3 AMAZING 'B's

It was an excellent to be a 'B' today in the tourney.   In fact, I loved my 3 beautiful 'B's so much I didn't care one bit that they all hurt my picks, but that's okay.  At some point I see the good again instead of the win and start rooting with my heart.  Every victory was a celebration.

BIG BLUE:  So, I had my Cats falling to West Virginia in my picks, but I was thrilled when thier young team looked strong and got their second victory in the tournament.  UK freshman Brandon Knight dropped 30 points on good ol' Bob Huggins West Virginia Mountaineers.  The 71-63 victory pushed my Cats to the East Regional Final in Newark, New Jersey.  Anyone that can knock off meanie Huggins will get a cheer from me.  Go Big Blue!

BUTLER:  Josh proudly sported the Butler t-shirt we purchased after the game in December (Trey was in BYU). We were all cheering for the bulldogs, even though none of our brackets showed it.  It was a game I'll never forget.  I have never, ever, ever seen such a more wild and crazy ending to a basketball game in my life.  #1 Pitt vs #8 Butler in a showdown in D.C..  In the last few seconds, my emotions were high and low and then high again.  You can't even make this stuff up. 

Here's ESPN's Dana O'Neil's take on the ending.

Matt Howard stepped to the line while bedlam and hysteria broke out around him.


One side of the Verizon Center booed its displeasure; the other screamed its joy.

Pittsburgh players, who just seconds before were euphoric, now stood with faces paralyzed in disbelief.

Butler players, who only seconds before stood frozen, smiled in euphoria.

Emotions were stripped bare in Butler’s 71-70 upset of No. 1 seed Pittsburgh, leaving even the winners feeling like wrung out dishrags.

There were actually three acts to this grand finale, an operatic drama that packed more action into 10 ticks of a clock than some teams can cram into a season.


Pitt had the ball and a 69-68 lead, but instead of bleeding the clock for a good shot, Ashton Gibbs heaved a disaster after the shot clock already expired.

With eight seconds left, Butler inbounded the ball to Shawn Vanzant and the player who set up the winner against Old Dominion appeared to do it again. He drove down the right side of the lane and dumped the ball to Andrew Smith. The sophomore laid it in and Butler led 70-69 with three seconds left.  Brown went to the line and sunk the first free throw to tie it at 70. But then the 78 percent free-throw shooter missed the second.

As Brown’s missed freebie fell to the right side of the rim, Howard went up to get it. Nasir Robinson came up behind him and when the two landed, ref Antinio Petty raised his fist. He had called Robinson for a foul 92 feet from the basket, putting Howard on the line for two free throws with 0.8 left on the clock.  He hit the first, intentionally missed the second and the game was over.

The Bulldogs will next face Wisconsin in the Southeast regional semifinals. No matter what happens, it will almost certainly be tame compared to what Butler went through in Washington.

BYU:  The game was decided, the clock ticking down and the Brigham Young fans were the ones doing the celebrating.

"Sweet 16! Sweet 16!" they shouted. Then, an even more fitting refrain: "You got Jimmered!"

Yep, Gonzaga sure did.

And next, Jimmer Fredette takes his high-scoring show to the Big Easy.

The nation's leading scorer lived up to the hype once again Saturday, going for 34 points to lift third-seeded BYU to an 89-67 victory over 11th-seeded Gonzaga and send the Cougars to New Orleans for the regional semifinals. (From ESPN.com)

I couldn't not have hope for more.  Not only did BYU take and keep the lead against the 'Zags, they looked great.  Jimmer was able to move the ball around and the Cougars do better when he's not the only one scoring.  The victory sent BYU to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time since Danny Ainge’s celebrated "Stormin' Mormon" drive to the Elite Eight in 1981.   I was thrilled with the win and can't wait to watch them battle it out against Florida next week. 
 
Favorite 'Jimmerisms'
 
* From Jimmer Range
* You got Jimmered
* Fredette About It!
* Baptized by Jimmersion
* Fear the Jimmer
* Got Jimmer?