Best Games of NCAA Tournament Round #2 Recap

For those of you who are the casual watchers of sports and who just happened to turn on a couple of minutes of March Madness I have two things. First, dang you. This has been the greatest opening of the NCAA tournament ever. Second, here is a list of the most exciting games you missed.

Game #3: Texas vs. Arizona State

In a regular round one of the NCAA tournament, this game would have been the best. When Jonathan Holmes put up a shot that made Nosferatu look good, it appeared that this game was on its way to being the 3^rd overtime game of the tournament. Luckily for Holmes and the rest of the Longhorns, Cameron Ridley this brobdingnagian man was there to save. The 285 lbs, 6ft 9in woolly mammoth of a sophomore snatched the rebound from the floor and went up big.

Was Ridley’s shot pretty? No. Was his shot fundamentally sound? Not a chance. Did the shot go in? Yes. And with one simple shot the hopes of the Sun Devils were dashed and every Longhorn fan that made the 18 hr and 5 min drive from Austin to Milwauke lost their minds.

Ridley's put back must have been difficult for the seniors of Arizona State to watch.  However, I am sure that they are just glad to graduate from such a prestigious university.

 Wow it was so hard to type that without laughing.

Game #2 Duke Vs. Mercer

            For those of you who are not college basketball fans and don’t know where Mercer University is located in Georgia. With more than 8,300 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges on campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three medical school sites in Macon, Savannah and Columbus; and at four Regional Academic Centers around the state, Mercer is consistently ranked among the nation’s leading institutions by such publications as U.S. News & World Report, which in 2013 named Mercer as the No. 2 Best Value in the South. I already knew all of this. It wasn’t like I ripped off the previous three sentences from the University of Mercer webpage after watching the game.

            If this doesn’t bust everyone’s bracket, I don’t know what will. Who would have guessed that Mercer would outplay a Duke wire to wire. Especially when this is one of the most talented teams that Coach K has coached.

Game #1 Oklahoma vs. North Dakota State University

            I would say that I am fearful that the state of North Dakota is in a full fledged riot over the fact that North Dakota State University became the first school in the state to advance into the second round of the tournament, were it not for the fact that I believe that the state of North Dakota isn’t actually a real place. (Honestly have you ever met a single person that has been to North Dakota?  Show me a man that has been to North Dakota and I will show you someone who has been brain washed by the United States government).

Besides the fact that state of North Dakota is a sham, this truly was one of the best games that I have ever watched. Everything that you could want in a basketball game was encapsulated in forty-five action packed minutes. You had a traditional powerhouse in the NCAA sports facing a no name underdog, a high scoring affair, a star that struggled, 11 lead changes, a freshman stepping up to seize the limelight, and a big-man who chose to attend his school because of their contribution to the egg industry.

While the Bison of North Dakota dominated the first half and had an eight-point lead at halftime, the Sooners managed to quickly make it a game in the second half. With 18 minutes of regulation left to go, the game turned into a back and forth slug fest between.  Lawrence Alexander's three point shot with twelve seconds left evened up the score and the two teams were headed for overtime.

Overtime was just as exciting. One would have assumed it would have been all over for North Dakota after their best player was kicked in the face and then thrown out of the game after committing his fifth foul. I was convinced that North Dakota State had nothing left in the tank, but at the moment of greatest despair  Carlin Dupree step up and make the biggest shots that the Dakota’s have seen since those the Massacre at Wounded Knee.

In conclusion, this game had almost everything you could ever have wanted. A big lead blown, a second half shoot out, a big three point shot to send things to overtime, a seemingly insurmountable task of replacing your best player with a freshmen who has played a handful of minutes throughout the year, and that same freshmen beating those odds to deliver the state of North Dakota its first win in the NCAA tourney. Really the only things that the game was missing were players who were could spell the word cat, fans that possessed a full set of teeth, and an "S" on the end of the word Bison.  

(the majority of The Bison Cheerleaders are attractive... In the same way that that one super white trash girl from your high school was attractive. You knew she was hot, but no one would have ever heard you say it because she was a redneck.) 

Mourning Wood