NCAA Final — Lock for Vegas

Well, if you look at my previous post, I continue my success as the Cooler!  Wrong on both picks (although I did say UCLA would have to contain Rose, and they did not; Rose made himself the #1 or #2 pick in the draft, and Collison, and maybe Love, might have made themselves a Senior and a Sophomore, respectively).

And don’t forget, my West Virginia bandwagon shirt arrived just in time for them to lose in the Sweet 16 to Xavier.

So if you are a Memphis fan, beware, as they might be my pick; thereby, jeopardizing their chance to be TItle Holders!

Of course, if KU wins, I win my pool.  In fact, if KU wins, my 2 year old will have picked the winner as well.  He would have done better overall in choosing winners by logo if the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) team were not the Retrievers.  They really were not Elite Eight material, despite a cute mascot.

So a lot of people thought the games were not worthy of Four #1s.  Admittedly, they were not classics, but I thought they were impressive nonetheless.  Memphis seemed to have control the entire time, but you kept waiting for the vaunted UCLA run.  But only Westbrook seemed up to the task, and even then when he went to lay it in after a Dorsey miss and cut the lead to 5, Dorsey hustled down the court and swatted the shot emphatically.  Rebound and subesequent basket to Memphis, 9 point lead, ball game. (Go to cbs.sportsline.com to see highlights of this block and Douglas-Roberts emphatic facial on Love.  Love will probably get a lot of that in the NBA, but he is still super solid.)

Before I get to UNC-Kansas, I thought I would bore you with my hoop exploits today at my gym.  I was doing my own Derrick Rose against a phantom Collison.  For those of you who read Bill Simmons, you know that when he saw video of eventual sixth pick in the NBA draft, Yi JianLian of China, working out on a court with chairs in various locations, he dubbed Yi the “Chair”man.  Based on the invisible Mr. Collison, you can call Yes MSG the Airman . 

However, regardless of the lack of a real defender, I did realize some things about my game.  I have no right hand — I did in high school.  The college 3 point line is F-A-R.  And on a good jumper, you can get a Carnegie Deli Pastrami Sandwich under my feet, but more usually, just an Italian Panini.

Back to the games.  The UNC Kansas was at least unique.  The Heels started off playing what looked like 5 on 8.  Kansas defense and quickness was amazing, but even my wife said they would not be able to keep it up.  When the Heels followed KU’s 40-14 run to start the game with a 36-14 run of their own, I thought they would win.  But the pressure of scoring every time down the court was too great, and Kansas, especially Rush and Collins, showed lots of heart.  Big win for a team that was obviously tight in the Elite Eight.

So the final could be an epic one as both teams run a reasonable amount, play defense, and have great talents.  The arguable top two players on the floor are both on Memphis — Rose and Douglas-Roberts (who was awesome and unstoppable and with a huge repertoire of shots against the Bruins).  But they don’t have a lot of other scoring options.  KU on the other hand, has a bunch of guys who can score, and a few reasonable big men now that you can add Aldrich to (Let me love you) Sasha Kaun.

If the KU team that destroyed UT in the Big 12 Final, and that played the first 15 and the last 5 minutes of the game against UNC shows up, I think they win.  But if the KU that played the middle of yesterday’s game and the entire game against Davidson shows, then we all know what will happen.

Kansas should win based on depth and scoring ability, but Memphis is on a roll.  So they are my pick; either that, or I am using the Costanza theory to guarantee my pool victory.

Before I sign off, two interesting tidbits:

1) Joey Dorsey’s real name is Richard Elmer Dorsey; Joey was a nickname since he jumped around like a little kangaroo when he was a kid.  Think it funny?  Just don’t tell him that. 

2) Kansas has only won two national titles.  For a program with such history, I was surprised to hear that.  Duke has more, and Connecticut has the same amount.  UNC has 4, Indiana 5, Kentucky, I think, 7 and UCLA 11.

See you for the post game on Tuesday.