(01-07-2018 06:01 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  As much as I hate to say it, regardless of all logic, at least NC State beat some really good teams on their way to the title. They weren't the best team on paper but they earned their title by going through some great teams, both in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.

And that's exactly what I mean by this idiotic logic of just assuming things rather than earning them on the field of play. Had they just assumed things, Houston would have won the national title before the Tournament began and the Final Four would have been UH, Louisville, Virginia and either St. John's or UNC (only because they were reigning national champs with Jordan).

But they played the games and luck or not, they earned everything they got. So who cares about improbability, earn it on the field. If the so-called best team doesn't win it, then that's their fault, in every sport except college football.

The NCAA basketball tournament is anything but fair. Many teams that prove their consistency and worth over 30 regular season games get almost nothing from it, other than what amounts to the chance to play Russian roulette up to six times. But the tournament is entertaining in spite of being unfair to the best teams, because it's one-and-done and a mediocre team can beat a great team on any given day by luck or because the great team had a bad game (which is good luck for the mediocre team, to catch them on that day).

Giving everyone "a chance" isn't being fair; it's more like passing out lottery tickets. It can be entertaining, like March Madness usually is, but it's not fair in the sense of being meritorious.