If someone made you watch Gonzaga v UCLA, and you did not enjoy it, don't waste your time ever watching another basketball game: cuz they don't get better. Almost a shame that in lore, like in commercials for the tournament, it will be reduced to Suggs's game-winning buzzer-beater from 40 feet, similar to Laettner's shot that beat Kentucky in a region final in the '92 tournament. Both games: marathons of rising drama with sudden, improbable endings.
There's one view of the final shot . . . sure I'm not the only one who noticed but it captures why some of us love sports. The UCLA bench was the one away from where the winning shot went in. With 3.3 seconds left UCLA scores the tying basket. As Suggs dribbles the other way, you can see in the background UCLA's coach running (for him) along the sideline toward midcourt and then supplying body English as the shot was in the air. His position was such that he could probably tell that the shot was on line. The ball goes in off the backboard and his body goes limp as Suggs is jumping up on the table on the opposite sideline to celebrate in front of Gonzaga's fans.
I mentioned before the poor performance of Big Ten teams in the tournament. In retrospect, this may be attributed in part to a draw that was harder than it might have first appeared. Ohio State, a #2 seed, lost in the first round to Oral Roberts, a #15 seed. But Oral Roberts then beat Florida in the next round before being eliminated by Arkansas, a #3 seed, by two points in the best game of the Sweet Sixteen. Wisconsin (10-10 in Big Ten games this season) routed North Carolina in the first round and then lost to Baylor, 76-63. It seems pretty clear right now that Baylor has either the best or the second best team in the country. Rutgers, which tied Wisconsin for sixth place in the Big Ten, was eliminated by Houston, 63-60, in the second round: Houston, a #2 seed, then won two more games to qualify for the Final Four. UCLA's first win of the tournament was in overtime against Michigan State and their last, to advance to the Final Four, was by two points over Michigan. They then played one of the best games in tournament history, losing to undefeated Gonzaga in overtime at the buzzer.
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