As you already know, Wofford displayed a less-than-perfect game and lost to Michigan, 58-40, in the second round of this year's NCAA tourney. However, this wasn't the Terriers' first rodeo--or dance, for that matter.
2010
Fueled by the firestorm of players like Noah Dahlman and Cameron Rundles, Mike Young's Terriers beat Appalachian State in the SoCon final and was selected to play Wisconsin in the Big Dance, the school's first-ever bid. The Terriers "stiffened up" late, as Mike Young put it, and lost by four, 53-49.
Reading back on the AP's report of this game, I noticed this irking reality: Wofford was labeled as "pesky". When another team does it, it's an amazing Cinderella run, a date with destiny, but Wofford....well, they're just pesky. Just thought I'd put that in there.
This year, however, the writeup's wording was better: now they're spunky.
2011
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| Mark Johnston/Daily Herald |
Back at it again in 2011, Wofford hustled past College of Charleston to earn their second straight bid, this time against BYU. Again, the Palmetto State's short-haired dogs lost it late, this time by a margin of 74-66. A main threat for BYU, Jimmer Fredette, was 10-of-25 from the field and 2-of-9 from three-point land, despite his, um, 32 points.
My point? Wofford has played hard in all three of their tournament games, but fallen just short (more so in the first two, though) and missed a chance to pull of a huge upset, make a point for smaller schools, or just win a tourney game for the school's sake.
What they did do is put Wofford College on the map, inviting them into an elite group. And that's why we're Terriers.
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