Siena cracks the top 10 -- twice.
Sixty-four games later, we’ve gotta whittle it down to 10. The 2009 Tournament was considered a lightweight in terms of drama and watchability (new word?), but this list wasn’t the easiest thing to produce. There were about 15 solid, very watchable and very exciting games.And though most of the games beyond the Sweet 16 were stinkers and there weren’t really any big lil’-guy-over-big-boy dramatic endings, don’t let that cloud your judgment on a solid — hardly spectacular — Tournament. Here’s my take on the top 10.
10. LSU 75, Butler 71. The first game from the opening Thursday makes the list. A back-and-forth game went the Tigers’ way, as Butler lost for the first time in five first-round games. Watch highlights here.
9. Wisconsin 61, Florida State 59 (OT). Some think this one should be higher, but I hardly saw any of it! Plus, Trevon Hughes might’ve travelled before he hit the game-winner. This was the one 12-seed nobody had winning. It tends to work like that sometimes. Watch here.
8. Pittsburgh 84, Oklahoma State 76. Before Pitt fell to Villanova (game below), it stumbled in every other contest prior to it. Despite the eight-point margin of victory, the Panthers flirted with defeat. Sam Young was the beast in this one, as he single-handedly brought the W to Pitt with his 32. Watch here.
7. UCLA 65, VCU 64. The most popular upset pick of the first round didn’t come to fruition, but it almost happened. UCLA almost choked away a sure thing in the final seconds. Unfortunately, Eric Maynor couldn’t be the hero like he was two years ago against Duke. Watch here.
6. Louisville 79, Siena 72. Terrence Williams’ 24 and 15 was just enough to keep Louisville from getting embarassed by media darling Siena. Siena led this game by four with less than three minutes to go. Watch here.
5. Oklahoma State 77, Tennessee 75. Watching this one with Digger Phelps, Dick Vitale and Rece Davis (sorry, I never get a chance to name drop!) was a blast. A sloppy affair, the analysts wondered if Oklahoma State would force Tennessee to do something stupid — and it did. Byron Eaton had the silly-looking layup that gave the Pokes a chance to play over the weekend. Love it when the 8/9′s give us good ones to watch. Watch here.
4. Gonzaga 83, Western Kentucky 81. For my money, Gonzaga’s Demetri Goodson gave us the second most memorable game-winning shot of The Tournament. And after being the victim of a lot of close games the past six years in The Dance, Gonzaga is on the better end of it. Watch here.
3. Michigan State 67, Kansas 62. A sign of things to come for MSU, who seemed to be done here. Kansas led 60-55 with less than three minutes to go, then MSU goes on a 7-0 run, highlighted by Kalin Lucas’ three-point play. A solid Sweet 16 game that was played at a high level and with some terrific defense and well-placed runs. Nothing wrong with that. Watch here.
2. Siena 74, Ohio State 72 (2OT). The game that gave us Raftery’s instantly-famous “Oh! Onions! Double order!” call of Ronald Moore’s 3-pointer puts this game at No. 2 on the list. It wasn’t a pretty game, but damn if it didn’t have drama. Plenty of lead changes and momentum shifts for Friday night’s last game of the opening round. A late-night game always adds to the mystique. Watch here.
1. Villanova 78, Pittsburgh 76. No question here. A game that was remisicent of the St. Joe’s-Oklahoma State tilt in 2004, these two threw down in the Elite Eight. What a game they gave us. With so much on the line not only for the Final Four but also in pools around the country, Scottie Reynolds’ memorable scoot to the hoop has already become something of Philadelphia legend. With this Tournament, often times, it’s not about winning it, but rather, creating a last image in a glorious victory. There’s no doubt these two teams gave us the best game of 2009.
