I shed two bulky sweaters so an Asian kid at the wellness center could attach the blood pressure cuff, getting down to a Utah women’s basketball T-shirt.
“You’re the basketball guy!” he said, and I thought: “Holy shit, what do these people talk about while patients come and go”.
“Can you help me with my bracket?” he said.
“I didn’t watch boys play this season. Sorry.”
“Aw, snap. I was hoping having you as a patient would help me win.”
“Nah. I’ve only won two of those things myself in 100 years.”
I don’t know crap about women’s basketball, either. In the ESPN Tournament Challenge, where 2 million people submitted brackets for the women’s tournament, I’m behind 1.5 million of them.
Picking Washington State to reach the round of 8 — beating #1 Indiana on the way — didn’t help. The Cougars got bounced in round one by the lower-seeded Florida Gulf Coast, which I think diminishes their Pac-12 tournament win, and by extension, lessened the stature of the remaining Pac-12 teams. Like Stanford, who were given a 7% chance to win by some “expert” *before* Cameron Brink fell ill.
I also had Gonzaga getting past Mississippi, but the Rebels won by 23. In her last game, perhaps, Brynna Maxwell shot 1-for-10. Couple that with her 2-of-8 in the WCC tournament final, and Brynna finished 466 / 481 / 949 , or 1896. Maybe the first time the combination of her FG%, 3FG%, and FT% fell below 1900 all season. After 11 games, that number was an otherworldly 2024 (500 + 554 + 970).