This Wyoming basketball team is easy to love. Led by the under- appreciated hoops genius of Larry Shyatt, the Cowboys are tougher than barbed wire. Their backcourt of Josh Adams and Riley Grabau was made in Colorado. The team survived so many down-to-the-buzzer games that die-hard fans went stark-raving mad long before March Madness began.
“Why wouldn’t it be a nail-biter?” Adams said Thursday, telling the media gathered for the ‘Pokes’ opening game of the NCAA Tournament against Northern Iowa to expect intense drama.
But, before grabbing a seat on the Wyoming bandwagon, you should be forewarned: This is guaranteed to be a bumpy ride.
I love the ‘Pokes. But I hate how they’re wrecking the beauty of basketball.
College hoops is now coyote ugly.
Wyoming qualified for the NCAA tourney by beating San Diego State 45-43 in a Mountain West title game that was so slow-paced, it could have made Dr. James Naismith rethink the wisdom of hanging a peach basket on the wall. Defense might win championships, but only once since 1952 has the college game suffered through a season when scoring was so down and out.
For those casual fans that show up only for the Big Dance, yes, it is now considered a major achievement if a college team scores 70 points.
Between control-freak coaches and all the pizza commercials, endless timeouts have made the flow of college basketball positively glacial. In an effort to draw charging fouls, defenders flop so shamelessly it could cause a soccer player to fall down laughing. Spacing on the court feels as claustrophobic as the Apple store on the release date of a new iPhone.
March Madness is an American institution built one bracket at a time in office pools across the United States. There’s undeniable intrigue in this tournament because Kentucky is in pursuit of perfection and a 40-0 record. But for anybody who loves college basketball, the honest evaluation of the night-in, night-out entertainment value can be summed up in two words: BOR and ING.
It was disappointing, if not disturbing, that a Colorado State team that coach Larry Eustachy guided to a school-record 27 victories averaged 4,854 fans for 17 home dates in a city with a population of more than 150,000. The Rams deserved better.
But here’s the deal: The fine folks of Fort Collins are not alone in their indifference. Attendance for college basketball games nationwide has declined for the seventh consecutive season. March Madness is a cultural phenomenon. The lack of excitement on the court during the regular season, however, is not sufficient for folks to turn off “The Voice” on television, get off the couch, hop in the car and drive to the arena.
The University of Virginia — which won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title and earned a No. 2 seed in the East Regional — leads the nation in defense, allowing 50.7 points per game. While the length and athleticism of Kentucky is jaw-dropping, the Wildcats’ rudimentary offensive skills make me think they aren’t unbeatable.
What Shyatt has done for Wyoming has been superb, and Eustachy praises his rival as a basketball mastermind. But, when describing the ‘Pokes’ strategy, the first idea to emerge from Shyatt’s lips is: “What can we possibly take away from you?”
Wyoming surrenders 56 points per game. On a chilly February night, as the Cowboys trotted off the court at halftime with a 26-15 advantage against Colorado State on their way to a key conference victory, I admired their commitment to defense, but felt as if I was stuck riding in the back of a 1958 Edsel over the Snowy Mountain Range. It was a long, slow journey to Yawn City.
College basketball needs to re-establish broader appeal than the one shining moment of March Madness.
My humble suggestions: 1) Reduce the time on the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds; 2) Move back the 3-point line to the international distance of a little more than 22 feet in the hope that encourages more offensive motion; 3) Punish obvious defensive flopping with technical fouls, and 4) Cut the number of timeouts allowed coaches by half to let the action flow.
Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or
