Gators Lose, Final Four in NCAA Hoops Set

After my euphoric blog entry Saturday following the University of Florida men's basketball team's improbable last-second winning three-pointer in the NCAA Division I tournament, things have abruptly come back to earth with their loss in the Elite Eight game against South Carolina yesterday afternoon.  The Gators fell, for the most part, because of a problem they've experienced before: they simply couldn't make their shots.  After going 7 for 12 with their three-point shots in the first half, they were sunk in the second when they went 0 for 14 from that range...hard to win with those stats.  Still, I'm proud of them for having gotten this far.  Looking forward to next year!

On Saturday, Pacific states schools Gonzaga and Oregon won their respective games against upstart Xavier and heavily-favored Kansas, respectively.  I was very surprised by the Jayhawks' letdown after their very impressive performances so far in the tournament...I had expected them to go all the way to the championship.  Just goes to show you that one game is no reliable predictor of the next.  After Florida's 77-70 defeat to South Carolina, I was looking forward to some redemption from the second game on Sunday when North Carolina, a school I've been supporting in basketball for decades, faced Kentucky, which I've been opposing a long time.  It was an exciting contest reminiscent of the Florida/Wisconsin game on Friday...the Tarheels made a last-second jump shot to break a tie, sending Kentucky packing home and themselves to Phoenix.  So in this 2017 edition of the Final Four, we have two regional number one seeds...Gonzaga and North Carolina, a regional number three seed in Oregon, and number seven seed South Carolina.  North Carolina is the only school experienced at this stage in the tournament, but I don't think past records matter any more.  I don't know who will win it all...I can only say that I'm rooting for the Tarheels and that I'm indifferent about the rest of the field.  So hopefully NC will get past Oregon on Saturday to make next Monday's championship game interesting for me...

...Oh, by the way, my congratulations to the women's basketball team from Mississippi State for winning their overtime game against Baylor, which I watched yesterday on ESPN.  They were amazing...now they're in their tournament's Final Four!  Guess who I'm rooting for in that series...