85 Expansion - Defense Wins Championships
If you knew Monday morning that “Defense Wins Championships” would be the tagline for the championship game, you’d probably go and place a heavy bet on Houston. However, it was the Florida defense that clamped chomped down on the Cougars, most notably holding them on the final possession from even getting a shot off.
As predicted, Houston did put all focus on Walter Clayton Jr, and it worked. ZERO points at half for the guy who just scored 30 in back to back games. Not only did they shut down Walter, but Houston turned a 3 point halftime lead to a 12 point margin early in the second half. However, I do not think anyone watching was counting out the Gators, as they had proven all tournament that when their backs were against the wall, they kept fighting. They are the epitome of “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Because Florida only led for 64 total seconds the entire game - taking the lead with 46.5 seconds left after trailing all but 17 seconds for the entire start of the game. Prior to those free throws, Houston’s press defense nearly caused a turnover as Walter Clayton Jr (who else?) threw a leading pass to break the press, but by less than a second ahead of the defender, Florida kept possession and was fouled, avoiding the turnover.
I sat watching as well, wondering if Houston only having one time out remaining for the vast majority of the second half would be an issue. It wasn’t as catastrophic as I thought, as several reviews led to “free” time outs, but given the final possession… I don’t know if you’d call a time out in that situation, but the option would have been nice in hindsight. Houston came down the court, and immediately the Florida defense blew up any play that Kelvin Sampson drew up. Walter Clayton Jr contested Emanuel Sharp’s go ahead 3 pointer to the point Sharp simply could not even attempt throwing up a prayer. The ball bounced, a second ticked off as all the players had to process what was happening, and a loose ball scramble ended the game.
A stunning loss, and WCJ & Florida making all the Cardiac Kemba analogies hold true, as they cut down the net for the 3rd time in program history.
Congratulations to the Clousers for first and foremost, witnessing two terrific games in San Antonio and having their faith in their team pay off with memories for a lifetime!
Click to download full bracket and breakdown of scoring
But it wasn’t just the game they won, they also go first and second in our bracket here. For reference, Jonathan’s bracket would be in the 94.4% of top brackets on ESPN, Katherine in 92%. A fantastic showing by you both, congratulations on the winnings.
Lelia comes in third, with an incredibly impressive 128 without the championship pick. Household bragging rights are always great as the rest of us will suffer for another year of hearing that we are horrible at picking - as if that’s anything new for me, I’m always terrible at it.
A huge thank you to everyone for participating and reading along! Hope everyone had fun - until next year!
Rory F Beglane
Founder of the 85 Expansion Bracket Challenge - www.85expansion.com
Villanova Enthusiast
0 Time Bracket Winner
1 Time Always March Winner