Xavier v. St. Joe's: Not a recap

We can get into all of it later. We can talk about shot clock violations, the ball changing spin off the rim, about Brad Redford and Travis Taylor rising to the challenge, about Semaj trying, about that stupid hawk, about all of that, later. Right now, I'm not going to write a recap. I'm not going to write one because I can't.

SBNation frequently reminds us that this site is written for the fans, by the fans. This is not always the place to a dispassionate and objective sportswriters view on things. Over the year, Joel and I have tried to carry that out by giving you the very best reporting we can, and also letting you in on the little conversations, the idiosyncracies, the things that make us tick as fans. And that is why I can't recap tonight, because I am a fan and I just can't parse this one yet. One of our regular Twitter followers @ledcow said that it speaks volumes about this program that a virtual coma is the way fans react to missing the tournament.

He was right. In my living room after Isaiah Philmore's shot was an agonizing half inch too long, there was nothing but silence. My wife, adopted in to Xavier nation the day my celebrations over beating St. Joe in 2004 left Dorito marks on her ceiling, slumped on the couch, I sat on the floor and my five year old, God bless her, asked when the next game was. But tomorrow there is no next game. Phil Martelli, that stupid hawk, and Halil Kanacevic will all suit up and take on VCU, but my team won't be on the court. For most of us though, there's just that coma. And spare a thought somewhere in that for Isaiah Philmore, who got the chance every kid spends hours day dreaming about and put it up just a hair strong.

Coach Mack said that someone would have to rip Xavier's heart out to beat them in the tournament. Unfortunately, someone did. So no, tonight I won't get into who went 3-14, who won the rebounding battle, or which of the three questions we answered well. Tonight, Xavier nation will take a breath (and possibly a drink) and mourn the season that never really came together. So no, no recap tonight. No recap because I just can't talk about this one yet. Maybe sports are just a distraction, and maybe this is just for fun, but that never makes nights like this any easier to take.

We'll see you tomorrow.