Syracuse & UConn Play For A Long Time

(Rat Boy with a little premature celebration)

Of course I have a few thoughts from Thursday's Syracuse/Connecticut 6-overtime game. I just didn't have the strength or energy to write them on Friday. So instead, I chose to write a pissy post to the demanding masses, claiming the epic Big East Tournament contest was uninteresting. This is mostly true. I'm not here to write about content. I'm here to write about process. That's what you've all come to expect. So here (finally) are my musings about Syracuse's 127-117 6 OT win over UConn, along with some final thoughts on the Big East Tournament:

Syracuse & UConn's All Nighter:

• Watched the game at The Saloon in Mt. Lebanon in the company of CJS, Kim, Chris H., A.J., & Rick. The only one really invested in the game before it came a classic was CJS, who still unquestioningly roots for the Orangemen based on his love of a color pattern back in 5th grade. Soft. In the spirit of full disclosure, I had a Washington Huskies Starter jacket in 7th grade because I liked their colors and logo. Still...not as soft as CJS.
  
• Before the game even went into overtime, we were all ready to go home. Everyone was either tired or had to work the next day. Little did we know what was going to happen next. I have to give Kim some props here...she had to work the next day and probably wasn't too excited to go out in the first place. She left after the 2nd overtime...4 overtimes before the game ended. You're a trooper Kimberly!
• Any time a sporting event goes so long that one orders drinks long after one has closed their tab and sobered up, is probably a very good one.
• You've all seen Eric Devendorf's "winning" 3-pointer at the end of regulation that didn't count. After preening, posing, and showing-up Seton Hall the night before, Rat Boy drew attention to himself again by jumping up on the scorer's table after the phantom 3-pointer. His teammates quickly pulled him down...but the image of the cocky, tattooed guard with poor facial hair standing on a table will now be around for generations to enjoy.
• Jonny Flynn of Syracuse deserves some huge credit for not only playing 67 of a possible 70 minutes, but for hitting all 16 of his free throws...many of which were taken on exhausted legs. A.J. Price gets some props from me to for being damn good and for not having any eligibility left, therefore, never being able to play Pitt again. Also...coaches Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun are looking old.
  
• The most interesting thing from this game was when Canadian-born Andy Rautins hit a wide-open 3-pointer for Syracuse at the end of the 3rd overtime that tied the game at 98. Twenty-eight years ago, Rautins' father, Leo, tipped in a buzzer-beater to topple Villanova in the 1981 Big East tourney championship game...in three overtimes...in what was then the longest conference tournament game in history.
• I wish that somebody would have had the balls to ask Jim Calhoun about his salary after the game. This would have been the PERFECT opportunity for that follow up! He could have at least worked it into his post game press conference. Here's how it could have played out: Reporter - "Coach Calhoun, are you disappointed or unhappy that your team lost this 6 overtime game tonight?" Coach Calhoun - "I have 1.6 MILLION reasons to be happy right now! In fact...I have A LOT more than that!"
  
• Had a very nice back-and-forth texting exchange with Liz during the game. You know that something is becoming an event when someone texts, "are you watching this?" The absurdity of things was exponential with each overtime. It was impossible not to get caught up in the madness. "Only basketball can make me stay up this late", Liz said at 1:15 am. I could not have put it better myself. I hope Anna Lou's 2 am wakeful period wasn't too bad that night.
  
• Remember when Georgia had to play two games in one day to miraculously win the SEC Tournament last season? This had to be worse.
  
• That Syracuse went on to beat West Virginia the next night 74-69 in OVERTIME was quite comical.

Other Big East Tourney Thoughts:

• West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins wore the same suit, shirt, and tie for three consecutive games. The combo ran out of luck during the Mountaineers semifinal loss to Syracuse. What exactly was he thinking? Who knows.
• Jamie Dixon was absolutely brilliant to let Pitt lose in the quarterfinals. The Panthers now have a week to rest and get focused for the important tournament. What has reaching the Big East Championship game done for them during the last 7 seasons? Nothing. And don't give me the whole..."Pitt was trying and still lost the game!" bullshit. Gary McGhee was getting quality minutes in the first half. Enough said.
• Discovered that Annie's favorite player on West Virginia is Devin Ebanks. I didn't know that Annie had a favorite West Virginia player. I also have no idea why it's Devin Ebanks. Please feel free to explain yourself at any time Annie.
• Before the Syracuse/UConn game...the best game of the tournament was the Marquette vs. Villanova game from earlier in the day Thursday. Dwayne Anderson made a last second layup to give Jay Wright's Villanova squad a 76-75 victory. The result of this thriller should have made Matt quite happy. At least until his Wildcats lost to Louisville the next day.
• As I've said all season long, DePaul is the best 0-18 team in Big East history. They proved my point by upsetting Cincinnati in the first round then giving Providence all they could handle on Wednesday. The frumpy Jerry Wainwright did a great job of getting his team to peak at just the right time.
• Louisville defeated an exhausted Syracuse team last night to win the tournament. This should give the Big East three #1 seeds when the brackets come out in 4 hours. Everyone rooting for the Cardinals knows how to correctly pronounce "Louisville". I'm sorry I'm not drinking with Tony in South Bend right now.

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Conference Tournaments Starting on March 12th

The final four conference tournaments began yesterday. I'm honestly too exhausted from Robert Morris and 6 overtime games right now to give my usual 75%. Filling out 30 brackets was as daunting and draining this year as it was last year. But I do feel a sense of accomplishment. As I said last season, nobody else in the country is filling out 30 freaking conference tournament brackets. You're truly getting something unique here. There is something endearing about analyzing the potential of schools like Elon, Drake, The Citadel, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Rider. I've loved every second of it. Here are the winners, notable seeds, and props for the last four conference tournaments. As always, my predicted champions are in bold.

• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) - North Carolina - I'm already regretting this pick, not because I don't like UNC, but because I didn't know Mega-Star Ty Lawson would be sitting out the ACC Tournament. Not to mention that North Carolina has nothing to gain from winning this tournament and may benefit from the Pitt route of laying down and focusing on the Big Dance (I'm still trying to convince myself that the Panther's Big East Tourney loss is inconsequential). A third UNC vs. Duke match-up would be nice, but a meeting in the NCAA Tournament would be much nicer. (The following is for you Matt) Pay attention to Greivis Vazquez of Maryland, he's the player who had a triple-double in Maryland's upset of UNC earlier this season. He's stated his intention to play in the NBA next year as Coach Gary Williams loses yet another star. Georgia Tech is a great first-round sleeper pick against Clemson as their basically playing on their home floor. Notable Seeds: #1 North Carolina (props to Liz), #2 Wake Forest, #3 Duke (props to Brian W.), #4 Florida State, #6 Boston College, #7 Maryland, #12 Georgia Tech

• Big 10 Conference - Michigan State - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Seriously...this conference tournament is disgusting. Need I bring up Penn St. 38, Illinois 33 again? This league used to provide some really good college basketball. Now they bore people to death. I can't believe the Big 10 might seriously get 8 teams in the dance. Don't get me wrong, there are some worthy candidates here...but not 8. Iowa is in year 2 of a 5 year rebuilding plan. Give them time. Notable Seeds: #1 Michigan State, #2 Illinois, #3 Purdue, #4 Wisconsin, #5 Ohio State, #6 Penn State (props to Fleck, A.J., Bob, Ben S., Bradford, & Pat), #7 Michigan, #10 Iowa

• Southeastern Conference (SEC) - South Carolina - Here's another league that was really down this year. Florida fell hard and fast after their back-to-back championships. The Gators get to play on what amounts to their home floor here. I really thought the South Carolina Gamecocks had the best chance of anyone to win this tournament, but they lost earlier today to Mississippi State. So nuts to that. The most intrigue left is whether or not Bruce Pearl will break out the orange creamsicle suit at some point. One can hope. Notable Seeds: #1w LSU, #1e Tennessee, #2w Auburn, #2e South Carolina, #3w Mississippi State, #3e Florida, #4e Kentucky

• Southland Conference - Stephen F. Austin - I chose Stephen F. Austin last year as the #1 seed to win this conference. They failed me. I'm picking them again in the hopes of redemption for both them and me. This is the 30th and FINAL conference tournament bracket that I had to fill out. It feels like graduation. I'm finally done. Let's PLEASE move on. Notable seeds: #1 Stephen F. Austin, #2 Nicholls State, #3 Sam Houston State, #4 Texas A&M Corpus Christi, #6 UT San Antonio, #7 Texas State

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