Don’t Blame Jerry Palm!

(Nashville, TN) – Jerry Palm doesn’t hate mid-major teams, he DOES HATE the ‘mid-major’ label. Palm thinks the RPI, KenPom ratings and national rankings are all over-rated, and that most fans have no idea how the NCAA Selection Committee makes their decsions.

As I sat down with Palm on the roof-top restaurant ‘Pancho & Lefty’s Cantina’, a downtown Nashville restaurant (during the first round of the tournament), we discussed what he does, how the committee makes its decisions and why people have such anger toward him.

Palm sees himself as a student of the NCAA Selection Committee’s decision-making process, not someone who promotes a particular agenda or one who shapes the bracket choices. Palm sees himself as something of a student of human nature, as much as anything else.

 

 

The burning question for mid-major fans, concerned the absence of Middle Tennessee. They questioned why teams like Oklahoma and Syracuse made the tournament when seemingly more deserving mid-major teams were sent to the National Invitation Tournament.

Palm says flatly Middle Tennessee was never going to get in. He says the Blue Raiders’ strength of schedule was just too weak. Up until the very end, he doubted whether Loyola would get in without winning the Missouri Valley Tournament. After our lunch conversation, ‘strength of schedule’ seems to be the phrase that means the most.

The CBS Sports reporter believes the selection committee needs to take a serious consideration the scheduling plight of mid-major programs.

 

 

The average fan (of which I am one) believes in conspiracy theories, manufactured match ups, favoritism being played toward certain programs, but Palm says the committee just doesn’t have time to consider such things. They are evaluating data, following formulas about bracketing, comparing schedule strength, and home and road records to think about whether a match up is good for TV or if one of their friends is getting an extra shot at the title.

 

 

It seems like we all believe the RPI is practically THE defining issue concerning NCAA Tournament participation … until it doesn’t work. Illinois State had an RPI in the mid to low 30s last season and wasn’t added. This year’s Middle Tennessee team had a similar resume.

Palm says none of the famous measuring sticks are the silver bullet on this issue. Jerry says they are aggregates, and measurements, but in a statement that shocked me, he said, by themselves, they really mean nothing.

 

 

This season, the ‘quads’ seemed to become almighty and all powerful. This confused fans and coaches. I spoke with one coach recently that told me, he doesn’t care how they evaluate teams and their post season credentials, he just wishes they would leave it the same for a while so they can build their schedule accordingly.

Palm says the ‘quad’ terminology was adapted to include home and road variables, and actually to help the mid majors have a better chance to be rated properly.

 

 

Jerry Palm has no rooting interest involved in the process. Make no mistake, he roots for his Purdue Boilermakers when they are playing, but he’s not ‘working the process’ to get Purdue selected. His goal is to prognosticate how the NCAA Selection Committee will make their final decisions. Fans misinterpret his goals. He is never saying a team should or should not be invited to the tournament. His ‘opinions’ are based on what he believes the Committee will do. The Committee isn’t listening to his opinion.

In my humble opinion, fans should listen to Palm and Lunardi as a way of understanding what their favorite teams must accomplish to receive an invitation to the Big Dance.

Apparently the difference between entering THE TOURNAMENT and playing in one of the three-letter events, is razor thin. Palm says so-called ‘bubble teams’ all had one particular game that was the reason they were included or rejected.

 

 

Palm, who works with BCS statistics for college football, is an ubiquitous presence on CBS during this time of the year. While we ate tacos, he received at least three calls from producers about unscheduled appearances, that were becoming a part of his weekend in Music City.

Read Jerry Palm’s articles. Watch his videos and fight the urge to criticize, instead learn and become more wise.

Do Good