Some are the calling the Butler-Virginia Commonwealth Final Four game a Cinderella affair. But that isn’t the true picture.
Yes, we do have one true Cinderella team in Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams barely got an invitation to the tournament and were seeded No. 11. They have awakened the college basketball world with five straight tournament wins and knocked out No. 1 seeded Kansas in the Final Four qualifier. Fans are learning all about a school that very few basketball fans know about before the tournament. Yes, Cinderella is Virginia Commonwealth.
Butler is not a Cinderella story, however. Maybe the Bulldogs were in the past, but not this year. They are a veteran NCAA tournament team. Remember last year when they matched Duke toe-to-toe in the championship game? These players know the drill and expect to do well in the tournament. It’s no real surprise that Butler is where the Bulldogs are at this time of year. They did have some hiccups during the season, but once the tournament began, the games faces came on and Butler went into high gear.
What we do have here is a wonderful game between two mid-major schools. It brings rich freshness to the Final Four. Maybe this will force the NCAA brass to invite more mid-majors to the NCAA party. Maybe they can drop some power conference .500 record teams and give the smaller boys a better chance.
Let’s hope they receive the memo.
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