Toughest NCAA loss?

Just curious, I am still picking up the pieces after an incredibly disappointing loss to a team should have never beat us.  This is not the first time.   Wondering which loss stuck in your craw the most? 

Kent State loss in OT in the Sweet 16?  We basically had a clear path to the final four with a terrific team, just beat Indiana, who we dismantled the following year in the dance, and we were in. 

Marquette?  i.e.  Dwanye Wade in the Sweet 16?  This one was tough too, again, clearly the better team but Wade was unstoppable.  He pretty much led them to the Final Four on his own.

Oklahoma State in sweet 16?  This one hurt because Pitt once again had a great team but went up against an OSU team that could score.  Close to the bitter end.

Michigan State last night.  We simply were a better team and go outplayed.  This team was really on a roll and looked primed to knock off Memphis. 

I left the 74 NC state loss and the 88' loss to Oklahoma of the list, wanted to stay in this era...

What do you think?  Close in my eyes...add opinions.  I went with KSU, that was a damn shame.

Gotta be Marquette. I feel like Oklahoma State and Michigan State were great teams who beat us when we didn't quite have it that night, and there's no shame losing those.  That leaves it to Kent State and Marquette on this list, and I was just starting to watch Pitt bball for the Kent State loss.

Actually, the worst for me was Bradley.  I didn't like Kansas that year, and then Bradley beat them and we had the chance to prove ourselves and we crapped the bed.  We should've been playing the second weekend that year.  This year I'm not so sure.  We could have beaten Michigan state if everyone performed, but their D is really, really good.

Before you make hillbilly jokes, perhaps you should check YOUR grammar.

I notice you didn't even attempt to refute my point about the choke job your mon...boys do every season.

While this loss really does hurt, when one takes into account all of the injuries that this team faced, as well as the future of the program, this loss isn't the worst.  When we lost Cook and Fields in December, I thought this team was in danger of not making the tournament at all, let alone have a chance to be a major player in it.  This team won the BET, which was a surprise to everyone in the country that wasn't a fan of the program. 

Dejuan Blair and GIl Brown are two great cornerstones of what should be a great Pitt team for the next 3 years.  Fields, Young, and Biggs will be seniors next year who have great leadership and experience.  Fields is a true general out there at the point.  Young, if he improves even as remotely as much as he did this year, will be one of the most dominant players in the nation.  Biggs....if he realizes that he is 6'8", and starts to play like it, could be a major contributor.  Hopefully Wannamaker and McGhee can improve enough in the offseason to be better contributors next year.  Both will be relied upon for major minutes if this team is to make anything out of next year.  Also, the incoming recruiting class, headed by Nasir Robinson, should be able to step in and play some minutes.  I know I am very excited about Robinson, especially after seeing him in the state championship game.  He could be a very special player to put in there at the 3 down the road.

All in all for this poll, the loss to Kent State was the most disappointing.  The Marquette fiasco was understandable considering Wade just went insane, and has shown to be one of the best players in the world.  The OK State game was also understandable, considering that we ran into a team that could score at will when we could not score that year.  But the Kent State game was inexcusable.  That was a mediocre team that beat a team with a great chance of making the final four.

Pacific?
Bradley?

While I'm not happy that we lost to Michigan State, I'm not heartbroken over it either.  We lost Cook for the entire year, we lost Fields for half the year, we were on the bubble for about a week, and we didn't even get a bye heading into 'our' tournament.

Yet we still won the Big East tournament, and we made a good showing in the NCAA tournament, winning the game we should have won and playing well against a team just as good as us.

PS - I do not blame Ramon at all for this loss.  Michigan State was running him ragged.  At one point after the announcers mentioned how tough it was to guard Neitzel I watched Ramon try to guard him on the next possession.  He had to run and fight through seven screens.  SEVEN!!!!  You might not see seven screens in a four minute stretch between TV timeouts, and he was facing SEVEN a possession!!!!  I thought he did a wonderful job.

Refute your point??? Thats too easy...SEE WVU FOOTBALL.

You are nothing but a bigeted moron (I remember you from last year) who trolls around and has nothing of value to add.

Repeat after me Indyredneck..."Pump 2 is on for the monster truck"...If that does not work, go for..."Would you like to supersize that value meal???"

Now go away, your sister is calling for you.  I only deal with WVU fans who have a brain and you do not fit the bill...Fly, Indygrad, Fly...Fly...

Pittster...

I did not bring up the Vandy loss because it was a different era, different team.  That did really hurt though, Barry Goheen, damn, as did the Oklahoma loss in 88.  The 75' loss to NC State was toughy also, but again, different era, different team. 

I am with you Fatgomez.  Let me a little wrinkle to this.  Do you recall what happened that game against Marquette?  Let me highlight some facts from that game:

1.  Dwayne Wade was shut down in the first half .  he had a few baskets and two offensive charges against Donatas Zavakas.

2.  UCLA announced that they had to sellect their coach on the following day for recruitment and Ben Howland was in competion with another coach.  If Pitt wins, Howalnd cannot be picked because he is still in the touranment.

3.  Howland says something to Zavakas critizing his play at the biginning of the second half (only 2 minutes in), tells Zavakas to sit on the bench the rest of the game.

4.  Zavakas takes his shoes off to send a message to the croud that he will not be in the game again.

5.  Dwayne Wade has a spectacular half (because Zavakas wasn't defending him) and makes swiss cheese out of Pitt's defense, without Zavakas' tight defense, he dominated.

6.  Howland gets the offer shortly afet the game for the UCLA position and accepts.

This was the team that could have gone all the way, but I feel we were sold out.  No NCAA tournament game was harder to chew that this one.  Remeber Zavakas was portrayed as a baby by the media, but I have a different opinion.

Howland even quoted that he would not leave Pitt except for the UCLA job and would have done anything for the opportunity.  hmmmmmmm

The Michigan State loss is tough only because people bought into the whole notion that Pitt was really better than they were.  Sure, they could have won that game and maybe "should" have, but the fact is the didn't shoot well.  Blair missed some inside easy ones and looked a little rattled in there.  Ramon didn't knock anything down from behind the arc.  Mich St. made some plays.  I mean look at the free throws Pitt made.  Had they shot their normal % we would have lost by 15 or 16 points.

But let's be real.  Pitt had a great run in the Big East Tourney which overstated everyone's expectations for this team.  I knew right off the bat when we drew Michigan State that there was a good chance Pitt would lose that one.  It would have taken a good performance to have beaten them as MSU played well.  Pitt didn't have a good game.  It happens.  Just too bad it keeps coming up.  I think one of these years Pitt will break through and make it deeper.

Hats off to Michigan State, but honestly I don't think we would have been able to stick with Memphis unless Pitt had their A game going the whole night.  Memphis just simply has more talent.

I'm already looking forward to next year and relishing the BE title.  Not bad for a 7 seed in that tourney!  Go Pitt!!!!