The key to getting to the Final Four is knowing in sdvance that each game we play will not be at peak performance, that we’ll underperform in a a matchup, and that when our best game hits, that it’s against a team capable of beating us with our A game.
Similarly, you hope our opponents don’t bring a 70% shooting game while ours is 30%.
You watch a lot of Final Fours, you observe this.
The ‘82 team should have gone but it drew UNC in Raleigh, and the refs kept Ennis Whatley checked because of his mean stutter-step. Interesting how he made it through the SEC but ACC refs called him for traveling every time. Took him right out of the game. It was still a fairly close game. UNC went on to win the national title.
Our 86-‘87 team was as Final Four worthy as any the SEC produced. Great team. But it had the bad luck in drawing a Providence team in the Sweet 16 that was on absolute fire, and the Friars went to the Final Four instead.
There was another year where Bama could have made it but drew the Loyola-Marymount team that had lost its best player but played well over their heads in the game, and Bama lost.
Then the UCLA game a couple seasons back- UCLA was incredible with 3s, everything went in, yet Bama almost pulled it out. 10-seed UCLA went to the Final Four instead.
To get to the Final Four there is a good amount of luck and also factors beyond our control.
If Bama plays average and better for each matchup it has a very good chance unless they draw a team who can’t miss. Then we have to play our best game to overcome that.
This is one of the best BB posts of the year imop. Nobody in college BB was beating that Providence team that night. The Loyola game still bothers me, because we were the better team. We were crushing South Alabama in ‘89 at HT and lost. The next game would have been against the NC Michigan, who we matched up very well against.
But, on your luck note, and pulling out games you struggle in:
- That Providence team should of lost in regulation to a #14 seeded Austin Peay, and squeaked it out in OT, the game before, or who knows how far we advance?
- If we had won that Loyola game, we would have faced eventual NC UNLV, who was down the game before against Ball State, and just pulled out a 2 pt win.
- Most of us older college BB fans remember how NC State had basically lost in the 1st rd to Pepperdine in ‘83(down 8 with a minute left), where their best player, all time leading scorer, and 84% foul shooter missed two front end one on ones to give NC State a chance to drag them to overtime, win, and then go on to win the NC against a great Houston team.
- I watched the 1st rd game of 7th seed Villanova play 10th seed Dayton in ‘85. It was back and forth all game, where no one knew who was going to win, and I will never forget saying to my friend “why do we really care, neither of these teams have a chance to win it all”. Villanova won by one basket at the end, and then went on to beat one of the best college BB teams I ever saw play in Georgetown for the NC.
