The End of the "Mid-Major"

The end of the term “mid-major” is finally upon us. By definition mid-majors are teams that are in conferences other than the big 6. And if the tournament thus far isn’t an indication that the discrepancy between the big 6 and the other conferences no longer exists, then I don’t know what is. Of the 16 teams remaining in the field, 5 of them are so called “mid-majors.” And we automatically consider these teams as underdogs just because they play in conferences such as the Horizon league and the Atlantic 10. But this era of college basketball where the best players are one-and-done has really leveled the playing field. While the big names schools may get the best players, their coaches have to spend the entire season babysitting and keeping their young stars’ egos in check, hindering their ability to coach. The coaches send their athletes on the floor and hope their talent alone allows them to make plays and win games.

On the other hand, mid-major schools get players who are not as highly touted out of high school and need four years of college basketball to develop their game. In these four years, the mid-majors develop great chemistry that seems to elude the big 6 teams because they lose their players early on to the NBA. And their coaches don’t have to deal with prima donnas, so they are able to coach without the drama. This is exactly how Jim Boeheim managed to get out coached last night by a man who looks like he just graduated from the eighth grade, Brad Stevens (pictured above).
After watching the game last night, I am convinced that Butler is simply a better team than Syracuse. A lot of people think that the recipe for an upset is for the underdog to sit back in zone and hope the favorite has a bad shooting night, while the underdog knocks down a bunch of threes. But last night Butler’s strategy was anything but passive. The Bulldogs aggressive man defense never allowed the Orange to get comfortable, forcing Syracuse to turn the ball over 18 times and creating Syracuse’s largest half time deficit of the season. As for the underdog needing to hit the long ball, Butler shot a measly 6-24 from behind the arc…so much for that. The score doesn’t do Butler justice; they dominated all aspects of the game and are just a much better basketball team than the Orange, plain and simple. For most of the Butler Bulldogs it is nothing but “babies and memories” after this tournament, so they are going to continue to play their hearts out in hopes of a return home to Indianapolis for the Final Four.

-The Southern Gentleman