As a huge fan of the Kansas basketball team, I am crushed by the Jayhawks Elite Eight loss to Virginia Commonwealth University.

Even though I’m pretty disappointed, I’m not completely surprised.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has proven two things to me this year.

First of all, it only takes a team getting hot at the right time to make a deep run in the tournament. VCU entered the tournament losing four out of its last five games, and many people criticized the selection committee’s choice to pick the Rams for the Big Dance.

VCU silenced its critics by defeating five teams from BCS-power conferences. VCU defeated Southern California in the First Four to move into the round of 64. The Rams then knocked off No. 6-seeded Georgetown, No. 3 seed Purdue, No. 10 seed Florida State and finally No. 1 seed Kansas to advance to the Final Four.

The Rams have pulled some stunning upsets, but have looked dominating in doing so with their above average 3-point shooting.

VCU will face No. 8 seed Butler in the Final Four. The Bulldogs were the Cinderella story of last year’s tournament and were a half-court shot away from a national title.

Second of all, this tournament has proved the parody of collegiate sports teams is greater now more than ever.

There is not a single No. 1 or No. 2 seed that made it to the Final Four. Although VCU and Butler are considerably lower seeds than UCONN and Kentucky, they have more experienced teams compared the underclassmen-laden rosters of UCONN and UK.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari has a very talented team, but it is once again filled with freshmen that will likely bolt for the NBA, regardless if the team wins it all.

UCONN has the best player left in the tournament, in Kemba Walker, but it will need other players like freshman Jeremy Lamb to continue to step up if it is going to win a national title.

While Kentucky and UCONN are the two powerhouse programs, Butler and VCU have just as good a chance at winning the national championship.

My gut feeling tells me that many of the analysts will pick UCONN or Kentucky to win it all, but the experts and the majority of the nation have been proven wrong by VCU, Butler and other mid majors the whole tournament.

Don’t be surprised if Butler or VCU is cutting down the nets Monday night.

This could finally be the year of the mid major.