NCAA TOURNAMENT: An 'academic opportunity'

SPOKANE ­— One of them called in sick.

Another was excused because of what they termed an “academic opportunity.”

A third didn’t have a class that late in the day.

And the fourth, a wrestler who used to play basketball, didn’t need his arm twisted to join his friends on a little road trip.

And so there they were, Lakeland High seniors Brett Rotz, Forest Zubaly and Tyler Siegford, and sophomore Kaden Davis, sitting a few rows up from the court at the Spokane Arena on Thursday afternoon, taking in the open, free practices of the eight teams who will play in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament today at the Arena.

“Basically we’re just huge basketball fans,” said Rotz, who formerly played basketball, and this year played soccer. “We like doing the brackets every year, and having the opportunity to come to this, so close, so we just wanted to get some friends together, come over and enjoy the free basketball today.”

Davis and Zubaly started on this year’s Lakeland High boys team that qualified for the state 4A tournament for a second straight year.

“It’s cool to see how these athletes prepare for something big like March Madness,” said Zubaly, a forward who hopes to play in college, and has been talking with coaches from NAIA Corban University in Salem, Ore.

Davis also hopes to play in college.

“When we saw Hawaii shooting around, I saw a guy my height (5-foot-11), and that gave me a little bit of hope,” Davis said.

Siegford placed fourth at 132 pounds for Lakeland at the recent state 4A wrestling tournament.

“You see these guys on TV, and it’s kind of cool to go see them in real life,” he said. “I just wanted to see how big these guys really are in real life.”

Rotz said he also came to the open practices in 2007 at the Arena, when Texas came to town with a skinny freshman named Kevin Durant.

“It was insane,” Rotz recalled. “I remember it was him and I don’t remember who else it was, but they took some chairs and sat down at half court and started shooting 3s, and that was their practice, jacking up half-court shots sitting down.”

That Vandal brand: The University of Idaho didn’t make it to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in Spokane, but its name and logos did.

As the host institution for the first- and second-round games at the Spokane Arena, Idaho will get its logo on the corner of the baselines, and well as on the banner adorning the table for the first row of media seating at court side, directly across from the main center court TV cameras.

The Idaho logo is also on banners promoting the event, both in downtown Spokane and at the airport.

“I think that’s invaluable,” Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said of the exposure, “and that’s one of the reasons we wanted to take on this challenge.”

How did Idaho get involved?

Spear said Matt Gibson, general manager of the Spokane Arena, contacted the school more than a year ago, asking if Idaho had any interest in being the host institution — since the NCAA requires a host institution to be in play before it awards a tournament site to a community.

“And as we evaluated it, we said, ‘Why not?’” Spear said. “We think it’s a good idea for the University of Idaho to get some branding in the Spokane area, and as a regional land grant institution, we are responsible to be an economic driver for the entire Northwest. So this is a great opportunity to partner and help generate some economic impact for the city of Spokane.”

In addition to the exposure from having its name and logos out there for fans and viewers to see, Idaho also receives “an honorarium,” after expenses. Some of that comes from ticket sales, and the Arena will either be sold out or nearly sold out for the two sessions today and one Sunday.

As host institution, Idaho is basically in charge of running the tournament in Spokane, though the Vandals have teamed with the Spokane Sports Commission and the Spokane Arena, both of which have experience putting on NCAA events in the past.

An extra challenge to Idaho is having some of its personnel spread out this week, with the Vandal men and women also playing in postseason tournaments.

“However, it is a good problem to have,” Spear said.

In addition to exposure for the university, as well as some financial incentive, being the host institution give Idaho staff a chance to work in an NCAA tournament environment, Spear said.

“… As well as ensures a tournament of that magnitude stays in the Northwest,” he said. “Because if the Arena couldn’t find anyone to partner with them, they wouldn’t have been able to put a bid in.”

Idaho will also serve as the host institution for the Spokane Regional in the 2018 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Didn’t we just see you on TV?: Less than 24 hours earlier, Holy Cross was in the midst of beating Southern in a First Four game at Dayton, Ohio. The Crusaders hopped a flight for Spokane shortly after the game, and as a No. 16 seed will face top-seeded Oregon today at 4:27 p.m. at the Spokane Arena.

The team landed in Spokane around midnight Wednesday night, and it was shortly after 1 a.m. by the time the Crusaders had all checked in at the hotel.

“We got some pretty good rest last night,” Holy Cross junior guard Robert Champion said. “The time change (from Eastern to Pacific) helped us. I feel like we’re well-rested.”

Holy Cross was able to sleep in on Thursday, and have a late breakfast. They went through their NCAA-required public workout at the Arena from 5:55 to 6:35 p.m., as well as their press conference just prior to that. But unlike other teams, who also practiced privately elsewhere in Spokane on Thursday, the Crusaders did not.

“Rest is more important,” coach Bill Carmody said.

A 16 seed has never beaten a 1 seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tourney.

Carmody was an assistant to Pete Carril in 1989 when No. 16 Princeton nearly shocked No. 1 Georgetown, falling 50-49 in Providence, R.I. Asked for similarities between that matchup and this one, Carmody recalled how both teams ran roughshod through their respective conference tournaments — Georgetown in the Big East, and Oregon last weekend in the Pac-12.

As for the 1989 game?

“I thought our guy got fouled,” Carmody said. “I thought (Alonzo) Mourning slapped his hand on that (last-second) shot.”

The Ducks say they’re not worried about being overconfident, being a No. 1 seed playing a 16 seed — and one with a losing record, to boot. Holy Cross was 10-19 before winning four games in the Patriot League tournament, then winning its first NCAA game since 1953 on Wednesday night.

“We don’t try to buy into those things,” Oregon senior forward Elgin Cook said. “I’m sure you guys saw the Baylor game (where the No. 5 seed Bears lost to No. 12 Yale). The only thing we’re worried about is Holy Cross.”

More woes for Bears: Cal starting point guard Tyrone Martin, a senior, suffered a broken bone in his right hand in practice Wednesday in Berkeley, Calif. He’ll be replaced by junior Sam Singer for the fourth-seeded Bears’ NCAA opener vs. 13 seed Hawaii today at 11 a.m. at the Arena.

Bears coach Cuonzo Martin said Martin was hurt in a non-contact drill.

“It’s what we call a dry drill,” Martin said. “He’s moving his feet, sliding. He got his hand caught up in a guy’s shirt, just unfortunate.”

It’s been a week of bad news for the Cal program. Assistant coach Yann Hufnagel was fired Monday for sexual harassment of a female reporter, and the school is reviewing whether Martin correctly handled the allegations.

“It’s no distraction,” Cal junior guard Jabari Bird said. “Both two unfortunate events that happened this week, but we came to win a basketball game and that’s all the main focus is.”

Aloha: The Hawaii players were excited to see President Obama, in his annual filling out of his NCAA bracket on ESPN, pick the Rainbow Warriors to upset Cal. “I hope he would pull for his hometown team, so we’ve got to make him proud,” Hawaii senior guard Roderick Bobbitt said.