For all that is wrong with the way major college football determines a national champion, the opposite is true for college basketball.
The NCAA’s March Madness has become an institution of its own. It is the perfect setup. It allows the Cinderellas a chance to compete with the so-called big boys. It provides plenty of drama each year as we learn about the teams for schools we may not be familiar with.
And, of course, we get to enjoy the upset. For the record, with a couple of exceptions, I will be cheering for the underdog in every game.
Yes, college basketball does it right. It leaves you scratching your head as to why major college football refuses to get on board.
Before we go further, a few notes on this year’s tournament. First, there is no way Alabama should get passed over when the University of Georgia gets in. The Tide defeated UGA twice during the season, including a major comeback victory in the SEC tournament. Alabama was the SEC West regular season champ which should have also accounted for something. It did not.
And while it was good to see the analyists criticize the selection committee for passing over Alabama in favor of Georgia, it still doesn’t make up for the shaft the Tide received. There were other puzzling ommissions for the tournament this season, but the overlooking of Alabama was the most puzzling and troubling.
One of the big boys I will be cheering for is Duke. I always support programs where the student-athletes are truly students first. The same goes for Vanderbilt and Princeton.
And I will also hope for a deep tournament run by Brigham Young, who probably has the best player in the country in Jimmer Fredette.
In addition to that, you have to admire a school who puts principle before athletic victories. The recent suspension of a key team member for violation of the school’s honor code has been applauded across the board. Even though no crime was committed by the player (he was really just being a typical young man), he knew the rules of which he had to go by before enrolling at BYU. It would have been so easy for school officials to overlook this, especially with so much on the line. However, they (rightfully) view some things more important than being successful at athletics. That’s the type of program I want to succeed.
It will be interesting, as always, to see which Cinderella stories emerge. We’ve still yet to see a No. 16 seed upset a No. 1 seed although there have been some No. 2 seeds fall to No. 15 opponents. I imagine though by the time all is said and done, the Cinderellas will have exited and one of the more established programs will lift the national championship trophy.
It’s always tough to pick against Duke in this tournament as the Blue Devils have the best coach in the country. Some other predictions: look for George Mason to give Ohio State some trouble in the second round; look for Georgia to lose to Washington in the first round and look for BYU to make it to the Elite Eight.
It’s shaping up to be a quality tournament again this March. Perhaps the only thing that would have made it better for me was to have seen Bobby Cremins back in the big dance with the College of Charleston. The team fell in the Southern Conference tournament final, just missing the field.
Yet, regardless of who is in or who isn’t, this always seems to be a great time for basketball fans and sports fans in general. Let’s get it started.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
