Monday, April 07, 2008

Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk

Fitting, it is. Every year I go over my NCAA bracket and I'm always tempted by the perfumed inner-thigh of Kansas. I've been a Kansas fan since Danny Manning's squad bested the unbeatable Billy Tubbs' Oklahoma team in 88. I loved Roy Williams, and Jacque Vaughn, and Paul Pierce, Kirk Hinrich and all the small white guys that could shoot threes with thier eyes closed.

But they always disappointed me in the tournament. I'd pick 'em high every year and they would inevitably fail me. So this year I did something different. I knocked 'em out early. It might have cost me my bracket, but bracket be damned.

I know getting into x's and o's is boring, but I think Kansas made a big error in the second half, after having the momentum throughout the first half, in going to zone defenses. The box-and-one against CDR didn't work and sparked one hell of a run from Memphis that left Kansas dead meat down 9 with two minutes to play. I really can't explain the rest, other than that Memphis' traditional poor foul shooting caught up with them. KU hit the clutch three to kick it into OT where they never looked back.

This was one of the best NCAA tourneys I've seen in years culminating in a fantastic up-and-down game with plenty of lead and momentum changes. Excellent way to spend a Monday evening.

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