Friday, March 14, 2008

Davidson AD: We want a 6 or 7 seed

Davidson athletics director Jim Murphy says he has no idea where his men's basketball team will be seeded when the NCAA tournament pairings come out.

But he knows where he doesn't want the Wildcats to be.

"We would be very disappointed with an 11 or a 12 seed," he said. "We know it is inappropriate to get greedy, but we would be disappointed with that."

Davidson coach Bob McKillop lobbied for a No.6 seed earlier this week, and Murphy said he's hopeful for a No.6 or No.7 seed since the Wildcats are ranked in both polls.

Internet projections have put Davidson mostly in the 7-10 range, and Murphy understands that his team is hard to judge. The Wildcats don't have any wins against the Top 100 teams (according to RPI), but Davidson has other factors in its favor.

"There are certainly some other intangibles," Murphy said. "We have a second-team All-American (Stephen Curry) and the nation's longest winning streak (22 games). I think those are some positives that can help us."

Murphy said it is too early to get a definitive feel for the Wildcats' placement.

"It's like putting together a puzzle," he said. "The committee only has half of the pieces right now."

But history points to the Wildcats ending up in the nine or 10 seeding range. Winthrop had a similar profile last season, with a long winning streak and national ranking, and ended up as an 11 seed. But most bubble teams have fallen flat this week, and Davidson has enough national buzz to bump a little higher.

My guess: Davidson gets a nine seed, and faces Mississippi State in the first round in Little Rock, Ark. The winner would likely get Memphis in the second round.

-- Kevin Cary

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

6 or 7 seed? Are you serious? They have not beaten anyone good enough to deserve that type of seeding.

Anonymous said...

People in Hell want Ice Water.

Anonymous said...

A 6 or 7 seed? Should have been a 2 based on what they've done in the tournament. Maybe next year the SoCon will get some respect from the tournament committee.