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About-Face: Terps Will Host NIT Game
This offseason, Williams said he will research components of the Rating Percentage Index, the often misunderstood mathematical measurement that the committee uses to help determine tournament berths. He also will consider whether it would be beneficial to adjust his schedule in an attempt to raise his team's RPI.
"All I want to know going into next year is what we need to do schedule-wise or whatever," he said. "That's what my job is going to be, coming up very soon."
  Maryland standout Nik Caner- Medley is unsure to play in an NIT second-round game on Saturday. (By Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post) Making the Grade Duke, Connecticut, Villanova and Memphis are the four No. 1 seeds in the men's NCAA tournament.
Michael Wilbon: It looks like the person who wins the office pool this year is going to have to go out on a limb.
After boasting that theirs was the best conference, the Big East is validated with eight tournament spots.
After finishing the regular season with the nation's best record, George Washington is disappointed with receiving an eighth seed.
Georgetown is in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001 and the 23rd time overall.
George Mason and suspended guard Tony Skinn are relieved to be included in the NCAA event.
Amid unusual circumstances, Maryland opts to play in the NIT.
Billy Packer criticizes the committee for not taking more teams from the power conferences.
 Tony Kornheiser's bracket was so poor a year ago, why have him back? It's gotta be the new hat.
Odds and Ends: Inside the NCAA tournament
JOHN FEINSTEIN'S ANALYSESCAPSULESON OUR SITETOURNEY TRACKER Share and compare your NCAA brackets until right before Thursday's tip-offs. Then keep track of your teams and see how well you are doing.
Tip-Off Challenge: Which team is the best to come out of the Washington area?
MULTIMEDIAAudio: NCAA's Craig Littlepage explains how the field was chosen.
CONFERENCE FINALSACC: J.J. Redick hits consecutive three-pointers down the stretch as Duke beats Boston College, 78-76.
Big Ten: Jeff Horner scores 14 of his 16 points in the second half and adds 10 assists as Iowa beats Ohio State, 67-60.
SEC: Joakim Noah scores with 11 seconds left, then blocks a shot and Florida holds off South Carolina, 49-47.
Big 12: Julian Wright makes the game-turning steal and dunk in the final minutes as Kansas upsets Texas, 80-68.
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In some instances, the committee seemed to rely heavily on computer rankings, particularly with the Valley schools. In recent weeks, Williams has been at the forefront of a debate on whether the Valley has outsmarted the RPI by the way its teams have scheduled.
But in other instances, the committee seemed to rely less on statistical analysis. Air Force and Utah State both unexpectedly received at-large bids even though both schools had worse RPIs than Maryland.
Williams noted that the 10-member committee included a high number of representatives from mid-major conferences, but added that he did not know how that affected the process.
"What's made the NCAA tournament is the six major conferences," Williams said. "They have lined up most of the schools in the sweet 16 every year. All of the sudden there has been a big push to include more schools from more conferences."
Williams was also baffled how the ACC received fewer bids than the SEC, which had six teams make the field. The ACC was ranked third among all conferences, according to CollegeRPI.com, one spot ahead of the SEC.
Between 1980 and 2005, only six ACC schools that finished .500 or better in the conference did not make the NCAA tournament. This year, two schools -- Florida State and Maryland -- finished .500 or better in the ACC and did not make it.
"And it's with more teams [12] in the league this year," Williams said. "In the expansion sale, that was kind of the sell they made to the basketball coaches -- 'Well, you'll get more teams in the basketball tournament.' I guess that's not necessarily true."
Maryland's shortcomings, however, had less to do with its RPI of 48 and more to do with a bland tournament profile. While the Terps did not have what would be considered a bad loss, they only had two victories against top 50 competition -- Boston College and Arkansas -- and none since leading scorer Chris McCray was ruled academically ineligible Jan. 23.
They won six of 14 games without McCray, which included three against the ACC's 11th-place team, Georgia Tech. They also won only two road games this season. Only one school among the RPI's top 100 -- Louisville -- won fewer road games.
