Game 214 - (2) Villanova vs. (1) North Carolina

NCAA national championship game
April 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX
TBS

Hard to top a national championship game that ends on a buzzer beater.

Incredible.

Kris Jenkins' 3-pointer as time expired lifted Villanova to a 77-74 win & its second national title (first since 1985), completing a phenomenal season for the Big East school.

Couple things:

* Marcus Paige made what I thought was the 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. And by "3-pointer" I mean a ridiculous few moments where the guard rose to shoot, started to adjust mid-air and did some sort of stationery bicycle move before hitting the absurd shot to pull the teams even at 74-74 with 4 1/2 seconds to go.

* Ryan Arcidiacono had a really good two games in Houston (15.5 points, 11-15 FG) and was named the final four's Most Outstanding Player. His teammates also had a good final four as Josh Hart (17.5 points, 14-21 FG, including 10-for-12 in the blowout over Oklahoma), and Jenkins (16 points, 12-21 FG) were extremely valuable. But the only difference between the three is JENKINS HIT A BUZZER BEATER TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.

How does hitting a shot at the buzzer to win the national title not give Jenkins the edge over his teammates for MOP?

I heard some post game on the radio and John Thompson was saying Arcidiacono deserved the MOP for the two games he had & because he set up Jenkins for the winning three. Now, Arcidiacono did a fine job of getting the in-bounds pass and racing up the floor as quickly as possible, then setting up perfectly his teammate for a wide-open three.

But Jenkins was the one who MADE the three.

It's a minor thing, and I'm sure no one on Villanova cares at all, and they shouldn't because it doesn't really make any difference, but Kris Jenkins was the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

Game 213 - (7) Washington women vs. (4) Syracuse

NCAA Tournament national semifinals
April 3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN
ESPN2

Game 212: (2) Oregon state women vs. (1) Connecticut

NCAA national semifinals
April 3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN
ESPN

One win to go for the Huskies, who cruised past another opponent (80-51) and are now just a Tuesday victory from a fourth consecutive national title and 11th overall.

It is an absolute pleasure to watch Connecticut play basketball, and not just the stars. You can see the future of Connecticut basketball every single game because 1. plenty of underclassmen contribute; 2. plenty of 9th/10th/11th-players get their 5, 6 minutes at the ends of these routs & 3. Geno Auriemma is the best womens basketball coach of all time.

Of course, the stars are a joy to watch as well.

* Morgan Tuck is just a junior, but knowing very little about scouting or what WNBA teams currently need I would still expect her to forgo her senior year and be a first round pick.

With Breanna Stewart at two fouls just 2:05 in, Tuck took over, and honestly, this semifinal felt one-sided earlier than I expected.

* Stewart is so good that she had those two fouls and was held to just two first-half points, yet still finished with 16 points and only one more foul committed. And she played until a minute remained in the opening quarter.

I'm more impressed with Stewart each time I see her play.

* And I haven't even mentioned Moriah Jefferson, who is a phenomenal point guard with quickness and a pretty mid-range jump shot and who I expect will be an all star at the next level.

Connecticut is bad for womens basketball? No, all of the idiots who have said that, especially that one idiot.

Connecticut is a phenomenal team that wins a lot.

That's just GOOD.

Games 210 & 211 - Two remain

NCAA national semifinals
211 - (10) Syracuse vs. (1) North Carolina
210 - (2) Oklahoma vs. (2) Villanova
April 2 at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX
TBS

When the first of the following phrases were said by the announcing team:

* Grant Hill's first time calling Bill Raftery "Coach" - 14:21 left in first half

* Jay Wright dresses well. The reason I know this is because the announcers mention it EVERY SINGLE TIME VILLANOVA PLAYS. Hill invented yet another GQ/Jay Wright nickname and it was "JQ" (9:15 left in first)

* "Blow by" - 1:10 in first

* "Dribble drive" - 18:52 in second half

Some other made-up nonsense:

"Post rubs" (said twice)
"Space dribble (2)
"Trying to body search"
"Value the ball"
"Pick and pop" (2)

* And finally, Raftery said "they gotta get into the game a little bit, Oklahoma, the sooner the better" and "a little ricochet romance!", so he wasn't getting away with either of those things.