NCAA Tournament 2017: Injuries, suspensions that will impact selection committee decisions

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For the 10 members of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, trying to determine the 36 best at-large resumes heading into Selection Sunday won’t be strictly about numbers.

It’s about how teams arrived at the numbers they produced, and that’s why you’ll hear this over and over for the next couple of months: “It’s not that simple.” The selection committee factors in injuries and suspensions when looking at a team’s resume. If a team didn’t have a key player in a game they lost, but will have that player for the tournament (for example, when Duke lost at Virginia Tech without Grayson Allen), that’s a consideration. 

How much of a consideration? That’s up to each committee member, which can be kind of frustrating. There’s no set formula. One committee member could completely discount Allen’s absence, and another could almost dismiss the loss because Duke didn’t have the preseason All-American. Here’s a look at how the committee deals with player availability, along with other factors that influence the committee’s choices. As explained in that story, there's no difference between injuries and suspensions in the committee's eyes. 

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Anyway, we thought we’d put together a list of absences that could impact the way committee members look at the resumes of teams that have dealt with injuries. We will update this list as needed throughout the season. 

Oregon: Preseason All-American Dillon Brooks missed Oregon’s first three games, including the loss to Baylor. He returned in a very limited capacity in the fourth game (he played 13 minutes off the bench) and the Ducks lost to Georgetown on a neutral court. 

Michigan State: Freshman star Miles Bridges missed seven games, including the rather stunning loss to Northeastern at home. Senior forward Gavin Schilling has missed the entire season with a knee injury, but he could return at some point (coach Tom Izzo said he will be reevaluated soon) , which would be a boost for the Spartans. If they play better in his return, that could be a factor. 

South Carolina: Senior Sindarius Thornwell, the Gamecocks’ best player, missed six games and South Carolina lost three of those contests (to Memphis, Clemson and Seton Hall). He’s averaging 18.4 points per game in his nine games. 

Duke: Preseason All-American Grayson Allen was suspended for the Virginia Tech loss. Freshmen Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles both missed a bunch of games early in the season, including the loss to Kansas. They’re both back. Amile Jefferson is out for Tuesday’s game with Florida State, but the news could have been worse. The injury is just a bone bruise in his right foot, and it’s not expected to be a long-term injury. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is expected to miss about a month after back surgery, and the committee will factor in his absence. 

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N.C. State: Maverick Rowan, who averaged 2.5 made 3-pointers for the Wolfpack last year, missed seven games, including the losses to Creighton and Illinois. Freshman big man Omar Yurtseven missed the first nine games dealing with NCAA issues, including those Creighton and Illinois losses.

Villanova: Junior guard Phil Booth, who was a huge part of Villanova’s title run last year, has played only three games this season because of a knee injury (he was out for the lone loss, at Butler). If he returns this season and makes a big impact, maybe that’s the difference between a No. 1 and No. 2 seed for the Wildcats. 

Purdue: Sophomore Ryan Cline missed Purdue’s first four games, including the three-point loss to Villanova. He’s shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range since his return. 

Arizona: Sophomore Allonzo Trier, who averaged 14.8 points per game last season, has missed whole season serving an undisclosed NCAA suspension. Nobody knows (or, at least, nobody is saying) whether he’ll be back, but if he does return and Arizona closes the season on a run, that could definitely impact how the committee evaluates the Wildcats. 

Xavier: The Musketeers went 13-2 without senior guard Myles Davis, who averaged 29.1 minutes, 10.8 points and 4.1 assists as a junior. He’s back from team suspension, in time for Xavier’s big week against Villanova and Butler. 

Clemson: Point guard Shelton Mitchell missed the first four games of the season and the Tigers went just 2-2, with six-point losses to Oklahoma and Xavier. They’re 9-2 since his return. 

Indiana: OG Anunoby was sick and played only 13 minutes in Indiana’s shocking loss to Fort Wayne. Then, he missed three games with an ankle injury before returning to play in what wound up as a loss to Butler.  

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Oklahoma State: The Cowboys were 10-3 before Lindy Waters III hurt his neck in practice; he missed the next two games and Oklahoma State lost both (at Texas and at Baylor). He’s averaging 7.2 points per game. 

Dayton: Senior Kendall Pollard missed the first six games, and the Flyers lost twice (by four to Saint Mary’s and by two to Nebraska). He’s averaged 13.9 points on 56.0 percent shooting since returning, and Dayton’s 9-1 with him in the lineup. Leading scorer Charles Cooke (18.7 points per game) has missed three of Dayton’s past four contests, including a big win against Rhode Island, which definitely helps the Flyers’ resume. He could return soon. 

Rhode Island: Senior forward Hassan Martin, Rhode Island’s second-leading scorer (14.6 points), missed five games, including the Houston loss. He’s back in the lineup now. 

Marquette: Junior guard Duane Wilson missed two games and Marquette lost both, on the road at Seton Hall and at Villanova. He probably wouldn’t have made the difference against Villanova — nobody wins at Villanova — but Marquette lost by just three at Seton Hall. 

Northwestern: Sophomore big man Dererk Pardon, who’s averaging 7.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, missed seven games, including the Michigan State loss. He’s back. 

Houston: Devin Davis has missed seven of Houston’s past eight games, including losses to Harvard and Cincinnati, and he only played three minutes in a loss to Arkansas. He’s averaged 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds this season. 

Virginia Tech: Seth Allen, who’s averaging 10.7 points and shooting 43.2 percent from 3-point range, missed the Florida State loss after dealing with concussion symptoms against N.C. State. He was going through concussion protocol on Monday, and his return date is unsure.

California: Senior Jabari Bird missed seven early games, including a loss to San Diego State. He’s scoring 14.1 points this year. 

Pittsburgh: Senior guard Jamel Artis, who’s averaging 21.5 points and shooting 45.7 percent from 3-point range, was suspended for one game this season and it was costly. The Panthers suffered what’s easily their worst loss of the season, to Duquesne. 

Maryland: Michal Cekovsky, the 7-1 center, missed seven games with an ankle injury, including the surprising home loss to Nebraska. The Terps are optimistic he’ll be back soon. 

Author(s)
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Ryan Fagan, the national MLB writer for The Sporting News, has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2016. He also dabbles in college hoops and other sports. And, yeah, he has way too many junk wax baseball cards.
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