The Madness: Game 1

The view from the Cheap Seats looks upon an empty ARCO Arena with the scoreboard reading 70-57, Indiana over Gonzaga. Let's review what the last post said, shall we? Indiana's defense -- specifically Earl Calloway -- will overpower the guard play of Gonzaga. Check. DJ White will block shots. Check. Everyone else will rebound. Check. AJ Ratliff and Roderick Wilmont will drop 3's all over the place. Check.

The one thing I actually didn't mention is DJ White's beautiful turnaround jumper. The thing is a work of art that you just don't see many forwards in this world of college basketball employ, and DJ used it to absolute perfection tonight. That turnaround is really on par with Kareem's skyhook, in my opinion, as far as how well executed and unique the shot is.

As I walked into ARCO Arena this afternoon, I was quite nervous about the game. I knew everything that the Hoosiers had to do to win the game, but I wasn't sure if they could execute well enough to take the victory. Gonzaga wasn't nearly as good as they used to be, but they're still a dangerous team with dangerous players and a dangerous home-court advantage. Sure, Sacramento is 800 or so miles away from Gonzaga's campus, but they still have quite a following. Also, the UCLA fans wanted the underdog to face them on Saturday. Also, I suppose we can't discount the fact that some people still think Kelvin Sampson is a horrible person or that IU is a pack of cheaters. Whatever the reason, I will tell you that there were quite a few people cheering for the 'Zags.

Luckily, IU did manage to execute as they were supposed to and the defense caused quite a few of Gonzaga's shots to be just enough off their mark that they'd miss. Holding a team that averages 78 points a game to 33% field goal shooting is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Also, Indiana held a 40-27 advantage in rebounding, which is usually a key ingredient for a win. There were some silly turnovers and a couple of shots that should or should not have been taken, but they ended up not mattering in the grand scheme of things. The bottom line was that IU did what it had to do to win the big game.

Now Kelvin Sampson's boys have a huge test to face in the UCLA Bruins, defending national runners-up and number 2 seed in the region. I'll be previewing that one when Saturday rolls around, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, congratulations to the Hoosiers.