IMO, what they saved was, except for #6 Villanova beating Georgetown a LONG time ago, the NC is manned by the top 4 seeds (I believe this is true). And I saw where UConn is the only second #4 to win it. I know it is fun to root for a FAU beating the better seeds, but you need real teams with real player depth to win it all. So, in reality, what it "saved" was getting the seeding somewhat correct.
Pretty incredible, most teams break when the lead was cut to 5. I said here ya go, but UCONN proceed to hit every big shot they needed and have an answer. They look like grown men playing ball. Both teams looked like grown men playing ball. Both teams were harassing on defense and clearly take pride in how they defend as a team. 3 titles in 13 years under different coaches. 5 titles since 1999. Pretty dang incredible that UCONN is the best basketball program in the modern era for men and women now. Team has a knack for playing well when it matters the most.
SDSU isn't a real team. Guess the teams they sent home didn't have real losses. That, however, is the only legitimate metric judging a team's success unless you are a fan of beauty contests.
It’s not like SDSU isn’t a known basketball program. I could definitely picture it. FAU would have shocked the system, but not SDSU.
Villanova was an 8 seed in ‘85. Since then the only winners above a 4 seed were 6 seed Kansas in ‘88 and 7 seed Uconn in ‘14 (shoulda been us dangit). Interesting that there have been 6, 7, and 8 seed winners but never a 5. We came close as a 5 seed in 2000.
I don't know about "saving" anything, but UConn was a very deserving team. They were far better than a 3-seed. Of everyone we played this year, they impressed me the most--far more than Bama (despite that lopsided score). They came into our place, we had a very good plan on both ends, and they just took everything we gave them and pulled away. They had a rough stretch to open conference play, but coming into the tourney they had won 9 of 11, and their only two losses were by one score each. They were terrific, IMO. Outstanding hard hedge ball screen defense with bigs who could recover and long, athletic, disruptive wings. Lots of perimeter shooting and shot-creating across the board with no real need for a traditional point ground. Dominant on the glass (third in the country). Deep team with a healthy balance of developed vets, portal contributors, and young impact guys.
