It's never too early to talk about March basketball.
You can hear and feel the sights and sounds as you hold this paper in your hands — the game-winners, heartbreakers, court-stormings, net-cutting and that oh-so-glorious CBS theme music that, if played properly, could wake any 18- to 35-year-old-male from a coma (seriously, hospitals would make a killing if they implemented this simple technology).
What really gives March basketball that love affair feel is the drive from 65 down the road to the Final Four. It's the three weeks of 64 dynamic games, all of which have a direct impact on your precious office pool bracket. They force hoops fans to time their bathroom breaks accordingly or wear two pairs of shorts and hope for the best. With all respect to the Masters in Augusta, it's a tradition unlike any other.
But one thing that gives the month the nickname "March Madness" is the mid-major upsets that undoubtedly bring people to tears, sending those paper brackets with a one-way ticket to the shredder.
Last year, Bradley and Wichita State from the Missouri Valley Conference beat Kansas and North Carolina, respectively, to reach the Sweet Sixteen. And don't forget about those Cinderella Patriots from George Mason, who reached the Final Four after beating top-seeded Connecticut. Without mid-majors, the tournament wouldn't have that endearing dramatic flair.
That's why five years ago ESPN created the Bracket Buster weekend in mid-February, pitting mid-major conferences against one another so they may strut their stuff in front of a national audience. By itself, showcasing these schools in the thick of conference races isn't must-see television — no matter how compelling they might be. With ESPN running the show and hyping the games up to no end, America suddenly jumps on board to cheer for the underdogs.
The first go-around was a huge marketing success for ESPN and a huge résumé-booster for some mid-major schools needing to impress the selection committee. Of course, good games equal ratings, which equals M-O-N-E-Y!
So ESPN does what any network would do — expand, expand and expand. The result: The small house party type of atmosphere that was originally created has turned into an overflow beyond capacity. Did someone cry party foul?
The original setup in 2003 was 18 teams with eight games featured on ESPN's family of networks. Now, 102 teams from 16 conferences will tip off next Friday and Saturday in the fifth annual Bracket Buster spectacular.
"We're willing to make it as big as the conferences who are participating want it to be," Burke Magnus, director of ESPN's college basketball programming, said in a press release. "[Mid-majors] get only a few cracks at national television each year. They were interested in trying to capitalize on some of the [fame] they earned in last year's tournament."
For all the hype associated with Bracket Buster teams, few of them actually wind up busting brackets come March. Out of the Bracket Buster pool in 2005, 18 of the event's 64 teams made the NCAA tournament. Of that figure, UW-Milwaukee was the only team to reach the Sweet Sixteen and only Bucknell, Nevada, Pacific, Southern Illinois and Vermont won a game. Even so, that one win, like No. 13 Vermont beating highly-touted Syracuse, is a memory that lasts a lifetime.
"I thought you might find me in pieces around the arena because there's no drug, nothing in the world that is that feeling [of winning]," then-Vermont head coach and current ESPN analysis Tom Brennan said after the game. "There's nothing that can make you feel like that except competition and going through a lot with your guys, especially ones you love."
Southern Illinois athletic director Paul Kowalczyk, whose team has become highly successful in the national tournament since the creation of the Bracket Buster event, told the St. Petersburg Times the advantages outweigh the disadvantages even though the end result usually elevates one mid-major at the expense of another.
"This [event] provides people the opportunity to see us later in the season, which is more of a factor if you look at the committee's selection process," Kowalczyk said. "They always talk about teams who are hot toward the end of the year. So this is a great opportunity to showcase yourself when you're heading down the homestretch."
No one denies the Bracket Buster event has its merits no matter what size the pool is or how many games wind up on television. It's a chance to get a preview of some talented teams you wouldn't have the chance to see without the satellite dish and they play just as hard as the big boys in the power conferences.
So get comfy on the couch, put on that extra pair of shorts and start taking notes because the studying you do now may make you look like the genius of the office pool.
Benjamin Worgull is a senior majoring in journalism and Bracketology. To pre-register for his 11th annual NCAA Tournament pool or discuss your favorite mid-major, contact him at [email protected].
