08 Apr 8 - Competitive Balance (POSTSEASON)

Volume XII, No. 23 - 08 Apr 8: POSTSEASON

Competitive Balance

With four powerhouse teams having made it through to the Final Four, the national semifinal games could have gone any way you can think of without it being a real surprise. As it was, the two victors made convincing arguments that they were the two best teams in this year's tournament.

[2/S1]Memphis was again able to take full advantage of its height on the perimeter against [3/W1]UCLA, as the Tigers held the Bruins' 6-0 gDarren Collison to 2p4a4r and made it difficult to get the ball inside to cKevin Love(12p9r). Meanwhile, gChris Douglas-Roberts(28p) and bDerrick Rose(25p4a8r) basically had things their way driving the lane without much resistance all game long. UCLA's halfcourt D was able to keep itself within striking distance for most of the way [21-22 midway through the first half, 35-38 at the break, and 45-50 midway through the second half]; but it was its own halfcourt defense, enough free points on breakaways, and 20-for-23 shooting on free throws that allowed Memphis to extend out to a decisive 78-63 final score.

As tight as it played in the Regional Final trying to hold off the upset bid of Davidson the last round, that's how relaxed and free [4/M1]Kansas was able to play against [1/E1]North Carolina in the National Semifinal game. Coach Bill Self's pregame message to the Jayhawks was "Go out there and have fun" and that they did from the start, shocking the Tar Heels (and pretty much everyone who was watching) as they hounded them on the way to a 38-10 lead. With seven minutes to go in the first half, CBS announcer Billy Packer declared, "This game is over!" He was essentially correct, but give UNC credit for plugging on with its natural style of having as many possessions as possible, as it narrowed the gap to "only" 27-44 at the break. KU tightened up during the middle patch of the game as UNC got it as close as 50-54 with 11 minutes left in the second half. From there, though, Kansas regained its composure and returned to feeding the ball point-blank into the post (for which North Carolina never had much defense) and opened things back up. bBrandon Rush(25p6r) led the way outside as KU distributed the wealth inside; UNC's bWayne Ellington(18p6r), fTyler Hansbrough(17p9r) and bDanny Green(15p5r) were good-but-not-great as Kansas won it by a final score of 84-66.

That was about as competitive a National Championship game as we've had in a while. Neither team could really shake the other. Both teams got a little of what they wanted to do accomplished. "It could have gone either way" is too cliché to say, but nothing else is any truer. [4/M1]Kansas got the ball inside on offense, especially to cDarrell Arthur(20p10r). cChris Douglas-Roberts(22p;6/9ft) and pDerrick Rose(18p8a6r5to;3/4ft) led the way for [2/S1]Memphis to seeming victory. The Tigers led 60-51 with less than three minutes to go, and still led 62-56 under two minutes after gCDR sank two free throws. (UM was still 9-for-12 from the line up to that point.) Only at the very end, inside the final minute, did gCDR and pDRose miss 4-of-5 free throws (including the front end of a 1-and-1) to watch the win slip through their fingers as gMario Chalmers(18p; Most Outstanding Player) canned a desperation three-pointer to send the game into overtime at 63-63. From there, the OT was all Kansas (12-5), with the Tigers deflated and cJoey Dorsey on the bench having fouled out, as the Jayhawks somehow plucked victory from defeat 75-68(OT) in one of the most dramatic finishes in recent history.

A Final Four that had four #1-seeds, deserved a game like this one after two blowout scores in the semis. Kansas was one of the most balanced teams we've seen in a while. Good inside, good on the perimeter, good on defense, able to push the pace or work it in the halfcourt. Deep talent without an All-America superstar. Remember, this is essentially "The Year After" for this team that lost only fJulian Wright from last year's Elite Eight squad.) A deserving champion -- (they tied for their BCS league title and won the tourney, ahead of the best second-place team in the nation, Texas) -- but then, so would Memphis have been. Keep in mind, the Tigers were a handful of possessions away from being undefeated national champions. People will remember the missed free throws, but that's hardly fair for a team that was so good in nearly every way, otherwise. (Wilt Chamberlain was dubbed "a loser who can't win the big one" after his Kansas Jayhawks lost in triple-overtime to North Carolina in 1957. Hopefully, one bad minute won't overshadow 244 great ones in this tournament for gCDR and pDRose.)

The NIT did little more than establish that Ohio State belonged in the NCAA tournament (and probably also that Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Arizona State and Illinois State didn't -- all of those high seeds managed to lose at home). The SEC placed two teams in the semifinals, Florida and Mississippi, but neither got any further. The Atlantic 10 had a finalist in Massachusetts and another quarterfinalist in Dayton. (OSU won the final 92-@85 over UMass in New York.)

The inauguaral CBI tournament indeed went the distance with Tulsa needing all three games in the home-and-home Best-of-3 Championship Series, having to come back at home in the final game to defeat Bradley @70-64. The Golden Hurricane, a 14-13 team at the end of regular season play (and #7-seed in the Conference USA tournament), had an extended run in the postseason and got to call itself a "champion" -- ("We're Number 98!!!") -- at 22-15. Maybe this is just the beginning of a fierce competition for the best teams (from #66 on) between the CBI and NIT. Right now, it was hardly worth it other than to generate some revenue.

At 12-5, the Big 12 had the most solid performance in the NCAA tournament. (The Big East had 11 wins, but also 8 losses.) The Pac-10 (8-6), ACC (6-4), Big 10 (5-3) and SEC (4-5) were muddy at best. Conference USA's 5-1 record was all due to Memphis (but give them some credit for going 7-3 in Tier 3 in the CBI). The SEC (6-2), Atlantic 10 (6-3) and Big 10 (5-1; all Ohio State) were respectable in Tier 2 in the NIT. But it's only the first line that really counts. The Big 12 had the best duo (Kansas, Texas); the Pac-10 the best trio (UCLA, Stanford, Washington State) and the Big East the best quality depth: (Louisville, West Virginia, Villanova, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Marquette all won games.)

The Golden Child influx was inconclusive as to how much of a factor the elite freshmen had in the postseason. Two GC players did make the Final Four -- cKevin Love was UCLA's best player from the get-go; pDerrick Rose shared billing with star tChris Douglas-Roberts, but he was no less important to their success -- but both of those teams were already veteran squads which had made at least the Elite Eight last year. The GC-led teams were a disappointment overall. cMichael Beasley's Kansas State won one game, but it was only at the expense of GC bO.J. Mayo and USC. GC bEric Gordon and senior star fD.J. White couldn't overcome sideline turmoil and get past the first round; neither could GC pJerryd Bayless and LB tChase Budinger of Arizona. If this really was their one-and-done season to make their mark on the NCAA tournament, they didn't.

The Mid-Majors had success due to their numbers. Western Kentucky made the Sweet 16 and Butler made the second round, but their wins only came over other MM teams. (San Diego's upset of Connecticut was mostly owed to pA.J. Price's knee injury early in the game.) Drake and Kent State were big disappointments. 1BC Belmont just missed sending Duke packing in the first round for the second straight year. 1BC Siena was able to do the job, running past Vanderbilt in a first-round rout. The biggest breakthrough (team and player) belonged to Davidson, which (aided in the first two rounds by a pod placement in cozy Raleigh, NC) knocked off three ranked opponents in succession (Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin) and had the last possession for a possible game-winning three-pointer in the Regional Final against eventual national champ Kansas -- mostly (but not all) thanks to the spectacular talents of sophomore star gStephen Curry. The Little Teams That Could still came up with the goods for yet another season. The GC era hasn't swept them aside just yet.

Veteran coaches strong-arming administrations into including nepotism clauses in their contracts on behalf of their sons is a trend that has yielded the last two National Coaches of the Year on the one hand (Washington State's Tony Bennett in '07, and Drake's Keno Davis in '08). On the other hand, at Texas Tech, Bob Knight maneuvered out of his position by "resigning" midseason so that his son, Pat Knight, could get a few "practice games" under his belt before taking over for real to start next season. (Bob Knight may not be done with coaching himself, though. He may have just wanted a higher profile position and wanted to let higher profile administrations know he'd be available.) Meanwhile, at Oklahoma State, coach Sean Sutton is out just two years into his 5-year nepotism deal after taking over when Eddie Sutton was forced out with DUI problems. So there's at least one backlash from administrations to this trend.

If everybody stayed in school, all four Final Four teams are young enough in their star positions for a return trip next year. Will tCDR and pDRose stay just to win one more game? Will fTHansbrough come back after he's already made the Final Four and been named Player of the Year? (Will gWEllington stay if he goes?) Will cKLove return for another season in Westwood? Can bBrandon Rush parlay this season into an NBA career? Frankly, it says here they're likely all gone, for better or for worse. Certainly cMichael Beasley, bO.J. Mayo and bEric Gordon are leaving. Is there a good reason for pD.J. Augustin to stay another year in college? (Both cBrook and Robin Lopez have already declared for the NBA.) The one star who says he's staying is gStephen Curry (but he's losing three senior starters around him.) This season proved to be very much an addendum to last year. All four Final Four teams were Elite Eight or better a year ago and those Left Behind returned to finish their business. Next year upcoming looks much more like a blank slate.

Thanks for reading the HLS columns this year. I hope you've enjoyed reading them as much as I've enjoyed writing them.

See y'all next year!

-- Ron