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- The Final Four is set. Coming into the weekend, the Big Ten had a chance to send three teams to the Final Four. Now, only Wisconsin remains, after a thrilling overtime victory over Arizona that was marred by two questionable calls in the final seconds (I guess this time Wisconsin had the #karma on their side). Florida also won on Saturday, as Dayton's enjoyable tourney run came to an end. On Sunday, UConn won over Michigan State (see next bullet point for more thoughts on the Huskies), and Aaron Harrison's last-second three-pointer sent Kentucky to the Final Four over Michigan. I hate to say it, but honestly, UK has the talent to win this whole thing and I gotta credit Coach Cal for putting it all together over the past two weeks. Wichita State, Louisville, and Michigan were all formidable opponents, who along with the Wildcats could have composed a fantastic Final Four on their own. Thus, as much as the Badgers have been a thorn in the Hoosiers' side in recent years, I have to root for them against Kentucky in the second Final Four game on Saturday night.
- I wrote two articles about our incoming conference members in Rutgers and Maryland last week. After yesterday, I think we may have pulled a GOB Bluth and made a huge mistake. Fans of seventh-seeded Connecticut packed Madison Square Garden over the weekend, proved that UConn can represent the all-important NYC media market that the B1G obviously wanted, and the Huskies clinched a Final Four berth yesterday. This was an impressive achievement, considering only 18 months earlier, UConn was handed a one-year postseason ban, and longtime coach/dime-saver Jim Calhoun abruptly retired. Now? Kevin Ollie has led them to the Final Four, and Shabazz Napier is playing like Kemba Walker 2.0. So seriously - what made UConn such a terrible candidate for the B1G? Obviously the men's hoops team is back, even without Calhoun. They have a dynasty in women's hoops, which has one of the most accomplished coaches in any sport in Geno Auriemma. In fact, the football team should be getting an upgrade as well, when former Notre Dame DC Bob Diaco takes the helm next season.
- IU women's basketball's season came to an end yesterday, as the Lady Hoosiers fell to South Dakota State, 76-64 in their elite 8 WNIT game. Alexis Gassion led the way for Indiana with 22 points, while Larryn Brooks scored 16. Despite the loss, IU finished with a 21-13 record, representing a tremendous improvement over the last two seasons, and as our editor wrote last week, they should make noise in the Big Ten next year. Purdue's women's hoops team has traditionally been strong, so presenting a challenge to them year in and out could make for a fun rivalry.
- IU baseball swept a weekend series against Ohio State yesterday, including a doubleheader yesterday on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Bloomington. For more information about the baseball team, including an awesome statistical breakdown, see Kyle's midseason review article.
- IU women's water polo, who I profiled back in February, continued their awesome season over the weekend, beating Michigan 7-4 in Ann Arbor. The 14th-ranked Hoosiers finish their regular season with a 12-5 record, and now head to a conference round robin next weekend in Oneonta, NY.
- Oh yeah, Happy Opening Day! According to this map that comes from Facebook data, you can see that Bloomington and Southern/Central Indiana are at a unique crossroads between Cubs, Reds, and Cardinals fans.