Kirschman: Choosing college basketball’s contenders is simple

People are losing track of what matters in college basketball.

Please allow me to set… People are losing track of what matters in college basketball.

Please allow me to set everyone straight.

When discussing which team is the best in the country, make sure you’re using the right criteria. Wins against RPI Top-25 teams? Unnecessary. Conference strength? Road wins? Those don’t tell you anything.

Here’s what counts. Now, pay attention. Take notes if you must. I don’t want to hear anyone else complaining about certain ESPN analysts ranking Pitt fifth or calling the Panthers the weakest of the possible No. 1 seeds or ignoring their existence in conversations about which team is the best in the country.

The first thing that matters is past trips to the Final Four. If your team hasn’t gone recently, your team never will. Obviously then, said team can’t be discussed as a possible contender for the best team in the country.

So Kansas and Texas meet the criteria. Ohio State and Duke do too. Pitt misses out. Come on, Pittsburgh. This isn’t difficult logic.

Now, about this crazy idea that wins over the top-ranked RPI teams should affect a team’s national perception. Let’s just get over that right now. Sure, Pitt is 6-2 against the RPI Top 25 — more wins than Texas, Kansas and Ohio State combined — but let’s not lose sight of what matters.

Texas beat Kansas. Kansas! And Kansas has been to 13 Final Fours. So using what we’ve just learned, the only way Texas could’ve picked up a better win is if the Longhorns beat Duke, North Carolina or UCLA.

Let’s forget about the fact that Pitt is undefeated on the road, with wins over three Top-25 teams. Let’s forget that two of those wins happened without Ashton Gibbs on the floor. That doesn’t matter. What matters is the fact that Texas won at Kansas. That’s all that counts. If you don’t believe me, just ask College GameDay.

Sure, Pitt is the best team in the best conference in the country. Sure, Texas, who doesn’t even play in the Big East, has more Big East losses than Pitt. It’s still obvious that Kansas and Texas have it tougher, especially when they have to play … well, each other. And let’s not forget about Duke. Really, with all those Final Fours and National Championships the Blue Devils have, it’s a wonder Pitt managed to pass them at all.

And Duke plays in the ACC with North Carolina and … North Carolina. Imagine those tough away games they’ll have to play … in North Carolina.

Man, this whole debate is just silly. We should just cancel the NCAA Tournament completely and give the trophy to Texas. The Longhorns are obviously the best team.

If only Texas could play Pitt on a neutral floor. Yeah, that would settle this debate once and for all.