By Thein Huynh
The call it March Madness and this year the tournament is crazier than ever.
The NCAA tournament has always been a showcase for drama and excitement. But this is the year of the underdog and buzzer beating upsets.
Number one ranked Kansas Jayhawks have already been knocked off only a week into the tournament. Clemson and Cincinnati were also highly ranked but lost to little unknown schools. Even when the favourites were able to fend off the underdogs, they’ve won by a close margin.
The reasons for all the upsets are coaching and the lack of dominant players in college basketball. A good, enthusiastic coach such as Homer Drew, of Valparaiso, can take a hard working team and turn them into a winner. Drew’s overmatched team defeated Mississippi on, of course, a last second three. Drew made the team work on the designed play every day in practice.
This year’s tournament is as exciting as ever but it’s also noted for its lack of potential NBA stars. The NBA has stolen the tournament of its star players by drafting freshmen and even high schoolers year after year. The lack of dominant players has levelled the competition. Few players in this year’s tournament can take over a game and win it single-handedly.
Some think the upsets and lack of stars makes the NCAA even more exciting. Although the tournament is void of stars, it’s also void of the NBA’s predictability. And with all of the drama this year, tuning into the final seconds of the game is no longer just a cliche.
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