Two in Tampa: A Fan's Dream

by Jonah Keri
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 at 6:58 PM

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	AP Photo/Mike Carlson San Diego's Gyno Pomare (21) blocks a shot by Connecticut's Hasheem Thabeet (34) during the second half of an NCAA West Regional first round tournament basketball game Friday March 21, 2008, in Tampa, Fla. Pomare scored 22 points in San Diego's 70-69 overtime win.

We had to settle for Tim Brando instead of Gus Johnson. Other than that, the two games in Tampa today were a college hoops fan's dream.

No. 13 seed San Diego provided the heroics this time, knocking no. 4 UConn out of the tournament in a thrilling 70-69 overtime win. With Western Kentucky pulling out a 101-99 win for the ages earlier, no. 12 will battle no. 13 for a ticket to the Sweet 16 (and likely match-up with UCLA) in the West.

So many angles to cover in this game. Here were the biggies for me:

— Brando kept hammering on UConn's lethargic offensive play in the first half, noting that their big guys weren't getting involved. The reason for this was simple, though: When the Huskies lost point guard and team leader A.J. Price to a knee injury midway through the first half, it completely changed the team's offense. The loss of Price meant UConn lost its best dribble penetrator, its best passer and best perimeter-scoring threat all at once. With Price out, San Diego was able to pack things in on defense, limiting Hasheem Thabeet, Stanley Robinson, and Jeff Adrien offensively. Thabeet and Adrien eventually got theirs later in the game, but San Diego's early cushion gave them the chance to spring the upset in the first place. Craig Austrie and Doug Wiggins just aren't as good as Price at running the offense, and it showed.

— Jerome Dyson almost won it for UConn anyway. Dyson repeatedly used his quickness to take defenders off the dribble and get to the rim and the foul line, spearheading Connecticut's second-half comeback. It was a great performance by the former starter, following his suspension earlier this year by Coach Jim Calhoun. It's really tough to be right in this business, so might as well speak up on the rare occasion when something clicks. Like these two columns by some hack (that would be me) about Dyson being crucial for UConn's chances.

— Hasheem Thabeet is going to have his problems in the NBA. Gyno Pomare is a solid college player, to be sure. But thanks largely to Thabeet's slow reaction time and lack of mobility, Pomare looked like Bill Walton circa 1973, draining 10 of 12 shots from the field for 22 points and carrying the Toreros throughout much of the game. Pomare's favorite play was to screen out high for one of San Diego's guards, then flair out to the elbow 15 feet away, catch and shoot. He did this about 7,812 times. Everyone in the arena knew it was coming. And Thabeet couldn't do anything to stop it. Later, Rob Jones hit a crucial basket in overtime while drawing a foul on Thabeet, driving right into the big man and neutralizing his shot-blocking ability. Connecticut's 7-foot-3 big man is a lot better than he used to be, but he's still very much a work in progress.

— San Diego won this game because it kept finding different options. Pomare carried the load through much of the first half. When his scoring cooled and he eventually got into foul trouble, Brandon Johnson hit some big shots, going for 18 points, albeit on erratic 7-for-19 shooting. Johnson's line-drive jumper in overtime while playing on one leg after a late injury was especially inspiring. When Johnson could barely move, then fouled out himself, Jones hit some big buckets, going for 14 points and six rebounds for the day. Finally, after Dyson hit two big free throws to give UConn the lead with less than 10 seconds left, San Diego called a time out — and turned the play over to their fourth option, sophomore guard De'Jon Johnson, an anemic 1 for 9 from the field at that point. Johnson caught the inbounds pass, dribbled to a spot a step inside the three-point, then fired a fall-away jumper over Robinson's outstretched long arm … and nailed it.

Texas, Butler, and Georgetown all rolled to easy victories, cementing all three teams' positions as tough outs in this tournament. Luckily, this is March, where an up-and-down team from the West Coast Conference can blaze through its conference tournament, then knock out one of the biggest traditional powers in college basketball.

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