I Don't Mind Getting Beat -- But I Hate Losing

And make no mistake -- Louisville lost. They played the worst game of their season, and maybe of their lives. Even the Notre Dame loss didn't look this bad.

Take nothing away from Michigan State; they played a great game, and had a superb game plan. But Louisville had the better athletes, and the better team, by far. They should have won this game by ten.

Instead, they got outplayed, and Rick Pitino got outcoached. Izzo's plan for breaking the press worked like a charm, and his plan to feed the high post made a slow, flat-footed center the player of the game. Louisville never adjusted ... and when their defense didn't produce what it always had, they had no other answer.

Based on a few comments here and there, I wonder if something happened before the game. The team looked asleep, or tired, or distracted, or something. Was there a blowup of some kind? Did they party too long, or too late? Did Pitino de-motivate them in some way? I don't know the answer, nor do I know if there is even a realistic question. All I know is that the team that played on Sunday looked nothing like the team that had won their last 12, nor did they look like the athletic, hard-working, in-your-shorts-defense team I saw in those wins.

Thanks to T-Will and Earl for great careers. Two Elite Eights and the Big East championships are nothing to sneeze at. You will be remembered fondly and warmly for all time.

But any time your names are mentioned, people will probably ask, "What happened in that last game?" And we'll wish it could have ended differently.