You cannot be serious!!!!

I think the famous John McEnroe quote is appropriate for today's basketball. If you still don't like college hoops after these two games today, you need to have your head examined.

• Louisville 93, West Virginia 85, OT. In the rarified air of Albuquerque, Louisville came back from a 32-13 1st half deficit to send the game to overtime. Then, despite a banged up Taeqan Dean and an unavailable Francisco Garcia due to fouls, the Cards still found a way to pull away and head to St. Louis. As great as a coach Rick Pitino, he nearly cost his team the game by playing zone in the 1st half. Pitino's trademark is pressure man defense, so why switch??? The zone allowed WVU to settle in, get open looks, and build the lead that they did. For the game, WVU went 18/27 from 3, but they hit 16 of their first 21!!!! Louisville got back into the game by going back to their pressure man defense, which took WVU out of their rhythm offensively. But, it looked like the Cards would come up short when Garcia fouled out and Kevin Pitsnoggle still, inexplicably, got free for open 3s in the 2nd half. But the Cards turned the defensive screw a little more and wore down WVU in overtime to win. My buddy Chris made a good point during the game, saying no one has shot 3s in the NCAA like that since Indiana in 2002, which carried them to the Finals. That's how well Louisville is playing right now. They overcame a regional final record 18 3s and a 19 point deficit to win the ballgame.
• Illinois 90, Arizona 89, OT. And as if the day couldn't get any better, this game was the game of the year. Even if Illinois didn't come back, it still would've been a great game because Arizona played 36 minutes of perfect basketball. I had never seen an Arizona team play that well in awhile. Channing Frye was unstoppable in the paint with 24 points (11/14 shooting) and 12 rebounds, schooling James Augustine on both ends of the floor. Hassan Adams was the best athlete on the floor, continually breaking down the Illini defense (21 points on 9/13 shooting. And despite being shut down scoring wise, Salim Stoudamire showed his maturity as a player by finding other ways to contribute (9 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds). I said last night you have to play your best game to beat Illinois. Illinois proved that to be the case because Arizona fell 4 minutes short. Somehow, someway, down 14, the fatigue showing in their faces, the shots not falling, the bench demoralized, with 4 minutes left, Illinois came back, willing in 3s and creating turnovers with their defensive pressure. Illinois again showed that although they aren't the most talented team in the nation, they are the hungriest, most intense, toughest team in the country. They just and would not accept losing this game. Their frontcourt weakness was exposed as Jack Ingram and especially Augustine were dominated by Frye and Ivan Radenovic. But no one could match the hearts of Dee Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell, and especially Deron Williams, who stepped up bigtime in the last 4 minutes and the overtime. What a heartbreaking loss for Arizona, what a great comeback by Illinois, and what a great college basketball game.

And we still have tomorrow:

• North Carolina/Wisconsin. What style of play will win out? Will it be the run and gun style of Carolina or the methodical play of Wisconsin. If Carolina plays hard on both ends for 40 minutes, they'll win. Unfortunately for Carolina, that's only happened a couple of times this year. If the Badgers can hit some shots early and gain some confidence, they'll be in it until the end. How effective can Mike Wilkinson be against Sean May? The Badgers' effort will match the Tar Heels' athleticism, but for how long? The key man will probably be Raymond Felton, who if he can stay out of foul trouble, won't be able to be stopped by Wisconsin's guards. Look for Roy Williams to use his bench generously to wear out Wisconsin as the game goes on.
• N. Carolina 71 Wisconsin 65
• Kentucky/Michigan St. Kentucky all year has had the advantage against everyone they have played because of their superior depth. This will not be the case tomorrow because the Spartans have depth as well, that is also experienced and, if you can believe it, more athletic. Paul Davis played like a man Friday night against Duke. When he plays like a man, he is unstoppable in the post. Still, the big question for Sparty is can Drew Neitzel handle the ball pressure that Kentucky applies so well on the opposition. Neitzel did a great job Friday night, getting the Spartans into their offense and providing positive minutes. Michigan St. is the more talented team and should win because, in my opinion, the only reason why UK has gotten this far is their depth and that no longer is in their favor from this point on.
• Michigan St. 77 Kentucky 73

If you can believe it, I got a great deal of schoolwork done as well also, so overall, it was a great day. My brother got 2nd in the Hueston Woods 5K this morning, running it in 17:19. I'm waiting for the Red Brick, which is in 3 weeks, to run my usual 22:30. I can run 21:30 by myself, but in a race, I can't seem to break 22.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!