well,  this qoute does a good job of summing up today's final against Drake.

“They played something like a perfect game,” Illinois State guard Osiris Eldridge said. “It seems like they made every shot out there.”

I vaguely remember Eldridge had just put back a shot to make it 18-17 Drake.     Looked like a good battle was going to happen and the MVC was going to put on a show for the nation.

Apparently Drake had other ideas..   

From that point, there was a 22-2 run to end the 1st half.

I hope Drake gets a heck of a seed and draw from this game.  And goes on to show the nation once again what the elite from the MVC can do.

I want so much to rage against Drake..  or the sports gods..   or the "experts" who seemed so slow to grudgingly give ISU credit for their season and now seem ready to yank it back.

but it is harder than it seems to work up a good rage at Drake.   They were picked 9th.   They lost 4 starters from last year.  They have 2 walk-ons starting.  They are the big dog now but there is still some underdog to them and I was there in the stands for some of their heartbreaking losses in the MVC tourney.   I was there when they played their hearts out and took that lead at the end against ISU several years ago and then Jeppson hit that 25-footer to knock them out that TV saw fit to use again and again and again this year as one of the main clips in the intro they used for 3 days (to start each day and each game and sometimes even coming back from breaks).

I want to rant against the sports gods for dangling hope and then having Drake catch such fire for so long.   but I am trying to hold out judgement as much as I can until next Sunday to see what happens with the Selection Sunday--   it could be what they took away today, they will give back with a berth and a good draw.

As for the experts..    forgive them for they know not what they say..      that is one way to look at it.     The other is probably not printable so I will just allude to it as basically saying that I think you can guess where I would tell them to go...     or where I would suggest they store their opinion.

Well, Redbird fans..  it is time to pick ourselves off the ground, brush off the dirt and blood and see what comes next.    Still a chance for the NCAA and if so, probably a 11 or 12 seed.. which means a 6 or 5 seed in the 1st round and possibly a 3 or 4 seed in the 2nd...    oh, and most years, isn't there a 12 over 5 upset ?  and often a 11 over 6 ?

And if the NCAA Selection Show decides not to call ISU's name ? ...     NIT will likely love to have them and give them a home game or two, where the fans can come and tell the team exactly how much this season meant and how much most of us will have disagreed with the NCAA committee.    And it would not be a stretch at all to see ISU making a deep, deep NIT run...  Maybe even ending up in a certain famous venue in New York..   

Until then, I leave you with the ISU fight song:

"Go You Redbirds onto battle! Fight for ISU.
Raise the banner, red and White; to this emblem we'll be true.
So let us cheer the Redbirds on to victory! Every voice proclaim:
'We've got the fight! We've got the might! Let's win this game."