Four and OH!

It is rare that anything happens in life four straight times. It is especially noteworthy in sports. Parody in modern sports often prevents anything from happening in perpetuity.

This is more telling when four straight losses occur. The Buffalo Bills lost four consecutive Super Bowls  from the 1990 through 1993 NFL season. Nick Anderson of the Orlando Magic missed four consecutive free throws at the end of Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. Instead, the Rockets were able to tie the score, send the game into overtime and win en route to an NBA Championship.

Politics is the ultimate sport. Democrat Williams Jennings Bryan had four unsuccessful runs for president - three times as the Democratic nominee (1896, 1900, 1908) and once receiving votes at the Democratic National Convention but failing to secure the party nomination (1912).

FOUR RINGS

Then there is the 0-4 of The Daily Hat Trick. From the Sweet 16 round on, I picked the Connecticut Huskies to lose four straight times, the last time being Monday morning. I was wrong four straight times. The Connecticut Huskies beat the Kentucky Wildcats, 60-54, to win the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.

The was of course another occurrence that marked the fourth consecutive happening. The Huskies won their fourth NCAA Basketball Championship Game in four attempts (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014) - a perfect 4-0 in the final game of the Final Four.

Led by senior point guard Shabazz Napier, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, the Huskies never trailed in the title game. Second year Head Coach Kevin Ollie won his first NCAA Championship. The incredible run of the eighth seeded Wildcats, who defeated then-undefeated Wichita State, defending National Champion Louisville, 2013 national runner-up Michigan, and #2 seed Wisconsin, came to an end.

This tournament featured more close games than in recent memory. Many deserving teams threw their hats into the ring, but only one team could survive through six rounds of the Big Dance. To the victor goes the spoils. The Huskies have further cemented their brand as an elite college basketball program.

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

Image from http://espn.go.com

Path Less Traveled

The 8th seeded Kentucky Wildcats and the 7th seeded Connecticut Huskies will meet tonight in Arlington, Texas to decide the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champion. UConn defeated the #1 seed Florida Gators in Saturday’s National Semifinal. Kentucky defeated #2 seed Wisconsin later that night. The other #1 and #2 seeds had long since been eliminated from the Final Four discussion. Indeed, a seed is nothing but a number.

Aaron Harrison has been an assassin in this year’s Big Dance. 1

THE BRACKET OF DEATH

Kentucky was the preseason #1 ranked team. They narrowly lost the SEC Tournament Championship Game to Florida, the #1 team in the country at that time. They were seeded 8th in the Midwest Region.

It sounds outrageous on its face until considering that the Region included the likes of defending National Champion Louisville, the number five team in the country at the end of the regular season, yet the fourth seed in the region. How is this possible? Undefeated Wichita State was the #1 seed in the bracket. Who else was in the Midwest region? Nobody special, just 2013 National Runner-Up Michigan and regular Final Four participant Duke, both 26-8 during the regular season.

Indeed, one could look at the Midwest Region and quickly mistakenly assume that the Big Dance shrunk from 68 teams down to 18. That was the gauntlet that the Wildcats ran. It didn’t kill them; it just made them stronger.

Kentucky was the last team cheering when the dust settled. 2

UNDER THE RADAR

Connecticut was the 7th seed in the East Region. The seedings and pairings in that bracket made little sense to me at the start of the tournament. I was not the least bit surprised that both of the top two seeds failed to reach the Regional Finals.

I was stunned that Connecticut, at team with an attacking defense and a gifted point guard, but few shooters, was the team to advance to the Final Four from this region. From the Sweet Sixteen round on, I picked against Connecticut in each game. All three times, I was wrong.

Connecticut is a team with a Head Coach in Kevin Ollie who followed a legendary coach, Jim Calhoun, at a program with eligibility issues. In only his second season, Ollie is a win away from a National Championship. In rubbing out coaches Jay Wright of Villanova, Fred Hoiberg of Iowa State, Tom Izzo of Michigan State, and Billy Donovan of Florida – all successful coaches with either rising stars or past championships – Ollie let his team do the talking for him on the court.

Ollie has outcoached the field while his front court has out-physicaled every tournament opponent. His senior point guard, Shabazz Napier, has out manned everyone in his way. While observers may asked themselves, “How did this happen?”, Ollie’s Huskies simply stick with the coach’s process and make it happen.

Connecticut beat Florida in the regular season, too, with a buzzer beating bucket. They didn’t cut it so close on Saturday.  3

KISS OF DEATH?

I’m 0-3 picking against UConn in this tournament. I’m willing to risk going 0-4. Kentucky is simply too good with too much talent, peaking too rapidly, and tested (while passing the tests) too thoroughly to lose this game tonight. A close game favors Kentucky and I don’t think Connecticut or any team is capable of running away from the Wildcats.

On the other hand, Connecticut has not only won, but put distance between themselves and their tournament foes, all but one of whom was a higher seed. Connecticut has the advantage at point guard. On paper, Kentucky would appear to have the advantage in coaching with John Calipari. However, Coach Ollie has shown us that we, the public, don’t know what his ceiling is. Expect a title game to be as dramatic as the games that led to it and brought these two teams together this evening.

Advantage: Kentucky

Coach Ollie, right, is making a lot of folks proud in the Tri-State area. 4

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls! 

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

1) Image from www.sportsgrid.com
2) Image from www.chron.com
3) Image from www.mail.com
4) Image from www.nydailynews.com

Foooooour!

Four men’s collegiate basketball teams have fought their way into the 2014 Final Four. There is a diversity of seeding. There is a diversity of levels of experience. There are diverse paths that led all four teams to college basketball’s signature spectacle in Arlington, Texas. All four teams had just enough to make it.

FLORIDA GATORS

I may have missed badly when I discussed four teams worth watching prior to the tournament selection. I swung and missed with my bracket prediction. However, even a broken clock is right twice per day. So far, so good, with the Florida Gators….

The#1 seeded Gators, who were perfect in Southeastern Conference competition this year, appear to be the strongest teams with the most momentum of the four finalists. Scottie Wilbekin, whose road to the Final Four was a rocky one due to off the court issues, has put this team on his back and picked them up each time it counted most during the Big Dance.

Teams like the Dayton Flyers and UCLA Bruins threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Gators; Florida chomped right through it all. Expect Florida to run another gauntlet when they face Connecticut next Saturday. Expect Coach Billy Donovan to have his team ready.

CONNECTICUT HUSKIES

UConn entered the tournament following a solid but unremarkable regular season. Seeded seventh, the senior laden Huskies did not surprise many people by advancing to the round of 16. What could not have been expected, is how point guard Shabazz Napier caught fire and took over games in tightly contested wins against Iowa State and Michigan State. Their success in the Final Four will boil down to how far Napier and Coach Kevin Ollie can push this team.

WISCONSIN BADGERS

Losers of five of six at one point, after being ranked in the top 10, which Coach Bo Ryan Wisconsin Badgers team is going to show up? If the Frank Kaminsky that vaulted the Badgers past Arizona and Baylor shows up, the Badgers could be playing next Monday night. My concern with this team is that Sam Dekker’s role has gone from that of key scoring player, earlier in the year, to role player. All hands will need to be on deck if Ryan’s Badgers hope to cut down the nets.

KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Eight seed? What #8 seed? The Midwest region was dubbed “the region of death” for a good reason. The previously undefeated top seed, 2013 Final Four participant Wichita State, was rubbed out in the round of 32. The fifth ranked team in the country, Louisville, was seeded 4^th in the region. The eighth seeded Kentucky Wildcats advanced to the Final Four from this brutal region, the lowest seed among the Final Four teams, and nobody is referencing Cinderella in regard to UK.

This freshman-laden team appeared to turn a corner in the SEC tournament and is not turning back. They’ve been battle tested and are accustomed to pressure after narrowly winning in instant classics against Louisville and Michigan. Wisconsin has not played a team playing at the level that the Wildcats are playing at right now. After a roller coaster regular season and questions about the wisdom of heavily recruiting freshmen not likely to return for a sophomore season, Coach Calipari appears to be ready for another “last laugh” in the NCAA Tournament.

ONE SHINING MOMENT

For all of the criticism about how weak the SEC is in basketball relative to the other power conferences, and all-SEC championship game is not far-fetched. On the other hand, the title matchup could be the first involving a team departed from the Big East after last season. And what about Wisconsin? Could Bo Ryan be rewarded for his years of patience and diligence with a National Championship. To be determined in Arlington, TX….  

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls! 

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.