I have an aunt who is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and as diehard a member of Big Blue Nation as you’re ever going to find. Everyone has a shot at making a March memory. Sure, some teams benefit from a head start, and others are dealing with unfair advantages they may not have earned, but at least nobody is disqualified before the race even gets started (well, almost nobody, but we’ll get to that).
At least when Loyola-Chicago upset Miami at the buzzer in the first round of the tournament in 2018, that wasn’t where the story ended.
At least the bottom-tier NET school that won its conference tournament gets the chance to prove itself on the sport’s biggest stage, and not inside a quarter-full stadium against a team that doesn’t really want to be there, in a game that, for all intents and purposes, has zero significance. Obtaining college basketball’s top prize is extremely unlikely for the vast majority of the 358 teams competing in Division I. It is also more conducive to magic and excitement than anything in its realm. It’s not fair, and it’s never going to be fair. For these programs, the fact one failure led to their demise while others were allowed to fail four times as often and still achieve their ultimate goals will be an impossible pill to swallow. For some, one night of bad luck will completely undo four months’ worth of hard work and overwhelming success. There are inherent disadvantages that a majority of the participants will need a significant dose of both skill and luck to overcome if they want to become nationally known and respected. Maybe this is why I find myself now, perhaps more than ever before, despite everything, so drawn to college basketball’s postseason. The conversations necessary to clear that picture up have never been more difficult to facilitate. The picture of what exactly America is has never been murkier.
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