Only .04 percent of more than 17 million brackets that were filled out in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge correctly picked the men’s Final Four of Michigan State, Texas Tech, Auburn and No. 1 seed Virginia.

So, it is safe to say that almost one saw this coming.

Overall favorite Duke was upset by No. 2 Michigan State Sunday afternoon throwing the tournament into a frenzy.

I find it hard to believe that anyone picks against Tom Izzo and the Spartans. After all, Izzo has taken more teams to the Final Four than any other coach since 1999.

That’s right, Michigan State has more Final Four appearances than vaunted Duke and North Carolina.

They just have a few more championships between them than Izzo and the Spartans, who have just the one.

No other sporting event delivers year in and year out like the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. It never fails to give us heart-stopping moments and draws together the entire nation, whether or not you are a rabid basketball fan or the casual viewer.

It was great to see this weekend all the “blue collar” teams knocking off the “blue bloods.”

Nothing is better than seeing the likes of Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina sent to the sidelines by the likes of Texas Tech, Auburn and Michigan State.

Don’t get me wrong, we need the likes of Duke and Kentucky so we can have a team to hate.

Every great story needs a villain and a Cinderella to capture the imagination of the viewers.

This year, we are fortunate enough to have a pair of Cinderella’s waiting to see if the glass slipper fits.

Virginia and Michigan State represent the old guard in this story, while the Tigers and Red Raiders are the new kids on the block trying to make a name for themselves.

And as much as I would love to root for either or them to win the championship, I will be pulling for Izzo and the Spartans.

Nobody thought Michigan State was going to beat Duke. So the Spartans are playing with house money Saturday night.

I will be rooting for Michigan State for two reasons.

The most important reason is that I want Izzo to get that second national championship to the critics can shut up about how he has only won one.

How national championships have the Michigan Wolverines won since 1999? That’s right, none.

The second reason is because I tend to root for teams from my home state. I rooted for the Wolverines when they lost to Villanova last year, and I would have been pulling for them again this year had they reached the Final Four.

I really do not know who is going to be crowned the king of college basketball Monday night.

All I know is I have a new 55-inch television that is waiting to show me once again why I love this tournament so much.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com