HOUSTON — At some point Sunday, the numbers will start coming in to show how many Americans watched the men’s Final Four.
They probably won’t be great. Newsflash: A Final Four with Florida Atlantic, San Diego State, Miami and UConn, four coaches who aren’t household names and no projected first-round NBA draft picks is unlikely to capture the imagination of the casual basketball fan.
“If you’re expecting all four No. 1 seeds to be at the Final Four every year, it doesn’t work that way,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said. “There’s too much parity in college basketball.”
Said another way: Save your complaints. This is what college basketball is. Embrace it or go watch something else.
If this Final Four isn’t your cup of tea, the only people who are going to miss you are CBS executives. And even then, a weird, one-off Final Four without a blueblood is not going to cause the collapse of network television or decrease the value of the NCAA men’s tournament.
Whether the TV ratings end up being better than expected or the lowest in the modern era, there is no reason whatsoever for college basketball fans to care.
Miami head coach Jim Larranaga huddles with the Canes during practice on Friday.
“I love to see it because it’s an opportunity for those outside the national spotlight to be on the big stage and show what they can do,” Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said. “I think it’s great for the game to have new faces, new people on the scene. I think it’s really cool.”
The uniqueness of college basketball is that one year, you get a Final Four with Kansas, North Carolina, Duke and Villanova — a group of teams that owns a combined 18 NCAA tournament titles — and the next you get three programs making the semifinals for the first time.
As much as upsets and Cinderella stories in the early rounds make the tournament popular, it’s no secret that the ideal Final Four for television ratings would include at least two or three bluebloods every year….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/miss-seeing-bluebloods-mens-final-120010957.html?src=rss
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2023-04-01 12:00:10
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