By Staff
Almost without fail, the NCAA men's basketball tournament lives up to its hype.
I believe this is the most exciting sporting event there is.
Nothing can match the drama and the emotion that goes along with this three-weekend tournament.
This year's tournament might have been the best yet. The upsets, the heart-stopping victories have highlighted this tournament, as it usually does.
However, this year there seems to have been more last-second shots and victories by the underdogs than I can remember in recent years.
Perhaps it's just the fact that a No. 11 seed, George Mason, has made it to the Final Four in Indianapolis this weekend.
Maybe it's the fact that not a single No. 1 seed reached the Final Four for the first time in over a decade.
Whatever the case, this has been a great tournament to watch.
No sporting event brings me to the television set more than this one. Sure, there are one game events that draw our attention, but I don't think that professional sports playoff series can hold an audience the way the NCAA tournament does.
George Mason isn't the only great story to come out of this tournament, although it certainly is the biggest. How about the UCLA Bruins returning to the Final Four?
UCLA is still the most storied team in all of college basketball. It‘s nice to see the Bruins back on top. I can still remember the glory days at UCLA. With John Wooden leading the Bruins to national title after national title.
I was only a youngster when I watched Notre Dame snap UCLA's 88-game winning streak.
Each and every team has a story to tell in the Final Four.
The Florida Gators surprised a lot of people by getting to Indianapolis. So did the LSU Tigers.
While I would love to see George Mason win it all, I am going to pull for the Bruins.
Honestly though, I don't think I would be too disappointed with any of these four teams winning the national title.
I cannot wait to see Saturday night's semifinal games and then it's on to championship Monday.
The women's tournament hasn't seen the drama of the men's tourney, however, it has been a lot of fun to watch as well.
I have been paying close attention to the Tennessee Volunteers, who were ousted by top-seeded North Carolina last night.
I would have loved to see the Lady Vols win another national championships, but it just wasn't meant to be this year.
Duke knocked out another perennial champion in Connecticut last night.
So the two highest profile teams on the women's side will not get to the Final Four this season.
That could be good for the women's game as parity seems to be setting in.
I believe that parity, like you have in the men's game, can only help their tournament.
I would also like to give some credit to the men's basketball selection committee, which usually gets nothing but grief when the pairings are announced.
I don't think I need to point out to anyone that they obviously knew what they were doing when they gave multiple spots to the mid-majors.
Good job. You have given us three weekends of great college basketball action.