The NCAA Tournament Just Got Better Because We Get To See Ja Morant Do Things Like THIS

That’s it. We have our first team in the NCAA Tournament and it’s an awesome one. Murray State beat Belmont in the OVC Finals to clinch the first bid. More importantly it means we get Ja Morant in the NCAA Tournament.

The same Ja Morant that did everything above. The same Ja Morant that’s an All-American. The same Ja Morant that’s going to be a top-5 pick in the NBA Draft. It was important to get him in after Chris Clemons and Mike Daum both lost in the last 24 hours.

Obviously the debate now will go to whether or not Belmont deserves an at-large bid. They do pass the eye test. Dylan Windler is a 2nd round pick. They run an awesome offense. But, they are also now without Nick Muczynski, who missed tonight’s game after getting hurt last night. That showed with tonight’s game and getting beat at the rim – something Belmont did to Murray in their 1 game during the regular season. The resume says they are probably on the outside. They are relying on road wins against Lipscomb and UCLA in the nonconference (also lost to Green Bay)  to get in. That’s part of the problem with being a mid-major in the OVC, a sub-25 ranked conference. So it’s going to be eye test vs resume. It will be interesting. Yes, I think they are one of the 36 best teams for an at-large.

But, it’s okay. We get Ja Morant. That’s key. The NCAA Tournament is built on two things. Blue bloods advancing and stars showing off leading to upsets. We get that chance with Morant – as Murray will likely fall in somewhere as an 11 or 12 seed. They’ll be a popular pick no doubt to win a game early.

1 in. 67 to go.