observations

The first observation is also the truest, for it has been immortalized in song....

Virginia was Virginia
when Maryland was just a pup
Virginia'll be Virginia
when Maryland grows up....

It's been a rotten season, but one great way to take a lot of the sting out of it is to get wins over both Maryland and VT. And you have to feel good for Mamadi Diane, who spent his Senior Day throwing daggers at Maryland's tournament bubble, including the biggest and timeliest with the game tied and the clock getting low. It's only natural to wonder what might have happened this year if Diane's trick knee hadn't cheated him out of his shot for the bulk of the season. Most of it would be pure speculation, but I think we can at least safely say the Liberty debacle wouldn't have happened, as Diane went 0-for-6 from the floor in 27 minutes during that game.

It's all water under the bridge anyway, and I don't want to give you the impression I'm blaming Diane for the season. There's one more game to go - a loss would be completely expected, and a win would be a nice little bonus but ultimately meaningless unless lightning can somehow strike four times in a row. Who will it be against? If FSU pops VT's bubble tomorrow, as is likely, then Boston College is the opponent. If VT wins, then the Clemson-Wake game is the decider. A Clemson win would allow them to dodge the juggernaut that is UVA basketball and give us FSU as the opponent - if Wake wins, then we draw Clemson.

To be honest, I'm not going to worry about it myself. I'll just continue working on the autopsy for this season, which I hope I can get posted this week before the tournament game, and then, well, you know I love UVA basketball win or lose, but damn if it won't be nice to be able to focus a little bit more on a couple sports that do actually have a better-than-average shot at making the NCAAs.