As nice as I'm sure it is for followers of Florida, UCLA, and LSU that they made the Final Four this year, that happiness has to be mitigated somewhat by the heaping lack of attention being poured on their teams because of the profile of the fourth team. It's quite possible that one of the above three will win it all yet, as early as next November, fewer people will remember that than the historical arrival of David into the Final Four.
But like any proper, right-thinking, non-traitorous American, my heart bleeds for the big guy. So while the rest of the media tells us all about a certain commuter school in Fairfax, Virginia, this columnist won't even mention their name in this preview.
I'll start with the team I think is the best of the three, LSU. On the February 23rd edition of the Slant Pattern, I wrote, "In SEC country, I like how LSU, like Virginia Tech, seems to have something to prove at a football-crazy university. ... They are underranked at No. 24. I like them in pretty much any circumstance against the spread..." Now, look how smart they have made me look. It is those very smarts that has allowed me to ride a rocket to eighth place (out of 11) in the Sports Central Message Boards bracket contest. So do my bidding.
Finally, a team that knows how to block shots. Finally, a team that turns a tough out-of-conference schedule into a formula that has them ready for anyone. Finally, Glen Davis.
UCLA is just as hot, if not more so, than LSU. Slick point guard Jordan Farmar is a joy to watch, but I wish he'd change his last name to Farmer. Or anything else. Not since Curtis Enis has a name annoyed my ears so. The name instantly calls forth in my head the aliens from South Park. Greetings, Farmar. I am Marklar. I'm happier to hear of the much more pleasantly named Arron Afflalo, Farmar's backcourt mate, striking a blow for Compton, his home neighborhood.
I am not as high on Florida as I am on the above teams, but they've been proving me wrong all tournament. I was wrong anything they couldn't hang with a Big East team (they've beaten two along the road to the Final Four — oops, did I just infringe on a CBS phrase copyright?), and I was wrong about Joakim Noah. Does the fact that Yannick Noah has a son old enough to be a pro athlete (let's say he declared right out of high school) make anyone else feel old?
Maybe that phenomenon made me hold things against Joakim, but earlier in the year, I was asking people whom they thought was the most mediocre college basketball playing son of a famous athlete — Joakim Noah, or D.J. Strawberry at Maryland? Now, Joakim has the inside track of my tournament MVP. Quite a turnaround.
Okay, that'll do it. That's it. Stop reading now. I will stop ... typing .... no! I can't do it!
THREE CHEERS FOR GEORGE MASON! They inspire poetry in me. Others have come very close to doing what they've done. Some low-profile teams that have made the Elite Eight are Gonzaga (before they were Gonzaga), Kent State, and Loyola Marymount (the Bo Kimble/Hank Gathers RIP team). But none of those teams were able to push Sisyphus's rock all the way to the top and over the other side.
Names like Tony Skinn will resound with us forevermore. Last Saturday, we not only witnessed history be made, but it's been an epic piece we have been waiting for for a long, long time. There's no going back from this. The big-time schools will always have more money, more championships, and more advantages, but nonetheless, a huge facade the heavies have had around them has crumbled and will never be rebuilt. Now every team ... every team, from North Dakota State to South Dakota State, from Mercer to Mount Saint Mary's, can honestly, realistically dream for the future now. It can be anyone.
George Mason should change their nicknames from the Patriots to the Pioneers. They were the first, but they won't be the last. They did it with such style and strength. They made their comeback against UConn in a second half where the Huskies committed only one turnover. Many big underdogs crumble when taken to overtime when the favorite forced the extra period with a buzzer-beater. It's just too deflating to come back from. But not for George Mason. They scored on each of their overtime possessions except the last one. Just as significant as Mason's victory in itself is the fact that they did indeed beat Connecticut. UConn was more than game and did not beat themselves.
George Mason opened floodgates that millions of fans have been standing behind. For that, I can only say, "Thank you!"
And to tell you that they are going to win it all.
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