A Merciful End to the Season for the Legends

Conference Tournaments are far from over and Selection Sunday is more than 36 hours away, yet for some LEGENDARY programs the season has come to an end. What programs am I speaking of you ask? The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Tarheels, The University of Arizona Wildcats, the University of California Los Angeles Bruins and the Indiana University Hoosiers.

UNC - For UNC, the season started with very high expectations and wins over some top programs (i.e. Michigan State and Ohio State) had people claiming that the tarheels had reloaded and would find themselves back in the Final Four. However, the Tarheels finished the season losing 13 of their last 18 games to finish the season 16-16. One of those losses was an astounding 32 point loss to Duke that was UNC's second worst loss ever to Duke.

Arizona - Arizona has struggled a ton over the last 5 years. Coaching issues have caused many of their problems. The departure of legendary coach Lute Olsen and the drama that followed could not have helped recruiting. While the Wildcats were able to finish the PAC-10 season above .500, in a down year that doesn't mean much. What does matter is their 16-15 final record on the season.

UCLA - The Bruins ended last season escaping a last second shot by the VCU rams. If they played this year the Rams would probably run away with that contest. The season ended with the Bruins finishing 14-18, losers of 7 of their last 10. To be honest I am not really sure what is going on with them, but I will say that they are having another rebuilding stage.

Indiana - Lord have mercy on that program. Indiana has been up and down since Bob Knight was at the helm. One year they somehow made it to the NCAA Final versus Maryland. When Kelvin Sampson took over the job, it looked like their savior had arrived and they would make regular trips to the final four. Little did we know many NCAA violations would soon follow. In the last 2 seasons the Hoosiers have been able to muster 16 wins. This season ending better than the last with a 10-21 final record. Once the sanctions are removed Indiana is sure to bounce back... or at least we hope.

One thing this season has taught us is that while being at the top is tough, remaining at the top is even tougher.