You Down With MVC?!

Well we're a little more than a month away from the NCAA Tourney. If you don't know what sport this tourney is for, kindly step away from my blog now. Now sure, the Super Bowl is closer, being but days away, but the Pats are out and I don't really follow the hype going in to the big game. Granted, a lot of people seem too be disinterested in this year's matchup, but, well I digress, that's another blog for another day (probably Friday). The Super Bowl will just be another lazy sunday. So I am now in college basketball mode.

I've been reading articles, checking records and stats, filling my head with all sorts of college hoops knowledge that can only hinder me in making my picks after selection Sunday. I hardly feel knowing Blake Ahearn's free throw percentages will help me out come March, but I like that I know. Ahh Blake Ahearn the top free-throw shooter in D-I college hoops last year. That's right folks! The TOP free throw shooter, even better than America's favorite beat poet! Blake Ahearn is not a recognizable name to a majority of college basketball fans, but in the Missiourri Valley Conference he is one of the marquee names.

Now I know I am in no way the first, nor hopefully, the last person to jump on the MVC bandwagon. It has received quite a bit of notoriety over the past few seasons, due, most notably, to the Creighton Blue Jays and the Southern Illinois Salukis. The Salukis rode their glass slipper to the 2002 Sweet 16 right here in Syracuse and you may remember Kyle Korver leading the Blue Jays to a 2002 first round upset of a ranked Florida Gators team. Korver is in the NBA now while Nate Funk (injured for most of the season) filling his shoes as the name every college hoops guru knows from the MVC. "The Valley" is the number six conference in the rpi, number three in the wmpr (willie moe power rankings). Northern Iowa is #25 in the AP Poll (before tonight's loss to the Blue Jays) and the conference could get four teams into the tourney. So if you ain't familiar with the MVC, you will be.

But enough of the numbers and stats. I want to be there, in the thick of all that great "Valley" action. The Qwest Center in Omaha looks gorgeous and the other schools are slowly coming along with state of the art venues themselves. So I am making it my mission to get out there for some high scoring mid-major, midwest action. The passion, the heart, it's all pure gold! So who's comin' with me?

God bless the Valley, and god bless college basketball!