There are a lot of things to love about the NCAA Tournament. Just not the hype of it all.
March Madness is the most overrated event on the sport calendar.
*Sizzle*
Before anyone breaks a bone falling off their high horse, allow me to clarify something.
March Madness, the annual NCAA college basketball tournament where upsets and underdogs become myth, is still really cool.
But for some to say that this week is the best one of the sporting year is just wrong.
For fans of college basketball and the tournament, the upset is the marquee event of watching the tournament. While that may be true, taking a closer look at the bigger picture shows that teams typically only provide a great story for two days, or at most, a week before bowing out of the spotlight.
Last year, almost everyone loved the story of Georgia State defeating No. 3 Baylor. The coach’s son hit the game winning shot, and the coach actually fell off his scooter celebrating and down went a top seed.
Unfortunately for fans dreaming of a Cinderella run, Georgia State suffered the same fate as so many other teams that upset a powerhouse: They lost.
There are obviously exceptions, like Florida Gulf Coast, George Mason or Virginia Commonwealth.
Everyone remembers No. 14 Mercer taking down Duke in the 2014 Tournament. They lost by 20 in the second round to No. 11 Tennessee.
In 2012, No. 15 Norfolk State defeated No. 2 Missouri in the first round. They lost to No. 7 Florida by 30 in the second round.
Upsets are cool, until you realize you’ll spend your Saturday watching teams like Ole Miss and La Salle battle for a Sweet 16 spot.
So if you love the upset, the argument still remains that the tournament is impossible to predict. That’s true. No one has ever, officially, filled out a perfect bracket.
But to claim that a 'Cinderella team' has the chance to win every season is a bit far-fetched.
Here are the teams, in descending order from 2015-2005, that have won the National Championship: Duke, Connecticut, Louisville, Kentucky, Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Florida, Florida and North Carolina.
Those are all powerhouse basketball schools. I know this because I make it a point to actively root against those types of schools.
Parity in college basketball is a mirage, at least as the tournament proceeds.
The committee responsible for selecting the tournament field also wants you to believe in the lie, expecting you to believe the nonsense that Mid-majors are represented equally.
This year, the committee passed over deserving teams like Monmouth (27-7) and St. Bonaventure (22-8) to put Tulsa (20-11) and Syracuse (19-13) in the tournament, objectively worse teams.
The 64-team bracket is also clearly not the best playoff to determine a champion.
While giving a wonderful array of games over three weeks, the bracket sometimes doesn’t determine the true champ simply because of the randomness of it all.
With that said, I’m still going to watch a few games and I’m still going to root like hell for Duke to lose. But while you’re watching the tournament this March, remember, sports has better to offer.
@AGill072
ag079513@ohio.edu
