Western Kentucky and North Texas both flirted with disaster. But in the end, it was only Middle Tennessee that decided to rest on the Sabbath.

Ty and I have resolved to name an All Horse Nuts team after the finals, to go along with the All Tournament team that the SBC will issue. Despite ASU’s quarterfinal loss, Martavious Adams is going to be on it.

South Alabama just didn’t have anything left in the tank after their comeback against FAU. Even Ronnie Arrow was exhausted; he couldn’t have been yelling or cursing more than once every four seconds.

Bryan Sherrer man up against Michael Vogler. We were very sad to see South Alabama lose and Sherrer’s Sun Belt career end.

37 Troy Trojans fans clap politely but firmly to celebrate their team’s performance. Way to represent in Hot Springs, Trojans. There are more DENVER fans here than Troy fans. It’s really quite pathetic.

As WKU/ASU finishes up, Cam Spencer takes in the scene while rocking a sweet pair of pastel headphones.

People who can pull off this look: Cameron Spencer.

People who CAN’T pull off this look: You. Or anyone else who doesn’t look like they could tear a human being in half like a phone book at a Power Team rally.

Just for GreenP1: Ben Knox during pregame. For a guy who looks like a 6′10″ Little Rascal, Mr. Knox is blasting a pretty steely glare.

Now, Mean Green fans- Consider this game from the Louisiana-Monroe perspective. If you’re a member of the Warhawks band, do you want to root for “Us” (meaning ULM), or “Them” (meaning North Texas)?

At least they weren’t disappointed when North Texas came back and won, right?

Wrong.

Walking past them after the game to get to the other court was like going through a tunnel of pain and misdirected anger. Not the classiest group, and not much for handling a defeat with grace and class.

Of course, if I knew I had to go back to Monroe (and stay there) after getting knocked out of the tournament… I’d probably be pretty upset about losing, too.

Tramiel vs. Rudy Turner. From my seat, Turner was the one who really powered ULM past ULL on Saturday. But his horse nuts were like sunflower seeds compared to Eric Tramiel’s. 22 points, 17 rebounds… Tramiel was a monster against the Warhawks.

I didn’t think I could love another frontcourt player the way I loved Keith Wooden. But Tramiel has to be pretty close. You will be missed, Eric.

The unflappable Johnny Jones. Never lost his composure. I don’t think the guy ever even started yelling. He didn’t ever even seem to get upset (except at Shannon Shorter, who he kept on a VERY short leash) no matter how bad things were going.

When the day comes that JJ finally gets an offer from a bigger program, I am going to latch onto his leg like a two year old to keep him from walking out the door. If he wants to go to another school, he’ll have to get there dragging his leg behind him, trying to coach over my crying and wailing.

Orlando Early, head coach of the Warhawks.

We were told that Early delivered a bravura performance at his post game press conference. Still flooded with emotion after the amazing North Texas rally; overcome with a mix of anger and frustration and disappointment… Early walked in, shaking his head. He sat down, breathing/sighing heavily. He looked at the table for a few seconds. Finally, Early raised his head.

After a dramatic pause, he spoke. In an anguished but intense voice, he said:

“Motherfucker.”

Shook his head again, stood up, and walked right back out of the press conference.

I don’t know how their beatwriter worked Early’s comments into his game story. But that single word press conference is one for the ages. I hope someone has video on it.

———-

Now, for some non-basketball general foolishness:

When you’ve got an act like The Aristocrats, you need a giant dilapidated shaggin’ wagon for touring purposes. Lucky for them, there was an entire garage set aside for their purposes.

TakeAKnee superfriend MeanMag claimed that he couldn’t make it to Hot Springs because of a business trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

But damned if he didn’t show up as a member of the Arena’s broadcast camera team.

There’s no shame in an honest day’s camera work, MeanMag. Next year, just tell us you’re coming to work, and we’ll understand that you can’t sit with the rest of us.