Take a Drive to Detroit ...

Across the Pond:
BIG EAST Basketball Takes a Leisurely Drive to 8 Mile Road
NCAA Final Four in Detroit to have distinct Eastern Hoops Flavor

By Terry Lyons http://www.terrylyons.com

(”It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m going to make it anyway) Sometimes I just feel like Quittin’ I still might Why do I put up this fight? Why do I still write?”

BOSTON, Massachusetts – April 1– It happens every year during late March and April as springtime in the Hub brings out busloads of tourists who enjoy the finer points of one of the very best cities in all of the world.

Harvard Square was vibrant. The Back Bay was packed. Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market were jammed. Legal Seafood was dishin’ out the clam chowder and “Johnnie’s on the Side” in the West End hosted the Pitt alum, serving “Kettle Chips, alongside signature dishes like red flannel hash, thick pork chops, Portuguese kale soup and steaks.” The freedom trail was hopping. The quaint South End restaurants were serving brunch to capacity crowds while the North End Italian eateries, some with only eight or 10 tables with red checkered table cloths, were serving the homemade pasta and shrimp scampi.

There was a very unusual thing about the thousands of tourists invading Boston this weekend. Guess what? They all had Pennsylvania state driver’s licenses and many wore sweatshirts, warm-ups with scripted “Pitt” embroidered nicely into the 100% cotton or Long sleeve t-shirts with a huge letter “V” and caps that read ‘NOVA or PITT.

The Quaker State Championship, ahem, make that the NCAA East Regional Final, was held at TD Banknorth Garden tonight and the parting gift to the Villanova Wildcats (30-7) was an all expenses paid trip to Detroit, Michigan’s Ford Field for the NCAA Final Four for weekend of April 4-5-6th, 2009. Rarely does a regional final boast two teams from the same college conference, never mind from the same state in the union. Villanova earned the trip with an exciting 78-76 last second victory over Pittsburgh in a game that will be on ‘everybody’s’ Top 10 list amongst the very best games in collegiate basketball tournament history.

The stakes in college basketball are very high as the NCAA Tournament and the Final Four have become must watch, appointment viewing for American sports fans and an increasing global audience. Along with the NFL’s Super Bowl, MLB’s World Series, the Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500 and the NBA Finals, the championship for men’s college basketball has become an national pastime. Final Four Saturday, with two games pitting four NCAA teams with four tournament wins under their belts, is one of the very best days sport has to offer. Only the Breeders’ Cup in horse racing offers a better card on any given single day.

The interesting fact about the 2009 NCAA Final Four is that it has become somewhat of a “Mike Tranghese Invitational” – a moniker I am happy to tag on next week’s tournament in honor of the outgoing BIG EAST commissioner who had to be proud to see the Uconn Huskies punch a ticket to the tourney about 10 minutes before the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Villanova Wildcats tipped it up here in Beantown. Then, in a game that will surely go down as one of the great collegiate basketball games of the ages, Eastern Regional champion Villanova joined their conference rival Uconn Huskies for the junket to Ford Field, a place where all the crazy car-makers convene for Detroit Lions NFL exhibition wins and regular season losses throughout the fall. It’s a place very near 8-Mile Road for you Eminem fans.

Uconn and ‘Nova BIG EAST rival Louisville fell to coach Tom Izzo’s dangerous Michigan State team while in earlier NCAA Sweet 16 action, perennial BIG EAST contender Syracuse failed to make it out of the regional semifinals when they lost to college player of the year and top NBA prospect Blake Griffin and his Oklahoma Sooners. (Which quickly brings out the quip that Griffin, after his sophomore year, will be headed to the NBA “Sooners” than “Laters.”)

FUN FACTS and NOTES: The NCAA Eastern Regional all-tournament team included: Sam Young (Pittsburgh), DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh), Dwayne Anderson (Villanova), Dante Cunningham (Villanova) and the Most Outstanding Player was Scottie Reynolds of Villanova. … The last time a single college conference sent three teams to the Final 4 was 1985 when the BIG EAST sent Villanova, Georgetown and St. John’s – along with Memphis State – to Rupp Arena in Lexington. That year, Villanova upset Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas in a thriller that many believe is the single greatest tournament game in NCAA history … The placement of two teams at the Final 4 from the same conference is actually quite common. It was last done in 2006 when the Southeastern conference sent eventual champion Florida and regional finalist LSU to the big dance. The feat was also accomplished by the BIG 10 when Illinois and Michigan State represented their powerhouse collection of schools in 2005 … Pittsburgh’s Sam Young played 38 of 40 minutes and scored 28 poionts on 10-of-17 shooting … On the flip-side, and the winning side, tourney MVP point guard Scottie Reynolds of Villanova shot 4-for11 from the field to score 15 points, one assist and four turnovers. … Villanova out-rebounded Pittsburgh 33-28 and Pitt Coach Jamie Dixon made special note of “ Villanova’s physical nature, experience, strength and their ability to play with amazing determination.”…

Do you think Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats might have a line to write on the dry erase board this coming week?

“Hit the burbs and all you see is a blur on 8-mile road.” – Lyrics in first paragraph of this column and the last by Eminem.