Arizona, Virginia add to reputations for March sadness

Arizona andVirginia rightfully lay claim to proud college basketballtraditions, whether you’re talking about the Wildcats winning thenational championship in 1997, the Cavaliers doing it 22 yearslater or the many stars the programs have sent to the NBA andoverseas.

They alsohave developing reputations for NCAATournamentdisappointments.

Thestunning loss by second-seededArizonato No. 15 seed Princeton on Thursday,andfourth-seeded Virginia’scollapsein the closing seconds against Furman, weremerely the latest examples of their humiliating Marchheartbreaks.

The Wildcatshave been bounced by teams seeded worse than them in fiveconsecutive NCAA tourney trips, while the Cavaliers were bumped bya No. 13 seed for the second straight year andfive years to the day since becomingthe only No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed.

“It doesn’ttake away from what these guys have done and what we’ve experiencedover the years, but you wanted it when you felt like you had it,and that was a tough one,” Cavs coach Tony Bennett acknowledgedafter the 68-67 loss to the Paladins, who essentially won bycashing in a turnover with a deep 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds lefton the clock.

Bennett knowsas well as anyone that agonizing notoriety is easy to earn andbrutally difficult to overcome.

Doesn’tmatter that the names and faces change from year to year.

The Cavalierswere Final Four favorites when they arrived in Charlotte, NorthCarolina, for theirfirst-round game against UMBC in2018. Forty painful minutes later, they were saddledwitha lopsided 74-54 lossandthe ignominity of becoming the first men’s team — after 135 wins bya No. 1 seed — to lose to one of the four lowest-seeded teams inthe tournament.

Most hoopsfans remember the upset vividly, perhaps more than the nationaltitle the Cavs won a year later.

“I would justsay everybody at this level is good,” Virginia guard Isaac McKneelyoffered by way of explanation. “I know there’s the seeding and allthat, but everybody can beat everybody, as obviously you’veseen.”

If miseryloves company, the Wildcats can relate.

Since losingin the regional final to Wisconsin in 2015, Arizona has beenknocked out of the opening round three times despite being seededsixth or better each time — the first two with Sean Miller on thesideline and the most recent, a 59-55 defeat on Thursday in whichNo. 15 seed Princeton scored the final nine points, with TommyLloyd running the show.

The run ofdisappointments began with a loss to No. 11 seed Wichita State in2016. It continued against No. 11 seed Xavier in a regionalsemifinal the next year. The fourth-seeded Wildcats lost to No. 13seed Buffalo in 2018 and, as a trendy title pick as a No. 1 seedlast year, fell to fifth-seeded Houston in another regionalsemifinal.

Just how easycan the stink of an upset loss settle on even the bluest ofbluebloods?Just ask Kansas.

Two yearsafter playing for the 2003 national championship, the Jayhawks weredumped by No. 14 seed Bucknell and No. 13 seed Bradley inconsecutive years. Their still-new coach, Bill Self, came to ruethe “Killer B’s,” and not even a run to the Elite Eight could shakethe questions about whether he could get it done in Lawrence.

He could, ofcourse. The Jayhawks won the 2008 title and arethe defending nationalchampions.

Winning anational title is about the only thing missing from the resume ofGonzaga coach Mark Few, but it might take one for the Bulldogs toshake an uneasy March reputation for underachievement. They havebeen a No. 1 seed on five occassions, and twice reached the titlegame, but have become known as much for their losses as theirwins.

“We’ve beenin enough of those 1-16 games and you’re like, ‘Holy smokes,’” saidFew, whose team plays Grand Canyon on Friday night. “Last year, Iwalked out for the tip and Georgia State, I think they were biggerthan us at dang-near every position. And I’m like, ‘This is a16-seed?’ I think that’s kind of where we are right now.”

Plenty ofschools have positive reputations come March.

Princeton hasbeen known as a giant killer ever since its backdoor-cutting,first-round upset of UCLAunder Pete Carrilin 1996,when current coach Mitch Henderson was playing for the Tigers. Andwhile they beat UNLV as a No. 5 seed two years later, the Tigershad failed to reach the second round for another 25 years — untilThursday’s win over Arizona.

“There’sgoing to be some comparisons from some of you, I’m sure, to CoachCarril. I want to be really clear that this group did this,”Henderson said. “That was a really long time ago. This group didsomething special for its university, for the fans, for the formerplayers and for one another. Very similar way that you see in thetournament, they just came together and did it.”