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4:05:00 PM EDT
Hearing Gnarls Barkley
Best of the West, Southeast Play for the Marbles
Man, those Final Four games (Florida 73-58 and UCLA 59-45) were terrible. If it weren't for the grilled wings and bucket of Bud, they'd've been unbearable. But as Sportz Assassin so eloquently stated, at least this championship features the two teams that are absolutely playing the best basketball right now. They may not have been picked by many (or any) to be here, but they're conference champs that have now won a combined 10 Tournament games, most of them with ease.
And before moving on to Monday's matchup, congratulations to LSU and Mason for their runs through the bracket. Big Baby is now part of the national lexicon, Tyrus Thomas became a top NBA pick and Jim Larranaga's Patriots are unforgettable. I bought a green GMU Final Four t-shirt at Target for $12 this week, and I'm fairly certain that in 20 years I wouldn't be willing to part with it for $1,200. It really is too bad that we won't be treated to a Glen Davis-Jai Lewis showdown of the multi-talented, imminently likeable behemoths in the title game.
Instead we get the best two teams, and I like the Gators over the Bruins. Not so much because I actually think they're better but because of two fairly lame reasons: 1) It must have sucked to play Mason in the Final Four. Everyone was rooting against Florida in the biggest game of their lives. Not an easy situation to be in and they handled it really well. 2) Florida probably has slightly better talent than UCLA. Joakim Noah and Al Horford are projected to be top-20 NBA picks this summer, and the Bruins don't have anyone in the top-50 (although freshman Luc Richard Mbah a Moute looks really good). This formula worked for UNC last year and UConn the year before that. And if you want a third reason, Sportz points out that the last six champions were coached by a guy with previous Final Four experience, which Billy Donovan has.
So there you have it. Florida over UCLA in a decent but not terrific matchup. Not that you care, but I'll be watching it after attending the O's Opening Day game at Camden Yards with Saved by the Blog and 40,000 Baltimorons. Before moving on, here are some random observations on the Final Four games...
-- Does CBS honestly think anyone prefers Jim Nantz and Billy Packer over Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery?
-- Lee Humphrey killed Mason with six 3s on 12 attempts, which is amazing until you realize he averaged 46% on the season.
-- Bruins Nation and Swamp Ball are getting their blog on.
-- Why the heck is Herb Sendek leaving NC State for Arizona State?
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as for sendek leaving NC State for ASU, well, as the Mighty MJD points out, the reasons are pretty clear...he's getting more money at ASU, NC State fans and boosters wanted him fired and he constantly has to compete with Duke, UNC, and Wake Forest for recruits in that talent-rich area. Now he'll go to Tempe, where they don't really have any fans...so no one will be calling for his head.
http://zachls.blogspot.com/ -
There's still time for Chris to enroll at one of these two colleges.
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Interesting comment there, Jamie. Why does CBS have Nantz/Packer over Lundquist/Rafferty? They are polar opposites. And wasn't listening to them call the UConn-Mason game better than Nantz/Packer with the Nova/Florida game?? Listening to Nantz and Packer last night, I thought I was watching a junior high girls game. Sure, watching blowouts isn't fun....especially at this point of the tournament....but like I said on my blog....LAST YEAR'S FINAL FOUR BLOWOUTS WERE WORSE. And that Carolina-Illinois game was a pretty fun one to watch. This has been a bad tourny for them...especially as it started with them ripping the mid majors, yet this became the tournament of the mid majors.
Lundquist and Rafferty [who last year did Carolina's regional final games] have more fun with the games, are more interesting to listen too and they actually....believe me....have MORE ACTUAL ANALYSIS!! Rafferty can break down matchups as well as why things are working. Packer sits around and "doesn't understand why" a team isn't doing something. Nantz just sits around like the NCAA's version of Tim McCarver and just recites Final Four historical contexts....just like I can do on my blog. Oh, and he'll add this nugget tomorrow night...
UCLA WINS: "They Wooden't Want It Any Other Way"
-Sportz
4/3/06 6:07 PM