There could not have been a better national championship game.
The game had everything a great game requires: big shots, high-tension possessions, a huge comeback G? even overtime.
Now I know all of you might be confused and thinking, But
Nick the Florida-UCLA game was simply unwatchable and it definitely didn't go to overtime.
And you'd be right, except for the fact that I am not talking about Florida's wiping of the floor with UCLA. I am talking about the women's National Championship game between Maryland and Duke.
Sure, I'll admit I haven't been the biggest women's basketball enthusiast in my time, and although it might be the hangover from an awful men's championship game talking, Maryland's victory was pretty impressive. (Note, this would be the point in my column where I take a jab at Joakim Noah for looking like the ugliest girl I've ever seen, but I must resist the urgeG? wait, too late).
Down by as many as 13, the Terrapins rallied back to defeat the Blue Devils, 78-75, in exciting fashion. Maryland's Kristi Toliver sent the game to overtime by hitting a clutch 3 to tie the game with about seven seconds remaining on the clock.
I could not be any more pleased with the outcome of this game after such an anti-climatic men's Final Four. Until the teams arrived in Indianapolis, the men's tournament was probably the most exciting big dance I've ever seen.
The men's bracket was filled with upsets, a Cinderella story, heart-breaking defeat and plenty of rising stars in college basketball, and then everything became a . Out of the last three games, not a single one was remotely entertaining.
I think everyone should thank the women for ending the college basketball season the way it should be. With two truly talented teams (unlike UCLA, who was lucky enough to stumble into the Final Four) fighting for the championship in a game where, in the end, no team could be called losers (again, how does it feel now Bruins, you were done once you fell behind 11-6 G? bunch of losers).
Alas, despite the debacle of the men's Final Four, the college basketball season has come to an end, and now I must wait for next season. So let's remember all the memorable moments of this season one last time as we look ahead to the Maui Invitational and everything else that is the greatness of college hoops.
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