That's what it seems college basketball has become. We are no longer allowed to enjoy the accomplishments of a successful season. We are now beholden to the god of post season, specifically the NCAA. Its unfortunate it has come to this, yet I feel like it truly has. Hard for me to look back on this season without feeling like it was a failure...even though we were 25-0. I realize this is my problem...but it just seems like everything in the landscape of the game is sort of compelling me to feel that way.
For me, it isn't entirely about the tourney, but the post-season [I include the conference tournament in this] is a big part of the overall satisfaction level I feel, and how I rate the "success" of the season.
For example, I don't consider the 2010 season a "failure" because we lost in the sweet 16. Disappointing as sh/t, but my perception is still that this team had perfect offensive chemistry, and finished the season ranked #1--that's an outstanding accomplishment. I don't take for granted that we were a shoo-in for the NC that year like some posters, but I am pretty confident that with Arinze we get by Butler. From there---who knows? So despite the disappointment I feel about this team not advancing further in the NCAAs, I have a highly favorable hindsight view of this team / players.
Similarly, I don't consider the 2012 season a "failure" despite not making the final four. Dream regular season--30-1 record, with the lone loss coming in a game where Fab got suspended and the team played as though shell-shocked over the announcement. We beat Uconn three times, and made the elite eight. Was disappointed to lose to a hot shooting Cinci team in the BET, and it kills me that Ohio State [for personal / family reasons]--as well as the refs--prevented us fronm making the final four. The team held it together during the Bernie Fine scandal, and had an incredible season despite the season ending a little earlier than I would have liked. And I view that as partly attributable to Fab getting the boot. So again, disappointing final outcome, but I look back on this year as being about as close to a "dream season" as you can ask for, especially given the circumstances.
This year feels has a Lawrence Moten vibe to me [bear with me on this analogy]. Moten was phenomenal--the school's / BE's all time leading scorer, just a tremendous career overall. But in some ways, said career is tainted by both a semi-lackluster senior team performance, and the timeout call against Arkansas, slightly marring his otherwise stellar accomplishments. Right wrong or indifferent, fair or not, it's impossible for me to think of Moten without that incident coming to mind. Similarly, Billy Owens was one of the best players in program history--period. I don't think that most posters appreciate how talented he was--in large part because of how the 1991 season went down. Awesome regular season, win the BE regular season title, shocking first round loss in the BET, followed by an even more shocking loss to a 15 seed in the first round of the NCAAs. The way this season unfolded feels a lot like how I view Moten / Owens in retrospect.
Here's what I mean: after 2012, I didn't think we'd ever have a "dream" season again. I knew that this team had offensive limitations going in, but they ran out to a 25-0 start--the best start in school history. They won close games, and always seemed to find a way [team of destiny talk abounded at one point]. They had the epic win over Duke. The shot to beat pitt at the Pete. They reached the #1 ranking at midseason--no small feat--and held it for several weeks. Did I mention 25-0? But despite all that, there are some blemishes. We lost--at home--to BC and GT, two of the worst teams in the conference. Despite playing even for 30 minutes on the road, we got whipped by UVa in a game that at the time had conference title implications. We went 3-6 down the stretch. We lost in the first ACC conference tournament game we ever played in. And we got sent home in the round of 32 by a team we were better than, due to a terrible offensive performance.
After this sting has worn off, and I look back on this season in historical retrospect, there are definitely going to be things I remember with reverence [I won't repeat them--most of these things are listed above]. But overall the amazing first 2/3 of the season will be overshadowed by the dismal postseason performance, as well as the late season collapse. My opinion won't be ENTIRELY predicated upon the NCAA tournament, as the OP described, but it will definitely factor in heavily.
