Another season of men’s hoops has come and gone, and as we sit here watching Villanova celebrate their second National Championship in three years, let’s take a look at the building blocks that were laid down to get us to the peak.
Sister Jean and The Ramblers:
Look, the Student Union Slack channel got sick and tired of Sister Jean and all the media coverage that she gained throughout the tournament. Though the men’s team COULD BALL, after beating #6 Miami and #3 Tennessee in the opening weekend by a combined three points, I think it was safe to say that we were all a little star struck with how clutch this team really seemed. That only gained traction when they beat Nevada by a single point, and thrashed K-State and showed the world that Brucesketball is alive and well. Loyola-Chicago and everybody’s favorite nun finally saw their Cinderella run come to an end when they were defeated by the Michigan Wolverines in the Final Four.
David and Goliath:
I will be the first to admit, I never thought I would be alive to see a #16 upset a #1, BUT IT FINALLY HAPPENED. We finally saw a 16 seed, not only beat a 1 seed, but they dominated the #1 OVERALL SEED. Not only this, but they were putting people in body bags on Twitter (CC: Seth Davis.) This was probably one of the most memorable events that comes straight to mind in the past decade.
1-135! Making History!! 😎 ( 🎥 @eeeelrak ) pic.twitter.com/lxA68Gc1NC
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 18, 2018
Speaking of upsets….
The PAC 12’s Resignation as a Power 5:
As one of the last games in the Round of 64, we saw the Buffalo Bulls commit murder live on television. The Bulls ran rapid and showed no mercy when routing Arizona 89-68. As for the other PAC 12 team, Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State Sun Devils showed that Syracuse’s zone was one that no team wanted any part of in their First Four loss.
Tourney of Zones:
As I just mentioned, Syracuse’s unorthodox 2-3 zone swept the nation away as they ran the table to the Sweet 16. As discussed in our Slack chat many times, it shouldn’t be that hard for COLLEGE players to beat a 2-3 zone, but the length of the Orange proved just too much for ASU, TCU, and Michigan State. They finally saw defeat at the hands of their ACC foe’s, the Duke Blue Devils.
The Giant Falls:
Think of the tallest trees that you’ve ever seen, and just imagine them falling onto the ground. That is basically what happened when all 7’2″, 291 pounds of Isaac Haas went from grabbing a rebound to BREAKING HIS ELBOW against Cal State Fullerton. Now There have been plenty to say that Haas would have made a difference in their Elite 8 loss to Texas Tech, but c’mon he is the softest 7 footer in the history of 7 footers. As our own PJ Guippone said, “He’s as soft as a roll of Charmin Ultra Soft.” Now that is soft.
NO Mercy Nova:
Villanova was all business with GQ Jay at the helm, and my lord, it was fun to watch this team play. As stated by our own GQ man, Austin Brown, the Margin of Victory of the last nine title games were 2, 12, 8, 6, 6, 5, 3, 6, and 17 (!!). Nova was on a mission to get back on the top, and they proved that by winning their two Final Four games by an average of 16.5 points. Led by the red head (and weird tweeter) Donte DiVincenzo, who popped up and rained in 31 points in the title game, we find ourselves here, at the finish line, as the Villanova Wildcats are champs again.