During the men's college basketball tournament, the NCAA ran TV ads that portrayed the young people who compete in college sports as "student-athletes." But based on the low graduation rates for basketball players, fans might have had trouble spotting many "students" on the court during Monday night's championship game.

Both finalists, Connecticut and Georgia Tech, graduated only 27% of their men's basketball players in the latest six-year span for which figures are available. By contrast, the graduation rate for all students at the two schools is more than two-thirds.

Those squads aren't aberrations. Of the 65 teams that started the tournament, 44 fell below the 50% graduation rate that a group of sports reformers has proposed as a minimum standard for participation in post season play. The graduation rate was below 20% for 10 teams, and zero for four.

Such poor academic records are proof that too many colleges strive to assemble squads of stars who excel only on the basketball court. These hotly pursued recruits often aren't ready for college. And once enrolled, they don't receive adequate help to earn the degrees they will need for a career when their playing days are over.

Schools don't have to choose between success on the court and in the classroom. While the graduation rate for all men's college basketball players is 44%, the rate for women is 66%. The finalists for tonight's women's championship game, Connecticut and Tennessee, have graduation rates of 67% and 69%, respectively.

Now, after talking about the problem for years, the NCAA finally is on the verge of taking action. Member schools plan to vote this month on a plan to punish men's basketball teams that fail to improve graduation rates. For example, squads that don't measure up could be forced to reduce the number of scholarships they offer. Long-term offenders could face restrictions on recruiting and financially lucrative postseason play.

Coaches say the way the U.S. Education Department computes graduation rates is unfair because those who transfer to other schools or sign professional contracts are counted. Connecticut's men's graduation rate would be 57% if players who transferred or jumped to the pros were excluded.

Changing how rates are determined still won't change the fact that male basketball players are less likely to earn degrees than those on other sports teams. Until colleges confront that reality, student-athletes on the court will remain scarce.