The Perfect Tournament?

The latest issue of Sports Illustrated proclaimed this year's NCAA Men's Basketball tournament the "perfect tournament." In many ways, they are right on.
Start with the Butler story. Playing their home games in the same building that filmed the epic upset movie "Hoosiers," the Bulldogs became only the second "mid-major" team to make it to the Final Four this decade. Butler has always been one of the top mid-major programs in the country, sometimes referred to as the "Gonzaga of the Midwest." Well in 2010, the Bulldogs are going to where Gonzaga never could - the Final Four, in their home city.
It's rare that the Final Four has a home team. Illinois had a lot of fans in St. Louis and 2005 and Michigan State was surely the fan favorite last year in Detroit. But Butler, a mid-major, will be playing next weekend a mere six miles from their campus. In the best college basketball town in the country, too. That story alone makes the Final Four intriguing.
But where there is an underdog, their is always a favorite. While Butler may be the ultimate underdog this weekend, Duke, college basketball's ultimate favorite will look for their fourth title this weekend. A Butler-Duke match up would be an epic ending to a great tournament.
Michigan State and West Virginia may have something to say about that. Great stories in their own right. The Spartans are making their sixth Final Four trip in 12 years and West Virginia looks for their first title game appearance since 1959.
But back to what has already happened.
Short of a 16 seed beating a 1, this was the perfect tournament. We saw Villanova struggle against 15 seed Robert Morris before being ousted by the Cinderella St. Mary's Gales. If Butler hadn't made the Final Four, this year's story would be Cornell, an Ivy League team making their first tourney appearance advancing to the Sweet 16. Nothing says Cinderella like an Ivy League team.
The number one overall seed, Kansas, lost to another mid major Northern Iowa. Who would have thought that the three best teams all season, Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse, would all be gone before the Final Four?
We had great finishes too. Murray State, yes, another Cinderella, beat fourth seeded Vanderbilt with a three-pointer at the buzzer. Two days later, they nearly knocked off Butler. The lead in the Michigan State-Maryland second round game changed hands three times in the final second. Had MSU not made their three-pointer at the buzzer, it very well could have been the Terrapins making their third Final Four trip this weekend.
ESPN front runners questioned how good this torunament would be without the likes of North Carolina, UCONN and Arizona. The answer? The best ever.