By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Life was almost back to normal Monday on the Xavier University campus as players returned to classrooms and dorm rooms a day after their season ended in Atlanta with a loss to Duke in the Elite Eight, one round short of the Final Four.

The feeling of "what if" still lingered, however, and probably will remain with coaches and players for some time.

Xavier turned around a season that started with a 10-9 record and won 16 of its final 18 games, culminating with the program's best run in the NCAA Tournament. In the end, Xavier finished 26-11 and captured the nation's attention by toppling some of college basketball's most recognizable teams in the NCAA Tournament.

"You get Louisville and win," Xavier coach Thad Matta said Monday. "Mississippi State - win. OK, Texas - win. OK, Duke. Then it ends, and it's like, where are we? We didn't get a chance to appreciate what we were playing for."

Matta said the team did appreciate the Xavier fans, those who created an overwhelming rooting majority in Atlanta, and the 40 or so who waited outside Cintas Center to welcome the team home Sunday night at 11:30.

"The support from the Xavier people was phenomenal," Matta said.

The coach spent most of Monday in his office, catching up on the little things that had been neglected during the season, including some office cleaning.

At 3 p.m., Xavier's usual practice time, Matta could only think that his team was three points from having another practice. The 66-63 loss was the closest Xavier has ever gotten to the Final Four, with the previous best showing being a Sweet 16 appearance in 1990. Matta hadn't been past the second round in his first three years as a head coach.

"The strange part is, when I look at my watch and see that it's March 29, and now I'm complaining (that Xavier still isn't playing)," Matta said. "I haven't been this deep in the Tournament before. It is a little different. It was such a pleasure to go to practice with this team."

The team met briefly Sunday night at Cintas Center after returning from Atlanta. There was an appreciation for what Xavier accomplished, but disappointment hung in the air because collegiate careers ended for seniors Lionel Chalmers, Romain Sato and Anthony Myles.

"One of the reasons our team was so successful is they clearly believed that we could get to the Final Four," Xavier associate head coach Sean Miller said. "You just keep replaying it in your mind. All of us will keep replaying it because of how close we were to making it."

The constant mental replays tend to affect the sleeping patterns of coaches, especially after the biggest game of their careers.

"Barely," Miller said when asked if he slept Sunday night. "I don't know if anyone did . . . To be as close as we were to the Final Four, you almost felt like you're a team of destiny. At the end of the season, I think you can make a strong case that we're as good as anybody."

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com