The Victors | Project OSPREY
Friday, 29 March 2013
N.C.A.A. Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
(4) Michigan 87-85 Kansas (1) (O.T.)
29-7, Big Ten 13-7

Al Michaels's far-famed call at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games comes to mind: "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" There should be no doubt that the epithetless Jayhawks could have won last night's game, should have won last night's game. They had innumerable chances to put the valiant Wolverines away, but could never seal the deal. At the half, with Michigan trailing Kansas by six, there were two ways to look at things. The pessimist rued that the Maize & Blue had just surrendered more points than in any other first half all season long. The optimist saw the look of desperate incomprehension on epithetless Jayhawks' coach Bill Self as he was interviewed heading into the locker room; he simply could not understand how it was that his club could have played such a dominant first half & yet secured only a six-point lead. He could not understand how Michigan hadn't gone away. Self knows the game of basketball, & knows that club that cannot put other clubs away often find themselves in deadly peril.

Valiant Wolverine Mitch McGary (freshman, forward [faux center]) had shown vast improvement over the course of the season, but his play in the tournament has been a revelation; against Kansas he again lead all scorers, with twenty-five points & fourteen rebounds. Trey Burke (sophomore, guard) saved the day, as he so often has, with his indefatigable hustle, his emotional leadership, & his clutch shooting. Burke scored twenty-three points, all in the second half & overtime. As much as the epithetless Jayhawks failed to finish off the valiant Wolverines, the valiant Wolverines refused to be finished off. Michigan trailed by as many as fourteen points in the second half, & was down ten with three minutes left in regulation. In a move sure to please the Adidas marketing department, the valiant Wolverines did "rise to the occasion," remaining poised in the waning minutes ever as veteran Kansas folded under the pressure.

That, treasured readers, that was the thrill of victory, & occasional & elusive though it often is when at last it pays a call it more than justifies the more frequent agony of defeat.

Next: (3) Florida, the highest-remaining seed in the South regional, on Easter Sunday.

Go Blue!

Elsewhere in the Sweet Sixteen
(3) Florida 62-50 Florida Gulf Coast (15)

The epithetless Gators had a tougher time with the dirty, rotten, elbow-throwing "Cinderella" of this year's Madness, the epithetless Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast University, than I'd anticipated, but controlled the games after "Dunk City's" initial spree in the first ten minutes. Florida Gulf Coast are scum, & Sherwood Brown should have been ejected (Flagrant 2) for the intentional elbow to the face of Florida's Will Yeguete; instead, he was given the lesser Flagrant 1 foul. Brown threw an equally vicious, equally intentional elbow in F.G.C.'s Round of 32 win over San Diego State, & was not called for the foul. That surely encouraged him to be even more violent against Florida, & thank goodness the zebras weren't as blind as those in the S.D.S.U. game. Maybe Brown has a future as an M.M.A. fighter, but his band of thuggery has no place in college basketball & it earned his school my eternal enmity. The devil take Florida Gulf Coast University!

(2) Duke 71-61 Michigan State (3)

The epithetless Blue Devils are a hard club to figure out. They didn't look particularly impressive in their Round of 32 victory over Creighton & they didn't look particularly impressive in last night's victory over the dastardly Spartans, yet simultaneously it also appeared that Michigan State was lucky to lose by only ten, instead of fifteen or twenty. This should never be the case, because Duke is Duke, Coach K. is Coach K., & the epithetless Blue Devils were in the conversation for a (1) seed before the selection committee bought all of Gonzaga's balderdash & rewarded the epithetless Bulldogs with an undeserved (1) seed, but it almost seems like Duke is a bit of a sleeper. They don't seem particularly impressive or capable, but before you even know what's happened they've shot 22 of 24 free throws & you're trailing by an unassailable margin. The dastardly Spartans were clearly incapable of solving the puzzle of Duke & seemed especially flummoxed when their usual bullying tactics failed to cow Coach K.'s club. Big Ten loyalty fostered a genuine wish for Michigan State to prevail, but longstanding & deeply-ingrained antipathy meant that I smiled, at least inwardly, at their demise.

Indiana & Michigan State are gone, Michigan & Ohio State carry the banner for the Big Ten Conference. The hated Buckeyes have a favorable draw against the epithetless Shockers of Wichita State, but they would underestimate their foe at their grave peril. The valiant Wolverines will be severely tested against the epithetless Gators, but this is not the time for caution, not after last night's thriller. Brimming with confidence in the valiant Wolverines, right now "I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself." (Of course, we should note that Dak perished not long after uttering those boastful words.) No matter, now is the time for braggadocio!

The Rebel Black Dot Song of Holy Saturday
The Puppini Sisters, "In the Mood" from Betcha Bottom Dollar (T.L.A.M.)