Wow, that sucked. After a great set of games with most going down to the wire we got treated to a pair of games which were over by the first TV timeout of the 2nd half. Also what you had here was a classic case of clearly inferior teams being exposed for the frauds they were by somewhat more talented schools. Even Billy Packer, who probably ticked off the CBS brass, said it was "a weak Saturday evening." Harsh words but true. In fact there is a rumor that multiple individuals are being treated at local Indianapolis hospitals after being thrown from the Glen "Big Baby" Davis bandwagon which came to a violent stop this evening. Chances are they will be treated and released in time to jump onto the Joakim Noah bandwagon for Monday night
Florida 73 George Mason 58
Florida just took the glass slipper from George Mason and smack them upside the head with it. The Gators put an end to any dreams of a Patriot title with a resounding 73-58 win. The common thread among George Mason opponents in the tournament was they none of them were playing particular well with the exception of Wichita St, who Mason had beaten earlier in the season. Florida was on top of their game and they did two things well. They had tremendous inside athleticism and Florida's Lee Humprey hit SIX three pointers. In fact Florida hit 12 threes to only 2 for GM which is a thirty point gap. I was beginning to wonder if GM was having trouble playing in a dome, which is something that has bothered shooters before. GM fell behind by ten early, came back to tie the game and trailed by 5 at half. After intermission Humprey hit two threes and all of sudden GM was down 19. The Patriots do not have an offense given to scoring a lot of points quickly unless the other team commits six straight turnovers like UNC did. Florida handled the ball better than that and in the end they not only were more talented but focused on winning the game unlike UConn. Florida goes to the title game for the second time this decade.
UCLA 59 LSU 45
I knew this one would be ugly and it was. In fact 8 minutes into the second half, LSU had scored only three points while falling behind 50-27. That means UCLA scored only nine points the rest of the way and still won by 14. That is horrible. As for Big Baby Glen Davis of LSU who had been crowned as the best player in college basketball or something like that looked as though he needs to spend the offseason getting into shape. UCLA ran him up and down the court to the point LSU had expended all but two timeouts by halftime just to offer him more rest. UCLA was able to double him because LSU had a better chance of getting CBS play-by-play man Jim Nantz to refrain from espousing cheesy platitudes than they did of hitting a permeter shot. LSU got exposed because believe it or not beating Duke(which had basically two offensive options) and Texas(which is not as great as many think) is not really a huge accomplishment. And I can only assume that Jim Nantz and Billy Packer had two games worth of material on Glen Davis and LSU because every freakin' time I flipped over to watch a few minutes it was Big Baby this and LSU that. Here's a clue guys. Why don't you talk about the team that is actually cleaning LSU's clock. And LSU's Tyrus Thomas? He had 5 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls. If you anyone had bought any of his NBA stock during the last week they would be out of some serious money tonight.
So we get Florida vs. UCLA. I think Florda's Billy Donovan is shady and not only is Joakim Noah from France but he looks like girl. Not to be mean, but the only other time this week I saw someone pull hair like that back into a ponytail for a game was Tuesday night when was I was watching the women's regional finals. And I really would rather UCLA not get another title which will lead to talk about how great UCLA is. History has proven UCLA was great for a grand total of 10-12 years in which they won 10 titles. Yes, that is big deal but since Wooden left the barn UCLA has been to only four Final Fours in 30 years. They lost to Indiana in the 9176 national semifinal, dropped the title game in 1980, won it in all 1995 and now they are here again. [Edit: UCLA fans are quite upset with my perception they are uninterested so I am retracting that particular point since I may have made it in ignorance]
In other words I will be taking a neutral position Monday night, though Florida is probably the lesser of two evils and heck they have never won it before.