Having grown up in the New York City area

2007-03-12

Having grown up in the New York City area, there is nothing more exciting to me than the Big East Tournament. U Conn, Syracuse, Georgetown, Villanova, and St. John’s epitomize all that is great about college basketball. Tradition, rivalries, and pure competition make the Big East the most exciting conference in my opinion. You can keep your ACC and Big 12; I’ll take the Big East any day of the week. With that being said, I looked at the first semifinal of the tournament and saw that Georgetown was favored by 4 ½ against Notre Dame. In my eyes, the Hoyas are one of the best teams in the land, while the Irish are just a bunch of pretenders. No inside game, an over-reliance on the 3, and no star player equals a first or second round exit from the NCAA tournament for me. So, naturally, I picked G’Town to win by that margin. With 8 days remaining before St. Patrick’s Day, would the luck of the Irish rub off on me or would it side with its brethren from South Bend?

Notre Dame has lived and died by the 3 all season, and early on in the game it seemed as though they were living the good life due to their ability to knock down the deep ball. With 7 three point baskets in tow, the Irish opened up a 35-21 lead and I was already hanging my head. Open shots, contested shots; it just didn’t matter. Notre Dame was feeling it and there was nothing Georgetown could do. While you always know that the 3’s will even out, you never know if that means that a hot team will cool off later in the game or in the next game. Feeling that Notre Dame was looking to gain some respect, I felt that this was only the beginning and that my bet was hopeless. The Irish were looking to make a statement and it appeared as though I was going to feel the brunt of it.

As luck would have it, I was 100% wrong in my assumption and soon enough, Georgetown was back in the game. The Hoyas began to establish themselves in the paint, and they cut the deficit to 2 at the half. I completely turned my mindset around and felt confident that they would eventually cover. They had taken ND’s best punch and hadn’t been knocked out. If they continued to play their brand of basketball, they could easily win by 5 or more. My bet did not seem nearly as bleak as it did just minutes before, and I was going to ride the Hoya train as far as it would take me.

Sadly for myself, Georgetown won the game, but lost my battle. The Irish were able to withstand any Hoya push and did not allow the game to get out of hand. A late 7-0 run tied the game up and my wager was all but lost. Georgetown did just enough to win, 84-82, but I was not in a celebratory mood. If they had only kept their foot on the gas instead of yielding, they could’ve won the game and helped me in the process. Instead, they moved on, while my money went elsewhere. Another great Big East Tournament game was in the books, and although I was happy I had tuned in, I was upset that my pick had tuned out.

Till tomorrow, may all your bets be winners.

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