Despite this past weekend's beautiful spring weather, I spent Saturday locked in my bedroom with the shades drawn, repeatedly breaking into tears and reading the works of Sylvia Plath. The reason for my meltdown? Saturday marked the 15th anniversary of a very, very dark day: the Hogs' loss to UCLA in the 1995 national championship game.
All these years later, I can barely stand to even look at the box score. But even a quick glance is enough to see why the Hogs weren't able to win back-to-back national championships: Scotty Thurman scored only seven points that night, and Corliss was 3 of 16 from the field.
It's been noted repeatedly that the game marked the end of an era. Still, let's take a few moments to really get down in the dumps by considering a couple of stats that rather dramatically illustrate that point. Since the UCLA game:
• the Hogs have made one Sweet 16 appearance, and that occurred - somewhat surprisingly - in the following season. To look at it another way: it's been 14 years since the Hogs were still alive after the tournament's opening weekend.
• Arkansas has won five NCAA Tournament games. Five. (They have won three NIT games.)
But the most depressing thing about that night? It marked the final game of this great man's Razorback career. Pass the Lexapro.