To the editor:

After being involved in basketball as a player, coach and referee for more than 40 years, my hat is off to the Northern Iowa players and mostly the coaching staff. The UNI coaching staff prepared and implemented one of the most successful game plans I have seen in years with style and confidence.

What was disheartening was to watch the best team in the country, from the tip, come down the floor many times, completely out of control, taking off-balance shots and making sloppy passes. Why wasn’t the fleet of high quality coaches on the sideline able to see this and make adjustments? The changes could have easily been made with 15 minutes left in the first half instead of waiting until the sense of urgency with 3 minutes left in the game.

This victory for Northern Iowa is why the NCAA Tournament is the single greatest athletic event.