The Hlog

Oh, What Could Have Been for Drake

TAMPA, Fla. -- It would have been Drake vs. San Diego in Sunday's second-round of the NCAA tourney.

You really, really would have liked the Bulldogs' chances to have won that and advanced to the Sweet 16 against, almost surely, UCLA.

But all Drake can say is that is was part of the best first-round game of the tournament.

Sports can be cruel. If Ty Rogers hadn't made that 26-footer at the buzzer of overtime in Western Kentucky's 101-99 win over the Bulldogs, the team from Des Moines would have had its praises sung from coast to coast all the way down to Tampa Bay Friday for its magnificent comeback from a 16-point hole.

But weird things happen in Florida, from hurricanes to alligator attacks to elections that go haywire. Not only did Drake fall here in Tampa today, but so did big boys Connecticut and Vanderbilt, to the likes of San Diego and Siena.

Drake may very well have been the 14th-best team in the nation this year, in accordance with its AP ranking. But Western Kentucky may be the 13th-best.

I know someone who works in a Las Vegas casino. He told a mutual acquaintance that everyone in his casino was rooting for Drake, and not just those with money on the Bulldogs. People loved the way they played.

Ah, well ...

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