BUTLER SURPASSES GONZAGA AS TOP DOG OF ALL MID-MAJORS

Move over Gonzaga, there is a new dog that is best in show—and its name is Butler.

The Butler Bulldogs grinded out a 74-71 overtime victory Saturday in New Orleans to punch their ticket back to the Final Four. Last year, Butler went all the way to the National Championship Game and was a miracle shot away from winning the title.

Gonzaga certainly has made their presence known throughout the years by making it to 13 straight NCAA Tournaments and constantly giving ranked teams from power conferences all it could handle. However, those Bulldogs have never made the Final Four and have made the Elite Eight only once since 1999.

Butler may not have Gonzaga’s longevity, but it has made good use of its five consecutive trips to the tournament.

In 2007, Butler made it to the Sweet 16 after beating Old Dominion and Maryland, before losing to Florida. After that season, then-coach Todd Lickliter decided to take the Iowa job and the school decided to take a shot from within. Butler’s choice was a young, 30-year-old assistant named Brad Stevens.

After not getting past the first weekend of the tournament in 2008 and 2009, Stevens guided his team to the improbable title run in 2010.

This year’s Butler team opened up the season ranked No. 18, but struggled without Gordon Hayward and sat at 14-9 on Feb. 3. However, the Bulldogs stormed back to win its final seven regular season games and the Horizon League tournament en route to an No. 8 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Strong leadership by senior Matt Howard and junior Shelvin Mack allowed Butler to win close in all four of its tournament games for its return trip to the Final Four and a shot at unfinished business from last year.

Even without a title, Butler’s run this year is even more impressive than last year and it has put itself as the top mid-major program out there, and I believe Stevens is committed to make sure his Bulldogs stay there with his youthful wisdom leading the way.

To be honest, I do not think this program will be going away anytime soon and it will take a lot for the next mid-major to surpass them.

IF THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL...HOW COME NO ONE TOLD THE NCAA?

Here we go again...the NCAA is screwing things up again!

Now for those who read my earlier note about fixing the NCAA Tournament in basketball, thank you very much. Initially, I wanted to talk about how to fix college football, but that will be saved for another day.

The fact that the automatic qualifying conferences want to expand to 16 teams is crazy, maniacal, preposterous, bananas, and just plain ridiculous. I can understand 12 teams and two divisions of six much like the ACC, Big 12, SEC, Conference USA, and the MAC (they have 13) is great, but 16 is a bit much don't you think?

There are many reasons why it won't work and it should not happen.

First, historically, it did not work before. The WAC tried this from 1996-1998, and half of those 16 left to form the Mountain West Conference. Academics and travel costs were concerns then and the economy was better then than it is now. So what makes many long trips within the conference such a great idea, especially if the ACC adds more Northeast and New England teams along with the ones in
the Southeast?

Secondly, most of the nastiest rivalries would cool off or cease to exist. For example, the LSU/Florida rivalry? GONE! Why? Because, what's the point of having a conference if you do not play every team on a regular basis? Think about it...the normal conference slate is eight games right now. Moving it to 16 teams and two divisions of eight, means only one game will be against a team from the other division. By the time every team would play a home-and-home against each, it would be 16 years removed (8 if you're talking about a single match-up), and you have to have to give every player and your fan base to cheer and brag more often, like say in a presidential term?

Next, it becomes too widespread from a geographical standpoint. Picture the ACC, which operates in the southern colonial states, spreading further into New England or the Mid-Atlantic with Connecticut? How about the west-coast oriented Pac-10 extending to Kansas and Texas with Kansas, Kansas State, or TCU? Or even the Big Ten going to Rutgers and Syracuse which clearly are not in the Midwest? As stated earlier, travel will be much more.

Reason four is that no matter what, Boise State may continue to be the red-headed stepchild in all of this. None of the projections have them going to the Pac-10 due to their academic history, which is a shame. One of the more dominant programs since 1999 with two BCS wins and two perfect seasons, is having trouble finding an opponent in 2011, and now they cannot further legitimize themselves in a major conference? Come to think of it, this is even more of a monopolistic way to shun smaller squads at an opportunity.

Fifth, last, and not least, for the smaller conferences that means having to bring in watered down competition to compensate for the teams lost. Teams from the other mid-majors will get to 12, but it might be a stretch. However the Sun Belt could be worse off than the "training" conference it already is. Unless they can get a slew of FCS (Division I-AA) teams to get to 12 teams to split into two divisions, the Sun Belt will be stuck with fewer than 12, further hurting its chances to do better. Also, Notre Dame will stay as an Independent, not jeopardizing its flexibility to create its OWN schedule, not sharing money with anyone else, and having their own television contract with NBC. Therefore, this makes this notion and idea irrelevant.

Now, I am sure that there are more reasons, but this is the top five. Trust me, I have the hammer and the nail ready, and like I said, the NCAA Football postseason note is coming soon!

WAYS TO MAKE THE NCAA BASKETBALL POSTSEASON EVEN MORE INTERESTING

It is that time again, where 65 teams all have aspirations to have the streamers and confetti fall down on their faces, cutting the nets down, and having a video of "One Shining Moment" dedicated to them on CBS. The NCAA Tournament has it all: buzzer-beaters, excitement, comebacks, Cinderellas, etc. Exciting isn't it? However, I have a plan to make the most exciting event that is not constricted to one day (like the Super Bowl) even better.

First, there is talk that the committee wants to expand the field to 96 teams, and that is a great idea. Currently, there are 342 teams who compete in Division I, so nearly 30 percent of the eligible teams will participate in the tournament, much like the NFL, where 37.5 percent of the 32 teams make the playoffs. It still would be great and entertaining, because you are adding more quality teams, some from smaller conferences, in the tournament while not watering down the talent pool.

Second, I love the play-in games and there should be more of them. There should be one for each region (East, South, Midwest, and West). In matter of fact...the women's tournament should have play-in games too. So what if it means that 68 or 100 teams are in the tournament? I would change one thing about the play-in games though, and that is the #16 seeds battling in them. Take the last at-large spot in the region and pit together one of the "last team in" teams and the "first team out" teams, in a winner take all deal. The winner goes the the NCAA's and the loser goes to the NIT. I guarantee that you will see a better quality game that you have now. (FYI: Also, if you think that having an HBCU always in the play-in is racist, then obviously you do not know college basketball. The SWAC and MEAC have some of the lowest rated RPI's, but I digress).

Last, bring back the consolation game of the Final Four. Yes, I know, it's anti-climatic, but I needed a filler. However, it would still be a marquee game, nevertheless.

But this is how I would make this better for the fans. And trust me, I am already thinking of ways to do the same for college football too!