Under the indifferent eyes of Jay Cutler, a national championship was won last night.
Yes, despite what anti-NIT propaganda machines would have you believe, the Texas Longhorns are college basketball’s national champions, a designation they’ll hold until next year on the evening of April 3rd or thereabouts.
How’d they do it?
Well, they either shut down Garrison Mathews or he shut down himself in the first half. It seemed (to me, a casual viewer—I haven’t asked Jay Cutler what he thought) that Courtney Ramey was the one responsible for executing this, but if it was Ramey, he did his job so effectively that it was hard to notice Mathews was even on the floor.
Once Texas started making shots in the second half, Lipscomb—even with a roaring crowd behind them—couldn’t hang on. Kerwin Roach threw down a dope 360 dunk, the Longhorns prevailed, and Shaka Smart got that national title so many thought he’d earn when he first came to Austin.
What now?
Well, I need to get the shop set up on this website, because I promised the winner of our pool would receive $75-$100 of merch in addition to a $25 gift card to an American eating establishment.
I also need to write up this year’s One Shining MomeNIT.
So, if you’re reading this as a fan of The Barking Crow, new or old, hold on to your hat—now that the NIT has finished, there will be some important blog announcements coming soon.
For the rest of you, including (I’m guessing) Jay Cutler, we’ll see you next year, for the 2020 edition of America’s greatest tournament.
