You probably missed this item last week and might not have cared anyway: Ohio and Morehead State played for a spot in this week's College Basketball Invitational championship series.
Yes, series. After defeating the Bobcats 77-72, MSU opens a best-of-three at home against Nevada at 8:30 on Monday night at Ellis T. Johnson Arena. Games 2 and 3, if necessary, take place Wednesday and Friday in Reno.
Got the fever yet?
I realize the Eagles downed Marshall when the teams met in November. I witnessed that 85-61 debacle, easily the Thundering Herd's worst game of the season and part of the 0-6 start.
Herd fans wouldn't mind their team having the consistency of this long-time Ohio Valley Conference member. The Eagles have enjoyed five 20-win seasons in the past eight years, two during the current four-year coaching tenure of Sean Woods. A win over Louisville in the 2011 NCAA tournament is the program's most legendary moment.
And the Eagles own three straight over Marshall.
As far as I can tell, nobody in the MU program - players included - wanted much to do with the CBI or the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Or the Vegas 16, which successfully begged Conference USA's Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion to fill a truncated eight-team field.
ODU begins that three-day sideshow at Mandelay Bay on Monday at 3 p.m.
Had MU wanted to keep playing, the 17-16 record would have meant the CIT. Those semifinals were played Sunday night, with New Jersey Tech visiting Columbia and Cal-Irvine playing at Coastal Carolina.
While the latter game was a great all-nickname matchup between the Anteaters and Chanticleers, I passed. Marshall was wise to do the same.
nnn
With Marshall spring football a day away, some game-icing basketball free throws:
n Public service announcement for writers still in mourning: Ben Simmons still isn't playing in this tournament.
Louisiana State's 6-foot-10 "one and done" stud already has signed with LeBron James' agent and stands to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Unfortunately for those wanting to see him in the postseason, the Tigers had as much business making the NCAA field as did Texas Tech.
Oh, wait ...
It's funny. I dialed up a Dec. 14 story from The Big Lead (owned by USA Today) headlined, "Ben Simmons isn't going to the NCAA tournament (barring a miracle), and that's really bad for college basketball."
Game's going up in smoke, isn't it?
Actually, author Jason McIntyre made one good point: The gives extra ammo for John Calipari, etc., to woo one-and-dones to their programs, which often have the highest odds to win the national title. Unless you can find another Pete Maravich and Shaquille O'Neal to put on the same LSU team, the Tigers have little chance.
Still, the game will survive. It always does.
n In the first weekend, Butler performed a national service by dismissing Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were ninth-seeded, but just didn't belong.
I have a standing rule: If a team can't fare better than .500 against its conference, including the postseason tournament, it should be struck from consideration.
And the Red Raiders doubly earned their exit by losing to last-place Texas Christian in the Big 12 tournament. But justice was served.
Then there's the case of Syracuse, who went 9-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and lost to Pittsburgh in their ACC tournament opener. Granted, Pitt's better than TCU, but still ...
Since then, the Orange has been rebutting my theory with emphasis, outcoaching and outplaying Virginia down the stretch to land in the Final Four. Nice going, 'Hoos.
I'm sticking to my guns, though. For my money, this is a bigger shame than Ben Simmons not playing.
n Lamest idea in this year's NCAA tournament: Making teams wear "Always Reppin" warm-up shirts on the bench? Same slogan used by most teams (Wisconsin sported a "Made In March" shirt), only changing with school colors and logos.
Those look like something you'd get in a beach shop at three for $10. Throw in some saltwater taffy, the stuff that takes a week to chew up, and you're set for the ride home.
These schools all have their own warmup gear, right? Let them "rep" with those, for cryin' out.