As a sports fan you had to appreciate the show that Syracuse and UCONN put on last night. In 6 overtimes there was only one lead change as the Orange beat the Huskies 127-117. Outside of the NCAA Tournament this was the best game of all time, it would be the best of all time but it wasn't in the tournament.
Putting last nights game against other sports is hard to do. In the NBA it is hard to top Boston's 128-126 triple overtime finals win against Phoenix in the 70's. The NFL has Super Bowls 3 (Bal/NYJ), 5 (BAl/DAL), 13 (PIT/DAL) 23 (Cincy/SF), 25 (NYG/BUF), 32 (DEN/GB), 34 (TEN/STL), 36 (NE/STL), 38 (NE/CAR), 39 (NE/PHI), 42 (NYG/NE) and 43 (AZ/PIT). There has also been great games such as "The Catch", "The Catch Part 2", "The Drive", "The Ice Bowl", "The Immaculate Reception", and "The Greatest Game Ever Played" between the Giants and Colts back in '58. If you compare the game to baseball, I think of the the 1991 World Series and game 7 between Minnesota and Atlanta. I also think back to 2007 and game 163 between the Rockies and Padres. Other great games in baseball include Joe Carter's blast to win the '93 series in Toronto and Kirk Gibson limping around the bases in game 1 of the '88 series. Baseball has also brought us Carlton Fisk waving his hands inside the foul poul, Buckner's error in '86 and the Yankees amazing collapse in 2005. Also, don't forget the shot heard around the world. In hockey you have "The Miracle on Ice". In the NHL you have the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoff game between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia that went 5 overtimes. College Football you have "The Band Game" between Cal and Stanford, you have Flutie's miracle throw to beat Miami, Kordell Stewart's miracle throw to beat Michigan, Texas over USC in the 2006 title game, and many others. Was last night's game between UCONN and Syracuse the best game ever? No, but nothing is the greatest ever, it is too hard to compare. The point is the game will be talked about and remembered for years. 50 years down the road people won't immediately recall who won the 2009 championship in college basketball, but they will recall last night's game at the Garden.
Moving on, there were no major upsets this afternoon, however UNC was nearly knocked off by Virginia Tech. North Carolina got a generous whistle at the end to hang on and get the win. The last 24 hours have put the future #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament in a tailspin. UNC is likely the only lock right now on a #1 seed. UCONN, Pitt, Oklahoma and Kansas all lost their conference tourny openers. Teams like Michigan State, Louisville and Memphis are all looking better as far as getting a #1 seed.
PICKS- 2-0 last night puts me at 68-41-1 ATS overall.
NBA
@Philadelphia -3 1/2 Chicago
Houston +1 @ Charlotte
@Boston -11 Memphis
BIG EAST
Louisville - 4 1/2 Villanova
Syracuse + 6 1/2 West Virgina
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2 comments:
Good take. You can't compare as far as the greatest game in the history of sports. I can't believe Syracuse got it done again tonight in overtime. ESPN right now has Syracuse as a 6 seed, is that right in your opinion? Can they beat Louisville?
Just checking my blog out before bed. Thank you for the compliment and I'm sorry for missing two games tonight by a combined 1 1/2 points.
To answer your question, I want to let you know I'm a big time Syracuse guy, but I try to be objective as possible on this blog.
ESPN is right usually about teams that are in or out, but they are not good with seeds. Syracuse deserves a #4 right now and maybe a #3 if they win tomorrow against Louisville. Syracuse is either 24-8 or 25-8, I haven't looked.
Here are their losses.
-Cleveland St. (last second buzzer beater and Cleveland St. is going to the dance.
-Villanova-twice, Villanova matches up great against Syracuse.
-UCONN on the road
-Pitt.-on the road
-Louisville at home....the game was much closer then the ten point total would indicate.
-Providence-on the road....good team, will probably make the tourny.
-Georgetown on the road-no excuse.
The argument is Syracuse lost 7/8 against tournament teams. The Orange have also beaten Florida, Kansas, West Virginia-twice, Memphis-on the road without Devendorf and UCONN.
A 6 seed as ESPN indicates is rediculous. Look for Syracuse to be a #3 or a #4 seed.
Can they beat Louisville right now? The answer is probably not. I haven't seen a line in the game, but Louisvile will push the pace and Cuse will show it's tired legs.
It's tourny time and anything can happen, but I would say L-Ville beats them tomorrow.
I won't make picks on weekends unless I get money for them or I hook up with Las Vegas, but take the information I just gave.
Thanks for the comment.
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