There is a reason they call it Madness.

 

That shot is one of the all timers. The Christian Laettner shot, Kris Jenkins for all the marbles for Villanova, Keith Smart from the baseline for Indiana, Gordon Hayward’s almost half court heave that would have won it for Butler. Heck, I am old enough to remember US Reed’s half court heave to end Louisville’s season in 1981. Braylon Mullins is somewhere near the top of that list.

The game gave no indication it would end in total drama.

Duke led by 19 points. Connecticut’s only lead all game was 2-0. The Blue Devils were in complete control. UConn chipped away in the first 10 minutes of the second half, yet there was never a feeling that they may let the game slip away.

The spread was still nine points at the five minute mark, and again seemed in hand for Duke. Then UConn —ice cold from three all game— started getting turnovers and stops on defense leading to easier shots on offense. Duke looked a bit tight as UConn cut the lead to two points with under four minutes to play.

Still, Duke appeared to stave off disaster as it maintained a two score lead. Even after Alex Karaban finally drilled a three, Duke was holding fast. After UConn squandered twenty seconds, Silas Demery missed one of two free throws. Duke was up two with ten seconds and just had to hold the ball and wait to be fouled.

They didn’t hold the ball.

UConn got a gifted steal, and you saw the rest in the video above.

A buzzer beater.

A dagger.

A choke.

Madness.

How unlikely was this outcome?

 

 

Final Four Set

The experts seem to infer the games in November and December don’t mean as much when you get to late March. Yet the four teams left had great starts to the season. Arizona, Michigan, and UConn were arguably the three best teams as we hit conference play. Even Illinois had big wins over Texas Tech, Tennessee, and Missouri early on.

Arizona and Michigan have been the best two teams in college basketball all year long. This is the type of situation where reseeding the Final Four would be warranted. The Arizona/Michigan semifinal has National Championship Game written all over it.

It has been awhile for Illinois. Brad Underwood has been producing really solid teams since landing with the Illini, but he finally got them over the hump. It certainly helped that Florida was eliminated from his region by Iowa early in the tournament. If the Illini are knocking down shots they can beat UConn.

UConn will be favored to get back to the championship game for the third time in four years. It is pretty amazing what is happening in Storrs, Connecticut, with Geno Auriemma’s women’s dynasty and now Danny Hurley continuing the tradition of winning championships started by Jim Calhoun.

There have been a lot of coaching changes over the past three seasons, but none have been as impactful as Dusty May in Michigan. May has constructed a roster that has many juniors and seniors, with a sprinkling of young guns. It is a mix that can only be matched by one team.

Arizona is still the best team in the country. The Cats have two fabulous freshman who are both capable of taking over a game. They are glued together by a group of sensational seniors. Arizona was challenged for a single half —Purdue— all tournament, only matched by Michigan who has yet to be challenged.

Hopefully UConn and Illinois will provide a tasty appetizer to get us ready for the main course of Arizona and Michigan. UConn is trying to make their dynasty official. Illinois hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2005, and is trying to win the school’s first ever title. Michigan lost in the 2013 championship game, and the Big Ten hasn’t won a title since 2000. The Wolverines are famous for losing in the title game, only winning once with the Fab Five in 1989. They have only lost once in the semifinal game. Finally, Arizona is trying to win a title for only the second time. The first came in 1997 under Lute Olsen. It has been 25 years since the Cats danced to the Final Four.

In my season preview column I picked UConn to win it all again. Senior laden team that knows how to win led by a mad scientist in Danny Hurley.

In my March Madness preview my bracket had Arizona cutting down the nets.

One thing is certain in my mind. The national champ is playing in semifinal number two on Saturday night. Arizona or Michigan.

An Arizona/UConn championship game is a win/win according to my partner Two Cent Cracked Crystal Ball.

I am not moving off my Arizona pick. I maintain my stance that they have been the best team in college basketball from start to finish.

Tweet of the Week

Dan Hurley isn’t quite right, and I’m here for it. Touched in the head and always winning. He displayed both with this move after the Braylon Mullins shot.

Yea, he’s straight up touched in the head.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

At 82, Bill Rafftery is still the best in the business. This is fantastic from all involved. I will even give Grant Hill, who I think is pretty bad, a shiny penny for this effort.

 


A Penny For My Final Thoughts…

So, there was other sports happening the last week. Here are some quick thoughts…

  • If you aren’t paying attention to the Eastern Conference of the NHL you are missing a mesmerizing race. Eleven teams are within twelve points. Six teams are between 90 and 86 points. Only eight teams make the playoffs.
  • If I wasn’t doing the March Madness theme above, this would have been the Shiny Penny. One of the best guys and best stories on the PGA Tour. Woodland has persevered through brain surgery for a lesion that caused fear, anxiety, and seizures, then fought PTSD after the surgery. Woodland won the Texas Open Sunday, and there may not have been a more popular victor in quite some time.
  • Tiger Woods needs to stop receiving sympathy from his inner circle. A little tough love —which is still support— is needed for Woods to overcome the obvious issues he has with pain killers.
  • Baseball starting in March is idiotic.
  • I will have some baseball thoughts in this column in the next couple of weeks, specifically the Pittsburgh Pirates. It won’t be any different than my Pirates thoughts the past ten years.
  • Let me ask you a question. If an NBA game is played and all the other channels are blacked out, do you watch the NBA game or stare into the abyss?
  • A quick shoutout to my USC Trojans, who are killing it in recruiting. Time to put up or shut up for Lincoln Riley.
Just my two cents…