We are heading into the final weekend of college basketball and I can’t believe it. The final four upon us and we are just days away from crowning a new champion but before we get there, here are some things I wanted to discuss in the Big 12.
Arizona is Our Last Hope
The boys from Tucson are now officially the Big 12’s only hope to win a national championship. In fact, they were the only team from the conference to even reach the elite eight due to Iowa State’s poor rebounding and free throw shooting and Houston’s piss poor shooting. I guess if there was one saving grace it’s that Illinois bounced Iowa because it was one of the few things that gave me joy last weekend. Well, that and having a few cold ones of course.
Now Arizona turns their attention to Michigan and no disrespect to Illinois and UConn but feels like this should be the final instead of the semifinal. Michigan and Arizona are by far the two most complete teams in the final four. Hell, they were the two most complete teams going into the tournament.
The Wolverines can match Arizona’s size, and they can rebound with the best of them. Yaxel Lendeborg, the Cyborg, is a matchup nightmare for anyone. But the thing Arizona is that they have faced top tier talent more times than I can count, which isn’t that high, but you get my point.
The thing with Michigan is that they are more of a hot and cold team than Arizona is. They have some sky high Cheech and Chong moments but also the lows of a bad hangover. Where Arizona is more like a long-distance runner from Kenya. They are just steady the whole time and stack up wins.
If Arizona plays their A game, they will not be beat. The trio of Brayden Burries, Koa Peat, and Jaden Bradley is about as consistent as it gets but what I love about this team is that even if one of them has an off night, someone else will step up. That’s what makes them so dangerous, it’s their depth. Plus, they can adapt to any style and don’t rely on making 10 to 15 three pointers to win games. They are as fundamentally as sound as it gets and that is why I believe they will be cutting down the net on Monday night.
Tommy Lloyd’s Comments
After Arizona’s win over Purdue last weekend, head coach Tommy Lloyd was asked about rumors of him being connected to the North Carolina job. And instead of denying it, he brought up that Arizona will “have another good coach after me.”
Not exactly the best choice of words there Tommy boy. Since then, he has commented about his statement the other day saying “It’s absolutely true. There’s going to be another coach. This is a great program. I didn’t say when. Nothing, nothing — I promise you, nothing — is knocking me off that path. And you guys might call them distractions because you’re distracted”
Well Tommy, we were only distracted because of your dumb ass comments. If you had taken care of it the first time around by saying you aren’t interested and that your focus is on the final four then we wouldn’t even be talking about this at all. It would have died right there on the spot. Instead, for some reason YOU decided to bring up the fact that Arizona would have great next coach after you are gone.
Otz Staying Put
Tommy Lloyd wasn’t the only Big 12 coach connected to the UNC job because so was our very own T.J. Otzelberger. Yes, I said our because I am one of you now and I couldn’t be more damn proud. In fact, I am not going to lie to you, I got a little emotional last Friday night after the loss to Tennessee. But I am a big boy and I can handle pain. I am a Houston Texans after all, so I am used to it.
Anyways, I just wanted to say how good it is for Iowa State and the Big 12 to have a coach like T.J. in the conference. Anytime your name gets brought up with a program like North Carolina, you have to feel honored because that is one of the bluebloods in the sport. That’s a dream job for a lot of coaches out there and for Otz, I think he’s at his dream job and it’s Iowa State.
Little ole Ames, Iowa is where he wants to be and I can’t blame him one bit. Hilton is a great home, the fan base is passionate, and he gets plenty of support. On top of that, his players love him there and love being there and that’s what brings interest. There’s a reason a lot of big-time players want to come to Iowa State.
In these times of the transfer portal, NIL, you name it, stability is crucial. Because at a lot of other schools, stability is not an option or just something that aren’t used to because of all the changes year in and year out.
T.J. was the perfect guy to take over after Steve Prohm, and when this program was down after Fred left, he picked it back up and in five years has made three sweet sixteens which no other coach in Iowa State history has done. I know he hasn’t made an elite eight yet but he’s going to get there sooner rather than later and if he isn’t already, he is going to go down as the greatest coach in Iowa State basketball history when he’s done in Ames.
