Five seed will spoil title game

A No. 5 seed is guaranteed to be one half of the national championship college basketball game on Monday night in Indianapolis. Butler, the West Regional champion, and Michigan State, the Midwest champion, will meet in the Final Four undercard on Saturday.

This matchup is both good and bad for the tournament. When the lower seeds make it this far, and on the rare occasion they reach the championship game, it adds to the intrigue of the Big Dance. It's proof that, every year, we know the North Carolinas, Dukes and Kansases of the nation aren't locks to go to the Final Four and win it all.

Unfortunately, the Michigan State-Butler game also means we will have one boring blowout of a championship game on Monday. Because Duke or West Virginia will mop the floor with whichever feel-good story they face.

It's too bad, but there's no denying it. Butler and Michigan State both have had an amazing run, and that run will take one of them to the national final. But once they get there, as was the case for the Spartans last year, they'll run into a buzz saw with which they cannot contend.

The system isn't broken, this is just the luck (or lack thereof) of the draw. After Monday night, some will opine that the NCAA tournament should re-seed for the Final Four, so the only way Duke and West Virginia would play is in the final. And while that looks like a pretty good idea this year, it's not a sensible solution.

The NCAA tournament is perfect the way it is, even if the results aren't.