NCAA Basketball Tournament Gets It Right, Every Year

That sure was an exciting tournament the NCAA showcases for their basketball teams each season. Sixty-something teams competing against each other on the court, each game eliminating another participant until there are sixteen, eight, four, two, and ultimately one team left standing. I wonder whose idea it was. Who was the visionary that came up with this perfect plan for determining the ultimate champion among champions?

While there may be some reservations regarding the legitimacy of college basketball’s title winners, considering the single-elimination format which gives underdogs a better opportunity to advance-anything can happen in one game, as we have seen every season-the fact is each team knows when it is winning time. Every team knows that the madness begins in March. The NBA starts its playoffs in a couple weeks. Players and coaches realize this. College is no different, except that the favorites only need to win one game to continue, not four out of seven.

If you are a heavy favorite, yet fail to bring it when it matters, you do not deserve to be champion, even if you were undefeated up to that point.

THAT’S PRETTY HARSH. HUH, GUY?

How many college basketball national champions of years past are big surprises? While not every favorite has won, there have only been a handful of Villanovas and N.C. States that have pulled off the unthinkable. Kinda like the New England Patriots in 2001 and the New York Giants in 2007. The reality is the best teams win each year because the NCAA gets it right when it comes to the hardwood. Conference tournaments, a time when each team gets a chance to test itself in the one-and-done format, precede the Big Dance, allowing for extra preparation that even the pros do not receive. Teams are then paired depending on how well they performed in the regular season and conference tournament. Win and get rewarded accordingly. There should be no excuses.

And, please, do not call me Guy.

Sorry, guys and Guys.

Now, if the NCAA could somehow contact that person who conjured the idea for its basketball postseason, and urge this same person to save college football’s postseason from the deep depths of greed wrapped in selfishness covered in tartar sauce and feces known as the BCS, then the world would be a better place.

Congrats, UConn! And many thanks for knocking me from first to fourth in my bracket, which awards the top three.

Thanks, Guys!