A Grip on Sports: How Florida won and Houston lost a national title is a Shakespearean tragedy that played out in four distinct acts
A GRIP ON SPORTS • The final play will be what college basketball fans will see for time eternal. Shown on a never-ending loop in the hell assigned to Houston followers and, in what can only be described as the twisted sense of humor among those who govern eternity, played over and over in the paradise open only to Florida’s fans. But the Gators’ 65-63 victory turned on more. Much more.
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• That the season ended Monday night with the nation’s second-best offensive team making the defensive stop of the year is just another of the game’s little ironies. College basketball contests are more often decided by which team handles its weaknesses better. Mainly because every team has weaknesses. Lots of them.
Houston’s showed up the final 10 minutes of the game. If the defense isn’t forcing turnovers and/or the Cougars can’t get to the offensive glass, Kelvin Sampson’s best offensive team – ever – still struggled to score. It’s not just the points those two categories supply, it is the energy that grows from them. It helps the Coogs impose their will.
As they did for the first few minutes of the second half. Until the Florida bench received a deserved – and possibly planned – technical foul. At that point, less than 3 minutes into the half, the Gators had been whistled for six fouls, most a direct result of trying to amp up their physicality to meet Houston’s. They weren’t succeeding. And the Cougars were in the midst of building a double-digit lead.
Over the next 10-plus minutes, the foul count did a Rockford Turn. Houston was hit with 11, the Gators one. And the Coogs’ offense slowed to a crawl.
Florida? It took off, mainly in transition after another physical stop on the defensive end. It was no wonder former Washington State big man Rueben Chinyelu picked up the Gators’ second technical with 7:13 left. He had just been cited for contact he and his teammates had been feeding off of for 10 minutes.
Then again, by then the game was tied. The final stretch would be a tug-of-war, with no team getting ahead by more than three points. It was bound to come down to the wire. Every possession, every point, every miss would matter.
As it does all game, though that’s often forgotten. Just like J’wan Roberts’ late-first-half miss – that wasn’t one, really – will fade into the mists of time.
The Cougars’ led by six with less than a minute until intermission. Roberts tried to score inside. The ball hung on the rim, until a Florida defender knocked it off. It was obvious in real-time. Perfectly clear on replay. But it wasn’t called. Walter Clayton Jr. gathered in the board, raced upcourt, fed Will Richard and Richard’s fourth 3-pointer cut the lead in half. And that’s how the half ended.
College basketball’s weird replay rules don’t allow for review of goaltending unless it’s called on the floor. Miss it once, it’s missed forever. Call it wrong, review is possible and it’s wiped away. The five-point swing loomed large. Maybe even larger than Clayton’s last-second switch and 3-point challenge on Emanuel Sharp that will play on a loop forever in The Swamp.
• As college hoops aficionados turned their eyes to San Antonio, their football counterparts watched intently a hearing in an Oakland, Calif. Federal courthouse.
U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken was holding a final hearing on the House case, examining a settlement that may change college athletics forever.
Wilken did not rule on the settlement. She asked several questions, based mainly on objections from those impacted by the changes or those feeling they were unfairly left out of the financial equations.
“Basically, I think it is a good settlement” she said before asking, presumably with a smile, not to be quoted. “I think it is worth pursuing and I think some of these things could be fixed if people tried to fix them, and that it would be worth their while to try to fix them.”
Roster size and future athletes’ concerns seem to be at the basis of Wilkin’s hesitancy. She gave the attorneys for both sides time to work out changes and then will hold another hearing. In other words, nothing was finalized. And the hoped-for panacea, or at least the expected band-aid, will have to wait a little longer.
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WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, who will be the best teams next season? There is no way of knowing, not with any precision, right now. Any type of “Way-Too-Early Top 25” is only available for clicks. So, if you want to supply some, here is Jon Wilner’s in the S-R and others from around the nation. … Wilner’s mailbag, which we linked in the Mercury News over the weekend, ran in the S-R today. … John Canzano has a mailbag from Monday that answers a lot of Pac-12 questions. … Oregon got a bunch of good news on the roster front this week. … Arizona State has spent the past week reshaping its roster again. … New immigration policies may hit San Diego State’s roster. … In the women’s game, Paige Bueckers finally got her moment. As did UConn. Wait, the Huskies got their 12th moment. That’s a lot. … Arizona’s roster is almost empty as three more players leave and former coach Adia Barnes attracts most to SMU. … In football news, a former Washington player was one of those who had objections in the House hearing. … Oregon finally welcomes a new tight end a year after he transferred. Yes, he was injured. … Oregon State just lost a safety to the portal. … Colorado will be young up front on defense. … Utah will have to replace a key defender who transferred to BYU. … It’s time for a new receiver to take over the leadership spot at Arizona. … Boise State is trying to get better on special teams this spring. … Fresno State is trying to make more money from its stadium, tradition be darned.
Gonzaga: Ben Gregg grew up a Zag fan. From a young age. And he grew into a crucial piece of the program. Though the on-court part of that took almost as long. Jim Meehan covers the ups and downs of Gregg’s five years at Gonzaga, including what it all meant to the latest Mr. Zag. … Michael Ajayi wasn’t the contributor he hoped he would be when he transferred from Pepperdine to GU. So he’s trying again, using the extra year allowed by a federal ruling concerning JC transfers into a spot at Butler. Jim has more on that as well.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, former Central Valley high star Dylan Darling went on Instagram last week and pledged to return to Idaho State. The former Washington State reserve had found new life in Pocatello and was the conference’s player of the year. A week later Darling’s name is in the portal and the post has been scrubbed. … An incoming Montana State transfer has been working to get to Bozeman for a long time. … Injuries are part of football. One Montana player knows that too well. … Weber State just picked up a huge donation.
Preps: Baseball was in the offing Monday despite spring break for the GSL schools. Cheryl Nichols has the roundup.
Mariners: The M’s returned home battered, bruised and in last place. But one of their beat-up warriors, Jorge Polanco, came through in the bottom of the eighth with a seeing-eye single and Seattle won 4-3. By the way, Logan Gilbert was brilliant again. … Victor Robles is on the injured list with a dislocated shoulder.
Storm: We linked this Matt Calkins’ column on Sue Bird a day or two ago. We link it again today in the S-R.
Seahawks: There is no getting around it. The Hawks need help on the offensive line. It has to be a draft priority. … Geno Smith talked with the Las Vegas media Monday. And wasn’t all that kind about how his time in Seattle ended.
Kraken: No playoffs for Seattle. But the Kraken are making the runup pretty miserable for some playoff bound teams, such as L.A. Kings. Seattle took a 2-1 decision in Los Angeles, opening its five-game road trip with a 3-0 mark.
Masters: Rain at Augusta. No Tiger Woods. Scottie Scheffler trying to win his third green jacket in four years. Good conversation starters.
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• There seemed to be four distinct sections of last night’s NCAA men’s title game. The first half, which was free-flowing and fast. The first three minutes of the second half, which was choppy and disjointed in one way. The next 10 minutes, which was also choppy and disjointed but in a different way. And the final seven minutes, which was an excellent game within the game. Until later …