The year 2009 will be remembered as one without a Cinderella. The year college basketball's biggest brothers took a baseball bat to her glass slipper and turned it into a bucket of shards.And, by any trick of math, they would be right. There was no plucky mid-major from a town your map has never heard of and no Cinderella with a seed as big as your shoe size.
But there was a darling. And it was Missouri, the star of this tournament.
Sure, the Tigers will spend the Final Four on couches instead of benches, but there is no shame in losing to UConn, led by Hasheem Thabeet a 7-foot-3 redwood of a center that gets picked ahead of Goliath in pickup games. There's nothing embarrassing about playing second fiddle to freshman Kemba Walker's virtuoso performance or losing to Jim Calhoun's portfolio of talent.
There is no shame, and with the frantic way the Tigers played defense, the way they clawed to the very end, the way they kept coming and coming like they were trying to take a beachhead somewhere behind the Connecticut bench, there was a certain sort of honor.
"They went out the same way they came in to this season," said third-year coach Mike Anderson. "They came in fighting, scratching and clawing, and if you are going to go out, that's the way you want to go out -- fighting, scratching and clawing, giving yourself a chance."
And maybe that's what made Missouri so appealing. They played like a Cinderella. From Marcus Denmon's made-for-YouTube 70-foot heave at halftime against Memphis to J.T. Tiller sweating pure effort as the most tenacious player on a team full of bulldogs, Missouri just felt like a Cinderella, no matter how familiar those fashion-deaf mustard yellow uniforms may be.
NCAA Tournament Action
GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 21: Wayne Ellington #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against Garrett Temple #14 of the Louisiana State University Tigers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 21, 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Wayne Ellington;Garrett Temple
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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: A Washington Huskies cheerleader performs during a break in the action against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Manny Harris #3 of the Michigan Wolverines jumps to the basket for a lay up against Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Harris
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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Zack Novan #0 and Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for the loose ball with Blake Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Gibson;Zack Novak;Blake Griffin
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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Willie Warren #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners makes contact as he goes to the basket with Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first hafl during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Willie Warren
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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners goes up for the short jump shot against DeShawn Sims #34 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Taylor Griffin;DeShawn Sims
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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: JaJuan Johnson #25 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a shot over Jon Brockman #40 of the Washington Huskies in the second half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** JaJuan Johnson;Jon Brockman
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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners and Zack Novak #0 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for position to the loose ball in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Novak;Taylor Griffin
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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Head Coach Jeff Capel of the Michigan Wolverines yells from the sideline during their game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Capel
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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: Lewis Jackson #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a layup as Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies looks on during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lewis Jackson;Quincy Pondexter
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They were led by juniors and seniors, a rarity since college basketball turned into a weight station on the way to the NBA, and they played for their coach as much as their program. In his third year, Anderson started the season under as much pressure as his defenses would dole out later in the year. He had to suspend senior Leo Lyons again, then welcome him back, and manage a roster that as deep as an NFL starting unit.
"We came from nothing," senior Matt Lawrence said. "I'm pretty sure no one expected us to get here except for the guys in our locker room. I have never been a part of a team that was more cohesive than this one. When you got guys doing whatever it takes to win, you are going to get this far."
And they proved they can get this far cleanly, matching the school's best ever tournament performance without the scandals of Quin Snyder's era tarnishing the plaque before it's ever cast.
Of course, the tournament will end with another team's shining moment, but this will always be Missouri's breakout year. Connecticut, North Carolina, Louisville and Michigan State will continue to win titles so long as brackets are printed. Villanova's run will never top its 1985 title and Oklahoma has more Final Fours this decade than the Tigers do in school history.
So this will be the year of Missouri, the year the frenetic Tigers squashed the cocky Calipari and made Connecticut run a whole marathon of sprints to get the Final Four.
No, they didn't get to that "magical place" Anderson talked about in his post-game press conference. But they got somewhere. Which is more than you could usually say for Missouri.
Even Anderson could sense his team's arrival in the days leading up to the Sweet 16 victory over Memphis.
"We're in the hunt for something," coach Anderson said prophetically. "But I don't know what."
Now the what seems clear. Missouri found its identity.
And we found the Tigers.
The darlings of the 2009 tournament.
