That jingle just gives me chills every time I hear it, but now it has more meaning. Virginia Tech is finally in the NCAA Tournament after an 11-year hiatus. Seth Greenberg and his boys accomplished their only goal this season, but now it is a major reality check.
Take a look at the West region, where the Hokies are a No. 5 seed. Take a look again. Now study each name. See any familiar names? Almost half of the 16 teams in the region have won an NCAA men's basketball championship. No other region comes even close.
The South has the least number of former championships with Louisville's two and singles by Ohio State and Stanford. The Midwest comes next with all one-time champs in Florida, Arizona, Maryland, Oregon, UNLV and Wisconsin. Add three more titles to the East, having nine spread between North Carolina's four, Michigan State's two and the singles from Marquette, Arkansas and Georgetown.
That leaves the West bracket. So, would that mean there are 10 championships? Nope. 20? Keep going.
Try 30.
Almost half of the 67 NCAA men's basketball championships are compiled in the West bracket. UCLA takes the cake with 11, followed by Kentucky's seven, Indiana's five, Duke's three, Kansas's two and one from Holy Cross and Villanova. College basketball lives in this year's western bracket. That makes the task even taller for Virginia Tech – a team that has only made it to the Elite Eight only once.
History aside, this bracket should get the most television time. Teams are from all over the country and involve nine "major conference" teams and the ever-popular Gonzaga squad.
Each team played inconsistent in their conferences this season. Kansas had some stumbles and even UCLA struggled at the end of the season. No team can truly say, "Hey, we've played well all season." Southern Illinois may have the best beef. They hung around the top 25 most of the season, but they couldn't close the deal in the Missouri Valley championship game against Creighton.
Some popular picks for those in office pools will be Duke and Kentucky. They both had really bad seasons and got their seeding based on their name alone. Duke couldn't defend its own home court very well and Kentucky didn't beat a ranked opponent all season.
The team that beat the most ranked teams is UCLA with nine, including Kentucky when they were ranked No. 22 earlier this season. All teams struggled at one point during the season. Kansas and UCLA both struggled the least, which is why they are No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.
The NCAA Tournament is all about the first two days. The most intriguing match-up in the first round has to be the 'Zags and Indiana. Gonzaga got in because it won the West Coast Conference title, while Indiana hung on for a not-so stellar first season under new head coach Kelvin Sampson. Both of these teams met last year in the tourney, with the Bulldogs advancing to the Sweet 16. That's one of the last games on Thursday night.
Clearly the game to watch in the region around here is the Virginia Tech/Illinois game on Friday night. Illinois is no pushover coming from the low-scoring Big Ten conference.
Potential second-round match-ups include a Kansas/Kentucky game, UCLA/Indiana, and Duke/Pittsburgh. None of those teams met in the regular season, but Virginia Tech and Southern Illinois did.
I'm not guaranteeing a win for Tech, but the prospect of playing a team that you've already played this season is tremendous. The Hokies played poor in the Old Spice Classic and still only lost to the Salukis by five. Greenberg and his coaching staff won't have to worry about scouting Southern Illinois like a new team, which could lead to a possible trip to San Jose.
Regardless of who comes out of this region, the team will be battle-tested like no other. But once you get to the Final Four, you could possibly play defending champion Florida.
I've never been in the position where I have to pick with my head and not my heart. Obviously I want the Hokies to win, but getting to San Jose is a tough task to likely take on Kansas. It's going to be a fun time watching Tech be included in the bracket-talk even if it is one-and-done.
If you were to push me up against the wall and hold a gun to my head, I'll pick UCLA. They won big games all season and played a tough schedule.
I said it. Tech's not going to go to the Final Four. Those dreams are just too lofty for a team that has been as schizophrenic as Sybil. It is tourney time now, and the regular season should be forgotten.
That CBS March Madness theme song has been repeating in my head like a Justin Timberlake song repeats every half-hour on a pop music station. Da-Da-Da Dum-Dum-Dum-Dum. It's the best sporting event of the year.