By Bill Koch
Today is the fifth anniversary of UC’s crushing loss to Nevada in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Nashville.
UC fans will never forget how the sixth-ranked Bearcats blew a 22-point lead with 11:37 remaining and fell to the Wolf Pack, 75-73. That loss might have been the beginning of the end at UC for Mick Cronin, who fell out of favor with athletic director Mike Bohn, if he was ever in favor with him. When Cronin tried to negotiate a contract extension later that year after back-to-back 30-win seasons, he got nowhere.
The loss to Nevada was one of the most devastating in UC basketball history, perhaps surpassed only by the 60-58 overtime loss to Loyola of Chicago in the 1963 national championship game. UC led that game by 15 points early in the second half.
The UC locker room was one of the toughest losing locker rooms I’ve ever had to enter. The Bearcats, who finished the season with a 31-5 record, tying the school record for victories in a season, believed they were heading to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012. And then it all came crashing down.
It was the last UC game for Gary Clark, who finished his career as one of only five players in school history to score more than 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.
“It doesn’t mean anything now,” Clark said. “My legacy would have been a national championship for my team.”
I felt bad for Clark, one of the best guys I ever covered at UC.Today is the fifth anniversary of UC’s crushing loss to Nevada in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Nashville.
Several Xavier fans were sitting behind my seat on press row, cheering for every basket by the Wolf Pack as they mounted their improbable comeback. When the game ended, they were beside themselves with joy. The Musketeers then took the floor and lost to Florida State, making it a total debacle for Cincinnati teams.
The next day, I could feel the disappointment and shock as I boarded the team bus for the ride back to Cincinnati. No one said a word until we stopped at a McDonald’s an hour or so into the trip. When we got back on the bus, the tension began to fade ever so slightly.
A year later, Cronin had left for UCLA and John Brannen was hired to begin his ill-fated tenure as the Bearcats’ head coach
Today is the fifth anniversary of UC’s crushing loss to Nevada in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Nashville.
UC fans will never forget how the sixth-ranked Bearcats blew a 22-point lead with 11:37 remaining and fell to the Wolf Pack, 75-73. That loss might have been the beginning of the end at UC for Mick Cronin, who fell out of favor with athletic director Mike Bohn, if he was ever in favor with him. When Cronin tried to negotiate a contract extension later that year after back-to-back 30-win seasons, he got nowhere.
The loss to Nevada was one of the most devastating in UC basketball history, perhaps surpassed only by the 60-58 overtime loss to Loyola of Chicago in the 1963 national championship game. UC led that game by 15 points early in the second half.
The UC locker room was one of the toughest losing locker rooms I’ve ever had to enter. The Bearcats, who finished the season with a 31-5 record, tying the school record for victories in a season, believed they were heading to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012. And then it all came crashing down.
It was the last UC game for Gary Clark, who finished his career as one of only five players in school history to score more than 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.
“It doesn’t mean anything now,” Clark said. “My legacy would have been a national championship for my team.”
I felt bad for Clark, one of the best guys I ever covered at UC.Today is the fifth anniversary of UC’s crushing loss to Nevada in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Nashville.
Several Xavier fans were sitting behind my seat on press row, cheering for every basket by the Wolf Pack as they mounted their improbable comeback. When the game ended, they were beside themselves with joy. The Musketeers then took the floor and lost to Florida State, making it a total debacle for Cincinnati teams.
The next day, I could feel the disappointment and shock as I boarded the team bus for the ride back to Cincinnati. No one said a word until we stopped at a McDonald’s an hour or so into the trip. When we got back on the bus, the tension began to fade ever so slightly.
A year later, Cronin had left for UCLA and John Brannen was hired to begin his ill-fated tenure as the Bearcats’ head coach
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