From the Sideline – Thoughts Following Wichita State Loss

Clichés are so over-used in life and in sports. They get old, and people get tired of hearing them.

That doesn't mean that they are any less accurate - especially certain ones.

Such as: "There is such a fine line between winning and losing."

When I turned on SportsCenter tonight, I saw a couple of NBA games decided by buzzer-beaters, and two more in college that went to the final possession.

One of them was a victory for Florida over Memphis. the Gators led by 2. The Tigers drove in the paint, got a good look, the shot could have gone in, a foul could have been called.

It didn't. There wasn't. Memphis lost.

South Florida led Florida Gulf Coast by two points with 0.3 remaining in double overtime. FGCU throws a full court pass, a kid catches the perfect throw, releases the shot before the buzzer sounds, the ball goes in, and we're headed to triple OT.

Except, we're not...because the rule book clearly states that you can only catch-and-shoot with 0.4 or more on the clock. Less than that requires a tap-in only.

So South Florida wins its third consecutive game - all decided by two points.

Drexel is another team that knows all about that fine line. After letting a big one get away against now No.1 ranked Arizona in a 66-62 loss, the Dragons then posted back-to-back TRIPLE OVERTIME wins.

Then there's Alabama.

The Tide was the first victim of Drexel. Alabama's best player had the ball in his hands for the final shot in regulation, and at the end of the 3rd OT, but couldn't get a game-winning shot to go.

Against South Florida, the Tide had a 3-point shot to win at the buzzer. It was dead on, but it hit off the back iron, and Bama lost.

Tuesday night's was maybe the toughest. It was the best opportunity, against maybe the best team Alabama has, or will face, all season.

After a slow start, Bama battled back to within one at halftime. The second half was a see-saw affair, and went down to the final two minutes.

A missed front end of a one-and-one. A missed layup. Another missed free throw.

Despite that, a one point game with under one minute to go, and the Tide again had a chance. Wichita State missed. Then missed again. But they got another chance, and didn't miss.

Two offensive boards, resulting ultimately in two made free throws, and the 9th-ranked Shockers would stay perfect at 11-0 for the first time in school history.

Alabama's losses have come to Oklahoma (10-1), Duke (8-2), Drexel (7-2), USF (7-2), and now Wichita State (11-0).

Shockers coach Gregg Marshall said Tuesday night after his team's victory over the Tide, "We think that we're going to win. You have to BELIEVE that you're going to win and you're going to make the plays. You can't go out there with doubt and just hope. I BELIEVE these guys have that in their mind."

After playing a very good schedule through 10 games, it appears Anthony Grant's team BELIEVES they can play with some of the best teams in the country. They BELIEVE they are close to getting over the hump.

The question now becomes, with non-conference games with Xavier (Saturday), at UCLA (Dec. 28) and Robert Morris (Jan.4), can Alabama turn that belief into reality?

Or is just hope?