Final Four sparks debate: What merits blueblood status?

By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Basketball Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — North Carolina, Duke and Kansas are bona fide basketball bluebloods, the best of the best in the men’s college game. UCLA and Kentucky are no-doubters, too. But when the conversation turns to Villanova, which has the same number of championships as Kansas, a pleasant water-cooler debate over blueblood status can become a heated argument. The same goes for Indiana, which has long been considered among the best programs in the country, but hasn’t won a title since 1987, or Michigan State, which has become a perennial contender under Tom Izzo but has only cut down the nets twice in its history.