The Fourth Wall
page 7
NCAA College Basketball:
By Tony Arnold
Staff Writer
March Madness is a magical time
for college basketball fans
everywhere. Though we are all
Penn Staters, most of us realize that
basketball has never been our
school’s strong point and we either
flock to a more prominent
basketball powerhouse, or, if
you’re like me, simply enjoy
watching college hoops for the
drama and entertainment.
So it is with great anticipation
that [ lay out the four teams I think
deserve be in the final four.
Whether or not it will even be
feasible is a crapshoot.
are shifting every day so,
realistically, two of these teams
could meet up in the Elite Eight or
even the Sweet 16. So, with that
note, here goes nothing.
My first pick for the final four is
what I thought would be my
easiest: the Florida Gators. . The
reigning champs are riding a
dominating season in both
conference and non-conference
play and have the added luxury of
being the reigning national
champs. However, as I write this
Florida has been stunned by a ten-
point loss to the Tennessee
Volunteers in what amounts to the
third loss in the last four games for
the Gators. Now, to Florida’s credit
they were all road losses to
conference rivals—Vanderbilt,
LSU, and Tennessee, in that
order—but they were also’ all
double-digit losses. Is Florida
slipping? I don’t think so. I think
the Gators just got caught in the
unpredictable whirlwind that is the
Southeastern Conference. I believe
Florida rounds out the season with
a decisive win at home against
Kentucky, posts a good showing
in the SEC tournament, and really
turns on the jets in the big dance.
They are my pick as a final four
team and a probable Shamplonshlp
contender.
My next pick? I’m taking the
other national championship
contender from the 2006
tournament and going with UCLA.
Why? Because, as I write this, the
Bruins have lost only three games,
PEA
teams from Oregon, Stanford, and
West Virginia. Perhaps more
impressive is their win column. The
Bruins split the season series with
both Kentucky and Georgia Tech
on the road, vanquished Big 12
powerhouse Texas A&M, and
cleaned up most of its other Pac-10
rivals, sweeping season series
against top-notch teams like USC
and Arizona. Add to this the fresh
memory of last year’s national
championship loss and you start
to ask yourself: Why not?
Now I move on to a less obvious
choice in Texas A&M. This team
intrigues me because it is quietly
moving up -the ranks as a
contender. The team has done well
in what I honestly believe to be one
of the country’s toughest
basketball divisions in the Big 12,
with only two conference losses,
both 2-point heartbreakers against
an always scrappy Texas Tech
team. Its other three losses
consisted of a respectable bout
against then 11th ranked LSU, a
close 3-pointer to a UCLA team who
was at that time tops in the country,
and a double-overtime thriller to
conference rival and perennial
powerhouse Texas (whom they
routed earlier in the season). The
win column is impressive. The
Aggies pounded a Winthrop team
that has been otherwise very
impressive, put up 18-point
spreads over Oklahoma State and
Texas, and beat the venerable
Kansas Jayhawks on their
homecourt.. Overall, the Aggies
have simply been consistent and
really have no gaping holes that
need to be patched up. If this team
can enter the dance with the same
swagger they’ve shown all season,
they will be tough to stop.
Now it’s time for the dark horse.
I know that now, if you haven’t
already, you’ve lost all confidence
in my credibility. “Wait a minute!”
you might be thinking. “Where’s
Ohio State in this final four?” The
answer is, well, quite simply, not in
the final four. Yes, I’m speaking of
the same Ohio State Buckeyes who
came out on top over Wisconsin
at the end of the season to earn
nationwide respect and sweep the
polls almost unanimously as
number one in the country. The
truth is the Buckeyes just don’t
have the chops to dance.
My reasoning for not picking
Ohio State as a final four candidate?
First, let us examine their three
losses: North Carolina by nine,
then Florida by 26 (correct, I said
26), followed by a 3-point loss to
Wisconsin, all on the road. This is
where I hear gripes that these are
all impressive teams and that
they’re “good” losses. Sorry, but
when you are Alpha dog, there are
no good losses. If you can’t go
beat up on some of the nation’s
best during the regular season on
foreign turf, then how are you
gonna pull it off in the big dance?
You’re number one. You're in the
spotlight. You need “good” wins.
So, let’s look at wins. We have a 2-
point win against a respectable
Tennessee team and a nail-biting
one-pointer over Wisconsin, both
at home. Sorry, but, to use some
interesting phraseology, losses
beat wins here. I don’t need to
explain; it’s just that simple.
I also cannot buy into the
argument that the Buckeyes
weather the storm that is
supposedly the Big Ten
conference. I’ll buy it for a minute.
Wisconsin is fantastic, Illinois and
Indiana are good when they wanna
be, and, well, Michigan State just
sort of shows up randomly. That
said, you’re hard-pressed to find
another team that is even remotely
reminiscent of a powerhouse in the
Big‘Ten. If you take away the three
shady teams you’re only left with
only one real worthy opponent: the
Badgers, who I believe are the
better team to begin with. I don’t
call a road loss and an indecisive
one-point homer in the season
series against the other contender
valid proof that Ohio State is best
in the Big Ten, much less the
nation.
Okay, now that we’re past all the
Buckeye talk, we move on to my
dark horse pick. I had te pick one
and, quite frankly, I think it should
be bracket logical law that
everyone does. Why? Because
that’s what makes March Madness
so exciting. If powerhouses simply
bowled over everyone on an easy
cruise to the dance then college
basketball wouldn’t be very fun,
would it? Hell no. March Madness
is about the George Masons, the
Bucknells, the Bradleys. I know
too. many of us don’t expect
another George Mason in the final
about.
ado...
Marquette. Yes, there are better
teams in the Big East but let’s face
it, the Big East is a gauntlet
anyway. Yes, they’ve lost eight
games but five of those losses
came to high-quality teams:
Wisconsin, Syracuse, Georgetown,
Louisville and Notre Dame, all of
whom are slated to be in the big
dance. The other three—North
Dakota State, Providence, and
Depaul—are not that great but, hey,
that’s why it’s called a dark horse.
Before you call me crazy, wait a sec
and listen up. The Golden Eagles
see March Madness page 8
So now, without further