:-D

What a glorious day in basketball!
Both Indiana (formerly #15) and UNC scored somewhat major victories. North Carolina's was a solid pounding of the higher-ranked NC State, while IU narrowly edged out the foul Ohio State Buckeyes (formerly #18) by breaking a score tied at 79 with less than a minute on the clock. After trailing OSU the entire first half and even suffering a 17-point deficit - the highest yet for the season - the Hoosiers stepped up their game with a string of 3-pointers. There was a total of something like ten lead changes and one small break came near the end when OSU MVP Terence Dials fouled out. Dad started playing "Taps" for the Hoosiers with nine minutes and change left to play, but his team pulled through, despite Coach Davis's fumbles, including an early, momentum-shattering (accidental?) Time-Out. As usual, Marco Killingsworth was the player of the game, leaving little room to wonder why three of my non-Hoosier fan friends included him on their lists of the top five NCAA players this season. Kentucky fell to unranked Kansas (Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk U! Woo!) as well, parelleling Illinois' (formerly #6) humiliation at Iowa. With the Fightin' Illini a considerably less intimidating threat, Indiana may have the means to take the Big Ten this year. Now all that remains is to rename the arena KNIGHT Arena and to reinstate The General as coach. Davis' attidtude has been developing into a primadonna complex, complete with little tantrums on the floor, disputes with the refs, and a constant glower. Now, if he had coached teams like the 1975 and 1976 Hoosiers or won as many championships as Bobby Knight, his hissy fits could be overlooked or at least completely hidden by those pretty crimson banners that get hung from the rafters when the team dominates a season. But the simple facts are these: 1) Indiana, as a classically and consistently (until Davis took the helm) excellent basketball school, is a destination coaching job: once there, there's no reason to move. 2) Davis claims to be a strong Christian, but his actions on the court are anything but Christlike. 3) Davis isn't Bobby Knight. Texas Tech will never be a program to compare to Indiana's glory days with Knight as head coach, with arguaby two of the best teams ever produced in college basketball, multiple championships, and many many many close calls when they couldn't quite make it to the Big Dance. Anyway, let's hope this streak of glory for IU and UNC last; those who laughed at me for sticking to my teams can either eat their words or shove them where the sun don't shine; take your pick.