Roadley, Providence – You don't always need a buzzer beater to hit like a Joe Louis uppercut into the solar plexus. St. John's had a few minutes to prepare at the end of the Saturday afternoon. The Dream Season has begun to break up in front of the packed houses of the Amica Mutual Pavilion. In fact, the last 90 seconds passed in unbearable slow motion.
it doesn't matter. The end arrives like an anvil falling through the window. The ending is the player wearing the wrong shade of red, pulling the jersey from his shorts and pointing to the fan. The end comes with a score that has been frozen forever for Arkansas 75, St. John's 66, and an offseason that feels like it's endlessly growing at this point, with long trips and offseasons.
At the end, there are plenty of tears on the home bench, with perhaps 7,000 St. John fans staring at the scoreboard, hoping the Jedi will reverse it. They can't. They eventually submitted to the relentless Saturday Sun from Amica Mutual. It was a very beautiful day. If you were an Arkansas Razorback, that was still the case.
Rick Pitino didn't wait for the buzzer. A few seconds ago he slowly walked to the Arkansas bench, shaking John Calipari's hand, congratulations. Basketball Appomattox laying his sword and side arm.
