The Chong Li Theory of College Basketball

Last night, Ohio State got punched in the mouth.  For the first five minutes of the second half, Cincinnati could not miss.  They took a lead in a game that Ohio State controlled for the entire first half.

In other words, Cincinnati is Ray Jackson.

You can win a title without being particularly tough, but you have to be the best the team to do so.  This is why the Shaq/Kobe Lakers could win three straight titles without being particularly resilient.  That's why Miami is still the favorite to win the NBA title this year.

(Lakers fans, calm down.  That lack of resiliency was on Shaq, not Kobe.  After he drove Shaq out of LA, Kobe proved himself to be quite resilient.)

Neither Ohio State nor North Carolina is the best team in college basketball this year.  Kentucky is.  Kentucky has the best draft prospect since Dwight Howard and NBA talent surrounding him.  To beat Kentucky, you either need to catch them on a bad night where you are also hitting shots (a la Indiana or Vandy), or you need to be very, very talented and resilient enough to survive when Kentucky hits you with a 10-2 run in two minutes, like they do to everyone.  Then, you have a chance.

North Carolina has the talent but not the heart.  Carolina fans, I'm not even trolling, so don't be mad.  You know Harrison Barnes doesn't have the eye of the tiger.  You know this team gets tight in close games.  Even with a completely healthy team, you were never beating Kentucky.

If you really want to stop Kentucky, get behind Ohio State.  They're big, physical, athletic, and smart.  Last night, they showed they could take a punch.  They are the only team left with a legitimate claim to being better than Kentucky.