What's the worst loss in your time as an SU fan?

[MadNY3]

This is a not so thinly veiled excuse for me to drop this here: http://.com/10-years-later-the-uvm-loss/

We're at the 10 year anniversary of losing to Vermont, and while a lot of folks have that one marked down as the worst loss they've seen (Richmond is worse, and even the regular season loss at DePaul a few years a go is worse, in my estimation), I just can't mark it down as the worst I've seen.

For me, it really would probably be DePaul, despite the fact that nothing was truly at stake there. I can't mark the UVM loss down for the reasons outlined in the link.

Just thought it might be interesting to see what losses stick out with SU fans. We're fortunate in that we don't see many...so when they come, the bad ones tend to stand out. I imagine the Cleveland State one is up there for a lot of folks, based simply on HOW it happened.

Indiana 1987
Richmond 1991
Conrad McCrae RIP too young

 

[81South]

Wow...so many painful losses over the years...I can still remember the emotions that I felt after all of the following games very vividly. All were very hard to take at the time.

1) Loss to St Johns in the 86 Big East Final. When Pearl was going down court I was sure we were going to win and then Walter Berry rejected him.

2) IU - We could all taste it that night. Yes I cried that night as a 15 year old.

3) Illinois in 89 - Elite 8. Sherman's last game.

4) Minnesota in 90 - Sweet 16. DC and Stevie's last game in New Orleans.

5) Richmond in 91 - 2 vs 15 Seed. 3 frickin years in a row of heartbreak!

6) Arkansas in 95 - We were a lot of people's dark horse that year as a 7 seed. I sat in stunned silence after we gave this one away. So many mixed emotions...Moten called the timeout and I wanted to kill him but he had been brilliant for 4 years so I was supposed to forgive him.

7) Yes...Vermont in 05. I just wanted to punch that frickin coach...couldn't stand the celebrating he did. And Warrick's last game...he saved the day in 03 but he was pretty bad in this game as I recall with double figure turnovers.

8) Oh forget it...this is depressing.

 

[Eric15]

Arkansas - We won that game. We were the better team, and Arkansas went on to win the National Championship.

Not to nitpick but Arkansas lost in the title game to UCLA that year.

 

[stuckinbig11]

How do you figure it was the only loss that really mattered?

The only game after which I had to console my 7-yr-old son, who was crying his eyes out.

 

[AZOrange]

1. Indiana. 87
2. Richmond 91
3. Rhode Island 88
4. Navy. 86
5. Vermont. 05
6. Butler. 10
7. Illinois. 89
8. Ohio State. 12
9. Arkansas. 95
10. Michigan. 13

God they all suck.

You know this is my list too but Illinois is 3.

 

[AZOrange]

Not to nitpick but Arkansas lost in the title game to UCLA that year.

Edney?

 

[anomander]

Not to nitpick but Arkansas lost in the title game to UCLA that year.

whoops. i knew they were close, maybe it was the year before they won?

 

[stuckinbig11]

Indiana and no other one is close. We had that won. We had our path planned out to storm the court. Right over the left shoulder of Doug Logan. No other loss hurt near as much. It was a long ass drive back to Syracuse.

Derrick Coleman's missed free throw. Ouch.

 

[Ghost]

I was really young for Indiana, but that was a tough one. Richmond stung quite a bit too (I remember being really mad at Tony Scott for some reason...he was probably wasn't even on the team then - that might have been Minnesota????), but I don't recall the IL game for some reason. Maybe I was grounded.

The Vermont and Butler games stung though. The Moten game though...ouch.

 

[djcon57]

Butler.

Not as much that specific game, but just because that team was meant for a title run.

 

[Toga]

All I remember is that it seemed like every Illinois player was 6'6" and that we had a clear path to the FF.

 

[Madbiker]

1. Indiana 1987 (I still cry when I think about it)
2. Illinois 1989 Elite 8 (SU up 7 at halftime, I was already trying to buy FF tix)
3. Richmond 1991 (the most embarrassing loss to a #15 seed)
4. Arkansas 1995 (the Moten time out after we had it won)
5. Rhode Island 1988 2nd round (that team should have made the FF)
6. Butler 2010 (ditto)
7. Vermont 2005 (another embarrassment)

 

[007]

Not one vote for "every loss was the worst"?

What kind of clown show is this fan base?

 

[longtimefan]

The only loss that really mattered was to Indiana.

UK in '96 mattered.

 

[doc05]

Indiana - I was 8 and cried myself to sleep that night.

That was the year I became a fan. Both the Mets and Giants already won -- it was just a given to me that "my teams" were going to win. I was 10. I also cried my eyes out. I remember not understanding how 2-3 seconds ran down (to one second on the game clock) after the Smart shot. I was screaming something like "stop the clock!". That was the first of many real brutal losses for me after 86 - growing up a Met fan and Knick fan as well.

 

[cuseattle]

Every loss was the worst.
Actually, Indiana.

 

[cusefan88]

Born in 88. For me: Vermont. Then probably Butler.

 

[reedny]

1) '87 IU, title game
2) '89 Illini, elite 8
3) '12 OSU, elite 8
4) '13 Mich, FF
Heck they are all big ten teams, i never realized that.

5) '96 UK, title game
6) '10 Butler, sweet 16

12 OSU and 13 Michigan share one incredibly frustrating common element ... in both games, Brandon Triche got screwed at the end with a horrible "charging" call.

 

[reedny]

Indiana still kills me I remember just still their staring at the tv of like two hours just crushed. I was a Jr. in High School. Keith Smart!

I'm with you on that one, brother. First of all, F Steve Alford ... he shot the ball out of his a*s. Despite his effort, we managed to take a lead into the last minute, only to fold in the last 10 seconds -- Coleman missing at the foul line, HT late on the close-out on Smart, and then we stand around shell-shocked as the last 4 seconds slip away.

 

[Alsacs]

Question for SU insiders? Does the 87 team do better if Pearl is the PG and Sherm is the backup? Or was Pearl leaving like a Jonny Flynn situation in 2010 where the team just jelled.
The answer is obviously Indiana 87. If that happened today the board we need to be shutdown for atleast a week.

 

[Jake]

Sherman was a much better fit for that team. I don't think there's a question there.

 

[AZOrange]

Question for SU insiders? Does the 87 team do better if Pearl is the PG and Sherm is the backup? Or was Pearl leaving like a Jonny Flynn situation in 2010 where the team just jelled.
The answer is obviously Indiana 87. If that happened today the board we need to be shutdown for atleast a week.

Pearl with DC? Would've been amazing.

 

[kcsu]

Gtown manley thought the whole city was going to die

 

[sufandu]

Question for SU insiders? Does the 87 team do better if Pearl is the PG and Sherm is the backup? Or was Pearl leaving like a Jonny Flynn situation in 2010 where the team just jelled.
The answer is obviously Indiana 87. If that happened today the board we need to be shutdown for atleast a week.

Ooh, a Pearl -vs- General question. '87 was my first real memories of the team, so I only know the Pearl from highlights. I'll hang up and listen.

 

[dasher]

Tie..and marsh has it right. Indiana. I didn't sleep that night. 2. Arkansas... the pain was actually worse than Indiana. It was honestly like torture. 3. Ill. we led at the half and had our chances. i can still see that missed free throw and their rebound.