and that's that.

Both teams lost today...both to top seeds. From the looks of things, the top seeds were the best teams. And that ends the Jags' seasons.

It could've been better, it could've been worse.

The women's team no longer had the element of surprise on their side, as they did last season. The men's team no longer had the element of a game-changer once George Hill went down for the season with injury. Then, factor in losing Fred and you're basically looking at a team that lost two integral forces to the starting lineup.

So, this is it. Our part of March Madness is over. Wait 'til next season.

Tulsa, be ready. I'm coming back with a vengeance.

jags win! jags win!

Nice to see both men's and women's team win today. The women beat Western Illinois this afternoon while the men's team just wrapped up a convincing win over Southern Utah. But for both teams, the next opponents loom large:

TOP SEEDS

The women play tomorrow at 12:50 p.m. against #1 Oakland.

The men play tomorrow evening at 6:55 p.m. against—wait for it—reigning champs Oral Roberts University.

Shock the world, Jags. Shock the world.

missing tulsa.

I'm listening to our women's team play Western Illinois right now (down by one at the half). I never thought I'd be saying this, but I miss not being in Tulsa right now. I went last year, had lots of fun, wanted to go this year but couldn't swing it. And now, I'm sorry I didn't go.

I'll be listening and watching as long as our teams are playing. And I'll certainly go next year. In fact, I'm looking into forming an exploratory committee to gauge interest in a bus trip to Tulsa for the tourney next season.

shock the world.

Last evening was the final men's game (and final doubleheader) of the season. Our teams swept Centenary rather handily. The end of the season is always bittersweet. The men finished dead even: 14-14 overall, 7-7 in the conference. I suppose you could consider the record a letdown after last season's 18-9/13-3 finish. It's worth noting the Jags played most of the season—including the entire conference schedule—without its best player, George Hill. George red-shirted the season after his early ankle injury. To a degree, losing George took a lot of wind out of IUPUI's sails, and not just on the court.

Without George, it seems most Jags fans were deflated. That's probably why we had dismal attendance against Valpo and Oral Roberts and a few other games along the way.

Comparing the crowds in this year's Valpo and ORU games to last year's bedlam is a contrast in night and day.

I prefer bedlam to sleepy fans, personally.

The women's side of things was letdown this season as well. Last year, they had their best season ever, 16-10/11-5. Nobody expected that of the women's team last season. I suppose you could chalk up this season's 12-15/6-7 with one to go as a disappointment, but last year's success put the entire conference on notice: don't take them lightly. And nobody did.

We'll see how the teams do in the tournament. I think I speak for all of us when I say it's going to be an uphill climb for both. At least on the men's side, the know what they're up against. Their first round game against Southern Utah will not be a gimme. And if we get past the T-birds, it gets no easier.

I guess we have to wait and see.

The only part of next season to which I look ahead is in the hopes we draw in the fans again. The Jungle is not a very big place. There's no reason we can't sell the place out for every game. I'm not expecting the crowd to be as amped up every game as they were at the end of last season. But I do expect fans to be into the game. Believe it or not, I've had fans who sit behind me more concerned about what music is being played over the PA system. I'm not joking there.

"Can you play.....?"

I've gotten that more than once. My answer? No. It's that simple. No. I'm not a DJ. This isn't a club. I don't take requests. You're here to watch a basketball game!!

That's probably my biggest pet peeve right now.

Let me conclude by saying the Pep Band, cheerleaders and dance team were SPOT ON this year. You all were great; the best fans in the Jungle, night in and night out.

We've got one more home game and then it's on to Tulsa.

Crazier things have happened (remember Oakland two years ago?), so let's go shock the world!

you tube test.

I decided to upload this to You Tube. It's from last year's ORU-IUPUI game...man, how I wish our home court was like that these days. sigh