NCAA Needs to Level the Playing Field for West Coast's Elite Basketball Teams!
Rick Pitino and John Calipari made remarks about travel to the West Coast for NCAA Tournament games, highlighting bigger issues.
SAN DIEGO – Two of the greatest men’s basketball coaches of all time had to solve a basic geography test this week. Where is San Diego, California? “It’s not Alaska,” quipped St.
John’s coach Rick Pitino , who is from New York. Where is Portland, Oregon? “Are we in the United States?
” Arkansas coach John Calipari asked on ESPN . “I thought they put us in another country. ” March Madness bold predictions: Best upset picks, Final Four sleeper Pitino’s team from New York plays Northern Iowa in a first-round NCAA Tournament game more than 2,400 miles away in San Diego on Friday, March 20.
Calipari’s team plays Hawaii in a first-round game more than 1,600 miles away in Portland on Thursday. But this is what happens when the NCAA still tries to keep a geographical balance for postseason game sites even though the sport itself has become even more entrenched in the Eastern and Central time zones. Only 10 of the 68 tournament teams (14.
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