How Does This Happen in a Smart Kids Match-Up?

If the academic firepower of Northwestern and Vanderbilt ever joined forces, there'd already be a colony on Mars that was cancer-free with everybody living in harmony.

Those standards carry over to admissions policies for athletes.

In other words, not even their sporting students who willingly enrich the NCAA's coffers have a Bluto Blutarsky among them.

Having said that, the University of Michigan is quite the bastion of academic excellence among the ranks of public institutions that feature higher learning amidst big-name sports.

Still they can be forgiven for the occasional mental burp, even if it lives in infamy:

That one had karma written all over it.

Chris Webber's not-so-Fab-Five moment was symbolic of order in the universe. Kinda like its infamy being counterbalanced by the kajillions he made in the pro ranks.

One can only hope there'll be some sorta offset for Vanderbilt's Matthew Fisher-Davis:

No matter how tempting it is to say, there's actually no one play that decides a game.

But microcosms being what they are, Fisher-Davis will surely be blamed not only with the Commodores' loss to Northwestern -- this Dance's designated feelgood story -- but for the fact that we still don't have an idyllic colony on Mars.

Hopefully, Fisher-Davis will ultimately be counting his kajillions in whatever endeavor he chooses.

He'll no doubt be salved by the thought that Vanderbilt would've stood as much chance against Gonzaga as the Wildcats are about to have.

That, too, shall pass.