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I'm moving on....thanks to the coaches, staff and team for a great 2 years.

Goku

All American
Jul 25, 2001
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This is one of the worst losses I have seen as a sports fan. It will haunt me as a fan for the rest of my life as a sports fan as do the other losses. But I have moved on (almost) for the following reasons.

1. The kids and coaches are the ones who lost. We just root for them. These guys must feel like crap right now. I feel for them. They are young men who lost a game they should have won. But this is their life moment they need to learn from and carry with them for the rest of their lives. We are just watching entertainment, and the show ended in a way we didn't want to see last night. I ripped up my bracket and I'm going back to my book tonight.

2. Pike brought this program to the point that in year 5, we are bummed and upset that the team didn't make the Sweet 16. That's a great accomplishment, looking at what has been done in 5 years. It hurts more for the kids and us fans because these games now mean more. I'll take that over watching a program that was a doormat or always falling short and settling for the NIT.

3. I'm excited for the next year and next 5 years. Pike is going to keep putting together teams we can be proud of. In some seasons, it might come together. Next year might be that year. But in the next 5 years, I'm betting that Pike gets a team in the NCAA tournament at least 2 times. And maybe they make the Sweet 16 once in the next 5 years. And maybe they don't. But compared to how it has been for 30 years, I'll take what we have to look forward to the next 5 years.

4. The what-if game will just drive me nuts. What if they won? What if they beat Syracuse? What if this was not just a Sweet 16 team but an Elite 8 team? How different would it be to see an Elite-8 Banner for 2021 instead of a 2nd Round Banner for 2021? How different would the future of the program be if they won just this ONE GAME! Well what if they got a bad draw and lost the first round? What if these guys never overcame that rough spot in the middle of the season and didn't make it this year. It played out how it played out, without any contribution from me. When I walk into the RAC one day in the future for a home game and see the 2021 banner, I won't look at it as a symbol of a failed season. I won't look at this team and this season as a failed one like some of you posted.

This was a fun season, and it has been a fun 2 seasons of watching this crew and writing about it with you guys. I have been a fan only since 1998, so for some of you, this NCAA appearance means even more and I'm happy for you. I look forward to more fun times in the future with you. And thanks to the coaches, staff and players who brought us all of this fun in the last 2 years. You will be legends at the RAC for the rest of your lives. If you ever come back for the game, you will get a standing ovation. If I ever cross paths with any of you, I'll be clapping and saying "thank you."
 
Those of us who have been waiting every one of the last 30 years for our team to get to the dance should have enough perspective to understand that seeing our team collapse on Mar 21st sure beats the hell out seeing them collapse in mid November. I’ll take a season like this one every year over what we’ve been through as fans over the last few decades.
 
We are in a much better spot today. Question is when we go to the dance again. Near future With some key transfers in we will be ok. Jaden and Cliff need to grow. Please Myles stay. Geo may come back. Could be back next year.
 
Those of us who have been waiting every one of the last 30 years for our team to get to the dance should have enough perspective to understand that seeing our team collapse on Mar 21st sure beats the hell out seeing them collapse in mid November. I’ll take a season like this one every year over what we’ve been through as fans over the last few decades.

DING DING DING
 
I’m proud of the team. Tough loss, but that can be viewed as byproduct of playing good teams in March. Illinois and Ohio state losses were different but probably stung just as much. Kept their focus during the pandemic and battled through lots of issues that most of us don’t deal with.
 
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This is one of the worst losses I have seen as a sports fan.

No, it's not. Not even close.

A win yesterday would have been the greatest win for Rutgers basketball in the last 40+ years. The loss was a lost opportunity. That doesn't make it the worst loss.

Ohio State's loss as a 2 seed was a worse loss. Illinois loss as a 1 seed was a worse loss. Wisconsin's thumping by Baylor was a worse loss. Even our regular season loss to Nebraska was a worse loss.

This loss was a good loss, but a lost opportunity to advance to our next win (which then would have been our greatest win) or next loss (which would also be a lost opportunity, but unlikely the worst loss in Rutgers history).


Rutgers is a tough defensive team. And our defense brought us to this game and kept us in the game until the very end. Rutgers is an inconsistent offensive team, and that showed all season, and at the end of last night's game. But we played the game to our strengths and had a really good chance to win down the wire. Unfortunately our weaknesses prevented the victory.

As you said, the what-if will drive you nuts. But this is an easy team to root for, and I am thankful they brought us this far. I am really looking forward to being able to cheer next year's team in person at the RAC.
 
I'm super bummed out this morning.

Mostly because I wanted THIS group of guys to break through to the next level (Sweet 16 and better). They were really so much fun to watch over the past 2 years. Just to see where they came from and how they brought us to the next level...That was something I wanted them to get on the national scale and not just maybe a Big Ten scale.

Really Really sad for these guys, they deserved better than to go out like that. That's who I'm really sad for
 
Those of us who have been waiting every one of the last 30 years for our team to get to the dance should have enough perspective to understand that seeing our team collapse on Mar 21st sure beats the hell out seeing them collapse in mid November. I’ll take a season like this one every year over what we’ve been through as fans over the last few decades.
That’s why we are Rutgers. The team surely doesn’t feel the season was a complete success and though there were good moments top teams find ways to get over the hurdles . We didn’t and that is extremely disappointing to the players and staff. It’s apparent some fans still accept excuses of why we can’t come up B1G . We should never have been in that situation.
 
This is one of the worst losses I have seen as a sports fan. It will haunt me as a fan for the rest of my life as a sports fan as do the other losses. But I have moved on (almost) for the following reasons.

1. The kids and coaches are the ones who lost. We just root for them. These guys must feel like crap right now. I feel for them. They are young men who lost a game they should have won. But this is their life moment they need to learn from and carry with them for the rest of their lives. We are just watching entertainment, and the show ended in a way we didn't want to see last night. I ripped up my bracket and I'm going back to my book tonight.

2. Pike brought this program to the point that in year 5, we are bummed and upset that the team didn't make the Sweet 16. That's a great accomplishment, looking at what has been done in 5 years. It hurts more for the kids and us fans because these games now mean more. I'll take that over watching a program that was a doormat or always falling short and settling for the NIT.

3. I'm excited for the next year and next 5 years. Pike is going to keep putting together teams we can be proud of. In some seasons, it might come together. Next year might be that year. But in the next 5 years, I'm betting that Pike gets a team in the NCAA tournament at least 2 times. And maybe they make the Sweet 16 once in the next 5 years. And maybe they don't. But compared to how it has been for 30 years, I'll take what we have to look forward to the next 5 years.

4. The what-if game will just drive me nuts. What if they won? What if they beat Syracuse? What if this was not just a Sweet 16 team but an Elite 8 team? How different would it be to see an Elite-8 Banner for 2021 instead of a 2nd Round Banner for 2021? How different would the future of the program be if they won just this ONE GAME! Well what if they got a bad draw and lost the first round? What if these guys never overcame that rough spot in the middle of the season and didn't make it this year. It played out how it played out, without any contribution from me. When I walk into the RAC one day in the future for a home game and see the 2021 banner, I won't look at it as a symbol of a failed season. I won't look at this team and this season as a failed one like some of you posted.

This was a fun season, and it has been a fun 2 seasons of watching this crew and writing about it with you guys. I have been a fan only since 1998, so for some of you, this NCAA appearance means even more and I'm happy for you. I look forward to more fun times in the future with you. And thanks to the coaches, staff and players who brought us all of this fun in the last 2 years. You will be legends at the RAC for the rest of your lives. If you ever come back for the game, you will get a standing ovation. If I ever cross paths with any of you, I'll be clapping and saying "thank you."
Great post. Sure, losing this game sucked, but what a great 2-season run and plenty of hope for the future, as Pike has shown what he can do with modest to good talent (but not top talent) and I suspect we'll continue to have that level of talent for awhile and he'll continue to put together hard-nosed, gritty, defensive minded teams that keep us competitive and hopefully going to more tourneys. We can put the 2021 banner right next to the 2020 "Would Have Made the NCAA Tourney" banner. :>)
 
Will take a few days for me.
I have next to no interest in the tournament anymore.
I’m still ill
I have no interest either. Not to mention my brackets are so done. I’m over the loss though. It was a painful night but I thought about how far we’ve come. I’m glad we got the one win. I really wanted that game last night but I’m okay. This should help recruiting.
 
Will take a few days for me.
I have next to no interest in the tournament anymore.
I’m still ill
Take a 9 hour drive or think about the last 2 seasons compared to the previous 29. I got over this faster than other losses, probably because of how much fun I had on the trip and realizing how much better being in the Dance is than being one of the worst teams in hoops.
 
Will take a few days for me.
I have next to no interest in the tournament anymore.
I’m still ill

I would say that is the normal experience for a hoops fan. The whole season builds towards making the tourney. Racking up the quality wins OOC. Getting some road wins in conference play. Doing the math on the bubble or seeding. Polishing the resume in the conference tourney. Then the total chaos of getting ready to actually play. Ecstasy when you win a game. Watching endless highlights, looking at brackets, etc.

Then you lose and the season is instantly over. Seniors careers are done. Nothing to look forward to. Just over.


Eventually you start watching some game replays and highlights later on and reliving the fun of the season and smile again. In college hoops it is the journey that is the fun part because it usually ends painfully.
 
Sorry to disagree with most of you, this ranks up there with such epic losses like WVU and Louisville in football. I too am done with men and women bb tourney watching
 
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I got over it in like 5 minutes. I am not exactly sure why. Maybe as you get older the golf ball doesn’t go far any more and wins and losses lose importance.
 
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I got over it in like 5 minutes. I am not exactly sure why. Maybe as you get older the golf ball doesn’t go far any more and wins and losses lose importance.
It lost no importance for me. We should have won this game and be gearing up for a rematch with the Orangepeople. That collapse is gonna take a while to get over.
 
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I share - just to point out that if you think you, as a fan, are upset/disapointed - think about about the young men who, literally, got punched in the face to get you that far:

 
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No, it's not. Not even close.

A win yesterday would have been the greatest win for Rutgers basketball in the last 40+ years. The loss was a lost opportunity. That doesn't make it the worst loss.

Ohio State's loss as a 2 seed was a worse loss. Illinois loss as a 1 seed was a worse loss. Wisconsin's thumping by Baylor was a worse loss. Even our regular season loss to Nebraska was a worse loss.

This loss was a good loss, but a lost opportunity to advance to our next win (which then would have been our greatest win) or next loss (which would also be a lost opportunity, but unlikely the worst loss in Rutgers history).


Rutgers is a tough defensive team. And our defense brought us to this game and kept us in the game until the very end. Rutgers is an inconsistent offensive team, and that showed all season, and at the end of last night's game. But we played the game to our strengths and had a really good chance to win down the wire. Unfortunately our weaknesses prevented the victory.

As you said, the what-if will drive you nuts. But this is an easy team to root for, and I am thankful they brought us this far. I am really looking forward to being able to cheer next year's team in person at the RAC.
Nah Ohio State just was upset, we blew it when we should have had it in the bag.
 
Yep feels like the Penn St football loss first ever big ten game. This just wasnt how it was supposed to end, yet it did
 
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