Final 4 Things to Take Away from March Madness

#1) The Blue-Bloods still reign supreme

Everybody longs for the Cinderella story! We all have been patiently waiting to see another 1983 NC State or 1985 Villanova, however it looks like Cinderella has her work cut out for her in the One-and-Done era. It’s no secret that the top recruits are going to schools that have a reputation for elevating players to the pro level. Wisconsin’s men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan put his foot in his mouth in regards to this subject when he said “We don’t do rent-a-player”. Coach K proceeded to fire back with these poignant comments. If anything Bo Ryan just told any kid considering an early pro level pathway to check Wisconsin off the list. After Wisconsin’s historic win over undefeated Kentucky, Ryan made no mention of rent-a-players. The inexperience of Kentucky’s players actually played in Wisconsin’s favor. Lets not forget about the UConn women’s basketball program. UConn continues to dominate in blue-blood fashion and coach Geno Auriemma has now tied legendary UCLA coach John Wooden with 10 NCAA championships. Here are the most recent results of the men’s NCAA basketball tourney: Duke (2015), UConn (2014), Louisville (2013), Kentucky (2012, UConn (2011), Duke (2010). It’s evident that the top dogs are here to stay. In case you are wondering about the pasts women’s NCAA winners, UConn has won an unprecedented 5 title’s in the last 7 years. Now that’s what you call a Dynasty folks!

#2) College Officiating needs an overhaul

A lot of the controversy surrounding the men’s national championship has to do with poor officiating. College officiating has been ridiculously unpredictable. Wisconsin was only called for 2 fouls in the first half, but proceeded to pile up 13 whopping fouls in the second half of the championship game. It appeared as if a couple out-of-bounds calls were blatantly missed in the men’s national championship game as well. The NCAA has issued some statements regarding these missed calls. The NCAA needs to establish more strict referee guidelines. Whats the point of having replay? It’s not hard to find out that I’m a die-hard Duke fan, but I call it like I see it!

#3 Where is the sportsmanship?

I don’t mean to anger the beast that is Big Blue Nation, but I found their lack of sportsmanship appalling. Willie Cauley-Stein abruptly decided to walk off the court after Kentucky’s loss to Wisconsin. On top of that Andrew Harrison took it to the next level when he made a rude remark about Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky. I understand that losing is no fun, but class and sportsmanship are an essential element of the game. Kentucky has countless young impressionable fans and that’s not the kind of guidance they need. Bo Ryan did not appear very sportsmanlike in the post-game press conference after the title game either. Most of America has already long forgotten the West Virginia freshmen who called out UK probably because Kentucky went on to open up a can of you know what after those remarks. Oh and of course the Kentucky players had to get in some post-game jabs on Twitter. Maybe I’m a little old school, but if I was the coach I would tell my team to keep their mouth shut PERIOD. Now I understand why Rick Pitino does not like for his players to use social media. Act like you have been there before! It’s important to always show grace and humility no matter what the result is.

4.) March Madness is here to stay

Despite some of the controversy, viewership ratings have never been higher. Not only were the national championship viewership ratings up 33%, but the entire tournament saw an overall 8% viewership increase. This was the most watched tournament in the last 22 years! Check out the stats for yourself. Records were broken for live streams and social media impressions as well. An unfathomable 1.1 billion was earned in ad revenue for the tournament this year. If you think TV advertisements are dying out, think again.

Although it may seem like I am being extra critical of the tournament, I love the March Madness format. However, I would love to see the NCAA improve officiating and instant replay. I want to see more sportsmanship as well, but perhaps Charles Barkley said it best

At the end of the day, sportsmanship and class starts with the parents. So long March…. Until we meet again…. 😥

My take on the Madness so far!

We all can agree that the NCAA tournament has once again lived up to expectations so far. We have had the epic buzzer beaters and riveting upsets.

. The Kentucky Wildcats continue to steam roll through the competition. What was that freshman from West Virginia thinking!? Check out what Daxter Miles Jr. initially predicted and how his attitude changed after the game. The Kentucky players made sure to fire back last night after the ridiculous blow out via Twitter. Xavier gave Arizona everything they had and it was the match up of the night, but at the end of the day Arizona’s tenacity prevailed. The underdog story of Wichita State once again ended, but not before they had the chance to one up inner state rival Kansas. North Carolina took Wisconsin to the wire, but eventually the rainbows became bricks and super senior Frank Kaminsky put the game on his back. Sam Dekker stepped up as well, but he had a little extra motivation. Look at this playful twitter exchange between Dekker and Green Bay Packer QB Aaron Rodgers.

Perennial basketball prize fighters remain including Wisconsin, Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky and Arizona. However, under the radar teams like Louisville, Oklahoma and Utah are lurking about ready to steal the show. Cinderella dreams could be in the making once again. Can NC State over-exceed expectation like Jimmy V’s 1983 team? Will this be the year that Gonzaga finally staples their name alongside the big boys? Many questions circulate this tournament and you can cut the tension with a knife!

The NC State vs. Louisville game is on as I’m typing this blog post. I predict this game to come down to the wire. It may take another beautiful mid-range J from Mango to edge out the Wolfpack. NC State is built for the press so will Rick Pitino go zone or stick with his guns? I believe this game may be decided by which star shooter gets hots. The Cardinals have been riding sharp shooter Terry Rozier all tournament long. Trevor Lacey of the Wolfpack is one of the most silky smooth players in the nation when he is on. The question is, who will be on when it matters most?

Gonzaga is up on UCLA at half time by a short margin. This will be a West Coast scorcher. UCLA is the most acclaimed name in all of college basketball and Gonzaga has been clawing their way up the prestige ladder for years now. Get your popcorn ready for the second half of this one, it could go either way!

Now for the game no one is talking about. Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans have quietly scraped their way into another Sweet 16. We saw Connecticut win it all last year with a similar mid range seed like Michigan State currently has. Oklahoma can score at will and the school has been relatively quiet since the days of Blake Griffin. Could this be Oklahoma’s moment to steal the show? No matter who wins this game, they will still be overshadowed, but that could play to their advantage.

A lot of people are picking Utah for the upset over Duke. However, the players at Duke are gellin’ like Magellan right now and it will be difficult to break their mojo. Utah must contain Jahlil Okafor in the paint and force Duke to live by the three as they are so often known for. I like Duke to win this one. I believe Duke is one of the only teams in the country that could give Kentucky a scare and I’m dying to see Christian Laettner round two. If you haven’t already seen it, go watch the ESPN 30 for 30 movie “I Hate Christian Laettner” for a little background on this rivalry. 

Keep your eyes on this upcoming elite 8 match up between Kentucky and Notre Dame. The ACC champs have their chance to prove that Kentucky plays soft competition. Kentucky can end that form of criticism once and for all with a win in this game. If Kentucky goes down, this bad boy is wide open!

Buckle up and Keep Calm, It’s Still March!!

March = Money

Well its almost that time of year. It’s time for the madness to begin! CHA-CHING $$$

Did you know that coaches normally receive bonuses for wins in March? In 2013 Rick Pitino accrued an estimated $840,000 from tournament bonuses. Pitino received a $150,000 bonus from the championship win alone. Coaches aren’t the only ones making all the money. CBS and the Turner TV network earned over 1 billion dollars in revenue from the tournament in 2013! That’s B as in BILLION. Oh by the way… Louisville was college basketballs most valuable team that year and estimated to be worth over 38.55 million. Hmmm I wonder who the most valuable team in college basketball is this year? I bet it’s that blue team in Lexington, but sorry I can’t recall the name 🙂 This article is full of financial info about the 2013 basketball tournament.

According to Kantar Media, The NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the NFL playoffs are perennially the two largest post-season sports franchises. After two years atop the rankings, college hoops finally slid to 2nd position behind the NFL in 2014. The only TV ads more expensive than March Madness ads are NFL playoff game ads. March Madness means big business. Major companies including GE, Coco-Cola, and AT&T all sponsor the NCAA. Ever wonder what kind of ads see the most air time? That would be automotive ads! Now for my personal favorite statistic measured by Kantar Media:

HH Rating Index
Index Rank	TV Market	Games w/Out-Of Area Teams	All Games
1	Louisville KY	304	379
2	Topeka KS	227	267
3	Dayton OH	224	255
4	Lexington KY	219	269
5	Wichita-Hutchinson KS	213	264

How to read: The average game rating in Louisville was 3.04 times greater than the national average

What this information means is that the Louisville, Ky. market had the most committed audience during the 2014 tournament. Take that Wildcats! Katar Media provided tons of cool March Madness statistics and you can check them out in this article.

There are a few reasons why March Madness is unlike any other sports event.

1. The Alliterations. Unlike the Super Bowl, March Madness is a segmented sporting event. This means that the revenue stream will stay open for longer. The NCAA implemented a great strategy by segmenting March Madness into names like the sweet 16, the elite 8 and the final four. Each one of these segments presents a new opportunity for revenue.

2. The Spontaneity. What people love most about March is that no one ever guesses the winners correctly. This is why your wife’s color coordinated bracket demolished your strategic masterpiece last year. You don’t have to be a pro to understand March Madness. The first days of the tournament are like heaven for those with short attention spans. You can flip to the last 2 minutes of a game and share in the joy of a buzzer beater. I believe the revenue stream for this sport is so high because it captures casual sports fans just as well as hardcore sports enthusiasts.

3. The Contests. Everyone wants to take Warren Buffetts money in the billion dollar bracket challenge! However, Fox Sports, Capital One, ESPN and CBS Sports all have their own version of bracket contests as well. No sporting event does contests, sweepstakes and betting like March Madness does. Whether the odds are impossible or not, people love to shoot for the stars.

Not everyone appreciates March Madness as much as the fans do. Take a look at this humorous infographic on the economics of March Madness.

As you can see, March Madness is all about the money. Try not to get fired from your job this week and may the bracket Gods be with you! LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!