Las Vegas – Once the story of college basketball when they were 17-1, the Air Force Falcons are in danger of becoming a team that watches the rest of the story from the sideline.
“Hopefully if we get a chance to play again, we’ll do something about it,” senior forward Jacob Burtschi said after the Falcons lost 67-62 to Wyoming in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
“Seniors have to do a better job because there are four of us starting,” he said. “When a couple of us aren’t doing our job, it leaks down to the rest of the players.”
With the NCAA Tournament field announced today, Air Force waits for an invitation with a 23-8 record. But the Falcons have lost their past four games and are only 6-7 in their past 13 games after a sensational start.
In their damaging loss to Wyoming on Thursday, the Falcons hit only 18-of-32 free throws.
“You shouldn’t just look at the last couple of games,” Burtschi said, referring to the NCAA selection committee. “It has been rough, but a lot of teams go through rough spots.”
AFA coach Jeff Bzdelik couldn’t explain the Falcons’ free-throw trouble against Wyoming. They had been shooting 78.3 percent at the line.
Now the Falcons are left hoping the NCAA selection committee looks favorably at their body of work and ignores their late-season slide.
A season after playing in the NCAA Tournament and finishing 24-7, the Falcons soared as high as 13th in the Associated Press poll. They looked like a lock to return to the NCAA Tournament, with a strong seed.
“At times I’ve been baffled and not sure why there has been inconsistency,” Bzdelik said after the Falcons’ loss to Wyoming. “I’m not sure why there hasn’t been more desperation. I offer no excuses.”
