I’ve been following the NCAA basketball championship tournament long before it was accurately labeled March Madness.
Actually it’s been 66 years since I saw North Carolina play in the Eastern Regional opening round triple header at Madison Square Garden in 1957.
The Tar Heels went on to win the national championship with a 32-0 record.
I became enthralled with the spectacle of the event which consisted of only 23 schools at the time.
I don’t follow it as intensely as I used to, but I am aware.
I can say, without hesitation, that there’s never been anything like this one.
The early rounds were filled with shocking upsets, as favorites were toppled by long shots wherever you looked.
They used to call those surprise teams Cinderella, but I’m not so sure anymore.
The four schools who reached this year’s Final Four are Florida Atlantic, San Diego State, Connecticut, and Miami (FL).
For those who fill out the brackets prior to the start of the tournament, the only ones who had any of these teams were either alums, or those who took wild guesses.
Let me give you example.
Not only were there no top seeded teams in the Elite Eight, or the final eight teams left, but there is not a team among the first three seeds in the Final Four.
In other words, none of the top 12 teams rated by the selection committee at the start, are still playing.
That’s staggering.
There are those who place too much emphasis on the seeding in the tournament. It’s merely a guide to fit teams in what the committee feels are deserving, or undeserving, as they make up the matchups.
But to have no one in anyone’s top 12 reach the Final Four is amazing.
Let’s take the survivors one at a time.
Florida Atlantic, a relatively young school, only about 60 years old, produced their first NCAA tournament team this year.
FAU is only four miles from our residence in Boca Raton.
The town is going crazy and rightly so.
They play in Conference USA, against the likes of Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, and Louisiana Tech.
The Owls bring a 33-3 record against San Diego State.
They are not a Cinderella, because they were powerful all year against the team they had on their schedule.
They remind me, in a way, of Texas Western, the 1966 national champions who shocked Pat Riley and Kentucky in the Finals.
The Miners were 28-1, losing only to Seattle, playing a schedule that did not consist of power teams. They did not represent any conference, and were an independent.
When they were called upon to beat better teams they did.
Texas Western simply played the best when it counted and it was good enough for a national crown.
They were not a Cinderella team.
So, FAU, as a 9th seed will play number 5 San Diego State in one semi-final.
The Aztecs claim to fame is knocking off one of the number one seeds, and arguable the tourney favorite going in, Alabama.
They outlasted Creighton in the South Region Final by virtue of a controversial call that enabled them to make the winning free throw with 0.01 seconds on the clock.
Both sides could make a case on the call by the officials.
San Diego State could claim that their shooter was hampered by a hand on the body as he went up for the shot.
They would be correct.
Creighton would say that a call of that kind, following a game of intense physical play, did not have much significance, and should not have been made. A good point.
I have always felt that when officials are the ones to decide a contest that has been hard fought by the players, it leaves a bad taste in the mouths of fans.
Consistency is all anyone asks.
Perhaps that call was not consistent with the way the game was played.
But we go back to the big question? Was it a foul on the shot?
And in my view, there was.
The other semi-final matches UConn, No. 4, and as it turns out the highest seed remaining, and Miami, No. 5.
We focus on the two coaches here.
Jim Larranaga, the extremely capable and likable coach of the Hurricanes gained notoriety when he led No. 9 George Mason to a Final Four spot in 2006.
George Mason, an unlikely survivor, ironically, had to upset Connecticut to get to the magic group of four.
Now, 17 years later, the 73-year old Larranaga has to upset a different gang of Huskies to reach the Final.
Frankly, in watching Miami’s victory over Texas, I didn’t think they’d win.
Halfway through the second half, the Longhorns were in control of the game, leading by as much as 12 points with 10:14 remaining.
But that deficit can be overcome with dogged, relentless, and aggressive play, and that’s what the Hurricanes did, including connecting on virtually all their free throws.
Miami turned the game around against a tough Texas foe, and now there are two teams from South Florida among the four fighting for the national title.
If Florida Atlantic, San Diego State, and Miami are new to the Final Four, UConn is an old hand.
Not that they’ve been a perennial powerhouse all along.
They struggled, but are now back in the Big East, where they belong, and are making their sixth Final Four appearance, having won four national championships, the last in 2014.
UConn not only has the most experience in this area (although none of their players were around for those seasons) but they appear to have the strongest entry as well.
It still means they’ll have to go out and prove it.
Dan Hurley is their head coach.
His father, Bob, was one of the nation’s most successful high school coaches in New Jersey. In 46 years, Bob Hurley Sr. won over 1,000 games with four national titles and 26 state championships. A Hall of Famer.
His son Bob Jr. was a star at Duke, and an NBA player as a point guard with the Sacramento Kings.
He incredibly survived an auto accident that launched him 100 feet from the car, and nearly cost him his life.
Bobby Hurley is the head coach of Arizona State which went out in the first round this year.
Now, Dan Hurley, of the great Hurley basketball family, will try to win a national crown, the first for the family.
While the players perform, the coaching story in the UConn-Miami semi-final is huge.
Finally, the major question has to be asked, as to why this particular edition of March Madness is so special, with so many unexpected results?
I believe it is the start of what the future holds for this great event.
I also believe there are so many outstanding young athletes in the sport that no longer are the powers we’ve known able to corner the market.
There is more than enough to go around.
Practically all schools will have a chance at the glory of cutting down the nets in an NCAA championship game.
No predictions here.
You know, it’s always the same with me.
The team that plays better in a given game wins out.
It’s never been any different.
That never changes.