Here are his basic conclusions:
* Yale played really hard but just dug too big of a hole. Plus, the Bulldogs just didn't make enough three-point shots, the kinds that they usually do. It was a solid effort by the Ivy League representative, but like many that have come before it, there's the inevitable feeling that it was a winnable one that got away.
* the commercials are awful. They're worse than the Super Bowl ones. Every commercial doesn't have to try to parody basketball announcers during the tournament. Stop already.
* TB wanted to see Ja Morant of 12th-seeded Murray State play and he's glad he did, as Morant had a triple double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and an astonishing 16 assists in a win over Marquette. He also seemed to sense that his postgame interview on TV was his first chance to show himself to the majority of the basketball country and he came across as really genuine and mature.
* When a team is down one with the ball and the shot clock off, why do they always let it go below the 10-second mark before starting to go to the basket. Go quickly. Don't worry about giving the other team too much time. Worry about scoring. Belmont - you had it and you let it get away.
* Speaking of Belmont, you don't want to be the guy who gets nationally known because you got your soda spilled all over you, like the radio guy did. And was there nobody from Belmont who could have given him a "Belmont Basketball" shirt to wear? Did he have to have a coke-soaked shirt for the entire game?
* Purdue won, which is good, since TB is rooting for Purdue, but TB fell asleep by halftime.
* Oh, also, he's not as into it as he has been in year's past. In fact, he was much more interested in how Princeton's guys were doing in the NHL.
TB is really happy for Max Veronneau, who scored his first NHL goal, for Ottawa in a 7-4 loss at Vancouver Wednesday night.
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 21, 2019
There are a lot of best parts to this, not the least of which is that Veronneau seems almost matter-of-fact when the puck goes in, as opposed to any crazy celebrating.
There's also the idea that in three NHL games, Veronneau now has a goal and an assist and has played on Ottawa's top line. It's obvious that he has definite NHL-level ability.
Lastly, his first goal came with one of his Princeton teammates and his Princeton coach in the building. Josh Teves, another Princeton senior, is on the Canucks, and Tiger head coach Ron Fogarty was in the building.
Great to see 2 former @princetonhockey teammates together. Congrats Vern on your first NHL goal pic.twitter.com/TfkPl4zsQo— Ron Fogarty (@ronfogarty) March 21, 2019
Look at the sheer joy in that picture.
There are other firsts for this weekend, as well, as well as a second. And an eighth.
And some NCAA championships to compete for as well. Starting with that, this weekend features the NCAA events for wrestling, fencing and swimming and diving.n
The baseball and softball teams are home for the first time this season, and it comes in the Ivy opener for both. The baseball team hosts Dartmouth for two games tomorrow and one Sunday, and the softball team does the same with Yale.
It's also opening weekend for rowing, with the lightweight men - a legitimate national championship contender - at home. HERE is the whole schedule for the weekend.
There's also a lacrosse doubleheader, beginning with the women's game against Brown at noon and then the men's game against Yale at 3. It's the second and last home lacrosse doubleheader of the year, though both teams are at Cornell on April 27.
The women surge into the game at 5-1, off a 13-11 win at Florida Tuesday night. The Tigers have been scoring a ton of goals and getting contributions from a lot of players on both ends of the field.
The men's team will have to contend with TD Ierlan, the No. 1 statistical face-off man of all-time in college lacrosse, who transferred from Albany to Yale.
Up next for Princeton's men, by the way, is the return Tuesday to Sherrerd Field of Bill Tierney, who brings his Denver Pioneers back to the field that he built with his success here. Tierney's team is at Towson tomorrow before coming to Princeton; he has 398 career wins, as a subplot. Of those 398, he won 238, and six NCAA titles, at Princeton.
And lastly, TB promised you an eighth, and here it is: Princeton's eighth appearance in the NCAA women's basketball tournament. That comes up tomorrow, when Princeton and Kentucky tip at 11 from Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State University.
Kentucky, ranked 17th in the country, is a tough challenge, especially with its pressure defense.
TB has written a lot about that all week, but he can sum it up simply.
It's not easy to win an NCAA tournament game if you're in the Ivy League, but Princeton has done it before, and the chance to make that kind of history again makes the game fascinating.
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