Some misguided sports commentators are calling Kansas’ 75-68 overtime victory over Memphis last night in the NCAA final a classic.
It was no classic … except to Jayhawks fans. For them it is rightly so. And, yes, that was an amazing comeback and an incredible 3-pointer to send it to OT.
But any game at this level that is decided by free throws, where one team throws up wildly errant attempts—from the charity stripe—and the bricks hopelessly clang off metal repeatedly … where one team chokes, over and over and over again from the free-throw line no less, can’t be called a classic.
I am not a fan of Memphis or Kansas. It didn’t really matter to me who won. And there was a certain amount of excitement. But how can Memphis even lift their heads after producing such woeful attempts when all they needed was one more miserable free throw to win the nation’s championship?
No, Memphis deserved to lose. They shot free throws like little boys chunking deflated orbs at a hoop with no net in a playground pick-up game.
Fans deserve better.
The one thing this game made famous is the strategy that won it— Hack-a-Tiger.
Sports and Ethics 