One Thing To Consider

[businesslawyer]

This sounds impossible, but the last time we won our opening NCAA game and didn't make it at least to the Final Four was all the way back in 2006. In the 9 completed tourneys since the OT loss to Mason, we have 2 national championships (11 and 14), 1 other Final Four appearance (09), 2 first round losses (the underachievers to Iowa State in 12 and the 08 loss to San Diego when AJ Price blew out his knee and we never mentally recovered), 1 year we would have qualified but were on probation ('13) and 3 years we didn't qualify (07, 10 and 15).

This team really hasn't played its A game -- the game we played for the first 17 minutes of the second half -- for 40 minutes all year. Where at least most of our players are hitting on all cylinders and we don't make dumb individual and team mistakes. Do I think it's likely that we can hit that level now for a 5 game stretch? No. We are who we are. But I firmly believe that we can do it at least once. And if we do it Saturday, we can beat Kansas.

 

[geohusky]

Now we're doomed for sure

 

[4in16]

This sounds impossible, but the last time we won our opening NCAA game and didn't make it at least to the Final Four was all the way back in 2006. In the 9 completed tourneys since the OT loss to Mason, we have 2 national championships (11 and 14), 1 other Final Four appearance (09), 2 first round losses (the underachievers to Iowa State in 12 and the 08 loss to San Diego when AJ Price blew out his knee and we never mentally recovered), 1 year we would have qualified but were on probation ('13) and 3 years we didn't qualify (07, 10 and 15).

This team really hasn't played its A game -- the game we played for the first 17 minutes of the second half -- for 40 minutes all year. Where at least most of our players are hitting on all cylinders and we don't make dumb individual and team mistakes. Do I think it's likely that we can hit that level now for a 5 game stretch? No. We are who we are. But I firmly believe that we can do it at least once. And if we do it Saturday, we can beat Kansas.

I don't even think ESPN would be able to dig up that stat. That's ridiculous.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Wow BL, you've doomed us for sure.

Interesting turn of events; from 1990 to 1998 we always advanced (worst showing was a second round loss to Ohio St) when we made the tournament but could never break through to the final four.

After a middle stretch (1999-2006) with a couple of titles included, we now are an all or nothing proposition so to speak.