Bouncing back simply means the team will bring forth a strong effort and will not dwell on what might have been.

Navigating The Stormy Seas Of Heartbreak

February 27, 2008

Jay Wright and Villanova have had their share of tough losses this season.

As the final seconds ticked away, the triumphant Tar Heels celebrated a 53rd consecutive home win over Clemson, and the stunned Tigers came to grips with reality. They had, for the second time this season, pulled defeat from the jaws of victory against North Carolina. It was, by all definitions, an agonizing loss for Clemson, and even the normally stoic Oliver Purnell looked as though the moment almost got the best of him. It was the most gut-wrenching nationally televised loss of the season – painful, humbling, mind-numbing collapse – the saddest case of a scrappy underdog getting the short end of the stick against the big bad bullies – for about 24 hours. By about 9:00 pm eastern the following Monday, Villanova’s upset bid at Georgetown ended in contentious, controversial, heartbreaking fashion, perhaps even more so than Clemson’s loss, and a new “Most Heartbreaking Loss of the Season” was born. Within a week, both losses were ancient history, as UAB and Baylor raised the bar for finding ways to lose games in the final seconds.

From Birmingham, Alabama to Conway, South Carolina; from Norman, Oklahoma to Santa Clara, California, hardwood heartbreak is lurking around every corner. Ask any honest college basketball player or coach and you will discover: the truth is, over the course of a 30 game season, you will win a few you should have lost, and lose a few you should have won. What separates the top coaches is often not how their team comes back from a 20 point blowout loss, but how they rebound from a loss they know should never have happened. It doesn’t always mean a team will come back to win four in a row after a particularly tough defeat (as Virginia Tech did 2 years ago following the 77-75 loss at Duke – possibly the most agonizing regular season loss of any team this decade). Bouncing back simply means the team will bring forth a strong effort and will not dwell on what might have been.

This season, Clemson, Villanova, and UAB have hardly been the only teams to suffer painful losses. In this era of instant news and video cameras at every game, the number of astonishingly heartbreaking losses hasn’t really grown; it just seems that way because of the increased media coverage. Whether it’s Santa Clara losing a game up 2 with the ball and 4 seconds left, or Valparaiso leading the first 39:45 against Butler and losing, coaches know there is never a shortage of ways to lose a game. Any player feeling miserable after a particularly tough loss should look up the game recap of Colorado State-Purdue from December 30, 2003. Or Oregon-Southern Cal, January 8, 1999. Or perhaps the craziest finish of them all, Buffalo-Bowling Green from February 13, 2007. Before this season ends, there will no doubt be dozens of additional heartbreaking losses, and the teams that bounce back from them successfully will define their seasons by their resilience. After all, a heartbreaking regular season loss is just a regular season loss. The real pain and suffering comes in March!

Dangerous Days for Davidson

In 1996, the Wildcats stormed through the Southern Conference with a 14-0 record, only to lose in the conference tournament to Western Carolina in the championship game. Davidson did not receive an at-large bid despite a 25-4 record and strong support from Dick Vitale among others. In 2005, the Wildcats went 16-0 in league, lost in the semi-finals of the Southern Conference tournament, and again settled for the NIT. Here we are in 2008, with Davidson 18-0 in the league, and very much on the proverbial bubble yet again, should the school stumble in the conference tournament. Is the danger real? Very much so. The home game against Appalachian State is daunting, as is the season finale at Georgia Southern. The Eagles, in particular, will be looking to avenge their 92-67 loss at Davidson and have won eight of their last nine. The Southern Conference tournament never goes the way it’s supposed to - hard to imagine this season being any different. Like Winthrop last year, it would be wise for the Wildcats to take care of business this time, and not leave the decision in the hands of the selection committee. That road has been well-traveled by Davidson, and the destination has generally been disappointment city.

Around the Nation

Don’t look now, but the Temple Owls have a decent chance of finishing 11-5 in the Atlantic 10, very much in the mix for second place… Just when it seemed like Va Tech was done as a viable NCAA tournament candidate, the Hokies won at Maryland, and now have a stretch of three winnable games before the finale at Clemson… Bucknell freshman guard Darryl Shazier may shoot under 30% from the field, but he sure knows when to make them. Against both Lafayette and Colgate, Shazier connected on game-tying threes in the final seconds. The Bison went on to win both games in overtime… Some bad news for bubble teams: you might as well get used to the fact that Butler and Drake will probably not win their respective league tournaments. Especially scary is the prospect of Southern Illinois winning Arch Madness; their first round tournament opponent will get a team ranked in the preseason Top 25 and playing Top 25 quality basketball these days… Sometimes you should ignore rankings and believe what your eyes tell you. And if your eyes tell you Purdue and Wisconsin couldn’t hang with any decent team outside the Big 10, you just might be on to something… No matter what you think of Duke, you have to admit there is something dangerous and exciting whenever freshman Taylor King steps on the court. It’s like watching Tracy Morgan on live TV… Why is Boise State so good this year? Probably, because they were really good last year too, they just couldn’t close out games. The Broncos were 17-14, with 7 losses by 4 points or less, and while they’ve gotten better this year (20-6 so far), they’ve still lost four games by 4 points or less. All these guys need to do is make the tournament – watch them shock the world and advance to the Sweet 16… Kentucky may well end up sneaking into the NCAA tournament by winning the SEC tournament, or at least coming close like Arkansas last year, but consider this: if the Wildcats don’t make it, they will lose Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley, and more than likely Patrick Patterson to the NBA, not to mention the transfer of Alex Legion. Yes, it could actually get worse next season for Ashley Judd and Bluegrass nation.

Ehud Knoll is a sfaff writer for collegeinsider.com. EMAIL EHUD