There are, as several scholars have noted over the years, several differences between men and women.
Women, for instance, take far fewer three-point shots than do men, and make none at all.
Now admittedly, this grand conclusion is based on something less than a large body of data, or input as it is no doubt called these days in your hot- shot scientific circles.
It is based, truth to tell, on Sunday`s game for the championship of college basketball, female division, which was won by the women of Tennessee. Said women did not try even once to get the ball into the hoop from behind the three-point line, a decision that did not prevent them from scoring, on 20 free throws and 28 conventional, two-point field goals, 76 points.
This was 16 more than the total managed by the women from Auburn, who did try some three-pointers, four of them, all late in the game when things were looking desperate, none of them successful.
In contrast, the night before and some 35 miles to the north, the men who play the same kind of game for Michigan and Illinois tried 16 three-pointers, eight by each side. Michigan made three of them and Illinois made two, an interesting statistic but not the main reason Michigan won 83-81. The main reason Michigan won is that the Wolverines have a better school song, with which almost everybody in America can sing along, whereas only Illini know the Illini anthem.
The propensity to try three-pointers is not, however, the sole difference between men and women. Another difference is that women give themselves only half a minute to get off a shot, whereas the men can take up to three quarters of a minute, or 50 percent longer.
This difference ought to be discussed with considerable delicacy, lest it encourage the wrong kind of double-entendres, especially considering that it is only young men who insist on taking up to 45 seconds. More mature professionals can manage things in only 24, 20 percent fewer than even the women.
Some of the differences between men and women relate not to participation but to observation. Women`s basketball seems to attract calmer audiences than does the men`s game, which seems to inspire a certain amount of anger and profanity from the grandstands.
Mere numbers may help account for this difference. A smaller-than-capacity crowd of 9,758 paid customers saw the women`s final at the Tacoma Dome, which is really an arena, in contrast to Seattle`s Kingdome, a domed stadium, which was chock-full with 39,187 Saturday.
But the difference in numbers can not totally explain the difference in demeanor. True, there were more ladies at the women`s game. But there were also more gentlemen, at least in proportion. Only once, when a few Tennessee fans shouted ”air ball, air ball” after an Auburn player blew a foul shot, was there even a hint of unkindness. From men and women alike, men`s basketball arouses baser passions.
In fairness, though, it should be noted that both participants and audiences honor excellence in either gender. Seton Hall players and fans honored Danny Ferry after beating his Duke Blue Devils Saturday, and Auburn backers openly if ruefully conceded the superiority Sunday of Tennessee`s Bridgette Gordon, the 6-foot senior who led all scorers with 27 points and was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.
Yet another difference between men and women has to do with stability. This, too, can be the subject of some controversy, so let it be said quickly that from all evidence demonstrated here in the Domes of the Northwest, it is women who are the more stable.
The women`s championship came down to the two teams who have been ranked and seeded No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation, and the top-ranked team won. The third-ranked team, Louisiana Tech, was also in the Final Four, losing to Auburn in the semifinals Friday.
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The women`s NCAA tournament, in fact, has been stable since its inception in 1982. This was Tennessee`s third championship game and second championship, all under the guidance of Pat Summitt, far and away the most successful basketball coach in the history of womankind.
So evenly matched were Auburn and Tennessee until Sunday that Auburn`s only previous loss this year was to Tennessee, while Tennessee had lost twice, once to Auburn. Its other loss was to the Lady Longhorns of Texas. Leave it to Texans to mess up symmetry
The No. 1 men`s team at the end of the regular season was Arizona, which got knocked off some time ago by the lesser-ranked University of Nevada-Las Vegas, which in turn got knocked off by Seton Hall, which hasn`t yet been knocked off by anyone, but which was never ranked either first or second in the nation. Neither was Michigan, the only other survivor.
The weight of the evidence before us, then, supports the proposition that men are less predictable and more interesting than women. There are times, however, when the weight of the evidence must be balanced against the weight of experience, especially when the evidence supports a conclusion that is manifestly absurd.