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“It will probably hit me like a ton of bricks tomorrow, that we had it in our grasp.”-Memphis coach John Calipari 

It’s been a few hours and I’m still not believing what I saw with my own eyes. There was John Calipari’s 38-win Memphis Tigers a couple of minutes away from the school’s first ever national championship. They led Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks by nine with 2:12 left.

Then came one of the worst final couple of minutes you’ll ever witness from a No.1 seed which had looked invincible to that point. For most of the night, freshman sensation Derrick Rose had been kept in check but when he went off for 15 of his 18 including what looked like a dagger in a fadeaway jumper (replays helped change it to a two), the Jayhawks surely were done.

Apparently, somebody forgot to tell Mario Chalmers. Instead of the Tigers icing the game, Rose and teammate Chris Douglas-Roberts misfired on five of six free throws to open the door for a miraculous comeback.

Following one of two at the line by Rose and 10.8 seconds left with no timeouts, Kansas guard Sherron Collins hustled the ball up court and then handed it to a cutting Chalmers, who stepped into a desperation three. Even with Rose’s hands extended, the clutch shot hit nothing but the bottom of the net to tie the game at 63 with 2.1 seconds left.

“I had a good look at it,” the Final Four Most Outstanding Player later indicated after finishing with 18 including the memorable shot which gave Kansas their first national title in 20 years when current assistant Danny Manning led them to an upset of Oklahoma.

“When it left my hands it felt like it was good, and it just went in.”

“Ten seconds to go, we’re thinking we’re national champs, all of a sudden a kid makes a shot and we’re not,” a very disappointed Calipari said after watching his team give up the first six points in overtime losing the title it should’ve won 75-68 instead.

“We got the ball in our most clutch player’s hands, and he delivered,” a still floored Self said.

It was the first national championship men’s Div.I basketball game which required OT in 11 years when Arizona got the better of Kentucky 84-79 for all the marbles.

Truth be told, Kansas controlled much of the action dominating the paint with Darrell Arthur netting 20 points and 10 rebounds. They controlled the pace slowing down the Tigers with Collins blanketing Rose most of the night. When the Jayhawks led by five, it seemed like they’d march on without a problem but then Rose got hot scoring 14 of 16 to ignite a Memphis run which saw a 14-point swing.

Even after a rare Kansas trey sliced the deficit to three, the Tigers still looked like they’d win their record 39th game of the season against only a close home loss to Tennessee when they were ranked No.1. They even got a couple of key offensive rebounds to extend possessions. However, all season Memphis’ wasn’t the best free throw shooting team finishing 59 percent.

Calipari always told doubters his team would hit them when it counted most. During their run to a second championship game, they’d stepped up. This time, Douglas-Roberts and Rose cracked under the pressure.

For much of the night, Douglas-Roberts had picked up the scoring slack when running mate Rose struggled, pacing the Tigers with 22. He usually is pretty cool at the charity stripe. If not for three misses late, he would’ve been a flawless six-for-six.

The missed free throws added up this time as Memphis clanged seven of 19. At least six came in the second half. So, they definitely left the jar open while their opponents converted an efficient 14-of-15.

It allowed Kansas to stay afloat. Self’s team never gave up and did what they had to do scoring quickly while fouling and watching the Tigers choke away the championship in historic fashion.

This was like watching the Knicks get done in by Reggie Miller that time when he scored nine points in a row to Spike Lee’s dismay.

When Chalmers lined up that three even with stellar D played by Rose, I knew Memphis was done. Especially when Roger Dozier’s desperation heave was way off. Besides, their one physical player Joey Dorsey had fouled out. He might not have done much but his presence was sorely missed in OT when the Jayhawks got essentially dunks and lay-ups including one from a gutsy Brandon Rush, who also played tenacious D on Douglas-Roberts.

By then, the Tigers were a beaten up team both mentally and physically probably replaying in their heads those missed free throws.

How did they let this one get away? Especially after Rose sprung to life and took over the game finishing with 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds. He earned every single one against a solid defensive team which played him extremely tough doubling sometimes.

To Calipari’s credit, he took the blame afterwards. There was no excuse for letting it slip away. Ultimately though, if his best players had knocked down their shots from 15 feet out uncontested, the former UMass coach would be a championship coach instead of a goat.

It’s a bitter pill. Sports can be heartbreaking sometimes. Especially when you have it within your grasp and then collapse a la the 2004 Yankees and last year’s Mets. But it’s even tougher when you’re that close to winning a championship.

I still can’t fully grasp what happened last night in San Antonio. Just imagine how Calipari and his players feel.

The winning coach summed up the improbable 1986 Mets-like Game Six victory perfectly:

“It’ll probably be the biggest shot ever made in Kansas history.”

The special kind which shall be remembered for a long time by college basketball fans.

AP Photos Courtesy Getty Images by Gregory Shamus

And then there were ones. For the first time ever, four No.1 seeds came out of their respective regions each advancing to the Men’s Division I Final Four in San Antonio next weekend.

After Memphis rolled past Texas 85-67 to win the South region, all that was left was for Kansas to beat upstart Davidson and win the Midwest. It didn’t come easy for Bill Self’s Jayhawks, who had to survive a Jason Richards wide miss from 25 feet before hanging on to a well earned 59-57 win over Stephen Curry and the pesky 10th seeded Wildcats.

They were able to do so thanks to some splendid aggressive man-to-man defense which featured a box in one on the tournament’s leading scorer Curry helping to wear him down. The sophomore who was justifiably named the region’s Most Outstanding Player finished just 9-of-25 from the floor and misfired on 12-of-16 contested three’s. Though he drained his last one which put the outcome in doubt for the topseeded Jayhawks, Curry ran out of gas after netting 15 in an effective first half.

“We just forced him into tough shots in the second half,” New York City product Russell Robinson noted after finishing without any points and an uncharacteristic four turnovers despite helping blanket Curry. “We didn’t let him get into a rhythm.” 

“Fatigue was definitely a factor,” a disappointed Curry later admitted. “That four-guard rotation they had really took a toll.”

As it turned out, the 20 year-old Charlotte native was human after all despite demonstrating such poise throughout a brilliant tournament which saw him get 30-or-more against Davidson’s first three victims- No.7 Gonzaga, No.2 Georgetown and No.3 Wisconsin.

It looked like he was well on his way to another 30-point day with 22 and still plenty of time left but Kansas really picked up the pressure forcing Curry into some ill advised shots. In fact, it was his teammates who stepped up giving hopeful fans who came to Detroit what they wanted to see. An actual competitive Regional Final. With apologies to Rick Pitino and Louisville, the other three games sucked lacking any late drama which is what most want to see unless your name is John “JPG” Giagnorio.

Kansas won thanks to the key contribution of overlooked senior center Sasha Kaun. The 6-11 250 pound Melbourne Florida native took advantage of his size advantage, hurting the smaller Wildcats by scoring inside for 13 points hitting on all six field goals. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.

With less than nine minutes to go, it looked like Cinderella might spoil the party. It wasn’t because of Curry either but rather roommate Bryant Barr, who dialed from long distance three consecutive times to give Davidson a 51-47 lead allowing the packed house to sense another possible upset.

The big question heading in was whether Kansas would wilt if put in a tight game. The Midwest’s top seed answered myself and other skeptics by outscoring Davidson 12-2 thanks to the combination of Kaun and Brandon Rush (8 of 12 pts in 2nd half). Rush, who had been ice cold for most of the well played defensive game finally made some plays including a nice runner off the glass as part of a three-point play (he didn’t get fouled but that’s the breaks).

Suddenly, it was Kansas by six with the finish line very much in sight. Especially when Curry had prior misfired on a wide open trey from the left arc off a Jason Richards feed which would’ve made it a one-point game. Instead, Rush swished a pair of free throws to help the Jayhawks extended their lead to six, matching the biggest of the game.

After another Curry miss, it looked like the end for the Wildcats but the Jayhawks couldn’t put the final nail down giving their resilient opponents one more slight crack with under 60 seconds to play. Following one of two at the line from teammate Thomas Sander, the Wildcats’ hustle allowed them to get the ball back. When Curry quickly came off a double screen to drain one from downtown suddenly slicing it to 59-57 with still 54 seconds to go, it was back to being up in the air.

Davidson turned up the defensive pressure forcing Kansas into a bad shot before the shot clock expired getting the ball back down two with under 20 seconds remaining.

This is what they came for. This is why you turned on CBS today. To see this kind of exciting finish where here was another underdog trying to pull another George Mason and knock off a major heavyweight to its hit list of Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin.

Following a timeout, everyone knew who would have the ball. Maybe that was the problem for Davidson. Instead of allowing Richards to take the Kansas guards off the dribble, they opted to let Curry decide it. There was no way the Jayhawks were going to allow that to happen. They wisely doubled forcing Dell Curry’s kid into some indecisiveness which cost his school in the end.

Instead of passing off to an open teammate at the top of the key, he continued to dribble to the right before drawing another double and passing back to Richards, whose desperation off balance 25-footer hit off the left of the backboard.

“They had a lot of bodies and a lot of athletic guys who could chase me,” Curry said. “They did make me work hard, and I had good looks at the end, but they weren’t falling like they did all tournament. We can’t hang our heads. We had opportunities. We just didn’t execute.” 

It allowed Kansas to hold on for dear life and give their coach the big victory he had lacked. Self had guided three different schools to this juncture before only to bow out. However, this time would be much sweeter allowing an emotional coach to bend down and slap the floor as if to say, ‘Thank you.’

Who could blame him? He’d been doubted by many including yours truly. And for once, his team in the face of adversity rose up to the challenge advancing to a Final Four showdown against former coach Roy Williams and North Carolina Tar Heels.

“We expected to win,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop stated.

“We didn’t come here content or satisfied. We expected to win. This has been a 12-month mission. It came down to one final play. That’s the beauty of this game that we play.”

Notes: Kansas guard Mario Chalmers matched Kaun’s output with 13 including three triples. … Richards finished with seven points and a game high nine assists. The senior Davidson point guard led the nation in assists averaging better than eight. With a strong showing, he boosted his NBA Draft stock. While many will point to a talented crop which could include Memphis’ Derrick Rose (21 pts, 9 assists, 6 rebs vs Texas), USC’s O.J. Mayo, UCLA’s Darren Collison, Texas’ D.J. Augustin (16 pts, 4-of-18 FG, 3 assists, 4 turnovers) and UNC’s Ty Lawson, Richards should also be in the mix along with Stanford’s Mitch Johnson and Marquette’s Dominic James. … The loss snapped Davidson’s nation best 25-game win streak. … It will be Kansas’ 13th trip to the Final Four and first in five years when they fell to Syracuse in the championship game.

He shoots the basketball. Swish! If only it were always that easy at this exciting time of year. Or maybe that’s just how it looks through Stephen Curry’s eyes.

The super soph from upstart Davidson led his school to a third consecutive win in the NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball tournament by putting on another show netting 22 of his game high 33 in the second half of a convincing 73-56 win over No.3 seed Wisconsin to advance to the Midwest Regional Final earlier tonight.

Former NBA long range bomber Dell Curry’s son had been kept relatively in check by some solid man-to-man D by Wisconsin senior guard Michael Flowers, who held him to 11 first half points as each team was knotted at 36. However, the second 20 minutes were a different story. Much like in roasting Davidson’s first couple of victims Gonzaga and Georgetown, the 20 year-old Curry got toasty hot slicing and dicing the Badgers from inside off effective curls inside and from way downtown on what else but his bread and butter.

He along with some unbelievable dishing from overlooked point guard Jason Richards, who dropped 13 dimes and also knocked down three triples finishing with 11 points as well. Aside from finding running mate Curry on the outside for six treys, he also made some sweet passes to third option Andrew Lovedale, who also hit for double digits with 12 going a perfect five-of-five from the floor finishing from in close.

Aside from outscoring the Badgers all by himself 22-20 in the second half, Curry put the dagger in with a classic stepback three from three feet behind the key as the shot clock expired. This kid is just silky smooth and doesn’t feel pressure. He did force the issue a couple of times but bounced back not letting those shots affect his overall game unlike Tennessee’s Chris Lofton, who was abysmal in a blowout loss to Louisville the night before bricking eight of nine from beyond the arc. Last tournament, he played well and had the Volunteers on the verge of upsetting Ohio State. This year, he tanked. Talk about your stock plummeting.

Next up for Davidson, who now owns a nation best 25-game win streak will be top seeded Kansas, who is on the verge of finishing off 12th seeded Villanova on the strength of a productive night from big Brandon Rush (14) along with some hot shooting from scrappy New York product Russell Robinson (15 pts, three treys).

So what did Pop think of his brilliant son’s latest 30-plus point performance?

“In the NBA, I never experienced this as a player. I don’t think even in all my playoff games in my career that I’ve felt like this,” the elder Curry and proud father said after getting plenty of celebratory handshakes.

“To see your son succeed and have fun on a national stage is great.”

Pretty cool stuff.

“It’s hard for a defense to sustain themselves for a whole 40 minutes. Eventually, you’ll find yourself open,” the younger Curry pointed out. “It’s just being patient and sticking to the system that we have at Davidson.”

I never really looked at it from that standpoint. Kudos to him and teammates for keeping their dream season alive. It shall only get tougher against Kansas with plenty at stake this weekend.

As T-Ho might say, “Get your popcorn ready!”

AP Photo by Mel Evans

Stephen (pronounced Ste–ff-eh–n) Curry isn’t the biggest or strongest kid. However, the Davidson super sophomore shooting guard who somehow escaped the eyes of major Division I teams is more than making up for his lack of size with tremendous speed and basketball IQ.

Try asking his latest victim the No.2 seeded Georgetown Hoyas yesterday in a second consecutive upset courtesy of another remarkable second half Curry performance. It’s one thing to light up Gonzaga for 30 of 40 points in the last 20 minutes to lead your school to their first NCAA Tournament victory in an ironic 40 years. However, it’s quite another to be able to have a signature near repeat against the Big East regular season champs who were picked by many including yours truly to make another run to the Final Four.

Well, as legendary TV/radio sports anchor Warner Wolf likes to say:

“If you had Georgetown winning more than a game in this year’s Big Dance, YOU LOSSSTT!!!!!”

So, how did it happen exactly that Curry, who was held in check by relentless man-to-man D by the Hoyas for just five first half points was able to get off finally scoring a remarkable 25 of his game high 30 in the all important second 20 minutes?

I really wish I had stayed with this game because to be honest, when the Hoyas went up 17 early in half two, like many observers, I figured Curry and potential Cinderella Davidson were toast. But as CBS switched to another interesting development where another No.2 seed Tennessee was having all it could handle from gutsy seventh seeded Butler, something even more remarkable was taking place in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Suddenly, former NBA long range shooter Dell Curry’s son found his game and took over leading his team all the way back for a surreal 74-70 win over the Hoyas to put his school in the Sweet 16 in the Midwest Regional against No.3 seeded Wisconsin at Detroit later this week.

“I remember being in the huddle. I forget what timeout it was, but we were down 16,”  valuable running mate Jason Richards told the AP after scoring 20 himself for the Wildcats which also meant that the dynamic duo accounted for an unheard of 67.6 percent of the offense.

“And coach is asking us if we’re having fun. We got smiling a little bit and we got our focus off where we were and we came out and got some great stops.“

Sometimes, a simple question like that when your team is down can get overlooked. Athletics are supposed to be fun. Especially at this time of March. I think what Davidson veteran coach Bob McKillop did was great cause it took the pressure off and allowed his team which entered with the nation’s longest win streak (23) to relax. There was still a lot of time left. Obviously, when your down that much, you can’t make it up all at once. You just got to chip away.

Essentially, one run gets you back in the game. Luckily for McKillop’s team, Curry caught fire at the right time getting started with a four-point play, a trey and a nice pass to Andrew Lovedale for a lay-up which sparked the Wildcats on a 16-2 run suddenly slicing the deficit to 50-48 with still 8:47 to go.

At that point, whatever good the Hoyas had done became irrelevant because whenever you let a dangerous team with a lethal scorer like that off the hook, they can comeback to burn you which was exactly what transpired on the N.C. State home floor where many North Carolina supporters continued taking to Curry and his choir boy look. I swear he don’t look older than 15.

Thankfully, CBS did a decent job switching back between breaks of Butler-Tennessee to show the East coast the final few frantic minutes. There was a great sequence where Curry made a great backdoor cut and took a Richards pass converting a tough lay-up while getting fouled. He swished the free throw to complete the three-point play giving Davidson a two-point lead. Their first one since it was 2-0.

Following a key defensive stop, the very poised Curry didn’t even have much room but fired from approximately 25 with a Hoya right in his face. It didn’t matter as the ball hit nothing but net to suddenly put the Wildcats up five.

“I have confidence to shoot the ball every time I shoot it,” the hero noted of his torrid shooting which has seen him go for 70 total points in two Davidson wins with 55 coming in the second half.

“In the open court, that’s my game—get my feet set and knock down shots. … When I start getting my shot going, it does feel good.”

At that point, you knew John Thompson III’s Hoyas were finished. When he’s making impossible shots like that, there’s little that can be done.

 “For the most part he had guys all over him and the ball was going in,” the disappointed Georgetown coach later said as he said goodbye to seniors Roy Hibbert, Jonathan Wallace and Patrick Ewing, Jr. much sooner than expected.

“They’ve done so much for me. I just feel like I’ve let them down,” Thompson lamented.

“It’s a group of guys that have done everything I’ve asked of them for four years. They put this program on their back and put us in position where we can possibly have success in the future. I just feel bad for these guys.”

Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the beast in this tournament. They got beat by a great player who gave Richards and teammates plenty to smile about as they headed back home to prepare for another very tough opponent in Big Ten power Wisconsin.

“He was going to catch fire, and he sure did,” Richards pointed out.

“We smiled. You got to have fun out there. If you’re not going to have fun in the NCAA tournament, there’s something wrong with you. We just kind of stayed relaxed, got him to smile finally, and I think that really got him going.”

Could they possibly be this year’s George Mason? For now, let’s just enjoy the Stephen Curry Show for what it is. Classic old school hoops.

If you like great college hoops, then this was a fun Saturday. The exciting games continued today with some awfully competitive Second Round games and frenetic finishes.

Oh. There also was another upset as well. Let’s just say that this time, Duke wasn’t so lucky as the other night when it narrowly escaped to win by one over 15th seeded Belmont.

They couldn’t beat seventh seeded West Virginia, who used a strong second half from star forward Joe Alexander along with inspired guard play from reserve guard Joe Mazzulla and senior floor leader Darris Nichols to comeback and eliminate them 73-67.

In the first half, it was the Blue Devils who got out of the gate quickly leading almost the entire way thanks to a more crisp offense and their lower Big East seeded opponent’s dreadful outside game which saw them misfire on all six three-point attempts.

Despite being largely outplayed, Bob Huggins’ club trailed by only five 34-29 at the half. It allowed the fiery coach who’s in Year One at his alma mater to air some things out in the locker room and make adjustments for the second half. 

“His message was that we couldn’t play any worse and we were down by five,” leading scorer Alexander noted to the AP after pacing the Mountaineers with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

“The biggest thing that surprised me is how calm he is, most of the time. He’s notorious for being a yeller. Oh, he’s a yeller. Big time. But most of the time, he’s calm. And first, he’s a teacher.”

Playing much better man-to-man D and executing their offense to perfection, West Virginia started the second half with an 8-3 run which featured a miraculous off balance Alex Ruoff right wing trey as the shotclock expired to tie the score at 37.

“His passion, his lack of fear, is something we try to put out on the court,” added Ruoff. “When you see that passion on the sideline, the last thing you want to do is let that man down.

They continued to play well while Duke struggled in the halfcourt forcing several contested three’s which clanged plenty of iron. During a long stretch, the Blue Devils missed 15 straight from beyond the arc which helped explain how they suddenly fell behind 47-40 on a Mazzulla driving lay-up to cap an 18-3 Mountaineer run.

Speaking of the Mazzulla, he was the noticeable difference in helping breakdown Duke off the dribble while scoring or setting up open teammates.

“The MVP of the game,” losing coach Mike Krzyzewski pointed out of the sophomore who nearly had a triple double (13 pts, 11 rebs, 8 assists).

Coach K’s team had no answer for him. With Mazzella running the offense, it allowed Alexander to get more than half his output more easily off the pick n’ roll and freed up Ruoff (17 pts) plus Nichols (all 5 pts during run).

The Mountaineers also hurt the Blue Devils crashing the glass by outrebounding them 47-27 including 19 offensive.

It all added up to a third Sweet 16 appearance in the last four years. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Duke was ousted on the tourney’s first weekend for a second consecutive year. They previously made the Regional Semifinals from 1997 thru 2006.

Just goes to show that all great runs come to an end. The bottom line with Duke is for as great a program as they are, their style just doesn’t work anymore. Unless Krzyzewski gets a better interior to balance out the offense, they’ll continue to perform well in the regular season only to bow out early in March.

And for Duke, that’s not good enough. Especially for Dick Vitale’s sake.

Perhaps the game of the day took place between Marquette and Stanford. This was a classic battle of contrasting styles. Big East versus Pac-10. The Golden Eagles speedy guards against the brute strength of the Lopez twins inside.

This game had everything to technicals on both coaches including a rare tournament ejection to dynamic runs, lead changes and even a classic duel.

Not surprisingly, the well played game needed overtime to decide with it all boiling down to who had the ball last. That turned out to be good for Stanford as they prevailed thanks to a very difficult 14-foot right baseline turnaround from star center Brook Lopez which gave his school the hard fought 82-81 win advancing to the Regional Semis.

The 7-foot Lopez was brilliant in the second half and OT netting 24 of his 30 after intermission. He and brother Robin combined for more than half the Cardinals’ points to offset a strong performance from Marquette’s Jerel McNeal, who also finished with 30 with many coming in a variety of ways.

In fact, he hit for nine of his school’s 10 in OT draining three trifectas all off screens from the left part of the key surprising even one of his biggest backers. McNeal’s never been what I’d call a great shooter but has the uncanny ability to step up and make big shots late.

He clearly tried to carry his team, who also got strong performances from Wesley Matthews (14 pts, 7 rebs) and orchestrator Dominick James  who finished with nine while dropping 10 dimes. Anytime you hit at least that many in a college game, it’s not by accident as James is very good.

While he was quite good, then Stanford’s Mitch Johnson was off the charts handing out 16 assists while also netting the same number of points James had. Sure. A big part of that was all he had to do was get the ball inside to the Lopez tandem. Still, racking up that total is extremely impressive at the college level.

Stanford got out to a good start and built an eight point lead but Marquette stormed back with a 10-0 run fueled by a pair of technicals on Cardinal coach Trent Johnson leading to an automatic toss. The coach made the mistake of coming a few feet onto the court to voice his displeasure over a foul on one of his players.

To his credit, he later admitted that it was entirely his fault and was thankful his team responded the way they did after the half. Very stand-up if you ask me.

It’s never easy to see a coach tossed in such a huge game. And for the most part, it’s a rarity. However, sometimes it happens. We’ve seen Huggins get the heave ho a few years ago with Cincinnati. Heck. Even legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith was tossed back in the 1991 Final Four against Kansas.

“The bottom line was, the responsibility was on me, and I was out of line,” the classy Johnson later expressed. “Just leave it at that if you would, please.”

It left his assistant Doug Oliver to run the bench the rest of the way. Though they trailed by six at the half, his team came out and played inspired ball led by Brook Lopez.

They would exchange runs and leads with the Golden Eagles, who just wouldn’t break mostly due to McNeal, whose uncanny ability to get to loose balls and turn the corner for easy buckets kept his school afloat late in regulation.

Trailing by one in the final 10 seconds, Robin Lopez sank one of two free throws to knot the score at 71 setting the stage for McNeal to win or lose it. However, his forced three was long with five seconds left. Brook blocked a last ditch attempt as the buzzer sounded forcing it to a dramatic five extra minutes. 

It soon became a personal duel between Lopez and McNeal with each doing it differently with the bigger center finishing near the basket while the junior guard stepped out.

With his team ahead one, McNeal got to an offensive rebound giving Marquette a new shot clock with roughly a nine second differential. They ran a solid play for him but the leading scorer’s 15-foot pull up hit the back rim rebounding out to Lopez, who handed to Johnson who brought it up.

With his team trailing by a point, he got it into Lopez, who made his move with four seconds left. The sophomore’s runner rolled around the rim before dropping much to the pro-Stanford crowd’s delight at the Honda Center giving them an 82-81 lead with only 1.3 on the clock.

“I was pretty much watching from behind the backboard the whole time, and the ground,” the hero said. “So I guess I got a nice bounce or something.”

Following a timeout from Marquette coach Tom Crean, a three-quarter pass was tipped away giving the Cards a thrilling victory. 

“We were shooting jump shots in overtime and they were shooting lay-ups,” a disappointed McNeal lamented.“They got the final shot. Lay-up. Game over.”

Sometimes, that’s how it goes. We saw it with Western Kentucky’s riveting 101-99 win over Drake the other day on a buzzer beater. They had the last shot and made the most of it.

Same thing here in another memorable game.

The final one which nearly destroyed many brackets had ninth seeded Texas A & M taking West top seed UCLA to the wire before the Bruins pulled it out 53-49 thanks to some late heroics from stars Darren Collison and Kevin Love.

As my Hard Hits colleague and good laid back and snappy California buddy Nate Sousa alluded to on a recent shot, the Bruins tend to take it easy at times allowing opponents to stay in games late.

Maybe it was because they had such an easy first round and had a step up in competition. Or maybe it was just what coach Ben Howland had come to expect from a team many expect to not only reach the Final Four but win their first championship since 1995.

“That was reminiscent of a lot of games we seem to be in lately, where we’re having to make dramatic comebacks in the last few minutes,” Howland noted of how his team fought back from 10 down to deny the Aggies’ upset bid.

“But the one thing that I love about our team is that they know in their heart they’re always going to win the game. They’re going to find a way.”

Due to Michigan State holding off Big East champ Pittsburgh late, we didn’t get to see much of this game until the final few frantic minutes. Good thing too cause it worked out perfectly.

To little surprise, the Bruins rallied back to tie the game thanks to a very tough turnaround in the post by Love. The Pac-10 Freshman and Player of The Year was large down the stretch making big buckets to finish with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his 21st double double. His defensive presence though was key as he blocked seven shots and altered a few others.

“I was just very into it,” he explained. “I flexed so much, my muscles kind of hurt after this and also I stuck my tongue out so much that it was pretty crazy.”

Love’s running mate Collison also stepped up late banking in two tough runners in the lane including the winner with just 9.5 seconds to go.

“That was vintage Darren Collison,” praised Howland.

“Driving down the lane, going right, high off the glass, kissing it in. The second one was really a blessing because that thing kind of rolled in. Believe me, I’m very thankful.”

He should be. It was that special. The first one gave UCLA a 49-47 lead with under a minute to play. The Aggies’ Donald Sloan responded with a difficult stepback to once again knot it up setting the stage for Collison’s winner.

The lightning quick guard drove the lane and with defenders on him, floated a fadeaway which somehow went in off the glass. A seemingly ridiculous shot.

Following a timeout, Texas A & M went to Sloan once more but as he went up, two hustling UCLA defenders got a piece of the shot pushing it out to halfcourt as a streaking Josh Shipp tracked it down and slammed the exclamation point on the win which allowed the Bruins to win a now school record 33rd game.

“That was same thing we do all year—lock down, switch everything and fortunately, I was able to get my hand on it and make the play,” Shipp said of being credited with his school’s 11th block of the night. “The guy had just made a shot, so we knew he was most likely going to take it.”

“I drove and went up to shoot a layup and it was brought back down either by my force or somebody else’s,” Sloan said. “Leave it up to other people to see, but it didn’t go our way.”

Unfortunately, a second straight trip to the Sweet 16 wasn’t to be for first-year Aggie coach Max Turgeon’s club who had used an early 7-0 second half run to build a 36-26 lead.

“I thought we were in total control, always one step ahead,” he admitted. “I thought we were going to win.”

“We did a good job against their defense, their pressure,” he added.

“It just came down to Love and Collison at the end making plays. “I just hate to see it end. We were just really coming on.”

That’s how these games are usually decided. UCLA’s biggest stars stepped up and delivered. They’ll play either Western Kentucky or San Diego for a chance to get back to the Regionals.

Figure that battle between the two potential Cinderellas to be a fun game as should Georgetown’s tilt against 40-point man Stephen Curry and Davidson, who bring a 23-game win streak into today. That one could be very close. Especially if Dell Curry’s kid shoots the lights out as he did to Gonzaga in an awesome display notching 30 after the half.

Villanova also will be in action taking on another 13 seed in Siena. Who will prevail? Find out later today!

Anyone who caught yesterday’s action down in St. Petersburgh not only got to see riveting games but a bit of history as well on Good Friday. Well, maybe not when it came to higher seeds.

It was the first time ever that all four lower seeds at a site prevailed in the opening round of the NCAA Men’s Div. I tournament. It all started in dramatic style with 12th seed Western Kentucky needing a Ty Rogers 26-foot buzzer beater to upend No.5 Drake 101-99 in overtime.  

As detailed in a previous entry yesterday, just an amazing shot which concluded a crazy game which saw higher seeded Drake mount a furious rally from 18 down with eight minutes left in regulation just to get the game to OT.

They continued to perform well in the extra session but couldn’t shake their lower seeded foes as each team went bucket for bucket. One could tell that it might just come down to that final shot before the buzzer. Unfortunately for Drake, that was the case after Jonathan Cox’s couple of free throws put his school ahead by one 99-98 with only 5.7 seconds left.

After using their final timeout to setup the play, leading scorer Tyrone Brazelton took a Rogers pass and raced up court. The 33-point high scorer later admitted the play was designed for him but during it made a perfect bounce pass to an open Rogers, who fired from 26 nailing it as the buzzer sounded.

What an ending!

“I think what you just saw out there is why this is the greatest show on earth,” Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn later acknowledged to the AP.

Who could argue?

“We tried to slow down the ballhandler as much as possible,” Drake point guard Adam Emmenecker explained after finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and a remarkable 14 assists all in a losing effort.

“I thought we played pretty good defense. He pitched the ball back to a guy shooting from 26 feet or whatever it was. He just stepped up and made a big play … not much else we could have done.”

Emmenecker’s analysis was right on the mark as his team did D up on that final dramatic play. Rogers made a very difficult shot from just a couple of feet in bounds. Kudos to him.

It was a pretty fitting conclusion for a game which featured a tournament game record 30 three-pointers and a combined 70 attempts from beyond the arc.

The next surprise was 13th seeded San Diego also requiring OT before getting a last second jumper from De’Jon Jackson to edge No.4 Connecticut 70-69.

Considering that they led for a good chunk once Jim Calhoun’s Big East club lost their best player A.J. Price to a serious injury, San Diego was fortunate to escape with the biggest win in its history. To their credit, the Huskies fought back from a double digit deficit to get the game to OT in large part because SD missed a few key free throws which would’ve erased any doubt.

Instead, Uconn on the leadership of Jerome Dyson (14 pts incl. tying freebies) and Jeff Adrien (double double- 18 and 12) found themselves with a second life to possibly not become the first Calhoun-coached Huskie team to lose in the opening round.

It certainly looked like they would escape when they squeaked ahead by one with under 10 seconds to play. But San Diego burned their last two timeouts to get the ball on the right sideline with under five ticks left.

Even without star players Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare on the floor due to fouling out, they pulled it out thanks to a very difficult step back from Jackson to give them the game-winner with 1.2 seconds remaining.

There was no Tate George on Uconn this time as their inbounds was easily intercepted by the hero Jackson, who flung the ball up as teammates celebrated their big upset.

The next upset was one which the 13th seeded Siena Saints expected to win. And win they did rather easily, leading from start to finish in crushing No.4 Vanderbilt 83-62 on the strength of Kenny Hasbrouck’s 30 and running mate Tay Fisher’s 19 on a perfect six-of-six from downtown.

“I really don’t consider it an upset,” the not overly satisfied Fisher later indicated. “I have confidence in my team and I knew we could hang with anybody in the country.”

“Actually, we wanted to be the first upset of the day,” Hasbrouck noted of the upset frenzy in Tampa after a solid 9-of-14 showing along with sinking all 10 from the charity stripe.

Siena became the first team from the MEAC to advance since Manhattan in 2004 when they defeated Florida.

If it wasn’t a big surprise to them, maybe the final upset of the night was one to many interested observers with a select amount having their brackets busted by maybe the final at large bubble team from the Big East in Villanova.

Jay Wright’s 12th seeded Wildcats showed plenty of bounceback ability in climbing back from an 18-point first half hole to knock off No.5 Clemson 75-69 in the final historic game of an upset minded night.

A lot of people including myself liked the Tigers to go pretty far into the tournament due to how well they played in the ACC against one of Big Dance favorites North Carolina even beating them once.

However, despite building an 18-point first half lead, Clemson wilted against a relentless ‘Nova team which played tremendously thanks to the backcourt of Scottie Reynolds and freshman Corey Fisher, who combined for 38 which included six treys. Reynolds torched the Tigers by nailing four-of-five.

They also got some support from former Lincoln Railsplitter Antonio Pena, who contributed 12 points and six boards.

The difference was Villanova’s tenacity on D forcing Clemson into poor shots. The Tigers in particular didn’t show much discipline airmailing 24 of 33 three-point field goal attempts. On most nights, that just won’t work. Especially in March.

By comparison, Villanova connected on an efficient seven of 13 from downtown. They also were the more aggressive team getting to the line 29 times and making a good percentage (24-of-29, 82.8 Pct.). Their ACC opponents clanged nine of 23 free throw attempts finishing at 60.9 percent.

Sometimes, basic fundamentals are the difference between winning and losing. At any level, they’re essential. That’s why Villanova advanced to a second round match-up against No.13 San Diego with a Sweet 16 berth on the line.

They also were able to overcome a technical foul on Wright, who disagreed with a call which gave Clemson hope allowing them to comeback from seven down to tie with under two minutes left.

“I deserved it,” Wright admitted. “It’s like you tell the players all the time, ‘You’ve got to forget about it,’ But in the back of my mind, I’m hoping it doesn’t cost us.”

The Wildcats made the Tigers pay at the line converting 9-of-10 in the final 97 seconds to once again advance as a lower seed. Since 1979, no school has won more tournament games as a lower seed than Villanova.

But on Sunday, they’ll be the higher seed when they battle San Diego. So it should be interesting.

Regardless, it concluded an amazing Friday night which won’t soon be forgotten.

“I’m sure this is going to be talked about,” Wright added. “It’s incredible what happened here today.”

“It’s got to be Tampa Turmoil or something.”

Good Friday Madness indeed!

Photo Courtesy Getty Images by Susan Walsh

Duke got a little lucky last night. For a second consecutive year, Coach Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils were ripe for the picking early in the Big Dance.

This time though, they were able to make a great escape thanks to a last second end to end hoop from Gerald Henderson along with a costly turnover by Belmont in the waning seconds, it didn’t happen.

On a mostly disappointing Day One in which most games lacked late dramatics with even the much anticipated freshman match-up between Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (23 pts, 8 rebs despite foul trouble in his team’s win with Pat Riley drooling after his team scored only 54 in a loss to Toronto) and USC’s O.J. Mayo (20 pts, 5 dishes but a poor shooting night) fizzling, here was one great game which had you on the edge of your seat.

A gutsy 15 seed trying to make history and take down one of the most successful programs who entered as a No.2 seed having lost just five times despite playing in the ACC. Even if it was down this season, that’s still a heck of a conference. Especially when you’re splitting with North Carolina, Clemson and Miami (Fla).

Here was Belmont out of the Atlantic Sun getting a whole lot closer to its first ever NCAA tournament win after being blown out the past couple of first rounds by UCLA and Georgetown. Sure. Anyone who watched Duke knew they weren’t a strong 2 seed and could be had but in Round One again?

Despite stretching a seven-point half time lead to 10 early in the second half, the Blue Devils just couldn’t shake the gritty Bruins on this night in the nation’s cap on the Georgetown home floor. Not with many rooting on the heavy underdog who was trying to become only the fifth 15 seed to knock off a 2 in men’s Div. I history.

Instead, they came right back on Duke running off nine straight to slice a 10-point deficit to one. Before that run, I told my brother Justin that the Blue Devils would wind up winning by 15 or 16. You just had to figure that Belmont would run out of gas.

Could they still keep making these shots to stay around? You betcha! There was Andy Wicke draining a three to suddenly slice the deficit to one with under three minutes to play. They had hung around all night. Finally after a Duke misfire, Justin Hare was fouled and sank both free throws to give his team the lead!

Belmont 70 Duke 69 with 2:02 to go.

“The last two or three minutes, I was sitting there thinking, ‘We’re really in this game.’ We were so close to winning,” Belmont reserve Henry Harris said after contributing three points and four rebounds in the memorable first round game.

“There’s a bit of amazement in your brain, just sitting there: ‘Wow!”’

The crowd at this point was going crazy and why not. Another Duke miss gave Belmont a chance to increase the margin. At that point, I was thinking, ‘They score here, they win.’

But that basket never came. Instead, Henderson grabbed the rebound and dribbled the ball with time winding down. I could tell right there what was about to happen because the Belmont defenders were backing off. Cardinal rule in basketball late. Never back off. Yes. You don’t want to foul. But at the same time, you have to play aggressive and at least contest the shot. That’s now what happened for poor Rick Byrd’s team. Unfortunately, they allowed Henderson to go coast to coast for a lay-in.

Duke 71 Drake 70 11.5 seconds left.

The Bruins still had a chance to pull it off but instead a steal by Duke senior leader Demarcus Nelson following a poorly executed in bounds put the ACC Defensive Player of The Year at the line with just 2.2 ticks left. A Nelson miss on the front end allowed Belmont to use its final timeout to setup one last desperation attempt.

They were able to get the ball into Hare near halfcourt along the left sideline. He took a couple of dribbles and then fired one up from 35 feet out but his prayer wasn’t answered as it fell to the left off the iron. Just a tad off the mark. Otherwise, the pesky Bruins pull it off and send Duke to a third consecutive defeat in the NCAA’s.

Instead, there was no glass slipper for the 15 seed who made Duke and Dick Vitale sweat it out.

So, were they surprised?

“Watching them on tape, they looked really good,” Coach K pointed out after adding to his own tournament record with career win No.69. “Watching them in person, they’re even better.”

“That was really the most exhilarating feeling that I’ve ever had coaching. That’s when I thought we were going to go all the way,” expressed Byrd afterwards.

“At first, you hope to be competitive. Then you hope, ‘Don’t beat us by 20.’ And that never really happened. It became like a regular-season Atlantic Sun game, really.”

No. It became even better. An NCAA Tourney epic which will be remembered for a while with both teams trading buckets and doing what makes this tournament so great.

Or as Gus Johnson might say, “College BASKET—BALL!”

The first of many in this year’s tournament as a more exciting Day Two has unfolded. Just ask Dell Curry about his son’s amazing second half performance in Davidson’s first round win over Gonzaga. And if you didn’t see it, then boy did you miss one hell of a show. Thirty of Stephen Curry’s 40 came after the half including a ridiculous 8-for-10 from downtown including the go-ahead bucket from the right key which put them ahead to stay.

Ask anyone who saw the wild finish between Western Kentucky and Drake. A game which fifth seeded Drake fought so hard to get back in coming from 16 down to force overtime and be within one defensive stop of advancing only to have their dreams dashed by a 28-foot Ty Rogers buzzer beater.

Classic basketball where you got the feeling whoever had the ball last would prevail. After Jonathan Cox hit both free throws with 5.7 left to put Drake up 99-98, Western Kentucky’s Tyrone Brazelton did an outstanding job dribbling the ball up the court out of a timeout before dropping a bounce pass for trailer Rogers who stepped into the long trifecta which hit nothing but net.

As soon as he released it, it was good. You could tell. The amazing thing about the buzzer beater was the degree of difficulty because Rogers didn’t have much room to work with firing maybe a couple of feet inside the right sideline. That’s not an easy shot to pull off.

It was a great play which was executed to perfection.

Classic stuff.

Who says college hoops is dead?

Georgia tried their best giving third seeded Xavier a scare but the more experienced Volunteers who pushed runner-up Ohio State to the brink last year showed plenty of poise in overcoming a double digit deficit to advance to the second round in the NCAA Men’s Div. I tournament.

When you get instant messages at work from buddies about their brackets already being in trouble, it’s pretty damn easy to figure out that something’s brewing.

The Bulldogs led 49-42 but Xavier came storming back thanks to some money free throw shooting (basic fundamentals people), smooth transition game and relentless nose to nose man-to-man D going on a 16-2 run.

They even led by eight but Georgia wouldn’t go away thanks to their senior leader Archbishop Molloy product Sundiata Gaines (13 pts and some sweet dishes). But in the end, the Musketeers just made too many big plays featuring a balanced attack which included 20 from power forward Josh Duncan including 11 of 14 from the charity stripe. Derrick Brown added 19 finishing an efficient seven-of-nine from the floor and tiny PG Drew Lavender hit for 13 and did a solid job running the offense.

Sometimes, getting that first one underneath your belt is tough. It can serve as a good wake up call for the Musketeers.

At the very least, I won’t be taking home that $5 million because Temple was ousted by Michigan State.

Oh well. At least Xavier’s still around as I got them going pretty far.

Kentucky and Marquette are playing now. Figure that to go down to the wire. Pitt just tipped off with Oral Roberts.

More later. 

Is there really some inexplicable perfect formula which will win you five million in cash for the NCAA’s biggest tournament starting later today?

Yeah. According to ESPN, they have Bob Knight and that’s all that MATTERS. Listen up. I like Coach Knight but have you ever seen a network go so ga ga over itself?!?!?!?!?! Only ESPN could continue to pat itselves on the back and wave the pom poms as if it invented sports. How far low will they go?

Bristol only cares about getting the big names. It need not matter if they aren’t as good as an average former player or coach. That’s all they’re good for. Well, at the very least, that Detroit coaching legend Dickie V is still around sweating at every turn. Will someone please send him a case of white towels? Just make sure Jerry Tarkanian didn’t bite on them!

So, how does one go about picking the brackets for this big tournament? Well, according to all the experts, you can’t go against a No.1 seed. Well, at least they might be right this time around because all four 1’s are strong.

There are sure to be a few bracket busters along the way who make life miserable for everyone’s pool.

So let’s just get this over with because I’m not pretending to be a highly paid expert with a Bristol background. Actually, I know the area quite well. Shhhh. That will be our little secret.

EAST

First Round 

(1) UNC over (16) Mount St. Mary’s

(8) Indiana over (9) Arkansas

(5) Notre Dame over (12) George Mason

(13) Winthrop over (4) Washinton St.

(11) St. Joseph’s over (6) Oklahoma

(3) Louisville over (14) Boise St.

(10) South Alabama over (7) Butler

(2) Tennessee over (15) American

Second Round

(1) UNC over (8) Indiana

(5) Notre Dame over (13) Winthrop

(11) St. Joseph’s over (3) Louisville

(2) Tennessee over (10) South Alabama

Sweet 16

(1) UNC over (5) Notre Dame

(2) Tennessee over (11) St. Joseph’s

Regional Final

(1) UNC over (2) Tennessee

Analysis: Everyone seems to love Louisville but they rely way too much on the perimeter. If they force too many and have an off day, they’re going to get picked off despite the depth they have. I just am not in love with this Coach Pitino team. Notre Dame could bow out early to George Mason or they could reach the Sweet 16 and push the Tar Heels before falling. Despite a tough bracket, UNC has too much talent on and off the bench to lose. Tennessee should give them a great game in the Regional but when the chips are down, I’m taking the Tar Heels.

MIDWEST

First Round

(1) Kansas over (16) Portland St.

(9) Kent St. over (8) UNLV

(5) Clemson over (12) Villanova

(4) Vandy over (13) Siena

(6) USC over (11) Kansas St.

(3) Wisconsin over (14) CSU Fullerton

(10) Davidson over (7) Gonzaga

(2) Georgetown over (15) UMBC

Second Round

(1) Kansas over (9) Kent St.

(5) Clemson over (4) Vandy

(6) USC over (3) Wisconsin

(2) Georgetown over (10) Davidson

Sweet 16

(5) Clemson over (1) Kansas

(2) Georgetown over (6) USC

Regional Final

(2) Georgetown over (5) Clemson

Analysis: I have one simple rule when picking. Any bracket which has Kansas as a top seed is weak. I don’t care how great their players are. When the chips are down and it gets tight, they bend over faster than Paris Hilton. Clemson’s athletic and battle tested enough to take them out. That battle of freshmen O.J. Mayo vs Michael Beasley in the opening round is one hell of a game. Hope I get to see it. Georgetown could run into trouble against Davidson and sharp shooter Stephen Curry but their inside-out combo should be enough to get them deep into March for a second consecutive year.

SOUTH

First Round

(1) Memphis over (16) Tx Arlington

(9) Oregon over (8) Mississippi St.

(12) Temple over (5) Michigan St.

(4) Pitt over (13) Oral Roberts

(6) Marquette over (11) Kentucky

(3) Stanford over (14) Cornell

(10) St. Mary’s over (7) Miami Fla

(2) Texas over (15) Austin Peay

Second Round

(1) Memphis over (9) Oregon

(4) Pitt over (12) Temple

(6) Marquette over (3) Stanford

(2) Texas over (10) St. Mary’s

Sweet 16

(1) Memphis over (4) Pittsburgh

(2) Texas over (6) Marquette

Regional Final

(1) Memphis over (2) Texas

Analysis: Big East champ Pitt should finally break their jinx and win a couple of rounds but won’t have enough scoring to stop Memphis’ high flying attack. Jerel McNeal and Dominick James are one of the best backcourts and should be able to help Marquette knock out Stanford but they won’t have enough to beat D.J. Augustin and the Longhorns. I just think Memphis has too many weapons. Especially with freshman sensation Derrick Rose running the show.

WEST

First Round

(1) UCLA over (16) Miss. Valley St.

(9) Texas A & M over (8) BYU

(5) Drake over Western Kentucky

(4) Uconn over (13) San Diego

(6) Purdue over (11) Baylor

(3) Xavier over (14) Georgia

(7) West Va over (10) Arizona

(2) Duke over (15) Belmont

Second Round

(1) UCLA over (9) Texas A & M

(4) Uconn over (5) Drake

(3) Xavier over (6) Purdue

(7) West Va over (2) Duke

Sweet 16

(1) UCLA over (4) Uconn

(3) Xavier over (7) West Va

Regional Final

(1) UCLA over (3) Xavier

Analysis: This is probably the easiest bracket out of the four. With the talented Bruins basically playing at home and fragile high seeds such as Duke and Connecticut, UCLA should come out unscathed. Uconn could lose early but don’t discount the leadership of point guard A.J. Price. Shot blocking center Hasheem Thabeet must stay on the court. The Blue Devils are an excellent perimeter team but a potential second round match-up against Joe Alexander and the Mountaineers could be problematic. We like Xavier but that second round isn’t a given against Purdue. Either way, the Bruins with Darren Collison and freshman Kevin Love should have too much for whoever they meet in the regional final advancing to a third straight Final Four.

Final Four

(1) UNC over (2) Georgetown

(1) UCLA over (1) Memphis

NCAA Championship

(1) UCLA over (1) UNC

Final score: 75-72

Analysis: How boring to pick the Bruins. I know. What’s so riveting about that anyway? They’re experienced and can score more and play D better than anyone in the country. I just don’t trust UNC enough to take them but they should have enough to get by Georgetown this time to get revenge for last year at East Rutherford. John Wooden gets to see one more title.

There’s been plenty written about Kyle McAlarney. The Notre Dame junior guard who was kicked out of school last year for marijuana possession back in December 2006 wasn’t sure he’d ever return to South Bend.

Even if Coach Mike Brey was extremely supportive and visited him as a friend out at the former Moore Catholic standout’s home, nothing was set in stone. Especially with the distraught McAlarney looking at other college options to resume his basketball career.

What wasn’t known was the amount of psychological damage the whole episode caused for the Staten Island kid who took responsibility for his actions and felt the heavy burden.

Still, our whole community was pulling for one of our own, who had made good playing Div. I ball from many a day practicing that outside shot which defies logic to this day. Just ask Jim Boeheim.

There was a special Sunday column in the Daily News on Kyle’s struggles with anxiety when he didn’t know what was wrong. As someone who’s dealt with similar issues over the past year, I could certainly relate to what he went through. It’s never easy to comprehend what’s going on.

You just want to get things righted. Much like McAlarney, I’ve also rectified my situation and am doing much better.

I definitely recommend the article above as it really is informative and details McAlarney’s dramatic turnaround leading to a great junior season where he and teammates will look to make a run in the Eastern region as the No.5 seed. A possible Sweet 16 showdown could come down against the top seeded Tar Heels.

But all of this was so far away 14 months ago as to hear McAlarney tell it:

“There are so many things that felt like rock-bottom that it’s hard to say,” said McAlarney, who starred for Moore Catholic High on Staten Island. “I’m not sure any of them was worse than the first game after my arrest. I remember watching ESPN and seeing my name across the bottom: ‘Kyle McAlarney suspended on marijuana charges.’

“But walking out of the tunnel onto this court in plain clothes, behind my teammates, and being able to feel every eye in the place on me was maybe the harshest. I sat on the bench and I knew that the TV cameras would be on me and that the announcers would be talking about the biggest mistake of my life.”

All that kind of stuff had to be extremely difficult to deal with. That’s why how he’s handled his issues off the court is commendable. It’s never easy to go public with anxiety. I have found that the more open you are about things, the better you’ll feel.

It’s good to see McAlarney doing so well. That’s the most important thing. Best of luck to him and the Fighting Irish in the Big Dance!