It was easy for Keno Davis to get distracted.

Three years ago, the then-Drake head coach was sidetracked from his recruiting itinerary – the constant ‘bits and pieces’ of drama unraveling on his television refused to leave him alone. With each successive Gerry McNamara 3-pointer at Madison Square Garden, logic was challenged. And for Davis – now the head coach at Providence – the moment is fresh to this day.

‘I think everybody in America remembers that run,’ Davis said. ‘Whether you were a fan or a coach getting ready for your own games, you were watching the highlights and seeing (Syracuse’s) amazing run.’

Three years ago, ninth-seeded SU won four games in four days to take the Big East crown. Last season, Georgia (13-16) won four games in three days to take the SEC title. And now the Big East is welcoming four new underdogs to its conference tournament every season. The odds are slim the new invites to replicate such a run, but now at least they have odds.

‘Those are the moments that make college basketball special,’ said Davis, referring to SU’s run. ‘A team that has a sub-.500 record can go into their conference tournament with an opportunity to make the Big Dance.

‘And anything can happen.’

Last November, presidents of the Big East conference convened in Philadelphia and decided to include all 16 schools in its men’s and women’s conference tournaments. Previously, the top 12 schools advanced to the postseason.

The new format does not penalize the goliaths, as the top four seeds will still receive byes into the quarterfinal round. Teams seeded 9 through 16 battle in the first round with winners advancing to play schools seeded 5 through 8. The winners of this round then play the top four seeds.

Big East associate commissioner John Paquette didn’t say which schools voted for or against the measure, only hinting that the decision was met with minimal opposition. The increase in games is a major financial boost.

‘I think schools and fans of a lot of schools think that the Big East tournament is a prime event. It’s a signature event,’ Paquette said. ‘Certainly, schools are able to use that for ticket sales, alumni activities and fundraising activities so schools certainly see the benefit.’

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, who has won five Big East titles, echoes Paquette’s praise, saying, ‘I think every player should get the opportunity to play in New York. (The expansion) makes it hectic, but I think it’s better.’

Davis said that the Big East’s parody gives realistic hope even to the bottom seeds.

‘You could be the 15th, 16th seed and feel like you have a shot to beat anybody on any given night,’ Davis said.

While McNamara’s heroics in 2006 surely gave the tournament an anything-can-happen flair, the four new neighbors at Madison Square Garden probably won’t stick around awhile. In 29 years, no Big East team has entered the tournament with a losing overall record and won it, although Syracuse did it twice with a losing Big East record.

‘It’s hard enough to win three games in three days,’ Boeheim said. ‘I don’t think one of those teams will win, but they’ll get the opportunity to go.’

The expansion does create more white space on the postseason resume. Suddenly games exist where there were none before – opportunities for more signature wins.

South Florida head coach Stan Heath was salivating for a fifth quarter to his season, last year. After dropping 10 straight Big East games by an average of 13 points, the Bulls surged late. USF blindsided Syracuse, nearly upset then-No.17 Connecticut in overtime and then lost three more games by an average of two points.

The damage was done, though. Weeks of winter futility had already finalized South Florida’s fate. Now there’s extra incentive to win those tight games that used to be virtually meaningless.

‘The percentages are low,’ Heath said. ‘But with Syracuse (in ’06) and Georgia last year, it can happen. There’s a window of possibility. I would hope more than anything it is motivation for the student-athlete (to say), ‘I still have a chance. We may not be the best team early in the season, but at the end of the year we got on a roll and maybe didn’t open up the window for the NCAA Tournament, but it got us in the NIT or the College Invitational.”

Yet does the tournament itself become watered down – dead weight overcrowding the postseason field? The coaches don’t think so.

Heath believes this season could be the Big East’s best ever with potentially eight teams making the preseason top 25. Davis joked that he joined the Big East at the worst possible time. And Boeheim quickly rebuked the notion that the tournament will be oversaturated.

And if nothing else, visions of McNamara from ’06 are still fresh, providing a glimmer of hope for schools toiling down the stretch.

‘I’ll remember that run, and I’m sure other coaches will as well,’ Davis said, ‘because they might have to win four games to win their tournament. You can look back to the not-so-distant past and say, ‘Look who did it, how they did it. Let’s follow that mode.”

Another game set

Slowly, but surely, Syracuse’s non-conference schedule is taking shape. The team announced Wednesday that it will host Long Beach State on Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.

The 49ers are coming off a 6-25 season in which they finished 3-13 in the Big West Conference under first-year head coach Dan Monson, who previously coached at Gonzaga and Minnesota. In 1998-99, Monson led the Zags to the Elite Eight. He resigned at Minnesota at the start of the 2006-07 season after the Gophers dropped their fifth-straight game. Monson was 44-68 in the Big 10 with Minnesota.

Long Beach State boasts the conferences top scorer from last season, Donovan Morris (21.2 points per game).

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on September 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm