Has everyone had time to take a deep breath? The tournament delivered in a big way with two very good games in Salt Lake City that came down to the wire. The other two regional semi-finals weren't so great, unless you enjoy some good ole' UW schadenfreude. Sitting in a bar before the Sounders game that had a mix of purple and rave green and hearing it go silent halfway through the second half was fun, to say the least. I'm sure they liked me decked out in WSU gear. Every day is a good day to wear Coug clothes.
The big news today is that Nuss is through to the Elite Eight after an insane game that spanned two overtimes. If I could have seen it, I probably would've been thrilled. Instead, I managed to frantically hit refresh on the gametracker throughout the entire game. Even seeing it scroll by in text let me know how awesome the game was.
After the jump, some highlights!
- As the Sounders game ended (2-0 win baby!), the KSU-Xavier game was coming down to the wire. Without a TV near, I was forced to wait as gametracker updated itself on the brisk walk to my car. Disaster struck as the first OT was ending with KSU up 3 with under 20 seconds to go: my phone died. It was then that I sprinted the four blocks to my car just to get a charge. I realized today that I may have a basketball problem
- Jacob Pullen carried KSU to the Elite Eight. In both overtimes he showed nerves of steel draining big shot after big shot and nailing some clutch free throws. If only someone would've warned you that he was a great player to watch (OK, he was an easy pick). 28 points later, Pullen and the Wildcats finally put Xavier away in some bonus time.
- I was unhappy Gus was saddled with bad games in the first rounds and thought his regional games would be the same. Boy am I glad I was wrong. Gus got a Butler-Syracuse game that came down to the wire and an instant classic in KSU-Xavier. Welcome back, Gus. You deserved it after being sent to Buffalo.
- UW lost in a game that WVU blew open midway through the second half with a quick run to seal it up. The Mountaineers held Quincy Pondexter in check most of the game and dominated the glass. The game was incredibly sloppy with both teams combining for 44 turnovers. At one point, UW had about 5 chances at tip-ins, missing all of them. It was bang your head on the table frustrating to watch both teams. At least we now know WVU can win a pillow fight on and off the court.
- Butler is through to the Elite Eight as well after controlling the first half, coughing up the lead, being labeled as dead by most of us, and then storming back to win. Butler looked as though they were running away with it, but showed some heart clawing back. That said, I hope they lose the next game by 50.
- None of the KSU-Xavier referees were from the Pac-10, but would it kill them to call a foul on a blatant attempt to foul at the end of regulation. KSU had the right idea, but the wrong execution and it could've came back to haunt them. We got lessons about how trying to foul can kill you and not fouling can kill you at the end of regulation and OT. The lesson: nobody has a clue.
- The dream is over for Cornell. Most of us thought they could keep it close, but it wasn't to be. The game was played at Cornell's pace and they were hanging with Kentucky early, but they just couldn't handle the athletes UK runs out. Sadly, the Cornell videos are coming to an end. OK, one more
The Office US - Creed Cornell (via butcherasdf)
That's it for today. Feel free to add anything I missed since I missed the second set of games. The Sounders kicked off the season in great form and the Philadelphia Union have what could be the ugliest uniforms I've seen in a while. Would it kill them to not look like throwback baseball uniforms? Tune in tomorrow for a day with less Gus and less stress for Nuss.