Owls and Aztecs. Hurricanes and Huskies.
And then there were four. Impossible for anyone to think that these teams would be the four still standing when the dust settled in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament field.
And yet, here we are. Welcome to the Parity Party.
Hope has now become more than just a flickering motto for the underdog to achieve the impossible. 16 Seeds knock off 1 Seeds. 15’s drive deep into the teeth of the tourney field.
How did this happen? A laundry list of reasons, but a few worth a mention: players play and excel at a young age, they play lots of organized basketball and they are ready for the big stage sooner. When that happens, they want to play, and if one program doesn’t have room on the roster, they’ll find a school that does.
All these newbies make this an amusement park ride. Buckle up and enjoy it, hoopsters. “One Shining Moment” is no longer reserved for just the Blue Bloods who think these moments are exclusively theirs to keep.