In favor of the Mid-Majors

For the record, if the NCAA tournament makes any changes, it should shift its bids away from the power conferences and towards the Mid-Majors. 

The simple reason is that the 6th or 7th team in a Power 6 conference had plenty of chances to earn Quad 1 wins, since they play in a power 6 conference.

Mid-Major teams often struggle to get more than 1 or 2 Quad 1 games on their schedules, as the Power 6 schools have little incentive to play them. (Iowa State and awa's refusal to play Drake and Northern Iowa is Exhibit A) They should be given the benefit of the doubt.

More UMBC and St. Peters, (and, yes, more Hamptons and UABs) fewer 7th place finishes getting bids. And stop sending conference champs to Dayton for the First Four. They won their league, they get a proper seed.

Play Ball.

Courage

 A wild couple of weeks of Cyclone Basketball culminated if big wins in Kansas City.

The men shook off weeks of bad chemistry to earn two solid wins over Baylor and a decent effort against Kansas. They adjusted to the removal of a key cog in their game plan, and yet returned to the form that won them games up through mid-January. Adapting to sudden change takes both knowledgeable coaching and a willingness to adjust for the better.

The women's conference season and tournament title is just as remarkable. After losing two post players in January, the offensive plan was scrapped and the team reverted to the three-driven offense that had carried them for almost 30 years. This season was one of Fennely's better coaching jobs in his tenure. 

Having the conference MVP goes a long way. It's unfortunate that the best player in the Big 12 flies under the national radar because her game is so understated. She manages to get 21 and 10 every night without a single play that ends up on SportsCenter. It's low-key impressive. 

Now on to the tournaments. Both teams have manageable seeds, and can hopefully find enough offense to get to the second weekend. Regardless of their finishes, both teams earned athletic and mental victories this year.

Game on.