Well, that was State-tacular.

"Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Brown-est". I think that phrase lost out for a spot on the university crest to "Learning, Service, Research" by very few votes. Case in point: tonight's game. First of all, it's the NIT. We know, it's the Not Interested/Invited Tournament. The battle for #65 66. It's the custom-made tourney for such a perpetual bridesmaid like us. So, by making it all the way to MSG for the final, what happens? Much like the other MSG, you're halfway done and you realize: this can't be over, can it? Nope. The couch-burnin' cousins mount an incredible comeback that we all knew was coming and win on a damn buzzer beater. Stateskills has the liveblog breakdown for the real masochists out there. Truly an epic second half choke in the red-headed stepchildren of postseason tournaments (yes I got a C+ in adjective school, why do you ask?). For those that would dare to compare this to a certain school's loss to some school called "Valpo"...nice try, but no dice. This was two fair-to-middling schools trying to rise to their mid 50's RPI rating, not some freaky Cinderella pulling a huge upset out of their ass.
To sum up the outcome of the game: DISAPPOINTING.




But not all that surprising. So disappointment, you can keep your bitter sting (and your namesake point's snazzy lighthouse)













Say it with me State fans: Wait until next year. The team will be totally loaded with talent and now just a tiny bit of tournament experience. Besides, the hard bigotry of high expectations has never bitten us in the ass in the past in any other sport now, has it?

An open lament for the 12 seed

What happened man, you used to be cool. Every year somehow at least one of you was a surefire way to separate the wheat from the chaff in an office pool. Some years a few of you would upset some hapless 5 seeds and really make some noise. Hell, my team has fallen victim to your shenanigans twice! What happened? Did the selection committee finally stop stocking you with scrappy "mid-major" underdogs and instead replace you with underachieving, milquetoast "big conference" bubble teams (in their nearly successful attempt to rid the first rounds of any meaningful upsets)? What's that you say, 11-6 came through twice? Please. That's for suckers afraid of taking a stand (and besides, those 6 seeds were vastly overrated media darlings). Hell, it might as well be 10-7. It lacks the panache that only a 12-5 can bring to the table. I just want the magic back, 12-5. I know, next year.
Also, thanks to the nonstop pimping they receive from certain media outlets, I was led to believe that the ACC was the OMG! greatest conference EVAR!!!!!1!!! And the Big10 was not far behind it. Well, well, well. How wrong you were. Looks like those "power" conferences managed to squeak by with one team each (the #1 seed, unsurprisingly) into the Sweet 16. I'm sure the Big 10 commish is writing a letter lamenting how his slow, plodding, pillars of ethics, Rhodes scholars-to-be didn't have a chance. On a postive note, if they ever take Ambien off the market, the first half of the UCLA-Indiana game can be used as a sleep aid.
And finally, congrats to the Dogs for making the Semi's of the "other" tourney.

A Day in the Life of a Fan of the Most Bipolar Team Ever

About this time yesterday, I was still giddy after MSU beat Kentucky in the SEC tournament. It seemed like the game was in the bag midway through the second half, and a co-worker commented to me "so, you like your chances of winning this one yet" to which I replied "Oh hell no, this is Mississippi State we're talking about" Well, a few minutes later my pessimism became reality. The game ended in some unconventional drama at the free throw line. Which seems to be the main thing about the game that anyone remembers. An aside here: listening to the game on the big blue network, the announcers bitched a lot about the officiating, and many UK fans have followed thier lead into crazy conspiracy-theory land. Their team didn't have three players foul out. Which team had a player with 18 free throws? Spare me the bias crap. The refs sucked for both teams. Anyway, following the wackiness was an incredible buzzer-beating three by Jamont Gordon that sent the game into OT. Let's have a look.

Nice. Anyway, after a hard-fought overtime, State came out victorious. Hello NCAA bubble. So much for that "awful" SEC West talk. Yep things were looking good.
So, with so much on the line and in full control of their own post-season destiny, how do my bulldogs respond? By completely and totally pissing down their own leg. They just get outplayed and outhustled by Arkansas. The Arkansas faithful been so thrilled with their season they just might fire their coach! Not only that, but the Razorbacks are led by a transfer...FROM STATE! How much perverse Shakespearean crap does one fan base have to put up with? We should have seen this one coming. The glass is half empty, and the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. Hopefully the NIT will give the Dogs some more experience and something to build on. Say it with me State fans: "just wait until next year."

Update: Championship Edition

Embrace the mediocrity pairity State fans, we're champs again. Sure, at 8-8 technically co champs with Ole Miss (?!), but State gets the top seed in the tourney. Just to prove that I'm not a total homer, I still don't think we'll make the big dance this year. As for the game, the big stats are 20 turnovers for Bama (11 steals), 12 freaking blocks for State. Bama folded like a $50 suit in the second half and might have just imploded themselves right into the NIT. It was beautiful. To wit:



In other news, Jake Plummer is apparently retiring instead of being dealt to the Buccaneers. Update: or not, whatever. I wish him luck. Sure, I've sworn at some of his boneheaded plays in the past, but I think he's a quirky (albeit with unconventional choices in facial hair at times), decent guy (road rage incidents aside). Plus, he gets points in my book for bagging himself a cheerleader. Kudos.