APIowa State coach Larry Eustachy received a double technical and was ejected from Saturday's game. Then, as if someone hit a switch regulating his adrenaline, Eustachy turned back into a normal-looking human being in a split second. He walked directly over to Spartans star guard Mateen Cleaves, shook his hand and wished him luck. He then did the same with his counterpart, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. And by the time he reached the interview room, Eustachy was as calm as Lake Placid.
Basketball coaches are a strange breed, indeed.
I apologize for that. I apologized to the team for it. Eustachy blamed his momentary loss of sanity on the realization his team would not make it to the Final Four. The NCAA and his conference, the Big 12, could, after all, penalize him for doing so. They could do something to Eustachy, in fact, for his unsportsmanlike explosion.