CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 16: The Virginia Cavaliers tip off against the UMBC Retrievers in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)North Carolina screams Conflict of Interest in the men's NCAA basketball tournament. For starters, teams like West Virginia, Indiana and Ohio State are better than UNC. And yet, those teams remain at home while Carolina begins tournament play Tuesday night against San Diego State in the South Region.
North Carolina Screams Conflict! Did we mention North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham is the chair person for the NCAA selection committee? Did we mention he gets a bonus of more than $100,000 if North Carolina gets in the NCAA tournament? Ah, there is your conflict of interest!
NORTH CAROLINA SCREAMS CONFLICT!
The Merriam-Webster definition of conflict of interest: "a situation where a person's private interests and their official or professional responsibilities clash, potentially compromising their objectivity or judgement."
Let's look at the objectivity, shall we? North Carolina played a tough schedule but they only won ONE Quad One game all season. West Virginia and Ohio State won 6 such games. Indiana won 4 and the Hoosiers only losses were Quad One losses. North Carolina had a Quad 3 loss to Stanford. Yikes.
All of this arguing aside, this should eliminate any talk about expanding the NCAA Tournament to 76 teams. I can defend, Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio State and even North Carolina. But, in reality, none of these teams are good enough to win a national championship.
Never the less, the field is set and March Madness is underway. Tune in each weekday to Craig Shemon and Company from 2-6pm on ESPN Southwest Florida for the latest college basketball talk and analysis.
