12/21 – And this is why you play the game (chapter 11)
December 21, 2007 by Rich Carlson
Filed under Basketball
Michigan versus Appalachian State in college football. Chaminade versus Virginia in college basketball. Kirk Gibson facing Dennis Eckersley in the ‘88 World Series.
On paper, each of these contests should have been blowouts. No contest. Not even close. Cupcake city.
It’s a good thing the games are not played on paper…
We have another entry in our “and this is why you play the game” history. This entry comes to us from Las Vegas where Wofford upset heavily favored Purdue 69-66 in the second round of the Las Vegas classic.
Wofford, who was projected to finish in the middle of the pack in the Southern Conference, overcame a 10-point deficit in the first half to upset the Boilermakers. The Terriers outrebounded Purdue 38-36 and held the Boilermakers to 41% shooting for the game.
Is Wofford that good, or is Purdue that bad? Was Purdue focusing on the upcoming Big Ten conference schedule? Maybe. But heading into your conference battles, you want to be at your best, and Purdue was definitely not at their best.
Lesson learned – never, ever overlook an opponent. No matter how small, no matter their record. It has been proven over and over again – anybody can beat anybody at any given time.
And this is why you play the game…
