By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist
A 23-6 record tells us the University of Hawai‘i Wahine basketball team should now be as good as signed, sealed and delivered to a spot in the NCAA Tournament after yesterday’s 97-88 overtime victory over Southern Methodist.
Their place in today’s Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game suggests the only questions should be where the Wahine will play next week in the NCAA field and what seed they’ll be when they get there.
But history also brings with it a sobering reminder to put the high fives on hold and to keep the champagne on ice. That’s because where the NCAA Tournament is concerned, even 20-something win seasons guarantee nothing when you wear the green and white.
So, as the Wahine enter today’s title game against Texas Christian, it is with the blunt understanding that they aren’t in the tournament until the fat ladies sing.
That the only guarantee comes with the automatic bid that goes to the winner of the conference tournament. Otherwise their fate rests in the uncertain hands of a politicized selection committee.
Which is only slightly more reassuring than putting a baseball in the hands of Rick Ankiel.
If the Wahine couldn’t crash the party with a 28-4 record in 1992-93, how much confidence should they have now? If a 25-7 mark in 1991-92 couldn’t get them in the front door, how secure should they feel right now?
Three times in the past 12 years the Wahine have stood before the selection committee with a 20-win plus record in hand only to be shown the exit.
"I think, personally, (yesterday’s) victory got us into the NCAA Tournament," said Vince Goo, the Wahine coach, said yesterday. "But, then, again. . ."
For as impressive as the Wahine have been this season and as deserving as you would think they are, potential roadblocks loom.
There is, should they lose today, the problem of being second best in a conference ranked only 10th nationally. In college basketball, especially the women’s side, you are judged by the crowd you run with.
To put it in perspective, the Wahine had a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) ranking of 51st entering the tournament and now, after wins over Tulsa and SMU, have dropped to 55th in the Collegerpi.com index.
All season UH and TCU, the only WAC teams in the Top 60 of the RPI, have held up the conference. Now, the WAC’s lead weights, No. 262- Texas-El Paso, No. 195 Tulsa and No. 190 Fresno State, etc., are helping to pull them down.
So, if UH wants to be assured an NCAA berth, it is best to remember the words of that well-known Wahine basketball fan, Al Davis.
"Just win, baby."
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