A couple more notes I forgot to include in Monday’s post.
A couple people asked if I watched with any of my Purdue friends. I did not. The late start on a Sunday made it difficult to get people together. My closest Purdue buddy had another obligation that night, but we did send a few texts back-and-forth during the game. Probably better that we didn’t watch it together.
Strangely enough, that was the first time KU has played Purdue or IU since we moved to Indiana in 2003. From 1991 to 1997, KU played those two schools a combined eight times, including four NCAA tournament games. There were a couple other years in that span where KU and Purdue were in the same bracket, but one or the other got beat before they could play.
Finally, Tyshawn Taylor has taken some heat about his decision to go for the dunk rather than run out the clock on KU’s final possession. I had no problem with it. He was running full speed, full of emotion, with two defenders chasing him. It made sense to go for the sure points, hoping the clock would run out at the same time. Say he does pull up, get fouled, and then not hit both free throws? While Purdue still faces long odds to score, suddenly instead of trying to force overtime, they’re going for the win. Or what if he veers to the corner, and as he looks back to the defense, dribbles the ball off his foot? Since it is Tyshawn, people would have killed him for not dunking if a worst-case scenario had happened. It would have been one thing if there were 10 seconds left. But given the clock and game situation, I can’t fault him for his decision.
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