Height and Talent...

 ..were too much for the Youngstown State Penguins tonight, and they lost to Oklahoma State in the NIT.  I know this, as I was there -- I took a drive out to Youngstown to see the game, as, well, how often does one get a chance to go to a NIT game, especially when YSU -- the lower seed -- was hosting?  (Thoughts of Robert Morris!)  As I told one friend, one nice thing about having no life is that if and when you want to do something, you can!

It's actually an easy drive -- 99% highway from my house, Turnpike to 680 to 422 and follow the signs.  The arena (and the football stadium) are just off the highway, and ample parking -- at $5!! -- was right there as well, literally two blocks away.   A brisk walk (I had to pee) and I was there; not only that, none of the metal detector crap, which was nice.  Dinner was $9 -- a pretzel and a brat -- and on the whole...well, aside from the gas and drive, it was fairly inexpensive.  Always a nice touch!

The place itself is a gym -- a large one, but a gym nonetheless.  It does have a Jumbotron, though (Ahem, CSU), and it seemed like they have 90% less staffing than CSU -- you were pretty much on your own to find a seat.  I was in general admission, though, and as I arrived early (ahem) I chose a close spot on center court, though, as I soon turned out, it was also the "stand up here during the game and bullshit" section... of course, I am used to it by now.  Sigh.  One thing I did notice is that the boys -- by a WIDE margin, in every sense of the word -- were a lot better looking than the girls.  I was going to ask if the dorms were all served by 24-hour buffets, but I figured that would be wildly inappropriate.  Of course, asking the wildly inappropriate (and offensive) questions is my life's work, if you will.

As for the game itself... one thing I immediately noticed was the size difference.  The tallest Penguins were 6'7" and 6'8", while the Cowboys had several over 6'9" and a center who was 7'1".  He was from Africa, and while he was not much of an offensive threat, he was a real force on defense, especially because he was not Shawn Bradley tall; he -- and the rest of OSU -- were beefy guys.  This was in contrast to the Penguins, who were more...Lincolnesque.

Now, the Penguins led for much of the game, but it was mainly due to three-point shooting, two quick fouls in the first half on the seven-footer, and, dare I say, maximum defensive effort.  All of this good, but I never got the feeling that OK State was out of it; you just looked at the size -- and the fact that YSU had very little inside game (the seven-footer mainly stayed in the lane, and no amount of decoy work world draw him out; the Cowboys had the better athletes to make up the gap), and after a while OK State just bullied the ball inside, and took the lead.  To their credit, YSU didn't fold -- even forcing a couple of turnovers late to keep it close -- but the miracle was not to be had, and that was that.  But it was fun, and there were a lot fewer idiot fans around me (which might have been the miracle), and all in all, it was an enjoyable way to spend a Wednesday evening, and I would certainly go back.