Jeff: What a weekend

First of all, has anyone seen Jer? It's not like him to not write for weeks on end. That's usually my role here. Maybe he was just so overwhelmed by the college hoops he's been unable to put into words. I was in much the same shape this morning, but 3 cups of coffee later I think I'm ready. Well quite a weekend it was. Nothing better than college basketball at tourney time. As one of the few NBA fans left in the world, the disparity between quality and excitement of college ball compared to the pros has never been more apparent. To anyone that even tried to watch any of the NBA games Sunday after sitting through 3 overtime college games, it's pretty obvious that D1 hoops is doing just fine without it's superstars and the best 5-10 players of each class. Do I hope the NBA enforces a 20 yr old age limit? Absolutely. It would be better for both college and the pros, but the Madness will roll on whether the best players stay in college or not.

Saturday:
Louisville 93, West Virginia 85 (OT)
Probably my favorite game of the four. Even though West Virginia was up most of the game, I just kept waiting for Louisville to come back, and every 3 pointer the Mountaineers hit was more amazing than the last. I feel bad for WV because they shot so well and played out of their minds, and yet they still lost. It also shows just how good Louisville is, and how good a coach Rick Pitino is. And for those that say "well he was terrible in the NBA", I agree, he was. But that's because he actually tried to coach!! In the NBA, as a coach you're a babysitter. Your only real job is to manage egos. That's it. Phil Jackson has won the most titles of any coach because he was good, at least for awhile, at managing egos. But when things fell apart in LA he was as helpless as you or I would have been trying to run that team. This is why you will not see Phil with the Knicks or LA, unless the Lakers can get another big free agent. Phil hasn't really coached since his early days with the Bulls, and he's not about to start now. Oh, and his famed triangle offense? Actually the mastermind of his asst coach, Tex Winters, who not coincedentally was with him in both Chicago and LA.

The point to my Phil-bashing is that there's nothing wrong with basketball coaches who succeed in college but not in the NBA. Good coaching and leadership is lost on NBA players. Money talks in the NBA. All the care about are posses and their upcoming hip-hop cd. Wait, why am I an NBA fan again?

Illinois 90, Arizona 89 (OT)
Before the tourney started, Cris Collins is on record as saying how overrated Illinois was, how a team that relied so heavily on the 3 had no shot in the tourney. And you know what? He's still right. In some respects, I thought he was oversimplifying the Illini by saying all they do is shoot 3's. But he's right, that's all they do! I guess when you've got 3 great guards somebody's always going to have a hot hand, but that kind of thinking should catch up with them eventually, right? Well it did Saturday. Arizona had them dead to rights. Up 15 with 4 minutes left. All Zona had to do was hang onto the ball and hit free throws. Yes, Illinois cranked up the D, and yes the refs put the whistles away, and yes the pro-Illini crowd was insane. But Arizona still choked. Even with no calls late you don't lose that lead. And then with a chance to win in OT, the Arizona kid completely freezes and ends up firing one of the worst shots I've ever seen. Salim Stoudamire doesn't even touch the ball. And Illinois escapes. So here they are in the Final 4, and I'm still not ready to say this team is as good as advertised. Is the Big 10 better than we thought? Yes. Are the Illini? We'll see.

Sunday:
North Carolina 88, Cheeseheads 82
The Heels' talent level is downright scary. From May to McCants to Felton to the Williams boys (not Roy), anybody they put out on the floor looked superior to the Cheeseheads. And yet there was Scony, continuing to plug away, hanging around right down to the final seconds. This is not the first time in his career Roy Williams has had the nations' most talented team, and it very well could go down as yet another time Williams can't get it done when it matters. Credit Wisconsin for keeping up with the UNC in a game that was completely unlike anything they'd played in all year. 82 points? It would usually take a week for La Cheese to score that much in a game. But a team that had looked so horrid against NC State, was flying around 2 days later against the Heels. Still, NC was the better team for just long enough. Sean May was scary good. I think he's the difference maker in St Louis. He's far and away the best low-post scorer left, and I've already talked about Carolina's other weapons. This is Carolina's weekend to lose, and if history has shown us anything, because of Roy Williams they probably will. But I hope not.

Michigan St 94, Kentucky 88 (2OT)
Quite a capper to the weekend. Kentucky hits the miracle buzzer-beater, but the Spartans battle back. No real big heroes in this game (if Shannon Brown's dunk attempt in the 2nd half goes down, that's one of the most spectacular plays in tourney history), just a good old-fashioned slug fest. Where was this talent all year long from the Spartans though? Like Wisconsin, the Spartans played an entertaining, uptempo style of basketball. And played it well. WHY DON"T WE SEE THIS ALL YEAR?!?!? I'm one of the many people that thought the Big 10 was overrated, and that these plodding, ugly teams would get knocked out in a hurry. The Gophers (this is what happens when you litter your non-conference schedule with the School for the Blind and the MN Catholic School for Girls. Is there a policy at the U that says their football and basketball teams HAVE to play cupcake schedules? Glen Mason just announced the U has added Florida Atlantic to this fall's schedule. What, was Roseville Elementary busy that weekend?) and Iowa looked very overrated, but the other 3 played very well. Is there a league-wide mandate to play "3 yards and a cloud of dust" basketball just because the football teams do? Are coaches' concerned that playing entertaining basketball might actually bring back more support and national appreciation for the league? Just wondering.

I'm predicting a Louisville/UNC final next Monday night, with UNC winning. But keep in mind, this is coming from a guy who's finished near the bottom in every bracket pool I entered.