Unbelievable. Ali Farokhmanesh is a real man. In a situation and a time where you should hold on to the ball and kill the clock at all costs, Farokhmanesh took an open 3-pointer that would have had him labeled the dumbest man in college basketball if he missed. He didn't miss.
The final was 69-67 Northern Iowa in the biggest NCAA Tournament upset since George Mason stunned UConn in the Elite 8. For some perspective on this, this was only the 13th time a 1 seed lost in the second round since expansion to 65, making it the 3rd rarest upset kind of upset you could see in the first couple of rounds in the NCAA Tournament, behind only the obvious two of a 15 beating a 2 in the second round (it happened 4 times) and a 16 beating a 1 (never happened). Yes, believe it or not, more frequently (though not by much) as a 3 seed lost to a 14 seed than a 1 seed has lost to an 8 seed or a 9 seed. The last time it happened before today was 2004 when Kentucky (also #1 overall) lost to UAB.
Aspeaking of a 14 beating a 3 seed, here's a little interesting fact that was brought up in the live blog. Before Ohio beat Georgetown, the last time a 14 seed beat a 3 seed was in 2005 when Kansas lost to Bucknell. The arena where they played that 5 years ago? Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The arena where Kansas lost to Northern Iowa today? Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Somehow, I think the Kansas Jayhawks will be better off if they never play in that building again.
I know he probably wasn't the first to come up with the moniker, but Rece Davis called Farokhmanesh "Da Ali 3 Show."
ReplyDeleteYeah, Kansas would probably rather play in some high school gym in Ardmore or Jenks than the Ford Center (if they couldn't avoid the whole state of Oklahoma at all).