PeKaph wrote:Can't argue with that analysis. Mallett should not have been MOP. His TO ended the game. Odom was the best player on the court.
This is the TOURNAMENT MVP, not the FINALS MVP, and not the PLAY AT THE END OF THE GAME MVP. Mallett averaged 14.3 pts, 9.3 reb, 2.3 assists and 1.6 TOs in 35 minutes per game. Odom averaged 12.3 pts, 4 reb, 3.3 assists and 2.6 TOs in 30 minutes. Odom had a great tournament and was a big reason for their finals win, but Mallet was better thoughout the tourney. If you are going to kick Mallett because of a TO, then you must kick Odom as he averaged more TOs per game than Mallett, which is a bad argument. And if you are going to look at the end of the game....isn't it Odom that choked on a FT to keep MSU in the game with 20 seconds to go? Kelly was the clutch player that knocked both of his down to get the lead to 4.
I thought Mallett fumbled the ball out of bounds as well, but a friend watching on TV told me an ISU player knocked the ball out of his hands out of bounds. Don't blame Mallett, credit good D. Still, that one play does not define a tourney.
I told the group I was with that I was with right after the game that the shame of MSU losing is that they would not give Mallett the MVP since they lost, as he was clearly deserving. Credit the voters for getting this right regardless of who won the game.