As a college basketball nut, I believe the next three weeks are the finest in all of sports. From watching championship games from conferences I've never heard of, to filling out my NCAA brackets and celebrating my underdog picks winning a few games, I absolutely love it. In fact, if I could take off work for the entire month of March, I would. Of course, I'd be even more excited now if my beloved Terps weren't trying to claw their way to the proverbial bubble, but alas. (Depending on how the conference tournaments turn out, the Terps may be able to squeeze in the NCAA Tourney with a win over Georgia Tech; however, it's more likely they'd need to beat Boston College as well.)
Did anyone watch the Gonzaga v. Loyola Marymount game last night? A few questions arose in my mind while watching the game:
1. How does a 6'10'' guy miss a layup to win the game?
2. Has it really been sixteen years since LM last made the NCAA Tourney? (You remember, don't you-- the run and gun team lead by Bo Kimble, inspired by the death of Hank Gathers?)
3. Is there a dorkier man alive than Joe Lunardi?
4. Is Adam Morrison actually a clone of Glen Frey from the Hotel California period?
(Incidentally, Dan Patrick said on his radio show that he thinks Morrison looks like CNN's Christine Amanpour (sp) with a mustache.)
5. Has a team ranked in the AP Top 5 (Gonzaga) ever had some many nail-biter wins against lousy opponents?
Did anyone watch the Gonzaga v. Loyola Marymount game last night? A few questions arose in my mind while watching the game:
1. How does a 6'10'' guy miss a layup to win the game?
2. Has it really been sixteen years since LM last made the NCAA Tourney? (You remember, don't you-- the run and gun team lead by Bo Kimble, inspired by the death of Hank Gathers?)
3. Is there a dorkier man alive than Joe Lunardi?
4. Is Adam Morrison actually a clone of Glen Frey from the Hotel California period?
(Incidentally, Dan Patrick said on his radio show that he thinks Morrison looks like CNN's Christine Amanpour (sp) with a mustache.)
5. Has a team ranked in the AP Top 5 (Gonzaga) ever had some many nail-biter wins against lousy opponents?
Jim Rome had this to say yesterday about Adam Morrison. While some people are calling for Adam Morrison to be player of the year, Jim's standing by J.J. Reddick as the player of the year.
Reddick does unbelieveable things night after night against teams that are ranked among some of the best in the country. In addition, teams come up against Duke and Reddick trying their very best to knock off this powerhouse of a basketball team.
As for Morrison, he's a good player and is doing great things on the ball court, but he's playing in the West Coast Conference and he's doing these things against teams like Pepperdine, Loyola-Marymount, Santa Clara and Saint Mary's. I'd say those opponents wouldn't stack up against teams in the ACC all too well.
Oh, and the Christine Amanpour comment was right on target.
Redick is certainly a great player, and I would have no qualms with him being Player of the Year. However, while Morrison does play in a much weaker conference than Redick, he showed he could dominate against high-caliber competition during Gonzaga's out-of-conference schedule--Maui games against Maryland, Michigan St. and UConn as well as other OOC games against Memphis and Oklahoma St. I think either guy is a worthy selection for POY. I don't think Morrison is overrated, but his team is.
If only Morrison didn't roll with that stylish stach & out of work hair-do...I think his looks will keep him out of the running for player of the year.
However, I do think the Tigers could make a run at the final four this year!
Ugh... all this Tiger talk is making me think someone has stopped taking their medication for hallucinations.
Memphis has a good team--beat Gonzaga, should've beaten Duke--but I have to think that playing in such a wimpy conference could be detrimental for them in the NCAA's.
I have to admit I'm a bit miffed that the Terps didn't make the tourney. I'll grant that they were mediocre-bad too many times this year, but when you compare them to teams like Air Force, Bradley, etc., I have to wonder how they didn't get in. Of course, a few other teams got shafted as well. FSU comes to mind. Sure, they played a junior high level OOC, but they beat Duke (would've beaten them twice had the refs not robbed them) and finished 9-7 in the ACC.