You know it’s been a thrilling NCAA Tournament when, at 4:39 PM on the night of the national championship game, it suddenly occurs to me (while sitting in a makeup session of Evidence that runs until 7pm), “Oh, hey, there’s a game tonight, isn’t there?”
Indeed there is. It’s the Tostitos BCS Fiesta NCAA Tournament Championship Game, at 9:21 PM on CBS, between Jim Tressel Thad Matta’s Ohio State Buckeyes and Urban Meyer Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators. Yeah, it may feel like a rerun of January’s football championship game, but at least this time it’s being announced by Jim Nantz and Billy Packer. Oh wait, that’s not actually a good thing.
If all goes according to plan, Joakim Noah will pound his chest obnoxiously several times, Florida will become the first men’s basketball team to repeat as NCAA champs since Duke* in 1991-92, the UF band will drive numerous viewers to the bring of suicide with that damn “daaaah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-GO-GATORS” song, and Coach Donovan will celebrate by proudly holding up the championship trophy and a hefty paycheck from his new employer, the University of Kentucky.
But if we learned anything from this year’s first Florida vs. Ohio State title-game clash, it’s that the experts are always wrong. Therefore, given that the Gators are a 5-point favorite and pretty much every TV pundit is picking them to win because they’re obviously the better team in every possible way, I’m thinking the Buckeyes are going to win this one. My prediction: Ohio State 71, Florida 63. I have no rational basis for that whatsoever, but there it is.
My other prediction — and this one I’m quite confident of — is that I won’t be watching the first 39 minutes of the game, because I’m frankly much more interested in the battle of Gary Payton vs. Powers Boothe than I am in Old Man Oden vs. Ponytail Noah. Plus, I know Jack Bauer won’t get in foul trouble and have to sit out the first half of the episode. That whistle-happy referee would be on the floor nursing a bloody stump of a hand in no time. As it should be.
What about the pools? If Ohio State wins, Scott Robertson wins the 12th annual Living Room Times men’s basketball pool. If Florida wins, Arash Markazi wins, breaking the “Trojan Curse” by becoming the first USC-affiliated contestant ever to win one of my pools. Details here. Meanwhile, in Jon Schoenwetter’s third annual NDLS pool, it’s Emily Haffner vs. Charles Hedman for the title. Haffner wins if Ohio State wins; Hedman wins if Florida wins.
(Credit for the title of this post, which is of course an “Anchorman” reference, goes to the brilliantly named Bookstore Basketball team of the same appellation.)
*which sucks.
UPDATE: You know who else sucks? Me, for picking the Buckeyes. It’s 61-47 Florida with 8:59 left. So unless Ohio State finishes the game on a 24-2 run, my 71-63 prediction isn’t going to happen. And because the Gators’ jerseys don’t say “North Carolina” on them, that’s highly unlikely.
UPDATE 2: Well, hey, the Buckeyes are making a game of it. 69-62 Florida with 4:25 left.
UPDATE 3: And just as I say that… Florida takes a 73-62 lead, and more importantly, two more minutes bleed off the clock. Gators by 11 with 2:31 left. Looks like this one’s over.
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Categories: NCAA Basketball & Pools
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April 2nd, 2007 at 6:37:17 pm
Gators 67 - Buckeyes 62
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:12:19 pm
Gators 86 Ohio State 65
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:27:00 pm
If Florida wins, Arash Markazi wins, breaking the “Trojan Curse” by becoming the first USC-affiliated contestant ever to win one of my pools.
That is technically inaccurate, if the NIT counts as “one of [your] pools”. ;-)
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:29:14 pm
Sports AND Norse mythology. Beautiful.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:58:14 pm
the first USC-affiliated contestant ever to win one of my pools
Unless you count the NIT pool from two years ago…
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:05:39 pm
Florida is gonna massacre the Bucks… again.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:05:55 pm
I’m excited; all those dominant post players matching up. Hopefully this will pan out better than Oden vs. Hibbert.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:20:20 pm
FLA v. OSU was the championship matchup everyone wanted to see.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:24:58 pm
Okay, the “hands” montage may have been the most irritating thing I have ever seen.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:17:38 pm
I hate Noah with the intensity of a million exploding suns…
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:18:08 pm
Where’s the post about how ridiculous tonight’s 24 was? Have their legal consultants never heard of the political question doctrine?
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:23:27 pm
I also hate Noahs Dad….Lenny Kravitz
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:32:27 pm
can someone please tell me which final 4 billy packer watched? Oden should be MVP?!?!? r u kidding me? yet another horribly officiated game where Oden got called for nothing. good thing FL is much better than Xavier and was able to easily overcome the influence of officials.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:42:21 pm
…And I repeat as champion of my pool at work. Although to be honest, I’m a slight second behind the chalk bracket….
April 3rd, 2007 at 12:02:59 am
Speaking of 24…did anyone else notice that the Director of the NSA is not a cabinet-level official?
A swing and a miss.
June 28th, 2007 at 4:01:47 pm
greg i don’t understand u i like u alot but i think wrong my dad came and got u from were u live at and help u play ball if it was not for my dad u would not be going to the NBA! and not ones have you ever said thank you Eric Jackson. my dad help u out he took u in like a son and u don’t even see it all u can think of is going to the NBA. I remeber when I was a little girl and you use to come over my house and watch tv and eat ceral and then go play ball. And your didn’t come to any of your mom games, it was just my dad there for u and how do i knew all this because he want and got u and to right back home every game night. All I WANT TO HEAR IS THANK YOU ERIC JACKSON