The Bluedevil's in the details

On Monday night the NCAA men's college basketball season came to an end in thrilling fashion as the Duke Bluedevils topped the Butler Bulldogs 61-59. It's fair to say not many had that final matchup.

There is a point to which it's hard to root for Duke. It almost feels like rooting for the New York Yankees, just wrong. But it's hard to say why that is. For as great as Coach K. is, last night marked only Duke's fourth title and first since 2001. In fact, rival and juggernaut North Carolina has racked up twice as many titles in the last decade. Still, there are a lot of people that seem to bristle at the thought of Duke carrying the day.

Butler isn't quite the Cinderella they've been made out to be either. The team was ranked all season and probably should have been given a higher seed. Still, playing practically at home Monday night, the Bulldogs showed their skill and nearly came away with the National Title. It was a fittingly unpredictable end to one of the wildest tournaments in recent memory.

Duke, though a One-Seed, was largely overlooked heading into the tournament. Most of the buzz surrounded Kansas and Kentucky, and a slew of teams from the Big East. The Big East landed eight teams in the tournament, however none made it through to the final game. Villanova, the Two-Seed in Duke's bracket which had been picked to go to the Final Four, actually fell in the second round. So did Kansas. No. 3 seed Georgetown couldn't even make it out of the first round. But Ivy League champ Cornell made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, as did little St. Mary's.

That's why people love the tournament — it's unpredictable. So, given one of the most open and competitive tournaments in recent memory, I find it shocking that the powers that be in college basketball want to increase the tournament to 96. Had that been the case this season, Villanova, Georgetown and Kansas would all have been enjoying byes during the first and second round. Hardly seems just, does it?

So congratulations to Duke, champions of college basketball. Let's just hope better ideas prevail and the field remains the competitive, unpredictable party it was this year.

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