There is a type of college basketball game that is relatively common in the South, although I don't see it in much of the rest of the country. The game lasts at least 2 1/2 hours, features at least 50 free throws, and a lot of time waiting for the referees to complete monitor reviews.
Today, down in the Bahamas, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky played exactly this type of game. Both teams were undefeated. Western's wins were over Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State, and Bethel. Vandy had beaten Lipscomb, Central Florida, Eastern Kentucky, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Texas Southern. So this was a good test for both squads.
In the end, Vandy won 83-78, but it took a long time to get there. There were 70 free throws in the game (37 for Vandy and 33 for Western). Each team had 17 turnovers. Western had 42 rebounds to 37 for Vandy. And there were a bunch of monitor reviews. Western was led by Teagan Moore, a 6' 5" redshirt sophomore who played at Owen Country H.S. He finished with 24 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds, and led a furious charge that saw the Hilltoppers score 35 points in the last 10 minutes of the game. But Vandy responded with 28 points from Duke Miles, a 6' 2" graduate student who attended Robert E. Lee H.S. in Montgomery, Ala. The Commodores also led by double-digits for much of the second half, and thus had enough of a margin to hold off the Hilltopper rally.
Western was ranked at Number 202 on Ken Pom when the season began, but they are now up to 137. Vandy fell to Number 18. Both teams have two more games in the Bahamas over the next two days. Based on what I saw today, both of these ancient and passionate fanbases have reason for optimism -- but they will need the patience to deal with all those free throws.
