Recap: NCAA Mock Selection

For me, participating in the NCAA's annual "mock" selection exercise was definitely an eye-opening experience.

One thing I urge readers to remember when viewing "Selection Monday" on ESPN is a team's "body of work". Without divulging specifics, the committee truly considers a team's "body of work" for the entire season:

a team's opponents (conference and, definitely, non-conference)
a team's opponents' opponents
a team's wins (home and away) and losses (home and away) -- margin of victory or defeat is not important)

First, we selected the 33 at-large teams. Second, we seeded the teams; and, lastly we placed the teams in the championship bracket.

Selecting the 33 at-large teams is a lot tougher than I realized.

I was part of three-person committee representing one actual committee member. Ten people are on the selection committee and each member counts as one vote.

A few of our discussions were very lively because each person has his or her own ideas regarding the importance of certain criteria (for example, how important is home court in the women's game or the significance of player injuries).

The information -- the NCAA's "nitty gritty" -- at our fingertips was amazing! I pulled up stats and compared Team X to Team Y to Team Z with a few clicks of the mouse pad.

The committee adheres to its "principles and procedures" without fail.

The bottom line is to make the bracket as "fair and equitable" as possible.

My participation allowed me to dispel a few myths / misconceptions: the committee doesn't bracket teams in order to generate storylines; the committee doesn't place all the male head coaches in one region; and, do not assume which team is the "number one number 2-seed".

I'll also add the importance to continue growing the game of women's basketball across the country in order to allow for more cities (re: west of the Mississipppi) to be interested in bidding and hosting sites in the future.

All in all, the "mock" selection was very enjoyable; very straining on my eyes; and, a true learning experience.