-0 this year; Williams is on a 25-game winning streak, and Anchorage has averaged more than a win a season in the Great Alaska Shootout. Fairbanks has also become a D-II power, and Lubbock Christian plays in a very tough NAIA league. This isn’t DeVry Institute or FIT these teams are playing.

Which leads into the main point: perhaps the talent at some of these schools is simply better than anyone wants to acknowledge. You need to ignore all those blowhards who say there is an ocean’s difference between a Division I and II, III or NAIA team. It’s simply not always true. So many good players fall through the cracks in the recruiting process, and it just happens some land outside of Division I.

Here in Wisconsin, we see it all the time. A number of players in the state are probably good enough to go to a lower level D-I school if they look hard enough or if the schools find them. However, Wisconsin also features very competitive Division III sports programs. Wisconsin State Universities Conference schools traditionally beat Division II scholarship programs, and many in state stay at these schools or else go to Division II schools in the Midwest, and are usually successful. If it can happen in Wisconsin,

Lower level schools also don’t always have to deal with the constant roster turnover that is increasingly plaguing Division I schools. Continuity can absolutely help even out any differences in athletic ability, and that’s why you can’t say a Williams is less talented than Holy Cross. Obviously, the Ephmen are indeed pretty talented; they won the Division III title last year and were able to go on the road and take apart a team that made the Division I NCAAs last season.

It should have been proven years ago by the number of city playground legends who have tried and failed in college basketball that one-on-one play and athletic ability don’t guarantee wins. As college basketball becomes more and more about these aspects and as more players keep leaving early and transferring out of schools, we will continue to see more teams get upended. It may make some of us start to wonder where the talent really is.

-If they had the right school names, their game would be getting regular play as an ‘Instant Classic’ on ESPN Classic this week. As it is, UNC-Charlotte and Old Dominion had to play a dandy Saturday that will likely be enjoyed only once by those who saw it. That’s just fine, sometimes the best treasures are the ones that remain hidden, and this game was one. UNCC beat the Monarchs, 105-102, in double overtime, but only because Brendan Plavich hit one of his ridiculous fall away threes at the buzzer to give the 49ers a hard-earned win. ODU led big in the first half, but Charlotte came back big in the second half, and the game only got to overtime because the Monarchs rallied from eight down in the final two minutes, no thanks to some awful free throw shooting by UNCC. We won’t go there too much, but we will say it’s a shame Old Dominion lost despite Alex Loughton’s 45 points and 15 rebounds. The sophomore was positively in the zone, hitting 17 of 23 shots and all five threes he attempted. Loughton may be breaking out as one of the best players in the Colonial Athletic Association-he also had 23 against St. Joseph’s earlier this year. It was also the second overtime game in three days for 1-3 ODU; the CAA school beat Virginia Tech in extra time two nights earlier.

-Also in the CAA, George Mason could be a heck of a team this year if it could just play second halves against ACC teams. The Patriots have outplayed both Maryland and North Carolina for more than 20 minutes on the road, only to fall apart in the second stanza. Those first halves were not mirages-Mason is better than that and needs to keep its composure. Once UNC and Maryland started on rolls in those games, it was as if GMU just threw its hands in the air and said “It’s over” and lost all confidence. Nobody is going to say George Mason is one of the top three teams in the ACC, but the Patriots have a solid, experienced lineup and have an excellent shot at winning the CAA if they stay healthy. They’ve also proven in the past that they don’t back down easily. Don’t hand off the “wore them down” line; Mason was there in both games, and the scores of the losses (79-64 vs. Maryland, 115-81 vs. North Carolina) are not indicative one bit of how good this team can be.

-Providence’s win over Illinois was pretty nice, but we’re not going to proclaim the Friars top 25 material just yet. Remember, PC lost at Rhode Island a few days earlier. If you wanted to play devil’s advocate, you could point out that Lubbock Christian did beat URI on its homecourt. Seriously, Providence is a very good team (it almost had to be this year, with all that experience returning) and we know that LCU is good and the Rams have been waiting forever to get the Friars at home, so that’s really not a bad loss. But still…

-I know Georgia is supposed to struggle this year, but Winthrop beating UGa on the road last night, 80-60, is still an eye-opener. Remember, the ‘Dogs did almost beat Gonzaga. Look out Big South Conference, it looks like the Eagles’ reign resumes this year, and considering the league’s spot on the veritable college hoops food chain, their stability is incredible. Credit to coach Gregg Marshall, who built this program and has stuck around to maintain it. It’s amazing Marshall hasn’t left Winthrop yet for a “better” job.

-Gonzaga continued to impress with its offensive arsenal, winning the BB&T (or something) Classic by beating Maryland and George Washington. For that, we figured the Bulldogs would drop out of the coaches’ poll, but they actually moved up. Go figure. But how about those two less-touted schools in that tourney? GW sure looked like it’s better than an Atlantic 12 bottom feeder in beating West Virginia and pushing GU to the limit. The Colonials could be a borderline NCAA team, more likely NIT though, if they can continue their play in the A-12. Meanwhile, WVU beat Maryland, bombing away from three and leaving the Terps 0-2 in the tourney. John Beilein is going to get it done there, it’s just a matter of time. He already has them pulling a few big upsets a year.

-N.C. State snuck by UW-Milwaukee Sunday night, but Bruce Pearl’s Panthers are pretty impressive when you take into account how young this UWM team is. Six of the top eight? Players from last year’s team departed, leaving Pearl with an inexperienced team that playing a tough schedule that he has admitted is focused on helping the team win the Horizon League tourney, not an at-large bid. Dylan Page was absolutely anonymous when he went to UW-Milwaukee, but he could be an All-American candidate next year, and new scorers Joah Tucker and Ed McCants are filling it up early on. Tucker is particularly impressive inside. The Panthers led the Wolfpack for a long time Sunday, and playing that well on the road against a good team early in the season is a sign UWM will still be a force in the Horizon. Oh, and give credit to N.C. State for playing this game. This is one Herb Sendek easily could’ve pulled a skip (Prosser) job and avoided, but he challenged his team and it will pay off more than the media will ever let it be known. Teams like UWM are the kind State could well be playing in the postseason, so this was a great test for the Pack.

-All right, I really want to let this subject die, but when I hear coaches addressing it after games I can’t ignore it. The home cooking going on in these non-conference games is terrible and is reaching NBA levels of absurdity. Last night the victim was Temple, as John Chaney’s team was on the bad end of a 27-16 foul differential (among other things) in Arizona State’s 70-66 win. It was a shame for the young Owls, who played a terrific game and were one step ahead of the Sun Devils the whole way, despite their youth, despite losing starting forward Antywane Robinson less than two minutes into the game with an ankle injury and despite the fact that three of nine players (actually eight after Robinson’s injury) fouled out and a fourth had four fouls. The Owls were amazingly resilient every time Arizona State made a run. It really was a fantastic game, and ASU deserves credit for making the plays in the end and not playing that bad, either, but yes, it was a Pac-10 officiating crew, and Chaney apparently blew up big time at the post-game press conference.

This is not an attempt to push another conspiracy theory. I actually believe that most reasonable sports fans realize players decide games, not officials. However, there’s no reason why we still shouldn’t be demanding fair work in non-conf. games. Anything less is unacceptable. You don’t see these questions about officiating on such a widespread basis in any other spectator sport in this country. Sure, some will always gripe about calls in any football or baseball game, but the beefs usually blow over quickly and are rarely realistic worries about bias.

College basketball’s credibility is going to follow the NBA right down the toilet if this continues. (It still boggles my mind that a professional sports league can almost brag about star players and teams getting all the calls when a backup center can’t pivot without being called for a foul and a travel at the same time.) I am not an official, but as an impartial fan it isn’t asking too much to expect at least the impression that games are being called evenly. In what other sport is it so accepted that home teams get “the calls” as it seems to be in college and pro b-ball? Maybe college football, but we know how credible that sport is right now. It’s time to require all officials in non-conference games be from neutral leagues. It’s a blow to the legitimacy of a sport when bias or even its perception is tolerated. You think those Laker conspiracy theories make the NBA better?

-The Mid-American Conference often deserves 2-3 bids to the NCAA Tournament and gets stiffed, but this year likely won’t be one of those years. The MAC has struggled out of conference, posting an o.k. 31-28 record as of Tuesday but losing a number of winnable games. Just last Saturday, Bowling Green was bombed at home by Northwestern, Northern Illinois blew one and lost to Iowa, and a not-bad Eastern Michigan team lost a winnable game against Illinois State. Also, a Ball State team that won its opening two games against Xavier and Butler went on the road and lost to less-than imposing Wright State. The MAC has and will still have its moments this year (hooray for Central Michigan going on the road and shocking Notre Dame…bet the Irish didn’t expect that the year after Chris Kaman went to the NBA), but unless someone goes buck wild on a winning streak in conference, it will be one team only from this forever underrated league.

Incidentally, Iowa was on the beneficial end of a 29-16 foul difference in this game and shot 41 free throws to the Huskies’ 16. Again, those stats speak for themselves and are disturbing, but you won’t hear too much carping here. NIU had plenty of chances to win this game, building a 13-point lead in the second half. However, the Huskies were way too stagnant on offense, particularly from outside, and didn’t play well in the second half. This was a game Northern easily could have won if it had played even decent; as they did, though, the door was open for the Hawkeyes, and Iowa took advantage of it.

-Okay, we know that it’s the easiest thing in the world to take shots at the BCS. We’re not going to stoop to that level, because it would be unoriginal and repetitive.

Yeah, right.

I won’t go into all the details of why it’s a sham, but I must admit it is a profound morbid pleasure watching college football’s supposed system for determining a national champion puke on itself. I enjoy college football and I always enjoyed the bowl system (at least until it started letting pitiful 6-6 teams into bowls ahead of 10-2 teams), but the BCS has pretty much devalued both institutions and is earning its richly-deserved reputation as a joke. Even the normally opinion-reserved Chris Berman took a shot at it Sunday night during ESPN’s NFL game, saying the BCS should actually be called the “BSC.”

Contrary to what others think, yes, the old system WAS indeed better than the BCS. No, you didn’t always get the supposed top two teams, but 1) we’ve firmly proven the BCS doesn’t do that, either and 2) you also didn’t have to work so hard to screw it up. Besides, there was always something special about how New Year’s Day games all meant so much years ago, how a team that was number four could go to number one in a day like Miami did in the 1983 season. In that unintended way, the BCS actually worked: it got USC and Michigan together in the Rose Bowl-as it should be-and now has given the championship-obsessed two games to pay attention to instead of one, though you can count me as one who doesn’t care if there’s a clear-cut top team. It really isn’t that big a deal, more a product of sports writers wanting a free trip to tropical locations in January than an essential human need. A playoff isn’t going to save the environment, get us out of Iraq or make us all rich, and as former Kansas State coach Jim Dickey once said, “there’s nothing wrong with two schools thinking they’re number one.”

Of course, as is intimated here too frequently and as King Kaufman pointed out in one of his excellent commentaries on Salon.com, it needs to be remembered that the real goal of the BCS isn’t to produce a national champion, but to consolidate power (money) and finances (money) in college sports among six conferences, in conjunction with these bowl games. Which makes it all the more hilarious to watch the BCS fall on its face. You can’t help but think that somehow this is a punishment for these schools’ greed.

-By the way, one other college football thought: why is the popular opinion that the conferences that aren’t having the championship games are wrong? Some are saying the system is unfair right now because not every conference has a worthless title game and that those that don’t have one should be forced to. Never mind the fact that no one ever mandated these league to play these games in the first place. Oklahoma, Kansas State and a number of other teams in past years have been burnt by the conference championship game after a super regular season, and that is the price you pay for over-expanding and having these extra games. Leagues should always be playing round-robin schedules and almost never should have more than 10 teams, and if you do, you’re subjecting yourself to trouble.

-Watched a fun game Monday night. In the only game anyone could find on a minidish, Long Island and Sacred Heart played in a Northeast Conference game. The homestanding Pioneers had control throughout, but the Blackbirds came back from a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes to tie it with nine seconds left. Sacred Heart pushed the ball down the court and missed a shot but the ball went out of bounds with just over a second left. On the inbound, SHU’s Kibwe Trim snuck free and laid the ball in at the buzzer to beat LIU, 89-87. The Pioneer win spoiled a great game by LIU’s fantastic Finn with a name that rolls off the tongue, Esa Maki-Tulokas (no relation to former Edmonton Oilers hockey great Esa Tikkanen). Maki-Tulokas had 25 points and 13 boards.

-Murray State’s hot start has received a fair amount of press, but it deserves more here. Last week, the Racers picked up two more impressive wins when they beat TCU and Western Kentucky, both on the road. If you saw the first half of TCU’s game against Kansas, you saw how tough the Horned Frogs can potentially be at home, so that is a better win than many think for Murray. Upcoming games against Southern Illinois, Pittsburgh and Louisville are going to tell us even more about this team, which has found a perfect fit in coach Mick Cronin. It’s also a good thing for the Ohio Valley Conference that Murray State is stepping up, because otherwise this preseason has been something of a flop for the league. Both Morehead State and Austin Peay brought back strong, experienced teams this year, and both have been unable to beat anybody good. Morehead has lost to the two best teams on its sked in Marshall and George Mason, and neither of those teams are murderers’ row. APSU lost winnable games against Memphis, Alabama and didn’t look the best doing it. There was also a loss to Belmont. Only a win over Evansville lets the Govs even think about trumping Morehead State, but considering the team returned five starters, Austin Peay is a particular disappointment early on.

Audibles

Whoops! Contrary to what was implied last week, looks like those Division III schools can beat D-I schools…eh Holy Cross?

Games you can’t or won’t watch but should

Light schedules this week, as schools free up some time for players to study for finals (yes, apparently they really do this). Not many games scheduled, and I swear 60% of Saturday’s games involve non-Division I opponents. Uh-oh…

Wednesday

Wichita State at Kansas State. After losing to Boston College, this is a game the Shockers almost need to win.

Butler at Bradley. Bradley let one get away, blowing a 20-point lead at DePaul on Sunday. Just think, if they win that and if they’d beaten Lubbock Christian (there’s the Chaps, again), the Braves are unbeaten.

Nebraska at Creighton. It’s a Missouri Valley Conference Wednesday. The MVC will find out quite a bit tonight about how it measures up nationally. The Huskers are improved this year, and this will be a sellout at the 15,000-seat Qwest Center where CU now plays. Years ago ESPN used to show games like this, before it got caught up in showing the same teams 15 times a season.

Saturday

Missouri at Gonzaga. CBS finally concedes that teams outside the BCS conferences or C-USA can play on their network during the regular season. I’m probably wrong, but the last time I remember a team from outside those leagues on the Eye network was Coppin State against Arizona in a regional game in 1997.

Central Michigan at Purdue. The Chippewas earned this mention after winning at Notre Dame last week. Purdue’s a little tougher at home, though, particularly how it shoots the ball in Mackey Arena.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Wisconsin. The Badgers may well end up the best in the Big 10 yet. Not a particular fan of these recent UW teams (Bo Ryan’s clubs are uglier to watch than Dick Bennett’s) but I’m not sure why the Badgers are any less a conference fave than any other team.

Princeton at Rutgers. An underrated rivalry, and the Tigers win more than their share.

Buffalo at Niagara. The Bulls are actually showing signs of becoming a legit D-I program, much to the MAC’s delight. Purple Eagles remain a team to watch.

Butler at Indiana. Young Bulldogs are going through some struggles this year, as are the Hoosiers.

Wichita State at SW Missouri State. Early season MVC game that will tell us quite a bit about both teams.

Tennessee at Nebraska. We really don’t know much about the Vols this year…come to think of it, have they even played a game?

Creighton at Fresno State. Rematch of last year’s great game played in the Bracket Buster. Bluejays’ first real road test this year.

Sunday

Pepperdine at Maryland, Portland at Duke. Call it the ACC-WCC Challenge. This doubleheader will be on TV, and both should be better games than the folks out east are expecting. Pepperdine should be able to handle Maryland’s pressure, while Portland is as good or better than some teams that gave Duke fits earlier this year.

Rhode Island at Kent State. Kent State is a team that is just a little short of being able to put the MAC on its back and carry it.

New Mexico State at Tulsa. Old Missouri Valley Conference foes meet in what should be an entertaining game.

Monday

Georgetown (KY) at Pitt. I’ll bet John Thompson’s about ready to come out of retirement when he sees this one. With all the cream puffs he played (Shenandoah, St. Leo, Quincy and Hawaii-Loa come to mind) how did he ever miss the Tigers?

Western Michigan at Alabama-Birmingham. WMU is a team that is just a little short of being able to put the MAC on its back and carry it. UAB is good.

East Tennessee State at Clemson. Golden opportunity for the Buccaneers.

Tuesday

Tennessee-Chattanooga at Alabama. The Tide has played a number of dangerous games, and you’d think someone would knock them off.

Utah at LSU. Do the Tigers ever leave the state for a non-conference game?

Adam Glatczak writes the "Wednesday Onions" column for CollegeHoopsnet.  Bookmark the "Wednesday Onions" homepage and come back each week!