Wow what a weekend in Omaha with Mizzou and KU. (I'm working on little sleep and 32oz of Mt Dew & a 5-hour Energy .. so here goes)
I really can't process either team's weekend. In a nutshell .. it's the essense of madness.
Missouri experiences what Kansas and it's fans have gone through on far too many occasions. Regular season accomplishment, conference tournament momentum, a lofty seed and then absolutely having their hearts ripped out. It's the cruel nature of the tournament. It owes you nothing. How will the season be remembered for MU fans? Probably with the name Norfolk St and Kyle O'Quinn forever etched in the brain.
Ultimately I blame the defensive end of the floor for this exit. 84 points is enough to win a ball game. I've kept the modest warning out there all season about MU's at times less than lock down D and it bit them. Also the worst thing you can do in a tourney is to have an underdog hang around and believe they can win.
I have covered that first round gut punching locker room a few times in being around Kansas. And it had a similar feel for the Tigers. Stunned silence and the awful feeling that an entire season can be flushed in an instant. It sucks.
As for the Jayhawks, I still can't believe that KU led for just 45 seconds the entire game with Purdue. I've not witnessed anything quite like it.
Stones. That's the only word I can used to describe it. Every time I glanced at the scoreboard, KU wasn't out of reach. They found a way to do something I didn't think this team had, which was to win with less than their A game.
This should be a total confidence builder for the Jayhawks. Now it's on to another two game tourney this week in St. Louis.
There are a lot of good basketball teams on the sidelines. Enjoy it Jayhawk fans.
