Howard's 3 failed chances to defeat Wagner for a 16 seed summed up the heartbreak of March Madness

If you want to know the thin margin for error in March Madness, look no further than the First Four game between Howard and Wagner on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio.

The two programs duked it out for one of the 16 seeds in this year’s NCAA tournament on the men’s side, with Wagner eventually coming out victorious at the very last second with a 71-68 victory.

What made it such a devastating moment for Howard is that the team had three 3-point attempts right before the buzzer to get the walk-off victory.

Sadly for Howard, none of the three attempts connected with the basket, and the team had to end its March Madness appearance early.

Howard missed three 3's on the final possession to tie the game pic.twitter.com/DfBkJTLNU4

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 20, 2024

This is exactly why losing in March can be such a tough thing for a college basketball team, and why it’s often so, so close between who advances and who gets sent home when it’s tournament time.

Wagner escaped to make it past the First Four, while Howard had to soak in one of the most difficult feelings of disappointment for any sports team this time of year: so close, yet just not quite enough.