Why I Love "The" Tournament

Tyus Jones & Grayson Allen

Last night when I was watching the Final Game of March Madness for 2015, it hit me. There's a reason why I - someone who by no means is a "passionate" fan of basketball, at the Pro or College level - love this tournament so much. It's not the brackets, the seedings, the pre-tournament hype, or even the single elimination format of the tournament. All of those are nice and fun, but they're not what keeps bringing me back year after year. I don't even have a team I cheer for every year. I realized last night that what brings me back every year to March Madness is the no-name player who nobody talks about, coming up huge when it matters most. When the chips are down, and everything's on the line, are you going to shine, or falter under the pressure? Last night, in the biggest game of his life, and with his teams season slowly slipping away, Grayson Allen, a 19 year-old Freshman, who started the game on the bench, saved Duke.

Okay "saved" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but he was damn impressive. 16 points in 21 minutes, 5-8 from the field, including a 3 pointer. All this from a kid who averaged 4 points per game during Duke's regular season, and had 18 points combined in Duke's previous 5 tournament games. He rallied his team back from a 6 point deficit with 12 minutes left with a massive layup + a foul, and that sparked Duke's momentum for the remainder of the half. The 6'4" Freshman stepped up when Duke superstar, and consensus #1 Overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, Jahlil Okafor had to sit in the 2nd half because of foul trouble. Okafor, who averaged just over 17 points per game during the season, finished with 10 points, and was in foul trouble all night.

Obviously you can't win the biggest game of the year if only one of your players plays well, at some points he's going to need help. And that's exactly what Allen got from fellow Freshman, Tyus Jones. Jones finished the game with 23 points, 19 of them coming in the 2nd half. Jones hit the game-clinching 3 pointer with 1:24 remaining to put Duke ahead 8 points. The Blue Devils won 68-63, thanks primarily to Allen & Jones, who combined for 57% of Duke's points. Allen & Jones had 39 points between the two of them, Duke's other 6 players combined for just 29. Without them, Wisconsin cruises to their first National Championship since 1941. Instead, the two Freshman played the biggest game of their lives, on the biggest stage, and won Duke it's 5th National Championship. Farewell March Madness. Until next year, when another player plays the game of his life, and shows me, once again, how much I love this damn tournament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgt38vC2rEU (Championship Game Highlights)

- Cameron

Duke celebrating their 5th National Championship