Madness Is Upon Us, Please Leave As Is

Filed under: NCAA Basketball

With all due respect to everyone at CBS and ESPN who is huffing and puffing and raging and bloviating and trying to turn the NCAA tournament into an Armageddon-meets-Avatar extravaganza, can we acknowledge the truth here, please? This hasn’t been the most scintillating season for college basketball. Billy Packer, wherever he is, can rest assured he hasn’t missed much so far.

And there’s no need for Dickie V to try on a pair of 3-D glasses, knowing I might shoot myself if he does.

Yes, we’ve seen the brilliance of John Wall, the emergence of Evan Turner, the rise and potential fall of Syracuse, dominance from Kansas and a lot of nice stories, none a bigger relief than Rick Pitino getting through another year without a scene from an Italian restaurant. But with each passing season comes a harsh reminder that the sport isn’t as deep or compelling as it once was, before college hoops became a one-year feeder system for the NBA. March always will be fun because of fresh faces, fantastic finishes and the lure of the brackets, which still unite everyone from CEOs to secretaries who ask the mail-room guy about the glories of Wofford and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.