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U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F L O R I DA
A new-look orientation for first-year students
By Josh Fiallo M A N A G I N G
E D I T O R
When future first-year USF students come to orientation in the summer of 2018, they will be exposed to a far different experience from years past. Opposed to long hours spent in the Marshall Student Center (MSC) Ballroom listening to speaker after speaker, students will now be led to different classrooms around campus to have more engaging meetings with their orientation leaders (OL). Some would-be powerpoint presentations will be now be replaced with mini-competitions among the individual orientation teams. Attendees will also be able to access an orientation guide and schedule through USF Orientation’s
brand-new application, USF #myOrientation Guide, which is available on Google Play and the App Store. “We’ve done a complete overhaul of what the (orientations’) content is,” Marnie Hauser, Director of Orientation, said. “We’re trying to reduce the firehose effect of information on new students.” Hauser said that orientation in 2018 will feature a higher emphasis on preparing future students for their first day of classes at USF, opposed to attempting to prepare them for all four years at once. “We’re looking more at what they (future students) need to know now,” she said. Hauser said that all orientation sessions will still start and finish in the MSC in 2018. The sessions in-between, however, will be
held individually in different locations around campus, with OL’s leading them. The purpose of this is to not only engage students more as they are hearing directly from another student in a small group, but to also help the future students familiarize themselves with campus. In an additional effort to make orientation more personal for first-time students, USF Orientation will increase the number of first-year student sessions in 2018 to 13, despite the same number of first-year students, 4200, estimated to go through orientation. To pair with the smaller sessions, Orientation also added a higher number of OL’s for 2018, while also increasing their pay from a onetime stipend to $10 an hour. “Orientation has changed a lot from last year,” Janel Ramos, a
second-year OL, said. “It’s under a completely new system. It’s all about interaction between OL’s and students, with team competitions and students being involved in discussion.” After serving as a student OL last year, Ramos is now a Family
and Guest OL in 2018. She said that last year, she would have 10-12 students in her first-time student orientation group. In 2018, OL’s leading students now have eight-10. She also said that the believes
the Gulf of Mexico. “No one had written a book on the history of the Gulf of Mexico and as someone who grew up (near) there, it was a good fit for me,” Davis said. “I had this wonderful opportunity to be the first to write one and bring it into the larger American historical narrative where it belongs.” Davis said winning the Pulitzer Prize came as a shock to him. “It was a total surprise,” Davis said. “I didn’t know whether the book had been nominated, but I had suspected it might have been. The Pulitzer folks
don’t announce the finalists until they announce the winner, so it’s very top secret. A lot of journalists know who the finalists are, but as far as the authors who are up for very literary categories, I don’t think anybody knows. I had no suspicion, I was stunned. It came as a complete surprise.” According to Davis, he began gathering research materials for his book during the same time as the BP Oil Spill, a major event polluting the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Wanting to educate the public, Davis feared
this incident would cover up the true history of the Gulf. “I wanted my readers to know that the Gulf of Mexico was more than just this oil spill and some vacation spot,” Davis said. “It’s a place with rich and wonderful history that’s very much a part of the larger American historical narrative. In college and high school textbooks however, there’s a good chance you won’t even find the Gulf of Mexico in the index.” Published in 2017, Davis’ book touches only slightly on the oil spill’s destruction.
“The oil spill has very little mention in my book,” Davis said. “I did not want it to dominate the story. One event does not define a place any more than one event does not define an individual. That was really a shaking force in the way I developed this book. When I write about the history of a place, it’s like a biography.” Growing up in the Tampa Bay area, Davis said his connection with the Gulf started early. “I’d spend all my time out on the
Orientation Leader Janel Ramos working the help and information desk. ORACLE PHOTO/CHAVELI GUZMAN
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USF alumnus and professor wins a Pulitzer Prize By Matthew Cutillo S T A F F
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Spending time at the Gulf of Mexico can be a great vacation spot for many, but there is more to the story than some may know. Jack Davis, a USF graduate and current history professor at USF St. Petersburg, won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in History on April 16 for his book, “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea.” An environmental historian, Davis said he felt compelled to write the book to help restore identity to
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NCAA
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Tournament last week. Oklahoma S t a t e ’s combined batting average is .259, which is tied for last in the Big 12 with Kansas State. The Cowboys’ pitching staff has not fared much better — posting a 5.58 ERA. Despite the statistics put up by Oklahoma State, it finished the regular season second in the Big 12 at 16-8, one game behind regularseason champion Texas. “I just know coach (Josh) Holliday does a really good job with his program,” Mohl said. “They’re always competitive. They play in one of the best conferences in the country. They’re going to be a challenge, but we should
match up pretty well with them.” The No. 4 seed in the DeLand regional is America East Conference champion Hartford. The Hawks come into the regional with the third highest batting average in America East, with a .269 average. Its pitching staff will enter NCAA Tournament play with a 4.84 ERA. Hartford will face No. 1 Stetson on Friday night. The Hatters come into the regional on a 15-game winning streak, including four in the Atlantic Sun Tournament. USF and Stetson know each other well, having played each other twice this season, and a total of 168 times overall. The Hatters swept the regular season series against USF in 2018, winning 5-3 on March 27 in Tampa and 5-2 on
April 11 in DeLand. “They have a really good pitching staff,” Mohl said. “They’re one of the tops in the country in every statistical category. But this time we get to face them with our weekend guys. We’re looking forward to that matchup.” The winner of USFOklahoma State will face the winner of Stetson-Hartford Saturday night, while the losers of each Friday game will play each other in an elimination game Saturday afternoon. The winner of the DeLand regional will matchup against the winner of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, regional in a super regional June 8-10. USF has never been to an NCAA super regional.
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Students work to take the stigma out of mental health conversations By Alyssa Stewart S T A F F
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According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately one out of five U.S. adults will experience mental illness in a given year. USF students will have the opportunity to join Come Out of the Dark’s event (COTD) to celebrate mental health awareness month and break down the barriers of the stigma that surrounds it. According to their website, COTD is an organization devoted to beginning a better conversation about mental health. The organization is hosting a Mental Health Awareness Celebration today in MSC 3712 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Will Laurie, the treasurer of COTD, is the coordinator for the event. Laurie said the event will celebrate the advances made in mental health awareness, as well as discussions about the social aspect of mental health. “(COTD will discuss) Both the positives and negatives, such as the opening up about celebrities struggling and the normalization of mental health or suicide type jokes like, ‘Oh, I failed, I’m going to kill myself,’” Laurie said. According to Laurie, it was difficult to decide whether the club should host the event in May due to a lack of students on campus, but Laurie said it was important to host the event in May since it’s mental health awareness month. “We see it as a nice opportunity to invite some fellow Bulls to come and have some pizza, relax and
contribute to discussions that we can all benefit from,” Laurie said. Lora Bishop, the president of COTD, said the original purpose of this organization was to bring students together to inform and inspire them to take part in the movement to take the stigma out of depression. Bishop said the organization has grown to be all encompassing of all mental health disorders, not just depression. COTD participates every year in the Center of Leadership and Civic Engagement’s (CLCE) Survivors of Suicide Night, as well as Psych Expos. Their annual event is the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention walk that is hosted at USF. A nationwide survey conducted by the College Health Assessment said “college students at two and four year institutions found that nearly 30 percent of college students reported feeling ‘so depressed that it was difficult to function’ at some time in the past year.” Bishop said this number could be higher, but due to the stigma still surrounding mental illness, it can be hard for people to seek help. Furthermore, Bishop said as a society, we are moving toward a more positive environment for those with mental illness but there is still a lot of work to be done. “Personally, I feel our campus is a very accepting place for those with mental health issues,” Bishop said. “There are a lot of events, meetings, organizations and resources available to those with mental health issues and those who want to be an ally.”
Bishop said she believes that the organization’s discussion-based events will give people a chance to open up to others about what they may be going through or talk about how they can become a better ally to those with mental illnesses. As president, Bishop said she would like to make a difference in the lives of students. She feels that by impacting those through the organization first and foremost, it ignites a fire to reach others. “For example, our discussion on the word “triggered” may have only been heard by less than ten people — but the lasting power of the lessons learned during that discussion may have impacted others in the future, when our members are able to educate their friends, family and peers about the topic,” Bishop said. “In the end, we know that by changing the atmosphere on campus through the students, we are helping to destigmatize mental illness nationally.” Bishop said the mentality that most college students are in can be detrimental, which is why she believes self-care is crucial for staying mentally healthy. “The lasting power of the lessons learned during these (mental health) discussions may impact others in the future — when our members are able to educate their friends, family and peers about a topic,” Bishop said. “In the end, we know that by changing the atmosphere on campus through the students, we are helping to destigmatize mental illness nationally.”
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water, and I ended up developing this intimate relationship with the Gulf of Mexico that was really important to writing this book,” Davis said. “The lifelong experience I’ve had with the Gulf really is what conceived this novel.” Having a personal connection with the Gulf and its history, Davis felt as though general audiences deserved to know more about the area than a simple online search would provide. “With the BP Oil Spill, it was a nightmare in the ways it became headline news,” Davis said. “If you do an online search for the Gulf of Mexico, you’re going to come up with the oil spill. Again, I wanted my readers to know that Americans have both a historical and ecological connection to the gulf way beyond oil. It’s much more complex than oil, that was one of the main driving forces in writing the book.” With a history heavily undocumented, Davis said he hopes his book can shed light on the Gulf’s past while detailing how to respect its future. “One message that I’m trying to
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the increased interaction between new students and OL’s will make orientation easier and more productive for OL’s as well. “All of the changes aren’t just for student success, but for orientation leader success as well,” Ramos said. “Everybody knows how long orientation is, so to have energy and constant human interaction for us was a lot. It’s twice a week, every single week — it’s a lot of work.”
Jack Davis won a Pulitzer prize for his book on the history of the Gulf of Mexico. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE
convey in the book is that it’s one of the richest marine environments in the world, and for thousands of years people have lived alongside the Gulf of Mexico,” Davis said. “We’ve taken a lot from the Gulf of Mexico and that’s okay as long as we give something back, which is the respect for what makes this living sea a giving and vibrant being. We need respect for the environment and its clean water, even its biodiversity which includes us as well. If we do that, we’ll live in a much more stable relationship with the Gulf of Mexico.”
Ramos said that as an OL in 2017, she attended every firstyear orientation because it was a requirement. To help keep OL’s fresh in 2018, however, they’ll be permitted to miss one two-day session, according to Ramos. “It’s really nice,” Ramos said. “I wish I had that luxury last year, but I’m glad the OL’s this year will have it.” Orientations for 2018 began Tuesday, exclusively for first-year students starting in the summer and will continue until August 14.
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USF Alumna and cast member of The Real Housewives of Atlanta Marlo Hampton’s story goes beyond the foster care system.
By Jesse Stokes E D I T O R
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Before Marlo Hampton became a star on Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA), she was a little girl from the Tampa Bay area, who grew up in the foster care system and overcame the odds to become a graduate from USF in 2003 with a degree in Interdisciplinary Science. Hampton said she is now using her celebrity status as a catalyst for change, as she formed a non-profit called Glam it Up!, which according to its website, aims to “encourage young girls in the foster care system to excel beyond their current status to achieve success in all areas of their lives.” According to Hampton, she started the foundation so that young girls in the foster care system will know that they are loved and can achieve their dreams, no matter what they are, with the right amount of hard work and determination. “Glam it Up! is my heart,” Hampton said. “That is something that I would do if I never in my life would be on TV again. I love it. That is something that I will always do, because I feel as though that is something that I can master. As in, the feeling of being a foster child, the feeling of being in a different home. I feel that I can relate to that child in the foster home.” According to Hampton, past Glam it Up! events have included her taking the girls out to dinner, basketball games, getting their hair, nails and makeup done, and even etiquette and finance courses. She said she wants them to be more
prepared for the real world than she was and ensure that they are on an equal playing field for success with the rest of their generation, no matter where they started. “I just hope it gets bigger and bigger, I hope that people will get more involved,” Hampton said of Glam it Up!. “I hope that people will not judge me from reality TV, but would get more involved, because this is about our future. It is not about us, it is about them. I feel that it is my duty and one of the things that God put me on this earth for is to give back and help the foster care community.” Hampton said that the foundation is currently based out of Atlanta, but it would mean a lot to her to be able to expand Glam it Up! to the St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay areas, because that is where she got her start and the foster care systems that she grew up in. However, before Hampton was in a place professionally where she was able to start this foundation, she said that her time at USF has a large part in her success. According to Hampton, she never imagined college to be in her plans, as she considered a High School diploma to be achievement enough. However, it was her foster grandmother that pushed her and told her that she should continue her education. “I applied at USF after junior college … I got accepted and got an apartment over there off of Bruce B. Downs, and it was just something that was exciting.” According to Hampton, her college experience was unique and
something that she cherishes. “The only thing that I regret about college is that I wish I would have lived on campus,” Hampton said. “But, it was amazing to get to know people, I loved my professors, it was just something that was never in my plans. I went through a lot of turmoil and bumps in the road, but the day I graduated … it was the best feeling that I ever experienced in my life. That is how I knew that if I could do it, anyone could do it.” Hampton said that surrounding herself with like-minded and goaloriented people was a critical aspect of her time in college and one that pushed her through all of the tribulations that she endured. Following Hampton’s time at USF, a friend living in Atlanta asked that she join her there. It was from there that she and another friend decided it was time to take their love of fashion to the next level and open a boutique. “From me opening the Red Carpet Boutique in Atlanta, it opened doors that I never thought I would ever see,” Hampton said. It was at her boutique that she met and styled a number of celebrities and individuals in the production business, including a RHOA producer and some of her future co-stars as well. “NeNe (Leakes) came and shopped at the store before and so had Kandi (Burruss-Tucker) and all of the sudden there was a whole new door of reality,” Hampton said. “It was not something I really dreamed about, I always said that I want to be a talk show host or a news reporter. It has been now six
years and it has been a very, very interesting experience.” As for what is next for Hampton, she said that she will be appearing on the upcoming 11th season of RHOA and is exploring new business ventures a well. “Right now I am excited as I am in the process of launching ‘Ari and Emma’, Ari is my foster grandmother and Emma is my biological mother.” Hampton said. “First we are going to launch sunglasses. There are a lot of other great things going on like my hair brand, called ‘Her’. I want every young lady to know that no matter your color, your education, you are ‘Her’.” Hampton said that she is also working on a book that will go into a more detailed experience of her journey than she has spoken on before According to Hampton, it is important that she stay true to herself and continue to strive for personal growth, including self-love, something that she hopes she can pass on to young girls who share a similar upbringing with her. “My message would be love yourself and focus on you,” Hampton said. “When I wake up, I look in the mirror and I have a conversation with myself. No matter what the day brings you are going to be focused, you are beautiful and I love you. It is all about self-love. You have to pray, believe in yourself. Anything you can dream, you can achieve.”
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OPINION UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
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The NFL’s national anthem policy is a What you said violation of inalienable rights
By Sam Newlon S P O R T S
E D I T O R
227 years ago, America’s founding fathers penned the Bill of Rights, which outlined the rights of its citizens. At the top of the Bill is the First Amendment, a law which protects Americans’ freedom of religion, press, assembly and speech. The men who assembled this nation deemed freedom of speech as an essential item in their Bill of Rights. That should not change today — especially for athletes protesting police brutality and racial tension on national television. The NFL took the First Amendment, ripped it from the Bill of Rights, crumpled it into a ball, lit it on fire and stomped the flame out when it announced on May 23 that players could no longer kneel during the national anthem without leaving themselves open to punishment from the league. The NFL must reevaluate its position on restricting what players can and cannot do. Players should be able to protest on a national platform to bring attention to issues they feel strongly about. Penalizing players for kneeling during the national anthem is completely contradictory of one of the most basic rights of American citizens. In August 2016, then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem in protest of police brutality. He was the first player to kneel in protest and other players joined him as he continued. “I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country
that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” Kaepernick was cut from the 49ers roster and is no longer a quarterback in the NFL. The NFL’s new rule requires players and staff who are on the field during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner to stand. It outlines that teams will be fined if a player attempts to sit or kneel during the anthem. According to ESPN, commissioner Roger Goodell said he wants people to be respectful of the national anthem and will require all personnel to “treat the playing of the national anthem in a respectful fashion.” While NFL team owners were nearly unanimous in their vote supporting the new rule, some have different opinions. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he wants all players to stand while New York Jets owner Christopher Johnson said he wanted to avoid any appearance of muzzling players. It is unclear what the NFL hopes to accomplish by penalizing players who kneel during the national anthem. League officials claim players should respect the flag, but there are plenty of signs that point to some ulterior motive. Last season, the NFL saw a 10 percent drop in viewership. The year before that: an 8 percent decline. NFL television ratings are on the downswing and the new
rules could be an attempt to bring back viewers. According to Sports Illustrated, the viewership for NBC’s Sunday Night Football in 2015 was over 22.5 million viewers. That number dropped to 20.3 million in 2016 and again to 18.1 million in 2017. The NFL runs the risk of becoming more of a reality television program instead of a sports program. I can picture advertisements of “see what happens at next week’s game.” At any rate, the first nationally televised game between the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles on Sep. 6 will likely attract plenty of viewers to see who kneels and who does not kneel and what the actual consequences will be. Nick Wright, a personality on Fox Sports 1, urged opponents of the protests to ask themselves honestly why they are so upset about players kneeling. Is it because people think kneeling is disrespecting the flag or if they are upset about what is being protested? There is a big difference in kneeling out of disrespect to the flag and the United States of America and kneeling to protest police misconduct. George Washington, America’s first president once said: “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” Issuing fines for players who kneel in protest is a dangerous step in the wrong direction for both the NFL and America. Sam Newlon is a senior majoring in mass communication
Multimedia Editor Chaveli Guzman asked students about their stance on the NFL regulations of kneeling during the anthem.
“I think it’s unfair for them to get penalized in light of what’s happening right now.” — Zavier Clark a sophomore majoring in studio art
“I don’t think that it’s right. It’s almost in violation of first amendment rights.” — Guillermo Rodriguez a senior majoring in chemical engineering
“... it’s a violation of the first amendment.” — Willie McClinton a junior majoring in computer science
“I think it’s not fair because if someone wants to partake or not, then they shouldn’t be forced to.” — Ryan Benitez a senior majoring in information studies
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Sports
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Auggie Sanchez to potentially USF earns No. 2 seed start coaching career at FSU in DeLand Regional Baseball
By Sam Newlon S P O R T S
E D I T O R
After Auggie Sanchez finished his senior season in 2017 as USF’s all-time leading tackler, his college football career appeared to be all but over. At least as a player. Sanchez told The Oracle on the phone Tuesday that he plans continue his football career on the sidelines as a graduate assistant under former USF coach Willie Taggart at FSU. “I have a (graduate assistant) position available to me at FSU under Willie and I’m going to take that position,” Sanchez said. “I plan on taking that GA spot at Florida State within a month or two, if I get accepted into school.” Sanchez said he and Taggart developed a strong connection while they were both at USF. He saw the program transform under Taggart, going from 2-10 to 11-2 in just three seasons. Taggart gave Sanchez an opportunity early in his career. After being listed as a fullback, Sanchez made the switch to linebacker and started every game in his first year of eligibility. “When Taggart was here, there was no mistake me and him had a really good relationship,” Sanchez said. “We always talked about coaching and me getting into it and he told me before he left for Oregon: ‘you know if you ever want to get into coaching, just give me a call and I’ll find a position for you.’” Sanchez made that call. He said the plan to get into coaching was made before USF’s pro day. Knowing that a lot of things had to work out in his favor to make it into the NFL, Sanchez had a contingency plan. After the 2018 NFL Draft, Sanchez
By Brian Hattab C O R R E S P O N D E N T
Auggie Sanchez. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS.COM remained unsigned and was invited to attend tryouts for the New York Giants. After a mediocre series of tryouts, Sanchez said his agent called him telling him he’d likely get offered a spot on the 90-man roster, which includes members of the practice squad. “I think going up there kind of reaffirmed my desire to not really play anymore,” Sanchez said. “I know it sounds crazy, but the NFL just didn’t seem like it was for me.” Sanchez said that the tryout — the NFL Draft process — put things into perspective for him. It cemented his decision that, for one of the first times in his career, he wanted to be on the sideline instead of on the field. “I’ve always kind of had this desire
to be a coach,” Sanchez said. “The X’s and O’s was sometimes more interesting to me than playing the game. I like to know about the game. I like to make calls, I like to be in charge of things.” Sanchez ultimately wants to get back to USF as the head coach. He said the school gave him so much and he looks forward to giving back to that place. His coaching career hinges on a Graduate Record Examination. He needs to earn a certain score on the reading and math sections of the GRE to get accepted into FSU’s Online Criminology program. Once that happens, Sanchez will look to coach alongside Taggart in garnet and gold in Tallahassee.
For the second straight year, USF earned a No. 2 seed in an NCAA regional. But, for the first time since 2001, the Bulls will be playing in an NCAA regional not hosted by Florida or Florida State. After being sent to Gainesville in 2015 and 2017 for their NCAA regional, USF is headed to DeLand in Stetson’s regional. At USF’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show watch party, the Bulls’ excitement was evident when they evaded both Gainesville and Tallahassee. Against the three Florida schools who were hosting a NCAA Regional, however, USF was a combined 0-4 against Florida (one loss), Florida State (one loss) and Stetson (two losses). “We were all really excited,” third baseman David Villar said. “We didn’t know if we were going to go to Florida or Florida State. Stetson is a little bit of a surprise, but we’re happy. It’s definitely something we can win.” In fact, the news was so welcomed by USF that the absence of the words “South Florida” in both the Gainesville and Tallahassee Regionals brought on cheers at the Bulls’ official watch party at North 30th Pub and Grille
in Tampa. The celebrations were almost as loud when USF was announced to be playing in DeLand. “Nothing against Stetson — they’re a really good team,” pitcher Peter Strzelecki said. “We just feel confident going anywhere, but a change of scenery is always good.” USF is coming off of its best performance in the AAC Tournament since the conference’s inception in 2014 – winning three straight elimination games before falling to UConn in the semifinal game. Prior to last week, USF had not won multiple games in a conference tournament since 2012. “I think it’s huge,” coach Billy Mohl said. “This group of veterans — they had the monkey on their back last year, we didn’t get it off. We finally got it off. You’re going to see a real confident group out there with a lot of swagger this week.” The Bulls open NCAA Tournament play Friday at 1 p.m. in the DeLand regional, taking on No. 3 Oklahoma State. The Cowboys come into NCAA Tournament play on a six-game losing streak, having lost its final four regular season games before going two-and-out in the Big 12
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