Final College Basketball Poll: Panthers Fall To 12th In Final Rankings

No, it doesn't really matter, but Pitt fell to 12th in the final college basketball rankings. But what was a bit intriguing is that UConn wasn't the unanimous choice for No. 1. In a roundabout way, Pitt has a distant tie to the man responsible for that.

Northern Arizona coach Mike Adras is that man. Adras was actually the coach who took over for Ben Howland after Howland came to Pitt in 1999.

Anyway, he couldn't be persuaded to vote UConn No. 1. Or even No. 2 (as he mentioned on the Mike and Mike Show this morning). Adras put the Huskies in third and isn't convinced they are deserving of the top spot. I'll spare you all the details, but Adras' main point of contention is that he voted based on the entire season and not just the NCAAs (which most voters probably do). He was the only coach not to vote UConn No. 1.And guess what - I agree with that. Now, that's not to say I wouldn't have voted UConn No. 1. I think they've done enough to warrant that over the past few weeks. Beating Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville, Arizona, and Kentucky in the last month (and don't forget, they also beat Kentucky and Texas in the regular season) is enough for me.

So it's not the UConn vote that makes me agree with him - it's the thought in general. If VCU happened to win the last two games, would you really consider them the best team in college basketball? Come on. I heard it put best this week on the radio when someone (I think the Post-Gazette's Bob Smizik) said that if you played the tournament over, you'd probably have four different teams in the Final Four. The NCAA Champion isn't always the best team, just like the Final Four teams aren't necessarily the four best teams. They're the teams who were able to navigate through their path.

And by the way - UConn, I'm sure, could care less. They're they champions and they shouldn't care.

Back to VCU - they finished 6th. Enough said.