By Hal McCoy
UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from UD Arena, a special edition from the site of the NCAA First Four basketball tournament. Just somethinng to entertain me before baseball’s ‘real’ Opening Day a week from Thursday in Cincinnati
—UNWELCOME GUESTS: While the University of North Carolina was taking shots against San Diego State Tuesday night, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey was taking some well-aimed shots at the Tarheels from his statehouse in Charleston.
Morrisey ordered his state attorney general, J.B. McCluskey, to conduct a deep investigation into the NCAA’s selection process.
Why?
Because the NCAA thumb-snubbed West Virginia and invited North Carolina.
What’s wrong with that?
To begin with, the NCAA’s selection committee chairman is Bubba Cummings, who just happens to be North Carolina’s athletic director.
And what’s West Virginia’s gripe? Well, the Mountaineers went 18-12 with wins over four teams in the NCAA field — Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State. Take me home, country road.
While North Carolina entered the tournament with a 22-13 record, the Tarheels were 1-12 in Quad 1 games and 1-8 against ranked teams.
Sounds like some Carolina BBQ home cooking, to me.
Then North Carolina took the UD Arena floor Tuesday night, backed by a howling mob of followers, and took San Diego State apart piece by piece, like a trip behind the Arena to flog and whip the defenseless Aztec
It was a basketball homicide: North Carolina 95, San Diego State 68. OK, maybe the Tarheels do belong. For sure they were a far better No. 11 seed than No. 11 seed San Diego State.
It was 47-23 at the half and evidence that maybe a Mercy Rule is needed in college basketball. . .if you are behind by 20 or more at halftime, just get dressed, board the bus and disappear.
They played the Isley Brothers version of Twist & Shout at halftime while the Aztecs twisted in the wind in their dressing room.
—It was only a pair of No. 16 seeds playing the first game of March Madness, but it was five stars on the entertainment scale.
With 0:02.8 seconds left and the score tied, Alabama State’s Micah Simpson, imitating Patrick Mahomes perfectly, threw a touchdown pass, a full-court heave. There was a scrum under the basket and Alabama State’s Ammar Knox, at 6-foot-3 one of the smaller scrummers, latched on to the up-for-grabs tipped ball and banked in the game-winner with one tick left on the clock, 70-68, over Saint Francis.
It was a fun game for the right to lose their next game to Auburn, probably by about 30. The two schools are 50 miles apart, but they’ll travel to Lexington, Ky,. to play in Rupp Arena.
It was all Saint Francis, until it wasn’t. The Red Flash never trailed — or, Alabama State never led, if you prefer —until 4:15 remained in the game.
Alabama State’s C.J. Hines hit a three to give ASU its first lead, 62-60. Dayton Wayne product Juan Cranford Jr. drove for a lay-up tie it, 62-62.
A dunk, a steal and a dunk and ASU was in front, 66-62. Cranford hit a three, ASU hit a two and Saint Francis hit a three and there it was. . .68-68 with :31.6 seconds left.
Then came ASU’s ‘go long’ TD toss.
Wayne’s Cranford acquitted himself with aplomb for Saint Francis, leading the Red Flash with 18, but only five of them in the second half. He was 6 for 12, 5 for 7 from three.
About playing a hop, skip and a jump shot from his Huber Heights home, Cranford said, “I couldn’t ask for anything better than this. This is a dream for me, especially being here at home and where I grew up. This was a great opportunity for me and experience.”
OFF THE CUFF STUFF
**Prettiest Uniforms — Alabama State’s light brown camel garb is color not often seen on a basketball court. And North Carolina’s ‘Carolina Blue’ is pleasant to the eye.
**Tallest Guy — Alabama State’s 7-foot-1 Ubong Okon, a Nigerian who appeared to wear a ceremonial head trinket. San Diego State has a seven-footer, too, with a quaint name. . .Magoon Gwath.
Despite his height advantage, not only did Okon not score, he never took a shot during the 10 1/2 minutes he played, sitting for long periods with four fouls.
**Statement — Saint Francis wore warm-up t-shirts that read, “Doubt Us,” not explaining if that was a warning or self-doubt.
**Wrong entertainer — Saint Francis forward Valentino Pinedo? Is he a basketball player or a Spanish bull fighter? Well, he is from Murcia, Spain.
**What’s in a name? — Which do you like, Jerquarius Stanback (way back) of Alabama State or Blaze Angellotti, a Saint Francis guard whose name makes him seem more like an Italian matinee idol than a basketball player.
**One of the officials for Saint Francis-Alabama State was Amy Donner. Yes, a woman, and an extremely good whistle-blower not afraid to take charge.
**Pick a nickname — All four participants Tuesday night had good nicknames. . .Saint Francis Red Flash, Alabama State Hornets, San Diego State Aztecs, North Carolina Tarheels.
**North Carolina’s James Brown wa not singing, ‘I Feel Good,’ but he looked as if he was feeling pretty good on the floor. In fact, all the Tarheels wore smiles wider than the Great Miami River.
**Hate to sound sexist, but the worst dressed contingent on the floor was the Saint Francis dance team. Their black sequined outfits made them resembled bar maids in Loretto, PA., if they have bars in Loretto, PA.
**Attendance, at one point, was a near sellout of 12,961 but North Carolina sent many scurrying for the parking lot long before the clock struck midnight on San Diego State.