I know we were down by 15. I know tonight shows that we really have gotten a lot better, and that the future is bright as we head deeper into Pac-10 play.
But as Marques Johnson said, when you get that close there are no moral victories. For now, this one just hurts.
I'm not sure why Marcus Capers was even in the game on that final possession. I thought that as they came out of the timeout, but I figured maybe they had drawn up some kind of play with Capers flying to the basket for an alley-oop, or would put him in a position where he could crash the offensive glass on a miss.
Instead, the set they ran had him ending up on the perimeter. Makes absolutely no sense to me, and I'd like to hear Tony's explanation, because that seems like a major, major mistake. Abe Lodwick could have set a screen as well as Capers, and he'd have a chance to hit a 3.
There were so many positives tonight, and there will be plenty of time to talk about them. But for now, it just feels like a giant missed opportunity for a team that's missed a lot of them this year.
This one makes you sick to your stomach.