The moment Korie Lucious' shot went in to beat Maryland on Sunday afternoon, I thought of Paul Davis.
How many times has one school lost to another -- has one coach lost to another -- in the NCAA tournament in such heartbreaking fashion, as happened Sunday to Maryland and Gary Williams?
It certainly has happened once to countless teams and coaches over the years, but what are the odds of it happening twice?
I know it was seven years ago and Maryland has had its own share of thrilling buzzer-beater wins (see Drew Nicholas against UNC-Wilmington in 2003) or wrenching losses in the last few seconds since then, but just the sight of the Michigan State's white-and-green uniforms and the image of Tom Izzo celebrating with his players (and Sparty, the mascot) reminded me of the scene in the Alamodome in the 2003 Sweet 16.
That's when Davis, then a freshman backup center for Michigan State, ended defending national champion Maryland's one-year reign with a running bank shot with 4.7 seconds left in San Antonio to go ahead 60-58, then win when Steve Blake's top-of-the-key jumper missed. The Terps trailed by 14 in that one, and by 16 on Sunday. Davis finished with 13 points. It was the same total as Lucious, playing for an injured Kalin Lucas, scored in helping the Spartans and Izzo move on with a second-round 85-83 win in Spokane, Wash.
On talk shows and message boards Monday, many fans are calling it the toughest loss in recent Maryland history, maybe in school history.
You decide.
Here are some of my other candidates:
Duke 98, Maryland 96, Jan. 27, 2001 at Cole Field House. I remember watching that game from a sports bar in Tampa the night before the Ravens beat the Giants in the Super Bowl. After Blake fouled out with 1:15 left in regulation, the Terps blew a 10-point lead in the final 54 seconds to go and were forced into overtime. Maryland students set bonfires afterward. The next day, Gary Williams fulfilled his promise to good friend Steve Bisciotti and flew down to Florida to watch the Ravens. The Terps recovered and went on to the first Final Four in school history where ...
Duke 95, Maryland,84, March 31, 2001 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Watching from courtside as the Terps build a 22-point lead in the first half against the Blue Devils, I thought Maryland would get payback for that crushing loss earlier in the season. I was wrong. The end of that night's collapse (the biggest point-wise in Final Four history) came when, with Maryland trailing by five, Lonny Baxter was called for a "phantom" fifth foul with 2:48 left, prompting Williams to yell at Big East commissioner and NCAA tournament selection chairman Mike Tranghese -- and a close friend of the Terps coach -- "How [expletive] bad do you guys want Duke in the final?"
North Carolina State 103, Maryland 100, March 9, 1974 in the ACC tournament championship game at the Greensboro Coliseum. Considered by many to be the greatest college game ever played -- though Len Elmore conceded some 18 years later that the Duke-Kentucky game was better in the 1992 East Regional final in Philadelphia -- it was the game that provided the impetus for the tournament field to be expanded to include teams that didn't win their conference or, in the ACC's case, the conference tournament. The Terps were ranked No. 4 in the country, the Wolfpack No. 1. After losing in overtime, Maryland turned down a bid to the NIT, still considered a prestigious event at the time.
Having covered Maryland basketball on and off for the past 25 years, I know there were some other tough losses.
But given the circumstances of the Terps coming back to twice take the lead in the final minute, to have Greivis Vasquez pass Len Bias on the scoring list during his final game of a memorable career, not to mention the fact that the road to the Final Four in the Midwest had been cleared of both Kansas and Georgetown, the ending of Sunday's defeat was as deflating as any I have seen.
Do you think this was the toughest?