Tar Heeled

North Carolina rolled Michigan State tonight to end March Madness 2009. This also marks the completion of the second annual jbomb.net + airxxi.com Bracket Challenge.

I suppose that sports fans were spoiled with the nail-biting championship game last year. It was an instant classic and had an amazing finish. Kansas pulled off a remarkable comeback and made one of the most entertaining NCAA Finals I have seen.

This year was a bit different. UNC had everything wrapped up within the first five minutes essentially. Michigan State just could not match the size on North Carolina inside, and their outside shooting was cold the entire game. The result, unfortunate for both Michigan State fans and general viewers, was a boring beat-down.

Exciting or not, the game did mark the end of March Madness. It was a solid year for the tournament. Still chalky to some degree, but that is the fault of the selection committee. Show the mid-majors some more love next year. There were still a decent amount of upsets that made the tournament fun and engaging.

The other mark made by this game was the winner of this year’s bracket challenge. Ben Mahtani ended up as this year’s champion. He actually already had clinched going into the final game. He will receive his prize, though it is hard to legitimize the chalktastic four #1 seeds in his Final Four (kidding…kind of). Space Jam, my entry, will finish in seventh place. I believe that is my best entry yet, so watch out next season.

I hope that everyone enjoyed the tournament this year, both the games and the fun of the bracket contest. Congratulations to Ben and thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s challenge!