Apr 3, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Baylor Bears guard Mark Vital (11) and forward Flo Thamba (0) go for a rebound against Houston Cougars forward Justin Gorham (4) during the second half in the national semifinals of the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
I don’t remember the last time I have been this excited about watching college basketball’s national championship game.
I believe 2008’s bout featuring Kansas and Memphis was probably the last time I was SUPER fired up … Of course, I have to admit that my Big 12 bias probably plays at least a minor role in this.
Hell of a shot by Mario Chalmers…
Due to the unpredictable nature of this tournament, it is quite rare for the best two teams to meet each other and play for the championship. In general, fans love this about the Madness. Without Cinderella, the tournament isn’t the “Tournament.”
But as I have grown older, I have come to appreciate watching the best teams hash it out for the top crown in any sport. It’s one of the reasons I am so drawn to the NBA Playoffs these days. Flukes rarely happen in five and seven game series’.
I want to see the best teams play for rings!
In November, before the season had even started, we knew that Baylor and Gonzaga were the best two teams in the country. Nothing that we have seen since then has changed that fact.
Would it have been cool to see an 11-seed, UCLA dethrone the unbeaten Zags on Saturday night? Yeah, I guess. But that would have robbed us all from an iconic title game bout that we are about to get in just a few hours.
Let’s get after it.
And go Bears.
