Tom Izzo: NCAA Tournament selection process should be ‘looked at,’ needs more coaches, less analytics

CHARLOTTE — Tom Izzo got social media fired up over comments that appeared to give at least tacit support to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s push for more power-league opportunities in the NCAA Tournament.

He said those comments were misconstrued.

“I’m for the little guy,” Izzo told The Athletic after he was reached to clarify comments from an earlier Wednesday news conference. “I’m always for the little guy. I just think there are better ways we can do some things.”

Primarily, more coaching voices on the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee, he said. Izzo talked about that and his distaste for conference tournaments — a long-held belief of his — on the eve of Thursday’s game against Mississippi State to start his record 26th straight NCAA Tournament.

The Sankey-related response, though, got the most attention. Asked specifically about Sankey’s recent suggestions that schools in power leagues should have more opportunities at the expense of one-bid leagues, Izzo said: “I’m a Division II guy, you know, so I’m always looking for the little guys. I’m not very big myself, so I always have an appreciation, and maybe that would be a reason to expand. I just think what’s happening now, everybody likes the upsets in the first weekend, but I’m not sure moving on that’s what’s best for the game. I think it’s got to be looked at seriously.”

Sankey recently told ESPN of potential tournament expansion and changes: “We are giving away highly competitive opportunities for automatic qualifiers (from smaller leagues), and I think that pressure is going to rise as we have more competitive basketball leagues at the top end because of (conference) expansion.”

Sankey clarified to The Athletic on Saturday at the SEC tournament that he doesn’t envision a tournament of all schools from power leagues, but reiterated: “I understand access, I understand the special nature (of Cinderellas) and certainly respect that, but right now in college athletics, nothing is static.”

Izzo told The Athletic he hadn’t read Sankey’s specific comments. He was aware, though, of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino’s recent comments on the need for more coaching voices on the committee, which is made up of athletic directors and conference commissioners.

“I think there definitely should be some (former) coaches, players on that thing to bring some levity to as crazy as it’s gotten,” Izzo said at his news conference. “Yet I never know what the NET means, what KenPom means, what the ESPN or Iron Mountain (Mich.) Daily News. There’s so many things that do influence (decisions). … Analytics don’t show (a team’s) injuries. They show, when a guy gets hurt, if he misses a game, but what if he plays hurt? What if he misses five games? Analytics don’t show that.”

Members of the committee have said injuries are discussed extensively about each team considered for the field. Izzo’s team, the No. 9 seed in the West Region, was on the bubble entering conference tournament weekend, which saw bids gobbled up like never before by upstarts.

That’s where Izzo wonders if upsets should cost regular-season champions their bids.

“I feel for some teams that didn’t get in when you have those automatic bids,” Izzo said. “I’m not sure I understand why, but the conference tournament things, you can go, like Purdue go 17-3 and dominate the conference and then lose. It’s okay if it’s the second-place team, but I think that makes it hard, why some teams will get left out.

“I don’t know if something could be fixed there. But then the conference tournament wouldn’t be as — it’s all about what is best for the financial part of it, if we were to be very blunt and honest with you, more than it is the player and teams.”

Twenty-one of the 32 men’s conference tournaments were won by a team other than the No. 1 seed. Of those, 15 No. 1 seeds did not reach the NCAA Tournament. The parity also affected at-large teams, as multiple teams — NC State, Oregon, UAB and Duquesne among them — captured automatic bids when they would not have received an at-large bid.

When the season ends, Izzo said, he wants to be involved in the discussions. And wants more coaches in general to be involved in them.

“I’m not going to get into all of my beliefs on all that right now, but there’s a great, great game here, and I don’t want it to be damaged,” he said. “I do worry about it. I’m on every committee I could be on to help solve that, and I would love to talk to (Sankey) and our commissioner. I know they’ve been talking a lot. I just don’t know what the answers are.

“My day job is taking up all my time, but in the off-season I’d sure like to really get in a room with people where there’s coaches in the room and administrators, instead of the way it’s been where there’s like one coach and 30 administrators. That makes it really difficult.”

Required reading

(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)