Wednesday, March 14, 2012

16 hardly sweet for Hampton

LadySwish already noted the snub of the Hampton Pirates receiving a No. 16 seed in our initial post when the NCAA Tournament bracket was unveiled. Despite a school-record 26 wins, Hampton must face No. 1 Stanford at the Constant Center (game time approximately 1:30 p.m.).

The Daily Press reports that Rodney Smith, HU's vice president for administrative services, sent a letter to Greg Christopher, chair of the Division I basketball committee, noting the seed was "disgraceful" and "grossly unfair."

The letter notes Hampton's RPI of 63 and road record of 13-3, both better than several teams seeded ahead of them.

You know our feeling. The Pirates deserved better. We could write a whole sermon on the mid majors getting the shaft as if the BCS schools needed extra advantages (Florida Gulf Coast (29-2) vs. St. Bonaventure (29-3) in a first-round game -- why? Why pit two elite mid major teams against each other so early?)

The rich keep getting richer in a sport that claims it needs parity. Let's hope Hampton -- which sold out on its allotment of tickets on Monday -- can make some noise despite the unacceptable slight.

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