Today was supposed to be "Super Saturday" in college basketball.
On paper, there were several great matchups between ranked opponents, but the afternoon portion of Super Saturday was almost a complete washout.
The Duke/Xavier and Purdue/Davidson games were both basically over within five minutes of their respective opening tips. The Texas/Michigan State game was close, but it wasn't particularly entertaining -- and only served as a reminder that Rick Barnes is a terribly overrated coach.
Thankfully, UConn and Gonzaga saved the day with an overtime thriller in Seattle.
I'm still not exactly sure how the Huskies pulled it out, but thanks to the late-game heroics of A.J. Price, the quick hands of Jerome Dyson and a surprisingly powerful inside performance from Gavin Edwards, UConn remained undefeated.
It's a great win for the Huskies, as they showed their toughness and picked up a marquee win on a "neutral" court (though it might as well have been a home game for the Zags).
The loss probably won't hurt Gonzaga's shot at getting a No. 1 seed when March rolls around -- though a win would certainly have been helpful. But as I've said before, it's still way too early to start talking about NCAA seeding.
Perhaps best of all for the college basketball fan, Gus Johnson's call at the end of regulation reminded us all of his memorable performance from the Xavier/Ohio State NCAA Tournament game in 2007 (it happens at the 3:52 mark of that clip).
(Incidentally, I missed that Xavier/OSU game because I was at a Broadway show with my parents. Just saying.)
Gus's other great moment came seconds after Hasheem Thabeet was tagged with a dubious technical foul in overtime that sent Thabeet to the bench with his fifth foul. Gus was not pleased with the call and accused the referee of being "over-officious...in overtime."
Watching this game, though, I had a few questions:
1. Why can't Greg Anthony pronounce "Gonzaga" properly? The Zags have been on the national scene for 10 years. They're not new anymore. I realize Greg Anthony has been focusing mostly on the NBA, but come on. You'd think someone at CBS would correct him.
2. Gus Johnson TWICE said that Hasheem Thabeet was a "great" free-throw shooter. Yes, Thabeet has improved dramatically since he arrived in Storrs, but he came into the day shooting 69.8% from the line. Shouldn't a "great" free-throw shooter convert at least 80% of the time?
3. Speaking of free-throw shooting, how does A.J. Price only make 36% of his chances?
4. Does Lexus actually sell cars through their annual holiday TV ads? Every year, they manage to put together commercials that are increasingly obnoxious and annoying, and this year is no exception. I mean, the "He Went to Jared" ads are totally idiotic, but there's a certain campiness that makes them slightly more acceptable. There's nothing good about those Lexus ads.
