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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#4 Pitt vs. #1 UConn - Running Diary

Welcome back loyal readers. This blog needed to start sometime...and it seems very appropriate to kick things off with my favorite writing gimmick: a running diary of Pitt's biggest game of the season to date against #1 ranked UConn. This is the first of two, hopefully three, and possibly four meetings this year between the two Big East powerhouses. It's going to take a little while to find my "blog voice" again, so let's see what happens with this diary...along with the all important game.

7:01 pm - ESPN kicks off it's coverage with the announcing crew of Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, and Bill Raftery. I'm not really a fan of the three-man team, but this threesome gets it done on a regular basis. And, of course, I'm a huge fan of Bill Raftery. So that must be a sign of good things to come for the Panthers.

7:04 pm - Not a white guy on either side's starting lineup. This is going to be a good game.

7:04 pm - Raftery: "Sean McDonough...Jay Bilas...Pittsburgh goes...MANTAMAN!" It's good to be back. Starting to feel like March.

7:08 pm - Sam Young makes a deep two and then a three pointer on back-to-back possessions. If he's making those...it could be a VERY good night for Pitt. (knocking on wood)

7:10 pm - Hasheem Thabeet just went over the top of DeJuan Blair after a rebound, falling to the floor awkwardly and hard. The fans in Hartford haven't been this silent since the Whalers left town.

7:12 pm - The Hartford Whalers were a professional hockey franchise that played in the NHL from 1979 - 1997. They are of note because they: once threw the team a parade after losing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, had awesome uniforms, and sported the best theme song in all of sports: Brass Bonanza. Thank you Wikipedia for filling in the gaps.

7:15 pm - OK...back to college hoops, I swear. Young just hit a sweet turn-around baseline jumper. He's the most NBA ready Pitt player I've ever seen. DeJuan Blair already has 6 rebounds. Pitt 12 - UConn 6.

7:22 pm - Pitt's worst player, back-up back-up center Gary McGhee, just fouled Thabeet three times in less than a minute. It's kind of like the hack-a-Shaq defense, except that Thabeet didn't possess the ball during any of the three fouls. Curious. McGhee is the Panthers only player that gives me anxiety every time he enters the game.

7:28 pm - Gilbert Brown steals the ball away from Thabeet in the low post, gets the ball to Levance Fields, who throws up a 45 foot alley-oop to Young. THAT was pretty! Pitt 21 - UConn 13.

7:44 pm - UConn has staged a mild rally thanks to missed alley-oops, turnovers, and wasted possessions on Pitt's part. Fields is having a difficult time bringing up the ball with Craig Austrie of UConn all over him. Blair is ABUSING Thabeet to this point, already having a double-double (10 pts and 11 rebounds). Young is on the bench with 2 fouls for Pitt.

7:48 pm - Apparently rivalry week on ESPN is brought to us by CISCO. Good to know. Couldn't have college rivalries without corporate sponsorship.

7:52 pm - A.J. Price hits a bullshit step-back three-pointer at the end of the half. But HOLY CRAP...DeJuan Blair just had the half of his LIFE!!! 15 points, 13 rebounds - attacking Thabeet on every single possession. Thabeet has 4 points and 2 rebounds. Blair is winning the fight on all score cards to this point. Not a bad 20 minutes by the Panthers. Still too close, I'm tense, need a smoke break. Pitt 36 - UConn 33 at halftime.

8:09 pm - Never addressed this at the beginning of the game - Jaime Dixon out-dresses Jim Calhoun any day of the week. It's not even close. Not to mention, nobody (and I mean NOBODY), messes with Jamie Dixon's slicked-back hair.

8:10 pm - Jay Bilas praises Sam Young's exaggerated shot fake. I'm not going to argue with him. More importantly, Young's shot fake and drive leads to Thabeet's third foul.

8:19 pm - Choppy four minutes before the first media time out. Pitt still wasting possessions with turnovers, questionable shot selections, and Fields palming the ball. The refs started to take over the game, calling 5 fouls so far. Blair has 17 rebounds. Yikes! Pitt 44 - UConn 39.

8:30 pm - This is too intense for me to be typing. Young and Price trade three point jumpers. Then Thabeet and Blair get in a scrum away from the ball and the ref calls a foul on Thabeet, his fourth, when a foul could have been called either way, or not at all. Jim Calhoun is furious! This is too much. Pitt 49 - UConn 48.

8:34 pm - Blair has 20 rebounds. Thabeet has 4.

8:39 pm - I don't know where to begin. Blair got elbowed in the eye then acted like he was dying. Bodies have been flying all over the place without any fouls called. UConn started shooting 100% from the field including a bank shot. Pitt has only 1 timeout left and Dixon has no intention of using it anytime soon. There was a huge melee for the ball in UConn's half of the court that included 3 consecutive turnovers. Pitt can't make a three point shot, yet is settling for that exact shot way too often. UConn has the momentum, and their largest lead of the game. UConn 56 - Pitt 51.

8:46 pm - Blair with a layup and one! 22 points & 22 rebounds. Tie game! Pitt 56 - UConn 56.

8:48 pm - Jermaine Dixon finally hits a 3 pointer! Pitt takes the lead again! UConn timeout! Pitt 59 - UConn 58.

8:49 pm - McDonough points out that Pitt is 0-13 when facing the number one ranked team in the country. I can't decide if that's a jinx or a counter-jinx.

9:11 pm - PITT WINS! PITT WINS! I spent the last twenty minutes pacing around, occasionally swearing and screaming. DeJuan Blair is the player of the game. 22 points, 23 rebounds, and a black eye as he talks to Jay Bilas after the victory. The last minute of the game dragged on forever. But Pitt made their foul shots and came away with the upset at UConn. The defining moment(s) were Fields' back to back three pointers after not making a single basket all game. The contest went from tied to Pitt being up 6 in the blink of an eye and the Panthers never looked back. I could critique this game, but what's the point? Pitt just defeated the number one ranked team in college basketball and is close to locking up a #1 seed for the Tournament. Good times!

9:15 pm - Final Score: Pittsburgh 76 - Connecticut 68

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