24 Hours From Now...
/...302 other NCAA basketball teams will wish they were us.
...32 teams that were invited to the dance will be on planes back home.
Michigan, who should have been satisfied just getting there...was not. Despite a valiant attempt to give back a game that was decidedly all-Michigan, they persevered. Manny was Manny, and with backs against the wall, he threw down an "and-1," solidifying an ending to a Clemson run and a victory that was, in a word, "iffy." But I'll take iffy all day. If iffy wins, then tattoo that shit on the warmup shirt right underneath Queme Los Barcos. Some will use the phrase "they live to play another day." But it's so much more than that. They get to play again. As gut wrenching as it sometimes is...we get to watch again.
As for Clemson, well, I can't be the only one that wasn't impressed with Clemson. This is a team that beat Duke 74-47 six weeks ago. Whether they played poorly or we made them play poorly is certainly a point of debate. What's not debatable is that we were the better team...be it coaching, Manny, or whatever intangible you can come up with.
Tonight was not a miracle, but it does create the opportunity for one.