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Tourney trumps ACC
stance on avoiding 49ers
By
KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH — Coach Bobby Lutz
and the Charlotte 49ers plan to make the most of their game against
North Carolina State in the Syracuse regional.
Besides, who knows when
they might get another chance against a team from the Atlantic Coast
Conference?
Since Lutz took over
nearly seven years ago, he has gotten exactly two of them, and both were
on the road. The 49ers lost in overtime at North Carolina in 1998, then
traveled to Raleigh to face the Wolfpack two seasons later and won
handily.
That's it, despite Lutz's
annual calls around the ACC virtually begging for games.
``I don't whine about it,
I just state the facts, and the facts are we call and they don't want to
play,'' Lutz said Tuesday. ``But the fact is also that they have every
right not to want to play us. It is totally up to them.''
And it's not just the Big
Four that are ignoring him. Charlotte hasn't played Clemson since 1994,
hasn't faced Georgia Tech since 1986 and hasn't taken on Maryland since
1975.
Perhaps at this point Lutz
should be happy for the two opportunities he's had.
``They don't want to
play,'' he said. ``I respect what everybody thinks is best for their
program. If they feel that that is not in their best interest, then that
is what they need to do.''
N.C. State (19-13) can't
avoid the 49ers now. The teams play the NCAA tournament opener Friday in
Worcester, Mass., nearly 1,000 miles away from Tobacco Road.
``When you come to
college, you hear about the Dukes, the Carolinas, and you want a chance
to get at them,'' Charlotte forward Eddie Basden said. ``We played N.C.
State before, and I guess it didn't go their way, so they stopped
that.''
As might be expected,
Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek had nothing but praise for Charlotte (21-7).
He denied going out of his way not to schedule the 49ers, saying simply
it hasn't come up since their previous meeting.
Former North Carolina
coach Dean Smith had a policy of not playing other in-state schools —
except those in the ACC, of course — but Sendek doesn't have a similar
plan.
``We don't have a
particular prescription that we're going to follow,'' Sendek said. ``But
we really haven't had any further discussion about playing them on a
regular basis.''
The lack of games against
the other top programs in the state gnaws a bit at Lutz. After replacing
Melvin Watkins at his alma mater, he has taken the 49ers to the
postseason six times, including five trips to the NCAA tournament.
Despite the success, he
feels a bit overlooked locally, particularly given the popularity of the
ACC in North Carolina.
``We tend to find that our
perception outside of the state is better than it is inside the state,''
Lutz said. ``We recruit out-of-state kids because it's a lot easier, to
be honest. I am not bitter about it, it's just reality.''
Sendek scoffed at the
notion that anyone would belittle Lutz and Charlotte.
``I don't know who would
look down on them,'' Sendek said. ``It would take somebody with a great
deal of arrogance, because they are very successful, and they've got a
great job.''
This matchup is far from
the only intriguing one of the first round. Eastern Kentucky coach
Travis Ford leads the Colonels against Kentucky in Indianapolis; Ford
was a star guard with the Wildcats in the early 1990s.
While Sendek joked that he
didn't laugh when he saw the pairing with the 49ers, he knows the
selection committee often has a sense of humor with early round games —
even if committee chairman Bob Bowlsby doesn't agree.
``It was pure luck of the
draw,'' he said. ``That's the way the bracket went together. We don't
match-make, we don't set up television games. That's just how it works
out.''
This time, luck apparently
was with Lutz and his team with the brackets were released.
``As a coach, the first
thing I am thinking about is how are we going to win,'' Lutz said. ``And
my second thought was I knew our fans would be really excited to play an
ACC team. Perception-wise, it is important, it is a chance to play an
ACC team.''
Page updated:
02/23/07 10:41 AM
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The Associated Press. All
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