You see? There is good in college basketball!
It’s very easy as a spectator to fall in love with an underdog, a Cinderella, or the little guy. Is George Mason University — the largest public school in Virginia — any of these things? Well, yes and no. Certainly they play in a small conference, with small players.
However, it’s impossible to watch them and not think that they can cut down the nets in Indianapolis next week. They have two lethal shooting guards, an athletic swingman, and two post players who are more fundamentally sound than most in America — even as they give away six inches. Seriously, Jai Lewis made supposed defensive stalwarts Josh “Ugly” Boone and Hilton “Neck” Armstrong look foolish. Had they ever seen a drop-step before?
And just when you think UConn is going to skate through another regional en route to the Final Four, all their mistakes catch up with them. They play raggedly, disinterested, and expect to turn it on only late. Their point guard is lauded for his skills — but he gives quite a bit away on the defensive end. Not to mention, he’s a thief.
Well, it’s a shame. Too bad the committee railroaded Number-One seed UConn into a game with GMU in the DC area. Can’t believe they didn’t foresee an eleven-seed in a regional final. But don’t worry, it won’t happen again – Jim Calhoun will be whining about it for months.
Kudos to George Mason — cinderella or whatever, they may just be the best team in the country. And today, they did us a favor by dispatching the most unlikable.
Update, 6:24 p.m.
However, if George Mason is cementing what’s right about college basketball — then the inept play of Villanova and Memphis in regional finals may have set the sport back a couple hundred years. Both regionals, which they lost, respectively, to talent-laden physical UCLA and Florida teams, featured no game plans by either coach, no situational recognition by any players, and a lot of outstanding senior careers — Allan Ray, Randy Foye, Rodney Carney — completely down the drain.
Villanova was an easy team to like. Memphis, not so much. Still, maybe George Mason can put an end to all this, and cap off the season by defeating another unlikable team — the ridiculous Florida Gators (Seriously, that jackass ugly kid will NOT STOP SCREAMING. SHUT UP.), the least camera-friendly team of all time. Ouch, are they difficult to watch.
Still, how ridiculous is it for CBS, if LSU and Florida meet up in the finals? All year the Tiffany network has had rights to SEC games — yet I can’t remember seeing any team besides freaking Kentucky facing off against an inept Arkansas squad or a worthless Vandy team. We didn’t see Tennessee, either. Gack.
And, in a bittersweet end to my tournament commentary, I realize I did not, in four separate pools, pick a single Final Four team correctly. Not once. Ouch. And this cements it — next year, no pools is a very real option for me. Seriously. Honest. Yes, I said it.
Now, when does baseball start?
