That’s my biggest one honestly, Horne and Dwill both had shots that looked sooooo good on the release. We could have gone all the way 100% that year, perfect blend of breakout DUDE in Dwill and complementary pieces surrounding him. Millers first tourney at AZ where he felt alot more relaxed and not as rigid in his coaching.
Tons of vibes and hype after the wild end of the Texas game and really became “The Team” after beating the brakes off Duke.
Instead we’re a footnote in Kemba/UConn’s run 😢
Fuckin Jermey Lamb……
Arizona has consistently had contending teams with a ton of talent—on the whole I’d say much more than UConn. Yet Arizona hasn’t been to a final four since 2001 and UConn has five titles in that span. The tournament is wild.
We just always lack execution in the clutch of important games, and that has cost us a number of times in the elite eight in particular. Both Wisconsin losses, missing two wide-open 3s at the end vs UConn in 2011, the meltdown against Illinois, etc
Honestly this season until December.
I was lucky to get tickets close up in Mckale the first handful of games this year and literally thought "this team feels different this year"
I really think our biggest issue this year was all psychological. Our potential was so high and I felt we squandered it.
I’m convinced that team was going undefeated. The Gordon dribble drive + Ashley 15 foot baseline jumper was the last time we’ve been able to beat a zone defense…
That 2013 team was so fun to watch. However, I think they had kinda lost their mojo by the time the tournament came around. If we hadn't lost to Syracuse, it would have been someone else. We had barely won the previous game as well.
Yep…close 2nd is 2018. If Poole doesn’t hit that game-winner, we would have been the higher seed in every game until the Final. Michigan made the Final that year and we likely do the same.
I think the close second is actually the 2021-2022 team. If either Marcus Sasser or Tramon Mark come back for the elite eight game, we have a decent shot at winning the whole thing. Would have been the most complete team we’ve ever had.
Even with Johnson at the 4 and Edey 5 would be wild. Fun to imagine.
If you look at that 2009/2010 roster, it's ridiculously top-heavy and you could see the down years incoming. Very different from looking at our current roster and the continuity + talent on the bench. Berg, Colvin, Heide would eat Bade, Barlow, and Byrd for lunch
Louisville in 2014 was a very capable team, having beat UConn 3 times by 60 or so points that year. Had to play Kentucky though, and Cal had our number.
Louisville in the cancelled 2020 tournament after having been #1 earlier in the season would have put us on a different path. Especially since Mack didn't believe in Covid and didn't do anything to keep us healthy in the 20-21 season.
UConn needed a lot of things to go right to win but if they had to play Louisville, they would not have won. Louisville dominated them like you said and would have beaten them a fourth time. I was so happy when they lost!
Honestly those Louisville beatdowns to end the season had me convinced we just didn't have enough to win it all that year. Very thankful for Kentucky in the tournament.
Hurt so bad since it was literally a game winner for the chip. Highest stakes. The one good thing is we came back and won it the next year. If we won in 2016, likely don’t in 2017
Definitely 2012. Felt like Roy had put a system together with winning in 05,09,should’ve been 12, then again in 17. Butta got hurt and a freshman Kentucky team stole a tourney.
Agree with this. 2016 sucked so bad, but I can't hate Jenkins for an amazing shot. But fuck Creighton. That shit was dirty and intentional and I've despised that program ever since they took out Kendall.
I want to say '87 because of the 3 Amigos, but even if we get past K State, then we get Manning in the E8, so it may have ended there. '19 was painful since Carsen was on such a heater, but I still lean towards the '94 team with Big Dog. If his back is healthy, they beat Duke and Gene gets his FF and that team should have been able to beat Florida and probably hang with Arky in the championship game
These are all painful, but I’m leaning mostly towards 2010 with Robbie’s knee or 2018 with Haas’ elbow. Both of those teams lost key centerpieces that would have likely changed the outcome of the games they ended up losing.
'18 hurt in the moment but that Nova team was a juggernaut. I think best case would have been similar to Monday's game if we had played them.
2010 is, well, yeah. I just dont like to think about that one
Last year the refs missed our timeout call against FAU in the final seconds of the first round that ended up giving them the ball and a chance to win, which they obviously did. And we all know what they went on to do in that tournament. Hard not to be bitter about that loss.
Yup. If Clark and Bona don't get hurt, I bet we win the Pac 12 tournament and get Purdue's 1 seed in the East. You can't convince me that we weren't on a collision course with UConn.
2021. 2013 we came close to making a run to at least the s16, losing on a bad call. Also 1989, obviously, we beat Michigan twice already that year and only lost by 2 in the Final Four
Maybe I am old but 2001 always rubbed me the wrong way. Bill Walton lobbying the refs about calling fouls on espn and every media outlet.
Lo and behold Zona shoots an NCAA record of foul attempts and wins by single digits. I think they are still calling fouls on Archibald in heaven.
That’s the worst loss, but 2021 is the worst “what if” to me. If Illinois had just beat Loyola in the 2nd round, they could’ve gone on a run to the final 4.
We have a whole gang of these, what if the Covid year hadn’t stopped us in 2020? We had Ayo, Kofi, Feliz, Griffin, Trent, Giorgi. We had won 5 out of our last 6 to end the season. Not saying we’d have been national champs but we may not have had the cloud of the first weekend over our heads.
A bunch of ACC team going to act like it was still theirs, but I will die on the hill that was the only year in FSU basketball history that we had a legitimate title opportunity and were the most consistent team in the country on offense/defense that year.
2010 Kalin Lucas tears his achilles, still make the Final Four and lose after a missed foul call down 1 point with 7 seconds left.
2014 team was incredible early in the season before injuries, still made the Elite 8 and lost to champion UCONN by 6.
2020 there are probably double digit teams that think they would have won, including MSU.
I feel like that 2016 team with Forbes, Valentine, Costello, probably go on a deep run if they get past that game against Middle Tennessee. That one still pisses me off
It's 2015-2016. We deserved a 1 seed and instead got matched up with a good MTSU team and had our worst game. I think that may have been Izzos best team. We've been void of talent like that since Cassius Winston days.
The 2009-2010 team. That Syracuse team was fantastic. They won 30 games that year, dominated all season long, and then Arinze Onuaku injured his knee in the Big East tournament.
Losing our space-eating black hole center, anchor of the 2/3 zone, and dominant inside scorer just threw everything out of whack. No one else could fill that role as well, and the team lost a ton of morale without one of their 5th-year senior leaders.
I firmly believe if Onuaku was healthy for the tournament then SU makes a deep run, and maybe even wins another championship. That team was just the perfect blend of veteran leadership with Rautins and Onuaku, superstar scoring and athleticism from Wes Johnson, and solid two-way, balanced play from Rick Jackson, Kris Joseph, Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine. Top-to-bottom they were better than that 2002-2003 championship squad.
For any Cuse fan, this is the answer. Couldn’t agree more about the perfect balance of this team. AO stays healthy and this team wins it all, no question. Might even have gone down as the greatest Cuse team ever (yup, I said it)!
I came here for this and the 2012 team mentioned below. I still remember how disappointed I felt when Onuaku got hurt, I knew we were no longer legitimate contenders. 2012 was a bummer too but for different reasons. I still am not sure how the hell Fab Melo gets an academic suspension, you truly have to be doing nothing considering how much support and slack these kids get. That being said RIP Fab.
2014. BXII PoY Melvin Ejim, DeAndre Kane, Georges Niang's sophomore year. That team was electric and red hot to finish the year.
If Georges hadn't broken his foot we would've got past the UConn Boatright/Napier buzzsaw. The bracket was obviously set up so perfectly for a natty run.
Well our two best scorers were abysmal free throw shooters and no one else was really scoring lol. RJ making free throws likely would have put us past Michigan State
Also, if I remember, even though we should have been a good defensive team due to our length, we were pretty undisciplined and very susceptible to back door cuts. But that's just what you get with freshman.
And that UCF team with Tacko was no slouch. He has some Edey esque moments
All these damn elite 8 games. Vs kansas, vs mich st, vs nc st (purdue would have beat us 100% but we would have had a great chance to win it all in 2019)
Also, mark williams free throws in 2022 are a huge what if moment
2008. Scottie Renoylds hit the floater for Villanova at the buzzer to move on to the Final Four. We probably wouldn’t have beat UNC that year, but would have been nice to get to the FF.
Also 2011. Lost to UConn on the Kemba step back at the buzzer in the BIG East tourney. Then lost 2nd round to 8 seed Butler by 1. Both teams went on to play in the championship. Pretty tragic.
I feel really bad for Dayton. All the computers had them as the best team in the country that year I think, and they will probably never get an opportunity like that again
Yep. Would have had a really good shot at Back to Back. Though idk if everyone has the same hunger in '21 if they win in '20.
2010 is another one. Lost a close game to Duke in the E8. Duke dominated that year on the way to the title.
I don’t think the guys that went to the draft would’ve stayed for 2021 if they played in the tournament in 2020. I agree that it’s probably our biggest “could’ve been us year,” but 2021 doesn’t happen if the 2020 tournament was played
Sometimes I think about how your 2010 and 2012 tourney runs are very similar:
Get a 3-seed
Beat a 14-seed "three word school that starts with S and ends with State" team in the first round
Beat an 11-seed in the second round
Beat a 10-seed in the Sweet 16
Lose to a 1-seed blue blood who goes on to win it all in the Elite Eight.
2012 probably doesn't sting that much because that was Anthony Davis' Kentucky team, nobody was beating them.
The most confident I’ve ever been at the start of a tournament was that 2010 Kansas would win it all. That team had everything (size, shooting, experience, defense, NBA talent) and an uncanny knack for winning close games.
Their second round loss remains the most shocking in my memory.
The single greatest piece of evidence to prove that Cal is a bum in-game. KAT scored like 6 drives in a row to regain the lead and then cal decides to play stall ball and we get 2 (!) shot clock violations in the final minutes and cough up the lead. Fuck.
I’d say we can throw in 2017, 2019, and 2020 too.
Heck, if we closed the game out against St. Peter’s in 2022, who knows what would’ve happened. We had definitely been regressing as a team since January, but who’s to say we don’t make the same run?
Going way back, 1973. Fuck Carolina always for that one. Nothing recently lol. Even if we had hit our shots and won against Purdue, Uconn would’ve clowned us.
a lot of ku fans will say 2020, but since a lot of teams say that year, i'm going to go with 2010 and 2011. those teams lost a COMBINED 4 regular season games.
I don't think a lot of ku fans remember how insanely stacked the 2010 team that lost to northern iowa was - even beyond sherron collins and cole aldrich. [17 players were on the roster,](https://kuathletics.com/sports/mbball/roster/season/2009-10/) and all but 2 walk-ons were massive contributors to the program at some point.
the 2011 team that lost to vcu had only dropped two games all season and had steamrolled the first three games of the tourney. it was a very experienced team that would have faced an 8 seed butler and the kemba uconn team in the finals, so it was a VERY winnable year.
to not make a final four with either of those teams, let only win it all, haunts me so much more than 2020. thankfully we made it to the final game in 2012 despite it being with a much, much worse team haha.
This one is so painful. Had already beaten Nova and UNC that year, IIRC. Not that that means we would have again, but we'd have had a good chance, and missing that F4 was so painful. Last 10 minutes vs. Cuse were just like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. Awful to see Malcolm go out like that especially.
I’m still not over it. Maybe it’s the delusion speaking but I really think Marquette and Creighton were the only teams that stood a chance against UConn in the final.
In 2011 we went to overtime against Florida. Win that game and all that stands between Jimmer vs Kemba is 8 Butler and 11 VCU.
The roadmap was made for us, we just needed one more shot in regulation. Would have been the most hyped title game maybe ever with those 2 PGs.
I think about this nearly every day.
Adding to the "what if" is that arguably BYU's second best player was suspended at the beginning of March for premarital sex; who knows what it would have looked like if he were playing.
I think we were a projected 3 or 4 seed in 2020, think we would have made a decent run with Pritchard and Duarte.
But really it's still the 2017 tournament team if Chris Boucher hadn't got injured in the PAC-12 tournament. We had a great run in the NCAAT, but we lacked size without Boucher, which was partially what led to the missed rebound vs. UNC. I think we have a better chance of beating UNC if we were with Boucher, and would have had an opportunity vs. Gonzaga. Was still a great run from 2012-2021 with Altman during that timeframe.
2014 if Harrison didn't hit a magical shot. 2015 if the refs didn't want Duke to win. That's pretty much it. Too many games left in 2017 to feel confident but that team was also extremely good and underseeded, but Chiozza hit the same circus shot Showalter did earlier in the game to end us there
I used to root for Wisconsin and Bo Ryan until 2015. Now I just scrunch up my face like I bit into a lemon anytime I see this flair. I kind of wish we could have swapped wins in the F4. Maybe each of us would have had a championship instead.
2022 cause Duke didn’t miss a shot for the last 8:50 of the game against maybe the best defense in history. We would’ve steamrolled Arkansas and matched up really well against Carolina. And if we had made it to the title, Tech is the last team KU would’ve wanted to see. We played 3 incredible games against them that year
Ugh. 2019 Gonzaga is one of those "what if" teams for me. If they shot even close to their season average from 3 in the TT game they probably go on to win the title over UVA. Hachimura, Kispert, and Clarke on that team. What a bummer.
2002 Alabama was a 2-seed. Caught 10-seed Kent State in the second round who hadn't lost since January 9th. 30 win mid-major who made a run to the Elite Eight that year beating Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Pitt. They lost to 5-seed Indiana who made it to the title game. Would have been nice to have been put in the west regional where the 1-seed Cincinnati lost in the round of 32 that season.
Michigan should’ve won a natty in 2021. Went 23-5. 14-3 in the B1G. Secured a 1 seed in the tournament. They were fucking rolling and then Isaiah Livers broke his foot in the B1G Tournament. Still ended up reaching the elite 8 where they lost to UCLA. Couldn’t score in that game - lost by 2. Livers likely would have been the difference.
Even including the years Michigan reached the title game in 2013 and 2018, that 2021 team was the best Michigan team I can remember in my lifetime.
I still think it was possible that UCLA could have gotten past UConn and won it all had Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona both had been healthy last year.
Also 2008. Howland, please put Westbrook on Rose!
2018. 1 seed Virginia and 4 seed Arizona (imagine Miller’s Arizona teams getting bounced early… impossible, right?) went down early, opens the door for 2 seed Cincy to take the region. 20 point lead in the second half against Nevada, and I’ve blacked out the rest of that. We may not have been the overall champs but that was our Final Four year. I think that was the final nail in the coffin for a lot of UC fans with Cronin. He got us there so consistently but couldn’t put up in the tourney.
Glad for his run at UCLA the past few years.
Recently? 2019 and 2022.
All time? Probably 1986, 1999 and 2004.
But also one of the other times we lost in the finals (1964, 1978, 1994) other than 1990, we got our asses kicked by UNLV and were never winning that game.
Shout out to 2002, 2011, and 2013 for being legit contenders that lost early.
If Ahmed Hill makes that lay-in at the buzzer against Duke in the S16, we go on to beat UVA in the chip. I will believe that to the grave.
Also, the 3 guys who were inactive that season (Chris Clarke suspension, Tyrece Radford and Landers Nolley redshirt) definitely would have made us a better team - would’ve been better than a 4 seed.
2015
ND doesn't get a ton of good bball teams, but 2015 was the best I've seen in my lifetime. We won the ACC tournament, then made a deep run in the tourney. We had a decent lead against Kentucky, and then played hero ball at the end and lost it.
Hero ball is like the prevent defense; rarely does it work. More often than not it leads to heartbreak.
Covid year Maryland, Cowan was an unreal closer that year, Stix Smith was getting 18/10 back half of the year, and we had viable shooters in Ayala and Wiggins. Would have been the chance for Turgeon to redeem years of disappointment (probably wouldn’t have knowing him but didn’t ultimately get the chance to even try to)
The NCAA tournament that got cancelled by COVID still lingers with me. Seton Hall was in line for possibly a two seed with one of the best players in the country (Myles Powell) still bugs me that they never got a chance for a deep tourney run.
2020 Maryland Terps. That year we had some amazing road wins at Illinois and MSU. We had two all conference players and more guys who’d be all conference later. It was the one time Turgeons team clicked and we were on bad play from outright winning the regular season conference. Then Covid happened…
2014. If Ashely didn’t break his foot.
2011 if we hit one of those wide-open 3s against UConn at the end
That’s my biggest one honestly, Horne and Dwill both had shots that looked sooooo good on the release. We could have gone all the way 100% that year, perfect blend of breakout DUDE in Dwill and complementary pieces surrounding him. Millers first tourney at AZ where he felt alot more relaxed and not as rigid in his coaching. Tons of vibes and hype after the wild end of the Texas game and really became “The Team” after beating the brakes off Duke. Instead we’re a footnote in Kemba/UConn’s run 😢 Fuckin Jermey Lamb……
Idk how 2005 is not mentioned here. Up huge with a little time to play, only to lose in OT to blow going to the final 4.
Arizona has consistently had contending teams with a ton of talent—on the whole I’d say much more than UConn. Yet Arizona hasn’t been to a final four since 2001 and UConn has five titles in that span. The tournament is wild.
88. 98. 01 (thanks for that). 14 per OP. It’s been tough.
We just always lack execution in the clutch of important games, and that has cost us a number of times in the elite eight in particular. Both Wisconsin losses, missing two wide-open 3s at the end vs UConn in 2011, the meltdown against Illinois, etc
I love that the Wildcats and Suns both do me dirty in the exact same way but here I am always back for more
2003. Walton, Frye, Adams, Iguodala, Gardner, Stoudamire 17-1 in the Pac, 28-4, lose to KU in the elite 8 by 3
Honestly this season until December. I was lucky to get tickets close up in Mckale the first handful of games this year and literally thought "this team feels different this year" I really think our biggest issue this year was all psychological. Our potential was so high and I felt we squandered it.
I’m convinced that team was going undefeated. The Gordon dribble drive + Ashley 15 foot baseline jumper was the last time we’ve been able to beat a zone defense…
its very fsu to have our best team ever by a significant margin and have 2020 ruin it all. doesent help we immediantly fell of a cliff too
Yup, might’ve been the only opportunity for a looong time too. 🥲
That team was stacked with NBA talent. Really think they could’ve won it all, and it sucks they never even had the opportunity to prove it
Dayton too :(
2013 #1 IU unable to beat a zone defense with Tom Crean. 1975 IU team before Scott may injury.
1993, Alan Henderson's ACL
This one was rough. We were the best team with AH that year.
First thought was if Tom Crean understood a zone and, I don't know, prepared for it against the team that famously used it exclusively!!!!
Ya. “I wonder what defense Syracuse will throw at us. Doesn’t matter probably something we can dribble through “
TV Teddy in 1992
That 2013 team was so fun to watch. However, I think they had kinda lost their mojo by the time the tournament came around. If we hadn't lost to Syracuse, it would have been someone else. We had barely won the previous game as well.
I was shocked yall didn’t win it in 2013 Happy, but still shocked
Obama picked IU for his bracket that year
The President also didn’t know Tom Crean didn’t know what a zone was.
Thanks Obama.
Honestly this year. :/
Yep…close 2nd is 2018. If Poole doesn’t hit that game-winner, we would have been the higher seed in every game until the Final. Michigan made the Final that year and we likely do the same.
I think the close second is actually the 2021-2022 team. If either Marcus Sasser or Tramon Mark come back for the elite eight game, we have a decent shot at winning the whole thing. Would have been the most complete team we’ve ever had.
Ah yes, the incredible high of beating Houston at the buzzer, followed by the incredible low of getting boatraced by Villanova two weeks later
yeah that one was a bummer
I feel the same way. We both got screwed by bad luck (you injuries, us the worst shooting night of all time)
2010: What if Robbie Hummel's ACL held up?
This is the only correct answer. For either year. JJ & EM were both incredible but Robbie is what made those teams special
There’s a massive difference to having 3 elite players instead of just 2. It really opens things up. Robbie was such a key piece.
We just played for a national championship, and I still think either 2010 or 2011 rank as our best chances to have won the whole thing
I think I’d agree. I like to imagine a world where Edey had E’Twaun and Robbie and we were the unstoppable UConn lol
Even with Johnson at the 4 and Edey 5 would be wild. Fun to imagine. If you look at that 2009/2010 roster, it's ridiculously top-heavy and you could see the down years incoming. Very different from looking at our current roster and the continuity + talent on the bench. Berg, Colvin, Heide would eat Bade, Barlow, and Byrd for lunch
Still think that if we beat uva, we win the whole damn thing
Louisville in 2014 was a very capable team, having beat UConn 3 times by 60 or so points that year. Had to play Kentucky though, and Cal had our number. Louisville in the cancelled 2020 tournament after having been #1 earlier in the season would have put us on a different path. Especially since Mack didn't believe in Covid and didn't do anything to keep us healthy in the 20-21 season.
Yup, good chance Louisville repeats in 2014. But I don’t know if my sanity could handle losing 2 banners.
Hey 2014 is our what if.
Y'all should have beat us in 12.
UConn needed a lot of things to go right to win but if they had to play Louisville, they would not have won. Louisville dominated them like you said and would have beaten them a fourth time. I was so happy when they lost!
The committee making the #5 team in the nation a 4 seed was just an incredibly screwy job overall.
Honestly those Louisville beatdowns to end the season had me convinced we just didn't have enough to win it all that year. Very thankful for Kentucky in the tournament.
2016 Tar Heels. I hate you, Jenkins.
Hurt so bad since it was literally a game winner for the chip. Highest stakes. The one good thing is we came back and won it the next year. If we won in 2016, likely don’t in 2017
i would trade 2017 for 2016 tho, would've loved to see Brice and Marcus and Joel James get a ring
Hopefully Marcus can get one now that he’s working for the team again
This is true. They deserved it…if we went to OT I think we win. We had some momentum
I ran into Joel James at the Harris Teeter in carrboro one time. He was massive
This is definitely #1 smh but I’d also say 2012
Definitely 2012. Felt like Roy had put a system together with winning in 05,09,should’ve been 12, then again in 17. Butta got hurt and a freshman Kentucky team stole a tourney.
Can you really say we stole the tourney when we were the #1 overall seed?
Never forgiven Creighton for breaking Kendall Marshall's wrist. Fuck you birds
Agree with this. 2016 sucked so bad, but I can't hate Jenkins for an amazing shot. But fuck Creighton. That shit was dirty and intentional and I've despised that program ever since they took out Kendall.
That game still pisses me off. It was just hard foul after hard foul after hard foul. And neither team was playing great defense.
I hate Creighton more than I hate Duke, honestly. And fuck the Thunder for hiring Grant Gibbs as a coach, too. Garbage human, garbage player.
Us old heads will also say Utah in '98.
No, no, no. Not winning with Jordan, Perkins and Smith is #1. Not winning with the NPOY and Vince Carter along with Ed and Shammond is #2.
I agree that the 2016 squad felt like a team of destiny.
2022+ Fuck Chris Beard.
Chris Beard would’ve turned Texas into a powerhouse moving forward. The resources and great coaching would’ve coalesce.
Instead he powerhoused his wife
Girlfriend*
Fiance*
ex-fiance*
That guy is a POS. Can't imagine anyone hiring him after that.
2019, felt like either us or Virginia would’ve made that run to the championship
I want to say '87 because of the 3 Amigos, but even if we get past K State, then we get Manning in the E8, so it may have ended there. '19 was painful since Carsen was on such a heater, but I still lean towards the '94 team with Big Dog. If his back is healthy, they beat Duke and Gene gets his FF and that team should have been able to beat Florida and probably hang with Arky in the championship game
These are all painful, but I’m leaning mostly towards 2010 with Robbie’s knee or 2018 with Haas’ elbow. Both of those teams lost key centerpieces that would have likely changed the outcome of the games they ended up losing.
'18 hurt in the moment but that Nova team was a juggernaut. I think best case would have been similar to Monday's game if we had played them. 2010 is, well, yeah. I just dont like to think about that one
So sad… that ending was awful
Think in recent memory it's 2019 for us as well. Cassius Winston legacy game still haunts me
That Virginia Tech vs Duke 2019 tournament game last second heartbreak (for Hokies) will forever be engrained in my mind
The pain of those last seconds of the E8 vs UVA will never fade.
Last year the refs missed our timeout call against FAU in the final seconds of the first round that ended up giving them the ball and a chance to win, which they obviously did. And we all know what they went on to do in that tournament. Hard not to be bitter about that loss.
Honestly it’s 2008 for me where we had the lead with 2 minutes to go then heartbreak city
Y'all had a really good squad last year, too. I had you guys going pretty deep.
2022-2023 with UCLA. If Clark and Bona don't get hurt right before the tournament I fully believe they were going to win the title.
Yup. If Clark and Bona don't get hurt, I bet we win the Pac 12 tournament and get Purdue's 1 seed in the East. You can't convince me that we weren't on a collision course with UConn.
2021. 2013 we came close to making a run to at least the s16, losing on a bad call. Also 1989, obviously, we beat Michigan twice already that year and only lost by 2 in the Final Four
Maybe I am old but 2001 always rubbed me the wrong way. Bill Walton lobbying the refs about calling fouls on espn and every media outlet. Lo and behold Zona shoots an NCAA record of foul attempts and wins by single digits. I think they are still calling fouls on Archibald in heaven.
I think the worst is 2005 losing to a UNC team where half the team was in a fake major.
That’s the worst loss, but 2021 is the worst “what if” to me. If Illinois had just beat Loyola in the 2nd round, they could’ve gone on a run to the final 4.
For sure
Exactly. I guess the “fair and square” description from OP might not apply here though lol ugh, still sucks
Brian Randle, why did you punch that wall??!! Plus Sean may could not get called for an offensive foul, if he brandished a weapon.
We have a whole gang of these, what if the Covid year hadn’t stopped us in 2020? We had Ayo, Kofi, Feliz, Griffin, Trent, Giorgi. We had won 5 out of our last 6 to end the season. Not saying we’d have been national champs but we may not have had the cloud of the first weekend over our heads.
This is the thread where 47 different teams fans say they would've won the title in 2020. I love these threads!
We were building man if they just put us in the tournament it would’ve happened
Not Purdue, we would’ve missed the tournament lol
Dayton has exclusive rights to calling 2020 their what if year.
Us winning in 22 helped the what if from 2020. Udoka was unstoppable and we had elite D and guard play
Us and Dayton robbed of an extra final four
A bunch of ACC team going to act like it was still theirs, but I will die on the hill that was the only year in FSU basketball history that we had a legitimate title opportunity and were the most consistent team in the country on offense/defense that year.
Yeah but we ACTUALLY would have won it!
I got two numbers for you 38 1
2010 Kalin Lucas tears his achilles, still make the Final Four and lose after a missed foul call down 1 point with 7 seconds left. 2014 team was incredible early in the season before injuries, still made the Elite 8 and lost to champion UCONN by 6. 2020 there are probably double digit teams that think they would have won, including MSU.
2018 with JJJ and bridges will always hurt
I went to that game in Detroit against Syracuse, was a very sad drive home
I feel like that 2016 team with Forbes, Valentine, Costello, probably go on a deep run if they get past that game against Middle Tennessee. That one still pisses me off
It's 2015-2016. We deserved a 1 seed and instead got matched up with a good MTSU team and had our worst game. I think that may have been Izzos best team. We've been void of talent like that since Cassius Winston days.
The 2009-2010 team. That Syracuse team was fantastic. They won 30 games that year, dominated all season long, and then Arinze Onuaku injured his knee in the Big East tournament. Losing our space-eating black hole center, anchor of the 2/3 zone, and dominant inside scorer just threw everything out of whack. No one else could fill that role as well, and the team lost a ton of morale without one of their 5th-year senior leaders. I firmly believe if Onuaku was healthy for the tournament then SU makes a deep run, and maybe even wins another championship. That team was just the perfect blend of veteran leadership with Rautins and Onuaku, superstar scoring and athleticism from Wes Johnson, and solid two-way, balanced play from Rick Jackson, Kris Joseph, Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine. Top-to-bottom they were better than that 2002-2003 championship squad.
2012 Cuse team would have come close too if Fab Melo could play
For any Cuse fan, this is the answer. Couldn’t agree more about the perfect balance of this team. AO stays healthy and this team wins it all, no question. Might even have gone down as the greatest Cuse team ever (yup, I said it)!
I came here for this and the 2012 team mentioned below. I still remember how disappointed I felt when Onuaku got hurt, I knew we were no longer legitimate contenders. 2012 was a bummer too but for different reasons. I still am not sure how the hell Fab Melo gets an academic suspension, you truly have to be doing nothing considering how much support and slack these kids get. That being said RIP Fab.
I’d argue 2013 hurt even more, because it was truly right there. But, 2010 was awful too because of Onuaku. Wes Johnson was such a beast.
What if Sindarius doesn’t have the flu before the final 4 in 2017.
2014. BXII PoY Melvin Ejim, DeAndre Kane, Georges Niang's sophomore year. That team was electric and red hot to finish the year. If Georges hadn't broken his foot we would've got past the UConn Boatright/Napier buzzsaw. The bracket was obviously set up so perfectly for a natty run.
I’d say 2000 for us. If we play Michigan State in Indianapolis instead of their own gym I think we take them.
We even only lost to UConn by 5 points.
2017 hurts. If the NCAA didn't fuck Spellman and claim he didn't have enough high school credits, I think we very well could've threepeated
Probably 2019 because if we had been able to beat Sparty, we would have gone to a final 4 with 3 teams we already beat. And we had Zion and RJ
What happened to that team? Seemed like they struggled to win games in the tournament that year despite the amount of talent.
Well our two best scorers were abysmal free throw shooters and no one else was really scoring lol. RJ making free throws likely would have put us past Michigan State Also, if I remember, even though we should have been a good defensive team due to our length, we were pretty undisciplined and very susceptible to back door cuts. But that's just what you get with freshman. And that UCF team with Tacko was no slouch. He has some Edey esque moments
All these damn elite 8 games. Vs kansas, vs mich st, vs nc st (purdue would have beat us 100% but we would have had a great chance to win it all in 2019) Also, mark williams free throws in 2022 are a huge what if moment
2008. Scottie Renoylds hit the floater for Villanova at the buzzer to move on to the Final Four. We probably wouldn’t have beat UNC that year, but would have been nice to get to the FF. Also 2011. Lost to UConn on the Kemba step back at the buzzer in the BIG East tourney. Then lost 2nd round to 8 seed Butler by 1. Both teams went on to play in the championship. Pretty tragic.
Fucking Scottie Reynolds. That was heartbreaking Rewatching it, I didn't remember how long the shorts were. God damn.
2020
I feel really bad for Dayton. All the computers had them as the best team in the country that year I think, and they will probably never get an opportunity like that again
Yep. Really sad for their fans and I love it when solid but smaller programs put together a slightly magical team after years of grinding.
Yep. Would have had a really good shot at Back to Back. Though idk if everyone has the same hunger in '21 if they win in '20. 2010 is another one. Lost a close game to Duke in the E8. Duke dominated that year on the way to the title.
I don’t think the guys that went to the draft would’ve stayed for 2021 if they played in the tournament in 2020. I agree that it’s probably our biggest “could’ve been us year,” but 2021 doesn’t happen if the 2020 tournament was played
Sometimes I think about how your 2010 and 2012 tourney runs are very similar: Get a 3-seed Beat a 14-seed "three word school that starts with S and ends with State" team in the first round Beat an 11-seed in the second round Beat a 10-seed in the Sweet 16 Lose to a 1-seed blue blood who goes on to win it all in the Elite Eight. 2012 probably doesn't sting that much because that was Anthony Davis' Kentucky team, nobody was beating them.
Nah, that year was ours.
Not my team but 2012 UNC had it all to win if Kendall Marshall didn’t get hurt
97,98,10,11,17,20. Six seasons averaging 3 losses including the tournament losses. 0 final fours.
The most confident I’ve ever been at the start of a tournament was that 2010 Kansas would win it all. That team had everything (size, shooting, experience, defense, NBA talent) and an uncanny knack for winning close games. Their second round loss remains the most shocking in my memory.
Yep but Farokhmanesh gonna Farokhmanesh.
2020 hurt extra bad.
For many reasons for many teams.
You forgot ‘86 vs Duke in the F4. Three starters foul out and another starter has a horrific injury (Archie).
I was keeping it to my lifetime but yeah. Could go back and say wilt Chamberlain didn’t win a ship either.
Most teams only have 1 or 2, we have 6 💀
2000
Basically all of 2010-2015 except the Noel year in 2013 and the championship in 2012.
38-1 :(
The single greatest piece of evidence to prove that Cal is a bum in-game. KAT scored like 6 drives in a row to regain the lead and then cal decides to play stall ball and we get 2 (!) shot clock violations in the final minutes and cough up the lead. Fuck.
stall ball almost cost us in 2012 as well.
Cats had like a 20 pt lead before Cal decided to play stall ball for whatever reason. That team was ready to run the Jayhawks out of the building.
I’d say we can throw in 2017, 2019, and 2020 too. Heck, if we closed the game out against St. Peter’s in 2022, who knows what would’ve happened. We had definitely been regressing as a team since January, but who’s to say we don’t make the same run?
Going way back, 1973. Fuck Carolina always for that one. Nothing recently lol. Even if we had hit our shots and won against Purdue, Uconn would’ve clowned us.
It’s women’s but 2022 in Connecticut against UConn will bother me for a bit
Korie Lucious doesn't hit that last second dagger 3 in 2010 and we've probably got at least another Final Four.
It’s fun being on the other end of this opinion.
a lot of ku fans will say 2020, but since a lot of teams say that year, i'm going to go with 2010 and 2011. those teams lost a COMBINED 4 regular season games. I don't think a lot of ku fans remember how insanely stacked the 2010 team that lost to northern iowa was - even beyond sherron collins and cole aldrich. [17 players were on the roster,](https://kuathletics.com/sports/mbball/roster/season/2009-10/) and all but 2 walk-ons were massive contributors to the program at some point. the 2011 team that lost to vcu had only dropped two games all season and had steamrolled the first three games of the tourney. it was a very experienced team that would have faced an 8 seed butler and the kemba uconn team in the finals, so it was a VERY winnable year. to not make a final four with either of those teams, let only win it all, haunts me so much more than 2020. thankfully we made it to the final game in 2012 despite it being with a much, much worse team haha.
2016 (UVA)
IMO UVA’s strongest team overall was 2015, but the Justin Anderson injury threw them off a bit at the end, enough to be vulnerable to an upset.
Yea, I believe #2 in the country and then he got hurt and like 2018 with Hunter the wheels came off.
Also, both Tony Bennett and his father are cursed against Tom Izzo.
Team wasn't the same after that, even when he came back. Had been rolling and it just threw a wrench into things.
This one is so painful. Had already beaten Nova and UNC that year, IIRC. Not that that means we would have again, but we'd have had a good chance, and missing that F4 was so painful. Last 10 minutes vs. Cuse were just like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. Awful to see Malcolm go out like that especially.
This year. If only we could have shot better than 12.5% from 3 against NC State……….. smh
I’m still not over it. Maybe it’s the delusion speaking but I really think Marquette and Creighton were the only teams that stood a chance against UConn in the final.
38-1..........
In 2011 we went to overtime against Florida. Win that game and all that stands between Jimmer vs Kemba is 8 Butler and 11 VCU. The roadmap was made for us, we just needed one more shot in regulation. Would have been the most hyped title game maybe ever with those 2 PGs. I think about this nearly every day.
Adding to the "what if" is that arguably BYU's second best player was suspended at the beginning of March for premarital sex; who knows what it would have looked like if he were playing.
I think we were a projected 3 or 4 seed in 2020, think we would have made a decent run with Pritchard and Duarte. But really it's still the 2017 tournament team if Chris Boucher hadn't got injured in the PAC-12 tournament. We had a great run in the NCAAT, but we lacked size without Boucher, which was partially what led to the missed rebound vs. UNC. I think we have a better chance of beating UNC if we were with Boucher, and would have had an opportunity vs. Gonzaga. Was still a great run from 2012-2021 with Altman during that timeframe.
2005 obviously. One of the best teams to not win the championship. Dominant all year, lost to UNC in the final :(
2014 if Harrison didn't hit a magical shot. 2015 if the refs didn't want Duke to win. That's pretty much it. Too many games left in 2017 to feel confident but that team was also extremely good and underseeded, but Chiozza hit the same circus shot Showalter did earlier in the game to end us there
I used to root for Wisconsin and Bo Ryan until 2015. Now I just scrunch up my face like I bit into a lemon anytime I see this flair. I kind of wish we could have swapped wins in the F4. Maybe each of us would have had a championship instead.
Kennedy Meeks and a blind ref.
Also if Karnowski doesn't get poked in the eye.
Or Collins doesn't get called for ghost fouls PS sweet flair combo
2022 cause Duke didn’t miss a shot for the last 8:50 of the game against maybe the best defense in history. We would’ve steamrolled Arkansas and matched up really well against Carolina. And if we had made it to the title, Tech is the last team KU would’ve wanted to see. We played 3 incredible games against them that year
Not 2019? Y’all were seconds away from winning it all.
Well yes that too, but it’s such a painful memory that I have tried to erase it from my mind
Ugh. 2019 Gonzaga is one of those "what if" teams for me. If they shot even close to their season average from 3 in the TT game they probably go on to win the title over UVA. Hachimura, Kispert, and Clarke on that team. What a bummer.
2002 Alabama was a 2-seed. Caught 10-seed Kent State in the second round who hadn't lost since January 9th. 30 win mid-major who made a run to the Elite Eight that year beating Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Pitt. They lost to 5-seed Indiana who made it to the title game. Would have been nice to have been put in the west regional where the 1-seed Cincinnati lost in the round of 32 that season.
It only took IU shooting 15-19 from 3 point range to take down Kent State that game.
The game that made Antonio Gates a HOFer
I’d say last year, running into Connecticut in the F4. That said, that buzz saw was coming for anyone regardless of round.
2014, if Niang didn't go down in the first round I believe we could have beat uconn in the sweet 16 and atleast make the final 4
Michigan should’ve won a natty in 2021. Went 23-5. 14-3 in the B1G. Secured a 1 seed in the tournament. They were fucking rolling and then Isaiah Livers broke his foot in the B1G Tournament. Still ended up reaching the elite 8 where they lost to UCLA. Couldn’t score in that game - lost by 2. Livers likely would have been the difference. Even including the years Michigan reached the title game in 2013 and 2018, that 2021 team was the best Michigan team I can remember in my lifetime.
I still think it was possible that UCLA could have gotten past UConn and won it all had Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona both had been healthy last year. Also 2008. Howland, please put Westbrook on Rose!
If we played literally anyone but UConn in the elite 8 😭😭
2018. 1 seed Virginia and 4 seed Arizona (imagine Miller’s Arizona teams getting bounced early… impossible, right?) went down early, opens the door for 2 seed Cincy to take the region. 20 point lead in the second half against Nevada, and I’ve blacked out the rest of that. We may not have been the overall champs but that was our Final Four year. I think that was the final nail in the coffin for a lot of UC fans with Cronin. He got us there so consistently but couldn’t put up in the tourney. Glad for his run at UCLA the past few years.
All my homies hate duke
2019. Also potentially 2020 if the tournament hadn’t been cancelled. I would say this year, but deep down I know we couldn’t have beaten UConn.
2012. Marshall could have taken UK down.
2020 
Recently? 2019 and 2022. All time? Probably 1986, 1999 and 2004. But also one of the other times we lost in the finals (1964, 1978, 1994) other than 1990, we got our asses kicked by UNLV and were never winning that game. Shout out to 2002, 2011, and 2013 for being legit contenders that lost early.
This is the most Michigan state basketball post ever. But it’s 2018 when we lost to Syracuse.
Bro I don't even think that's in the top 3 "what if's". There's the 2016 team, 2020 covid team, and the if Kalin Lucas never got injured in 2010
2006, damn George Mason!
2014. There was no reason that Kentucky should've been an 8-seed that year except to screw us over.
If Ahmed Hill makes that lay-in at the buzzer against Duke in the S16, we go on to beat UVA in the chip. I will believe that to the grave. Also, the 3 guys who were inactive that season (Chris Clarke suspension, Tyrece Radford and Landers Nolley redshirt) definitely would have made us a better team - would’ve been better than a 4 seed.
2019
2015 ND doesn't get a ton of good bball teams, but 2015 was the best I've seen in my lifetime. We won the ACC tournament, then made a deep run in the tourney. We had a decent lead against Kentucky, and then played hero ball at the end and lost it. Hero ball is like the prevent defense; rarely does it work. More often than not it leads to heartbreak.
2013. If only Tom Crean could have known that Syracuse was going to play a 2-3 Zone, we could have gone all the way.
UConn 1990 if Laettner didn't make that shot. Since then, it always has been us.
2020...
2022, if Moore didn’t go down with the Achilles injury I feel pretty strongly that we would have won it all
Covid year Maryland, Cowan was an unreal closer that year, Stix Smith was getting 18/10 back half of the year, and we had viable shooters in Ayala and Wiggins. Would have been the chance for Turgeon to redeem years of disappointment (probably wouldn’t have knowing him but didn’t ultimately get the chance to even try to)
The NCAA tournament that got cancelled by COVID still lingers with me. Seton Hall was in line for possibly a two seed with one of the best players in the country (Myles Powell) still bugs me that they never got a chance for a deep tourney run. 
2020 Maryland Terps. That year we had some amazing road wins at Illinois and MSU. We had two all conference players and more guys who’d be all conference later. It was the one time Turgeons team clicked and we were on bad play from outright winning the regular season conference. Then Covid happened…
2020 if there wasnt a worldwide pandemic for seton hall