The season is over, folks. Maybe the Arizona Wildcats head to the NIT -- I sure hope they don't -- but any chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament is basically gone. So much potential, so much hope, and the team simply fell short for various reason, some they had control over and others they did not.
This season will go down as the year of what-ifs for the program. What if Kevin Parrom isn't shot weeks before the season? What if Josiah Turner plays up to his potential out of high school? What if Brendon Lavender shoots the lights out in non-conference play the way he did in conference play? We'll never know.
Arizona went cold from the field and simply could not hit anything in the second half. The 'Cats cut the deficit to two points with 15 seconds to go. After two missed free throws from the Buffaloes, Nick Johnson brought the ball down and passed to Kyle Fogg. While a two would have sufficed, Fogg settled for a sloppy, fadeaway three-pointer with the defense in his face.
The shot fell short, just like the Arizona Wildcats in 2011-2012.
Congratulations to the University of Colorado. They played stellar defense all afternoon and forced Arizona into horrible shots all game. For a team predicted to finish 10th in the conference at the beginning of the year, this is quite the achievement for the program.
Next year will be different. Bet on that.
Bear Down.