Your favorite school has already gotten schooled, and your alma mater no longer matters.
But fear not, basketball fans. There is still a team in this year’s tournament that will make you want to stand up and sing the school fight song.
Your new favorite squad is made up of five players you’ve never heard of and plays in a conference that boasts more vowels than former Duke center Alaa Abdelnaby.
Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce Underdog U.
Don’t pretend you’ve never heard about them. You’re certainly familiar with guys like Bryce Drew, Mouse McFadden and Harold Arceneaux.
These guys have become household names at past NCAA tournaments, the annual event that always seems to tug at the heartstrings of basketball fans.
It’s a safe bet that most basketball fans would root against their own grandmothers this time of year – provided the old bitty were carrying a No. 3 seed into a game against a No. 14.
“It’s more exciting to see the underdog win,” said Seattle Sonics guard Richie Frahm, a product of Gonzaga University. “People want to watch someone make history.
“You always like to see a Cinderella story and see that hard work pays off. People can relate to that.”
”We’ve been in each of the different scenarios over the years,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. ”If anyone understands where Valparaiso is coming from, it’s us.”
Frahm can identify more with schools like University of Texas-San Antonio and Valparaiso than he can with his beloved Bulldogs (27-2). Recent Gonzaga teams have entered tournaments with higher expectation seeds than the double-digit seeds for which Frahm played in 1999 and 2000.
Gonzaga went to back-to-back Sweet 16s in Frahm’s final two seasons and became a national fan favorite in the process. As a No. 2 seed, the Bulldogs are no longer quite the sympathetic fan’s choice.
So who could be this year’s Cinderella story? UTSA and Valpo, who both play in Seattle today, are the longest of long shots because of their seeds. Valparaiso (18-12) is a No. 15 seed, joining schools that have a 4-76 record since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. UTSA (19-13) hopes to knock off top seed Stanford to become the first 16 seed to ever win a game at the tournament.
“Eventually it’s going to happen,” UTSA freshman guard Kurt Attaway said. “(Upsets of) 15 and two (seeds) happen, so why not a 16 over a one this time?”
Outside of the regional being played in Seattle, there are plenty of possible Cinderella stories.
The easiest place to start is with schools holding a No. 12 seeds. In the past three tournaments, No. 12s hold a respectable 6-6 record in first-round games. That bodes well for Pacific, Brigham Young, Murray State and Manhattan.
This year’s tourney also has a solid crop of 13th-seeded schools such as Illinois-Chicago and East Tennessee State.
No. 11 Western Michigan is a good bet as well, seeing as how the Broncos (26-4) come from the Mid-American Conference. The MAC has produced sleepers like Miami (Ohio) and Kent State in recent years.
Louisville and Richmond are No. 10 seeds that boast strong tournament histories, while No. 15 Eastern Washington University could be a tough out even though the Eagles are making their tournament debut.
High seeds like No. 4 Maryland and defending national champion Syracuse (a fifth seed) carry the burden of being heavy first-round favorites. Teams like BYU and Texas-El Paso, on the other hand, have nothing to lose.
Lower seeded teams typically have extra motivation in that they aren’t expected to win a single game.
“We had a big chip on our shoulder,” said Frahm of the 1999 Gonzaga team, which overcame a 10th seed to beat Minnesota, Stanford and Florida on the way to the national quarterfinals. “We wanted to prove to the rest of the country that we could play with the big boys.”
Gonzaga has already done that, and now the tiny Spokane school is considered one of the big boys.
It’s up to someone like UTSA to make themselves the talk of basketball circles for years to come.
“We’re going to have to be part of a miracle,” UTSA coach Tim Carter said of the possibility that his Roadrunners can beat top seed Stanford. “They’re bigger, they’re stronger, and at one time they were the No. 1 team in the country.
“We’re going to have to play the miracle game to beat them. But miracles do happen.”
Especially in March.
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