1. It came back to me today. In March, 2000, the Oregon Ducks earned just their second berth in the men's NCAA basketball tournament since 1961.
I remember being really happy for the Ducks' achievement.
I also remember feeling uneasy.
After all, the tournament committee sent the 7th seeded Ducks all the way back east across three time zones to Buffalo, NY to play the 10th seeded Seton Hall Pirates who arrived in Buffalo from just 350 miles away.
The game was a nail biter and things looked good for the Ducks when Fred Jones hit two free throws with 8.7 seconds left in overtime to put the Ducks ahead by a point.
Seton Hall inbounded the ball to Shaheen Holloway.
Wait!
Do you recognize that name?
Yes, sir, it's the very same Shaheen Holloway who 22 years later is now the coach of the St. Peter's Peacocks, the very same 15 seeded St. Peter's Peacocks who defeated the 2nd seeded Kentucky on Thursday and who defeated Murray State today to advance to the Round of 16, this year's tournament surprise team.
Duck fans would rather not be reminded of Shaheen Holloway.
On March 17, 2000 Shaheen Holloway raced the length of the court, lifted a shot high off the backboard with 1.9 seconds left, and it dropped through the cup, securing Seton Hall's dramatic first round win.
Duck fans remember.
2. It's not exactly headline news when I'm wrong, especially when it comes to what I think is going to happen in any college basketball game.
If I'm ever right, I'll own that.
Today, though, I was wrong twice.
I thought two different teams were sunk, finished, headed toward losses, but both teams ended up winning their games.
With ten minutes left in the game and a twenty-five point lead, North Carolina seemed on their way to an astonishing win over Baylor.
Then the Tar Heels collapsed.
The downward spiral began when the Tar Heels' leading scorer, Brady Manek, threw a retaliatory elbow above Jeremy Sochan's shoulders and got ejected from the game.
Later, the Tar Heels' primary ball handler, Caleb Love, fouled out.
Baylor pressed, pressured, harassed, and discombobulated North Carolina and by the end of regulation they pulled even -- did I mention that Baylor was 25 points down with 10 minutes to play? -- and sent the game into overtime.
I figured Baylor would steamroll North Carolina in the overtime period, but, no, North Carolina hit some crucial shots from the field, Baylor went cold, stalling their momentum, and the Tar Heels survived their disintegration and triumphed, 93-86.
Later in the evening, Gonzaga and Memphis squared off and, once again, I was wrong.
With their starters' height, strength, agility, quickness, and leaping skills, Memphis blasted Gonzaga in the first half and rocketed out to a 41-31 lead.
I didn't have the guts to text out to Byrdman, Stu, and Terry T what I was thinking, but I'll confess now that I thought Gonzaga was finished. I thought Memphis's physical superiority in the first half would continue in the second half and I didn't think Gonzaga had answers. I didn't think they'd effectively respond.
Looking as honestly as I can at myself and what I thought, I underestimated Gonzaga's fortitude and resolve.
I genuinely did not think Gonzaga had it within themselves to come back and win this game, but I was wrong.
For starters, Drew Timme played the second half with a fire in his belly that I don't remember seeing before. He went on a scoring tear, hitting shots inside from a variety of angles, burying a couple of mid-range jumpers, and even splashing a trey, a rarity.
Memphis's athletic interior players got into foul trouble. Gonzaga appeared to be the better conditioned team. I thought some Memphis players looked gassed as the Zags' fast pace of play seemed to tire them out. Memphis' coach, Penny Hardaway, decided to hoard his allotted time outs rather than stop play give his winded players a chance to rest. We'll never know if using one of his time outs earlier would have helped Hardaway's Tigers.
As the second half proceeded, Gonzaga's guards hit crucial shots. Timme, Andrew Nembhard, and Rasir Bolton complemented each other, the Zags' attack broadened, and the two guards made critical free throws down the stretch.
The Zags won, 82-78.
3. After watching tons of basketball today, I turned to YouTube and IMDb and watched some trailers of movies related to Greenwich Village and, more specifically, Bob Dylan. I look forward before too long to watching Inside Llewellyn Davis for the first time and returning to viewings of I'm Not There and Rolling Thunder Revue. I'll look into other related movies as well.
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