Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
I know, I don't like the underdog in the NCAA Tournament.
But does a No. 5 seed count as an underdog?
It sure does, especially when talking about little-known Butler.
The mid-major monster is picking teams off at a rapid clip, including No. 1 Syracuse and most recently No. 2 Kansas State to advance to their first Final Four in school history.
Yes, they are no-namers on this Bulldogs squad, but they are obviously making a name for themselves now. They've definitely put Butler (from Indianapolis) on the map.
This club might be a mid-major, but their coach is a major superstar.
His name is Brad Stevens and I hope he's making a boatload of cash, which he probably isn't because he's a mid-major coach. But there's no doubt in my mind that he could lead a power conference program, and perhaps he'll get a shot at a big time school and make big time money after showcasing to the world that he can take a virtually unknown bunch of players from a small school and beat down some of the finer basketball programs in the country.
Stevens, you're legit in my book.
While I'm still not all tingly about a Cinderella story like Butler, I'm buying coach Stevens and I'm actually going to put aside my dislike for the underdog and root for these Butler Bulldogs in the Final Four.
They are fun to watch, they actually play defense, they've got an outstanding young coach, and they play as a team, play for each other and the name of their jersey.
Seriously, what's not to like about Butler?
I think more and more mid majors will start making some noise in the tournament - much like George Mason did with a final four run in 2006.
ReplyDeleteMid majors don't have the talent that the big schools do, but they are more likely to hold onto guys for all 4 years. At schools like UNC, UConn, Kentucky, Syracuse etc, players will stay one or two years, then bolt for the NBA. When a good coach like Brad Stevens can have the same players for 4 years, it is easy to see why they are successful.