ATLANTA — You can’t say the State Farm Champions Classic college basketball event Tuesday night at the Georgia Dome was inappropriately named.
Not when Classic participants Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Michigan State have combined to win 17 of their sport’s 74 NCAA titles to date.
But as impressive as the crowd of 25,000 or more was for this doubleheader pitting Michigan State against Kansas and UK’s defending national champs against the Dookies, they’d all much rather be playing inside this same building on April 6 in the Final Four semifinals.
“This really is like a Final Four,” ESPN’s Dick Vitale said early Tuesday evening. “And wouldn’t these four all love to be back here in April.”
Obviously. And if all those willing to pony up at least $75 a ticket for ragged mid-November hoops is any indication, the Big Peach clearly would love to have any or all of these four return for college athletics’ premier event.