This Year, Wisconsin Dies by the Sword

Who really knows if one's fortunes really even out?

Take buzzer-beaters.

Don't ask the UTSA Roadrunners. They're 0-3 in that department.

And for the near term, don't ask Wisconsin, either. They've now seen both edges of the blade in two successive Big Dances.

In last season's tournament, the Badgers dashed Xavier's Final Four dreams with this hope and a prayer from Bronson Koenig:

The Xavier Musketeers got over it soon enough, which is one reason why they joined Gonzaga in making the Elite Eight last night.

Perhaps being on the wrong end of fortune in 2016 had a role in steeling them as an 11-seed.

As to Wisconsin, what goes around, comes around:

What's a Badger fan to do?

Accept karma or reject fate?

Heady stuff to contemplate.

Not that Florida's Mike White doesn't sympathize, even if it's easier to say now than in 2012.

Watch for enrollments to expand in Philosophy 101 and Math 220 next term.

And watch for bar bills to rise in most of Madison's watering holes.