This isn’t a good thing. Does anyone really want to see Butler and VCU in a Final Four? Outside of people in Richmond and Indianapolis?
Ah, then again, this is great. Regardless of who wins Saturday night, the NCAA tournament is assured of having a so-called Cinderella team facing a traditional power in the final.
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The beauty of the tournament is also its curse. Anyone can win, and the best teams are assured of nothing. But is it really fun to see teams that have lost nine or 11 games win a national title? For some, yes.
Heck, Kentucky and UConn have combined to lose 17 games. That’s hardly impressive either. And if VCU or Butler was 30-3 right now, nobody would say anything about either’s supposed mid-major status.
Meanwhile, if this matchup scenario occurred in some other sports, it would be celebrated.
Consider it this way: Kentucky and UConn meeting in one semifinal is akin to the Red Sox and Yankees facing one another to reach the World Series. And Butler and VCU playing would be like San Diego and Milwaukee playing to represent the National League.
Baseball would see this as proof its system works: Small-market teams can compete vs. big markets. The small markets build through the farm system (players staying at least three years); the big markets lure the big names (one and done). But in college, those small markets aren’t supposed to compete with the big boys. Except that they can, especially in basketball.
“From a casual fan’s perspective, I don’t think that’s much of an issue,” CBS analyst Greg Anthony said. “For diehards, they’re used to seeing certain teams. I don’t know if you ever have a Cinderella in a Final Four because you have to beat four or in VCU’s case five teams. Everyone is capable of beating someone once. It may speak to the fact that we in the media didn’t give them enough credit in the regular season.”
He’s probably right. But the thing is, it’s not just Butler and VCU who are crashing the party. It’s all four.
