Monday night’s national championship game was a fitting end to one of the most mediocre NCAA men’s basketball tournaments in recent history.
North Carolina, perfectly playing the role of big bullies beating up on the little guys, manhandled Michigan State. But that’s what this year’s tournament was all about.
From ‘Selection Sunday’ on, it was made very clear that the little guy was not welcome at the dance this year. Traditional Pac-10 power Arizona was invited while non-big name schools like Saint Mary’s (28-7) and San Diego State (26-9) were left wondering what else they could have done.
Ironically, the only real drama of the first two rounds may have been provided by one of Cal Poly’s conference rivals. Cal State Northridge took No. 2 seed Memphis to the limit in one of the first games of the tournament. Leading by six points with seven minutes remaining, the Big West champion Matadors would eventually falter down the stretch, narrowly missing the opportunity to become just the fifth No. 15 seed to win an opening round game.
The Matadors’ tough performance is hopefully an eye opener for experts around the nation and local recruits that Big West basketball is stronger than their RPI may indicate. Many pundits had picked the conference champion to play in the lowly play-in game before seeding was announced.
Despite a few valiant efforts from low seeds like the Matadors and American University, the only teams advancing beyond the first two rounds with a seed lower than fourth were 12th seeded Arizona and fifth seeded Purdue.
Speaking of the Wildcats, how is it possible that any Arizona team can be the Cinderella of the Sweet 16? That’s how little excitement the tournament’s first two rounds provided.
It was so bad that we couldn’t even get a good sound byte from screeching announcer extraordinaire Gus Johnson.
Who could forget Johnson’s immortal call of the final moments of UCLA’s Sweet 16 victory over Gonzaga in 2006?
“Batista with the caaatch,” Johnson screamed just before Bulldogs forward J.P. Batista missed a jumper at the buzzer that effectively ended the college career of teammate Adam Morrison, who was swarmed by camermen as he slumped to the floor, bawling his eyes out.
There were no moments anywhere near that magnitude this year. Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds sent his team to the Final Four with a buzzer beater against Pitt, but that was the only shot of any major significance in the tournament.
Villanova would go on to get smashed into oblivion by North Carolina a game later paving the way for the Tar Heels to play heel to hometown favorite Michigan State.
The Spartans were a big underdog – after all North Carolina had already dismantled them by 30 points earlier in the season.
With the entire state of Michigan struggling through an economic slump and the Spartans one of the most unassuming teams ever to make the championship game, Michigan State had the feel of a true Cinderella.
That glass slipper got crushed into a fine dust real quick.
Before Spartans coach Tom Izzo could even physically signal for a timeout, the Tar Heels were up by 10 points and never looked back.
But Izzo can hold his head high, the Spartans lost by only 17 points – a full three points under North Carolina’s average margin of victory during the tournament.
It’s not that I blame the Tar Heels for being so great. I blame the rest of the tournament field for being so boring.
Looks like we’ve got a full year to wait for more of Johnson’s verbal gems. If you’re really desperate you could tune in to hear him at his everyday job with the New York Knicks.
On second thought, maybe I’ll just wait for next year’s tournament.
Scott Silvey is a journalism senior and the Mustang Daily sports editor.