A 1-seed against a 2-seed. One team with quick guards who like to run, another with a myriad of scoring threats and a dominant big man. The underdog playing essentially in its home arena.

And a blowout.

Yep, the Badness finale almost exactly followed the script of the NCAA title game. Except that’s real and Badness is something we made up (No, really! Check out the intro to see the scientific parameters; also the first round and the Final Four). But who won? Was it the big bad dominant 1-seed? Or the upstart 2-seed?

The greatest Bay Area basketball team of all time is …

CALIFORNIA

Badness Final
Cal 107, USF 84

Yep, it was a shocker. Cal came out strong from the start and out of halftime; much credit goes to coach Pete Newell for his pep talks that clearly fired up the digital Bears. The Dons made a Michigan State-like late surge but by then it was too late. The Bears saw much the same out of Bill Russell as Stanford did in the Final Four: Tons of rebounds but not much scoring (Russell had 20 rebounds but only 14 points). The difference this time? USF’s guards couldn’t make up the scoring difference. In fact, it was Cal’s backcourt that shone. Kevin Johnson led the way with 28 points and nine assists. Jason Kidd had 19 points and 11 assists, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Lamond Murray and Darrell Imhoff all had double-doubles with points and rebounds.

After it was over, Ed Gray hopped into Jamal Sampson’s arms and threw a “No. 1″ into the air. There was a presentation at mid-court, and they started cutting down the nets. And then came the sweet voice of Luther Vandross…

The ball is tipped, and there you are

-Shot of Bill Cartwright winning the tip over Rich Kelley
-Shot of Cal cheerleaders
-Shot of Santa Clara cheerleaders

You’re running for your life, you’re a shooting star

-Shot of Stanford Dollies
-Steve Nash sprinting down the court
-Tom Meschery rising up for the J
-SJSU cheerleaders
-Jason Kidd behind the back to Lamond Murray for the 3

And all the years, no one knows

-Newell clapping his hands on the sidelines in slo-mo
-Tariq Abdul-Wahad beating his chest in slo-mo

Just how hard you worked

-USF cheeleaders in slo-mo
-Sweat drops off Kurt Rambis’ brow in slo-mo

But now it shows…

-Phil Smith-KC Jones chest bump

One shining moment, it’s all on the line. One shining moment, there frozen in time

-Cal cheerleaders
-Bill Russell muscles a rebound
-’Reef thows down a dunk and looks menacingly at the camera
-USF cheerleaders
-Cal cheerleaders
-Cal players hoisting the trophy

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By Peter on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 11:00 am.
Tags: Cal Golden Bears, San Francisco Dons, San Jose State Spartans, Santa Clara Broncos, St. Mary's Gaels, Stanford Cardinal