What. A. Game.
Posted: April 8th, 2008 | Filed under: Last Decade | 7 Comments »
Why on Earth did I hedge? Just kidding.
I am no smarter today then when I wrote this, this and this about Kansas back in March. The fact that everything worked out makes me look good, but it has not increased my wagering aptitude in the slightest.
I am proud of myself for working hard and discovering a good futures play in a spot I would not have usually looked (near the top of the polls), but I am not going to spend one second patting myself on my back for it. If you ended up on Kansas because of my words, don’t thank me, thank Mario Chalmers and yourself, for you are the one who had the stones to put your own money into play.
That was some game. Here is what I will remember:
- If Chalmers misses that 3 or Kansas loses in overtime that game would have gone down as the worst tease of all time. It would have topped my upcoming “Worst Losses in Site History” section that will be opened by months end.
I had already reached the 5th stage of grieving, Acceptance, by the time Memphis went up 9 with 2 to play. I was ready and able to move on with my life. I’m not sure where I’d be right now if they would have come all the way back only to blow it in the end.
- I am usually pretty composed during games for a guy who routinely risks 4 figure sums, but I went absolutely ballistic when the Chalmers shot dropped. I am pretty sure my scream pierced the sound barrier. I jumped up and down so violently that I tweaked my left ankle to the point that it hurts whenever I put weight on it today.
Other than that I was relatively clam throughout the game. I suffered two mini meltdowns late when Dozier rebounded the CDR’s missed FT and when no foul was called on Sherron Collins fast break lay up attempt, but fortunately those moments were quickly whisked away.
- Will John Calipari ever recover from this loss? His program is still in good shape going forward despite the upcoming losses of Rose, Dorsey, and probably CDR, but even the all time greats get only so many cracks at the Final 4. His decision making at the end of that game will be scrutinized forever.
- FT shooting is still overrated by the way. Memphis shot better last night than they did on the season. Everyone will focus on the late misses, but free throws in the 3rd minute of the game are worth the same as free throws in the final 20 seconds.
Calipari didn’t have to let his arrogance blind him on the matter though. This may be the greatest jinx of all time.
- The NBA age rule may be an unfair labor practice, but I don’t think an argument can be made any longer that it is bad for college basketball. First Conley and Oden last year, and then Love and Rose this year. These guys were the stars of the tournament, and under the old rules we probably would have never seen them play a college game.
- I really hope Chris Douglas-Roberts isn’t vilified for his role in all this. He was great last night. In fact he was much better than the more highly regarded Rush. He also played 42 of 45 possible minutes. I wonder if that had any effect on his legs on those 3 late misses from the stripe.
- I feel for you if you lost big with Memphis last night. I’ve been there more times than I care to recall. I guess last night was finally my night.
Congrats, ML, on the big win. I especially like the smiley face header at the top of the page. Don’t know if that was there before, but I’m guessing it’s a recent site adjustment considering recent gambling developments.
So now that that college ball is done, are you getting back on the NBA wagon? I assume the answer to that is yes, at least that’s what I’m hoping. One week of baseball and I’m already bored.
Eric,
That smiley face is not by design. I have no clue how it got up there. I think it has been there ever since I removed the Google Search box.
I am going to be playing and writing about the NBA in full force once the playoffs begin. I am holding off until then while I finish up these college hoops previews.
My fiancee was not happy with my emotion last night. Fortunately, nothing was broken, either on my body or in my apartment. In addition to what you named, two other things stuck out at me about last night:
1. The most underrated play of the tournament, at least in my perusal of the blogosphere today, has been the steal and 3pt off Archer’s (?) free throws. That was when I realized we had a chance.
2. Squeeky* and Jim Nantz doing their best to jinx us at the end of regulation and overtime. With about thirty seconds left, I wasn’t sure which I was more upset about.
*Squeeky wasn’t actively trying to jinx us, he was trying reverse jinx his under play. Still frustrating.
“FT shooting is still overrated by the way. Memphis shot better last night than they did on the season. Everyone will focus on the late misses, but free throws in the 3rd minute of the game are worth the same as free throws in the final 20 seconds.”
Hold on a second. That is like saying Chalmers 3 at the end of regulation counted the same or was just as important as any other 3 during the game. The players were under intense pressure at the end of game. Look with 1:15 in the 2nd half http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/playbyplay?gameId=284000063
Memphis misses 4 straight free throws including the front end of a one and one. They were forced to hit free throws and failed to do it. Every Memphis player was afraid to go to the line at the end of the game.
I am not a big NBA fan so keep the MLB picks coming. Are you going to tackle the Master futures?
AM,
Squeeky also had a pass on Kansas to root against. It had to be excruciating to pass on that mini-miracle.
Matt,
Win or lose the MLB picks will keep flowing through August. I am either going to make some decent coin this year or pay for some expensive lessons on MLB wagering.
I won’t be going crazy with the Masters, but I will have a few, tiny long shot plays tomorrow.
Nick,
Sorry. I didn’t see your comment in moderation until just now.
Did I miss something on the Chalmers 3? It was only worth 3 points right?
My whole point is that Memphis FT’ shooting wasn’t the ONLY reason they blew the late lead. It was a part of it, but only a small part.
The turnover on the out of bounds play that led to the corner 3 by Collins was far more costly than CDR missing the front end of that one and one. They were 5/8 from the line in the final 2+ minutes. A GREAT free throw shooting team could only reasonably expect to hit 6/8 (75%). So FT’s cost Memphis 1 point. The inexcusable turnover cost them 3. Which hurt worse?
People are focusing on the FT shooting because it is convenient and it makes “sense”. At the end of the day the Tigers shot better from the line in the title game than they you would have expected them to statistically.