The thrill and excitement of the NCAA tournament came to an end as the Cinderella run of Butler fell to the mighty Connecticut Huskies 53-41.

The tournament was full of upsets and unlikely teams reaching further than anyone could have predicted, including a little team from Richmond, Virginia not even supposed to be in the NCAA tournament, according to many experts.

Virginia Commonwealth came into the tournament as an 11 seed and playing in the new play-in game, which makes a VCU Final Four that much more incredible.

“This year there has been a lot of close games,” said UNA sophomore Seth Bachelor. “I like the Cinderella teams because it is good for the sport.”

Kansas and Ohio State were the two top teams all season, but you can never automatically assume the best is going to win the championship.

This tournament was a huge example of that with all one and two seeds eliminated before the final four. In all the years of basketball, that has never happened.

“The bigger schools are getting caught up by the smaller schools,” said Bachelor. “The talent level has changed in a way due to early entries into the NBA draft.”

Even though the super powers did not make it far in the tournament this year, the emergence of future stars made the tournament even more special. Derrick Williams of Arizona came on to the scene with a huge performance against the powerful Duke Blue Devils, scoring 32 points to punch a ticket in the Elite Eight and re-establishing a basketball program.

Then there was Kemba Walker of Connecticut, who helped carry his team to an undefeated record in tournament play this season.

Walker averaged 24 points during the tournament that proved to be the difference for a team not many thought would win the title after finishing ninth in the Big East conference standings.

The tournament also included the emergence of college coaches in college basketball. Butler head coach Brad Stevens at age 34 took a small mid-major team to back-to-back national championship appearances even after losing his best player Gordan Heyward to the NBA draft a year ago.

33-year-old VCU head coach Shaka Smart took his team to the Final Four as an 11 seed and proved experts wrong throughout the tournament, including the shock of defeating traditional power and heavy favorite, the Kansas Jayhawks.

“It’s crazy to see Butler make the National Championship again this year,” said Bachelor. “He is a really good coach especially after losing his best player from last season.” The madness is finally over and the smaller schools are for real as they are gaining ground on the traditional powers.

It may not have been what everyone wanted to see but the one thing we can take from the tournament is that this year was the year that sparked the future of college basketball with the number of good teams and promising coaches on the rise which could be exciting to watch for years to come.