'Turmoil in Tampa' takes out the Tigers

TAMPA, FLA. — For college basketball fans everywhere, Friday's first-round NCAA games at the St. Pete Times Forum will go down in history as the "Turmoil in Tampa."

But for Clemson, it was simply the beginning of the end.

The day began innocently enough with Western Kentucky, a 12 seed, knocking off Drake, a five seed, in overtime.

No problem, upsets happen in the first round.

But then, No. 13 seed San Diego upset No. 4 Connecticut, and No. 13 Siena knocked off No. 4 Vanderbilt on this same floor just hours before Clemson took the court to face Villanova.

By then, the St. Pete Times Forum was pulsing with the possibility of seeing four upsets in one place on the same day.

And that's exactly what happened.

Clemson, riding a five seed, fell to 12th-seeded Villanova, 75-69, and became the final domino to fall.

"It's just incredible," Villanova coach Jay Wright said after the sweep. "I feel like there ought to be some name for this like the Tampa Turmoil. It's just incredible what happened here today.

"We watched all the games and kept saying, 'Damn, that's going to make it tough on us.' But I think it's going to be something historical in the NCAA Tournament."

Special group

Indeed, it was the kind of day victors remember forever and losers try to forget. Still, most people will say they could see it coming.

"We were pretty much aware of what was going on," Clemson's K.C. Rivers said. "We sat around earlier in the day and watched the beginning of the UConn game and the end of the Western Kentucky-Drake game.

"So we knew what type of atmosphere we were going into and what type of games were being played. But that wasn't a factor in our being prepared for Villanova."

Clemson may have been prepared, but they were generally outplayed by the small private school near Philadelphia as Villanova came from 18 points behind to complete the upset sweep.

"It's just a speechless locker room," Rivers said in Clemson's aftermath. "It's like the air's been popped out of a bag. Our seniors, that was it for them. College basketball is over for them. It's tough to handle. We had a game plan and it backfired. The guys are down right now, but when we look back, we did some special things with a special group of guys."

Crashing halt

Just not special enough.

The entire Tigers team talked about

taking this experience one game at a time and believing their experience in the ACC regular season and tournament play would pay benefits in the postseason.

"Obviously, we're bitterly disappointed that we're not moving on," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. "We obviously got off to a real energetic start, built a pretty good lead in the first half.

"They had a flurry before the half and at the beginning of the second half. Later in the game, we fell in love with the 3-point shot."

In case you're wondering, that's coach-speak for getting outplayed. But Purnell didn't think what happened to the other higher-seeded teams had any impact on Clemson's outcome.

"I thought, if anything, what happened today got our guys ready to go," he said. "I thought we let up just slightly, not a lot, and if we could have kept that hard edge, pedal to the metal, then things might have been different.

"I thought we let frustration creep in there a little bit. I thought we let the fact that we lost that lead creep in there. I don't think that had anything to do with what happened earlier. We were ready."

Just not ready enough. And that reality brought a promising season to a sudden end.

"It's hard to believe the season is over," Purnell said. "I just thought this team was built, with its balance and everything, to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. So it's hard when it comes to a crashing halt."

Reach Ken Burger at 937-5598 kburger@postandcourier.com.