One year ago I was writing and talking about one of the most bizarre NCAA games in recent years. Yep, just one year ago the AGGIES had a basketball team.
They had come from 12 down with :44 seconds to play against Northern Iowa. The game eventually went to double overtime. The Aggies won and were headed for Anaheim. The game also featured a first-half power failure. The Aggies power was missing too until the final 44 seconds. Northern Iowa had upset Texas to get to the A&M game. What a difference one year makes.
Villanova knows about a difference. From champs to losers in the game with Wisconsin. The Badgers won despite not one reference regarding J.J. Watt or his 14 brothers who also went to Madison. South Carolina took out Duke and Carolina coach Frank Martin set a personal record with a 3 second smile. He was scary at K-State and even scarier at the school that used to pay Lou Holtz. UCLA, minus John Wooden, is back in the SWEET 16 and so is North Carolina. Coach Roy Williams' other big paying school is still alive too. Kansas. Rock. Chalk. Jayhawk. A cheer that was born of "nothing else ryhmes".
I hope Purdue gets to the Final Four. Their last adventure in that elite group was 1980. I covered that one at Market Sq. Arena in Indy. They don't have the same players.