Twelve, Thirteen
O Hilltoppers... it must have been cold there in South Alabama's shadow, to never have sunlight on your face. Now, there on the citrus coast of Florida, you shine with a fearsome brightness. You are the 2008 tournament champions in the Sun Belt, and you are the conference's last remaining survivor. The Commonwealth of Kentucky's third party is now its first entrant in the Thirsty 32. They said you didn't have any signature wins, that you always fell short when it counted, that Hoops Nation was somehow denied the pleasure of a final showdown with South Alabama in the SBC. Did they forget to consider that Courtney Lee and Ty Brazelton might not want to go home yet? And Ty Rogers, honorary mayor, president and one-man city council of Eddyville, Ky., take your throne among the NCAA immortals. A brief moment of silence for Drake's season, a double championship in Hoops Nation's toughest conference... followed by 44 minutes and 58 seconds of brilliant, stirring, beautiful, glorious basketball. We'll always remember what you did.
O Toreros, vanquishers of Kentucky, winners of seven straight league games and 11 in total. They forgot about you. They didn't care about your conference-best perimeter defense, about your tough frontcourt, They short-sold your West Coast Conference tournament championship by burying you with a lower seed -- lower than the other two schools that you got through on the way to the trophy. Now, they'll never forget you for what you did today against the University of Connecticut. Never. You're the last of your kind standing, once again. You, Toreros, grip, raise and lift the WCC standard high, forward into the Round of 32. Twelve, thirteen. It hasn't happened for seven years, not since Gonzaga (back when they still were gonzaga) bowled over Indiana State in the 2001 second round. And only five times have we seen this particular seed combination. This was the matchup that propelled Valpo 1998 to the Sweet 16 in Oklahoma City, as the Crusaders to the Sweet 16 with a six-point decision over Florida State -- the only time the No. 13 has won this game. It was the end of the line for the miracle Southern Jaguars of 1993, who came up 10 points short of George Washington as a No. 13 in 1993, after shocking Georgia Tech in the SWAC's most recent Tournament win. New Mexico State beat Louisiana-Lafayette in 1992 under Neil McCarthy. And the year before that, Eastern Michigan took a No. 12 into the final quartet of quartets with a 71-68 squeak over Penn State. It also guarantees our relevance for another week, as one of these teams will be going on to the 2008 Sweet 16. Whether the road takes us to Phoenix, or wherever any of these other teams are pointed to (Davidson? Butler? Boise State, perhaps?), we're not dead yet. We've got a lot more miles to go. (12) WESTERN KENTUCKY 101, (5) DRAKE 99 (OT) DRAKE 28-5 (15-3) -- G. Lee 7-12 6-8 20; A. Emmenecker 0-10 11-12 11; J. Young 5-15 4-4 18; J. Cox 8-12 9-10 29; L. Houston 5-16 6-10 17; K. Korver 7-15 1-2 21; B. Heemskerk 0-0 0-0 0; J. Baryenbruch 1-1 0-0 3; J. Hall 0-0 0-0 0; J. Parker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-69 31-38 99. WESTERN KENTUCKY 28-6 (16-2) -- T. Brazelton 11-20 5-6 33; C. Lee 6-16 1-2 15; T. Rogers 4-7 1-2 11; B. Siakam 1-1 5-7 7; O. Mendez-Valdez 2-6 1-2 7; J. Evans 4-4 0-0 8; D. Magley 4-5 0-0 8; A. Slaughter 4-7 0-0 10; S. Pettigrew 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 37-68 13-19 101. Three-point goals: DRAKE 16-42 (K. Korver 6-14; L. Houston 1-7; J. Cox 4-6; J. Baryenbruch 1-1; J. Young 4-14), WKU 14-28 (T. Rogers 2-5; C. Lee 2-4; O. Mendez-Valdez 2-6; T. Brazelton 6-10; A. Slaughter 2-3); Rebounds: DRAKE 34 (J. Cox 16), WKU 38 (C. Lee 9); Assists: DRAKE 18 (A. Emmenecker 14), WKU 18 (T. Brazelton 5); Total Fouls -- DRAKE 21, WKU 29; Fouled Out: DRAKE-K. Korver; WKU-J. Evans. (13) SAN DIEGO 70, (4) CONNECTICUT 69 (OT) CONNECTICUT 24-9 (13-5) -- G. Lee 7-12 6-8 20; S. Robinson 2-6 1-1 6; J. Adrien 8-16 1-2 18; H. Thabeet 5-10 4-7 14; C. Austrie 3-9 4-4 10; J. Dyson 4-9 6-6 14; D. Wiggins 2-5 0-0 5; A. Price 0-1 0-0 0; G. Edwards 1-2 0-0 2; D. Beverly 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 16-20 69. SAN DIEGO 22-13 (11-3) -- B. Johnson 7-19 0-0 18; T. Johnson 4-6 0-0 8; D. Jackson 2-9 0-0 4; G. Pomare 10-12 2-2 22; R. Jones 7-15 0-1 14; C. Houston 1-3 0-0 2; D. Ginty 0-1 2-4 2; N. Lozeau 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-65 4-7 70. Three-point goals: CONN 3-6 (J. Adrien 1-1; C. Austrie 0-1; D. Wiggins 1-1; J. Dyson 0-1; S. Robinson 1-2), USD 4-12 (D. Jackson 0-2; B. Johnson 4-8; T. Johnson 0-1; D. Ginty 0-1); Rebounds: CONN 37 (J. Adrien 12), USD 23 (R. Jones 6); Assists: CONN 14 (D. Wiggins 5), USD 13 (T. Johnson 5); Total Fouls -- CONN 16, USD 21; Fouled Out: CONN-None; USD-B. Johnson. |
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