Official WSU vs VCU Game Thread - NCAA Tournament Second Round

[WSUwatcher]

I have one thing to say to VCU:

Where's the diversity? Mix in a white guy once in a while.

I'm tired of being oppressed by the man.

Tell me about it, lax -- who ever heard of a black guy named Brandenburg? That's like a blond, blue-eyed Antiquawn.

[ShockerPrez]

Go Shox! What doesnt kill you makes you stronger. True Shocker fans feel a bitter pain right now. Days like today will make the days when we are victorious, all the more sweet. And that day will come. Bank on it.

[WSUwatcher]

There is a history between Marshall and Rhodes. It came out this week that Marshall recruited Rhodes for one of our assistant positions but Rhodes said he wanted to stay at VCU. I don't know about any gentleman's agreement however. Marshall has said when news came out that Carl had given VCU a verbal, we contacted Carl for confirmation and Carl said that it wasn't true. But whatever, before a LOI is signed a player is still open game. If Smart is upset over that he needs to get over it because misunderstanding about verbals and contact after verbals happen.

Exactly, trop. If Smart is bothered by that, he (a) needs to grow up, and (b) should thank his lucky stars that he isn't an SEC football coach. He'd have his undies in a wad from Day 1 over recruiting "injustices." I wish his team well, but as for him, I hope he believes his press clippings enough to go to Illinois and become this year's victim of the "stepping stone to oblivion" syndrome.

[shoxlax]

Go Shox! What doesnt kill you makes you stronger. True Shocker fans feel a bitter pain right now. Days like today will make the days when we are victorious, all the more sweet. And that day will come. Bank on it.

Weren't you the guy that was going to beat his wife? What a difference an hour makes.

[WSUwatcher]

Gee, that feels empty -- which must mean that it feels about a hundred times emptier for the players and coaches. I'm beginning to think the CAA is to WSU what non-"power six" teams whose names include B's are to the Chickenhawks.

Gotta give devil KC his due; he called the < 65, the poor shooting, and the loss. Still, the Shocks could certainly have won, maybe should have won. Anytime you're up two inside the last two minutes and playing tough defense, the odds have to be on your side, if not overwhelmingly. But when those last two minutes then include a defensive lapse, the other guys make their big shots while you miss yours, and they get a fortunate bounce on a critical shot while you fumble a key offensive rebound down a teammate's back, it's a good bet that two point lead isn't going to stand up.

Fate hasn't been kind to the Shocks these past couple of weeks. Start with the egregious late-game officiating in St. Louis that helped saddle WSU with a #5 seed and put them in harm's way when VCU was underseeded -- no way that team was a 12 while Colorado F State was an 11. Then move on to the misfortune of drawing the #12 who shouldn't have been, while every other #5 got a MUCH easier foe, as did some #6's. And finally, watch the other guys' clinching bucket bounce high off the rim and drop through.

But as frustrating as all that is, the Shocks could also have slapped Fate away by not shutting down for their final six minutes in St. Louis, or for the last five of the first half and last two of the game tonight. When you shoot under 40% for the game, partly by taking some poor shots and partly by missing some good ones, underperform on the boards against a poor rebounding team, underperform at the free throw line, and still lose by three when you miss the last shot, it's hard to blame it all on bad luck. It's just one of those nights where the chances were there and you didn't take advantage of them.

Which is too bad, because in general, this team did a fine job of taking advantage of their chances this year, and it's a shame to see their season end prematurely this way. But the sun will still come up tomorrow, and a few years from now, this team will be looked at as an important part of the foundation on which even bigger and better things were built. So thanks for the season and the memories, guys. You'll have an honored place in Shocker history.

[KC Shox]

Congrats on the bracket. I hope that works out well for ya.

You must be one tough cookie. Most Shocker fans I know right now can't muster out wooo hooos and exclamation points for anything. Glad you have moved on quite nicely.

C'mon Fever, I'm trying to make some lemonade with these lemons. I did pick the Shox to lose as I figured VCU's defense would cause us fits. Our loss is not a surprise to me so perhaps that is why I've taken the loss better than most. A tremendous disappointment yes, after watching Stutz in the postgame interview, it was gut wrenching and I feel a lot more pain for the seniors than I do as a fan. But since that post, my bracket has gone to **** with UNLV losing.

[ShockerPrez]

Weren't you the guy that was going to beat his wife? What a difference an hour makes.

Yeah, because I meant that.....

[ABC]

Please tell me i'm not the only one who lost friends after the game...Right..? Right?

Please 'splain.

[ShockerFever]

Watched a SportsCenter clip last night on the game and one of the anchors said and I quote.. "Shaka said he wanted to 'punk' the Shockers."

Anybody else see this? How am I supposed to read that? Should I really be believing thenightwatchman of all people that Shaka really is a smug clown? I dunno. With the loss and everything, maybe I'm reading it wrong. Sure seemed to rub me the wrong way though.

[SHOXAAC]

Watched a SportsCenter clip last night on the game and one of the anchors said and I quote.. "Shaka said he wanted to 'punk' the Shockers."

Anybody else see this? How am I supposed to read that? Should I really be believing thenightwatchman of all people that Shaka really is a smug clown? I dunno. With the loss and everything, maybe I'm reading it wrong. Sure seemed to rub me the wrong way though.

Let's face it, HCGM can rub some people the wrong way. Some people are just wired that way. I'm ok with it. I think we are closer for our coach to do what Smart does on the court, which is win the big games. 3G has certainly done some great things...bring the program back from the bare cupboard...recruit solid kids...win 25 games 3 years in a row...win the first MVC crown in 6 years...win the NIT...get to the NCAA tourny. Now it's time to capture the opportunities Smart has, which is win big games that seem to matter to the people outside of Wichita, Kansas.

[WstateU]

Yeah, because I meant that.....

I sure hope you're not serious Prez? If so, please seek help immediately. Help is out there, get it NOW!

[SHOXAAC]

I sure hope you're not serious Prez? If so, please seek help immediately. Help is out there, get it NOW!

My guess is Prez's sarcasm meter is at an all-time high given what happened last night. Might not be the best "I'm horribly disappointed," comment to make, but sarcasm was dripping heavily from the comment.

[ShockerFever]

Yeah, I assumed everyone understood the sarcasm in Prez's comment. The frustration level, I'm sure, was quite high. It may have been a tad in poor taste but anybody taking him seriously, especially after last night, needs to lay off the pipe.

[wsushockerdude]

Watching Stutz get interviewed was painful to watch..

Was this on TV or is there a link to it somewhere?

[shock-it-to-me]

Didn't feel like wading through 26 pages, so sorry if was discussed, but was their any discussion of that unbelievably obvious goal tending on the Stutz shot in the first halft that wasn't called. I went back and watched it in slow-mo on the dvr and it was clearly well on its way down.