This is finally the year when "mid-majors" or smaller programs, are proving themselves worthy of playing in the Big Dance. Of the teams left in the Sweet 16, #9 UNI, #5 Butler #6 Xavier #10 St. Mary's #11 Washington and #12 Cornell are still in the mix.
Still, I think not all skeptics are convinced smaller basketball programs are legit. Many think it was fluke that this year they won. That the bigger, mightier teams just ran out of time. And many are saying upsets are fun in the first and second rounds, but the big boys should be left to handle it the rest of the way. I just got done reading an article on cbs.com that really made me mad.
We like upsets early but want powers there in the end.
For instance, there was nothing more awesome than watching Northern Iowa outwork Kansas, nothing more fun than watching Ali Farokhmanesh pull up and bury that open 3-pointer in the final seconds for the win. Great moment, great game, great story that'll stick with us forever. But doesn't it kind of stink that Kansas is no longer around? The Jayhawks are still one of the nation's best teams with a star point guard and future Hall of Fame coach. They were nearly the unanimous No. 1 in the preseason and unanimous No. 1 after the regular season, and the Final Four will be missing something because it's missing them.
We like Greatness vs. Greatness or Cinderella vs. Greatness. What we do not like is Cinderella vs. Pretty Goodness. And we don't like Cinderella vs. Cinderella, either. That's called BracketBusters.
Ouch. That last line hurt. Just because these smaller schools like Northern Iowa or Murray, who has about a third of the enrollment than Kentucky, may not have the same amount money or noteriety, you are telling me aren't equipped to play with teams in the power conferences, and don't deserve to be there? I don't miss Kansas because I want to see teams that are hot right now. Unless its my team, name doesn't so much matter.
What it comes down to is athleticism and the will to win, and if you have this on your team, you can compete with anyone no matter your college size or the ability to make money for your school. To make a Division 1 college athletic team you have to be an elite athlete. To make it into the tournament you have to be playing at the top of your game. And I don't care who you are, if you've got athletic players and a coach that utilizes its players into a winning system, any team can beat any team on any given day.
Now I know this isn't true for all schools. Some should hold that "mid-major" status proud. But Murray has helped show that a balanced offense with plenty of sharp shooters that can hit a jumper when it counts can help your team win games. And UNI is showing if you've got huge guys like Jordan Eglseder and Adam Koch on the inside using sheer athleticism and strength to win the ball in the paint you can beat a Cole Aldrich maybe doesn't always live up to the hype.
I'm proud that our OVC school, Murray State, can call itself one of the schools paving the way for teams not in BCS conferences to make a statement in college basketball.
Our conference staff was so excited when Danero Thomas hit that game winning shot to beat Vandy, one of the best teams in the SEC. Because it's not every year we have a team this good. We don't expect to have 5 teams from our conference in the tournament like some of the bigger conferences may. You should have seen us jumping around after that shot sank at the buzzer like we just won the national championship. Why? Because Murray is putting the OVC and small schools on the map. And I hope the teams left in the tourney continue where Murray left off.
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