Sweet and Sour

So yesterday I predicted that these would be great games:

Duke/LSU
WV/Texas
BC/Villanova
Gonzaga/UCLA*

*This should be a good game in theory, but I just can't believe that Gonzaga could actually get to the Elite Eight. UCLA runs away with it.

And Memphis/Bradley could be a good game if Bradley shows up, but they won't. They're just happy to be there.

And the Duke, West Virgina games were throughly great. And the Gonzaga game was a stunner, although my analysis was a little off. In hindsight, Gonzaga looks like they're running away with it, but I just can't believe that Gonzaga could actually get to the Elite Eight. This is a good game and Ucla wins it.

Also, I feel like I need to say how awesome the bracket contest makes everything. Without it I wouldn't have a rooting interest in West Virgina/Texas, but with it, I was screaming by myself in my apartment, throwing a foam basketball around, hitting a pillow and just plain ol going bananas.

Last night was so good it deserves a recap:

C'mon CBS, switch to the Duke game! It's tied and I'm stuck watching Bradley lose by 10. Come on!

Redick makes both free throws (barely) to cut the LSU lead to 1, with 38 seconds to go.
Duke lets Tyrus Thomas go free and he gets an uncontested dunk, LSU up 3 with 32 seconds left.

So even though Redick has been slumping hasn't he earned the chance to shoot a 3 in this position? Apparently not. Paulus misses a layup and has to foul LSU.
Makes the first shot. LSU up 4 with 21 seconds left.
He misses the second...and Big Baby with the LSU rebound!
Okay 19 seconds left, makes the first one, LSU up 5. Coach takes away LSU rebounders to get back on defense.
Second attempt...and of the 4 Duke players standing at the lane, no one blocks out the one LSU player on that half of the court - the shooter, Big Baby! He gets his own rebound! And Duke officially gave up. Redick bows out in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year with a bad game.

Onward!

I need West Virgina to beat Texas to stay ahead of Sakina.
Ugh, WV down 39-27 at the half, it looks like their shoot nothing but 3's philisophy might be hurting them.
In the first 53 seconds of the second half, WV goes on a 8-0 run! Will Texas get Pittsnogled?
WV finally ties the game with 8 minutes left.
Still tied with 6 minutes, looks like another great finish.
Pittsnogle "fouls" a Texas player, but Pittsnogle takes a elbow to the nose and he's bleeding.
Uh-oh. WV down 5 with 26 seconds left. Looks like it might be over. Pittsnogle shoves more bloody cotton up his nose.
They're taking a long time...and Gansey with the 3! WV down 2, 18 seconds left.
With 14 seconds left, Texas misses the first FT. At worst WV can tie with a 3. Texas makes the second shot.
With 7 seconds left they run the play to get a 3 pointer by...Bloody Pittsnogle! It's good. 5 seconds left. Ohmygodthey'renottakingatimeout, Texasisshootingathree, c'monbric--It's good! Texas wins!

Since Texas didn't take a timeout, the final 13 seconds were like an extremely short episode of 24 - in real time and had 2 twists!

Onward!

Gonzaga is up 37-20 in the first half. UCLA looks terrible.
With 14 minutes to go, it's 50-40. UCLA is hanging around.
With 3:26 left, Gonzaga up 71-62. Remember that. 71-62. 3 minutes to go.
UCLA scores, Morrison misses. UCLA scores, Batista misses. 71-66, UCLA ball. 1:30 remaining.
UCLA driving for a layup, gets fouled, and the ball goes in! But the ref is waiving it off?! Terrible call. Absolutely terrible. Could cost UCLA the game! The ref says that the foul occured on the floor, no basket. Absolutely wrong, and could kill UCLA's momentum. They should be shooting one to cut the lead to 2. Instead they are down 5, shooting a 1 and 1. And he misses! Wow. Gonzaga still up 5. The ref just stole a basket from the Bruins.
Morrison misses a shot with a minute left, UCLA scores again. 71-68 with 50 seconds left.
Morrison shoots with 20 seconds left, and misses again! UCLA gets fouled and makes 2 free throws.
Zags inbounding with 15 seconds left, only up by one. Morrison trapped in the corner. Gets it to a big man. It's stolen. UCLA lays it in. Their first lead of the game comes with 9 seconds left! 72-71. 9 seconds. Will Gonzaga take a timeout? No, they're pushing it up the floor, is that a foul, the ball is loose, everyone's diving on the floor, jump ball, arrow to the Bruins, Morrison is crying.
2 seconds left. Last second shot goes to Batista, no good. Morrison sprawled out on the floor. Ugh, I feel terrible for him.

He'll probably get/is getting a lot of flack for crying, but I can't blame him. I've cried over sports before, and I was only a fan. Heck, I've pouted when I paid 7 bucks for a bad sandwich. So to be up with that kind of lead, and then to see it get stolen away. Unbelievable. And it's not just that you lose a game. But you realize that you can never win another game for Gonzaga. That's the last time you'll ever put on the jersey, and it tears you up inside.

But on every amazing play, there will always be a winner and a loser, and that's what we love about it. Sweet. And sour.