After the Louisville Cardinals defeated Wichita State and the Syracuse Orange were knocked off by the Michigan Wolverines this past Saturday, the final duo was set for Monday night’s NCAA Basketball Championship Game.
Both the energy and attendance levels were at an all-time high in the Georgia Dome on Monday evening as the large stadium that is normally used to host professional football was reconfigured in order to host college basketball’s most important game. Players must have felt extra important as they walked, jogged and sprinted along an elevated surface that essentially straddled the 50-yard line.
Surprisingly, the Michigan Wolverines got out to a fast start, hitting their three-point shots and making their layups while stymieing Louisville on the other end of the court. Inexplicably, 5′ 11″ backup shooting guard Spike Albrecht, who stole the show throughout the first half by putting on a shooting clinic, swished or rattled in every shot he took from the floor early on, thus keeping his magnanimous streak of consecutive made shots in the tournament alive through halftime of the Championship Game.
The freakish and gruesome injury of Louisville swingman Kevin Ware was still in the hearts and minds of many fans, and the Cardinals were clearly playing this game in on behalf of their fallen member. Point guard Russ Smith set out to have a game that not only endeared him to the many NBA scouts who were watching this game closely, but also to honor Ware and make sure that his courageous teammate was able to cut down the nets once regulation time had concluded.
Although Smith was surprisingly benched to begin the second half, he was able to play a role down the stretch and redeem himself for an overall lackluster effort in the first 30 minutes. Hard work on the boards resulted in Louisville attaining a large handful of important rebounds down the stretch, many of which resulted in easy put-backs that sent the attending Louisville legion into a frenzy.
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was very gracious in the aftermath of his magnanimous victory, giving praise to the Wolverines and their highly-skilled veteran coach. No one knows what the future holds for Pitino, who was recently inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. The 60-year-old New York City native is also active in professional horseracing, which he is likely to devote his attention to once he retires from basketball. Here’s hoping that occurrence will be later as opposed to sooner.
