If you want to know how competitive college basketball is, and why consequently it is the best sport going today, think of this one fact: Three of thr four top-seeded teams in the upcoming NCAA tournament lost their conference championships. The fourth, Michigan State, was not slated to get a #1 seed until it knocked off Ohio State in the Big Ten championship yesterday. Syracuse and North Carolina did not even make it into the final of their conference championships.
On any given night, any of the top fifty teams in the country can knock off any of the other top fifty teams in the country. Which means there is never a game you don't want to watch. There is no other sport, collegiate or pro, of which this can be said.
For myself, I am rooting for Connecticut, of course, but I confess I think their chances of repeating their national title are slim. Last year, under the leadership of Kemba Walker, they seemed to will themselves across the finish line in close contests. This year, they seem to lose steam in those last two minutes of a close game. I am betting Kansas - which did not make the finals of their conference championship and was denied a #1 seed - could go all the way, and not only because that fact would cheer my colleague Tom Roberts. But, whoever makes it to the Final Four, all the rounds of the tournament promise to be far better entertainment than the GOP primary debates!
