A March Madness tripleheader

Sunday was an interesting day. I took in a March Madness tripleheader, with three ways to experience a game.

* Syracuse-Arizona State on radio, while driving across Interstate-80 through Iowa.

* Oklahoma State-Pitt men on television, sitting at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Coralville, next to Iowa City.

* Oklahoma-Prairie View women live, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

SYRACUSE-ARIZONA STATE

OU now gets Syracuse, and the Sooners would be much better off playing Arizona State, of course. That 2-3 zone by Syracuse gives everyone fits, though it helps that OU saw some of that defense against Michigan. Not that Michigan plays it with the same kind of ballplayers as Syracuse.

Listening on radio to a game that involves players you’re not that familiar with is a mental exercise. Who plays for who? What was the score again? But the announcing team of Tom McCarthy and ex-Kentucky Kevin Grevey was very solid.

Basketball on the radio is different from baseball or football. In both sports, you have to time mentally relax, because you know nothing will happen for 10-30 seconds. And if you do miss something, the play will be discussed. Not so in basketball. The action doesn’t always stop. You’ve got to pay attention.

From what I heard, James Harden, Arizona State’s lottery-pick sharpshooter, wasn’t aggressive enough. Zero points and one shot at halftime? That’s not what the Thunder needs.

I picked Syracuse to reach an all-Big East Final Four, and the Sooners could have their hands full.

OSU-PITT

What a great game, and what a tribute to Travis Ford, that he turned a mediocre team in January into this squad capable of playing anyone in the country, eyeball to eyeball.

Think about what the Cowboys did down the stretch.

1. Won at home in a tight fit over Kansas State in what might have been an NCAA Tournament elimination game.

2. Went to OU, which ended up a No. 2 seed, and lost 82-78 in a game that I said the Cowboys would have won if it had been played anywhere except Norman.