As Top Dogs, They Barely Have a Bite

Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic, on Arizona basketball Coach Lute Olson:

“As a heavy favorite, his tournament record is frightening. And now that the Sweet 16 [is underway] without [him], a heavy question remains? Why?

“There is a trend here that isn’t pretty. It has nothing to do with media sabotage, as Olson stated following Arizona’s stale loss to Wisconsin. It is more than youth, injury and inexperience, all logical alibis for another quick exit.

”. . . As an underdog, Olson is the man you want on the bench. But as a tournament favorite, something is amiss. Since ‘88, Arizona is 18-10 when entering with a top-three seed.

“A little advice: Next time you’re filling out an office pool and you see Arizona as a heavy favorite, go the other way.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the Division I men’s record for points in the NCAA tournament in one year?

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Case closed: Gary Shelton in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, on the Bob Knight squabble:

“Results of the Indiana investigation are in. The kid’s neck had it coming.”

Attention, press: Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press, offering out-of-town writers a primer on dealing with Michigan State hoops:

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“Good question: ‘How does it feel, after all those years playing in the shadow of Michigan, to be the preeminent college basketball program in the state?’

“Bad question: ‘Isn’t anyone around here going to light a police car on fire?’ ”

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Scary strike: The Ebonite Skull Ball, a clear bowling ball with a replica human skull inside, can be had for $150 and can be viewed at https://www.ebonite.com, according to Men’s Fitness magazine.

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Have you? Denver Nugget Coach Dan Issel, trying to describe the manic play of point guard Chris Herren:

“I said in the huddle that as soon as we got Chris to play at 33 [rpm] instead of 78, that we’d really have something. Then I realized that none of these guys had ever seen a record player before.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1972, Bill Walton scored 24 points to lead UCLA to an 81-76 victory over Florida State and the NCAA basketball championship at the Sports Arena.

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Trivia answer: Glen Rice of Michigan, 184 points in six games in 1989.

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And finally: Milwaukee Buck guard Sam Cassell, upset over not being the team’s featured player:

“I’m not the man here. I was the man in New Jersey. I’m the third option here. In Jersey, I was the first option. Hey, I gotta be me. I gotta be me.”