Selection committee meets Thursday
Posted: Wednesday March 03, 1999 07:05 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- The meetings will begin Thursday with nine members being sequestered in their own floor of a Kansas City hotel room.
They are not a jury discussing a trial, but the NCAA men's basketball committee in charge of determining the field of 64 in next week's tournament.
C.M. Newton, athletic director at Kentucky and chairman of the committee, and the other eight members will begin discussing administrative issues during the early part of the day, then toss around terms like "bubble teams" and "RPI" during the night.
Newton, in his seventh year on the committee, said Wednesday there is no clear formula to determine what teams are selected and how they are seeded in the NCAA tournament.
"The first time, I was scared to death and in awe of the process," Newton said. "The longer you're involved, the more serious you take the charge and the charge is to select the right field."
He spoke of good losses, records against top 25 opponents and tough non-conference schedules.
Newton also said a sub-.500 conference mark wouldn't automatically eliminate a school from contention for the NCAA tournament.
"It's not a huge concern for me," Newton said. "What I personally look at is the entire year and who they chose to play in their non-conference schedule."
Newton and the committee will meet about 14 hours a day until the 64-team field is revealed Sunday night.
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