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Question for WSU fans. Does KY making the final 4 make your team being out a little easier (validation) or does that just make it harder thinking about what could have been?

As a bandwagon Shox fan I still think the Shox got screwed by the committee and how that MW bracket was set up. With a slightly more favorable draw the Shox would easily be back in the F4 IMO. As I'm watching the games later today I know I'll be thinking "WSU is as good or better than any of these guys".

glm38 wrote:Does KY making the final 4 make your team being out a little easier.

For me, UK going to the final four does make it a little better. "We were 35-1 and our only loss was to a final four team with the greatest recruiting class in the history of the universe." There is some validation there in that even really great teams don't always make the final four. It's similar to the year we won the NIT. We were 14-4 (second place) in conference and 9-3 in the non-con. That year our non-con losses were @ San Diego St.; who went to the Sweet 16 and lost to the eventual National Champion, VCU; who went to the Final Four, and Connecticut; the National Champions. It felt like we belonged that year. It's similar this year.

Had UK tanked after that game and played more accustomed to what I had seen earlier in the year, it would have been a harder pill to swallow.

glm38 wrote:Does that just make it harder thinking about what could have been?

Yes. We were right there with UK with a chance to win it. They were arguably the most difficult match-up for our team in the tournament. I have no doubt that had we beaten the Wildcats, that the Shockers had a legitimate shot to go all the way! Every time Kentucky wins, I think, "that should have been us."

By the way, winning EVERY game from November to March is awesome! If you have the means, I highly recommend it!

To the majority of Shocker fans, I imagine you're going to get the answer of "yes, it makes me feel better." I am in the minority though, UK's tournament has no bearing on my feelings. I fully believe we were the best team in the country and certainly good enough to win a national championship. I think if we play UK 10 times we win 7 games. I did not feel a sense of relief, or happiness, etc. when UK beat Louisville. If UK had lost by 20 to Louisville in the next game, that wouldn't have made me any happier or sadder.

If anything, this tournament has given me an even greater appreciation for the Final Four run last year and the undefeated regular season this year. Teams get hot at the right time (Final Four) and sometimes the better team doesn't always win (us vs Gonzaga.) This year we were able to keep inferior teams from winning for 35 straight games and that's something that will likely never happen again. I still would've liked to stretch it to 40.

glm38 wrote:Question for WSU fans. Does KY making the final 4 make your team being out a little easier (validation) or does that just make it harder thinking about what could have been?

it doesn't matter to me one way or the other. The season ended with the UK loss and I quit paying attention to college basketball. It was a fun, entertaining season and the Shockers players were very enjoyable to watch with the unselfish play when selfish play seems to rule more often or not.

It does. And I have no doubt we would be in the Final Four right now if FVV's three went in.

Monday night, we Shocker fans might be saying that our last two losses, a year apart, were to the eventual national champions.