America likes a Cinderella, but only so much. That's been the lesson in college football the last few years, and maybe it's also become the theme in college basketball's postseason.
Richard Dietsch of Sports Illustrated reports the overnight ratings from Saturday night's extravaganza, and they're impressive:
Wisconsin's 71-64 win over Kentucky on Saturday night across TBS, TNT and truTV averaged 22.6 million viewers, up 39 percent over the same window in 2014 and the most-viewed Final Four game in 19 years, according to CBS/Turner. Keep in mind the numbers get bumped up a bit because the game airs across three channels. The game is now the most watched college basketball game ever on cable television and peaked at 28.2 million viewers between 11:00-11:15 p.m. ET. Duke's win over Michigan State across TBS, TNT and truTV averaged 15.2 million viewers, a 31 percent increase over last year for that window. The two semifinals combined to average 18.9 million viewers, the most-viewed semifinal coverage in 18 years.
Maybe the interest would've been as good or greater had one of the so-called mid-majors survived and advanced to Indy, but I tend to doubt it. The great draw of this Final Four is big, powerful teams overseen by megastar coaches.
Dietch also relays the highest-rated TV markets from the two games:
1 Louisville
2 Indianapolis
3 Milwaukee
4 Raleigh-Durham
5 Columbus, OH
6 Greensboro
7 Dayton
8 Cincinnati
9 Norfolk
10 Detroit
A few Monday links:
-- Alabama's ridiculous collection of stud running backs is suffering a ridiculous run of injuries.
Alabama freshman running back Bo Scarbrough injured his knee near the end of the Tide's scrimmage Friday afternoon.
The injury is believed to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a source confirmed.
Coach Nick Saban said he was unsure of the extent of the injury immediately following the scrimmage.
Rated by Rivals as one of the top prospects in last year's recruiting class, Scarbrough was in the mix for carries behind starting running back Derrick Henry.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Scarbrough ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash, bench pressed 405 pounds and and recorded the best broad jump on the team at 10-feet, six inches during the Tide's spring testing, according to a source.
The injury further depletes a running back group that had already been thinned by Altee Tenpenny transferring and Tyren Jones being dismissed from the team.
Three of the five remaining running backs behind Henry and Kenyan Drake on Alabama's spring roster are walk-ons. Another -- DeSherrius Flowers is a true freshman. The other -- redshirt freshman Ronnie Clark -- has rotated between defensive back and running back during his Tide career and is coming off of an Achilles tendon injury he suffered last year.
Just when you start to sort of feel sorry for the Tide, you read this:
Five-star running back Damien Harris will arrive during the summer.
-- In Tallahassee, Florida State's defense is dealing with its own injury trend.
It's probably safe to say there isn't a defense in America right now that is hurting as much as the one at Florida State.
On Saturday, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said senior safety Tyler Hunter has torn meniscus in his right knee and will miss "six weeks or so," according to ESPN's Jared Shanker.
Hunter will be a fifth-year senior this upcoming season for the Seminoles and started all 14 games for the ACC champions last season. He ranked third on Florida State last year with seven pass breakups and was sixth on the team with 65 tackles.
The fifth-year senior is one of six defensive players with starting experience who are out for the rest of Florida State's spring practice because of injuries. Senior defensive tackle Derrick Mitchell (back), senior linebacker Reggie Northrup (ACL), sophomore linebacker Matthew Thomas (shoulder), junior defensive end Chris Casher (shoulder) and senior linebacker Terrance Smith (turf toe) are also currently out for the Seminoles.
"It's part of football," Fisher told reporters Saturday. "Next guy up. That's why we recruit."
-- In USA Today, Wisconsin prefers results to star ratings.
"We both have earned it, to get here," Krzyzewski said. "Their road and our road has been a difficult one. We've responded. But it doesn't surprise me that Wisconsin's in it. Coming into the year, I thought they would be the best team in the country. And pretty much they have been. You know, it's just that Kentucky's undefeated performance overshadowed, I think, just how good Wisconsin has been until last night where there were no shadows anymore."
Still the Blue Devils have freshman big man Jahlil Okafor (17.5 points a game, 8.6 rebounds a game) , potentially the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. McDonald's All-American.
Freshman forward Justise Winslow has averaged 15 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in the tournament. McDonald's All-American.
Senior guard Quinn Cook plays with swagger, shoots the lights out from three (40%) and shares the ball with aplomb. McDonald's All-American.
Sophomore guard Matt Jones. Forty-one treys on the season. McDonald's All-American.
Freshman guard Tyus Jones. Averaged 5.2 assists in the tournament. McDonald's All-American.
The Badgers are not impressed.
"Bronson sent out a Tweet a while ago that we had seven Wisconsin All-Stars. Duke doesn't have any of those," Wisconsin senior guard Josh Gasser said. "We know we are good players. Sam arguably should have been a McDonald's All-American, Bronson should have been one. Frank has developed to be the best player in the country. It doesn't matter where you were when you were 16, 17 years old. It matters where you are now.
"We've proven we are a pretty good team. We're well-coached. That's all that matters."
-- At SMU they're slowly catching on to Chad Morris' frenzied pace.
Players are starting anew - a handful at different positions. The depth chart is mostly a clean slate. Competition to land two-deep spots for the fall is intense.
"They're all hungry, they're buying in, they're giving all kinds of effort," Morris said.
Morris' offense differs dramatically from the previous regime. June Jones' run and shoot was a pass-first scheme that devolved into a series of screen passes from a quarterback under duress without a running threat to lean on.
Morris' power spread is fueled by runs between the tackles. Its quick pace is designed to confuse and wear down defenses.
Before the third practice, Morris set the offense's goal at 29 plays in five minutes. The unit fell about 10 short.
"The main difference is the speed," offensive lineman Chauncey Briggs said. "We weren't used to that. It's all about attention to details. Every day it's getting easier."
Players seem renewed by the newness of it all. Last year's team ranked last nationally in points per game and 124th of 125 in points allowed.
The Mustangs lost their coach and starting quarterback after the second game.
After finishing two shy of the school's longest losing streak (15), returning players were eager for redemption.
Quarterback Matt Davis, who led the team in rushing and passing after emerging as the starter last year, is learning his fifth offensive system as a collegian. He was part of Mike Sherman's final recruiting class at Texas A&M in 2011, redshirted his freshman year under Kevin Sumlin, transferred to Tyler Junior College and then to SMU.
Davis has maintained his starting role. He knew what to expect of Morris, having been recruited by Clemson's former offensive coordinator.
"We went pretty fast at A&M, but this is another notch, and we're only going to get faster," Davis said. "I don't know if this offense is very complex. It's just that we have a lot of variations. We may run the same play, but there are 20 different ways."
-- If this isn't the darkest time in the history of Rolling Stone magazine, hate to hear what is.
A months-long investigation into a flawed Rolling Stone magazine article about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia has concluded that the story reflected failures at virtually every level, from reporting to editing to fact-checking.
In a 12,000-word report that reads like a reportorial autopsy, a three-person team at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism called the November article "a story of journalistic failure that was avoidable. . . . The magazine set aside or rationalized as unnecessary essential practices of reporting" that would likely have exposed the story as dubious.
Rolling Stone, which requested and cooperated with the probe, is publishing the Columbia exposé. The report serves as the magazine's full explanation of how the story - "A Rape on Campus" - came about. Rolling Stone retracted it Sunday evening, and Managing Editor Will Dana and author Sabrina Rubin Erdely both issued apologies when the Columbia analysis was published.
Also on Sunday evening, U-Va. President Teresa Sullivan said in a statement: "Rolling Stone's story, 'A Rape on Campus,' did nothing to combat sexual violence, and it damaged serious efforts to address the issue. Irresponsible journalism unjustly damaged the reputations of many innocent individuals and the University of Virginia. Rolling Stone falsely accused some University of Virginia students of heinous, criminal acts, and falsely depicted others as indifferent to the suffering of their classmate. The story portrayed University staff members as manipulative and callous toward victims of sexual assault. Such false depictions reinforce the reluctance sexual assault victims already feel about reporting their experience, lest they be doubted or ignored."
-- For the first time since 1954, the Masters will take place and Ron Green will not be walking its fairways taking notes for his wonderful columns.
I'm prowling around the attic of my mind, dust-covered memories here, yesterday's memories there.
I'm looking for a way to say goodbye.
After 60 years of covering the Augusta Masters golf tournament, I have chosen to stay at home this year. Why? My best golfing buddy explains it as follows: "He's nuts."
No, I'm not, not totally. I'm satisfied with what I did in those 60 years in Augusta. I'm more than satisfied. I'm proud of it, OK? I want to leave it alone. It doesn't need any more chapters.
-- And Seth Davis with a good breakdown of tonight's matchup.
Crazy how much Duke's defense has improved over the last couple months. They were certifiably oppressive Saturday night.
When the Blue Devils went through their rough patch in January, their defense, especially on the perimeter, was so porous that Mike Krzyzewski used a zone defense for the first time in his career. Not only have they fixed those problems, but they have evolved into a truly outstanding defensive team. Just as Duke locked down Gonzaga during the final seven minutes of the South regional final, it blew open Saturday night's semifinal against Michigan State in the first half, holding the Spartans to just three field goals in their final 20 attempts before intermission.
But guess what: The Blue Devils are not playing Michigan State on Monday night. Rather, they are going up against the most efficient offense in the country, headed by the two most versatile big men in America.
On the other hand, Duke has been doing such a stellar job shutting off dribble penetration that it's easy to envision Wisconsin guards Bronson Koenig, Traevon Jackson and Josh Gasser having an off night. Remember, Wisconsin leads the nation in turnover percentage and is ranked 345th in tempo. The Badgers rely heavily on their ability to control the ball. If the Blue Devils can force turnovers and get a few runouts, that could be the difference in a close, low-scoring game.
LW
This post was edited on 4/6 8:44 AM by Larry_Williams
