I've been around long enough to know that things go in cycles. It doesn't pay to get too high when everything's working out and the future seems like gold. (Remember the corny song title "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades"?).
Nor is it wise to be totally gloom-n-doom when things are turning to shit -- when you can't get out of the pessimism rut. The Doors song from the "L.A. Woman" album, "Been Down So Long," includes this depressing lyric: "Well, I've been down so Goddamn long that it looks like up to me..."
So no, I'm not feeling depressed about the MSU Spartans getting blown out by 30 points at home, just a couple weeks after losing for the first time ever to Rutgers -- also by 30 points. The Iowa Hawkeyes trounced MSU, 88-58 at the Breslin Center -- Tom Izzo's worst home loss in his 26 years as head coach. And so it goes.
When you've been spoiled rotten with 22 straight years of making the NCAA Basketball Tournament, multiple Big Ten Titles, and eight Final Four appearances since 1999, it's damned tough to deal with a mediocre-at-best team that won't make the post-season tournament and is bad enough to be humiliated on its home court.
But in the "misery loves company" department, several other traditional powerhouse programs -- namely Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina -- also are struggling and may not make the post-season tournament. Let's put it this way: Duke, despite its typical lineup of five-star recruits, lost at home to the Spartans back in December. That's telling.
The Blue Devils are one of only two teams (the other being Kansas) with longer NCAA Tournament streaks than MSU, having gone dancing 24 straight years. Duke is 8-8 and buried in ninth place in the ACC Conference, yet is ranked a respectable 35th in Jeff Sagarin's rankings published by USA Today. They still have a reasonable chance of making the tournament.
North Carolina is also scratching and clawing to make the cut. The Tar Heels have won three national championships since 2005 but are currently in fifth place in the ACC with a 12-7 record.
Meanwhile, over in the SEC Conference, longtime blue blood Kentucky is suffering through one of its worst seasons in decades. The Wildcats' woeful 6-13 overall record sees them looking up at a bevy of teams as they languish in eight place. It's pretty much certain they won't make the NCAA Tournament.
The blue blood that still has an excellent chance to participate in the Big Dance is Kansas. The Jayhawks have the longest tournament streak -- 30 years. They are 15-7 overall and in third place in the Big 12. Surprisingly, they're not ranked in the Top 25. (Nor are NC, Duke, MSU and Kentucky).
To give you an idea how ludicrous preseason rankings are, check out the AP's preseason college rankings. Kansas was ranked 6, followed a few slots down by Duke (9), Kentucky (10), MSU (13) and North Carolina (16).
The erratic scheduling and unpredictability of the COVID pandemic is partly to blame for these powerhouse teams underperforming. But I think it goes way beyond players missing games and practices as they self-quarantine, and teams being out of sync because they've practiced and played with incomplete and inconsistent lineups. I think it's also partly a psychological malaise caused by lockdowns and lack of contact with friends and family.
In the case of the Spartans, their two best players last year, point guard Cassius Winston and forward Xavier Tillman, are both in the NBA. Many of the players on the roster were four-star recruits, but some of them are taking longer than expected to develop. Others who are veterans are underperforming.
It's a shame the 2020 tournament was cancelled, because last year's Spartans were super talented, red hot and peaking at the right time. They had a legitimate shot to win it all, or at least make it to the Final Four. This year, it's Murphy's Law: Everything that can go wrong will go wrong -- and at the worst possible moment.
But as I've mentioned before, with what's going on in our nation, a disappointing performance by my alma mater's sports team isn't something that's going to spoil my day. Life's too short. Bread-n-circuses are a diversion, not the be all and end all.
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