College basketball is so much better than the NBA." I can't count the number of times I've heard statements to that effect, and I'm sure you've heard them too. A lot of people share that sentiment, but honestly, I couldn't disagree more. And it's not just because I'm bitter about how busted my bracket is.
Well, actually, yes it is. For me, the fun of filling out my March Madness bracket is trying to snipe the upsets and predict the Cinderellas. There's really nothing like it. Everybody else is asking, "Where did this team come from?" but you know that you believed in your underdog all along.
You don't even have to have picked an upset -- or be in a bracket pool for that matter -- to appreciate underdogs. I didn't have No. 11 seed George Mason in the Final Four a few years back, but I still rooted for them. It's fun to watch a Cinderella play its way through the Big Dance all the way to the national championship game.
But there's been a problem with March Madness the past couple of years. There have been no upsets. There have been no Cinderella stories. I'm not looking for another George Mason here -- after all, the Patriots were one of only two double-digit seeds ever to make it to the Final Four -- but come on, this is college basketball. Where'd the parity go?
A lot of people argue for the college game being better than professional ball because the former is "pure." Players aren't playing for money; they're playing for the love of the game. But I've never really bought that line of reasoning. Just because they're getting paid doesn't mean the pros aren't passionate. Do you think LeBron doesn't care about winning an NBA title? Do you think Kevin Garnett was insincere when he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Anything is possible!" when the Celtics won it all last season? Of course not.
The real appeal of college basketball comes from the fact that anybody can beat just about anybody. At least, that used to be the appeal. The Final Four this year consists of two No. 1 seeds, a No. 2 and a No. 3. Last year, it was all No. 1 seeds. Boooring.
Some would say that it's just a result of the selection committee getting better at what it does. But I don't think that's it. For whatever reasons, it appears that there's just a greater divide between the top-tier programs and the rest of the Div. I schools. It's not a coincidence that UNC and UConn have had average margins of victory of 22.5 and 25.25, respectively, in the tournament.
Let's compare this to the NBA. Sure, the East is pretty bad beyond the top three teams, but take a look at the standings in the West. There are six teams -- current seeds two through seven -- within two and a half games of each other. And all of them have a reasonable shot at winning it all. Now that's parity.
If you're a basketball purist -- someone that appreciates the fundamentals -- the NBA is the place for you. Players actually run out the play clock and take care of the ball. And if you're someone that doesn't care at all about fundamentals, you just like scoring, the NBA is the place for you too; most NCAA scores are in the 60s and 70s, while the NBA's generally hit triple digits.
I'm not saying college basketball is bad. I like March Madness as much as anyone else, and I'm sure the Final Four will be exciting. Still, I'm looking forward to the NBA playoffs even more.
The NCAA's slogan is "There are over 380,000 student athletes, and most of us go pro in something other than sports." The NBA's is "Where Amazing Happens." Which do you want to watch?
--
David Heck is a junior majoring in Philosophy. He can be reached at David.Heck@tufts.edu
