Fresno State Athletics
Tarkanian Goes To First NCAA Tournament Since 1990-91
3/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - He's back.
After a nine-year hiatus, Jerry Tarkanian is heading to the NCAA tournament. His Fresno State Bulldogs meet Wisconsin in the first round.
Cheers erupted Sunday in the Bulldog Brewery, where Tarkanian and his team heard the news on television. "Everybody was excited," he said. "But we knew we were going to get a bid. We won our tournament. We won our last eight games."
Fresno State beat Tulsa 75-72 to clinch the Western Athletic Conference championship Saturday night. The title didn't guarantee the Bulldogs an NCAA tournament spot, because half of the WAC's 16 teams left for the Mountain West last year, neither conference had an automatic bid.
But it was pretty hard to deny the Bulldogs after a 24-9 record, including three wins over Tulsa.
Tarkanian has led the Bulldogs to five straight seasons of at least 20 wins, but Fresno State has not been invited to the NCAA tournament in 16 years.
The Bulldogs have gone to the NIT the past four seasons, a move that "would have been devastating for the kids" a fifth time, Tarkanian said.
Tarkanian has battled with the NCAA for decades. His teams got into trouble at Long Beach State and UNLV, and he spent years in court fighting the NCAA.
The trouble has continued at Fresno State. A federal investigation into allegations of point-shaving by Fresno State players four seasons ago remains open. And several of Tarkanian's players at Fresno have had serious legal problems, including prosecution for violent crimes.
Tarkanian is sixth on the NCAA tournament list with 37 victories. His UNLV team won the national title in 1990.
