Hats off to the better team. Not just the North Carolina team whose more powerful inside game and tenacious defense denied Illinois the NCAA title, but the North Carolina program that was at the top of charts for players graduating and making steady progress toward graduation according to NCAA statistics.
A better final-game matchup would have been between North Carolina and Villanova, both of whom had 67 percent graduation rates and a 1,000 top score in the academic progress rate. An even better matchup would have been between St. Mary’s and Bucknell, both of whom had 100 percent graduation rates. Illinois, with a 47 percent graduation rate and a 979 progress rating, met the benchmark.
Illinois fans can take consolation in a fine season and in the drubbing of Louisville, a school whose graduation rate is a pitiful 17 percent. Louisville would not even make it into postseason play if Myles Brand, the NCAA chief, has the courage of his convictions.
