Day 2: Running diary - Noon games
OK. I'm in front of the TV at 1:00pm. Four games on. Davidson is leading OSU at half by 4. NW St is within 2 in the 1st against Iowa. Bucknell and Arkansas are tied. Arizona is beating Wisconsin 35-18 with 7 minutes to play in the first. Life is good.
1:04
Bucknell-Arkansas is on CBS here. No complaints. But I want to see what NW St is doing against Iowa, a game that is tied. I can't get the free video feed to work on Sportsline.com. Lame. XMIevents.com would do better. I'm going to head over to my parents house in a bit. Big screen TV. HD. March Madness package. Bingo.
1:08
Part of me thought that last year's win was a fluke for Bucknell, and that a 9-seed for a Patriot League team was ridiculous. But these guys are playing like they belong. They're not intimidated by Arkansas or the loud Arkansas fans that have made the drive to Dallas. I think their tough non-conference schedule and the success they've had in it as well as last year's experience have really helped them.
I think one great way to spot an upset is if the smaller school has played against a couple major conference teams and hung with them; they don't even need to have pulled out a win. These schools always hang in their first round games. NW St. is another one team that fits in this category. Some others to watch later on...
-Kent St. played Rutgers, S. Illinois and Syracuse fairly tough this year.
-Murray St. lost to Cincy by 4, Tennessee by 11, and S. Illinois by 4.
-Penn lost by 13 at Duke and 7 to Nova.
I think those teams will hang around a bit in their games, if not pull off a shocker.
1:26
They switched to the Davidson-OSU game. Davidson leads 33-29. There's a lot at stake here. If Ohio State loses, everyone who picked them far because of all my Thad Matta talk will hate me forever. I'll lose all credibility and be mocked by my friends.
But why should that be? Here's the thing: they call it March Madness for a reason, and this is the deepest field in NCAA history. Good teams are going to get upset. Good coaches are going to go home early. And it's going to happen more and more often as college basketball tends towards parity. Rare is a final four lacking a team or two that could've gone home much earlier had a shot been made or missed.
Let's remember how OSU got here. Thad had to convince the 6th best team in the Big 10 last year that they were better than everyone said they were. He had to convince him that they had something to play for, despite the possibility that they could be banned from the NCAAs this year. And he had to convince him not to pay attention to the hype that next year's team is getting. He did all that. And now his team is supposed to believe him when he says Davidson might give them a fight? If he loses now, is he a bad coach?
OK. I've covered my back. But it might not have been necessary. The Buckeyes have opened up a 6 point lead.
2:13
I'm making some weird Betty Crocker concoction that you add water to and microwave and it becomes cake. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Ohio State pulls it out by 8. Nice effort by Davidson. Iowa had pushed their lead into double digits but NW St has cut it to 9 with under seven minutes to play. Arizona is leading by more than anyone.
But this Bucknell game is pretty entertaining. Arkansas has more talent, but Bucknell has shot its way to a nine point lead.
2:20
Not sure who this color commentator is, but he made a comment I haven't heard before.
"In the end game, you need guards more than you need big men."
Makes sense. Whether you're ahead and being pressed or behind and need good quick decisions leading to good shots, the guards are key down the stretch. I guess that's why an outstanding point guard is a prerequisite to winning a title.
2:29
Crap! NW St pulled it to 3 points with under 2 minutes to play and I'm nowhere near a March Madness satellite package. Hopefully CBS will Q/V it for me. Except Bucknell's lead has shrunk to 2 points. Best scenario is the Iowa game goes to OT so I can see the end of that too.
2:30
Bucknell's best player is named Betancourt. The Cuban baseball team has a player named Betancourt. See what I'm getting at?
Bucknell is not located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania but in Havana, Cuba.
2:32
YES! CBS Q/V's it to NW St, who cuts it to 1 as I watch! Go...um...NW St's mascot!
2:33
Nice! Back to Bucknell after an Iowa timeout! I love March!
2:35
Bucknell and Arkansas tied with 1:15 to go.
NW St down 2 with the ball and 14 seconds to go.
And CBS is all over it. Well done, people!
2:37
Northwestern St. wins on a buzzer-beater from the corner!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!
2:38
Back to the Bucknell game. Bisons up 2, shooting free throws with 30 seconds to play.
Arizona's win just went final too. Turns out Wisconsin thought the season ended in January. Morons.
2:39
You have to wonder if Iowa's lost just cost Steve Alford the Indiana job. If Indiana wants to hire a coach from within the Big 10, they won't be able to interview him and take their time with the process. They'll have to go right in and remove him like a bandaid. One motion: RIGHT OFF!!
2:40
Bucknell missed both free throws, then Arkansas panicked too much on offense and didn't get a good look.
Now Abe Badmus steps to the line for Bucknell. Bucknell is so deep, they're pulling players out of the 18th century.
I just want to reiterate that Abe Badmus is shooting free throws. Abe Badmus...shooting his 2nd free throw to make it a 4-point game. Got it! Good ol' Abe!
And Bucknell wins! Well done! Jolly good!
So Ohio State, Arizona, Bucknell, and the Northwestern State...umm...players advance!
* * *
-I love... seeds. I love... regions.
-Paul, are you just looking at things in the NCAA and saying that you love them?
-I love bracket.
-Do you really love the bracket or are you just saying it because you saw it?
-I love bracket! I love bracket.
1:04
Bucknell-Arkansas is on CBS here. No complaints. But I want to see what NW St is doing against Iowa, a game that is tied. I can't get the free video feed to work on Sportsline.com. Lame. XMIevents.com would do better. I'm going to head over to my parents house in a bit. Big screen TV. HD. March Madness package. Bingo.
1:08
Part of me thought that last year's win was a fluke for Bucknell, and that a 9-seed for a Patriot League team was ridiculous. But these guys are playing like they belong. They're not intimidated by Arkansas or the loud Arkansas fans that have made the drive to Dallas. I think their tough non-conference schedule and the success they've had in it as well as last year's experience have really helped them.
I think one great way to spot an upset is if the smaller school has played against a couple major conference teams and hung with them; they don't even need to have pulled out a win. These schools always hang in their first round games. NW St. is another one team that fits in this category. Some others to watch later on...
-Kent St. played Rutgers, S. Illinois and Syracuse fairly tough this year.
-Murray St. lost to Cincy by 4, Tennessee by 11, and S. Illinois by 4.
-Penn lost by 13 at Duke and 7 to Nova.
I think those teams will hang around a bit in their games, if not pull off a shocker.
1:26
They switched to the Davidson-OSU game. Davidson leads 33-29. There's a lot at stake here. If Ohio State loses, everyone who picked them far because of all my Thad Matta talk will hate me forever. I'll lose all credibility and be mocked by my friends.
But why should that be? Here's the thing: they call it March Madness for a reason, and this is the deepest field in NCAA history. Good teams are going to get upset. Good coaches are going to go home early. And it's going to happen more and more often as college basketball tends towards parity. Rare is a final four lacking a team or two that could've gone home much earlier had a shot been made or missed.
Let's remember how OSU got here. Thad had to convince the 6th best team in the Big 10 last year that they were better than everyone said they were. He had to convince him that they had something to play for, despite the possibility that they could be banned from the NCAAs this year. And he had to convince him not to pay attention to the hype that next year's team is getting. He did all that. And now his team is supposed to believe him when he says Davidson might give them a fight? If he loses now, is he a bad coach?
OK. I've covered my back. But it might not have been necessary. The Buckeyes have opened up a 6 point lead.
2:13
I'm making some weird Betty Crocker concoction that you add water to and microwave and it becomes cake. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Ohio State pulls it out by 8. Nice effort by Davidson. Iowa had pushed their lead into double digits but NW St has cut it to 9 with under seven minutes to play. Arizona is leading by more than anyone.
But this Bucknell game is pretty entertaining. Arkansas has more talent, but Bucknell has shot its way to a nine point lead.
2:20
Not sure who this color commentator is, but he made a comment I haven't heard before.
"In the end game, you need guards more than you need big men."
Makes sense. Whether you're ahead and being pressed or behind and need good quick decisions leading to good shots, the guards are key down the stretch. I guess that's why an outstanding point guard is a prerequisite to winning a title.
2:29
Crap! NW St pulled it to 3 points with under 2 minutes to play and I'm nowhere near a March Madness satellite package. Hopefully CBS will Q/V it for me. Except Bucknell's lead has shrunk to 2 points. Best scenario is the Iowa game goes to OT so I can see the end of that too.
2:30
Bucknell's best player is named Betancourt. The Cuban baseball team has a player named Betancourt. See what I'm getting at?
Bucknell is not located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania but in Havana, Cuba.
2:32
YES! CBS Q/V's it to NW St, who cuts it to 1 as I watch! Go...um...NW St's mascot!
2:33
Nice! Back to Bucknell after an Iowa timeout! I love March!
2:35
Bucknell and Arkansas tied with 1:15 to go.
NW St down 2 with the ball and 14 seconds to go.
And CBS is all over it. Well done, people!
2:37
Northwestern St. wins on a buzzer-beater from the corner!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!
2:38
Back to the Bucknell game. Bisons up 2, shooting free throws with 30 seconds to play.
Arizona's win just went final too. Turns out Wisconsin thought the season ended in January. Morons.
2:39
You have to wonder if Iowa's lost just cost Steve Alford the Indiana job. If Indiana wants to hire a coach from within the Big 10, they won't be able to interview him and take their time with the process. They'll have to go right in and remove him like a bandaid. One motion: RIGHT OFF!!
2:40
Bucknell missed both free throws, then Arkansas panicked too much on offense and didn't get a good look.
Now Abe Badmus steps to the line for Bucknell. Bucknell is so deep, they're pulling players out of the 18th century.
I just want to reiterate that Abe Badmus is shooting free throws. Abe Badmus...shooting his 2nd free throw to make it a 4-point game. Got it! Good ol' Abe!
And Bucknell wins! Well done! Jolly good!
So Ohio State, Arizona, Bucknell, and the Northwestern State...umm...players advance!
* * *
-I love... seeds. I love... regions.
-Paul, are you just looking at things in the NCAA and saying that you love them?
-I love bracket.
-Do you really love the bracket or are you just saying it because you saw it?
-I love bracket! I love bracket.
posted by Prof. A at 1:03 PM
1 Comments:
This is great stuff.
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