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| Louisville and Michigan's athleticism was finally on display last night. (Credits: Associated Press) |
I had a feeling we'd have a well-played, exciting National Championship game last night. I had that feeling that the (outdated) college basketball lovers would have their day in the sun, salivating over team play, back door cuts and goofy white kids name Spike nailing three pointers from the rafters. But what made last night such a purely good basketball game, was the offensive execution in a manner that appropriately displayed these players talents.
Michigan wasn't phased by the suffocating full-court Louisville zone. Louisville didn't wither under Michigan's size. These teams came out excited, explosive and viciously efficient. They played above the rim. They played from NBA range. The guards slashed through the defense. The big man sent balls into the stands. The players played through the brutal, though evenly brutal, officiating. Had this game lasted 48 minutes, they'd probably have gotten to 90-95 points each. Last night was just high quality basketball.
But don't think that last night is the norm for college basketball. Only 12 times in this tournament did both teams reach 70 points. That means only 19% of the games in this tournament reached that high quality mark. And don't get fooled thinking that's a product of sweltering defense. When you were watching these low-scoring drag 'em out contests did you get exciting about 29-28 games at half? Did it make you giddy hearing clank (louder than NBA clanks) after clank? Were you jumping for joy when team's started playing the foul game with three minutes to play? Fired up when an Elite Eight game ends in a score of 55-39? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions your either delusional or addicted to missed shots and ugly offense.
Don't get me wrong, I love the NCAA Tournament just as much as the other guy. It's quite the ridiculous spectacle though. At this point we craft brackets after doing the necessary research of listening to Digger Phelps, that clown Dicky V and Jay Bilas bicker and argue about a bracket there probably not going to get right. The only reason we watch college basketball before March is so that we can get a "pulse" on this season's freshmen sensations. After that we put out our "masterpiece" bracket then we watch it quickly crumble to the ground as Georgetown or Wisconsin (also known as "darkhorses") choke and then we just sit there rooting hard for every single upset happen. We gush over Florida Gulf Coast because they were wrongfully tabbed as a #15 seed and happened to make a nice little run under that "Cinderella" moniker. The Tournament is awesome, but college basketball is not.
Stop patronizing me with the "team" basketball argument or that they play harder than NBA players because they don't get paid. That's an outdated philosophy. College basketball is now fueled by one-and-done's, guy's who awkwardly stick around another year to "help their draft" stock and the crowds. The actual basketball product is sluggish, unoriginal and straight up boring. Talented players drown in their systems (Wisconsin, Georgetown), overrated players (Mitch McGary, Aaron Craft) excel because the competition is watered down. Teams don't score as much not because they play eight less minutes than the pros, but because they are 500 times less talented than the big boys. I'm sick of people telling me that college basketball is more fun to watch than the NBA. Have you ever watched the NBA Playoffs? It's a war. Guys play balls to the wall and yet they still are able to put up 95-105 points. Yes they play defense. Yes they score the basketball isolation. Yes they dunk on each other with pure venom. Yes the NBA is filled with some of the most athletic human beings on Earth. What is there not to like? Oh it's not as good cause they don't always play defense in the regular season? Oh it's not as good cause the players are all selfish and just want theirs? Give me a 10-year break on that one.
For all you college basketball purists out there, go ahead and tune into the NBA playoffs starting April 20. You'll be amazed that they actually can score in traffic and hit jumpers in people's faces. And oh my god, how could I forget! They play suffocating man-to-man defense. No zones necessary!
Dear lord it's called amateur basketball for a reason.
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