Final Four Anomaly

A few weeks ago, Dick Vitale proclaimed Georgetown to be his NCAA Tournament darkhorse. How can a No. 2 seed be a darkhorse, you might ask? I wondered the same thing, and made fun of Vitale's "courage" every chance I got. Well, now the Final Four is set and, the way it looks, Vitale's comment wasn't as ridiculous as I first thought.

Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit. Vitale's comment is still ridiculous...I think a team needs to be at least a No. 4 seed to be considered a darkhorse to win the Tournament. The point that I'm trying to make is that this year's Final Four, with two No. 1 seeds (including last year's National Champions) and two No. 2 seeds is lacking for inspiration. What a difference a year makes, huh?

Last year, the Final Four included exactly zero No. 1 seeds, and was highlighted by No. 11 seed fan-favorite George Mason. Remember how much fun that was? Remember how many picks you crossed off your bracket along the way? This year, I crossed off just as many of my bracket picks, but for exactly the opposite reason: Nearly all of the top seeds won for the entire Tournament!

While this has definitely not been one of the more exciting NCAA Tournaments in recent memory, basketball fans (and gamblers) can take comfort in the fact that this year is an anamoly. So while you're cringing as the office-pool manager hands over the winning check to the fat, Christmas sweater-wearing, always-has-fudge-at-her-desk, lady who chose every higher seeds to win; take comfort in the fact that next year, everything will return to normal. And remember that next year...that's right, next year...will finally be the year when your college basketball expertise pays off, you accept the winning pot of money, and earn the undying respect of your co-workers.