How many frantic comebacks did they have? I know we had a lot in 2015, but that was 2014. Also, it's basketball. What teams don't have last-second victories and comebacks? It's the nature of the game. Why can't we just call it what it was, a 3 seed, Big 12 Tournament champion, and Sweet 16 team? There's no doubt we were on a roll until Niang's injury put us behind the 8 ball.
Bart Torvik isn't the end-all be-all of basketball. If you want to think the 2014 team is worse than Prohm's 9-9 team, have at it. Stat dorks outsmart themselves too often.
I am sure Las Vegas enjoys taking your money with that attitude. Next thing I know you're going to be telling Marial Shayok has an ugly girlfriend so that means he lacks the confidence of an alpha male.
I bet if those two teams play 100 times, the outcome is pretty close to 50-50, yeah. I have never said the Shayok team was substantially better than the 2014 team, though. Just that they were similar overall.
Throwing out the meh/bad 2018 team, pretty much all of the squads above that made the NCAA tournament were pretty similar to one another. All of them had talent and accomplishments but also minor inconsistencies that cost them a top ten rating and the chance at a deep run in the NCAA tournament for various reasons.
I think all these teams are worthy of celebrating to about an equal degree.
I just don't see the 2014 team as somehow "special" because it pulled a particularly large number of dramatic games out of its butt in the end, because we went into that year with very limited expectations and were pleasantly surprised, and because Georges broke his foot and if not "we were going to win a national championship."
That despite the fact we wouldn't have been favored against any of the next four opponents we'd have had.