I miss college basketball already. I actually had to go back and look at some of the madness to remember how much shit actually happened in the last month to get my mind right for this shit show of a blog. Somehow we managed to come out of the tournament up 35-27, or just barely breaking even units wise. You know what that means…Master’s pool… We’ll get to that, but first let’s recap the madness.
This Is March.
The title game was a snoozefest, but there were plenty of awesome finishes to look back on. Here are the top 5 moments from the tournament through my whiskey glasses.
Honorable Mentions
UCSB, my sweet sixteen pick, lost on a missed layup to Creighton. Michigan misses 3 straight shots to tie/beat UCLA (credit to me for mentioning this). Texas Tech misses two go ahead layups to lose to Arkansas.
#5 We almost had 2 more days of Oral jokes
Davonte Davis made a tough, contested jumper to put the Hogs up 2 with 2.9 to go before Max Abmas sprinted the floor and put up a good look that bounced off the front iron. I’ll admit when I was wrong, and I will finally take accountability for betting against Oral (lol) Roberts in the Summit League Tournament. Max Abmas is a dude.
#4 Va Tech buzzer beater vs Florida to force overtime
The fact this was the first game of a flabbergasting tournament speaks for itself. This was one of only two buzzer-beaters, but this foreshadowed the rest of the tournament beautifully.
#3 Alex Reese nails 3 pointer for Bama to take UCLA to OT
I actually forgot how crazy this game was and had to look back at the play by play. UCLA did such a damn good job of muddying up this game and slowing a usually blazing fast Alabama squad down to a halt. Then in overtime they proceeded to score 23 points in 5 minutes…This easily could’ve been number 2, but I love chaos too much to keep this game off my list.
#2 Texas fouls Abilene Christian with 2 seconds
The game that busted so many brackets and ran Shaka Smart out of Austin comes in at number 2. There were plenty of other shocking stories throughout the tournament, but as far as singular moments, this one was mind blowing. Kai Jones absolutely swatted Damien Daniels on a desperation drive with time running out just for it to land in Joe Pleasant of ACU’s hands. He put up a hideous shot and the refs had the stones to call it a foul (correct call, but still a difficult one to make in that situation). The dude calmly sinks 2 free throws with a middle finger to everyone in America’s bracket. Beautiful.
#1 Zags win on a buzzerbeater in OT
I mean, was this even a question? This was one of the greatest finishes in our lives. The entire sequence leading up to the shot was crazy enough between Kispert missing the 3, Juzang missing a floater in the lane to tie it, him grabbing his own rebound and putting it back up to tie it. Obvious number 1, but if you were reading just for moments you would’ve been disappointed if it was anything but this.
The Masters
It’s always interesting to go from chaotic, Final Four Jim Nantz to calm, quiet, “Hello Friends” Masters Jim Nantz. I have no clue how to write about/talk about golf, but let’s get into my good, not as good and ugly.
Good: Collin Morikawa (29/1 odds)
I’m not going to lie to you, I had never heard of this kid until last summer when he beat Justin Thomas in a playoff at the Workday Charity Open. Since then he’s won two tournaments including the 2020 PGA Championship. I love the kid, and I love him at these odds.
Not as good: Brooks Koepka (28/1)
I love Brooks and his no f*$@s given attitude about everything, but he just had a pretty serious knee surgery on his dislocated knee. I’d love to see him put on a gritty performance and pull one out of his shmedium polo, but I don’t see it. Stay away from him in your pools
Ugly: Bryson Dechamb(low) (10/1)
The dude hits a ball over some water into the rough and celebrates like a neanderthal (don’t cancel me) and we put him at 10/1 odds to win the most prestigious tournament in golf? It’d be a damn shame if this loser hits a ball 350 and does some lame Shooter McGavin celebration on Pink Dogwood. I hope he gets the protein shits in the middle of his round.
Alright, I’m sure your unscheduled pit stop is probably over, so get back to work you slackers. If you want in on a Masters pool, hit me up. I’ll talk to you soon, love you, bye.
The Morning Flush 