"Hard to breathe... mouth is dry, hands are shaking..." That is an excerpt from the pulitzer prize winning poem that Longfellow Deeds not only submitted but was also published by Hallmark. I purposefully chose this quote to open the blog because it's exactly how I felt watching the TCU/Arizona game last night. It really was hard to breathe at times, my mouth was cotton, and my hands couldn't grip my phone or the remote. What an unbelievably great college basketball game. I'd go so far as to say it was the best game of the tournament.
Kerr Kriisa returned and shot like booty flakes. He even took THREE CONSECUTIVE corner 3s in crunch time for Arizona that could've sunk their ship. Luckily Benn Mathurin was there to bail them out.
Oh and speaking of Benn, he had a pretty decent game. All he did was stamp Eddie Lampkin with the dunk of the tournament and force overtime with a season saving 3. Him and Koloko refused to let Arizona lose.
Let's shift to Eddie Lampkin. An absolute DOG. He held his own with Koloko and outplayed Ballo and Tubelis. Cleaning up the glass, putbacks, emotion and all on a bum ankle. The guy was special last night. I thought coming in that Arizona could neutralize him with their size. Didn't work. How many times did you see him clean up a miss and put it right back? That felt like TCU's best offense. He was the second best big in the game to Koloko. There should be no shame in that either. Koloko is legitimately making history with how well he's playing.
Let's get to the "controversy." Mike Miles was trapped at half court with regulation coming to a close. Dalen Terry blocked him off and TCU fans are whining that this should've been a foul and Miles should've gone to the line. First off, I want you to take a look at this video without your purple glasses on. It's pretty clear Miles flopped. He tried to sell it. Additionally, it was a backcourt violation before any foul may have taken place. I'm seeing TCU fans crying about the officiating when they shot 5 more free throws than Arizona. Math doesn't add up. I'm seeing TCU fans moaning about "sportsmanship" and "class" when their crowd is chanting "overrated" at Mathurin and Arizona and while Eddie Lampkin keeps taunting Koloko with the "too little" celebration.
Please note that I love all of those things from the TCU crowd and Lampkin. But you can't get bent out of shape when the other team gives it back. And if we want to talk fouls, how about the no call on Mathurin on his hammer dunk? I think the entire world blew up at that exact moment so I forgive the ref for missing it but he was definitely fouled. How about the garbage foul calls on Justin Kier on Mike Miles 3 balls? How about Eddie Lampkin not getting a technical after shaking like a stripper on the rim when he dunked in the first half? I could go all day, TCU. The Frogs were tough as nails. Jamie Dixon has done a terrific job in Fort Worth. They were a great adversary. But you were not cheated or robbed. You shot 5 more free throws than Arizona, Mike Miles got trapped by great defense, and 2 of the best players in the country took over. Get some soup and regroup. Never in a million years did I think I'd dislike TCU fans but here we are. Ok, let's get to some other games:
-Illinois loses in the 2nd round for the second straight year. What do we do with the Illini? They were a 1 seed last year and lost to Loyola Chicago. They come back this year and share the Big Ten title with Wisconsin and the same result holds. It's a tough pill to swallow if you're Illinois but I do think you just gotta keep plugging away and stay the course. Loyola Chicago and Houston are 2 of the toughest 2nd round matchups I can think of. I really do think they're a product of the draw they got. With that said, Underwood needs to get some shooters. Can't just give it to Kofi every possession and hope he "out bigs" the other guys. They were abysmal shooting the ball their last 3 tournament games.
-Nova is Nova. Collin Gillespie set the tone and the rest of the Wildcats followed his lead. They're so methodical, so crisp, so meticulous it's insane. There's a better chance of a Pete Davidson/Kanye West truce than there is of them turning the ball over. They just grind you like pepper.
-Duke defeats MSU. Terrific game of hoop in Greenville. Sparty battled and hung tough but Duke just too talented and strong, especially Banchero and Roach. They were marvelous down the stretch. Banchero's game is so silky smooth. Like the fabric in your grandmother's closet or a baby's bottom. It's beautiful to watch but then the next possession down he can body you with physicality. Lotta tools.
-How on God's Green earth are Iowa State and Miami playing for a spot in the Elite 8? Wisconsin had a below average Clones team basically playing in their own barn and couldn't win. Honestly pathetic. Credit to Otzelberger and his medium sized shirt for turning around the program in a year after the mess in 2020. Oh and sayonara to Brad Davison. Better take those talents overseas or join the rat race like us. No more of your nonsense on the basketball court. The announcer was praising him for drawing 9 fouls against Iowa State. That's not hoop. That's lame.
-Miami caught Auburn on a bad day and took full advantage. I'm a firm believer that there are games where a team just doesn't have it and that was Auburn. They got taken to the cleaners by a Miami team that is so difficult to figure out. They're the epitome of an enigma. They struggle with BC but then smoke Auburn. It was the same in the regular season. But again, the value of 3 6th year seniors can't go overlooked.
-Texas Tech puts the clamps on Notre Dame to advance. I said it before and I'll say it again. Every single time the Red Raiders were on my television during the season they impressed the hell out of me. Strong and tough defensively, slow on offense but in crunch time they know how to execute. That's all it was against ND. The Irish were looking to cross the finish line with the lead but Texas Tech executed far better than ND. Kudos to my H&R Block Tax guy, Mark Adams, for going to the Sweet 16.
-Purdue shakes off the Horns. Jaden Ivey. Man what a stud. Purdue had a tough time shaking Texas all game but they ran away down the stretch thanks to Mr. Ivey's dagger 3. He's been a stone cold killer all year and even last year and it's really starting to look like this is gonna be the team that he carries to a final 4. Credit to Texas though. They were in this game the entire time and even held a lead. I was critical of the Horns to begin the season but that's only because the expectations they received were absurd. This is a slightly better season than I would've expected at the beginning. Chris Beard is building something special and I would trust him if I were a Horns fan.
Sweet 16 is next. I'm going to be in Philly for The Shark's bachelor party. Can't wait to have boots on the ground.
