Ranking Tournament Losses

[OttoMets]

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.

...

Eh, I remember that one a little differently - Rautins was bottled up, Jackson was having a career-bad game, and Wes just flat-out disappeared for the last 7 or 8 minutes. Scoop made a couple shots that kept the final margin within shouting distance. I thought it was a mistake for SU to stall as early as they did; Joseph had just gotten a dunk off a runout and Butler seemed panicked. We settled them back into their own game.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Eh, I remember that one a little differently - Rautins was bottled up, Jackson was having a career-bad game, and Wes just flat-out disappeared for the last 7 or 8 minutes. Scoop made a couple late threes that kept the final margin within shouting distance. I thought it was a mistake for SU to stall as early as they did; Joseph had just gotten a dunk off a runout and Butler seemed panicked. We settled them back into their own game.

The only time I thought stall ball killed us.

 

[OttoMets]

After we had that breakaway with a beautiful pass from Scoop to Joseph to go up 54-50, I honestly thought it was over. If I remember correctly, we turned the ball over like 3 consecutive possessions while up 54-50.

55:33 on here:
We had momentum at that stage and the math flat-out didn't work for the stall. And I agree with you - Onuaku's become some kind of Greek mythological figure. We were worse without him, but the field was mediocre and we'd crushed people in Buffalo. That was no excuse. We just picked a bad night to have some poor performances against a physical opponent.

 

[HoustonCuse]

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.

The ref, who called nothing, had to physically jump out of the way of Kris Joseph's flying body. Absolutely appalling. Still the most infuriating NCAA Tournament thing I've seen, and that is a high bar.

 

[BuffOrange]

Umass & Missouri are hidden gems. I was also the wrong age to take those games well.
One thing that sticks out in these threads is how much better everyone else thought the 2000 team was than I. Never thought that team was going anywhere.

 

[djorange1989]

Bees is right about Indiana '87 and then others.

The Illinois game was a big hurt, but the pain didn't last as long. Yes, we had one of the very best teams in SU history, but Illinois had the best they ever had as well. Great game that would be won by a great team either way.

the talent on the court for the Illinois game is unfathomable, ah the age of college hoops before one and done:

DC
Billy O
Sherm
Stevie
Kendall Gill
Nick Anderson
Kenny Battle
Stephen Bardo

sick

 

[djorange1989]

Umass & Missouri are hidden gems. I was also the wrong age to take those games well.
One thing that sticks out in these threads is how much better everyone else thought the 2000 team was than I. Never thought that team was going anywhere.

yeah, they were kind of a junior version of the 2014 team, red hot and undefeated(I think 19-0?), and then crashed down to earth

 

[HoustonCuse]

I've said this before but I'm glad I was five back in 1987. How you people carried on with your lives after that game is beyond me.

I was 13. I'm quite sure the damage inflicted by that game has led to the broken husk of a man I am today.

 

[djorange1989]

OMG. Seriously??

Waaaaaaaaay more painful.

Not being sarcastic, but we're you alive for that game?

you had to have been unborn or very young as Eric was, to think the Butler loss was worse than Rhode Island. After coming within a Keith f**king Smart shot of winning it all, the RI game was a kick in the groin and took us right back to "JB teams choke in round 2" stuff. Those who were too young, think of how Tony Bennett is getting hammered and then multiply that by 5 to know how badly JB and this program got crushed every year back then.