Okay everyone, slow down. Relax. So, your bracket is busted. You are the laughing stock of your office pool. Heck, you probably even picked all No.1 seeds to get to the Final Four, and you still could not get it right.
Breathe easy my friends. You are far from the only ones. Truth be told, it is a blessing in disguise. You get to kick back, put your feet up and enjoy one of the most entertaining NCAA tournaments we have seen in a while.
This tournament has provided an assortment of dramatic finishes, head-scratching decisions, soul-crushing upsets and dominant individual performances.
Did I mention that we are only at the Sweet Sixteen?
Raise your hand if you had the Virginia Commonwealth Rams playing Florida State to advance to the Elite Eight.
Are those crickets I hear? Nobody picked those teams? Not a single one of you? Interesting.
Okay, let’s try again. How many of you had Richmond, the Cinderella of the Atlantic 10, outlasting both Temple and Xavier, two perennial conference powerhouses?
Or who had THE ultimate Cinderella story from last year, Butler, knocking off the beast of the Big East, Pittsburgh?
Do not even get me started on Morehead State trumping one of the most storied programs in college hoops history, Louisville, in the first round.
The NCAA tournament has lived up to its nickname: March Madness.
We have some of the most storied programs in the history of the sport such as Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and Duke dancing deep into the night. The bluebloods are right where their fans believe they belong — poised to make a run at the biggest prize of them all, the National Championship.
Those blueblood programs probably did not think that the other dancers in the ballroom would include the perennial wallflowers such as Florida State, Virginia Commonwealth and Butler.
Heck, most years these guys are not even invited to the dance, instead sitting at home, wondering when their time to shine would come.
Fortunately, unlike another major college sport, NCAA basketball has it right, and these little guys have an opportunity to make some big noise.
Tomorrow night, either the Florida State Seminoles or the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, No.10 and No. 11 seeds, respectively, will be playing for a chance to go to the Elite Eight.
Say that out loud, and let it sink in for a while.
The winner’s opponent would be the winner of the Kansas/ Richmond game, a No.1 vs. No. 12 matchup. I love the A-10 and am pulling for Richmond, but I am sorry, there is no chance they oust the Jayhawks.
Kansas would have the opportunity to get to the Final Four without facing anything higher than a No. 9 seed.
Three teams with seeds higher than 10 are playing tomorrow night. Unreal.
There is what some would see as a predictable battle between Kentucky and Ohio State, but that is the only chalk matchup we will see.
The brackets may have been busted and the NCAA tournament may be slowly approaching circus-like, but throughout the confusion and upsets, there seems to be some clarity.
Right now, Ohio State and Kansas have to be the prohibitive favorites to meet in the title game. They are the only two teams in the tournament yet to be truly tested.
That being said, it has gotten to the point where I would hardly be surprised if VCU and Marquette ended up playing for the title. Heck, I would not be surprised if a church league team somehow made it to Houston.
All we can do is sit back, relax and enjoy the ride, ladies and gentlemen. It may be a while before we witness another tournament this entertaining and unpredictable. Enjoy, hoops fans.
