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| The most anticipated match up for the upcoming Sweet 16: Kentucky vs. UCLA (photo credit: flipps.com) |
Day 4 of the Madness started right off the
bat with another bracket buster game in the Midwest Region with #7 Michigan
outlasting #2 Louisville. Michigan was led by big man, Mo Wagner’s 26 hustle
points despite Louisville had a big advantage on the boards, especially the
offensive boards. Michigan grinded to a 4-5 point lead late in the game where
Louisville played the fouling comeback game perfectly with quick hoops and
quick fouling to stop the clock. But Michigan hit all their free throws to
outlast Louisville. This busted many brackets of Insanity Pool Contestants,
including this guy’s. For the umpteenth year in a row, I am in the bottom
cellar of the Insanity Pool standing, AGAIN! It doesn’t bode well for any team
that I pick. You could say I am quite the ‘cooler’. You coooould say I am the
“Cooler-issioner”! #PaulsenPun of the day!
Michigan will play #3 Oregon in the Sweet
16, who looked good in handling a tough #11 Rhode Island team in the Midwest
Region. This will be a great match up with Oregon’s guards/wings in Tyler
Dorsey and Dylan Brooks showing that they can shoulder the load between them.
This will be a great matchup vs. Michigan’s guards led by Derrick Walton.
Michigan has an advantage over the Oregon’s bigs, even if Chris “Not Foucher”
Boucher was in the line up. So now that he’s out of the line, somewhere Scoobie
is herd saying, “Ruh Row!”
Huge ups for Insanity Pool leader as well
as Pete Vieweg Money Division leader Derran Watts picking Michigan over
Louisville. That’s some great prognostication D-Watt!
The next game was more amazing then I
believe most realize. It was #10 Wichita State coming close to winning the
rematch from their ultra super-duper classic 2nd Round game from the
2014 March Madness vs. #2 Kentucky in the South Region.
For those that remember that 2014 game, it
was a heavyweight boxing match where both teams hit big shot after big shot,
with neither team buckling under the pressure of each ridiculous clutch shot
being exchanged.
Highly rated freshman post, Bam Adebayo had
his coming out party this game for Kentucky. He has been a consistently solid
player all year for Kentucky, but he was nowhere near the expectation of such a
highly rated froshie. Well this game he ate up the boards and hit some clutch
bunnies. The super freshmen back court of PG DeAaron Fox and SG Malik Monk were
their good ol’ selves displaying their nutty athleticism on both sides of the
ball, This athleticism is what made this rematch from their 2014 classic eerily
similar but just from the other end of the spectrum.
As in 2014, Kentucky outlasted Wichita
State with out-of-this-world treys to answer Shocker buckets, and this past Sunday,
Kentucky was equally as clutch with equally amazing plays but from the
defensive end with nutty steals and blocked shots from Fox and Monk. It was
quite impressive and their defense peaking right at the best moment bodes well
for their match up vs. the generational offensive team in UCLA.
The next game was a marquee match up
between two hall of fame coaches in KU’s Bill Self and Michigan State’s Tom
Izzo. Izzo was coming off their absolute best game of the year in their first
round win vs. Miami and KU was, well KU.
This game was tight for two-thirds of the
game, as Michigan State tried to control the tempo, but KU’s athleticism and
veteran leadership outshined Izzo’s valiant efforts.
KU super froshie Josh Jackson is a special
player, but the question before the Madness was is he late-game special? He
answered that question when it counted most with step-back one-on-one J’s late
in the second half that were just daggers on Michigan State. Also, energy guy
LaGerald Vick had a big game with a rare barrage of treys. And Frank Mason was
his regular Outhet Player of the Year self, with his fearless aggression and
calming presence in such a high-pressure game vs. a quality opponent in Sparty.
The KU bigs played well, but their hands
will be full and then some vs. Purdue and do-it-all post, Caleb Swanigan. It
will be the Mason vs. Swanigan show that will be one hundred and fiddy percent
more exciting and compelling then Batman vs. Superman.
The next game was #8 Arkansas vs. #1 North
Carolina was one of those games where there is the silly saying by analysts of,
“Arkansas didn’t lose that game, they just ran out of time.” That saying is so
silly as in there’s a finite amount of time in a basketball game and whoever
has more points after that finite amount of time is completed is the winner.
What the hell does “ran out of time” mean??? That has always been so silly of a
saying!......until this game. UNC showed the ugliest version of themselves with
their low-IQ play. The Tar Heels play was so ugly that one could say, “UNC
didn’t win the game, they just ran outta time to completely choke it away to
the Razorbacks!” UNC squeaked by, by the squeakiest of margins.
The next games I gotta admit, fell victim
to the commercial vortex phenomenon and so there’s little intel on Baylor’s 4
point victory over super-gamer-team USC. USC has the most double-digit
comebacks in the nation this year and used a double-digit comeback in their
play-in game and first round game. USC were up early and then what seemed like,
purposely sunk themselves into a 10 point deficit only to dig themselves out
and get the lead back only to lose at the end after both team exchanged leads
over and over again.
Then there was the shocking upset of #7
South Carolina over #2 seed and possible tourney fave Duke. Two things about
this game: 1) Duke was searching for their identity all year, as previously
mentioned. It seemed they found it after winning the ACC tournament last week.
But the other question was how could Duke fare with no true point guard.
Well the answer came Sunday, as Duke’s lack
of true point guard to settle the offense fell victim to the actual team that
found their identity in South Carolina. Playing the game in Greenville, South
Carolina gave the Gamecocks quite the partisan home court raucous crowd. But
South Carolina had similar identity issues with great talent with Sindarious
Thornwell and PJ Dozier, just like Duke did with not being to find the right
combo within their stacked lineup. But it was South Carolina that found their
right combo and they did so right at the best time here in March Madness.
The last game was a close game at first
that turned into a snoozer as UCLA dismantled Cincinnati. Lonzo Ball displayed
his all-world passing and he does so despite the constant self-promotional
ranting of his father, LaVar Ball. I believe most of you know of the headlines
LaVar is making with his outlandish comments, so no need to tell y’all what you
already know on the background of his story.
But here’s the Insanity Reports take on
LaVar as it’s been asked by many over the past couple weeks. He’s a father that
supports his sons, first and foremost. He does so with his outlandish
comments/demands in a supportive yet self-promotional manner that dispels
anything that actually may be of merit outta LaVar’s mouth.
This is all predicated under the present
media age we live in where it’s the outlandish comments that gets the
headlines. Heck it got a guy elected into the White House. This present media
age also takes the views of people with minimal skills (cough…Kardashian) ,
minimal political clout (ahhh duh, Trump) and now a hack former football player
and 2 point a game ex-college hoops player in LaVar saying he can beat MJ and
Charles Barkley. LaVar is not helping his kids out, but it’s the present media
age we live in that makes it so he’s not hurting them either.
Many teams would pass on such a phenomenal
talent such as Lonzo Ball based solely on what could be perceived as a
difficult parent. Not in this case. LaVar Ball is so harmless, that any NBA
team that actually drafts Lonzo can easily say, “listen LaVar, we drafted your
son and not you, now shut the hell up.”
The main criticism I can see on LaVar
actually is his demands are that of an agent. So he’s acting as an agent for
his son in a parental loophole where agents are obviously against NCAA rules.
So way to be ahead of the curb on that LaVar. So the only possible criticism
will be if Lonzo ever hires an agent
after he leaves UCLA. He’s already had an agent and a free one at that, and any
agent hired will be a waste of money. Bad bidness LaVar.
Bottom line is LaVar is a harmless,
annoying supportive father that somehow gets attention these days such as being
invited to ESPN studios. Is it LaVar shoving his antics down our throats or
cheap rating mongers such as ESPN?
This LaVar rant got too long! See y’all
Thursday for the Sweet 16!
Yours in Madness,
Cooler-issioner Adolph
