Johnny B. Goode


The last game of yeserday's college basketball fiesta was the wildest and most satisfying in a while. Somehow the men of UCLA defeated No. 1 seed Michigan to make it to the Final Four. Actually, it wasn't somehow, it was a guy named Johnny Juzang. He went nuts in the first half, and after turning his ankle in the second half, he still returned to make a difference.

The game came down to the last half-second. With 0.5 on the game clock, Michigan fired up a shot that would have won the game. But it didn't go in.

UCLA was an 11-seed, and it had had to win a play-in game even to make the basic field of 64. Now it's in the Final Four, where it will have to deal with the evil Men From Spokane, who are undefeated this year.

The other men's matchup is Baylor vs. Houston. With both teams being from Texas, you wish there was some way they could both lose. But Baylor has the skills to send Houston packing. Which is fine, because I'm already tired of hearing about Clyde Drexler.

There are no teams in the men's Final Four from east of the Mississippi River. I don't think that's ever happened.

Over on the women's side, there are two left from the West, and two from the East. Stanford and Arizona have made it to the Final Four, along with Connecticut and South Carolina. Yesterday Stanford fell behind Louisville, but came back in high-flying fashion to take the win. Arizona sent Indiana back to Penceville.

The women's games are on Friday, with Stanford vs. South Carolina going first. The men's games are on Saturday, with Houston vs. Baylor going first.

There have been many upsets in the course of  the tournaments, but in the end it has come down to mostly chalk, except for UCLA. The Final Four men's seeds were 1-1-2-11. The women's were 1-1-1-3.

Of the eight teams remaining, three are from the Pac-12 Conference. Coming in with zero are the ACC, the Big East, and the Big 10. This year, the west is quite clearly the best.

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