New Mexico had a habit of that. In 1978 all they had to do was beat Cal State Fullerton and then they were playing at the Pitt for the remainder of the West Region. They lost to Fullerton.
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That 78 Lobos team led by Michael Cooper was quite good and was one of the highest ranked teams Utah has ever defeated in the Hunty. Think they were #5 or so at the time.
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Utah was the only WAC/MWC team to get to the Sweet 16 with any relative consistency. Wyoming got there in 1987 before bowing out against an incredibly good UNLV team. UTEP got there in 1992.
Small correction: 2015 team got a (too low) 5 seed. That was the Wright/Taylor/Poeltl team that beat 4-seed Georgetown in the second round and bowed out in the Sweet 16 to Krzyzewski’s last championship team at Duke.
I remember this clearly because I followed both our Utes and Hoyas throughout that year (I attended both schools), thinking they both had at least an outside shot at the second weekend of the tournament. When the bracket was announced and the potential second round matchup became clear, I had two thoughts: 1) “Crap, one will take the other out” and 2) “Those seeds should be swapped - Utes and Hoyas are evenly matched except for Delon Wright”
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OK, you’re right. The 2016 Utes got a 3 seed.
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Wyoming’s 1987 second round win over UCLA in the Hunty was the greatest time I’ve ever had at a non-Utah game. After the Pokes beat Virginia on Thursday, 1000s of their fans drove down for the Saturday game and the arena was completely sold out.
Chants of Dubya-Why-Oh BOOMED throughout the building as the game wore on and Wyoming defeated the hated Bruins to advance.
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I was there too! Great weekend of games!
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Was that the Fennis Dembo team?
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Included Fennis Dembo and also Eric Leckner
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Anybody else see the end of the Santa Clara- Kentucky game? I was rooting hard for Santa Clara. Then a Kentucky player hits a buzzer-beater three-pointer that banks in to tie the game. Kentucky goes on to win in overtime. Yuck.
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How would we all feel if a Utah team lost this way?
And we arrive at the cringey part. No. 9 Iowa, which deserves a ton of credit, outlasted No. 4 Nebraska, 77-71, in a game that will forever go down in Cornhusker lore for the wrong reasons.
First, watch this:
https://x.com/TheAthletic/status/2037342929912803782?s=20
A clutch basket for Iowa with less than a minute left, which gave the Hawkeyes a crucial 6-point lead after a free throw. And then realize Nebraska only had four players on the floor, with 58 seconds left, in a game that ended a magical season.
Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg called it a “miscommunication.” My insides are folding inward thinking about this memory for Nebraska fans.
Let’s keep moving before it gets worse:
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Rough night for the Lone Star State last night as Texas lost to Purdue with winning shot coming with about 1 second left and Houston was completely shut down by Illinois who had a 17 point run early in the second half.
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Duke just lost. That’s a shame.
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But Hurley won. That’s also a shame.
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I was trying to be glass half full.
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Somewhere a Leave it to Beaver rerun enthusiast is cheering for their extra episodes next week.
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Crazy that UConn has won 18 games in a row in games during/after the Sweet 16. I expect them to win the whole tourney now. (didn’t have them picked at the start)
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Am I the only one who thinks University of Texas teams should be required to wear cowboy hats? Men and women.
Use chinstraps, do whatever it takes!
Hook ‘em horns!!
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Spurs and chaps too !
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There’s a joke in here. I just haven’t fully formulated it yet. I’m also reminded of a video but I can’t recall the song or the band to share it now.
Found it:
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