A year after winning it all, Boeheim’s Army did not even make it out of their own regional this time around. Winning a championship means you never have to say you’re sorry, and everything done to win that championship is forgiven, no matter the hardship it took to get there.
But, the sign of a true champion is being able to either fully defend, or put up a significant fight in trying to defend that championship. Losing in the second round and getting upset and beat in the fashion that Boeheim’s Army did was not that. Despite the officiating, and everything that was going against BA, this loss is a significant blemish on the resume of The Army.
The roster changes every year, so you have to factor that into the equation, but key stalwarts from last summer’s title team were back, and new, high-upside players were added to replace guys who did not return. Fan favorites like Marek Dolezaj added fresh juice, while last year’s star DJ Kennedy returned to run it back.
As the top seed, the obvious expectation was to advance out of the regional, but that did not happen. Thus, that is why this piece is being put together, because unlike other Boeheim’s Army losses early in TBT, BA had higher expectations than ever, they had the championship pedigree, and they knew what it took to get it done, and could not.
That is why the loss is infuriating because once BA got over the hump in 2021, it felt like the floodgates had opened to maybe run off a couple of TBT titles in a row. But, that’s what happens when you’re playing win-or-go-home every single game.
As showcased in college basketball in the NCAA Tournament, it is very hard to win any number of games in a row when facing elimination. But, the worst part about this is that The Nerd Team could not even build on the momentum after their upset of Boeheim’s Army and lost by 20 plus to Blue Collar U.
The Army were deserving champions in 2021, and everyone was happy for them, including the man who the team is named after as he sat courtside and watched his former players win it all. But, that raised expectations even higher for 2022, and those expectations were not even close to accomplished.
When you win a championship, all is forgiven for how you got to get there, and all the past failures before that. But, when you do not even get out of your own region, as the top seed, with all the fan support in your own backyard, it is more than frustrating for Orange fans, it is diminishing to the brand of Boeheim’s Army and a failure on many levels.
