0  | 

I found this helpful Thank You! Your vote will be tallied soon!

Texas? Louisville? Or maybe even Davidson? (Perish that last thought...)

I don't know about your house, but here at Princess Peg's ranch, it's all about the round ball this time of year. Who will grace the courts of the Final Four? Who will make it to that final dance in San Antonio? Will Bill Self's oh-so-deep bench go the distance for the first time ever, as many are predicting (and my family and I are oh-so-hoping...)? Or will Roy's boys emerge victorious? Our family's second alliance lies with the Longhorns, where Big Strong Man did his graduate work. They look strong but seem a little one dimensional (though they sure looked formidable last night against 3rd seeded Stanford).

And what about Davidson? David-who? Who ever heard of this school before March Madness? Can you say Cinderella? Of course, they wind up being from the state of North Carolina (wouldn't you just know it...) That Stephen Curry is the talk of every sports show in the country. And with good reason...he's averaging 35 points per game. Wow! And then you hear this kid interviewed, and he's gracious, well-spoken, and gives nods to his teammates, coaches and school. You gotta' love him. Of course, Kansas is going to wipe the floor with them tomorrow, and their Final Four dreams will be shot, but what're you gonna' do?

Our family had the distinct pleasure of taking in the final game of the Big XII's Conference Tournament. This was Kansas vs. Texas at its finest. We, of course, are incredibly biased. However, our opinions aside, many commentators called that game one of the best played college basketball games in the history of the game. It was anybody's game right up until the last minute. No, really. The final score may have been 84-74 Kansas, but that was merely because Texas had to start fouling Kansas in their last-ditch attempt to come back. Until the last minute of the game, it was as close as could be. Big Strong Man's comment was that if the game had gone 45 minutes, it may have been Texas over Kansas. 50 minutes: Kansas over Texas. And so forth.

My point? College basketball is such a kick. And these Jayhawks? There's really not a star amongst them. And that's what makes them such a tremendous team. Their competitors never know who to watch out for in a given play, let alone a half or a game. Who will be unstoppable? Will it be Brandon Rush and Russell Robinson, like last night against Villanova? Or will Mario Chalmers light it up with 7 or 8 three pointers (sometimes 6 before the half...)? And if they go cold, we've still got Sasha Kaun ready to dunk it in and make all of his free throws, Sherron Collins, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, Cole Aldrich and Jeremy Case. They all scored, and they all produced for this team, as they do regularly, with the exception of rarely played Case. This team is multi-talented, and if one or two players go cold or get into foul trouble, the bench is so deep that it's not a significant chink in their armour.

Kansas. Say what you will about us being landlocked and without any mountains to ski on. We've got basketball, and we are waving the wheat here in the Heartland. Rock Chalk, Jayhawks.