WE’D RATHER BE LUCKY THAN GOOD, BUT WOULD PREFER TO BE BOTH

Enter Ohio State and Memphis, two good teams that were lucky to escape close games last night. OSU lucky to escape its last two…

Think for a moment about all the ACC basketball games you watch in the course of a season…How many come down to free throws with less than 10 seconds to play. Plenty of them when one team is chasing another, but how many tied or one point games are settled by a very late foul call. We don’t know what your recollection might be, but ours is simple: not many. So, it’s a bit disappointing when two great games are settled in the final seconds by free throws. It is especially disappointing if you are Tennessee and you don’t get a call on the last shot when the Buckeyes enjoyed a similar one just seconds earlier.

The Salukis just didn’t have enough gas in the tank to beat Kansas who played like North Carolina. In a half court game you can get the best of them for a while, but they can flash just enough brilliance at you to win. UCLA can win as long as their guards continue to produce. They’re like Virginia, only better. Pittsburgh’s offense checked out. Like VaTech, only worse. You had to know the Vols would go mental in the second half and OSU would comeback. Who figures Texas A&M’s best guy misses a layup that ultimately costs them the game?