March Madness is the most
spectacular phenomenon in all of sports.
For about 3 weeks each March and early April, the entire country turns
its attention to 68 teams competing for one national championship. While in reality only about 10 teams each
year actually have a shot at winning the championship, there is, without fail,
always a Cinderella team waltzing its way to the elite eight or final four (or
even the championship game, *cough cough* Butler). This year, it objectively appears that Syracuse
was that Cinderella team since they made the final four as a 10 seed. However, they did not really possess the magic
and likeability that most Cinderella teams have. Instead, I would argue that Villanova, the
national champion, was indeed the Cinderella team of the tourney. Even though they were a 2 seed, has a
remarkable regular season, and won the Big East, there is an air of magic
around them. They, unlike Oklahoma, UNC,
or even Syracuse, probably don’t have an NBA player on their roster. Instead, they are a group of blue collar,
hard working, passionate individuals guided by the most likeable coach in
college basketball, Jay Wright. Their team
passing, tough defense, and clutch shots allowed them to be crowned the King of
the Dance.
However, Villanova, and its
conference, the Big East, don’t see this as a Cinderella story. They all knew just how good Nova was. This year, Seton Hall won the Big East
tournament. Their athletic director said
after Nova’s win “Nobody in the league is all that surprised.
It's a battle every night." I have
no trouble believing that the Big East rates itself among the Power 5
conferences, and rightly so. However,
the fact of the matter is that the Big East is considered below the Power 5 conferences,
justly or not. In that sense, Nova was
not just the Cinderella team, but rather Nova was the representation of the Big
East as the Cinderella conference.
This argument was based off the article: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/college-sports/college-basketball/new-look-big-east-survives-and-advances-1.1541598
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