The now-famous "TMM 5" have basked in basketball glory for three days now. Tonight three of them will face another rigorous test each, at higher stakes, under hotter lights. Nervous times. And Butler, Xavier and Cornell have the same disadvantage going in as they had in the first two tests: financial reality. While the mammoth titans of college sports finance have spent their way to the Sweet 16, the brave soldiers of the Other 24 have done more with less -- even exceptionally savvy Xavier. Their fans and families will be cheering these teams on tonight, and so will we. The lights go down on The Mid-Majority's Season 6 when the last of the TMM 5 gets cut down, and we're having too much fun to let this end so soon. Let's get 'em all through to the Elite Eight.
[5] Butler vs. [1] Syracuse - 7:07 pm
West Region - Salt Lake City, UT
Athletic BUTL: $10,595,162 SYR: $44,702,832 ($34m diff/23% of SYR's)Men's Basketball BUTL: $1,803,345 SYR: $6,861,369 ($5m diff/17% of SYR's)
[6] Xavier vs. [2] Kansas State - 9:37 pm
West Region - Salt Lake City, UT
Athletic XU: $12,815,704 KSU: $40,409,152 ($28m diff/30% of KSU's)Men's Basketball XU: $3,826,711 KSU: $4,837,418 ($1m diff/75% of KSU's)
[12] Cornell vs. [1] Kentucky - 9:57 pm
East Region - Syracuse, NY
Athletic CORN: $17,794,180 UK: $67,795,056 ($50m diff/25.37% of UK's)Men's Basketball CORN: $821,897 UK: $8,584,145 ($7.3m diff/10% of UK's)