“The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play ‘Drop the Handkerchief’.” – James Naismith
Mr. Wizard Goes To Orlando
Greetings from Florida! I have decided it is exceedingly difficult to watch March Madness while traveling. I spent most of the day attempting to watch games on my phone, games on my Surface Pro, games on the TV at the airport restaurant, games on the plane, games while waiting in baggage claim. Thanks to 21st century mobile technology, I caught more than I would have even three or four years ago. Nevertheless, this commentary is likely to be on the light side tonight.
We had only one upset tonight, but it felt like we had three the way the Texas Tech-Florida and Houston-Michigan games ended. Read on.
- Blue Bloods Dominate – The boys in blue were impressive tonight, with Kentucky, Duke, and Villanova all winning in convincing fashion. No doubt Virginia’s stunning loss has put all the “favorites” on notice that you cannot mail it in no matter who you are playing. But even as I say that, Kansas didn’t seem to get the memo.
- Another Close Call – Perhaps it is my imagination, but Kansas seems to underachieve every year. Today they survived a real scare from #8 Seton Hall, winning by just four points. The Pirates’ Angel Delgado turned in a mammoth performance with 24 points and 23 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to upend another #1 seed.
- Livin’ On A Prayer – The only upset of the day was a miracle in the making. Much has been made in the media about Loyola of Chicago’s 98-year-old chaplain, Sister Jean, who prays with the team before every game. Tonight those prayers were answered in dramatic fashion as the Ramblers’ Clayton Custer avoided his last stand by hitting the go-ahead jumper with 3.6 seconds left to be beat third seeded Tennessee. For those keeping score at home, that makes two games in a row won by the Ramblers on two last-second shots. How could you not love watching this game with a guy named Custer facing off against a dude named Admiral…and that’s his first name! Ironically, if Cincinnati defeats Nevada tomorrow, the Sweet 16 match up between Cincy and Loyola-Chicago will be a rematch of the 1963 national championship game which Loyola won.
- Gonzaga Makes Fans Sweat Again – It sure is tough being a Gonzaga fan sometimes, despite their being a model of consistency and a perennial tournament participant for nearly two decades. After a close call in round one verses a scrappy UNC Greensboro, the Zags came out looking strong and determined to not let that happen again. They scored the first 15 points of the game and looked poised to win going away. Then the second half happened, and Ohio State turned up the defense. Honestly, this has been a probably with the Zags for years – they have stretches in the second half where they seem to simply lose their minds. With 6:00 left in the game, Gonzaga trailed the Buckeyes by 6. That’s when red shirt freshman Zach Norvell Jr. put the hammer down and led the Zags to victory, finishing the game with 28 points including six three pointers.
- Buzzer Beater Beats The Bun – The final game of the night was also a thriller with #3 Michigan spoiling #6 Houston’s upset bid on a buzzer-beating three pointer by freshman Jordan Poole who hadn’t scored in the second half. There were so many things that happened in this game that contributed to the dramatic finish and crushing defeat for the Cougars. Perhaps it was Rob “The Man Bun” Gray’s trying to do too much and turning the ball over late in the game. Perhaps it was Devin Davis, who arguably would have been the hero of the game had Houston won, missing two free throws with 3.6 seconds left that could have sealed the victory. But ultimately it came down to history repeating itself as Houston seemed to forget the lesson of 1992. You simply must put a man on the guy inbounding the ball. Not doing so makes it too easy to throw the long pass, which advances the ball with no time expiring and gives them a better chance to get a good look. Grant Hill and Christian Laettner executed that play to perfection in ’92 when Kentucky decided not to put a man on Hill. I’m not sure of all the players’ names in this case, but with Houston choosing to not guard the out of bounds man, The Man Bun looked lost, playing a sort of rover rather than guarding anyone specific. The ball came in three-quarter court to Abdur-Rahkman, who found Poole on the wing for the game winner. Not two minutes later, long-time friend and alert minion Fess Bryson sent me a simple text: “Once again, you don’t guard the ball, you lose.” I was just thinking the same thing.
A Few Awards
It’s 1:21 AM, and I get to golf tomorrow, so I need to wrap this one up.
- Look who’s in third place now. Yep. It’s Mom! Mom has been doing exceedingly well this year, and given all the garbage she’s had to put up with for decades, she deserves it. Speaking of Mom…
- The Commercial That Still Makes Me Laugh Even Though I’ve Seen It 100 Times award goes to the Geico commercial with the Heckling Peasant at the joust. Every time he says, “Your Mom!” I just lose it. And if I may digress for a moment, where in the world did that particular insult start, anyway? And what does it mean? You know what…never mind. I probably don’t want to know.
- The Can I Get A Mulligan? award goes to Andrew McGuire, who texted me last night asking when the re-pick round starts. Andrew is in 750th.
- The Worst Place To Try To Watch A Basketball Game award goes to the Orlando International Airport Baggage Claim. That place is a zoo.
- The Nyah Nyah Nee Boo Boo award has to go to Veronica Ramirez, who is still in first place. I’m looking at her bracket and wondering if it was a brilliant strategy or random luck. Tell ’em it was skill, Veronica, even if it wasn’t.
And with that, I’m ready to count sheep before I have to count strokes tomorrow. Until then…
The Wizard of Whiteland