Rose's postgame body language said it all after tournament loss

PHILADELPHIA — Dave Rose's body language spoke volumes.

Walking down a long corridor in the bowels of the Wachovia Center after his team lost to Texas A&M and he'd just eloquently finished telling reporters he'd need time to reflect on the loss to determine its impact. Rose walked alongside an escort to his locker room, his shoulders noticeably slumped in disappointment.

The coach looked like he was packing a city bus on his back.

Once again, BYU took to the floor against the Aggies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and couldn't make a basket after an initial bomb by Jackson Emery. Meanwhile, A&M made their first 10 shots and led by 18 within eight minutes.

BYU stepped into a man hole within minutes of tipoff and the Aggies slipped the steel lid over the opening and called the Cougars done.

Aggie coach Mark Turgeon told reporters BYU saw the best his team could do for 40 minutes — top effort of the season. He also hinted he didn't want to bring it up before tip-off but he thought the Cougars had far more pressure to win than his team did because of their 0-6 string going in the NCAAs.

Turgeon was correct.

The mounting pressure on the Cougars was obvious. It isn't a monkey on their collective backs, it's balaenoptera musculus — a giant blue whale.

To see it first hand Thursday, it was a choke, as tangible as matter unorganized.

But using that "C" word to describe the Cougars is unfair to the Aggies. The slight underdog Texans were absolutely superb: Game of the year, according to his coach.

The Cougars missed jumpers, layups, treys while traveling and getting called for charges. The other guys looked calm as cadavers in a game of no blinking. BYU's men were jumpy as bonus-cashing AIG executives.

A&M came out silk smooth and confident machines where everything they tried, worked. BYU, like every game the last 15 years in this tournament, looked harried and hurried, timid, scared, stiff, nervous and afraid.

The Cougars missed 13 shots inside the key. That was in the first half. These shots spun out, rimmed out, clanged around and did about everything but go in the orange opening. A&M then shot 100 percent in 10 tries.