Why Championship Week is better than the first two days of the NCAA Tournament
For years, a great myth has been perpetrated on the American public. One rooted in fable but accepted as fact. And it’s time to change that.
The myth? That the opening two days of the NCAA Tournament are “the two best days on the sports calendar.” That’s not true! In reality, those aren't even the best two days of the college basketball season, or March in general.
Instead, the best two days in the sport are the Thursday and Friday of Championship Week. During these two glorious days, we get more basketball games, featuring the best teams playing more often and against better competition than we do during the Big Dance. And it’s about darn time we give Championship Week the credit it deserves.
Let’s start with today, Thursday, which might be the best day on the entire sports calendar. The action begins at high noon ET, with games being played pretty much non-stop until around 2:00 a.m. ET on Friday morning, when the final Pac-12 quarterfinal ends. That’s 14 hours of wall-to-wall hoops (more than any day of the NCAA Tournament), and the quality will be top-notch. On Thursday, we’ll get quarterfinal action from arguably the four best conferences in college basketball: the Big East, ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12. The SEC and Big Ten will also give us four games.
But it’s not about the quantity of basketball as much as the quality. Thursday’s schedule has more big-name star power than a barbecue at Kris Jenner’s house. Games like Duke-Louisville, UCLA-USC and Florida State-Virginia highlight the schedule. Others like Iowa State-Oklahoma State and Marquette-Seton Hall give true hoops’ junkies something to enjoy as well. Even a game that doesn’t look great on paper (Kansas-TCU) should be entertaining. It will almost certainly be better than the Jayhawks' opening-round NCAA Tournament game next week.
And that’s the biggest difference right there.
While the NCAA Tournament has mass appeal thanks to brackets, many of the first-round games are a bore. Sure, everyone loves a good, old-fashioned 12-5 upset, but to get that, you’ve got to sit through four boring 1-16 blowouts.
Of the eight first-round games featuring No. 1 and 2 seeds in last year’s NCAA Tourney, seven were decided by double-digits (in defense of the “NCAA Tournament truthers,” the one that wasn’t was Middle Tennessee State’s shocking upset of Michigan State). The year before, all eight No. 1 and 2 seeds won their opener by double-digits. The fact that a No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed, and that No. 2 seeds have a 120-8 overall record against No. 15 seeds, means that of the 32 opening-round games next weekend, it’s almost assured that one-quarter of them will be blowouts.
But back to Championship Week, where we get big games featuring high-profile teams on Thursday and then get to do it all over again a day later. Schools like North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova won’t get to run through an overmatched directional school like in their NCAA Tournament opener; instead, they will face tough challenges from teams that know them well (the Tar Heels lost to Thursday’s opponent, Miami, earlier this season). If UNC wins, it will have to return to the court 24 hours later and do it again. By the time the weekend is over, the best teams have often played two or three games in a short stretch against big-time competition.
Then there are the venues.
Unlike the sterile NCAA Tournament pod system, conference tournaments are played in geographically-friendly neutral court venues that entice fans to show up in droves. It means the Big East Tournament is played in front of raucous crowds at Madison Square Garden. Kansas, Iowa State and others bring busloads of supporters to Kansas City. Kentucky fans turn Nashville into “Catsville.” With all due respect, which do you think will give us the better atmosphere: an Arizona-Oregon Pac-12 final Saturday night in Vegas, or the Wildcats’ tourney opener next week in Sacramento? Unless you’re opposed to loud crowds and Fake Elvises (or is it “Elvi?”), we all know the answer is Vegas.
And we haven’t even gotten to all of the other advantages, including the never-ending bubble talk and debate about seeding, or other conference tournaments (like the Mountain West and Atlantic 10) that always provide plenty of entertainment.
Add it up, and the great American myth is a myth no more.
Forget the NCAA Tournament, the two greatest days of the sports calendar are happening right now.
