Fight, Fight, Fight
While Saturday’s contests under the southern-California sun did not exhibit the Pac-10 as the most-dominant league in the country, it did showcase two storied powerhouses with intestines of steel and sub-zero IV drips. Within an hour drive for the Baby Bears and an hour flight for the Cardinal from their respective campuses, a sold-out crowd of well over 17,000 descended on the Honda Center in
It's good to see that Justin Guarini
is finally getting a taste of victory.
Down much of the game and without their leader Trent Johnson, who was inexplicably tossed with two T’s just before the half on the biggest of stages, the Cardinal’s 7-foot twin towers of Robin and Brook Lopez dominated the second frame by doing what they were supposed to do: punish the smaller Golden Eagles in the paint. Brook put up 30 points (including the game-winning shooter’s bounce on the baseline) and Robin added 18 to push Stanford to the Sweet Sixteen, barely avoiding the agony of heading back to the Bay Area and pondering why they both have girls' names.
UCLA has been no stranger to last-second drama the last few weeks of the season, and their second-round clash with the Aggies of Texas A&M was no exception. With Josh Shipp putting up a donut through much of the night, Luc Mbah a Moute walking more than Barry Bonds, and Kevin Love missing jumpers from 17 out, the first half seemed like a premonition of impending doom for the squad from Westwood, especially with A&M getting all the bounces, including a HORSE-winning bank shot off the top of the board. But Darren Collison’s Jason-Kapono-impression in the first half kept them within reach, and Love’s block party (sending back 7!) in the second half was enough to get the Bruins to Phoenix.
The Dukies were utterly outmatched in the second half by the Mountaineers, to the dismay of a flu-stricken and frustrated Coach K. Their lack of a significant inside presence and complete collapse of their outside game (including 15 straight bricks from behind the line) were too much for the Devils to overcome, as they were ousted in the second round before a raucous D.C. crowd, including a fully-dressed mountain man reminiscent of Ted Kaczynski. This marks the second straight year Duke has failed to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
