We don't have to look back too far to see a Bluder team with a similar result. Clark's sophomore year the team played way above expectations, won the B1G tournament, and earned a #2 seed. They then lost in the round of 32 to a #10 Creighton team in a game that seemed like a carbon copy of what we just witnessed vs. Virginia. They weren't tough enough, they didn't have the flexibility to adjust their game plan on the fly, and they simply were not ready for the moment.
How did the team respond? They got tougher, they identified their flaws, they became more flexible in how they could play, and then they went to 2 straight National Title games.
I know it is crazy to think about, but Ava Heiden is another elite talent; not Clark, but in the neighborhood of Gustafson (by the way, Gustafson's team made the NIT when she was a sophomore). This year they had seniors in Stuelke and Feuerbach, and they were great Hawks, but they were not players who could put the team on their back. They relied most heavily on Heiden, but also on fellow sophomores Stremlow and Wright. Their bench was entirely freshman (Houston, Deal, Hayes). Jensen is also in her sophomore season. I think we need to wait until after next season to truly judge Coach Jensen's ability. We certainly didn't write off Bluder and Clark after the Creighton loss, and history showed we shouldn't have.
Bring back your core next year; improve the backcourt and the "stretchiness" of our 4-position through development (Deal and Houston), freshman (Woliczko), and portal (I count Rodriguez here, along with at least 2 rotation players); and let these players and coaches learn from this experience. I expect sweet-16 as the floor of expectations for next year, with upside beyond that. If they don't meet that floor, I think it is reasonable to start asking questions.
