The Forgotten Team

Every year, I pray to the basketball gods that at least one Iowa team will make the NCAA tournament so I have a little more of a reason to watch than some pool or silly bet(s) with a friend of a friend of a friend who has an uncle named Vinny.

This year those prayers were answered in the most unusual way. Much like the fifth Beatle and the little known Beach Girl, there is a fourth Division I basketball team in Iowa and they go by the nickname of the Bulldogs of Drake University. What do I, having been a longtime resident of Iowa, know about this school. Very little, including but not limited to

1). A bunch of wannabe lawyers attend there.
2). They are in Des Moines, the state capitol.
3). The last time they were in the tournament was 1971 when only 25 made the cut.
4). They do actually have a Final Four appearance (1969...lost to UCLA in title run #3 of 7 in a row for them and then took third with a victory over North Carolina)
5). The team was molded by last year's coach, Dr. Tom Davis, still probably the greatest coach Iowa has ever had, and is now coached by his son in yet another example of what is becoming an increasingly bothersome trend of nepotism in college basketball coaching (see: KNIGHT, BOBBY and KNIGHT, PAT at Texas Tech)

Anyway, they are in after a 30-point assault of Indiana State on Sunday. Indiana State was considered to be a serious contender for a second Mo Valley bid in the NCAA tourney but I can't believe the committee would hand a bid to a mid-major team that loses the final by 30-points on a neutral floor. Especially without a Larry Bird, circa 1979.

Now if only I knew some of the players. Oh well, I have a week to read up.

Cornell was the first team in this year and, interestingly, is the first Ivy League team not named Penn or Princeton in the last 30 years to win the auto berth. Too bad it's probably their last win of the season. Help me with these conferences that finish their tourneys a whole week before selection Sunday. Is it a TV thing? Why in the world would you want a week and a half before playing again? A few days rest is good but you have to reach the saturation point at some time where you get sluggish and soft. Actually, it doesn't seem to have impacted the mid-majors too badly in the past since they have had their share of Sweet 16 participants in the past but it seems like it would be detrimental.

Michigan State and Indiana proved today why the Big Ten is weak. If you look at the better teams in the league, they can go on the road and beat average teams. In Duke and NC's cases, they can go on the road and beat each other. If you can't win other than at home, how can you expect to beat a mid-major on a neutral floor. Wisconsin is the class of the Big Ten, Purdue is second...the Spartans and Kelvin-less Sampsons are weak. Indiana's players have shown their gutlessness recently by not showing up for important games because they are still supporting their cheating former coach. Get over it. He's gone and he's not coming back (in fact, he never should have been hired in the first place--may the curse of Bobby Knight continue to haunt you for years to come).

As mentioned earlier, a new participant in the pool this year, Yzzi Ecrag, wiil be showing her picking prowess. She's had six months to discuss it with Asst Tournament Director Raap Elleinad and I think they both have a plan to move me from #2 to #3 in my own family this year.

It's 10:30pm and I'm watching Gonzaga in the FIRST of two West Coast Conference tournament games tonight. The second, St. Mary's/San Diego, starts immediately after the completion of this game. No wonder the WCC can't get any respect--all the self-important writers are on the East Coast and can't stay up for a game that STARTS at 11:30pm.

Hell, I'm having trouble and the Gonzaga game is close. But everyone in the house is asleep...maybe that's why they keep beating me in the pool?

Another topic for another time...until then...

Peace,
Reg