Christensen: Thanks for the Ride

By Todd Christensen
March 28, 2011

Solomon, the King of Israel noted for his nonpareil wisdom, documented in Ecclesiastes 5:10 that "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase."

David and Bathsheba's son may have never made his way to an NCAA tournament but the analogy of fine metal to the feeling of tourney triumph is unmistakable. While you are quite proud of your respective team for what they have accomplished, it’s a colossal letdown when they can go no further.

San Diego State and BYU both had their opportunities to advance in the Big Dance but it was not to be. The Aztecs played very good baseball except for two stretches in either half in which 10-0 and 11-0 runs by the UConn Huskies did them in. Just as with the two games they lost to the 'Y' this year when they could not contain Jimmer Fredette, Kemba Walker, another legitimate Player of the Year candidate, torched the normally stalwart SDSU defense for 36 points. UConn made their way to the Final Four and as of this writing are the favorites to take it all.

The Cougars have more reason to lament their plight. Inevitably, when you lose in overtime (Florida turning the tables after suffering a similar fate to BYU in the tournament last year), there is a considerable amount of second-guessing. A recovered loose ball, another rebound, a missed free throw, a blown lay-up, a fumbled pass - any of these minor miscues would could have meant the difference between victory and defeat.

Of course, the most obvious missed opportunity was the absence of Brandon Davies. No doubt Cougar faithful believe that with the big center in uniform, the blue-and-white would be in the Final Four right now. Certainly the way the brackets shook out it was indeed a possibility. But as Don Meredith used to like to say on Monday Night football, "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas."

What these two teams accomplished during the year is worth recounting. San Diego State was the MWC Tournament champion, losing only to BYU during the regular season. They truly personified team play as while Kawhi Leonard may have been considered a star, names like Thomas, Gay, White and Franklin were inevitably mixed into the headlines as major contributors. BYU, on the other hand, rode the crest of the best player in college basketball for 2010-11, that being the irrepressible Jimmer Fredette. With his killer crossover drives to the basket and his outer-galactic three-point range, the Cougar point guard may have become the most famous athlete in the history of the university.

Congratulations to those respective universities and thank you to the teams, coaches and administrations for their work in bringing to us the quality of basketball seen on the MWC hardwood this campaign.

See all of Todd Christensen's blog entries HERE.