I’ve heard it too many times, “the tournament doesn’t start until Thursday, nobody watches the First Four!”, “These games are boring, the teams are bad!”…

Well, I know it’s not nobody cause we were LOCKED in on truTV. Sure, the Virginia game a couple nights ago was boring, but that’s more of a Virginia problem, not a First Four problem.

If you happen to tune into the two 16v16 matchups, I can promise you, you were not disappointed. Last night's game, Grambling State vs Montana State, was an OT BARNBURNER. Grambling came ALL THE WAY back from 14 down in the second half to force OT and eventually secure a date with Purdue in the next round.

The night before, Wagner, who only has 7 players, beat up on Howard. Howard made an unbeliever surge to make it a game, eventually losing by 3. But the ebbs and flows of the game, the momentum swings, the big plays, they were all obvious in that game.

I love big-time matchups as much as the next guy, but man, these low seeds hit different. This is their national championship, their Super Bowls, and maybe their one shot at the MASSIVE spotlight that is March Madness. It’s what I love about college basketball, it’s a group of guys fighting for ONE last ride with their team. Guys who didn’t transfer out, fought their way to the tournament and battled for a chance. Not the most highly recruited, but not to be denied. This is the biggest game of their life, and the passion and love for the game is evident. We’re not worried about NIL deals, no talk of draft projections, just two teams who LOVE ball, and just want one more game.