Indiana 72, Illinois 74
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...130207_IND@ILL
Duke
Michigan
Gonzaga
Arizona
and- wait for it...
Stephen F. Austin
I remember back in 2001 (I think) Duke had regained the #1 ranking after dropping for a period of a few weeks. Some reporter asked Battier what happens to a team once they become ranked #1 and his answer was simply "you lose."
That was utterly sick. There's been a lot of talk about Illinois' troubles in my media market. The (sorry I'm this way) absolutely gorgeous producer of the ESPN 101 radio here, Michelle Smallmon, is a UIUC alum, and she warned us something like this could happen. Those threes were nuts. I'm very happy for her.
A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
---Roger Ebert
Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
---Over the Rhine
The block at the end of the game... if the Indiana player had just gone up straight and blocked the ball back into the court instead of swatting it emphatically, mutombo style, into the seats... the game would have gone into overtime.
I have to disagree strongly here. As a poster stated above, that Illinois had the ball at that point was due to a magical, closing-seconds steal. The player looked like he had a clean layup, and the Indiana player came from absolute nowhere to block it. The kid was running at an absolute dead sprint, and the fact that he was able to make the block and save the game in that moment was nothing short of incredible. Going "straight up" wasn't in the neighborhood of an option. He was chasing him from behind! Going straight up would have meant hopping into the air at the free throw line while Illinois made a layup and won the game. That block saved the game (momentarily). Criticizing him for not saving the game well enough, especially since, again, he was running at a dead sprint to catch a player from behind, is unfair. Show me the person who could "softly" make that particular block.
That Indiana gave up an uncontested layup on the following inbounds was the foolishness you should be criticizing.
I went back and watched the play -- I think the truth is in between our two descriptions. It was Oladipo (#4) who turned it over, and sprinted down court in time to make the block. While he was no longer sprinting by the time he made the block, going straight up wasn't an option. But he definitely swatted it as hard as he could instead.
No argument about the inbounds play.
The context must also be considered. It's a good idea to keep the ball in play when you have teammates to whom you can direct the ball. But Oladipo cannot see any teammates, doesn't know where they are. More importantly, he doesn't know where the Illini players are. In such a situation, keeping the ball in play has a good chance of falling into the hands of an opponent for an easy game-winning follow-up shot. If I were Crean, I would not be at all upset with Oladipo's decision to bat it out of bounds, even if we grant that Oladipo was acting out of choice rather than necessity in that moment. (Turning it over at midcourt, that would make me angry.) I mean, you have to trust your defense to hold steady on the inbounds for a whole second.
For me, the most shocking thing was the complete failure of the Indiana defense on the final play. They were utterly unprepared and flat-footed. And, can that really be done in 0.9 seconds?
Quel est si drole de la paix, de l'amour, et de la comprehension?