As each shot near the rim that missed bounced away, it felt like losing your breath a little bit more each time. The pain of watching Rutgers fail to establish a lead on Iowa despite playing at an historic level defensively felt like a slow, inevitable death was approaching. This would be the type of defeat that would linger all season. It would be a pain in the side that would not leave. It would inch the Scarlet Knights closer to postseason elimination. It would be a loss fans would bemoan years from now.
Surely, making just 7 of 22 layup attempts for 31.