The men's basketball team's run to the NCAA tournament , to say the least. It's a vast understatement to say they've come a long way from their home opening loss to Fairfield last November. In that game, the team looked like a squad that had just lost four of their top-five scorers and three of their top-four rebounders from a year ago.
Nevertheless, their progression wasn't so clear by watching every game. They would play well some nights and struggle through others. But until that fateful game against Maryland over winter break, few thought a team who lost four starters a year ago had a real shot of making any noise in the Patriot League, let alone winning it.
The momentum seemed to carry over as the team started Patriot League play 3-1. But two home losses to Holy Cross and Navy seemed to bring the team back down to mediocrity. Still, the squad responded by winning seven of their next eight games en route to a Patriot League regular season title. But as a reporter for many of these games, this improbable and incredible run began to seem, well, normal.
With many games played on Wednesdays and Sundays just hours before The Eagle is published, I often had to bolt as soon as the game finished, get a quick word from head coach Jeff Jones, then rush to my computer to write the article. After one game I sarcastically pondered the headline "Eagles Win - Crowd Yawns."
But something clicked in my head as the final seconds ticked away from the final regular season game and the Eagles polished off Lafayette to clinch the regular season title.
As I stood behind the Eagles' basket and saw the fans storm the court, in particular seeing senior forward Travis Lay jump in the air and give a fist pump, I realized this was something special. I just had to step back and look at this as a fan of the team.
I realized this was something special as the band played Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" for the first time this year. This was something special when we finally beat Holy Cross on our final possession. This was something special when I decided to drive over nine hours in one day during my spring break from Long Island to Washington and back for a mere two hours of basketball.
Even when I couldn't make it to campus for the Patriot League final last Friday, it was something special to turn on ESPN2 and see my school, my gym, my fellow students, my team, on national television.
It was only apropos that Garrison Carr hit a three-pointer as I explained to friends from high school why he's our best player despite averaging less than four points per game a year ago - that Jordan Nichols came up with a game saving block in the final minute just after explaining that he plays much larger than his height indicates - that Brian Gilmore came up with the game-sealing steal seconds after explaining why his nickname is "Jesus." This was definitely something special when the final seconds ticked away and over 3000 fans stormed the court.
The Eagles will enter the tournament winning 10 of its last 11 games, while Tennessee struggled to beat a mediocre South Carolina, then lost to Arkansas, a team seeded ninth in the East Region of the tournament.
Furthermore, history tells us that a No. 15 seed has knocked off a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament four times, most recently in 2001 when tiny Hampton University took down mighty Iowa State. In fact, this has been the longest drought for No. 15 seeds since the tournament expanded to 64 teams, so perhaps we're due for such an upset.
Also, the Eagles need to look no further than fellow Patriot League competitor Bucknell, who upset Kansas and Arkansas in 2005 and 2006 respectively. We're already the media darlings of D.C., and one win for at least a few days would make AU America's team.
Realistically, AU has a slim shot at beating Tennessee. By 2 p.m. tomorrow, the Volunteers could very well be blowing out our beloved Eagles as the final seconds tick away from our season. But now's not the time to stop believing.
So if you're not making the "Journey" down to Birmingham for tomorrow's game, stop by the Tavern and watch during lunch or even sneak a peek at the game online in class - I promise I won't tell.
