In a season that was so promising for so many college basketball teams, all but one team ended the year unsatisfied.  That team was the University of Connecticut (7th seed). They beat the University of Kentucky (8th seed) in the championship game on April 7.   Kentucky was initially ranked first in the nation and UConn was ranked 19th, but they both fell during the season and ended up dropping out of the rankings.

Many of the usual college contenders, such as Duke University, the University of Kansas and Syracuse University, were bounced out early on in the tournament.  In a year that had a total of five different teams to receive the number one ranking, the results of the tournament were completely unpredictable.  UConn is a team whose best players are upperclassmen, including star shooting guard Shabazz Napier, who led them in scoring throughout the whole year.  Meanwhile, Kentucky’s starting lineup was made up of five freshman and the only “veterans” were two sophomores who came off the bench.  These characteristics gave the game many subplots. These subplots sparked the debate on whether one-and-dones (players that go to the NBA after their freshman year) are better than experienced players.

“Somebody told me we were Cinderellas, and I was like, no, we’re UConn,” said coach Kevin Ollie to ESPN.  “This is what we do.  We are born for this.  We’re bred to cut down nets.  We’re not chasing championships.  Championships are chasing us.”

Year after year, there are huge upsets during the tournament that is now called “March Madness” and the most hectic month in all of sports.  The 7th and 8th seeds are just the latest example that anything can happen in sports, especially in the NCAA tournament.