Like it is

NCAA entertains, even without Cinderella

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams cuts down the net after the championship game against Gonzaga at the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. North Carolina 71-65. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams cuts down the net after the championship game against Gonzaga at the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. North Carolina 71-65. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

As the confetti and the sound of "One Shining Moment" rained down Monday night, the traditional pile of bodies celebrated on the floor at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The losing team, desperate to get off the court and out of the center of attention, won't remember for a while that winning five of six in the NCAA Tournament was a great accomplishment.

They know most people will only remember who this champion was.

This NCAA Tournament started four weeks ago today in Dayton, Ohio, with four play-in games over two days, and that term "play-in" can be dressed up all anyone wants and they are still play-in games.

Yet even though Cinderella didn't dance much, and two No. 1 seeds ended up in the final, this was a great tournament, a fun tournament.

Middle Tennessee State, coached by Kermit Davis (whose wife is from Arkansas), established itself as a true giant-killer. Last season, the Blue Raiders were a No. 15 seed and beat No. 2 Michigan State. This time, as a No. 12 seed, they knocked off No. 5 Minnesota. And for the record, MTSU hasn't lost to an SEC team in the past two seasons.

Besides Gonzaga's West Coast Conference, Conference USA and Missouri Valley were the only midmajor conferences to win a game.

South Carolina was the closest thing to a Cinderella, but lost to Gonzaga, which made a brilliant decision to foul with 3.5 seconds to play in Saturday's semifinal. The foul led to the Gamecocks attempting two free throws, but Gonzaga had a three-point lead.

No. 11 seed Xavier knocked off No. 6 Maryland, No. 3 Florida State and No. 2 Arizona before running into Gonzaga.

No. 3 seed Oregon appeared to be a team of destiny after it advanced to the Final Four with a victory over Kansas, but the Ducks forgot how to block out with the game on the line against North Carolina.

Overall No. 1 seed Villanova, which was lucky to beat North Carolina for the championship last year, was knocked out by No. 8 Wisconsin, which got knocked out by Florida.

The SEC, one of the nation's least-respected conferences, got five bids, finished 11-5, and had the two teams in the NCAA women's championship game.

The Pac-12, also lightly regarded, was 10-4 with eight of those victories coming from its top three teams.

The schools regarded as home of the one-and-dones, Kentucky and Duke, were eliminated by teams stocked with veteran players. Kentucky lost in the Elite Eight to North Carolina, and Duke lost its second game to South Carolina.

North Carolina and South Carolina began their March in Greenville, S.C., where they both survived and advanced. The Gamecocks used a big second half to get by Duke, and the Tar Heels shot 25 free throws to 8 by the Arkansas Razorbacks to get to the Sweet 16 in Memphis.

In Memphis, John Calipari discovered he has not been forgiven for leaving for Kentucky. But in all sincerity, who wouldn't have left for the Bluegrass State and the all-time winningest school?

The Razorbacks' season seemed to be going the wrong way when the lost to Missouri and followed that up with a loss to Vanderbilt; instead Mike Anderson used those losses as learning experiences. The Hogs entered the NCAA Tournament having won 10 of 12, the only losses coming to Kentucky, a No. 2 seed, and Florida, a No. 4 seed.

From start to finish it was another great NCAA Tournament. It didn't have the usual upsets, but it had enough buzzer-beaters and excitement to keep every basketball fan saying, wait until next year.

Sports on 04/04/2017

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