Uh oh. Taylor (not so) Swift has been dancing again. How to describe it? Hmm. "Spastic" is close, but that's a politically incorrect word these days. So when in doubt, I always fall back on one of the brightest minds in the history of mankind, and what he might likely have said about it. Uncle Jed Clampett probably could have summed it up in one word -- pit-ee-ful. OK, enough of that nonsense. On to hoops.
As you know, UConn knocked off Kentucky 60-54 for the men's college championship. Congrats to coach Kevin Ollie and his Huskies on a job well done. Many considered this an upset. But was it really? Technically, as a #7 seed, UConn was supposed to narrowly prevail over #8 seed Kentucky.
Time out. Want to hear hypocrisy and/or short memories at their finest/worst? Check out the talking heads. Before UConn had even finished cutting down the net, these clowns were saying everybody knew both UConn and UK deserved much higher seedings entering the tournament. Further, it was obvious both teams were easily in the Top 10 of the country all along. Yeah? So how come none of these geniuses of the moment mentioned either team as possible contenders for the championship when the tourney started two weeks ago? Pit-ee-ful.
Nevertheless, how the game played out shouldn't have been all that surprising. Kentucky, with all their freshmen phenoms, had pretty much established themselves as a "showtime" type team over the course of the tournament. They can run, they can jump out of the building, they can crash the boards, and they certainly had the slamma-jamma thing down pat. Let them get on a roll, and it's big trouble for the other team. Plus they had a player that made a few improbable long-range bombs towards the ends of some close games that proved to be the difference.
On the other hand, UConn had other things going on. Older players with more experience, for one thing. Every time UK made a run, they had an answer. The Huskies refused to be rattled. More importantly, they had better discipline and execution. Make the slightest mistake against them, and they'll turn it into a bucket in a hurry.
Over the course of 40 minutes of game time, it could certainly be argued the superior "team" wound up getting the best of the individual superior "athletes". Plus one other stat stood out. Both teams shot about the same percentage, even including 3-point attempts. Rebounds and turnovers were close as well. The quiet difference was at the free-throw line. UConn is deadly, and they went 10-10. Kentucky had many more chances, but only went 13-24. Eleven free throws missed and they lost the game by 6 points. Perhaps the Wildcats were too busy practicing their slam-dunks and didn't put in their homework at the charity stripe. Young guys do that. Older guys know better.
So now the focus shifts to the UConn women. Their male counterparts weren't supposed to win -- but just did. The ladies have been ranked #1 in the country all year and were not only expected to get to the final game, but win it. Most years, this would be almost a given. But this year is different. They have to face the lady Irish of Notre Dame, who have gone undefeated all year as well. Other than winning yet another national title -- the lady Huskies of UConn don't have much to prove. Been there, done that -- 8 times before.
But if anybody has a chip on their shoulders -- it's Notre Dame. Even Irish coach Muffet McGraw earlier called out Huskie coach Geno Auriemma for not being able to find a way to put Notre Dame on UConn's regular season schedule. Of course, that was irrelevant back then, and certainly doesn't matter now. Because it's show time for all the marbles. Few would doubt Notre Dame has been on a mission, a jihad, a holy war if you will, to show they can finally knock off UConn when it matters.
Can they finally pull it off? We'll see, but Geno's bambinos not only have a championship pedigree, but have been blitzing their way through other teams all year long themselves. An average winning margin of a ridiculous 35 points.
Note to the UConn Lady Huskies. Nevermind Notre Dame has had you on their minds all year long and are absolutely desperate to finally beat you when it counts. Nevermind your male counterparts just improbably won the men's championship. And also nevermind you have been expected to win all along. Anything short of that will be considered a colossal failure. If you lose, the men will have a parade, but you have to tuck your collective tails between your legs and slither off somewhere?
And guess what Uncle Jed would say if you go down to those pesky leprechauns in Nashville?
No pressure.
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