My Feb. 22 column from CBS Chicago …
(CBS) Hey, it might be the greatest sporting event on Earth, but, really, who needs the NCAA Tournament?
Not us, here in the Land of Lincoln, apparently. Or even them, over there in the Hoosier State. At least, that’s certainly the way it looks right now.
Because, despite being arguably the two American states most closely associated the sport of basketball, it’s looking less likely by the day that any school from Illinois or Indiana is going to end up qualifying for next month’s NCAA Tourney.
Now, that’s madness.
Over in our neighboring state where the likes of Larry Bird, Brad Stevens and Bob Knight built their legends thanks to the month of March, SI.com’s Seth Davis asked last week, “An NCAA Tournament without a team from Indiana? Is that even legal?”
It is. And, actually, the entire Hoosier State was shut out from the NCAA Tournament as recently as 2005, although prior to then it had at least one team qualify every season since 1972. Coincidentally, Illinois also failed to see any of its programs punch a ticket to the Big Dance that year, making ’72 the last time that both the Hoosier State and the Land of Lincoln were shut out in the same season.
But now 42 years later, it looks like history could repeat itself.
Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …