Xavier Lets It Slip Away

After two days of relative quiet and normalcy in the NCAA tournament, today's Xavier-Ohio State game was something to see. I had Ohio State beating them in five of the six brackets I filled out, but I was still disappointed to see it happen. I hate when an underdog like Xavier thoroughly outplays a team for most of the second half and then coughs it all up in the final three minutes. Ohio State's top attraction, freshman Greg Oden, couldn't look more bored. This makes me feel bad for him when things aren't going well -- it's like he's going to be blamed for something that he doesn't even care much about it -- but it makes it hard to root for him when things are going well. Winning a game like that should produce some display of emotion. I think even Tim Duncan would've pumped a fist at some point. But Oden really looks comatose out there. The Buckeyes' guards were much more active and enthusiastic, and it looks they'll have to carry this team as far as it will go.

On a related note, CBS announcer Gus Johnson has to be the worst play-by-play guy in the business. He kept screaming things like "cold-blooded player" with many minutes to go in the game. He famously lost his marbles during the moment below in last year's Gonzaga-UCLA contest (an admittedly dramatic game), but overall he's dialed up way too high for my taste. Other than his presence, today's Xavier-Ohio State tilt was a dandy. I'm expecting the same from Louisville and Texas A&M in a few minutes...