(Hey!) Over, under, sideways, down/ (Hey!) I bounce a ball that’s square and round/ (Hey!) Over, under, sideways, down/ (Hey!) I bounce a ball that’s square and round/ When will it end? (When will it end?)/ When will it end? (When will it end?)
So, yeah, is this the most cockamamie Final Four ever?
In the era of seeding, and 64, uh make that 68 teams, one has to assume it to be so.
But back in the day, like in ’70 when there were this conglomeration. Behemoth UCLA, and Jacksonville, New Mexico State and St. Bonaventure. The trio of servants were all indies, when that was a thing in college hoops.
The whole affair was pretty much geographic in makeup. And there were byes. And schools got to play sometime on their homecourt in early rounds. Like the mighty mighty Bruins did often.
But in the Era of One Shining Moment?
Nah, this is the most wacked. No #1, #2 or #3 seeds. A lone #4. No Golden Arches All-Americans, if my research is correct. No sure fire one and dones.
Even if all are certainly worthy. And played out their season for the most part under the radar. Because, you know, that whole TV thang.
Except for woefully underseeded UConn, of course.
If there’s one more super surprise left, it will be if the Huskies do not prevail.
Oft forgotten in the reams of chatter about the upcoming games in Houston is what was happening at the beginning of the season. Hurley’s Huskies started 14-0, and were all the rage. Then went 1-5 after Big East play started. That W was over Creighton. But ended the season before the Dance, 9-2.
And have eviscerated their first foes in the tournament.
But it would be the veritable coup de grace for this funnest Dance ever, should Miami, FAU or San Diego State prevail.
The above lyrics are from the Yardbirds.
Are the Owls from Schnellenberger U. the hunch pick?
I mean, coach Dusty May was a manager for Bobby Knight, who knew a thing or two about winning the title.
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As an also absurdly underseeded #9, the Boca Beach Boys are far from the lowest seeded team ever to make it this far.
In fact there have been five #11s.
LSU which fell to U of L in ’86 (by way of defeating UK), Jim Larrañaga’s George Mason in ’06, VCU in ’11, Loyola in ’18 and UCLA in ’21.
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There is but one burning question about the Women’s FF.
Will Kim Mulkey go Liberace/ Little Richard again in her choice of garb?
When seeing her on the sidelines of LSU’s W over Utah, I kept thinking, “Are your serious? What are you thinking?”
And, should you be ready to chastise me for mentioning how a women’s coach is dressing, be careful. In the past I have commented on the haberdashery of The Rick, Jay Wright and Bobby Huggins.
Then there’s the on the court stuff, like how South Carolina will try to stop Caitlin Clark?
* * * * *
The glorious perfunctory reference to Wes Unseld’s rebound/ outlet pass panache and prowess finally came during the Texas/ Miami Regional Final.
It’s a given, when a dude cleans the glass and hurls it to midcourt for a break.
Butch Beard knows.
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Some really good reporting by theathletic.com’s Dana O’Neil.
The ref who called the somewhat controversial foul on Creighton at the end of their Elite Eight L was Lee Cassell.
He’s the zebra who did not call the foul on UVa at the end of their W over Duke, when Kyle Filipowski was manhandled. For which, Cassell was chastised by both the NC2A and ACC.
Might that have informed his whistle this past weekend?
* * * * *
Too much is being written about CBS’s worries over viewership this coming Saturday and Monday, without any of the powers present that move the Nielsen needle.
How no casual fans will tune in.
Who gives fuhzook about that?
Hoopaholics, after a week to detox, will be raring to go.
— c d kaplan
Nice column, where and when was the photo from? The challengers to UCLA back in 1970 may have been obscure basketball schools, but when you have Artis Gilmore, Bob Lanier and 2 first rounders from NMS that is a preety solid group.
Even before they said it, I thought #15 on Miami looked a little like Unseld, similar body type, and similar hair too, though not quite an afro.
Love this. But I am struck by how much three of the four teams look so much like the teams from our golden era: undervalued tough kids who work hard on every play and respond to their calm coaches and their essential point guards.
Of the photo … back in the day (as it were), indoor sports photography was an evolving art. Due to the dull lighting in most arenas (including Freedom Hall), photographers began using strobe flashes synchronized via cable to their cameras, so that moments such as these could be shot at a faster shutter speed than the ambient lighting would allow. In the case of the photo above, the strobe was probably located at the opposite end of the court and in a corner, so as not to risk blinding the players and unnecessarily disrupting the play in progress (note the long shadows and sharp contrasts …). Later, Sports Illustrated photographers would suspend “flood strobes” from the ceiling above the playing floor in a way that would eliminate the long shadows and provide full illumination, for the briefest of moments, to record the scene at the highest shutter speed possible.