Butler came so close last night and all I read about today is the condescension by the national news writers. "What a movement for small schools and midmajors all around." "Butler may have taken us to a new era of college basketball." The Bulldogs brought excitement back to the NCAA tournament." What a crock!
I was rooting for Butler like everybody else in the country, but this talk of changing landscapes is just ludicrous. All year we've been hearing how this is a weak year in college basketball. Had Duke lost yesterday it would have been 7 NCAA championship games for kryzwhateverhisnameis, and the one in 2010. I'm not mocking Butler at all because I think they are every bit as good as all the teams they beat and some that they didn't beat. I bet you didn't know that Butler has won 26 or more games in each of the last 4 seasons. Entering the tournament this year Butler was 26-4 and had won their last 17 games. They were playing as good or better than any team in the nation and they got a 5 seed. A 5 seed! That means the powers that be had them as the 21st to 25th best team in the nation.
There will be no change in the national landscape. The big money schools will stay the big money schools (thank you BCS). Butler may crack the top 25 at the start of the season next year, but only after spending 5 years showing that it deserves to be there. That's the way it is for college sports. If you play in the big boy leagues they rank you based on the potential of the 7th graders that have committed to play for your school. If you play in a midmajor conference you have to build a program for 4+ years and make the final four and even then you are still a cinderella team.
This will all be forgotten before the first ball hits the hardcourt next year. If I remember correctly another midmajor school made it to the championship game in 1998. One midmajor school actually won the championship in 1990 after having been in the final four 2 years previous to that and going back the following year.
One reporter even had the gall to ask Gordon Hayword in the postgame conference whether the glorious run to this point will outlive the pain of defeat, Hayward said no.
"For me [the strongest memory] is going to be the loss," Hayward said. "Hate losing."
Can you imagine that question being asked to any of the Duke players had the final shot dropped?
Maybe they should reseed the tournament now, just for fun. I bet Butler gets a 4 seed, though Michigan State will move up to a 2 for sure. At least this isn't football where the opinions of condescending press members actually matter. Only a few more months and I can start bashing the BCS again.
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