Terrence Willams and Louisville are in the Sweet 16

In last years NCAA tournament all of the 1 seeds made it to the final four for the first time in history, but this year the bracket is closer to chalk than any other bracket in recent memory. On the right side of the bracket all 1-4 seeds are facing off in this weekend’s sweet sixteen games and on the left side the only upsets present are Purdue, who as a 5 seed won a very close game against the Pac-10 champs Washington, and Arizona who are the last hope for Cinderella lovers across North America. However even as a 12 seed Arizona is far from a Cinderella type story. The annual Cinderella is usually a small conference school who after

Nic Wise has been playing at his best since the NCAA tournament began

struggling through their conference tournament (the only way for most schools outside of the major conferences to get invited) are assigned a 10+ seed and have to face nationally recognized highly talented programs. Who can truely say that they knew who Tony Skinn, Lamar Butler, or Jai Lewis were before their magical run in the 2006 tournament where they were overmatched by an absurdly talented UConn team in the Elite 8 but somehow found a way to win with the support of the entire nation (minus a few from the New England area). Arizona on the other hand has many future NBA players and have been a power school for many years. Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger are locks for the first round if they leave school after this year and Nic Wise has been one of the most exciting players to watch in the tournament and has a good chance to go to the NBA after a solid senior year next year. Arizona was an extremely talented basketball team who didn’t start firing on all cylindars until the end of the season and is making a nice run in the tourney after the selection committee gave them a lifeline by making them the last at-large team selected for the field of 65. Arizona is far from a Cinderella story. As a result Cinderella is dead in 2009.

Lamar Butler and George Mason were the talk of the '06 tournament

I have heard many people complaining that the tournament is not worth watching anymore because the excitement is gone, that the reason that the tournament is so great is because of the upsets and the Cinderella runs. If they stop watching they will miss out on one of the best tournaments in years. While I did find myself cheering along with the rest of the country when George Mason went on their run to the Final Four, I can’t help but feel that the Final Four would have been a whole lot better without them there. After an emotional win against UConn in the Elite 8 George Mason ran out of gas against a Florida team who would go on to win the National Championship. Just imagine however how the Final Four would have been if Denham Brown had hit the buzzer beater in overtime and UConn had gone instead. The blowout that was the George Mason-Florida

The potential Hansbrough-Griffin matchup has me drooling

game would have been much tighter with UConn playing. UConn had the big men and the depth to compete with the tall and athletic team lead by Jokim Noah and his ridiculous hair. The game would have been one to remeber and Florida (who practically walked through the Final Four to win the National Championship) would have had to play one last battle against a very talented UConn team. That is why I think that Cinderella runs, while enjoyable for the casual viewer, can be negative. Without upsets fans can see the games that the committee intended them to see. Matchups between Memphis and UConn, Pitt and Duke, UNC and Oklahoma, and Louisville and MState where the most talented teams and players in the country can play and prove without a doubt the best team in the nation. I mean who doesnt want to see the highly antisipated showdown between Tyler Hansbrough, last years National Player of the Year, and Blake Griffin, this years player of the year and probably number one pick in the NBA Draft. When the favorites make it deep into the tournament it makes for the best possible matchup between superstar players and the most talented teams in the country which makes for a great set of games. When the most talented teams make it to the later rounds of the  tournament I would argue that it is more exciting than the years when surprise teams play beyond their talent and find a way to scrape out wins. Because in the end which is more fun to watch: a Florida-George Mason blowout or two of the best players in the country faceing off to prove head to head who is the best? I know which game I would rather watch.

-KC Roberts