The NCAA Tournament Has Been a Bore

The NCAA Tournament is the best event in sports. The first weekend is better than Christmas, Halloween, and the Fourth of July combined.

These — with apologies to Peter King here — are a few things I used to think I think. After three-plus days adrift in a desolate wasteland looking for entertainment and thrills, it’s only human to reconsider.

Where are the buzzer-beaters? Where are the close games? Where is the intrigue? Largely, nowhere to be found. Only 10 of the first-round contests were decided by single digits. Three of the 10 second-round games to this point have been mildly competitive. Now, to be fair, both Maryland-LSU and Tennessee-Iowa delivered. It’s a small miracle both of those fell in the stand-alone 12:15-3 p.m. window.

No Cinderellas have emerged. No one particularly mighty has fallen. The tournament has largely marched on, with chalk and lopsided scores reigning.

There is hope though. As I type, two athletic freaks in Zion Williamson and Tacko Fall are matching up. UCF would captivate the nation if they are capable of keeping up with Duke for 40 minutes. And, as fun as chaos is early in the tournament, it may be more important to have quality teams advance to the later stages.

So all is not lost. The ratings haven’t exactly suffered. Still, would it be too much to ask for a single indelible memory?

One Shining Moment isn’t supposed to literally refer to one singular shining moment. This