It’s that time of year once again. Winter is upon us, with temperatures steadily declining each and every day. Thankfully, the most exciting sport in America has begun once again. That’s right, college basketball is back. While there are million of reasons why people all around the country, myself included, are jumping for joy because of the return of college basketball, I’ll leave you with ten terrific points that will have you sprinting to the closest college basketball arena.
10. Anyone Can Understand College Basketball
Unlike football, college basketball is a sport for everyone. It’s pretty clear that the objective of the offense is to put the ball in the basket as many times as possible while the objective of the defense is to keep the ball from going into the basket. Offense and defense are both easy to watch as well, as players use fancy dribble moves and pump fakes to create space to shoot at the basket, and the defense attempts to stay in front of the player with the ball in order to prevent a score. In football, there are tons of different offensive and defensive formations which can make it hard to follow the action on the field. In basketball, you always know who has the ball and what each team is trying to do. Basketball is a simple, carefree game to watch.
9. The Games Are Indoors
I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big fan of freezing my butt off on metal bleachers or sitting through a freezing downpour in November, December, and January, which is a distinct possibility if you desire to attend your school’s football team at the end of their season. The fun part about college basketball is that ALL of the games are indoors. Every single one. No need to bundle up, just wear your team’s colors and you’re good to go.
8. Court Storming Frequently Occurs
There is no better way to celebrate a big win than congratulating your team on the court where they just emerged victorious. However, professional sports don’t allow court storming, and storming the field rarely happens in football. In college basketball, almost every big win is accompanied by the opportunity to join your squad in going crazy after an impactful, unlikely win. As a fan, I don’t think there are many more exhilarating experiences than court storming. Although I must warn you, personal space is scarce during a court storm.
7. Upsets Frequently Occur
Speaking of court storming, upsets are what cause the court storming to happen. Upsets are when the underdog improbably defeats the heavy favorite, which has happened quite a bit already this year. Unranked Utah defeated No. 7 Duke, Unranked UCLA defeated No. 1 Kentucky, Unranked Northern Iowa deafened No. 1 North Carolina, Unranked Providence defeated No.11 Arizona, Unranked Northern Iowa defeated No. 5 Iowa State, and Unranked George Washington defeated No. 6 Virginia. Guess what? College basketball season just started. There are many more upsets that are bound to occur once conference play begins, since that’s where teams play their rivals and where teams face teams that play against each other every single year. In football, the favorite wins the vast majority of the time, rendering some games unworthy of being watched because everyone already knows the outcome before kickoff. In college basketball, every game is a must-watch because you never know when a Northern Iowa or George Washington is primed to takedown a Duke or Kentucky.
Who remembers when itsy-bitsy Florida Gulf Coast aka “Dunk City” upset Georgetown in the first round of March Madness? Now that was awesome.
6. College Basketball Is On Every Day
That’s right! There is at least one college basketball game every single day this week, all the way up until March Madness begins. So if you’re a rabid college basketball fan or just plain bored, turn on the TV and find yourself some basketball.
