Well, since my original post on the subject was somehow obliterated, here’s a few quick notes on March Madness:
–The weakness of this year’s Final Four proves that, while the NCAA Tournament is a fun and unpredictable ride, it really does no better than college football at determining who the best team in the country is. More on that sentiment here from Tom Dienhart of The Sporting News.
–The quality of play in college basketball really seems to be deteriorating. Players are missing easy layups, can’t make their free throws and rarely do you see a guy who can make a mid-range jumper.
–When UCLA scores 50 in basketball, it’s very boring. Not so when the Bruins score 50 in football. If UCLA had played Memphis in football this year, the score might have been 50-45 in that one as well.
–Of my picks for the Final Four, only UCLA remains (Duke, UConn and Ohio State were the others). The Bruins seem to have a style of play that lends itself to doing well later in a tournament rather than earlier. Point being, its slow-down, half-court, gritty style has the effect of negating its athletic advantage against lower-seeded teams like Gonzaga (and so we saw a very close game), but that same hard-nosed style also brings teams with more athleticism–like Memphis–down to UCLA’s level. The longer you last in the tournament, the more likely you are to play higher-seeded teams. Except for this year, I guess.
–And so, I think it’s going to be an all-SEC final between Florida and LSU. I think Noah from Florida is something special and, since Donovan has been there before, it will be the Gators cutting down the nets on Monday.
–Of course, who ISN’T pulling for George Mason?
Jim Larranaga coaches America’s new team
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