College Basketball Race Wide Open

The last of the mighty fell in college basketball over the weekend.

Duke and Michigan were both undefeated heading into the weekend. Both suffered losses on the road. Duke lost to NC State and Ohio State beat Michigan.

This proves again the absence of an elite team in college basketball this season. Last year, Kentucky was crowned the king before the fact and the Wildcats didn’t disappoint. This season there has been contenders (Indiana Gonzaga, Michigan, Duke), but no WOW team.

March Madness could be especially exciting. Any one of the above mentioned four teams could earn the title or maybe a sleeper squad. Can you say UCLA or North Carolina State? How about Creighton or Wichita State?

Obviously a team needs talent, but getting hot in March and getting some good fortunate could result in a crown with several teams so evenly matched.

Who is your favorite to win the NCAA tournament? Who is your sleeper?

One Transfer Rule I Can Live With

It seems there is lots of discussion about college athletes transferring lately. Why are so many athletes transferring and how can the NCAA limit such moves?

One transfer rule the NCAA instituted in recent years involves final-year eligibility. If a student athlete has graduated from his/her university and still has a year of college playing available, he/she may go to another school and play immediately. The student athlete must attend graduate school and pursue a degree in field not offered at the previous school.

The most noticeable athlete to take advantage of the rule is Russell Wilson. Wilson starred at quarterback for three years at North Carolina State. He was also playing professional baseball and Wolfpack Coach Tom O’Brien wanted full football commitment out of Wilson. As Wilson pondered his decision, O’ Brien told him NC State was moving on. Wilson landed into the welcoming arms of the Wisconsin Badgers and put together a solid season.

I imagine some people consider this graduate transfer rule similar to other transfer situations and call for the athlete to sit out one season. But what happens if the athlete has already sat out one season as a redshirt? Also, isn’t the fact that he/she has already earned a degree worth something? Other students go to graduate school in other places than where they earned their undergraduate degrees.

Besides this is a select group of athletes. Trust me, folks: this isn’t a major problem. The NCAA should focus on some pressing issues such as policing more cheaters.

NCAA Does a Good Thing

This is the second season the NCAA is televising every men’s basketball tournament game to every television market in the country. This is a good thing.

The cynic in me says that the organization is doing it for the money. But even if that is the reason, it’s still a good thing.

Back in the old days, CBS controlled the TV rights. If you wanted to watch an out-of-market game, you basically had two choices: subscribe to DIRECTV or go to a sports bar or restaurant that offered the NCAA package. I remember going to a restaurant one time to watch NC State. Another time, I went to a cousin’s house to watch a California CBS station he had on his satellite that was carry the game I wanted to watch.

The new system carries games over four channels. You can watch any game and also flip back-and-forth between channels. It’s a beautiful thing.

The only problems are knowing what channels the games are on, what channel number on your particular system and what time in your time zone the games air.

But now with the Sweet 16 we are down to two networks: CBS and TBS. Once there are only eight teams remaining, CBS takes over.

This television package makes the beauty of March madness more beautiful.