Column: Upsets, playoffs help college basketball reign as supreme sport

It is finally here. We have waited just about seven months for this to be back.

It is the greatest time in sports across any league, division or level of play. It is time for the start of college basketball.

College basketball is, without a doubt, the best sport to watch as a spectator or as a fan. It seems like just yesterday that we had an 11 seed playing an eight seed in the Final Four. The excitement that comes with an entire season of college basketball is second to none.

The last nine months were spent hearing professional athletes in the NFL and the NBA complain about how they need to make more money or have better contracts. The NBA still isn’t playing games. The MLB playoffs weren’t all that exciting, either, until the last two games.

These are just a few of the reasons why college basketball is the best when it comes to sports to watch and follow through a whole season. It is the sport with the best playoff system.

Each year, 64 — well, technically 68, with the new play-in system — teams have the opportunity to play for a national championship. No, there hasn’t been a 16 seed upset a one seed yet, but other than that, almost every team has a legitimate chance to win some games.

The way the playoff system works is much better than the current bowl system for college football. No one has to watch two 6-6 teams play each other in the Little Caesers’ Pizza Bowl game on a Wednesday night in the middle of
December.

People want to figure out a way to watch five games at the same time on a Tuesday afternoon while working in an office to catch what could be the biggest upset of the
tournament.

It has a season of the perfect length. College basketball is not drawn out into 90 or 100 games. It has a regular season with about 30 games in just more than three months. We never lose interest in college basketball because there just simply isn’t enough time.

Unlike college football, college basketball regularly has upsets throughout the season. There really is no chance of Indiana upsetting LSU in a regular season football game, but there is a real possibility that a team at the bottom of the ACC might pull a fast one on North Carolina, the preseason No. 1, in college basketball.

That is what makes college basketball so magical. Every team has a shot the entire year to make a name for itself. We praise the underdog in college basketball and tend to root against the long-standing powerhouses, knowing there is someone out there to beat them.

Many great college basketball players go on to have subpar professional careers.
College basketball is made for players like former Duke guard J.J. Redick. He was one of Duke’s all-time greatest three-point and free-throw shooters but has been a mediocre member of the Orlando Magic after getting drafted.

It is OK to have hope during college basketball season. It is OK to dream about a team like Virginia Commonwealth winning the National Championship because it could actually happen.

It is the best sport to watch. It is the best sport to be a fan of. The college basketball season has finally begun.

­— cursini@indiana.edu