April Madness

Now that the 2013-14 college basketball season is officially over, what is it that we can take from this year’s journey?

First, I guess, Sports Illustrated will remind us through its television commercials that the state of Connecticut is the center of the college basketball world. As my friend Ed says: Great, just great!

It definitely does feel like The Nutmeg State has had more than its share of college hoops success over the past two decades. But, you never know. Next year could be different.

Other than the UConn juggernaut, what else do we make of the season?

For one thing, things did not necessarily go as planned for my Memphis Tigers. The season kind of slipped after Lisa and I saw them play back in January.

Wait ‘til next year, right?

Here are my other takeaways from this year’s version of (ahem) April Madness? Here goes:

• For all the talk about how CBS and the NCAA like it when 'the little guys’ make a deep run, I think at the end of the day, they are both perfectly happy when the Kentuckys and UConns of the world make it to the finals (or Duke…or Syracuse…or UNC…or Indiana…or any one of the blue bloods). Even though UConn was a #7 seed…and UK an #8, does anybody buy the notion that they were really underdogs?

• The UT Vols’ late season run certainly captivated the attention of folks in Vol Nation and certainly painted a picture of optimism for the future. And, meanwhile, the Lady Vols continue to be strong (even if they did come up a bit short of their Final Four goal this month).

• For all the talk that the SEC was down, it really wasn’t; for all the talk that Big 10 underachieved, it didn’t. (At least not at the top of those respective rival leagues).

• With UConn winning it all, the AAC has a high visibility program going into next season (even after 'U of L’ goes one and done).

• As great as Wichita State and UVA were this year, I didn’t sense anyone was surprised that neither of those #1 seeds were in North Texas for the Final Four.

College basketball now fades into the background as other sports take their place at the forefront. The NFL schedule will be released later this month; the NBA and NHL playoffs are within sight; the baseball season is well-underway.

But when the fall leaves start to turn, roundballers will be back on the courts and by the time the holidays roll around, we’ll all be ready again for another journey along “The Road to the Final Four.”

JG

Originally posted 4/10/2014