Opinion: Is an all #1 seed Final Four good for college basketball

For the first time since 2008, the NCAA Men’s Final Four is composed of only the highest seeds from each bracket.

This is only the second time that all one seeds have made the national semifinals, which both take place on Saturday.

The Florida Gators will face Auburn Tigers for just the second time this season, as the Houston Cougars compete with the Duke Blue Devils.

I believe that having all one seeds in the Final Four is good for college basketball, and here’s why.

Number 1: The committee picked correctly

This year’s March Madness had very few upsets and that’s not a bad thing as it shows that the teams were seeded correctly.

If the best teams are supposed to be highly-seeded, then why would it be a problem that they are the ones to advance to the Final Four?

For those arguing that the upsets are what makes the tournament so great, I agree to an extent.

However, seeing the top teams go head-to-head at the highest level of the sport is indicative of the selection committee making the right choices.

Number 2: The fans enjoy high-caliber competition

In the 2008 Final Four matchup between Kansas and North Carolina, 43,718 fans packed the Alamodome.

Coincidentally enough, this year’s Final Four will also be played at the Alamodome, which holds 73,086 fans.

The Final Four saw an average rating of 8.0 and 16.968 million viewers between the two semifinal games.

Millions of fans tune in to watch the Final Four every season, and that will hold true again this year.

Number 3: Superstars match up against each other

Duke has three projected first-round NBA Draft picks in Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach.

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. is projected to be picked 19th overall in the NBA Draft. He has averaged over 22 points per game during this year’s March Madness.

Houston guard L.J. Cryer has been able to make his three-pointers count when it matters this postseason, going 13-for-33 with a 39.4 percentage from beyond the arc.

As for Auburn, Johni Broome has scored double-digit points in all but one game during this March Madness run, getting 25 points against Michigan State despite being injured.

Number 4: Big teams cater to big markets

On the marketing side of things, brand name recognition means a lot when it comes to selling a product.

Everyone who is or is not a college basketball fan knows Duke’s success and the lottery pick Cooper Flagg.

Fans also know about Florida, Auburn and Houston as well thanks to their recent successes in college basketball.

When people know about the teams that are playing in the biggest games of the year, it creates tons of buzz on social media and beyond.

Bryan Portney is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email bep5295@psu.edu.