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March Madness: Did Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer take shot at men's team after shocking early exit?

Stanford's women's basketball team, a No. 1 seed, was shockingly eliminated from the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday by No. 8 Ole Miss. It was a historic defeat that marked just the fifth time since 1994 that a No. 1 seed was knocked out before the Sweet 16. Stanford never led in their 54-49 loss.

This is the first time since 2007 that Stanford has failed to make the Sweet 16, and head coach Tara VanDerveer tried to be objective about the season when she spoke to the media following the loss — maybe a little too objective. After being asked a question about whether they need adversity to perform well (the last time Stanford won the championship, it was in 2021 when they were forced to relocate home games due to COVID-19 health orders), VanDerveer used Stanford's men's team as a measuring stick for the women's team's relative success.

So Stanford's men's team definitely did not have as good a season as their counterparts. They had a 14-19 record and finished out the season by losing to Arizona in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament earlier this month.

STANFORD, CA - MARCH 19: Stanford Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer walks off the court after her teams elimination during the second round of the NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Stanford Cardinal on Mar 19, 2023 at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer tried to be objective about her team's shocking loss in the second round of the NCAA women's tournament. (Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

It may have sounded like VanDerveer was dinging the men's team for being bad, but she almost certainly wasn't. It's not like it was a secret that the men's team had a bad season. There's nothing hidden in their 14-19 record. Given that difficult season, and their second-round loss in the Pac-12 tournament, you can imagine they would have been elated to go dancing for a few games.

Despite the bad ending, VanDerveer was reiterating that losing in the second round of March Madness doesn't mean the entire season was a failure. Objectively, they did incredibly well, even if they didn't live up to their own standards.

As they say in sports, there's always next year.