Villanova won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Monday night, in dramatic fashion.

I was excited for them because my brother-in-law is a ‘nova grad and because my alma mater, Xavier, plays in the same conference as them (and was one of only 5 teams to beat them this season, btw). But I was also happy because Villanova is a small school, and they usually don’t get to wear the crown. Here’s a stat from an ESPN.com article about the game and how it was a victory for all the little guys:

Entering Monday’s game, Kentucky, Duke, Connecticut and North Carolina had won 12 of the previous 20 national championships in Division I basketball… Even the teams that sneaked into the club in the past 20 years — Syracuse, Louisville, Florida, Kansas, Michigan State, etc. — do not qualify as true underdogs.

At a time when many of the traditional powerhouses are recruiting one-and-done players, schools that keep their players all four years probably have a better chance of winning it all. So here’s hoping the little guy era has begun.