COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dejan Kovacevic wrote an interesting Talking Point entry on why he thinks all professional athletes should be vaccinated en masse.
On Saturday, college basketball received another kind of shot in the arm. Jalen Suggs’ 40-foot buzzer-beater lifted Gonzaga past UCLA and ended one of the best NCAA Final Four games in recent memory. It reminded many of us what we love about sports and sparked Christian-Laettner-like flashbacks of the tournament.
If Gonzaga beats Baylor on Monday, Mark Few’s team will be the first to complete an undefeated season since Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers did it in 1976. It’s a storyline that lures casual fans and supplies positive headlines to a college game that's in need of them.
Last year's tournament was the first high-profile sporting event victimized by the pandemic. Even as college basketball returned this season, it did so largely behind close doors due to COVID-19 restrictions. All sports are better played in front of packed arenas, but few atmospheres are more frenetic and intimate than ones played on college campuses.
The sacrifices these student-athletes have made this season -- many of them not getting to go home for the holidays or spend much time around their families -- is extraordinary. Meanwhile, so much of the news has been dispiriting with a flood of athletes entering the NCAA transfer portal. Pitt hoops fans are losing track of who still remains on Jeff Capel's roster.
The Final Four offered a welcome respite. UCLA had no transfers on its roster. Gonzaga has one. Baylor has two. This year’s tournament also has a throwback vibe to it in regards to program continuity. There was only one freshman starter, Suggs, among the Final Four participants. I'm all for kids making money as soon as possible, but it's been a nice change of pace just six years removed from the national-champion Duke Blue Devils having three one-and-dones in its starting lineup.
It was all about the college game Saturday, and UCLA-Gonzaga gave us one to remember. The tempo and execution were great. Both teams shot around 58 percent from the field. The only drawback to Suggs' miraculous 3-pointer is it denied fans a second overtime.
I'll be watching Monday night. Will you?
YOUR TURN: Where does the UCLA-Gonzaga thriller rank among your favorite Final Four games?