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Alabama A&M: They're Everybody's Favorite NCAA Patsy
Alabama A&M, which somehow managed to lose to a team with a 12-18 record in an NCAA basketball tournament play-in game, won't be going home after the loss after all.
In an unprecedented decision that flies in the face of the hoary adage that "nobody wants to play that team during March Madness," the NCAA will allow all remaining Sweet 16 teams to substitute their opponents with Alabama A&M on a first-come, first-serve basis.
"Everybody wants to play Alabama A&M," said North Carolina coach Roy Williams. "We want to play them in the worst way. But we can't decide if we want to exercise our Alabama A&M option now, or wait till later in the tournament.
"It'd be nice to get an automatic victory early," Williams said. "But I'd really like to call in the Bulldogs when we might have Duke or Kentucky coming up."
The Tar Heels would have the first option on Alabama A&M because Carolina's first game was scheduled against Oakland, the team with the terrible record that beat A&M.
But make no mistake, NCAA teams are lining up to take their shots at the Bulldogs.
"We really want them," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. "I'm hoping that even if A&M is busy, they can still play us - maybe later that night or the next day. I'm thinking if they go all the way to the Final Four, A&M could play 15-20 games."
"Darn right," said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, whose Huskies were a surprise number one seed. "We don't have the greatest basketball heritage at UW. We could certainly use the victories."
Obie Trotter, A&M's leading scorer, said the Bulldogs were "flattered with all the attention. But we can only do so much, play so many games as somebody's patsies. We've had a long, tiring season and need to attend classes sometime.
"Then again, getting beat by a 12-18 team like Oakland leaves a bitter taste. Getting hammered by a lot of good teams doesn't seem so bad, especially if we're around when they cut down the nets at the final in St. Louis."
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