Upwardly mobile: teams from outside the big-shot conferences are flourishing despite demanding schedules, and they will be looking to give big-name teams more than a scare when March arrives. (College Basketball).(NCAA Tournament)

Publication: The Sporting News

Publication Date: 25-FEB-02

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COPYRIGHT 2002 Sporting News Publishing Co.

Roughly 1,000 Washingtonians gathered one Sunday last March at Spokane's Ridpath Hotel-- all of them Gonzaga basketball fans, all of them waiting for that singular moment when the big-screen televisions would alight with the name of their favorite college team and its placement in the NCAA Tournament bracket.

The thrill was muted, though, when "Gonzaga" flashed into view with the number "12" attached. The Bulldogs had built a 23-6 record, swept the West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament championships and lost just twice with star point guard Dan Dickau in the lineup. They knew they could succeed in the tournament, because they had reached the Sweet 16 in 2000 and the Elite Eight in 1999. Yet the tournament's selection committee seeded them toward the bottom of the field and placed them in a first-round game with Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia.

On the new American holiday known as Selection Sunday, only those fans whose teams do not make the field are supposed to be discouraged. But this was tough to accept.

"Just to get invited to the thing is a great honor," Gonzaga coach Mark Few says. "But to see the seed, and to see us matched up against a team that at one point was ranked in the top 10 ... you're a little bit disappointed."

That scene will not be repeated this March. Oh, Gonzaga is going to the tournament, as surely as Florida, Oklahoma and Arizona. This time, however, the Bulldogs will arrive in style. With a 24-3 record that includes victories over Texas and St. John's, they should be carrying in a sweet seed and the respect of every opponent. Some will fear them. And in that sense, Gonzaga is not alone among teams from the conferences below the top tier known as "mid-majors."

After realizing they needed to play more demanding schedules and beat better teams to draw more attention from the NCAA Tournament selection committee, mid-major powers have surprised everyone but themselves by going out and doing it.

A conference composed of the 10 mid-major...

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