January Madness

Basketball, in its collegiate form, captures the nation for a month each year. Bracket research and selection consumes workplaces from Selection Sunday until minutes before tipoff of the first of 67 games. At that point the “Madness” of March officially ensues. Several top teams inevitably go down the first day, and the days that follow rarely see any less insanity. No one really denies the off the charts entertainment provided by CBB’s playoff tournament, but more often than not, it’s regular season is simply overlooked.

Year to year, parity is increased in the game, as the traditional blue blood powerhouses are being met with surprising force by mid major opponents. Even just a few years ago, teams outside of the Power 5 Conferences had slim chances to enter the AP Top 25 rankings for more than a week over the course of the 5 and a half months that the poll runs. Seven teams under that criteria are represented in the poll this week, including the NUMBER ONE TEAM IN THE NATION.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have stunned the nation yet again. That’s right, Gonzaga University of the West Coast Conference have been awarded the most prestigious regular season honor by the best and brightest that cover the sport. Of course Gonzaga hasn’t exactly snuck up on the college basketball world this year. They’ve been a competitive team in the tournament for a few years now, but maybe they’re the exception. Then again, how do you define Wichita State? A team that has been considered in the Top 25 for years now and has certainly made a name for itself in the tournament, as they’ve won 6 games in the last 4 years, and have made the tourney 5 years running. Another exception, perhaps. Then you have Cincinnati representing the American Athletic Conference in the Top 25 at 11, and St. Mary’s is on a run to match Gonzaga atop the WCC, as they sit at number 20 in the nation. Anomaly seems like a bad word to describe these teams. Five other mid major teams received votes in the latest poll as well, thus solidifying the point.

This all goes without mentioning the Big East, which is home to the reigning National Champion Villanova Wildcats, who also held the number one spot in the nation for the past 3 weeks before being dethroned… by an unranked Marquette squad. The Conference has 4 teams in this week’s poll, which is more than the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and Pac 12 each have individually. You really can’t call them a mid major conference at this point, even though they are not considered among the Power 5. They may not be what they once were, but they sure as hell aren’t mid major. So maybe we have a Power 6 on our hands right now, and with the AAC and WCC making considerable pushes for respect around the FBS community, that number could expand in a few seasons.

Gonzaga’s climb to number 1 gives us our 5th different number 1 selection this season, with 5 weeks still remaining until conference tournaments. Marquette is not the only unranked team to beat a top program this year, and 4 of the top 5 teams went down last week ALONE. The supposed supernova juggernaut Duke squad has been beaten FIVE times this season, and the additional blue blood teams of Kentucky, Kansas, and UNC have combined for another TEN losses so far this season.

Additionally, each team in the Top 25 has at least two losses, with Gonzaga (22-0) as the only exception. We’ve already seen an array of fantastic games in December and January alone, with UCLA v. Oregon (12/28), Kansas v. Kentucky (1/28), and Virginia v. Villanova (1/29) playing out as potential Final Four matchups to this point just to name a few. Last second shots, overtime, and buzzer beaters have not been hard to come by, and certain weekends in January could easily be confused for the second or third weekend in March, if for some reason you had no concept of time.

Meanwhile, the NBA has seen the same matchup in the Finals for 2 seasons in a row, and appears to be making its way to a third come this June. The underdog seed rarely comes through in the playoffs and upsets are few and far between in the regular season. Of course the NBA has had its share of must watch games, but simply not comparable to what can be seen in the college game, especially this year.

As the regular season comes to a close, the games are getting legitimately wild, and I would guarantee an equally lit slate of Conference Championships across the board as teams gear up for the National Tournament. Everyone knows about March Madness, but not enough know you can get the same riveting play all season long.

Written by Connor Peterson