Who said it was a down year? Give me 10 games of the caliber listed below and I’ll be fine if the other 54 are snoozers.
I do run a bracket pool every year, and in the final e-mail I compile this list, so I’m quite happy to have another outlet to share my opinion on the matter. Let’s relive the 10 best out of the 64 that were played. I judge the game with complete disregard for when the game took place in The Tournament. I judge it on how into it the teams, crowd, announcing pair, people around me, etc. This is subjective, but I think you’d have a hard time taking any other game and putting it into this list. (Maybe UCLA-Texas A&M at the 10 spot.)
10. Xavier 79, West Virginia 75 (OT). The hero: B.J. Raymond. The story: Raymond’s wide open 3 after a West Virginia defensive gaffe in overtime put Xavier up by four with 26.8 to go. His eyes-and-mouth-wide-open look is one of the memorable images from this year’s Dance. The ending was especially suspenseful due to the fact that the ‘Eers trailed by as many as 18 before they forced overtime.
9. San Diego 70, Connecticut 69 (OT). The hero: De’Jon Jackson. The story: Put this game in prime time and it is probably top 5. The game was buried during the late afternoon on Friday, but the good news was that it was the only game on … and we were treated to overtime. The game was slightly marred due to a season-ending injury for UConn’s best player, A.J. Price. Still, if Ty Rogers doesn’t hit a ridiculously memorable 3 to beat Drake two hours prior, we’d probably al know who De’Jon Jackson is.
8. Davidson 74, Georgetown 70. The hero: Stephen Curry. The story: Such an unlikely outcome because Georgetown was such a steady team all year. Curry continued to feed off of the energy of the local crowd, Davidson hit all the shots they needed to hit, Roy Hibbert was a non-factor. The key play: 14:24 to go and Curry sinks a 3 while getting fouled, bring Davidson to within 11 points and starting the tidal wave of mo’ that was to come.
7. Kansas 59, Davidson 57. The hero: Kansas’ luck. The story: Davidson was trying to become the first 10-seed to make the Final Four. If it wasn’t for some stout KU defense, a sudden lack of killer instinct for Stephen Curry and a poorly designed offensive set by Bob McKillop, Davidson probably would’ve sent this baby to OT. Gus Johnson really wanted that shot by Jason Richards to fall. Really did. We all did. Truth be told, Kansas was in control of this one for most of the game, but Davidson made that nice run at the end to get us all off our couches.
6. Tennessee 76, Butler 71 (OT). The hero: JaJuan Smith. Great game that was happening at the same time of so many other great games! You had San Diego coming back on Western Kentucky, Davidson coming back from trailing by 17 to Georgetown. The under-seeded Bulldogs played like a 3-seed against the No. 2 Volunteers, who won it ugly. Butler should’ve had this game, but there was some iffy officiating (or call it liberal) that benefited Tennessee.
5. Davidson 82, Gonzaga 76. The hero: Stephen Curry. The story: Lost amidst the magical run of Davidson was the fact that Gonzaga should’ve won their Friday game and prevented Stephen Curry from becoming a household name. The Zags couldn’t miss a 3 and had the lead for the first 32-plus minutes of the game. In fact, it was Curry’s ridiculous 40-point output (30 of those coming in the second half, if you recall) that really gave Davidson the win. Really, more than any other game in this Tournament, I was most impressed with the youngin’s performance in this one.
4. Stanford 82, Marquette 81 (OT). The hero: Brook Lopez. The story: I’m not sure Stanford wins this game if it’s not in Anaheim. Remember that Trent Johnson got run in this one for talking too much and making his case during a TV timeout out by the free throw line. What a great game this was. I was probably more INTO this one than any other, but I know it can’t be No. 1. Brook Lopez was well known before this, but his performance in this one secured him as one of the top picks in this year’s draft lottery. What an awkward, fantastic shot he made to win it.
3. Duke 71, Belmont 70. The hero: Gerald Henderson. The story: Just thrilling, thrilling stuff. Whenever your local market gives you the 1 or 2-seed game, you just pray it’s close near the end. We were all rewarded with what happened in D.C. on March 20. Everyone was pulling for Belmont (you just love how those neutral crowds get so into the underdog in those games), but I think a Duke loss here would’ve hurt any of their future letdowns. Wouldn’t it be better to see a top-seeded Duke team lose to a 16 at one point? I can only hope. That horried inbound pass that was an ill-fated alley-oop attempt was what did the Bruins in. After so many successful backdoor plays, they got a little too cute at the wrong time.
2. Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (OT). The hero: Mario Chalmers. The story: You know the story.
1. Western Kentucky 101, Drake 99 (OT). The hero: Ty Rogers. The story: I have to put this game as top dog because it was better basketball. Memphis-Kansas was too helter skelter, too nervous of a game to put ahead of this gem, which showcased a Tournament-record 30 3s! Do you remember where you were? I always will. Unfortunately, a lot of folk were probably stuck at work or watching the grainy vision on their PC. Anyway, Rogers’ 3 was the only TRUE buzzer-beater of The Tournament (and still the only one we’ve had since Drew Nicholas in ‘03). Tyrone Brazelton had a monster game, scoring a career-high 33, but it was his pass to the triple-teamed Rogers that was the key play of the game. Of course, this one kind of stings for me, as I had Drake in the Elite Eight. Ouch. Never fun to be on the wrong end of a buzzer-beater.
I was doing all of this hunting, keeping tabs on who’s going, who’s staying and who’s on the fence … then found Chad Ford. Here’s what makes this list so comical: 48 players. Forty-eight of the 60 draft spots are being attempting to be spoken for by underclassmen. Throw in the helping of seniors who will be drafted and another five-to-eight foreign guys that will be plucked by someone, and you’re going to have a bunch of jokes on your hands. Half of the guys in the waiting-to-sign-with-an-agent pool need to wise up now, get back to school and work on their stock for next year’s draft, which will probably be a little weaker.
About a week and a half ago, 