Ranking Tournament Losses

[skurey]

This year was the most calm I've been and I've seen this forum after an NCAA loss. Most of us were thrilled to just be in the tournament and to win 3 games was almost unthinkable. This is far different from the usual attitude after our season comes to a close. I thought it would be fun (in a sadistic way) to rank how painful or not painful each loss was to us personally with 1 being the most painful. I'm sure those alive in the 80s will all have the same game ranked number 1.

My list:

1. 2010 Butler. Blew a small lead in the final few minutes including a 3 that hit the rim at least 10 times and went in. This was our year if Arinze didn't get hurt but we still should have won this game without him.

2. 2000 MSU. We were up double digits in the 2nd half and lost by 17. From the high of getting such a big lead on a 1 seed to the low of getting blown out my 9 year old self couldn't take the swing.

3. 2005 Vermont. I love Gus Johnson but being on the wrong side of his call is not enjoyable. From the parking lot.

4. 2013 Michigan. It was not a charge.

5. 2012 Ohio State. Refs ruined what could have been an epic game by calling every foul possible except against whatever that stupid kid's name was. Also we should have played Fab.

6. 1999 Oklahoma State. I believe we were the very first game of the tournament. Out before it even started. I had taped the game to watch after school but the librarian ruined it.

7. 2011 Marquette. Match the higher seeded team with a 2nd round conference opponent that already beat them. That's fair. Then the over and back incorrect call.

8. 2004 Alabama. We should not have lost to that team.

9. 2014 Dayton. Trainwreck to end the season finished off with one of the worst offensive performances in school history.

10. 2009 Oklahoma. Thought we would be more competitive and all those Blake Griffin highlights.

11. 2016 UNC. Sucks losing in the Final Four but we shouldn't have even been there.

12. 2006 Texas A&M. Would have been nice for Gerry to go out with a tournament run but we'll pretend his career ended after the BET

13. 2018 Duke. Screw Duke but we battled hard and went a lot further than anyone thought

14. 2001 Kansas. Not a single memory of this game.

 

[Marty McFly]

Not taking the 80's into acct.

1) '91- Richmond; first 15 seed to beat a 2

2) '95- Moten T.O. game to lose to arkansas...

3) '96- Title game loss to Kentucky, after the refs fouled out John Wallace (which I remember as bs at the time)

4) '2010 Butler... Not sure who the guy on Butler was but I remember him giving Rick Jackson a Suplex on a rebound and we somehow got called for the foul. That BS went on all game.

5) '12 Ohio state- Aaron craft

ehhh, now i'm all upset thinking about these brutal tourney losses lol.

 

[Lucid]

In a world of coffee, beer, beaches, and pretty girls, this thread is a catheter insertion.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Not taking the 80's into acct.

4) '2010 Butler... Not sure who the guy on Butler was but I remember him giving Rick Jackson a Suplex on a rebound and we somehow got called for the foul. That BS went on all game.


.

It was on Kris Joseph, and the suplex was performed by Matt Howard. One of the dumbest calls ever. Go watch it on youtube if you want to tear your eyes out...again.

 

[Marsh01]

1987 Indiana
1988 Rhode Island
1989 Illinois
1991 Richmond

all others need not apply

all of these losses were 50x worse than Butler and Vermont combined

 

[Eric15]

1987 Indiana
1988 Rhode Island
1989 Illinois
1991 Richmond

all others need not apply

all of these losses were 50x worse than Butler and Vermont combined

Marsh there is no way that the 1988 Rhode Island game was worse than Butler.

 

[Marsh01]

Marsh there is no way that the 1988 Rhode Island game was worse than Butler.

Absolutely was. Seikaly's last game. Rhody was an 11 seed (back when 11 seeds didnt win games). Garrick went off. Sherm was sick as a dog that game. So many things went wrong. Remember we won the BET that year and were rolling heading into the tourney.

Hell 1990 Minnesota was more depressing than Butler. Butler sucked but with AO out we were limited.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Hell 1990 Virginia was more depressing than Butler.

You mean Minnesota?

Agree about Butler. That loss doesn't bother me as much as time passes. We weren't the same without AO.

 

[MSOrange]

Marsh there is no way that the 1988 Rhode Island game was worse than Butler.

Strongly disagree on that. That still bothers me one of those Coleman, Owens years couldn't get over the top. Without AO, we weren't the same team.

 

[Marsh01]

You mean Minnesota?

Agree about Butler. That loss doesn't bother me as much as time passes. We weren't the same without AO.

haha minnesota...sorry. We beat Virginia in the second round that year. It all blends together.

 

[Arangeman]

I will remember the name Tom Garrick on my deathbed

 

[Marsh01]

Marsh there is no way that the 1988 Rhode Island game was worse than Butler.

I will even throw one more in that was WAY more painful than Butler.

1986 Navy. Last game for Pearl. Crushing loss at home nonetheless. I was devastated walking out of the dome after that game.

 

[Marsh01]

I will remember the name Tom Garrick on my deathbed

I hate to be mean but they kept showing his blind father after every time he scored. I must have called him a MF 150 times in the second half.

 

[MSOrange]

I will even throw one more in that was WAY more painful than Butler.

1986 Navy. Last game for Pearl. Crushing loss at home nonetheless. I was devastated walking out of the dome after that game.

Good call on Navy especially after having beaten them handily earlier in the year and it was played in the Dome. David Robinson just absolutely owned us in the second half.

 

[Arangeman]

I hate to be mean but they kept showing his blind father after every time he scored. I must have called him a MF 150 times in the second half.

His dad was blind?!?!

 

[Marsh01]

Good call on Navy especially after having beaten them handily earlier in the year and it was played in the Dome. David Robinson just absolutely owned us in the second half.

worst part about that loss is we would have played 14 seed Cleveland State in the sweet 16.

 

[cuse10]

Whether they were the same team or not without AO, they crushed their first two opponents. Despite not having AO, they lead Butler by 5 with under three minutes left. Scoop shoots an ill advised three and the momentum swung Butler's way to win the game. When you talk about Scoop and his questionable decision making at times, that's the moment that sticks out the most to me. I was a senior that year. All of the energy on campus was gone. It felt like someone died. When they announced Syracuse lost in the Dome, everyone went crazy. That ranks as the loss that hurts the most to me.

2013 against Michigan is #2. As poorly as MCW and Southerland shot, Syracuse was still in the game and could have won. There were two bad calls that swung the game for Michigan. Everyone pays attention to the charge on Triche, but the charge on Carter Williams to get his fifth was just as big. Michigan was extremely physical that game. McGary should have been fouled out early in the second half.

2012 against Ohio State is #3. I didn't think they'd sniff a Final Four with the next team. Between losing Fab (RIP) for the tournament out of precaution, the officiating and Waiters/Joseph having some of the worst games they've ever played in a SU uniform, I was crushed after that loss. That was a championship team. They would have given Kentucky trouble even with Anthony Davis.

Honorable mention: 2014 Dayton. It was the end of the dumpster fire finish. From 25-0 to not even advancing to the Sweet 16. Ennis not taking it to the rim after he had beat his man to the basket at will to end the game was as frustrating now as it was then.

As you can tell, my unhealthy SU fandom didn't begin until I actually went to SU as a student. I watched Cuse before, but didn't revolve my schedule around them.

 

[NineOneSeven]

1987 Indiana
1988 Rhode Island
1989 Illinois
1991 Richmond

all others need not apply

all of these losses were 50x worse than Butler and Vermont combined

Glad I was born in 1990.

 

[SU2NASA]

This is the worst thread ever created by the hand of man. Nothing is real, we are all made of water.

 

[NineOneSeven]

For me it's Butler. Soph year at cuse. Unbelievable season. One of our best teams ever. Then ao goes down, but we still manage to get to the s16. Unfortunately jackson then has an all time bad game, including a late 4 point blown lead, a terrible call, and a three from the corner that hit every part of the rim. Loss haunts me. To be fair, that butler team was obviously very good as they made it back the next season and had multiple NBA talents as well as an amazing coach. It wasn't a bad loss all things considered, just soul crushing. Game ended and I ripped a bunch of shots and then passed out.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

1980

#1 seed. Bouie and Louie.

Lost to Iowa.

Freaking Iowa.

 

[HOFCeluck]

1980

#1 seed. Bouie and Louie.

Lost to Iowa.

Freaking Iowa.

I feel like since they did make the Final Four and as it turns out Lute Olsen was a legit ass coach this one doesn't hurt as much.

Also, I wasn't born yet.

 

[BuffOrange]

Whether they were the same team or not without AO, they crushed their first two opponents. Despite not having AO, they lead Butler by 5 with under three minutes left. Scoop shoots an ill advised three and the momentum swung Butler's way to win the game. When you talk about Scoop and his questionable decision making at times, that's the moment that sticks out the most to me. I was a senior that year. All of the energy on campus was gone. It felt like someone died. When they announced Syracuse lost in the Dome, everyone went crazy. That ranks as the loss that hurts the most to me.

2013 against Michigan is #2. As poorly as MCW and Southerland shot, Syracuse was still in the game and could have won. There were two bad calls that swung the game for Michigan. Everyone pays attention to the charge on Triche, but the charge on Carter Williams to get his fifth was just as big. Michigan was extremely physical that game. McGary should have been fouled out early in the second half.

2012 against Ohio State is #3. I didn't think they'd sniff a Final Four with the next team. Between losing Fab (RIP) for the tournament out of precaution, the officiating and Waiters/Joseph having some of the worst games they've ever played in a SU uniform, I was crushed after that loss. That was a championship team. They would have given Kentucky trouble even with Anthony Davis.

Honorable mention: 2014 Dayton. It was the end of the dumpster fire finish. From 25-0 to not even advancing to the Sweet 16. Ennis not taking it to the rim after he had beat his man to the basket at will to end the game was as frustrating now as it was then.

As you can tell, my unhealthy SU fandom didn't begin until I actually went to SU as a student. I watched Cuse before, but didn't revolve my schedule around them.

MCW was called for a block for getting stiff armed to the floor by Hardaway. Then he got a moving screen & a T on the next possession. Then the Triche charge. Absolute garbage. I wish Boeheim had gotten himself ejected there on general principle. The Ohio St refs may have been worse for 40minutes but at least the calls went both ways.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Jim Boeheim shouldn't have an asterisk for vacated wins. He should have an asterisk for all the ref-losses he's had to endure over the years. Take those away and his winning percentage would likely be in the mid, maybe high nineties.

 

[721Comstock]

Good call on Navy especially after having beaten them handily earlier in the year and it was played in the Dome. David Robinson just absolutely owned us in the second half.

This.
I was at that game.

After we handled them easily during the year, some Midshipman named David Robinson was promoted to Admiral, and discovered he had All-World basketball talents, and unleashed them against us.

We were all dumbfounded.
It was a HOME GAME vs a team we’d beaten prior, and we got curb stomped.

That said, it’s not even in my Top 10:
Indiana
Kentucky ‘96
Rhody
Richmond
Butler
tOSU
Michigan
Marquette
Illinois
Arkansas

Those last 6 in no particular order.