I've always been a numbers guy.
Give me points per game, batting average, RPI and all the other tools that quantify a player's or a team's value.
They certainly have a place in the games we play -- they always will -- but sometimes you get a reminder of how little the numbers explain.
And how little they matter.
On Saturday against Louisville , Darius Washington Jr. put up plenty of numbers. He scored 23 points, handed out 6 assists and made 2 steals. He also went 1-3 from the free throw line with the clock at 0:00, contributing to Louisville's 75-74 win.
But anyone who saw the game knows that even the most important number of all -- the score -- failed to adequately capture what took place.
What that scoreboard didn't show is how hard Memphis played. It doesn't reveal how difficult it is to beat a top-10 team after you've already played three consecutive days.
Stats don't show Anthony Rice tugging on his shorts just before hitting another clutch three pointer, or how a weary Arthur Barclay secured an offensive rebound among three Louisville players.
There is no stat that shows how 12,000 emotionally charged people can sound like 35,000 and how each nervously reacted to clutch shot after clutch shot.
Numbers can't explain how Washington must have felt when he collapsed following that final free throw miss.
Or how Memphis fans care so little about that result, and so much for him.
Statistics can't reveal how Barclay incessantly replays his final foul in his mind, which Cardinals guard Larry O'Bannon turned into game-winning four point play.
"That was the stupidest move I've ever made on a basketball court," he said on Saturday.
"I'm the reason we lost."
Box scores can't show how as tormented as Barclay feels now, Memphis fans have already forgotten his mistake and will fondly recall him with a smile and head full of good memories.
Cold, hard numbers can't convey the tearful phone calls made to local radio shows expressing not disappointment, but sympathy, gratitude and pride.
Years from now, everyone at FedExForum last Saturday will forget the numbers. No one will care about the Tigers rebounding advantage or Louisville 's 15-23 performance from three point range.
What they'll remember are the players on the court and the great show they put on. They'll remember the tension, the emotion and the humanity that a great basketball game can -- and did -- elicit.
They will recall how jubilant or distraught they were when that final free throw fell just short, but how much worse they felt for Darius Washington.
Then they'll remember that seconds later, Louisville star Francisco Garcia cut his celebration short to console his fallen opponent. Unfortunately, the Selection Committee only saw the 15 losses Memphis posted this season.
The committee hasn't followed Memphis day after day. They can't really understand how far the Tigers have come on the court. To be fair, it isn't their job to consider it.
When 300 basketball schools are considered for 65 tournament spots, there have to ways to separate them, and a compilation of rankings, records and statistics is the best option available.
Memphis didn't have the numbers to receive a bid. It's too bad invitations aren't handed out on heart.
