Despite What Some May Say, I Like the NCAA Tournament Having "Home Teams"

ESPN's Doug Gottlieb said today that he doesn't like the fact that teams play so close to home in the NCAA Tournament. He says it isn't fair that Villanova gets to play in Philly or that North Carolina and Duke are down the road in Greensboro. He says it takes away the neutrality that the tournament is supposed to bring in crowning its champion.

I understand what he is saying ... but I wholeheartedly disagree.

In fact, I wish they took it a bit further. No, not schedule the games on anybody's actual home floor. To be honest, I did feel a bit yucky about Nova playing at the Wachovia Center. But the arena was filled and electric.

No. Give the little schools a better opportunity to play near home. I was thinking about Portland State not being in the Portland pod. Mississippi State was instead. I know that there are these rules of creating this bracket but I wish there was more of a consideration for the smaller schools. Why was East Tennessee State sent to Dayton to face No. 1 Pitt instead of to Greensboro to face No. 1 North Carolina? Why was No. 14 seeded Cornell sent to Boise while No. 14 Stephen F. Austin was sent to Miami?

I think the committee does try to do this. I mean, North Dakota State will be in Minneapolis, VCU and American were in Philadelphia and Utah State will be in Boise.

But I do understand Gottlieb's point. It does take away from the tournament when the big seeds get to play in front of their fans and make it difficult for an upset to occur. You think the crowd wasn't a factor in Nova's comeback win over American?

Next year, New Orleans will be a pod. So will Providence, which is good news for UConn or any other nor'eastern school. I'm sure UCLA and Cal would love to start their Road to the Final Four in San Jose. Syracuse would love to be in the Buffalo pod. You can make a case for Buffalo (Syracuse), Spokane (Washington, Gonzaga), Jacksonville (Florida State), Milwaukee (Wisconsin) and Oklahoma City (Oklahoma).

But this isn't a new thing. Remember that Kansas won the 1988 title in Kansas City. UCLA won the 1975 title down the road in San Diego and the 1972 and 1968 titles right there in Los Angeles. NC State won their 1974 title in Greensboro. Kentucky won the 1958 title in Louisville. CCNY won their 1950 NCAA title in New York City.