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The mind is still reeling after Friday night's ridiculous Sweet 16 games.
- The NCAA Tournament could have ended last night, and I think I would have been good with it in that "end on a high note" sense.
- The Virginia Cavaliers, Louisville Cardinals, Iowa State Cyclones and Tennessee Volunteers all are going home after all four games were decided by a total of 14 points.
- While each game involved frantic finishes and key plays, the games collectively really came down to one thing:
- Free throws, gents. Free throws.
- The winners shot 64-of-77 (.831). The losers were 40-of-69 (.580).
- And now, some pundits have to begrudgingly hit delete on their season narratives, instead typing things like
- "John Calipari once again proving youth can be served."
- And ...
- "John Calipari can coach."
- Forget seeds and whether Kentucky is the most under-seeded No. 8 of all time. At this point in the tourney, as a No. 8 or a No. 2, the Wildcats could have had the same resume, and it wouldn't be any less impressive.
- Cue up that "Bill Self v. John Calipari: Who ya got?" conversation that had taken a step back over the past year or so.
- It's one of the things I love most about this Championship: You can't fake it through two weekends. Every team left, including the Dayton Flyers of the world, is playing its best basketball of the season.
- Is it any coincidence that some of the year's best ball has been played after officials got out of the way -- I mean, flat left their whistles at home -- and have allowed the players to decide things?
- I could write 2000 words about the NCAA's abrupt change in officiating for this tournament compared to the season, especially in November and early December.
- I'll keep it to this: Why? What was the point of the "crackdown" if the year's biggest games weren't going to be held to the same (dumb) standards?
- The rules debate did at least lead to some really entertaining television on Friday.
- Doug Gottlieb is much better suited as a color analyst than an on-set debater.
- I think a couple of his points -- including Kentucky's Julius Randle going straight up -- might have been arguable, but he got so frustrated and undone that his delivery came across at times as rushed and babbling.
- And it let a sharky guy like Seth Davis sit back and laugh at him.
- On the CBS/TBS mashup: It probably sounded like a good idea in a meeting or looked okay on paper.
- The awkward, disjointed, not-funny hand-offs between studios -- especially between Ernie Johnson and Greg Gumbel ... These guys are pros. If they can't make it sound reasonable, there's a reason for it.
- Two crowded sets, including a Charles Barkley, perhaps.
- #toomanyvoices
- Maybe it's symbolic, but the overall feel between the two sets felt NBA and college worlds apart.
- Wonder why ...