Sorry this is late, but I’m having amazing wireless issues at the hotel.
Four From The Floor:
1. On Saturday night I thought the UCLA basketball team was staying here, but it turned out to be the UCLA track team. I asked one of the athletes in the hotel elevator this morning if it was a coincidence that they were here when their basketball team was playing in the NCAA Tournament. He said, “Yeah, it’s coincidence. If we had planned this we would have planned on them winning.” Now they have to go find a new basketball coach. Ben Howland’s off-the-court issues ended up getting him fired.
2. There has been a lot of talk at this regional in Austin about how the Big Ten teams have shown a lot of offense now that they’re not facing Big Ten defenses. We’ll see tonight if that holds true, but Minnesota certainly put up a lot of points in its first game. Michigan looks like an offensive juggernaut. Even Michigan State scored some points. There’s some truth to the theory that these guys are so happy not to be playing against each other.
3. See ya, Gonzaga. I don’t know anybody who had the Zags going very far in the tournament. There’s just something to be said for not playing against high-quality competition in the season.
4. If you had told me back on Nov. 29 that I was watching a Sweet 16 team when Florida pounded Marquette 82-49, I would’ve told you that you were crazy. In that game Vander Blue scored 20 points, but nobody else on the team scored more than six. I remember walking away from the game thinking this isn’t a tournament team. And now they’re one of the last 16 standing. It just shows you what a good coach Buzz Williams is.
