This loss hurts. There's no other way to put it. It hurts like 9/11.

I suppose that for me, personally, it hurts more than it ought to since I had to go off what Mr. 80 Proof Gospel himself, Gary Dolphin, was telling me. His details were indeed dour, far past the point of veracity (among his claims were that Iowa was 5-20 from long range and that they'd committed 23 turnovers--not so true), so the fact that Iowa was competitive might seem more improbable than it actually was. But I, like Dolphin, digress.

Iowa--nay, America needed the Hawks to win. And yet the last five seconds, like the 19:55 before it, was wracked by the undue influence of the referees. Who are terrorists. The jihad call against Freeman was a timid, incorrect call by the incorrect referee. That was Hartzell's call to make, and he didn't.

Never forget last night. Matt Painter flew two metaphorical planes into the twin towers of Iowa basketball and justice, and for that, Eagle Jesus cries.