As big of a hoops fan as I am (I've always loved the NBA as well and cherish my Thunder tickets) I've made it to 38 years of age without ever attending an NCAA Tournament game. Wanted to do it the past few times OU made it, but the sites/dates didn't work for me. So with the regional in OKC and OU a protected seed, I was all over it. Here are my random and rambling thoughts on what was a really glorious weekend.
--Of the 8 fan bases, obviously OU had the biggest turnout. The Sooner crowd Friday was weird. Very tense. Only loud in pockets. I think it was because the team struggled so much and there was a lot of tension in the arena that they might become background to a "One Shining Moment" montage for CSUB. Luckily, that didn't com to pass, but it was still a weird crowd for that game.
--In terms of concentration, UNI had the best showing. Clearly, their fans snatched up all allotted tickets in their section. It was by far the most packed single section of the weekend. There was a sea of purple there and not much else mixed in.
--Aggie fans likely had the second most overall fans in the arena. I was surprised UT didn't represent a little better. Not surprisingly, Green Bay, VCU, and CSUB didn't have many folks there. Thought VCU might travel a tad better due to recent tourney success. Also a bit surprised Oregon St. didn't roll out a few more considering this was their first trip in 25 years.
--There was also an odd mix of random fans throughout the arena. On Friday, I sat next to two dudes totally decked out in WVU gear. But they barely even checked the score of their game with SFA---odd. Also had three guys all wearing Illinois gear in front of us-- and there were plenty of KU fans in the house as well.
--The NCAA is ridiculous. I understand removing the ads from inside the actual sections, but the lengths they went to in an effort to erase the mention of the Thunder was silly. I went to charge my phone at the charging station outside sec. 119 on Friday and was told the NCAA made them remove it because the kiosk contained the Thunder logo. That's just absurd. I did like how there wasn't much "stimulation" during timeouts and breaks though.
--Just crazy the disparity in the cheerleaders, dance teams, bands, etc. between the power schools and the small schools. Last night, the Aggie dance team were like something you'd see in Vegas while the UNI cheerleaders looked like they should be doing a routine for Hickory High. Total opposite ends of the spectrum there across the board. The VCU band was very good... they definitely had a good time out there.
--The no alcohol thing was also a drag-- curious if that is standard at all regionals? I understand the reasoning, especially with the twelve hour day on Friday, but you'd think they could manage to figure something out. They also were limited on food options more so than a Thunder game which surprised me. We ran to Earl's in between sessions Friday which worked out well.
--Overall, the atmosphere was fun. So cool to watch the various groups of fans cheer, get upset, interact, etc. It is certainly a unique experience to be in that type of setting. For "long" days the games really did fly by and I never got bored or disinterested with the exception of the second half of the A+M/GB game when I took the concourse to watch WVU/SFA.
Games Themselves:
--Oregon St/VCU was a "B" game; not great, but a tad above average on the entertainment scale. Gary Payton Jr. is super athletic, but the Beavers were NOT a 7 seed. Not even close. I think were likely closer to a bubble team. VCU played better against us.
--OU/CSUB: As a Sooner fan, I was totally invested, and for a 2 vs. 15 game it was pretty entertaining, but it was NOT good basketball. CSUB gave it everything they had and the Ahmed kid played his heart out, but OU was just awful for the overwhelming majority of the game (more on that later).
--A+M/GB: The one dud game of the weekend. GB played well for the first 15 minutes, but Aggies size overwhelmed them. Second half was a bloodbath.
--UNI/UT: Well, I stayed the entire time and I'm obviously glad I did. Best game of the day in general and clearly the most exciting finish. Definitely a moment I will always remember. UNI fan in front of me-- his reaction was great.
--OU/VCU: Hard to separate my emotions-- so I really didn't "enjoy" the game because I was so knotted up. But it was really well played. Very exciting. The Buddy Show was a sight to behold.
--A+M/UNI: I will never forgive my brother-in-law. He convinced me to leave with 44 seconds left and the margin at 12. I honestly didn't fight it, figured might as well beat traffic. So I stayed for every minute of every game all weekend and then left about 60 seconds before history started to be made. I can't believe what happened and I can't believe I wasn't there. I listened to it on radio and was actually home in time to see the entire second overtime, but there are just no words for what went down or for the fact that I bailed and wasn't actually in the house to see it go down. Aggie fans were loud and rowdy all game and I can only imagine the post-game scene.
If you were a neutral observer basketball fan that was at the OKC regional, I think you'd have to be just thrilled at what you got. Only 1 of 6 games was a dud. You had two decent games (Oregon St. and CSUB) and three classic games-- one historically good individual effort and two all-time memorable endings. It exceeded my expectations and I will now be rooting very hard for us to get another protected seed next year so I can do it again in Tulsa. And depending on circumstance I'd definitely consider making the trip wherever they go.
OU Thoughts:
--They stunk Friday. Awful. We got very, very lucky. Maybe part of the reason we played poorly was due to playing to the competition, but theoretically, of the 67 other teams in the tournament, we happened to play one of maybe 5-6 where we could play that way and still win. CSUB is not good at all. Generally speaking, 15 seeds aren't very good, but they were worst than most. The fact that it took us so long to dispatch them was highly frustrating. I would grade Spangler and Lattin both as "F's" for that game and Cousins wasn't a whole lot better. Buddy closed out very well, Woodard was OK, and Manyang was active and contributed in the hustle department. Over the last 7:00 minutes or so we finally started getting our hands on the ball and preventing their previously wide open layups and back-cuts. When the game was over, I was happy to have survived and advanced, especially considering what MTSU did to MSU, but that was not a good effort from the Sooners-- the crowd was tense, the team was tense, and it was an ugly win.
--Different team to start the game Friday. Crowd was more energized and so were the guys. Lon had a great strategy early to make VCU pay for over-playing Buddy. Those alley-oops to Lattin were awesome. At 21-7 that was about as well as OU can play and it looked a lot like the team we saw in December. I figured VCU would make a run, but thought the last 10:00 minutes of first half were weird. That came back more than I would have liked and I was very concerned being up only 5 when Buddy went out. Stretching that to 13 at the half was huge-- the Cousins steal, drive, And 1 was a big play in the game. 44-31 at the half with Buddy only being mildly involved was a huge win for OU. Spangler was active and tough and Cousins and Woodard were both really good.
Again, I didn't expect VCU to go away just that easily.....I assumed they would make a push. But what I always hope in that situation is that you make the other team really work to get back in it....make them use 10:00 minutes to get within 6-7. Then, you might be one run from putting it away for good. Instead, the opposite happened. VCU made a big cut into the lead in less than 2:00. By the 10:00 mark it was basically even.
What happened? First of all, Spangler and Lattin disappeared. Not only did they disappear but I used the word "terrified" to describe how they looked and reacted whenever the ball wound in their hands in the second half. It was almost comical. After Lattin clanged a jumper from the FT line, it got back to him in the same spot on a subsequent possession and he froze-- there was no one within five feet of him, but the basketball in his hands might as well have been a grenade. Couldn't get rid of that thing fast enough. Spangler also wanted no part of the ball and stopped getting the tip-backs and box outs he was getting in the first half. Cousins had an awful second half- sloppy with the ball, got beat defensively, and some very questionable decisions on shot selection. I thought Woodard continued to play well and within himself, although his shot stopped falling.
It was all Buddy in the second half and it HAD to be or else we would have bee n cooked. His was an all-time great performance and we needed every one of those 29 second half points. Credit VCU as well-- they caught fire for awhile and hit a ton of tough shots. They also helped us at the end with some unforced turnovers. This may have been an area where the crowd and pressure Buddy was applying to them came down on them.
The aftermath was cool. Players were really jazzed as you might expect and the "Buddy" chants were great as was his reaction to said chants. The hugs from Cousins and Woodard were cool too--- glad to see that despite their struggles that the realize the Sweet 16 is a very nice accomplishment and I am just so happy for the team and Buddy in particular that their last hurrah in front of the home fans was such a successful and memorable one. I remember that forever and I imagine they will as well.
To me, that win signifies the minimum requirement for me personally as a fan for this season--- this team needed to hang AT LEAST one banner-- and the Sweet 16 banner is worthy one indeed. We all wanted that conf. champ banner, but the one that still lies ahead as a possibility would be even better.
Now what?
Not sure what to think to be honest. Part of me thinks Buddy is on the sort of mission that Manning was on in 1988--- Buddy has the capability to carry this team to Houston-- especially considering none of the other three teams in Anaheim are significantly better than us. I can certainly envision a scene of Buddy and Co. cutting down those nets.
That said, the other part of me just isn't convinced at all that the rest of the team is ready for this moment. Spangler and Lattin combined to play 8 halves this weekend and 7 out of 8 were bad. Spangler had a good first half vs VCU. Cousins and Woodard can't quite seem to every play well at the same time for an entire game and the bench is unreliable at best. I fear that if Buddy doesn't do some extraordinary that we really can't beat anyone left in the bracket. And at some point, is that just too much? At some point is he going to have an average performance where the shots just don't fall? If he does, I don't see how we beat anyone right now.
In addition to physical miscues, we continue to make inexcusably bad mental errors--- the Spangler hand off under the VCU basket, Woodard letting the ball go right through his hands out of bands, etc. This stuff has been going on for over two months now. It's hard to keep winning while constantly putting that type of pressure on yourself. Right now, it seems as if OU is going to play a nip and tuck game with whoever they play, whether it be Bakersfield or Kansas. That's a dangerous way to live. In the B12 season, you can play so-so win 2 out of 3 and maintain your standing. We didn't lose a whole lot of ground despite playing poorly (and losing) several games along the way because we found a way to win enough. Now, there is zero margin for error. You err, you go home. Unless of course, you have Superman.
The Aggies are an interesting match-up; we've played a bunch of smaller, faster, trapping and pressing type of teams lately-- teams that play fast. They've given us some problems. Aggies are none of those things. They are bigger, slower, more methodical. They don't shoot it all that well and they aren't overly athletic. But they are big across the board-- they will tower over us. They can really pile up points in the paint. And most concerning may be that they enter this game playing with house money after that theft last night. They have to be on cloud 9 right now and I imagine that will translate to them playing loose and free Thursday.
I wouldn't go out of my way to bet against Buddy; he's our hope for sure. But with OU inserted as a 2.5 point favorite, I'd likely advise any betting sorts to play the Aggies. My prediction is we see much of what we saw over the past two months on Thursday. But now the stakes are higher and the opponent is better. Forced to predict, I'd take the Aggies to win this one in the 69-64 range. I hope I'm wrong. I love this team and have enjoyed every minute watching them during this run and their entire careers. They provided any Sooner fan in attendance yesterday with a great memory. I will be rooting so hard for them to find a way to get to Houston.
--Of the 8 fan bases, obviously OU had the biggest turnout. The Sooner crowd Friday was weird. Very tense. Only loud in pockets. I think it was because the team struggled so much and there was a lot of tension in the arena that they might become background to a "One Shining Moment" montage for CSUB. Luckily, that didn't com to pass, but it was still a weird crowd for that game.
--In terms of concentration, UNI had the best showing. Clearly, their fans snatched up all allotted tickets in their section. It was by far the most packed single section of the weekend. There was a sea of purple there and not much else mixed in.
--Aggie fans likely had the second most overall fans in the arena. I was surprised UT didn't represent a little better. Not surprisingly, Green Bay, VCU, and CSUB didn't have many folks there. Thought VCU might travel a tad better due to recent tourney success. Also a bit surprised Oregon St. didn't roll out a few more considering this was their first trip in 25 years.
--There was also an odd mix of random fans throughout the arena. On Friday, I sat next to two dudes totally decked out in WVU gear. But they barely even checked the score of their game with SFA---odd. Also had three guys all wearing Illinois gear in front of us-- and there were plenty of KU fans in the house as well.
--The NCAA is ridiculous. I understand removing the ads from inside the actual sections, but the lengths they went to in an effort to erase the mention of the Thunder was silly. I went to charge my phone at the charging station outside sec. 119 on Friday and was told the NCAA made them remove it because the kiosk contained the Thunder logo. That's just absurd. I did like how there wasn't much "stimulation" during timeouts and breaks though.
--Just crazy the disparity in the cheerleaders, dance teams, bands, etc. between the power schools and the small schools. Last night, the Aggie dance team were like something you'd see in Vegas while the UNI cheerleaders looked like they should be doing a routine for Hickory High. Total opposite ends of the spectrum there across the board. The VCU band was very good... they definitely had a good time out there.
--The no alcohol thing was also a drag-- curious if that is standard at all regionals? I understand the reasoning, especially with the twelve hour day on Friday, but you'd think they could manage to figure something out. They also were limited on food options more so than a Thunder game which surprised me. We ran to Earl's in between sessions Friday which worked out well.
--Overall, the atmosphere was fun. So cool to watch the various groups of fans cheer, get upset, interact, etc. It is certainly a unique experience to be in that type of setting. For "long" days the games really did fly by and I never got bored or disinterested with the exception of the second half of the A+M/GB game when I took the concourse to watch WVU/SFA.
Games Themselves:
--Oregon St/VCU was a "B" game; not great, but a tad above average on the entertainment scale. Gary Payton Jr. is super athletic, but the Beavers were NOT a 7 seed. Not even close. I think were likely closer to a bubble team. VCU played better against us.
--OU/CSUB: As a Sooner fan, I was totally invested, and for a 2 vs. 15 game it was pretty entertaining, but it was NOT good basketball. CSUB gave it everything they had and the Ahmed kid played his heart out, but OU was just awful for the overwhelming majority of the game (more on that later).
--A+M/GB: The one dud game of the weekend. GB played well for the first 15 minutes, but Aggies size overwhelmed them. Second half was a bloodbath.
--UNI/UT: Well, I stayed the entire time and I'm obviously glad I did. Best game of the day in general and clearly the most exciting finish. Definitely a moment I will always remember. UNI fan in front of me-- his reaction was great.
--OU/VCU: Hard to separate my emotions-- so I really didn't "enjoy" the game because I was so knotted up. But it was really well played. Very exciting. The Buddy Show was a sight to behold.
--A+M/UNI: I will never forgive my brother-in-law. He convinced me to leave with 44 seconds left and the margin at 12. I honestly didn't fight it, figured might as well beat traffic. So I stayed for every minute of every game all weekend and then left about 60 seconds before history started to be made. I can't believe what happened and I can't believe I wasn't there. I listened to it on radio and was actually home in time to see the entire second overtime, but there are just no words for what went down or for the fact that I bailed and wasn't actually in the house to see it go down. Aggie fans were loud and rowdy all game and I can only imagine the post-game scene.
If you were a neutral observer basketball fan that was at the OKC regional, I think you'd have to be just thrilled at what you got. Only 1 of 6 games was a dud. You had two decent games (Oregon St. and CSUB) and three classic games-- one historically good individual effort and two all-time memorable endings. It exceeded my expectations and I will now be rooting very hard for us to get another protected seed next year so I can do it again in Tulsa. And depending on circumstance I'd definitely consider making the trip wherever they go.
OU Thoughts:
--They stunk Friday. Awful. We got very, very lucky. Maybe part of the reason we played poorly was due to playing to the competition, but theoretically, of the 67 other teams in the tournament, we happened to play one of maybe 5-6 where we could play that way and still win. CSUB is not good at all. Generally speaking, 15 seeds aren't very good, but they were worst than most. The fact that it took us so long to dispatch them was highly frustrating. I would grade Spangler and Lattin both as "F's" for that game and Cousins wasn't a whole lot better. Buddy closed out very well, Woodard was OK, and Manyang was active and contributed in the hustle department. Over the last 7:00 minutes or so we finally started getting our hands on the ball and preventing their previously wide open layups and back-cuts. When the game was over, I was happy to have survived and advanced, especially considering what MTSU did to MSU, but that was not a good effort from the Sooners-- the crowd was tense, the team was tense, and it was an ugly win.
--Different team to start the game Friday. Crowd was more energized and so were the guys. Lon had a great strategy early to make VCU pay for over-playing Buddy. Those alley-oops to Lattin were awesome. At 21-7 that was about as well as OU can play and it looked a lot like the team we saw in December. I figured VCU would make a run, but thought the last 10:00 minutes of first half were weird. That came back more than I would have liked and I was very concerned being up only 5 when Buddy went out. Stretching that to 13 at the half was huge-- the Cousins steal, drive, And 1 was a big play in the game. 44-31 at the half with Buddy only being mildly involved was a huge win for OU. Spangler was active and tough and Cousins and Woodard were both really good.
Again, I didn't expect VCU to go away just that easily.....I assumed they would make a push. But what I always hope in that situation is that you make the other team really work to get back in it....make them use 10:00 minutes to get within 6-7. Then, you might be one run from putting it away for good. Instead, the opposite happened. VCU made a big cut into the lead in less than 2:00. By the 10:00 mark it was basically even.
What happened? First of all, Spangler and Lattin disappeared. Not only did they disappear but I used the word "terrified" to describe how they looked and reacted whenever the ball wound in their hands in the second half. It was almost comical. After Lattin clanged a jumper from the FT line, it got back to him in the same spot on a subsequent possession and he froze-- there was no one within five feet of him, but the basketball in his hands might as well have been a grenade. Couldn't get rid of that thing fast enough. Spangler also wanted no part of the ball and stopped getting the tip-backs and box outs he was getting in the first half. Cousins had an awful second half- sloppy with the ball, got beat defensively, and some very questionable decisions on shot selection. I thought Woodard continued to play well and within himself, although his shot stopped falling.
It was all Buddy in the second half and it HAD to be or else we would have bee n cooked. His was an all-time great performance and we needed every one of those 29 second half points. Credit VCU as well-- they caught fire for awhile and hit a ton of tough shots. They also helped us at the end with some unforced turnovers. This may have been an area where the crowd and pressure Buddy was applying to them came down on them.
The aftermath was cool. Players were really jazzed as you might expect and the "Buddy" chants were great as was his reaction to said chants. The hugs from Cousins and Woodard were cool too--- glad to see that despite their struggles that the realize the Sweet 16 is a very nice accomplishment and I am just so happy for the team and Buddy in particular that their last hurrah in front of the home fans was such a successful and memorable one. I remember that forever and I imagine they will as well.
To me, that win signifies the minimum requirement for me personally as a fan for this season--- this team needed to hang AT LEAST one banner-- and the Sweet 16 banner is worthy one indeed. We all wanted that conf. champ banner, but the one that still lies ahead as a possibility would be even better.
Now what?
Not sure what to think to be honest. Part of me thinks Buddy is on the sort of mission that Manning was on in 1988--- Buddy has the capability to carry this team to Houston-- especially considering none of the other three teams in Anaheim are significantly better than us. I can certainly envision a scene of Buddy and Co. cutting down those nets.
That said, the other part of me just isn't convinced at all that the rest of the team is ready for this moment. Spangler and Lattin combined to play 8 halves this weekend and 7 out of 8 were bad. Spangler had a good first half vs VCU. Cousins and Woodard can't quite seem to every play well at the same time for an entire game and the bench is unreliable at best. I fear that if Buddy doesn't do some extraordinary that we really can't beat anyone left in the bracket. And at some point, is that just too much? At some point is he going to have an average performance where the shots just don't fall? If he does, I don't see how we beat anyone right now.
In addition to physical miscues, we continue to make inexcusably bad mental errors--- the Spangler hand off under the VCU basket, Woodard letting the ball go right through his hands out of bands, etc. This stuff has been going on for over two months now. It's hard to keep winning while constantly putting that type of pressure on yourself. Right now, it seems as if OU is going to play a nip and tuck game with whoever they play, whether it be Bakersfield or Kansas. That's a dangerous way to live. In the B12 season, you can play so-so win 2 out of 3 and maintain your standing. We didn't lose a whole lot of ground despite playing poorly (and losing) several games along the way because we found a way to win enough. Now, there is zero margin for error. You err, you go home. Unless of course, you have Superman.
The Aggies are an interesting match-up; we've played a bunch of smaller, faster, trapping and pressing type of teams lately-- teams that play fast. They've given us some problems. Aggies are none of those things. They are bigger, slower, more methodical. They don't shoot it all that well and they aren't overly athletic. But they are big across the board-- they will tower over us. They can really pile up points in the paint. And most concerning may be that they enter this game playing with house money after that theft last night. They have to be on cloud 9 right now and I imagine that will translate to them playing loose and free Thursday.
I wouldn't go out of my way to bet against Buddy; he's our hope for sure. But with OU inserted as a 2.5 point favorite, I'd likely advise any betting sorts to play the Aggies. My prediction is we see much of what we saw over the past two months on Thursday. But now the stakes are higher and the opponent is better. Forced to predict, I'd take the Aggies to win this one in the 69-64 range. I hope I'm wrong. I love this team and have enjoyed every minute watching them during this run and their entire careers. They provided any Sooner fan in attendance yesterday with a great memory. I will be rooting so hard for them to find a way to get to Houston.
