“Delay is preferable to error.” – Thomas Jefferson
“Indecision and delays are the parents of failure.” – George Canning
I Know This Horse Is Dead, But…
They say cats have nine lives, but I’m pretty sure this horse I’ve been beating all tournament has about 99 lives, because it simply will not die. I am referring, of course, to the now ubiquitous under-two-minute review of every out of bounds and dead ball. The out of bounds are reviewed to determine who it was actually out on. The dead balls are reviewed to see if a couple of tenths of a second should be put back on the clock. It seems that the NCAA officials have taken Jefferson’s advice to the extreme. All of this hand wringing over minutiae serves to bring the game to an unnatural and abrupt halt. The drama the game itself creates, especially when it is close, is lost in the lurch of ponderous deliberation. A text I received from alert minion Blake Dieringer this evening sums it up quite nicely:
“I ate two bowls of cereal during that review.”
Look, people, the end-game scenario is dramatic enough with the coaches playing cat and mouse, calling timeouts, and strategizing; we love March Madness because of this dramatic build up to the last possession, shot, or play. These reviews only serve to cause confusion and controversy, not drama, and at least as far as I have seen this tournament, they rarely prove conclusive, which is essentially the justification for having them in the first place. If this is an experiment, a trial run, by the NCAA, one would hope that they would recognize it for the disaster it is and get rid of it next season, or at least put a process in place to keep these reviews to about 30 seconds each, max.
Apparently Tonight Wasn’t Miller Time
Tonight we had two brothers coaching different teams in different games on the same night in different parts of the country. That is a neat story, but unfortunately for Archie and Sean Miller, the outcome was the same with both of their squads going home in defeat. The games were very different, though.
Dayton Earns Respect
Sure, the Florida Gators beat the Dayton Flyers with relative ease, though not nearly as easily or decisively as they defeated their first three opponents. Considering that Dayton defeated at least two high profile programs on their way to the Elite 8, and that they played admirably against the top overall seed in the tournament, I believe we will be hearing more from Dayton in years to come. A hearty congratulations for a great season to the last true underdog to exit this year’s tournament.
Kaminsky Leads Wisky Past Tarczewski
The sixth overtime game of this tournament (seven if you count the First Four, which I don’t, but I digress) was as beautiful as it was bizarre. Living in B1G country, (B1G is pronounced “Big 10”, though I’m not sure why – perhaps we should refer to them as “the conference formerly known as the Big 10” ), I am accustomed to low-scoring, brutish contests where Wisconsin wins 42-40. This is not your father’s Wisconsin, though, and Arizona came in with the better defense and an even more deliberate style, actually. This is a game that never seemed to give either team any momentum. It was also a game in which it seemed that just when you forgot about the last wacky call the officials made, they would make another one just to remind you that they were still in the building. Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky won the battle of the big men with the Eastern European surnames, scoring 28 points to Arizona’s Kaleb Tarczewski’s 12.
What Just Happened?
I think it will be the way this game ended, though, that will stick with me, as many games this tournament seemed to have ended in similar fashion. The first couple of days of the tournament we saw games that made us stand up and shout “No way!” at the end. But as the tournament progressed we saw more games that made us cock an eyebrow and say, “Huh?” at the end. Maybe it’s my imagination. Maybe it’s the aforementioned end-of-game reviews. Maybe it’s what I consider to be an inordinate amount of close calls by officials with under 10 seconds left in a close game. Maybe those calls are right sometimes, but it sure feels like the guys in the striped shirts are doing more to decide the game than the guys in the jerseys and sneakers.
You Mean That’s It?
For those of you from the Midwest, you may be familiar with an amusement park near Cincinnati called King’s Island. They have a ride at King’s Island called The Adventureland Express, an easy roller coaster with a “surprise” ending. Near the end of the ride the train climbs what seems to be a very tall hill completely enclosed in a dark and ominous tunnel. There is loud music, banging drums, chanting natives, fire, smoke, the whole bit. On your first ride you are expecting to reach the crest and fall over the precipice of doom only to find out that the ride is actually over. No drop. No screaming. No thrill. Just get off the ride. It’s over. That’s how I felt about the Wisconsin/Arizona game tonight.
If you did not see the game but saw the final score, which was 64-63 in overtime, you might be inclined to say, “Wow, that must have been an exciting, close game!” And it was, sort of. What you wouldn’t know is that the score was 64-63 with 1 minute left, and not a point was scored by either team in the final 60 seconds. Like climbing the big hill only to find out the ride is over, the final minute of this game was a strange collection of missed shots, dubious officiating, long reviews, and poor decisions. In fact, in the final 60 seconds of this game, there were three missed shots, two rebounds, two turnovers, one foul, and one interminable officials review at the monitor. No points. No buzzer beaters. No kidding.
Nevertheless, this is Bo Ryan’s first trip to the Final Four, and it’s good to see Wisconsin finally reach that milestone after years of close calls.
Two Down, Two To Go
Half of the Final Four is now determined, and I have a feeling tomorrow’s games have just as much potential for drama. Will UConn make history as the first ever 7 seed to make a Final Four, or will Sparty continue its perennial dominance in March? Can Kentucky make the Final Four as an 8 seed, or will Michigan join Wisconsin as the second 2 seed in the Final Four? Could we see three B1G teams in the Final Four? Tune in tomorrow to find out.
And now a couple of quick shout outs:
- The Gee, Your Bracket Looks Familiar award goes to Billy “Downhill from here” Brundage, whose Final Four looks a lot like mine. I feel your pain.
- The Remember How It Ended For Darth Vader Before You Taunt Obi Wan award goes to Christopher “And the minion shall become the master” Johnson, currently ranked 17th, yes, well ahead of The Wizard. Yes, I noticed your alias. I notice them all, of course. I am the great Oz. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
- The Despicable Alias award goes to Jason “My score just Gru” Roehl, currently in 72nd. Well played, sir.
- The Re-Pick’s Reward award goes to Brian Benson, who took full advantage of the re-picks including three of his Final Four, both national finalists, and his national champion. Even with the re-pick deduction he has managed to work his way up to 5th place.
- The Hanging On By A Thread award goes to continuing contest leader Genya “12th Man” Trisler who clings to a slim two point lead over second place minion Michael “Shabazz Bozie” Weier. (I bet you can’t guess who Michael is rooting for in the MSU-UConn game tomorrow.)
Ok, minions, check back tomorrow night when I will be handing out the annual Final Four awards which will include our regional winners and other interesting accolades. May the games be close and the reviews be few.
The Wizard of Whiteland