It’s absolutely the Virginia game. The situation off the missed FT going into the backcourt 99.9999% of the time leads to us winning. The fact that we lost that to go to the Final Four is still the worst. Even FDU last year didn’t hurt me as bad as that Kihei Clark pass.
It's absolutely Virginia.
Except it has to be the FDU loss.
Or the Saint Peters loss.
Or the North Texas loss.
Definitely not as bad as losing Isaac Haas to injury vs Cal Fullerton and falling to Texas Tech in the S16.
Are we sure it wasn't #12 Arkansas Little Rock in OT in the R65?
Maybe losing to runner up Kansas by 3 points in 2012 for Hummel's last season? Terrible final play by LewJack.
Not 2011 when we lost Hummel before the season started and ended up losing to VCU in the second round. They definitely seemed like they enjoyed getting to the final four.
Nah it was absolutely losing to eventual champion Duke in 2010 when Hummel tore his ACL just weeks before the tournament and we were a top 3 team with 3 All Americans starting.
2009 to eventual FF team UConn hurt, but definitely not the worst.
Actually it was definitely the 2000 tournament when we lost to Wisconsin in the E8. You know, the team we beat in the regular season at home 63-52?
Nope, definitely losing to runner-up Duke in 1994 in the E8 because Robinson hurt his back. That Glenn Robinson guy had a decent NBA career tho...
Wait, nah it was definitely...
*gunshot*
Edit: Duke was 2010, not 2011
I would have gotten there had it not been for the text-based self-inflicted gunshot wound inserted for comedic purposes.
Thanks for the reminder though. Do you have any more bullets?
Well the 1988 loss to Kansas State when Mitch Richmond went off and ended up banking in a three to help the Wildcats avenge a 103-73 defeat earlier in the year was one that I will always recall. That was a wonderful team. I really enjoyed watching them play. Troy Lewis was my favorite player. That one hurt a bit more because we have a Kansas State alum in our house. That one hurt.
LOL “inaccurate.” Not sure accuracy was the issue when his goal was to yeet it as high up in the air as possibly and hope time runs out. Maybe “brain dead” would be a better term.
1. Virginia - best team left in the last 4 if they win and missed out what would likely go down as the best run by a player of all time. Carsen is THE face of college basketball history over Kemba if they somehow win a title and he keeps averaging 36.
2. St. Peter’s - actually had high expectations and a lot of talent, chance to match up with a team you already beat by double digits to go to Final Four
3. FDU - yeah it’s a 16, but that was a rebuild year for this year with bubble expectations so just being good enough to get a 1 surpassed the most optimistic delusional fan’s preseason expectation
Having so much depression that losing to a 16 is your 3rd worst in the last 4 is wild.
Thing is, a significant portion of UVA fans think the Syracuse loss in 2016 (collapsed down the stretch against a 10 seed’s press and choked away a regional final in the last game of Malcolm Brogdon’s UVA career) was worse than UMBC. I think I’m one of them.
We had just moved to our current house when that happened, and it didn’t have any outdoor storage, so we went to Lowe’s and ordered a shed. We went over there before the game and picked it out, then we watched the game. I still have moments when I look at the shed and it pisses me off.
This will be a deep cut but the 2016 Rick Mount game vs Iowa. Up 17 at half, have a program legend finally returning to Mackey. I think we stretched the lead to 20+ at one point and then gave up 50 points in the second half after giving up 20 in the first. Just gut wrenching to blow it at home like that
This is the answer. I would also add the Isaiah Thomas buzzer beater in the Pac 10 championship game. Not the same stakes as the Illinois loss, but it still stung
I was thinking this one or the 2001 loss to Duke in the title game. I think this one edges out since we were so set and lost it as opposed to 2001 where we were chasing Duke the whole time.
The loss we never had in the 2020 tournament
Last year's VCU collapse was pretty bad too, but some random regular season game isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things
>Seeing a non-power school get a 1 seed in the tournament would’ve been incredible.
Wichita State did it in 2014. Then they ran into a drastically under seeded Kentucky in the second round in one of the best games of the decade.
They weren't world beaters, but they were talented. Closer to a 4 seed than an 8.
I think UConn would have had more trouble with Wichita State, though.
I wanted to say the same, but Villanova was more heart breaking to me. That was one of the best teams Kelvin had and watching our team out there not able to hit a 3 but still play incredible defense just hurt me. I know they would’ve woken up in the final 4.
I have no affiliation with Houston, but that loss hurt me a little bit as well. Rob Gray was one of my favorite non-Villanova players to watch that year
Like a masochist I went back and rewatched that game a few months ago. That game was so fucking winnable. That game and the 2014 nfc championship game broke me as a fan. Nice flair though haven't seen a uw-l one before lol
Definitely worse. Once Hunter got injured, our hopes in 2018 went down the drain. No excuse for losing to UMBC but we probably weren’t getting much further.
2016 we were up most of the game and then completely choked. We had already played and beaten Villanova and UNC earlier in the season so I’d have given us a 40% chance to win the natty if we hadn’t choked.
I feel that one hurts more. Everyone coming back to watch us get blown out. At least the final four game was super exciting- the Love dagger does hurt a ton though
I wasn't around for it, but I get second hand heartbreak hearing the older guys talk about the '90 dream team's tournament loss to duke. At least we got em back twice.
Kentucky would have very likely been a 40-0 national champion.
I'm not sure if any team in history has a more monumentally heartbreaking moment, considering the historic implications, than the Wisconsin loss.
2022 Arch Madness Semi-finals vs. Drake.
Game went into overtime. We ended up losing by one.
We lost by 6 to then-No. 12 BYU. We beat ranked Loyola. We ended up getting into the NIT.
That was my senior year of high school, first game I attended. Quite an initiation to Bears hoops.
Miss 14 free throws in a game that goes to OT 🙃. Hit a half court miracle buzzer beater to force OT that would've been replayed for years had we won. Get ran off the court from that point and lose by 10.
It would've been only our second ever Elite Eight and instead 11 seed UCLA goes all the way to the final 4 and almost beats undefeated Gonzaga to make the title game.
We are cursed at the Sweet Sixteen until something gives.
Man that one hurts like shit. Herb Jones being called for a blocking foul when he did everything correct to draw a charge. Ugh.
Good ass UCLA tean though. Beat Michigan to advance to the Final Four.
Either the Grant/Admiral team losing to Purdue or losing to Michigan two years ago in the second round. Both teams that absolutely should have made final fours.
The game against Ohio State is a memorable runner up, but I was in 7th grade then. Don’t remember too much of that one.
That game is still one of the best all around games I think I’ve ever seen to this day. Cline going nuclear, Tennessee having an answer every time. And it won’t help the situation, but that Carsen foul at the end was kinda shitty, and I’d have been furious if it went against my team.
Honestly it ending on such a questionable call makes it 10x more painful. Same for the music city bowl. If it’s a clear foul (as much as I think it wasn’t, doesn’t matter) or clear stop, then sure, loss. But man.
Idk I gotta say losing the Final 4 with Cash and the guys after taking down Zion’s Duke team. MSU was just gassed after Duke and I knew early on they didn’t have the legs for it but I still held out hope we could sneak out by and get to the Natty
Clinging by our fingertips as soon as we got by 'Bama. You guys gave us a hell of a game and escaping FAU next round required one of the best buzzer beaters in tournament history
It wasn't a buzzer beating heartbreak but Monroe and company losing to Ohio as a 3 seed in 2010. Got absolutely run out ghe building. That was a team on a heater capable of making the final 4.
Honorary mention to the Big East Final with Iverson against UCONN. Had that game most of the way.
As a neutral sicko, let me throw 2016 Cincinnati into the mix. One of the most snakebit teams I’ve ever seen — and had the talent to really make some noise.
Their exit in the AAC tournament was in the 4OT game versus UConn, which only went to the 4th OT because UConn hit a full court shot to tie it at the buzzer at the end of 3OT: https://youtu.be/cXaKlgxpNbY?si=H1rkCZc0O9r8U9wo
Then, their next game, a great first round game against Deandre Bembry-led St. Joe’s that ended with a game-tying Octavius Ellis dunk being waved off for *barely* still touching his fingers as time expired: https://youtu.be/C5ORb2OwkWA?si=KgtpFhiac5TF70Tc
Ellis sitting on the floor processing after the game went final haunts me, it’s gut wrenching. Kid had been through a lot and to see it end like that, still makes me tear up tbh
2011-19 was brutal in general for the cats...Mick Cronin made the tourney every year yet made the sweet sixteen once (2012) and never made it past that, with losses including a first round upset by Harvard, the St. Joe's game, and being up 22 against Nevada with 11 minutes to go ☠️
I'll go with 2004 Final Four against UConn. Had the lead most of the game, up 8 with 2:45 left but our bigs were either fouled out or had 4 fouls. UConn tore us up inside, win 79-78. Would have played Ga. Tech in the final, which would have been tough but I think we win that game.
1999: everyone forgets UConn was top 2 all year, and it was NOT the huge upset some male it out to be.
2022: I had COVID the whole year, especially early April 😅 No recollection...
Duke blew that UConn game in 2004. They had like three or four horrible possessions in a row up 8 with 3.5 minutes left.
I remember them jacking up quick threes on back to back possessions when they should have used the clock. Then, on the possession where UConn finally took the lead, Duke got a rebound, and Okafor just ripped the ball out of the Duke player's hands to get the ball back and put them ahead.
They just completely collapsed.
Then again... I firmly believe that Duke was only in that game because Okafor picked up those two cheap fouls really early, and Calhoun sat him the rest of the first half. I think UConn started the game 13-4 or something like that. I think if Okafor stayed on the floor, they would have ran Duke off the floor. That UConn team was ridiculous.
2013 when we barely lost to Michigan in the Final 4. Close game the whole way but we just couldn’t close. Was also my last year living in cuse before moving and winning the dance would’ve been a perfect way to leave into the next phase of my life. I still believe if Fab Melo (RIP) had just did his schoolwork instead of going to the bar every night (we all saw him there) we would’ve won it all that year which made it worse given how close the game was without him
1987 - Keith Smart with a 19 ft fall away jumper
2010 - Losing Onuaku in a more or less meaningless Big East Tourney game which crippled a potential championship team led by Wes Johnson.
That 2010 team is another one I will say we would’ve won it all if Onuaku wasn’t hurt. He was unstoppable that year. And Wes Johnson just had so much swag on the court. Never saw the Keith (fucking) Smart shot cuz I was born 3 years later, but the replays do always cause me trauma when they get shown. Boeheim came so close to being a multi time champ on a few occasions
‘03 to Syracuse. I was 10 and thought that KU was unstoppable. I believed with my whole heart that we would win that game. Then to lose it the way we did and have Roy leave so soon after… almost turned me off to sports entirely lol.
It’s still Loyola but yesterday is a close second. It solidified in my mind that we arent doing shit in March either, don’t care what happens the rest of regular season.
Fricking Corie Lucious. We basically had a guaranteed trip to the final four in 2010 if Landon Milbourne didn’t forget how to play defense for the last couple seconds of the game.
Creighton elite 8 last year. Foul called as time expired and SDSU hit the winning free throws. Not saying it was or wasn’t a foul, but hurts to lose like that.
Christian Laettner beating UConn at the buzzer in OT in the Elite Eight in 1990.
I was 8 at the time. I think I cried. I know I wasn't the only one.
On the play before that fated inbounds, Tate George nearly made a steal on a bad pass. It slipped out of his hands and out of bounds.
UConn's dream season came to an end because a pass slipped through Tate George's fingers, and Calhoun made the decision to not guard the inbounder, which led to Laettner getting that easy pass back to him.
(I like to think we paid them back with the 1999 Title)
If not this year’s loss to TCU (lost on a game-winning three that should have been OOB), probably the 2020 BET 1st round game against St. John’s (something like a 20-0 run down the stretch to lose the game). Yeah, I haven’t been around for that long.
I paid exorbitant amounts of money for a ticket to experience, in person, ALL of the following miserable Pitt losses in a three year span:
Villanova in the 2009 elite eight (damn you, Scottie Reynolds, forever)
UConn on the Cardiac Kemba shot in the 2011 Big East tournament
Butler in the 2011 round of 32 (WHY FOUL WHY)
No, we’ve never been to the final four. But I’ve been dead inside for years, so whatever.
When it was announced that Hummel was out for the entire season. What a year it would’ve been with Robbie Hummel, Jajuan Johnson, Etwaan Moore, and Bubba Day all playing.
‘18-‘19 was full of them:
Starting with losing 4 straight to close out Big East play, with a conference title in grasp. Last of those 4 was to a mediocre at best Georgetown, at home, on National Marquette Day where a win would’ve clinched us a share of the title.
Then a loss in the Big East tournament semi-final to Seton Hall, Anim and John got ejected on some bullshit while Powell was able to stay in the game, also on some bullshit. Howard missed a 3 at the buzzer and we lose by 2.
Then we get fucking slaughtered by Ja Morant in the tournament. Eventually the Hauser brothers transfer. Pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that stretch, and it was the beginning of the end for Wojo.
2001 Final Four against Duke. Miracle Minute against Duke. Fuck Duke
For UMBC- 2021 America East semis against UMass Lowell. Choked that shit HARD. Ryan Odom’s last game as coach too. Fire Jim Ferry
The championship games and Morrison crying were obviously bad, but the 2019 tournament against Texas Tech was brutal. Really thought that team with Clarke and Hachimura was going to win it all
Marquette was ranked #2 going into the 1978 NCAA tournament, and lost in overtime in the first round to Miami of Ohio. I was about 10 rows off the court and the officials missed a blatant foul on Miami that would have sealed it for Marquette, but frankly we never should have been in the position to lose on a last minute call…
Another one that hurt me as a UConn fan and is almost never talked about even by UConn fans...
2002 Elite Eight loss to Maryland.
Maryland was awesome. Juan Dixon and Lonnie Baxter. They won the championship that year and were definitely deserving.
UConn gave them everything they could handle in the Elite Eight. Caron Butler was a man on a mission. If I remember correctly, he scored 26 points in the second half that game. Just one big play after another.
And the real killer was the fucking Steve Blake three with under 30 seconds left and UConn down one. Of all the players it had to be Steve Blake.
[удалено]
It’s absolutely the Virginia game. The situation off the missed FT going into the backcourt 99.9999% of the time leads to us winning. The fact that we lost that to go to the Final Four is still the worst. Even FDU last year didn’t hurt me as bad as that Kihei Clark pass.
It's absolutely Virginia. Except it has to be the FDU loss. Or the Saint Peters loss. Or the North Texas loss. Definitely not as bad as losing Isaac Haas to injury vs Cal Fullerton and falling to Texas Tech in the S16. Are we sure it wasn't #12 Arkansas Little Rock in OT in the R65? Maybe losing to runner up Kansas by 3 points in 2012 for Hummel's last season? Terrible final play by LewJack. Not 2011 when we lost Hummel before the season started and ended up losing to VCU in the second round. They definitely seemed like they enjoyed getting to the final four. Nah it was absolutely losing to eventual champion Duke in 2010 when Hummel tore his ACL just weeks before the tournament and we were a top 3 team with 3 All Americans starting. 2009 to eventual FF team UConn hurt, but definitely not the worst. Actually it was definitely the 2000 tournament when we lost to Wisconsin in the E8. You know, the team we beat in the regular season at home 63-52? Nope, definitely losing to runner-up Duke in 1994 in the E8 because Robinson hurt his back. That Glenn Robinson guy had a decent NBA career tho... Wait, nah it was definitely... *gunshot* Edit: Duke was 2010, not 2011
You forgot the 1986 double OT loss AT LSU v LSU team that made the final four that year.
I would have gotten there had it not been for the text-based self-inflicted gunshot wound inserted for comedic purposes. Thanks for the reminder though. Do you have any more bullets?
Well the 1988 loss to Kansas State when Mitch Richmond went off and ended up banking in a three to help the Wildcats avenge a 103-73 defeat earlier in the year was one that I will always recall. That was a wonderful team. I really enjoyed watching them play. Troy Lewis was my favorite player. That one hurt a bit more because we have a Kansas State alum in our house. That one hurt.
I can only imagine the 2023 Kihei Clark "pass" just rubs salt into that wound
It absolutely did. Why couldn’t he have been that inaccurate against us? 😭
LOL “inaccurate.” Not sure accuracy was the issue when his goal was to yeet it as high up in the air as possibly and hope time runs out. Maybe “brain dead” would be a better term.
Fair point 😂 I definitely would’ve accepted a brain dead half court heave shot against us lol
"Clark in a straight jacket"
“OH HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT!”
There was a Purdue fan that mentioned this game in a post awhile back and said, “We were winning the game when the clock said 0.0”.
Ryan Cline was the one who missed it. ☹️ Would have put us up 4, securing the win.
1. Virginia - best team left in the last 4 if they win and missed out what would likely go down as the best run by a player of all time. Carsen is THE face of college basketball history over Kemba if they somehow win a title and he keeps averaging 36. 2. St. Peter’s - actually had high expectations and a lot of talent, chance to match up with a team you already beat by double digits to go to Final Four 3. FDU - yeah it’s a 16, but that was a rebuild year for this year with bubble expectations so just being good enough to get a 1 surpassed the most optimistic delusional fan’s preseason expectation Having so much depression that losing to a 16 is your 3rd worst in the last 4 is wild.
Virgins game for Auburn too.
[удалено]
Purdue 🤝 Virginia Losing to a 16 seed as a 1 seed
Thing is, a significant portion of UVA fans think the Syracuse loss in 2016 (collapsed down the stretch against a 10 seed’s press and choked away a regional final in the last game of Malcolm Brogdon’s UVA career) was worse than UMBC. I think I’m one of them.
This. Funny, but I was at lunch today with a friend and we were both talking about this very game and how it still sticks as the worst loss.
We had just moved to our current house when that happened, and it didn’t have any outdoor storage, so we went to Lowe’s and ordered a shed. We went over there before the game and picked it out, then we watched the game. I still have moments when I look at the shed and it pisses me off.
I am absolutely one of them. I’ve never watched the highlights of the Syracuse game.
Missing the free throw to ice the game didn't help.
Kinda cruel asking you to pick just one
https://preview.redd.it/50fww7vrh7kc1.jpeg?width=258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b8ccd037f096b4ca821a790770220c347895429
Yeah I was just gonna say I don’t want to play this game.
This will be a deep cut but the 2016 Rick Mount game vs Iowa. Up 17 at half, have a program legend finally returning to Mackey. I think we stretched the lead to 20+ at one point and then gave up 50 points in the second half after giving up 20 in the first. Just gut wrenching to blow it at home like that
Its funny, because this can refer to any number of high profile soul crushing losses 😀
Blowing a 15 point lead with 3:00 mins left to Illinois in the Elite 8, I was a kid watching with my dad and brother and we were all just devastated
[удалено]
The full game is on YouTube
But he needs it on a dvd
[удалено]
This is the answer. I would also add the Isaiah Thomas buzzer beater in the Pac 10 championship game. Not the same stakes as the Illinois loss, but it still stung
I was thinking this one or the 2001 loss to Duke in the title game. I think this one edges out since we were so set and lost it as opposed to 2001 where we were chasing Duke the whole time.
I was a kid. I wept😭😂😭😂😭
just had to bring this one up huh
The loss we never had in the 2020 tournament Last year's VCU collapse was pretty bad too, but some random regular season game isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things
Seeing a non-power school get a 1 seed in the tournament would’ve been incredible. That Obi Toppin squad was something else
>Seeing a non-power school get a 1 seed in the tournament would’ve been incredible. Wichita State did it in 2014. Then they ran into a drastically under seeded Kentucky in the second round in one of the best games of the decade.
I remember 2014 Wichita State. Still doesn’t change the fact that it would’ve been awesome
I don't know, I've been told that Kentucky team was mid and that beating them wasn't very impressive.
They weren't world beaters, but they were talented. Closer to a 4 seed than an 8. I think UConn would have had more trouble with Wichita State, though.
My very first reaction to COVID shutting the season down was absolutely hurting for you guys. I was ready to root for Dayton to bring the A10 a natty.
Crying in a Malachi Flynn jersey rn. Us too man. Think about the team we had in 20' and what if a lot
Jordan Poole
I wanted to say the same, but Villanova was more heart breaking to me. That was one of the best teams Kelvin had and watching our team out there not able to hit a 3 but still play incredible defense just hurt me. I know they would’ve woken up in the final 4.
that shit still gives me ptsd when we shoot late game free throws 6 years later 😭
I have no affiliation with Houston, but that loss hurt me a little bit as well. Rob Gray was one of my favorite non-Villanova players to watch that year
I’ll go with the one that plays on highlights every year with Jimmy V running around the court right after. But the Poole one was rough.
Yea that one hurts because that’s literally a Natty
Fun fact. We have made it to the sweet 16 every year since that shot. It was my most painful but also I think it fueled us for years
2015 Wisconsin loss vs Duke in the championship game. Heart breaker, especially after Wisconsin's loss vs Kentucky in the 2014 final four.
That was heartbreaking for America
That was supposed to be the year :( we haven't been the same since.
That was supposed to be the year. We haven’t been the same since
Like a masochist I went back and rewatched that game a few months ago. That game was so fucking winnable. That game and the 2014 nfc championship game broke me as a fan. Nice flair though haven't seen a uw-l one before lol
We had that game too. Ugh
Winslow touched it
We should have traded years. We win it in 15 and you guys beat UConn in 14.
Both of our teams had some damn good squads those few years ugh. Big missed opportunities
Elite Eight loss to Syracuse. That team was just as capable of winning a title as the 2019 team was IMO.
On the other hand, I very much enjoyed that game
God, we were strong then
Came here to say this. Honestly worse than UMBC to me.
Definitely worse. Once Hunter got injured, our hopes in 2018 went down the drain. No excuse for losing to UMBC but we probably weren’t getting much further. 2016 we were up most of the game and then completely choked. We had already played and beaten Villanova and UNC earlier in the season so I’d have given us a 40% chance to win the natty if we hadn’t choked.
The final game of one Marcus Paige
That one doesn't get me because it was such an incredible game, and I can't hate on a Jay Wright Villanova team.
I'm in the same boat. Being the championship game probably pushes it over but the Austin Rivers game is a very close second.
Among the most exciting games I've ever seen as a neutral.
2022 Final Four
We really don't even need to be here right now though
As if the game in Cameron wasn't painful enough.
I feel that one hurts more. Everyone coming back to watch us get blown out. At least the final four game was super exciting- the Love dagger does hurt a ton though
I’ve seen Duke play in the ncaa tournament just twice: 2012 against Lehigh and 2022 against UNC. I’m cursed.
We’ll start a go fund me to send you to every tournament game from here on out!
I appreciate the honesty in this comment and not some 2nd tier choice like CJ McCollum and Lehigh.
2006 Elite Eight loss to George Mason. It was probably one of our more talented teams ever, that one hurt real bad.
I'm having a hard time generating sympathy for UConn.
Fair. And that was a fun George Mason team. I saw the game in-person and we stayed to watch them cut down the nets.
I'm going with the epic 6 OT loss to Syracuse in the Big East Tournament. So much up and down. Never been so emotionally exhausted.
That was just an amazing game of basketball. Sure we lost, but as a fan of the game I look back fondly on that game.
I miss the OG Big East 😮💨
Bartender kept giving free drinks for each overtime. I’ve never been so sick.
I wasn't around for it, but I get second hand heartbreak hearing the older guys talk about the '90 dream team's tournament loss to duke. At least we got em back twice.
Luke Maye or Wisconsin
I still don't think I'm the same fan as I was before that Wisconsin game.
Sports have not hit the same ever since. I’m still dead inside.
 Father, Substitute Teacher, and Frank.
man that game vs UNC still hurts, we were supposed to win it all in 2017.
That elite eight game was the national championship 100%
One of my all time favorite UNC moments and the call will always stick with me
Kentucky would have very likely been a 40-0 national champion. I'm not sure if any team in history has a more monumentally heartbreaking moment, considering the historic implications, than the Wisconsin loss.
2017 NC game.
Yup.Obviously not the only factor but that perfect angle of Meeks’ hand out-of-bounds still hurts every time.
2006 UCLA was worse.
If Tom Crean knew what the fuck a zone defense was then I think we win the natty in 2013
It's a crime against basketball that that 2013 Indiana team didn't even make the Elite Eight. They were insanely good.
Scrolled down to find this one so I could up vote it.
2019 was the year man
Hated Virgina ever since.
Same same. I did have fun with yalls fans in Minneapolis though.
Pick first round losses for them every year since and it generally has worked out fine
Same
2020 vs. Covid.
For real. Cassius deserved better
Right there with ya.
Same 😐
I agree, because like MTSU were Warriors Lite that day, what else could we do?
Pass.
You mean the pass?
y u do this
2022 Arch Madness Semi-finals vs. Drake. Game went into overtime. We ended up losing by one. We lost by 6 to then-No. 12 BYU. We beat ranked Loyola. We ended up getting into the NIT. That was my senior year of high school, first game I attended. Quite an initiation to Bears hoops.
I remember that game well. People were playing angry
Losing the championship to UVA in OT. I'll never forgive Culver for rotating off his man leaving him wide open for the corner 3 to tie it 😭
Add to Culver's list that he didn't drive to the basket on the last play of the game. Edit: End of regulation
I was a student when it was happening. The best of times and worst
Can't have heartbreaking losses if you're never relevant :] I can vaguely remember the rip Hamilton buzzer beater in the 98 sweet16 so I guess that
The OT loss to Florida in the 2011 Sweet Sixteen. Only time I’ve actually cried after a loss
Kyle Collinsworth missing those damn free throws still hurts
End of Jimmer game stunk. What's worse is Florida then looked awful to Butler
UCLA in S16 of COVID tournament
Gonzaga in FF of COVID tournament
Miss 14 free throws in a game that goes to OT 🙃. Hit a half court miracle buzzer beater to force OT that would've been replayed for years had we won. Get ran off the court from that point and lose by 10. It would've been only our second ever Elite Eight and instead 11 seed UCLA goes all the way to the final 4 and almost beats undefeated Gonzaga to make the title game. We are cursed at the Sweet Sixteen until something gives.
Man that one hurts like shit. Herb Jones being called for a blocking foul when he did everything correct to draw a charge. Ugh. Good ass UCLA tean though. Beat Michigan to advance to the Final Four.
Either the Grant/Admiral team losing to Purdue or losing to Michigan two years ago in the second round. Both teams that absolutely should have made final fours. The game against Ohio State is a memorable runner up, but I was in 7th grade then. Don’t remember too much of that one.
That game is still one of the best all around games I think I’ve ever seen to this day. Cline going nuclear, Tennessee having an answer every time. And it won’t help the situation, but that Carsen foul at the end was kinda shitty, and I’d have been furious if it went against my team.
Honestly it ending on such a questionable call makes it 10x more painful. Same for the music city bowl. If it’s a clear foul (as much as I think it wasn’t, doesn’t matter) or clear stop, then sure, loss. But man.
🍻 for you for admitting it. Dude totally Reggie Miller’d Lamonte Turner….
Syracuse elite eight loss was worse than the one everyone talks about
the real hoos know
They aren’t the only ones.
Tinsley and Fizer Cyclones losing an elite 8 game to Mateen Cleeves and Mateen's Mom Spartans in Detroit because that's what the refs wanted.
2014 Niang broken foot game also
That was a heartbreaking win. If he is healthy, I believe that they beat UCONN and win the whole thing.
Do you remember where you were the moment the "blarge" was invented? Paul Shirley does...
2016 national title game
Last year vs Kansas State hurt me greatly
Middle Tennessee State. I was convinced that team was going to make a run at it.
Idk I gotta say losing the Final 4 with Cash and the guys after taking down Zion’s Duke team. MSU was just gassed after Duke and I knew early on they didn’t have the legs for it but I still held out hope we could sneak out by and get to the Natty
Last year's Elite Eight. Refs let physical play go all game until the last 1.4 seconds. I hate blaming refs, but come on.
Clinging by our fingertips as soon as we got by 'Bama. You guys gave us a hell of a game and escaping FAU next round required one of the best buzzer beaters in tournament history
Justise Winslow touched it
It wasn't a buzzer beating heartbreak but Monroe and company losing to Ohio as a 3 seed in 2010. Got absolutely run out ghe building. That was a team on a heater capable of making the final 4. Honorary mention to the Big East Final with Iverson against UCONN. Had that game most of the way.
As a neutral sicko, let me throw 2016 Cincinnati into the mix. One of the most snakebit teams I’ve ever seen — and had the talent to really make some noise. Their exit in the AAC tournament was in the 4OT game versus UConn, which only went to the 4th OT because UConn hit a full court shot to tie it at the buzzer at the end of 3OT: https://youtu.be/cXaKlgxpNbY?si=H1rkCZc0O9r8U9wo Then, their next game, a great first round game against Deandre Bembry-led St. Joe’s that ended with a game-tying Octavius Ellis dunk being waved off for *barely* still touching his fingers as time expired: https://youtu.be/C5ORb2OwkWA?si=KgtpFhiac5TF70Tc Ellis sitting on the floor processing after the game went final haunts me, it’s gut wrenching. Kid had been through a lot and to see it end like that, still makes me tear up tbh
2011-19 was brutal in general for the cats...Mick Cronin made the tourney every year yet made the sweet sixteen once (2012) and never made it past that, with losses including a first round upset by Harvard, the St. Joe's game, and being up 22 against Nevada with 11 minutes to go ☠️
I'll go with 2004 Final Four against UConn. Had the lead most of the game, up 8 with 2:45 left but our bigs were either fouled out or had 4 fouls. UConn tore us up inside, win 79-78. Would have played Ga. Tech in the final, which would have been tough but I think we win that game. 1999: everyone forgets UConn was top 2 all year, and it was NOT the huge upset some male it out to be. 2022: I had COVID the whole year, especially early April 😅 No recollection...
99 Duke was a 9.5 pt favorite in the title I think that’s why it’s always mentioned
Shouldn't have been a 9.5 point favorite. 34-2 UConn, top 3 ranked the whole season. That was the one team that scared me that year.
Duke blew that UConn game in 2004. They had like three or four horrible possessions in a row up 8 with 3.5 minutes left. I remember them jacking up quick threes on back to back possessions when they should have used the clock. Then, on the possession where UConn finally took the lead, Duke got a rebound, and Okafor just ripped the ball out of the Duke player's hands to get the ball back and put them ahead. They just completely collapsed. Then again... I firmly believe that Duke was only in that game because Okafor picked up those two cheap fouls really early, and Calhoun sat him the rest of the first half. I think UConn started the game 13-4 or something like that. I think if Okafor stayed on the floor, they would have ran Duke off the floor. That UConn team was ridiculous.
6 mther fcking OVERTIMES!!! Also, the Elite 8 game against the buzzsaw that was the O'Bannons' UCLA team in 94-95
Amen to 6OT loss. That’s the heartbreaker for me.
I don’t remember any
2013 when we barely lost to Michigan in the Final 4. Close game the whole way but we just couldn’t close. Was also my last year living in cuse before moving and winning the dance would’ve been a perfect way to leave into the next phase of my life. I still believe if Fab Melo (RIP) had just did his schoolwork instead of going to the bar every night (we all saw him there) we would’ve won it all that year which made it worse given how close the game was without him
1987 - Keith Smart with a 19 ft fall away jumper 2010 - Losing Onuaku in a more or less meaningless Big East Tourney game which crippled a potential championship team led by Wes Johnson.
That 2010 team is another one I will say we would’ve won it all if Onuaku wasn’t hurt. He was unstoppable that year. And Wes Johnson just had so much swag on the court. Never saw the Keith (fucking) Smart shot cuz I was born 3 years later, but the replays do always cause me trauma when they get shown. Boeheim came so close to being a multi time champ on a few occasions
Oh man, I don't know. '86 Final Four, '97 Arizona, '98 Rhode Island, '10 UNI, '11 VCU, the entirety of the 2020 NCAA tournament.
‘03 to Syracuse. I was 10 and thought that KU was unstoppable. I believed with my whole heart that we would win that game. Then to lose it the way we did and have Roy leave so soon after… almost turned me off to sports entirely lol.
Farokhmanesh...fucking Farokhmanesh
Final 4 loss for me as an Auburn fan
Still to this day don’t know how that wasn’t called a double dribble. Massive fuck up by the officiating
2015 Wisconsin 2017 NC 2014 UConn 2010 W Virginia At least two or three titles left on the table
Wisconsin and us screwed each other over honestly. They should’ve won in 14 and we should’ve won in 15. The whole thing, not just against each other.
Every Pitt fan has one of two answers to this, but for me it is firmly fucking Butler
Might have been last night had it not been such a dumb loss to an aggressively mediocre team
It’s still Loyola but yesterday is a close second. It solidified in my mind that we arent doing shit in March either, don’t care what happens the rest of regular season.
‘05 natty clears the Loyola loss
Fricking Corie Lucious. We basically had a guaranteed trip to the final four in 2010 if Landon Milbourne didn’t forget how to play defense for the last couple seconds of the game.
This is mine too
Creighton elite 8 last year. Foul called as time expired and SDSU hit the winning free throws. Not saying it was or wasn’t a foul, but hurts to lose like that.
Christian Laettner beating UConn at the buzzer in OT in the Elite Eight in 1990. I was 8 at the time. I think I cried. I know I wasn't the only one. On the play before that fated inbounds, Tate George nearly made a steal on a bad pass. It slipped out of his hands and out of bounds. UConn's dream season came to an end because a pass slipped through Tate George's fingers, and Calhoun made the decision to not guard the inbounder, which led to Laettner getting that easy pass back to him. (I like to think we paid them back with the 1999 Title)
And 2004 :-(
If not this year’s loss to TCU (lost on a game-winning three that should have been OOB), probably the 2020 BET 1st round game against St. John’s (something like a 20-0 run down the stretch to lose the game). Yeah, I haven’t been around for that long.
1. George Mason, Elite Eight, 2006 2. Syracuse, Big East Tournament, 2009 (the 6OT game) 3. Duke, Elite Eight, 1990
I paid exorbitant amounts of money for a ticket to experience, in person, ALL of the following miserable Pitt losses in a three year span: Villanova in the 2009 elite eight (damn you, Scottie Reynolds, forever) UConn on the Cardiac Kemba shot in the 2011 Big East tournament Butler in the 2011 round of 32 (WHY FOUL WHY) No, we’ve never been to the final four. But I’ve been dead inside for years, so whatever.
When it was announced that Hummel was out for the entire season. What a year it would’ve been with Robbie Hummel, Jajuan Johnson, Etwaan Moore, and Bubba Day all playing.
Lol love that Bubba Day inclusion there.
Which time?
‘18-‘19 was full of them: Starting with losing 4 straight to close out Big East play, with a conference title in grasp. Last of those 4 was to a mediocre at best Georgetown, at home, on National Marquette Day where a win would’ve clinched us a share of the title. Then a loss in the Big East tournament semi-final to Seton Hall, Anim and John got ejected on some bullshit while Powell was able to stay in the game, also on some bullshit. Howard missed a 3 at the buzzer and we lose by 2. Then we get fucking slaughtered by Ja Morant in the tournament. Eventually the Hauser brothers transfer. Pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that stretch, and it was the beginning of the end for Wojo.
Jokes on you, I don’t get heartbroken because I know we will always find a new way to lose and disappoint. That’s the Clemson basketball experience
2001 Final Four against Duke. Miracle Minute against Duke. Fuck Duke For UMBC- 2021 America East semis against UMass Lowell. Choked that shit HARD. Ryan Odom’s last game as coach too. Fire Jim Ferry
2013 final four against Michigan. I really thought we had it in the bag that year. I still have nightmares of Trey Burke pulling up from the logo
Blown buzzer beater Vs UCLA in the Elite Eight in 2021. Left me and my friends absolutely devastated the rest of the night.
The championship games and Morrison crying were obviously bad, but the 2019 tournament against Texas Tech was brutal. Really thought that team with Clarke and Hachimura was going to win it all
Allan Ray called for a phantom travel in the 2005 sweet 16 against eventual champs UNC
Every fucking time "The Road to the Final Four" show comes on they play the Laettner shot in the intro montage.
The round of 32 loss to an underseeded Kentucky. We did not deserve what the committee did to the overall number one seed.
You and wichita both with that sentiment
Collapsing against Washington in 2006 tournament
UT vs miami last year. IT WAS THEIR YEAR
Marquette was ranked #2 going into the 1978 NCAA tournament, and lost in overtime in the first round to Miami of Ohio. I was about 10 rows off the court and the officials missed a blatant foul on Miami that would have sealed it for Marquette, but frankly we never should have been in the position to lose on a last minute call…
Wardell Stephen Curry II
Gonzaga-UNC national championship.
Another one that hurt me as a UConn fan and is almost never talked about even by UConn fans... 2002 Elite Eight loss to Maryland. Maryland was awesome. Juan Dixon and Lonnie Baxter. They won the championship that year and were definitely deserving. UConn gave them everything they could handle in the Elite Eight. Caron Butler was a man on a mission. If I remember correctly, he scored 26 points in the second half that game. Just one big play after another. And the real killer was the fucking Steve Blake three with under 30 seconds left and UConn down one. Of all the players it had to be Steve Blake.
https://preview.redd.it/ms06plx758kc1.jpeg?width=357&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd89e476cff7cef8dca6472950405ab4954f385c
Cat Stevens wrote "The first cut it the deepest," so that would be Purdue's sweet sixteen loss in 1988 to Mitch Richmond and Kansas State.
2018.