WTF?

Let me get this straight.

MSU playing a close game against Duke in the NCAA tournament qualified as one of the top 10 sports stories in Mississippi in 2005 according to the Sun Herald?

I realize it was a bad year for Mississippi sports all around the State, but a close loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament should never be that big of a story.

Stories that didn't make the list off the top of my head:

• Mississippi hosting a Super Regional
• Norwood becoming State's All-Time Leading Rusher
• State going to a Fourth Straight NCAA Tournament and Winning 20 or more Games for the Fourth Year in a Row
• South Panola Winning Another State Title and having Another Undefeated Season
• High School Football's Late Start to the Season after Katrina

(I'm sure there are others - feel free to add them in the comments section, but I'm not going to look them up.)

Taken from the Sun Herald:

7. State plays Duke tight in NCAA Tourney

Playing Duke smack in the middle of North Carolina isn't usually a hopeful proposition, but Mississippi State gave the perennially powerful Blue Devils fits in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in March.

The Bulldogs had to play top-seeded Duke in Charlotte, but rallied from a poor-shooting first half to put a big scare in coach Mike Krzyzewski's bunch, falling eventually 63-55. State led by a point just before the halfway mark of the second half, then had five trips to take another lead with the score tied at 45.

State's Lawrence Roberts - who fought injuries and an early season suspension because of his NBA Draft flirtations - and Duke's Shelden Williams played to a virtual standoff. Roberts had 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks; Williams had 13 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
Williams had two key blocks down the stretch, however, including one of Roberts to help send the Bulldogs back to Starkville.

"It seemed like every big play that had to be made down the stretch, Duke made those plays," said State coach Rick Stansbury, whose team made its fourth consecutive NCAA tourney appearance. "That's why they've been so successful though the years."