Wow, it's a lot more fun when you win these games! The Good Hogs certainly came to play tonight, firing on all cylinders in a most impressive 86-72 win over Indiana. It's amazing how a big NCAA tournament win erases the bad memories of dismal midseason performances against, say, South Carolina.
Lots of thoughts are rattling around in my head right now, so rather than trying to write anything particularly coherent, here's a rundown of a few of them:
Sonny, welcome to the club. With his 31 points on 12 for 14 shooting, Sonny Weems etched his name among the great Razorback postseason performances. Not too shabby.
I don't know if I could pull off this quote, but I like the way it sounds. Patrick Beverley: "Sunny days when Sonny Weems plays the way he plays."
This will probably eliminate any nostalgia for the Dana Altman era. Tonight John Pelphrey did something that Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson never did...won his first NCAA tournament game as Razorback coach.
He might not remember the name, but I'm sure he remembers the ball getting swatted back in his face. Afterwards, Indiana star Eric Gordon referred to Steven Hill as "that big 7-foot guy."
Somebody give this man a raise. In our Q&A with Pat Bradley yesterday, the former Razorback said "it just seems like Indiana’s superstars — those two guys, Gordon and White — I think they’re looking at the NBA right now and couldn’t care less about the tournament." After Gordon's 3 for 15 shooting night, that analysis sounds pretty dead on.
Bring on the Heels! The Hogs have a good history playing North Carolina in the tournament, routing UNC in 1990, giving the eventual national champs a scare in 1993 and beating down their star-studded team in the 1995 Final Four.