Thursday, June 27, 2024

From The Arch to Dayton with a Grizzlie Celebration in Indy

This year’s personal March Odyssey was extra special for me because in Indianapolis, I got to crash Oakland University's title celebration on Tuesday night.  A little background seems in order…

Where It Started

It was a gloomy Monday morning for a Valpo fan, though the weather was bright and sunny in downtown Tulsa in early March of 2005.  You see, we were used to being the Kings of the Mid-Con.  I was later to that party than most Valpo fans, but I’m sure I was still struggling to process getting bounced in the quarterfinals.  The Men had been in every title game going back at least a decade, and the Women had been there each of the previous 3 years.  I suppose it is possible I was headed over to the UMAC (Union Multipurpose Athletic Complex) for the women’s semifinals because I wasn’t used to having to think about going home early.  By the way, I wasn’t the only Valpo fan by far who was doing the same.

Looking back on it 19 years later, I’d rather say that I had become hooked on conference tournament basketball – once a year, go somewhere for 4 or 5 days and just pig out on elimination basketball.  Because, except for 8 years in the Horizon League, that’s what I’ve done every single year since, through thick and thin Valpo-wise.

Or perhaps it was because that Monday morning as I scanned the lobby of my hotel for Mid-Con celebrities, Greg Kampe, coach of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, noticed me and waved for me to come over.  Let me set some context here.

Picture a Valpo fan, whose team at the time was 15-0 lifetime against Oakland, parading around in a 2004 championship T-shirt with Valpo all over it, being summoned to a chat with the coach of that Oakland team.  Why? is a question I imagined going through the minds of any Golden Grizzlies fan who might have spied this chance encounter.  We talked about anything and everything.  He shared an embarrassing and amusing anecdote regarding a mishap with their practice jerseys.  We revisited the surprising first round exit he presided over 2 years prior in Kansas City.  He related his view of our game against Chicago State, including Homer Drew’s desperate attempt to find the one ref who was unfamiliar with him and get him to T him up, which did succeed in getting his team back into contention to advance (we still ended up losing by 5).  We must have chatted for 20 minutes or so before I (hopefully) thanked him for the conversation and headed over to the UMAC.  My own attempt to answer the Why question has only ever led to the first thing he said to me, something about “I see you at this thing every year.”  I can only guess I was flattered beyond reason.

Anyway, the championship game the following night between Oakland and Oral Roberts (ORU) was, up until a few years ago, the most breathtakingly exciting championship game I have ever attended in person.  Not the best, not the most well-played, and certainly not the most personally gratifying one for me as a Valpo fan.  Simply the most exciting one.  For two hours I literally forgot about the outside world.  I was on pins and needles, sitting with another Valpo fan about 5 or 6 rows behind the Oakland bench, in the midst of a 6000 seat arena packed to the gills with ORU fans (ORU is located in Tulsa).  I could mutter play-by-play in a low voice as the game went on, secure in the belief that no one around me would be the least bit aware.  That’s how electric it was.  Ironically, I don’t remember a single event in the game except for the winning basket.

In the years since, I have regularly exchanged emails with Coach Kampe, got him to bring one of his bobble-heads to Tulsa in 2007 (which he autographed and then gifted to me), and any time I told him I was going to pay a visit to the O’Rena, he would have ticket(s) waiting for me at Will-Call.  When Oakland finally paid a visit to the ARC in December of 2011 (Bryce Drew’s first year as head coach), and then Oakland joined the Horizon League, I would try my best to get to the ARC an hour before tipoff and would always be able to say hi and chat with him.  Mind you, I was far from the only Valpo fan who he would exchange pleasantries with.  Greg Kampe is one of a kind.

All of which is to say that this year’s annual March Odyssey will forever be known as the Oakland trip, with the bonus of sitting at home (because after 32 games in 14 days at 4 different venues, I am DONE) and thoroughly enjoying Oakland’s victory over Kentucky.  Like Oakland fans, it may take me awhile to find enjoyment in their OT loss to NC State.  But my journey hit its peak, its climax on a Tuesday night in Indianapolis at Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum when Oakland finally won their first Horizon League tournament championship.  More on that special night later.

A Plethora of Starting Points

I noticed everywhere I went in my 2 week College Basketball postseason journey, all 4 places declared themselves to be a starting point.

At the Enterprise Center at Arch Madness, before every game came the booming pronouncement: "March: it starts here!"  When I got to Indianapolis, every session (or every game, I can't remember) began with "March Starts Here!".  In Moline, Illinois at Vibrant Arena at the Mark, every game began with "March: it starts here!" (same conference and announcer as Arch Madness, but women this time, so not too surprising).  And the First Four at University of Dayton Arena is the start of the NCAA Tournament, contrary to the opinion of field-of-64-traditionalists.

More to the point, every one of these events (and many others just like it around the country) is a starting point for every team.  And, it is very American to think that "March" is all about you, and nobody else, even if every other team gets to view it the same way.  It's all in the spirit of friendly - but fiery - competition, you see.

Arch Madness

One of my joys every year is hanging out with a bunch of Valpo fans.  This year was no exception (Four of them came down from Valpo, two came from Florida):


I also found a Valpo High School classmate and three of us took a picture.  This must have been during the Valpo-Belmont game as I am wearing my bluetooth earbuds listening to the Valpo radio play-by-play.
From the VHS class of 1976, left to right: me, Mel Doering, and Phil Koenig

Day 1

Traditionally, MVC fans are lucky if day 1 is filled with excitement, especially now that the bottom 8 teams have to play on this day.  We have now had two years of experience with 4 games on Thursday, and 5 vs. 12 has been a sleepy blowout each year.

Missouri State (9) vs. Murray State (8)

It started out favoring the Bears, but I assumed that the Racers would recover and turn it into a competitive game.  After all, this should be the closest of all the Thursday games, according to the seeds.

For a short time, it looked like they would recover.  The Bears got sloppy with their passes, and the Racers tightened up on defense.  Of course, that only made it 11-8.

The Bears adjusted and the Racers had some awful turnovers that led to fast break points.  At the under 4 media timeout, the score was 20-13, so Missouri State took their sweet time turning this into a route, but by this point, it was beginning to be obvious.

I felt especially bad for the Racers fan during that timeout who did not know that Ja Morant's jersey number with the Memphis Grizzlies was 12.  Not only that, he had to endure the ridicule of Todd Thomas, aka "That One Guy" who grabs the mic for the fan contests while the teams are huddling and the fans at home are being subjected to commercials.

Ouch.  By the way, Wyatt Wheeler, the Missouri State beat writer, covered the game from home because the Springfield News-Leader decided it wasn't worth sending him to St. Louis.  Welcome to mid-major sports coverage in 2024, folks.
 
The second half was a struggle just to avoid a massive blowout, and even that failed.  The Racers did manage an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 12, and later managed to cut it to 11, but then they completely ran out of steam.

Given the Racers’ struggles during the conference season with building big leads and then letting them slip through their fingers, it was disheartening to see them be unable to even compete in this game.  There is wide consensus throughout the MVC that Murray State is an outstanding addition to the conference.

I’m not sure if the same was being said about Valpo in 2017, but it seems possible.  I hope that Murray State is not headed for the same struggles that Valpo has been through.

Valpo (12) vs. Belmont (5)

Not much to say on this one.  Belmont won by 25, losing the 2nd half by 1 because they rested their starters for much of it.  Valpo played awful, but plenty of credit for that goes to Belmont who is just a horrible matchup for the Beacons.
 
With almost a completely brand new roster and a new coach, this season was set up to be a complete failure for Valpo.  It is hard for me to be mad about that.  Much like Illinois State under their first year with Ryan Pedon as head coach, I was determined not to get bent out of shape about the W-L record – this year.  Next year, I sure hope things get better.

Evansville (10) vs. Illinois State (7)

For the first time in my life, I witnessed Evansville win an Arch Madness game in person.  That was good to see.  It was also a close game and therefore much more fun than the two afternoon games.
 
It was a defensive struggle.  Evansville lead ISU 25-21 at halftime.  The second half was equally tense, but the Aces held on for the win.

UIC (11) vs. Southern Illinois (6)

A typical UIC game this season: build a good lead in 1st half, fritter it away in 2nd half, fight back to force overtime, build lead in 1st OT, fritter it away, survive to second OT, almost lose grip again, but then:

Player of the game.  SIU had no answer.  None.

During the second half, this guy stopped by to say hi (New Mexico State fan I met last year at Arch Madness):


This year he was in the company of some UNI fans who were friends of his.  Also, since NMSU had switched to Conference USA, he was on his way to their conference tournament somewhere east of the Mississippi river.

Also, after the day was complete, an SIU fan reached out to me outside the Enterprise Center (after his team just suffered a brutal loss) to say he appreciated that I'm there for the tournament every year (apparently I'm recognizable) even though Valpo is struggling right now.  I was flattered beyond reason.  I love a conference tournament I can attend in person.  This is why I hate campus site tournaments.  And I am grateful to be appreciated like that.

Day 2

Missouri State (9) vs. Indiana State (1)

Interesting game.  The Trees typically run a short rotation.  A deeper team might wear them down, though that may be somewhat illusory if ISU is actually not afraid to go deeper when necessary.

ISU threatened to run away with it midway through first half, but the Bears recovered to make it a tight game at halftime, trailing 34-31.

The Bears were assessed 2 techs in the half, one for excessive hanging on the rim and one for taunting.  On the other hand, ISU had trouble at the rim, with several layups rejected by MSU shot blockers.

The Trees started the 2nd half strong.  It still took awhile for them to put MSU away for good, but they ended up winning 75-59.

The Carnage begins

During the game, Jeff Goodman reported that SIU was going to dismiss Bryan Mullins with 1 year remaining on his contract.  This was at least the 4th straight year Arch Madness ended a coaching career.  Greg Lansing was let go by Indiana State after losing to Missouri State in the 2021 semifinals.  Todd Licklighter was let go by Evansville after losing to Valpo in the 2022 opening round.  Matt Lottich was let go by Valpo after losing to Murray State in the 2023 opening round.
 
At the time, I knew (really everyone did) that Missouri State's Dana Ford was probably on the hot seat.  Indeed, by the end of Arch Madness, Dana Ford has also been fired.  Perhaps the most inexplicable firing (to me at least) was Luke Yakelich being let go by UIC.  I still don't understand that one.

Then of course, Darien DeVries got snatched up by WVU because Bob Huggins became toxic, and Josh Schertz got snatched up by St. Louis University because they had had enough of Travis Ford.

3 firings, 2 promotions - a total of 5 vacancies needing to be filled.  Not exactly glorious times for the MVC.

Belmont (5) vs. Northern Iowa (4)

This was an extremely competitive close game.  Belmont did not shoot as well as they did against Valpo, but Northern Iowa could never really achieve true separation.

Evansville (10) vs. Drake (2)

This game was competitive for the first five minutes or so, but then Drake pulled away and was up 21 at halftime.  Evansville never really made it a game in the second half.  Carlos Rosario took a really nasty fall in the second half and had to be helped to the locker room, but he did return to action later.  Drake was able to rest some of their regulars.

UIC (11) vs. Bradley (3)

As soon as the buzzer sounded, Wardle stomped off to the locker room ahead of his players (presumably so he could rip them a new one).

For one half, UIC made a serious play for a rematch with the team they just took to 3 OTs (Drake) toward the end of the regular season.

Then Connor Hickman happened, and then the game was effectively over.

Day 3

On my way to the Enterprise Center, I shared a Metrolink ride with a father and son pair of UNI fans.  The son (who was still school-age) was very knowledgeable for his age group.  He knew stats on the game UNI had against the Trees during the regular season.  The father and I somehow managed to get into a fascinating discussion about Martin Luther and Valpo's association with Lutheranism.  We were still going at it (not arguing, having fun) when we entered the facility, and then I had to go through the checkpoint (which is a little more complicated for me because I have a pacemaker).  By the time I was finished, he and his son had gone to their seats.  We never even got to the introductions phase.  I tried to find them during halftime and other breaks, to no avail.  I regret not asking them what section they would be in.  A very nice encounter, but I have to hope that I can run into them again next year.

I'll tell you one thing: it was a lot more fun than some of my online interactions with UNI fans have been.  That's a good reason to come to a tournament like this.  You never know what new people you might meet.

Northern Iowa (4) vs. Indiana State (1)

The better part of the first half was ISU putting on a clinic and the Panthers trying desperately to keep up.  But, UNI did dominate a couple of brief stretches to go into halftime down only (!) 11.

The Panthers' only lead came early on a wide open 3 from their big man, former Loyola Rambler Jacob Hutson.  ISU big man Robbie Avila ("hold my bear, bro") proceeded to drain 4 straight 3s, and the Trees were off and running.

Bradley (3) vs. Drake (2)

Epic showdown.  The only downside for me was sitting in a section filthy with Drake fans who kept standing up and blocking my view.
 
This was a rematch of last year's title game, which was a Drake blowout.  This year's game was much more competitive, but the Bulldogs still prevailed.

Day 4

Drake (2) vs. Indiana State (1)

This was simply a game for the ages, not because both teams were strong all the way through, but because in the end they both showed why they finished 1 and 2 in the standings.  Drake controlled the action after the opening minutes.  Indiana State was on its heels to some extent for much of the game.  Drake slowly built up an 18 point lead partway through the second half, and then finally the Trees came alive and erased the entire deficit, even taking a 2 pt lead late in the game, only to have Drake regain the lead and hang on for dear life.

I hated seeing the Sycamores come undone like that and did not want to see them get blown out like Bradley did in last year's title game.  I was also a little worried that ISU would not get an at-large if they lost.  I was glad to see that it turned out to be an exciting game, and who doesn't love seeing someone erase an 18 point lead?

Needless to say, because teams in the conferences I adore get no love on Selection Sunday, ISU did just barely miss the NCAA tournament.  Their subsequent path neatly paralleled Valpo's 2016 March agony, from the awful snub to the run to the NIT title game, to losing their outstanding coach immediately after losing that title game.  Eerie.

Horizon League Tournaments

I come to the semifinals and finals of these tournaments (both men's and women's finish up at the same venue) because I enjoyed Valpo's time in the Horizon League - which may make me unique among the Valpo fan-base.  I also got to know folks from some of the schools, and as mentioned above, one of the coaches.
 
Also, Indiana Farmer's Coliseum is a fairly comfortable venue to attend games.  I meet up every year with a couple from Green Bay and we just hang out on the mezzanine level on barstools (near where they serve the alchohol) and watch the games.  For the most part seating is general admission anyway, and the place is never standing room only, though it's never empty either.
 
I follow the conference during the regular season and even go to a handful of games every year, and maybe even say hi to a few friends along the way.

By the way, the seeding for the Men's semifinal games might look strange, but the Horizon League reseeds after every round.

Day 1

Wright State (4) vs. Cleveland State (1) (WBB)

This conference now has 2 perennial powerhouses - Cleveland State and Green Bay.  Charlie Creme at ESPN.com had Green Bay in the first four out and Cleveland State as the AQ.  I had wondered if CSU would get an at-large bid if Green Bay beat the Vikings in the title game.  Kyle Rossi told me not to count on it, because while the Vikings overall record was better, their strength of schedule was weak.  Kyle covers Horizon League Women's basketball extremely well for the HoriZone Roundtable, a site that continues to be the most dedicated source of Horizon League basketball coverage that I know of.

Anyway the Vikings were thrashing the Raiders by 30 midway through the 3rd quarter.  The game was tight for the first few minutes, but from then on it was all Vikings.  Ex-Valpo player Sara VanKempen played in this game for Wright State, coming off the bench.

Purdue Fort Wayne (3) vs. Green Bay (2) (WBB)

This game was much more even than the first one.  Green Bay had to overcome some hot shooting from Amellia Bromenschenkel and limit their turnovers in the second half to pull this one out.

Cleveland State (7) vs. Oakland (1)(MBB)

I got to say hi to Bob McDonald (managing editor of the HoriZone Roundtable) and Neal Ruhl before the game.  I rooted for Oakland to win.  Grateful to be able to say hi to coach Kampe after the game and congratulate him on the win.  It was a stressful game because (1) his team was short handed due to injuries, (2) let's just say the officiating was substandard in his estimation - so much so that he felt moved to have conversations with conference officials including the commissioner, and (3) Cleveland State is just a tough match-up for everyone.
 
Upon watching the replay, I saw one play that the broadcast made special note of.  With a 1 point lead late in the 2nd half, Blake Lampmen came around multiple screens for an easy lane to the basket.  He made the layup, but the Cleveland State player clearly grabbed Lampmen's arm on his way up.  Not only did they not call an intentional foul, they didn't call any kind of foul.  It was an atrocious missed call, and the Horizon League and Oakland have a right to expect better from referees at their conference tournament.

Milwaukee (6) vs. NKU (5)

Milwaukee was on a mission in this tournament, and they had the personality for it.  My Green Bay friends rooted wholeheartedly for NKU, but I remained neutral because I have a few friends within the Milwaukee fan-base.  Milwaukee did win this game, which meant I was able to say hi to my friend Jimmy Lemke the following night.

Day 2

Green Bay (2) vs. Cleveland State (1)(WBB)

This was the annual screaming rugrats title game (elementary school children from the Indianapolis area flooded the venue for their annual Horizon League tournament field trip).  Green Bay dominated this game almost from the start.  It seemed every shot went in for them, and Cleveland State looked shell-shocked.

Milwaukee (6) vs. Oakland (1)(MBB)

This was an awesome game, and another nerve wracking one for Greg Kampe, I'll bet.  Paul Oren of The Victory Bell decided to come down for this game (on his way to covering the Lady Beacons in Hoops In The Heartland in Moline).  He was a guest of some Valpo alums who now work for the Horizon League.  As I mentioned above, I met Kampe in 2005.  Paul covered many a Valpo-Oakland game in the Horizon League and possibly even the Mid-Con.  Paul even wrote his own story about his experience at this game: Kampe's win brings me great joy

Milwaukee was relentless, even more so than Cleveland State was in the semifinals.  They were still on a mission in this game, and it took a superlative effort by Trey Townsend and the leadership of Jack Golhke and Blake Lampen to vanquish them.

At halftime of a very close hard fought game, I ran into Paul and introduced him to the newest (to me anyway) in sports-related mixed marriages (Packers-Bears).  Honestly, they are both great friends and it was a great meet-up that culminated in a group picture taken by the ace photographer who had parked himself next to me and was shooting pictures of the action...

Left to right: Jamie Seidl, Sheri Seidl, me, Paul Oren (Photo by Skip Townsend)

... and just so happened to be Skip Townsend, father of Trey Townsend.  Dad played for Kampe 35 years ago.  I found this out because a good friend from Valpo texted me that I was on TV sitting next to Trey's dad because the broadcast wanted to highlight him.  Turns out he was taking pictures of his son in action.

This is why I do this - in part, at least - because something like this might happen, and it is very cool.  It stays with you for awhile.  I'll always remember the chance meeting and the ability to share it with friends.

After the game, and the post-game celebration including the cutting down of nets, I was allowed to go on the court and congratulate Coach Kampe and even chat with him a bit.  That too is a great privilege every time I get the chance.

Hoops In the Heartland

This tournament did not live up to the excitement of the first two I went to.  It usually doesn't.  The Drake, Illinois State, and Northern Iowa fan-bases do travel well to this tournament.  But I'm usually all by myself as far as Valpo fans are concerned.

This year, my seat was much closer to the court and other fans, but I had decided to do that anyway even if my assigned seat had been near the back.  It's no fun sitting all by yourself.

I also have to say that not every game made a strong impression on me.  For no fault of the participants, I simply don't have quite as much enthusiasm for women's basketball as I do for men's basketball.  I'm definitely interested or I wouldn't have made the trip, but it is sometimes a little harder to retain memories of a particular game.

Day 1

Indiana State (9) vs. Southern Illinois (8)

The story of this game was the 2nd quarter, when the Sycamores went on a bit of a run that gave them a 10 point lead at halftime.  Mya Glanton was a force in the paint, leading all scorers with 30 points.  The Salukis rallied in the 3rd quarter to cut the deficit to 3, but the Trees put the game away in the 4th quarter.

Evansville (12) vs. Illinois State (5)

This game carried no surprises.  The Redbirds didn't take long to exert their dominance.  Early in the 4th quarter they established a statistically safe lead, so I decided to get an early start pursuing supper at the Bent River Brewing Company on 5th Avenue.

Either before the game or at halftime, I saw someone who looked a lot like Ryan Pedon, ISU Men's coach, but I dismissed the idea.  Turns out my eyes were not deceiving me after all.

Valpo (10) vs. UIC (7)

Gutted.  For the first time since I started coming to this tournament, Valparaiso was competitive.  In fact they had the game won, but ran out of steam against UIC's superior depth.
 
Down the stretch, there were several official reviews that were irritating to those covering the game.  I happened to be tuned into the Valpo radio pbp and they were constantly standing up with hands outstretched wondering what was going on.

Bradley (11) vs. Murray State (6)

Another blowout, though it didn't start that way at all.

Day 2

Indiana State (9) vs. Drake (1)

This was a blowout too.  All game long, the Drake fan on the other side of the aisle verbally hung on every bounce of the ball and twist or turn in the action.  It was ecstasy or anguish and not much in between.

Illinois State (5) vs. Northern Iowa (4)

Strangely enough, the same fan did the same thing rooting for UNI.  He may just be someone who picks a team to root for and then goes all out.  Or, like other Drake fans also cheering for UNI, this may be an Iowa thing (both schools are located in that state).

This game was fun and exciting and even a little physical.  UNI kept trying to bury the Redbirds, but they refused to die until final buzzer.

UIC (7) vs. Belmont (2)

Game of runs early.  After trading baskets twice, Belmont ran off 8 straight points.  UIC responded with an 11-0 run of their own.  An intentional foul by UIC then sparked a 10-0 run by the Bruins. The first quarter ended with 4 straight points by UIC.

The Flames continued an 8-0 run into the second quarter before Belmont hit 2 straight 3s.  The rest of the first half was a little less streaky.

The only thing certain about the first half (to me anyway) was that UIC had no answer for Tessa Miller in the low post.

The most dramatic run came in the 4th quarter.  Belmont had a 10 point lead at the start, but it was a nail biter at crunch time.  UIC did not have the magic this time.
 
This would have been a great win for UIC.  For the second straight year, Belmont finished 2nd in the MVC.  Their men's team might have more notoriety, but their women's team is the real powerhouse.

Murray State (6) vs. Missouri State (3)

Murray State head coach Rochelle Turner was upset with the refs almost from the jump in this game.

Possibly the most exciting game of the tournament up to that point.  If Bria Sanders-Woods hits both free throws with 5 seconds to go, we might still be playing.  With the score tied at 69, the Murray State player was fouled, but missed the first free throw.  After hitting the second one, the Lady Bears called timeout, moving the ball to half court.  On the ensuing play, Lacy Stokes (who should have made the all tournament team and I assume she did) drew a foul with 1 second left and drained both free throws.

The OVC entrants have had miniscule success on the Men's side, but on the women's side, they both have more than proved their worthiness.

Day 3

Northern Iowa (4) vs. Drake (1)

Another barn burner.

It took until the 4th quarter media timeout before the UNI band finally broke out the Avengers theme song, as is their wont.  Sure enough at a timeout with 26.3 to go the Drake band countered with Blitzkrieg Bop (from Spiderman: Homecoming).

First overtime game of the tournament.

Missouri State (3) vs. Belmont (2)

Lacy Stokes was just too much for the Bruins.  Her defense was suffocating, her pursuit of loose balls was tenacious.

Day 4

Missouri State (3) vs. Drake (1)

Bracketologist at The Athletic thought the Valley had an outside shot at two bids if the Lady Bears had won this game, but they just couldn't quite pull it out.

This was a heck of a game with a thrilling/heartbreaking finish, depending on who you were rooting for.  Missouri State went ahead by 1 by hitting a bucket with about 3 seconds remaining, only to see Drake answer back with their own basket at the buzzer.

First Four

Even with something extra-special in Indy this year, the First Four in Dayton is still the best way to end my journey every year.  UD Arena is always at least 3/4s packed (and this year all 4 games featured at least one mid-major), and I get to enjoy a nice dinner at the Pine Club with guys like these: 

Clockwise from lower right: Me, Ben Case, Steve Timble, and a friend of Ben's (I neglected to get his name)

During dinner, prompted by a tweet I saw, I polled our little group, asking if any of them would make this trip if the NCAA decided to send 8 at-large bids instead of 4 at-larges and 4 auto-bids.  Every single one of us answered with an emphatic "NO!"  There have been coaches of 16 seeds who have argued that all auto-bids deserve immediate placement in the round of 64.  My counterpoint: under the current format, 4 auto-bids have a pretty decent chance to score an NCAA tournament win, which is worth money.  But for us, the whole point of coming to this event is to see smaller schools have the night all to themselves.  Even for the early games, the arena is fairly full and everyone gets into it.  The Dayton community truly supports this event.

If it was nothing but at-large teams, most of them would be from power conferences, and for these former members of the old Mid-Majority, that would be a bummer.  In fact, it would probably be enough for us to pass on the trip.

Day 1

Howard (16) vs. Wagner (16)

I often cannot decide who to root for in these games.  I don't really feel like rooting against either team.  Unless one of the teams is from the Horizon League or the MVC, I just root for a good game.

One of the oddities I remember from this game is that Wagner would struggle on offense, Howard would poke the ball into the back court, one of the Wagner guards would rush back to retrieve it, and as the shot clock wound down, he would storm into the front court and drain a 3 from the top of the key, beating the shot clock.  This happened more than once in the first half.  It's not exactly a good strategy, but hey - whatever works.

The other noteworthy item in this game is that Wagner only dressed 7 players.  They somehow dominated the first half and much of the 2nd half, but Howard stormed back all of a sudden to make it a one-possession game.  They even cut the deficit to 1 with less than 30 seconds remaining, but Wagner drained two free throws, and Howard attempted 3 shots beyond the arc but missed on all three.  It was an exciting finish to an otherwise lopsided game.

Colorado State (10) vs. Virginia (10)

Why they sent 10 seeds here this year is unknown to me.  Maybe all the 11 seeds were auto-bids.

This was ex-Drake coach Nico Medvid vs. ex-Green Bay player Tony Bennett.
 
I can't help remembering 8 years ago (2016 - the year I met Steve Timble in person) when mid-major fans reveled in Wichita State absolutely destroying Vanderbilt (who also arguably did not belong in the tournament).  As if to punish me for my enjoyment of their demise, they let Kevin Stallings go shortly thereafter, and a month later poached Bryce Drew from Valpo, beginning the slow decline of my favorite team that continues to this day.

Oh yeah, Colorado State absolutely obliterated Virginia, if you couldn't tell.  I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed it (no hate for Tony Bennett, who played for Green Bay in the Mid-Con, but when they move up to the power conferences, I lose any allegiance I might have had).  But there were plenty of knowledgeable pundits who seriously questioned the Cavs' selection for the tournament.  I would have much rather watched the Sycamores play the Rams in this game.

Day 2

Grambling State (16) vs. Montana State (16)

This game kind of snuck up on me.  It felt like a laugher for most of the first half and into the second half, but then it turned into an exciting game.  Montana State had a comfortable lead, but Grambling State started pressing mid-way through the second half, and the Bobcats started turning the ball over.  About 5 minutes later we had a barn-burner.  The Bobcats missed a contested layup with 7 seconds to go, but then they defended well on the other end, and the Tigers came up empty.  I think this was the first overtime game I ever experienced at the First Four.

In the overtime, Grambling State seized control, but it was Montana State constantly nipping at their heels, until there was about a minute and half left, when the Tigers achieved separation once and for all.

Colorado (10) vs. Boise State (10)

If Boise State had won this game, we would have had a mid-major clean sweep at the First Four, which would have been awesome.  Steve and I had the privilege of sitting just behind a row of kids (they were teens to 20s, but to this retired guy on Medicare, they're kids).  They were mugging for the camera whenever it was shooting footage of the Boise State cheerleaders just next door to us.  Some rooted for Colorado, others rooted for Boise State.  I was firmly rooting for Boise State.  The kid directly in front of me turned around during the second half and asked if I had money on the game.

"Hell no!  That takes all the fun out of it."

"I think it actually makes it more fun."

"Some do.  Not me."

"You rooting for Boise State?"

"I always root against power conference teams.  Always!"

It's pretty clear to me that all these kids had bet on the game, and that gave them a reason to root for whichever team they were rooting for.  A famous (infamous?) sports talker in Chicago years ago used to espouse the same philosophy on the air.  That's how I knew there were folks who looked at sports that way.  I don't get it, personally, but to each their own.  As a matter of fact on Tuesday night, no sooner had I sat down in my seat for the start of the Wagner-Howard game, but the young guy (you like that better?) who sat next to me immediately took out his phone and logged into Fan Duel.  I'm betting there was a lot of that at UD Arena.  If that's what people need in order to take an interest in the First Four, ... who am I to argue (I suppose)?

Alas, the Broncos could not close it out, so once again at least one power conference team advanced to the first round.
 
This was not my most favorite First Four ever, but that may be because the high point of the trip was the Horizon League Men's championship game, especially given what Oakland managed to do in Pittsburgh, which I thoroughly enjoyed at home while resting up from my adventure.  Did you remember I'm an old guy now?

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