COLUMN: You better root for KU
It’s agonizing to think about it now.
If you’re like me, the Aggie men’s basketball team’s 64-61 loss to Kansas in the NCAA first round still puts an unstable sensation in your stomach – eerily similar to the one I get after downing a massive breakfast burrito.
You know the feeling. When we gorge on junk food, life is good for the time-being, but the after-hours gas and stomach ache is where we get what we knew was coming.
It’s just like a tough loss – hard to digest, and at times it can really stink.
What would life be like now if the Aggies would have beaten Kansas? Do you replay it in your head like me? Two open looks at a three-point basket in the closing seconds, but neither could find their way through the hoop.
It must have been a conspiracy. I’m sure somebody rigged that rim just like they do at Las Vegas arcades so you can’t win.
But, take a look at the bright side. It’ll drown those doubts. Kansas gave third-seeded Marquette its version of “shock and awe” in a 94-61 win Saturday to advance to the NCAA Championship game Monday night.
“Kansas revealed what we pretty much already knew,” columnist Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel wrote Sunday. “That Marquette is but a flash in the pan here, an endangered species, perhaps the last of its kind we’ll ever see on this grand stage.”
So, what does that make the Aggies?
Before downing the small school from Milwaukee, the Jayhawks squeaked by No. 1 seed Arizona 78-75. Before that they went by No. 3 seed Duke 69-65. Before that, they stoned No. 10 seed Arizona State 108-76. Arizona was as close, Duke as well – but that is expected of coaching greats Lute Olson, Mike Krzyzewski and … Stew Morrill?
I’ll take USU’s three-point loss with optimism when it shows not too many others can compete with the soon-to-be NCAA champions like the Aggies did. After all, USU was a 15th seed from the paltry Big West, and Kansas is a No. 2 seed (and arguably, because of their performance in the tournament and throughout the regular season, should have been a No. 1 seed) from the powerhouse Big 12.
Some say the game was as close as it was because the Aggies weren’t on TV enough during the regular season, which would make it difficult for the Jayhawks to find game tape to study.
Others say USU had no pressure to win, which apparently should ease the burden.
Ah, baloney.
It’s Kansas, a team which is in its second-straight Final Four (their fourth under Roy Williams and the 12th time in school history). They know what they’re doing.
After the game, the Aggies said they missed what was a sure thing, to be the nation’s top sports story – if only for one night.
If all goes right, Kansas will be crowned the tournament champions Monday night. It’s safe to assume the Aggies are hoping the same thing.
The Aggies rolled into the NCAA first round with absolutely nothing to lose – except the game.
Doesn’t the loss say something special about this season’s team? This one certainly does. The Aggies were a squad that simply needed to have somebody tell them: ‘Hey, you can compete with anybody.’
Excellent coaching never fails. This is why USU’s tight game with Kansas was not a surprise.
I heard somebody say recently, if Syracuse loses by more than three points, then USU is tied for No. 2 in the nation with Arizona. Sure it sounds ridiculous. But the facts don’t lie, do they?
For a team that lost to Idaho at home, that’s not bad. Not bad at all.
Sammy Hislop is a freshman majoring in journalism. Comments can be sent to him at samhis@cc.usu.edu.