Last Hurrah

This season is different than previous seasons in the Missouri Valley - for Valpo, anyway....

Arch Madness

Thursday

The mega session - 3 games. Something new this year since there's only 11 teams. Instead of two 2-game sessions, we had one 3-game session.

Afternoon: #9 Drake Bulldogs 67 vs. Southern Illinois Salukis #8 63

I consumed most of this game by listening to Luke Martin call the game while waiting in the hotel for the Beacons to attend their send-off and eating a makeshift dinner.

Got to the arena midway through the second half and watched Drake break a long losing streak against a team that came in on a 4 game winning streak. Most of Drake's nine straight losses were hard fought games where they had a late lead or tie but couldn't finish. It was not that surprising to me that they finally got a win. Also, SIU has been snake-bitten this year for some reason.

Early evening: #10 Indiana State Sycamores 62 vs. #7 Valparaiso Beacons 63

Valpo led for a grand total of 2 minutes and 1 second in this game. Indiana State got so many easy layups because Valpo was trying to defend the 3 point line. ISU's offense is very difficult to defend because they run it so well. Meanwhile, Valpo could not seem to get much going in the paint and relied on 3s to stay with the Trees. It took a Chaney 3 at the buzzer to avoid going to halftime with a double-digit deficit.

On the other hand, Valpo did draw a bunch of fouls in the paint, which continued their conference play in 2026 of leading the value in FTR (via kenpom) of 40.1 (FTA*100/FGA). ISU did not go the line once in the first half. Valpo did go several times, though they still missed too many for their standards this season. 

In the end, this was a typical Valpo-Indiana State game. Valpo's 3 wins were by a total of 6 pts.

The Sycamores led 62-55 (with 4+ minutes to go!!) and Valpo scored the last 8 points of the game.

Late evening: #11 Evansville Purple Aces 59 vs. #6 Northern Iowa Panthers 68

We sat behind 4 Bradley fans who had several page of prop bets they were tracking either for this game or for the tournament. Indeed, over 100 prop bets covering games 2 and 3 today.

We ended up having some fun talking with them. The game started out lopsided, but Evansville stormed back. AJ Casey drained a 3 at the halftime buzzer to put the Aces up 36-35. 

Looking back, this has to be UNI's toughest game of the entire tournament. They had their hands full with the Purple Aces the whole game. 

Friday

Early afternoon: #9 Drake Bulldogs 100 vs. #1 Belmont Bruins 79

You know it's a Belmont game when the first offensive set is Tyler Lundblade coming across a high ball screen, receiving a perfect pass and draining a 3 as casually as you and I draw oxygen. Of course he proceeded to miss his next 3....

Meanwhile, Jalen Quinn continued to be a force on the court. He and Owen Larsen kept Drake neck and neck with Belmont. The Bulldogs also got a few easy layups through the back door. 

[It wasn't until the under 12 media timeout that I noticed all the rugrats in the end zone seats]

At the 8 minute media timeout, the fouls were Drake 7 Belmont 1.

It was strange to see Drake flipping the switch after losing 9 straight to end the regular season. 

Halftime: Drake 48, Belmont 41

Drake played them tight in Des Moines, losing 78-76, and the game in Nashville was a high scoring affair with the Bruins winning 103-90.

But I am confused as to how Belmont was losing and how Drake was looking nothing like they did in the regular season. How are the Bulldogs so good in Arch Madness and so bad in the regular season (6-14)?

Under 8 media timeout, Drake is up by 18, and I am at a loss for words. This is bizzaro world. 

With 3 minutes to go, Drake achieved a statistically safe lead. I am reminded they did the same thing 6 years ago to #1 UNI.

Late afternoon: #5 UIC Flames 92 vs. #4 Murray State Racers 79

First true oddity of Arch Madness: Momoh of UIC flipped one up at the rim as he was fouled and the ball just laid resting on the back of the rim.

This blowout I saw coming. Murray State really struggled down the stretch. They started the conference season 8-0, and went 4-8 the rest of the way. At times they looked undisciplined during that stretch, and when this game started getting away from them, those tendencies came out. I listened to Jeff Bidwell do play-by-play for one final time before he transitions to full-time attention to his new job, and I could tell how sad he was to see their run end before it could start. I suspect he was not really shocked. I also felt sorry for Murray State fans who probably were so pumped about the season at one point. 

Early evening: #7 Valparaiso Beacons 84 vs. #2 Bradley Braves 90, 2OT

This game sticks out like a sore thumb because it went to 2 overtimes while the other 3 games were blowouts. Valpo-Bradley was the opposite extreme. The MarchToTheArch podcast reported in their Arch Madness review episode that as the game wore on, UNI and Illinois State fans started rooting for Valpo, so that the rooting was evenly distributed throughout the Enterprise Center. 

6 years ago, Valpo ran out of gas midway through the second half, which probably led to Valpo's 14 point loss to Bradley. Last year, Darius got crunched late in the game, which may or may not have led to Valpo's 5 pt. loss to Bradley in regulation. This year, Rakim Chaney got a concussion, Shon Tupuola lost a tooth, Owen Dease cramped up, and all of that may or may not have led to Valpo's loss by 6 to Bradley - in double overtime. 

Baby steps...

After the game, I started walking around the concourse and was stopped by a couple of Bradley fans who wanted to commend Valpo's performance. Had such a great conversation that I missed the start of the Illinois State vs. UNI game. 

Suddenly the total lack of respect from a couple of UNI fans on Twitter no longer bothers me. 

Late evening: #6 Northern Iowa Panthers 74 vs. #3 Illinois State Redbirds 52

I think I made it back to my seat before halftime. During my conversation and walking the concourse, I noticed that UNI maintained a lead and seemed to be dominating play even if they weren't leading by a ton. In the second half, the Panthers gradually lengthened their lead until the Redbirds were struggling to stay with 12 or 13, then after the final media timeout the lead stretched to 20 and the game was over.

Saturday

Afternoon: #9 Drake Bulldogs 51 vs. #5 UIC Flames 72

If Drake had won this game, my plan was to leave bright and early Sunday morning to catch the two semifinal play-in games in Indy because I've had my fill of Drake in the title game, and to be honest, I've had my fill of Northern Iowa and Bradley as well. Fortunately, UIC easily prevailed.

Actually, it took them the better part of the game to put Drake away. UIC led almost the entire game and pretty much kept Drake at bay, but around the 6 minute mark, the Flames finally achieved comfortable separation. Jalen Quinn was still impressive, but against UIC he was simply not enough. In the final minutes, Drake just ran out of gas. So, I came back for the title game after all.

Evening: #6 Northern Iowa Panthers 73 vs. #2 Bradley Braves 69

Still waiting to hear the Avengers theme song from the UNI band this weekend, but during a timeout in the midst of Bradley's furious comeback, their band gave me Blitzkrieg Bop (Spiderman: Homecoming).

UNI's path to the title game was somewhat reminiscent of Valpo's run in 2020 (both highest seed playing on Thursday). Question: How do the Panthers keep hitting every shot???? Their roughest game was against Evansville on Thursday. That struggle was never to be seen again in St. Louis. And how are they making it seem so easy? Well, in 2020, Valpo was not 100% healthy. John Kaiser played the whole tournament with a bum foot. Javon Freeman Liberty was still recovering from pneumonia. There may have been one or two others who were toughing it out. I spotted no such limitations among the UNI Panthers this year.

Meanwhile, Bradley was pushed to the limit on Friday, while UNI had an easy time against Illinois State. In 2020, Valpo went to overtime to beat Loyola after staging a huge 2nd half comeback with a full court press, and did pretty much the same thing the following night to get past Missouri State.

Bradley did storm back in the 2nd half and UNI started missing more, so perhaps this was the game when the Panthers felt some fatigue. But like Valpo in 2020, they had enough in the tank. Well, just barely. In the final minutes, play got very ragged. UNI kept turning it over, leaving the door open for Bradley to complete the comeback, and Bradley kept fumbling their opportunities.

Sunday

#6 Northern Iowa Panthers 84 vs. #5 UIC Flames 69

I got off the Metrolink at the Enterprise Center and walked with a very young couple who were UNI fans. Most likely they came down on Sunday. They asked me how Valpo did in the tournament. I said, "Valpo lost to Bradley in double OT Friday, and YOU'RE WELCOME!!!" They laughed. 

Glory Hallelujah! I finally got my Avengers theme song from the UNI band - well a snippet of it during a 2nd half media timeout. It's the least they can do after becoming the first team to win 4 games in 4 days at Arch Madness.

Horizon League Tournament

Crazy detour through Illinois. I-70 closed just as I got to Effingham. I didn't make it back to 70 until I was near the Indiana border. In between I must have used half dozen state/county roads (some of which were gravel).

While I toured the Illinois countryside, I listened to the NKU-Green Bay men's play-in game (the women's game coincided with the Arch Madness title game), and I was surprised at how the Norse completely dominated the Phoenix. I was also sad for my Green Bay friend who I know was there watching and had to take in such a one-sided game that meant the end of the road for his team. 

I had seen this before, but had forgotten: when you're at the game and someone scores, you can then look up at the scoreboard and watch the score change.

Except at Corteva Coliseum. By the time you look up, the score has already changed. The scoreboard operators here are lightning fast, or else the scoreboard is extremely simple to operate.

Monday women's semifinals

(5) Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons vs. (1) Green Bay Phoenix

My friend loved this game for obvious reasons. I was kinda hoping the Mastodons would find a way to win because they've been surging in recent years and because Green Bay is the gold standard in the Horizon League, and I have a tendency to find that boring.

(3) Cleveland State Vikings vs. (2) Youngstown State Penguins

Weirdest play I saw so far. Halfway through the 4th quarter, with a 4 point lead and the ball, Cleveland State was in danger of a shot clock violation. One of their guards literally threw the ball at the basket just in time. Result: a fortuitous wedgie, because the Vikings had the possession arrow.

 

Shot taken with 1-2 seconds left on shot clock

Wedgie achieved

Saved by the possession arrow! Note: ESPN score bug had been slow to recognize which team had the arrow.

Later in that same quarter came a rarely seen play: Viking defender ran over a Penguin screener just as her teammate drained a 3, and they decided to count the 3-pointer and assess the foul, which gave YSU another possession. They ended up splitting FTs after a foul - though at first the Vikings got a steal, only to cough it up back to the Penguins. So it was a rather unconventional 4-pt play (only because the 3-pt shooter wasn't the one fouled). This also was a crucial turning point in the game. CSU had led for most of the 2nd half, and only trailed by 1 before this play. It did not lead to YSU pulling away - the Vikings actually fought back to take a 1 point lead with about 35 seconds to go, but YSU countered with a wide open 3 by one of their hot shooters, and that ultimately sealed CSU's fate.

This was a much more entertaining game, and it was YSU's first HLWBB semifinal win ever, and set up a possibly exciting championship game with Green Bay.

The interlude between sessions is always spent at the Valeo Fanzone across from the entrance to Corteva Coliseum. They have big screen projectors set up with the ability to select games to show. This year they also decided to go to the YouTube March Madness channel and play the Oakland-Kentucky game from 2024. Always fun to see Jack Gohlke torch Kentucky for 10 3s.

Monday men's semifinals

(7) Northern Kentucky Norse vs. (1) Wright State Raiders

As of the under 8 media timeout in the first half, this is looking like it will go down to the wire. It has been tight so far, and there have been many very athletic play by both teams.

Halftime featured Simon Says guy. This year he had to ask for a better microphone. Otherwise it was pretty much the same show as last year.

It took most of the game, but Wright State finally pulled away and won by 13. For 30 minutes, it was a pretty exciting game.

(3) Detroit Mercy Titans vs. (2) Robert Morris Colonials 

After winning the regular season title and the conference tournament title last season, Andy Toole had to rebuild around 1 returner (Valpo fans should find this familiar). So, they did that and finished second this season. RMU has finally figured out how to compete in the Horizon League, portal be damned.

This game was extremely exciting. Detroit Mercy started to pull away halfway through the second half, but this time it still went down to the wire, but the Titans held on to win. For the first time since 2012, they make it to the Horizon League championship game.

Tuesday

Women's title game: (2) Youngstown State Penguins vs. (1) Green Bay Phoenix

Like an idiot, I waited until halftime to scrounge a chocolate chip cookie from one of the concession stands, forgetting that the place is crawling with elementary school children, LOL.

This was a very fun, exciting game. I thought it was well played. Green Bay finally started pulling away with about 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. Crucial was a negated turnover on the Green Bay end.

 

YSU stole the ball in the post

 

But the ball was loose and lodged in between the legs of a YSU player

As she reached down to extricate the ball from between her legs, the ref on the baseline called a kick ball violation

Sarah Baker can't believe it

 

Neither can Melissa Jackson, her coach

The Phoenix promptly drained a 3 on the ensuing out of bounds play to extend their lead to 4. The Penguins never completely recovered after that.

In between, my Green Bay friend and I ate lunch at our usual spot, The Ale Emporium, where they serve Diet Mt. Dew! Of course we stayed for the championship ceremonies so my friend could gets some pictures. Speaking of pictures, before we headed off to dinner, we took this picture with the National Championship trophy:

Men's title game: (3) Detroit Mercy Titans vs. (1) Wright State Raiders 

This game started weirdly enough. The Titans won the tip, but the recipient caught the ball just barely in the front court and casually flipped the ball back to his teammate who had not yet crossed the timeline. Oops!

This game was also fun and exciting. Really the only boring game I witnessed was the first Women's semifinal where Green Bay blasted Purdue Fort Wayne.

The difference in this game is that after a tight first half, Detroit Mercy built up an 11-point lead on the Raiders in the early part of the 2nd half. Then the Raiders stormed back and took a 6 point lead with less than 2 minutes to go, but amazingly enough, the Titans had a shot to tie with a few seconds left. Lovejoy found an open path to the basket and went up for a layup, but Kellen Pickett (a freshman!) met him at the hoop and blocked his shot without fouling. The Raiders held on for a 3 point win (after splitting a pair of free throws after a Detroit Mercy foul).

This is goodbye to Corteva Coliseum, because next year the neutral site portion will be held in Noblesville (a suburb of Indianapolis) in a newer arena where the Pacers G-League team plays.

On Wednesday, I went from 70s and rain in Indy to just above freezing in Corralville.

Thursday

I noticed a walkway that ran from my hotel to Xtream Arena that snaked under the I-80 ramps and over the highway, which is cool, so I gave it a try. It .9 miles one way and took a half hour to walk. I left an hour before game time, so I got there in plenty of time.

I asked one of the event staff why some random seats were colored yellow in Xtream Arena:

The answer I got was basically "Just to be different! No special significance."

Afternoon: (9) Indiana State Sycamores vs. (8) Southern Illinois Salukis

The Lady Salukis suffered the same fate as their manly counterparts - losing to the 9 seed. The Trees built a 9 point lead at the half, and extended it out to 11 at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, and I worried that this was going to be a blowout. Indiana State drew several charging fouls and just looked better. But then in the 3rd quarter, SIU found something and cut the lead to 3 after a successful appeal of an out-of-bounds call. They began the 4th quarter with the ball, but then lost a tie-up before they could get a shot, and the Trees reasserted themselves and put the game away in the final seconds.

Early evening: (10) Evansville Purple Aces vs. (7) UIC Flames

A lot more Evansville fans behind their bench than the Sycamores had. All during the second half, the UIC coach was complaining very demonstrably to the refs (Ron Hunter would be proud). At one point, the Aces fans started yelling at her to get off the court.

Except for a short stretch in the first half, this game was anybody's game until the final minute when Evansville built a 5 point lead and held UIC at bay, but the game always felt like the Aces were in control the whole way. 

Late evening: (11) Valparaiso Beacons vs. (6) Drake Bulldogs

That's me in yellow T-shirt and Brown Valpo hat, 2nd from the right.

I was gifted a courtside ticket for this game and got to sit with coach Boyd's family just a few feet from the action. It has its drawbacks visibility wise, but all in all it was fun. Valpo actually led by a point at the end of the 1st quarter, but from then on - as often happened this season - they steadily fell further and further behind. Coach Boyd said during the post game that it was a typical issue this year - "We execute the game plan in the first quarter, and then forget the plan after that." It could just be that they struggled to deal with the opponent's adjustments.

Friday

Early afternoon: (9) Indiana State Sycamores vs. (1) Murray State Racers

I decided to risk missing the first part of this game and grab lunch at a nearby Subway. Then I drove to the arena to see if I could figure out parking. Event parking is on the opposite corner of the block, but I didn’t see an event price, just a per hour price. It seemed like it would be a long walk, so I just drove back to my hotel. I had to pee so I ducked into my room. When I emerged from my room, the Bradley send-off had completely taken over the lobby. I had a bit of trouble finding another exit, but eventually I did.

Once inside the arena I asked one of the event staff where the fan parking was, and he confirmed what I discovered. I asked how much it was, and he said I should have been presented the option to purchase a parking pass for the tournament that would have allowed me to park without paying each time. 

This game was in the middle of the 3rd quarter and the Racers were leading the Trees by 25 or so. I sat down in my seat during a media timeout and the Indiana State pep band treated me to their rendition of Elton John's I'm Still Standing.

I'm not sure rhere's a more competitive coach in MVC WBB than Rochelle Turner. Even up 20+, she is intense.

Late afternoon: (5) Bradley Braves vs. (4) Northern Iowa Panthers

Brian Wardle is here to watch his daughter play for the Braves. My impression is that Mya Wardle is the quarterback of this team when she's out there. Expect nothing less from a Wardle.

This game was a lot of fun, once the Braves got their act together. It looked like a blowout in the 1st quarter, but for most of the 2nd half, Bradley ratcheted up the intensity, and though they had to hang on for dear life, UNI matched their effort and prevailed in the end. 

Early evening: (10) Evansville Purple Aces vs. (2) Belmont Bruins

With about 3 minutes to go in the third quarter, KK Brodie of Belmont has 7 blocked shots at the basket, and every time she looks like she's taking out the trash and hates it. Maybe she looks miserable doing it because her teammates can't hit the broadcast side of a barn or get any stops on the other end. They have trailed Evansville for most of this game. At the end of the third quarter, the Aces led 53-42 (I looked up after writing this and the arena scoreboard had them leading 105-42. I mean, Evansville seems to be dominating, but really!).

1 seed Belmont MBB lost by 21 to 9 seed Drake. 2 seed Belmont WBB loses by 13 to 10 seed Evansville. Oh, the humanity!

Late evening: (6) Drake Bulldogs vs. (3) Illinois State Redbirds

I have forgotten everything about this game except that ISU won. I do enjoy watch Kristen Gillespie coach. She can be intense, but her players embody that intensity so much that the coach can often be seen trying to calm them down: "We're okay!"

Saturday

Early afternoon: (4) Northern Iowa Panthers vs. (1) Murray State Racers

We know now what the problem is with the scoreboard, because it happened again in this game. When they review a called 3 and downgrade it to a 2, the software running the board malfunctions. So they have to leave the score where it is, and the next point scored by that team is ignored.

Murray State jumped out to a huge lead, but UNI battled back to even take the lead in the 3rd quarter. It was a fun, well-played game. The Racers, unlike their manly counterpart 1 seed (Belmont Bruins MBB), took nothing for granted. They brought their A-game every day of the tournament. Notably, UNI was the only team to beat Murray State this year. I was genuinely unsure which way I thought this game was going to go. 

Late afternoon: (10) Evansville Purple Aces vs. (3) Illinois State Redbirds

This was also a great game that went to overtime, but the story here is that the 10 seed made it to the title game, which was unexpected. I didn't check the stats, but it sure seems like Camryn Runner had herself a hell of game and tournament for Evansville. They almost won it in regulation, but Mary Gillespie drew up two straight out-of-timeout plays that her players executed to force overtime - the second one tied the game with a few seconds left. Evansville got a corner 3, but the shot was short. In OT, the Aces built a 5 point lead, but the Redbirds didn't go down without a heroic fight, at one point cutting their deficit to 1 with about 15 seconds to go, and had another chance to tie it with a 3 but the shot fell short, and that was it.

Sunday

The two restaurants next door to the arena I have eaten at both serve diet mountain dew. I love this place!

Also, @UMBCAthletics is at it again since the Retrievers made the tournament for the first time since 2018 - No. 16 UMBC upsets No. 1 Virginia: The Complete Game (March Madness on youtube)

And the person running their Twitter account is absolutely hilarious.

(10) Evansville Purple Aces vs. (1) Murray State Racers

Like Valpo MBB 6 years ago, the Aces ran out of gas on Sunday and Murray State prevailed again. They are now unquestionably the gold standard in MVC WBB, having won two straight tournament championships and 2 straight outright regular season titles.

First Four

Lots of snow on the drive to Dayton, but most of the time it was light - and never scary.

Tuesday

Supper at the Pine Club solo again. Friend Ben was running late and his friend Brian was under the weather and couldn't make it. Was almost finished with my dinner when the proprietor recognized me as someone who ate there last year. The food (rainbow trout) was excellent, and the server was friendly. On the whole, it was a great dining experience. 

As I walked out, someone noticed my Valpo hoodie and asked if the Crusaders were playing. Setting aside the absurdity of even asking the question, I corrected his mascot mistake. 

"We're the Beacons now."

With a shocked look on his face: "That's politically correct!"

"It's marketing, branding." (Dude, it's only about mascot, I'm thinking to myself). "There's nothing sacred about the name."

"Not anymore, anyway!"

"Nor should it be."

"Have to disagree."

(16) UMBC Retrievers vs. (16) Howard Bison

Broke the ice with some fans behind me when I overheard one of them ask, "What is UMBC?" I turned and said, "University of Maryland in Baltimore County." "Thank you, Valpo fan!" Later, he was opining that there was no way Charles Barkley was going to be on the broadcast for the second game. He also doubted that Dick Vitale was going to be there because he was staying the same hotel and saw him today and said he looked kind of shaky.

(11) Texas Longhorns vs. (11) North Carolina State Wolfpack

As the game time approached, Vitale was noticeable at the broadcast spot, but they were still doubting that Barkley was there. The cameras were clearly on, so I pulled up NCAA March Madness Live app on my phone and showed them that indeed Charles was in the house. At first one of them assumed that I was showing a picture on my phone (?!?!?!??!), but his friend pointed out it was a video of the live broadcast.

To my left was a Dayton fan who I had some good conversations with as well. Nevertheless, I left at halftime. Before the game, the guys behind me asked who I was rooting for, to which I said, "Neither team. I don't do power conference basketball."

Wednesday

The proprietor at the Pine Club recognizes me now. Each night he made a point of saying hi and engaging me in friendly conversation. The fact that I missed my friends this year was offset by the number of people who I was able to interact with both at dinner and at the games. I hope next year Ben, Brian, and Steve are able to make it, however. And maybe one or two others will be interested. As I walked from the UD parking lot to the north entrance, a women noticed my Valpo hat and introduced herself as someone who works in Valparaiso University Athletics Department. She recognized me from Arch Madness this year in St. Louis. She told me this was her first ever time going to the First Four.

(16) Prairie View A&M Panthers vs. (16) Lehigh Mountain Hawks

I didn't have any interesting interactions during this game, though during the 2nd half I found myself surrounded by Redhawks fans (Miami, OH). Just to fill in something about this game, which was entertaining, College Basketball Reference has the following 4 Factors which do tell the story of the game:

Four Factors

		Four Factors
	Pace	eFG%	TOV%	ORB%	FT/FGA	ORtg
Prairie View A&M	65.7	.500	12.6	21.9	.175	102.0
Lehigh	65.7	.414	19.1	30.8	.121	83.7

The first half was tight, PVAM's defense was suffocating at times. I like FT/FGA, which measures a team's (or an individual's) ability to draw shooting fouls from their opponent. I suspect neither team was particularly exemplary at this (During the MVC conference season, Valpo was in the low 40s, percentage wise, according to kenpom).

(11) Miami (OH) Redhawks vs. (11) SMU Mustangs

I was impressed by the fact that the worst weather at the first four since 2015 by far did not dampen attendance one bit at this year's event. Announcement near the end of both nights put attendance upwards of 11K out of 13K and change. And most of that was out of town fans. That's pretty damn good.

The Redhawk fans certainly made their presence known, and their team responded accordingly, though it was a tight battle down to the finish.

St. Louis

I normally don't go to a 1st round site anymore, but this one was in St. Louis so I figured why not. I don't have to book a hotel.

Paul Oren and the March to the Arch guys were there on Friday, but they had media passes and there really was no way for me to bump into them to say hi. I was kind of bummed about that, but they don't owe me such a privilege.

Friday afternoon

The only game of the 3 I attended that was any good was the first afternoon game, and Santa Clara's dramatic regulation win was snatched away by a banked in 3 that would have made AJ Casey proud. I hate it when P5 teams get so damn lucky! UGH

The second game was a laugher, but during halftime, the Iowa State pep band served up a couple of minutes of the Iron Man 3 end credits song. YAY! 

Friday evening

I wore my Carson Schweiger Valpo T-shirt, that anomaly the NIL store sent me when I ordered the Cooper Schweiger T-shirt a year and a half ago, but the ticket I bought was in section 334 (one of the end zones). It ended up feeling like an empty gesture, unfortunately. I did enjoy watching Carson start the game and play decent. He hit a couple of 3s. But he is clearly a role player and not the main guy. Every time he scored or grabbed a tough rebound or got a steal, I clapped loudly, and the Purdue fans around me didn't give me any dirty looks, so that's a win.

Of course, by the under-12 media timeout in the 2nd half, Purdue had a statistically safe lead, so I got up and left (the 2nd game is Mizzou-Miami - not staying for two P5 teams playing each other). I also did not return on Sunday for the same reason.