Say It Ain't So

The NCAA tournament is changing again. Only this time it has nothing to do with the number of teams in the tourney. Gus Johnson will no longer be a play by play announcer for CBS, ending his 16 year run of calling NCAA tournament games. Gus and CBS could not agree on a new contract today, ending my dream of Gus replacing Jim Nantz calling the Final Four someday. Gus made watching the tournament games exciting as it always seemed he called all the nail biting finishes.



Hence the creation of the "Law of Gus." In his first year of calling the tournament, he was the announcer for the upset of #4 seed UCLA (the defending champs) by the hands of #13 seed Princeton. From that point on, the legend of Gus was created. Other noteable games that Gus has called during his tenure of the tournament include Vermont beating Syracuse in 2005, Ohio St.'s comeback versus Xaiver in 2007, Kansas St and Xaiver's epic double overtime game in 2010, and the famous UCLA comeback versus Gonzaga in the 2006 tourney.

March won't feel the same next year. The "Law of Gus" is no longer with us for the tournament. I am already disappointed (and I know that the fellow writers of this blog are as well) to know that Gus will no longer be with us in March with our brackets, highlighters, and shamrock shakes to call the tournament games. I hope someday that Gus will be back, and all will be alright in the world. I'll leave you all with this Gus tribute to help remember the epic moments from Gus.

Not All Change is Good Change

On the eve of another NCAA Basketball Tournament I can't help but find myself somewhat disappointed with some of the changes that the NCAA has instituted this year.  Between the continuous expansion (read: deluding) of the field and all of the television changes I have found myself wishing for the old days of March Madness.



Expanded Format

First of all, this new expanded format is garbage. Why include an extra 3 teams that everyone knows has no chance to win the tournament?  I can't think of one good reason why including VCU, UAB, and USC in the field makes the tournament better.  All it does is take away from the "second round" (which is what the delusional NCAA is now calling the first round).  You won't see as many 12-5 or 11-6 upsets like you used to because those 12 and 11 seeds will be on their second game of the week. 

Another issue I have with this expansion is that it just confuses the average fan.  One of the things that makes the NCAA tourny great is that it is embraced by so many people.  Throwing in these play in games and starting the tournament on Tuesday is throwing a wrench at all of those average fans.  Like Michael Scott always says, "keep it simple stupid".

New Television Format

This is where my gears are really grinding this year.  Charlie is having a heart attack about how great it is to be able to watch every single game this year.  Now, in theory, that sounds great but when I really sat down and thought about I think it will take away from the tournament experience.  I have no interest in having two TVs in the living room and watching two games at the same time.  I have no interest in bouncing between channels and missing half of each game.  All I want is to sit down on the couch, turn on CBS, and let them show me regional games along with the occasional look in at big moments.  For me its all about the experience of watching the tournament.  Ever since I can remember I have had that TV on CBS (or NBC when they used to have the tourny) and spent all day watching whatever game was on and following the scores across the top of the screen. 

Maybe I sound like the Peter Gammons purist of the NCAA tournament here, but that's fine.  Forget Tru TV, I'm sticking with CBS this March.

The Best of the Best in College Basketball

As conference tournaments are getting underway across the country I thought I would share some opinions on which conference and team I think are the best in nation.  In the first year with an expanded 68 team NCAA tournament, college basketball is as wide open as I've seen it in my life.  This is the first year in recent memory that there really isn't a consensus top conference and top team.  So, for what its worth, here are my two cents.


Best Conference

The fight for the title of best conference is college basketball this year is essentially a two horse race.  The Big East and the Big 10 have established themselves as the top two conferences the last few seasons.  A lot of college basketball fans, including our own Mr. Tritschler, will talk your ear off about how the Big East is far and away the best conference in the country, but I am going to have to disagree. 

Most of the arguments I hear coming from Big East supporters are centered around shear volume of good teams in the league.  I can't argue the fact that the Big East has the highest number of quality teams, but that should be expected from a league that is almost twice as large as most other conferences.  Of the 16 teams in the Big East, only two managed to crack the RPI top 10.  A lot of people will tell you that this is because all of these top teams beat up on each other, but that's hogwash.  It really comes down to the fact that the Big East doesn't have a top level team, but rather a lot of "good" teams. 

The Big 10, while not quite as deep as the Big East, does have that top team to go along with their supporting cast of quality contenders.  Ohio State has established itself atop the conference followed closely by Wisconsin and Purdue.  From there the Big 10 has 3-4 other quality teams that should make the tournament.  The Big 10's top tier is much better than the Big East's and at the same time it doesn't lack depth.

This really is a horse a piece but I'll take quality over quantity every day of the week.

Best Team

If you look at the current AP top 5 (Ohio St, Kansas, Pitt, Notre Dame, and Duke) only one team really stands out.  Ohio State is the only team on that list that has consistently played well all season long.  Boasting a 29-2 record (16-2 in the Big 10), OSU has avoided the "bad loss".  They have all the ingredients to make a deep run in the tournament. 

The Buckeyes are a great shooting team and when Diebler and Lighty are hitting they are almost unbeatable.  But what really sets them apart is their ability to win games when their shooters aren't having a great night.  OSU's true horse is National Player of the Year candidate Jared Sullinger.  He gets high percentage shots around the rim and sets the tone for them offensively.  His ability to pass out of double teams has led to good lucks for those previously mentioned shooters.  Lastly, the emergence of Aaron Craft has been the icing on the cake for the Buckeyes.  Quality point guard leadership is essential in the tournament and Craft has proven he can step up in big games.

Like I said earlier, this tournament is wide open, but unless Diebler really cools off this weekend I don't see anyone beating the Buckeyes.

Kemba Walker Gets Robbed at Gunpoint

The police are currently in route to Madison Square Garden to take Notre Dame guard Ben Hansbrough into custody for an alleged armed robbery which took place this morning before the Big East Tournament got under way.  Eye witnesses claim they saw the 6'3" senior guard holding Connecticut star and fellow Big East stand out, Kemba Walker, at gun point outside MSG at approximately 8:33 AM.  Hansbrough apparently made off with the Big East Player of the Year award.


Ok, so I made all of that up.  But, the fact that Hansbrough won POY over Walker is a crying shame.  Take a look at the stat lines from the two players this year:

Player

GP

MIN

PPG

RPG

APG

SPG

BPG

TPG

FG%

FT%

3P%

Ben Hansbrough

30

35.0

18.5

3.8

4.2

1.3

0.1

2.3

.492

.818

.451

Kemba Walker

30

37.4

23.1

5.2

4.3

1.8

0.2

2.0

.426

.792

.358

I know that stats don't always tell the entire story but in what world did Hansbrough have a better season than Walker?  I mean this just makes zero sense to me. 

Without Kemba Walker that Connecticut team wouldn't have won 10 fuckin' games, not 10!  This is the most bullshit thing I've seen in 30 years.