SAN ANTONIO _ Between the murky season and a queasy future for college basketball, this year's March Madness has been one shining moment, which is better than nothing.
Actually, it is plenty. It is enough to remind everyone how good the sport can be and why it is worth correcting and preserving. From the upset of all upsets in the first round to a solid, classy matchup in the championship game Monday night, the tournament again showed why it is the best thing in the sport, and the best event in all of sports.
As far as we can tell, finalists Villanova and Michigan are not among the programs that regularly cut corners and breeze through red lights. Neither school was included in the charges revolving around recruiting scandals.
So, the Wildcats and Wolverines probably spared the NCAA Tournament the possible embarrassment of handing the trophy to a team that might someday have to hand it back (as Louisville did for violations that wiped out its 2013 title victory over Michigan). Villanova and Michigan both proved worthy of making it through the three-week ordeal. There was nothing fluky about their march through March. They were both worthy candidates to headline the "One Shining Moment" video.
Both overcame disappointments in the regular season: Michigan tied for fourth in the Big Ten, Villanova was second in the Big East to Xavier. Both stepped on the gas and won their respective conference tournaments _ both in the same arena. When was the last time that happened? Having both events in Madison Square Garden was a great setup for the Big Dance.
Long shots took it from there. That included a literal long shot, from Michigan's Jordan Poole at the buzzer to stun Houston in the second round. The heart and soul of the tournament were the historic upset of No. 1 overall seed Virginia by 16-seed University of Maryland-Baltimore County (from Stony Brook's America East conference) and the inspiring Final Four run by Loyola-Chicago, which reflected the hopeful, forceful personality of its biggest star _ 98-year-old chaplain Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt.
Nevada beat Cincinnati after having trailed by 22 (following a win over Texas, in which Nevada trailed by 14). 13 seeds Buffalo and Marshall pulled off first-round upsets. Virginia's Tony Bennett set a new standard for graciousness after the UMBC loss.
All great. But it was only one month. NCAA basketball did not do so well the rest of the year. In the fall came the announcement that defending champion North Carolina has been offering bogus classes since the 1990s (the basketball team escaped sanctions, amazingly, because it was determined that non-players were also allowed in on the scam). On Sept. 26, 10 people were arrested on recruiting corruption charges, a group that included assistant coaches at Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State and USC. Late in the season, Yahoo Sports reported on more upheaval to come, citing FBI documents about a continuing investigation that could get quite messy.
An NCAA-appointed commission headed by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met during the Final Four to discuss what to do about violations, agents, paying athletes and the one-and-done policy that makes no sense to anyone. Lots of luck.
Here's hoping the group does make at least some headway. At its best, NCAA basketball is too good to continue down the rabbit hole of corruption. I agree with Dan Gavitt, the NCAA's senior vice president (and son of Dave Gavitt, the Big East pioneer) who said here the other day: "Basketball is the most important sport in college athletics because it's the connective tissue."
Hoops is where behemoths such as Texas A&M and Ohio State can play on the same platform as Davidson (enrollment: 1,800) and Lipscomb (3,000). Basketball sees football powerhouse Alabama get whacked by Villanova, a small urban school from the Northeast.
It is a dance worth saving. People at the NCAA needs to clean it up.
And while they're at it, can they do something about those interminable video reviews?
