Uncharted Territory

This past weekend in Green Bay it was the Cleveland State women's basketball team, not the Phoenix, who unquestionably stole the show in earning the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was a hotly-contested, drama-filled couple of days with the Vikings' claiming their 2nd trip to the Big Dance in three seasons.

But, if you thought the drama was over — think again.

"Selection Monday" featured a scenario that a few of Green Bay's players had dealt with before — a great regular-season combined with an untimely stumble in the conference tournament. They were forced to wait and see if they had done enough to catch the selection committee's eye, just as they were forced to do in 2008. That night, their name was never called to join the field of 64.

This Monday night was different.

I thought I had witnessed every aspect of the elation associated with earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament Sunday afternoon as Cleveland State celebrated their championship. It was certainly fun to watch, and I enjoyed every minute of helping tell the incredible story of the Vikings' senior class. And despite having returned to Indianapolis from Green Bay late Sunday, word traveled quickly Monday night that Green Bay had done the unthinkable. The Phoenix did what no other women's basketball team in Horizon League history had done.

They got in — with an at-large bid.

While I wasn't there to witness the celebration, just the thought of it admittedly got my adrenaline going. The thought of doing laundry (before I leave tomorrow for San Jose to cover Butler's men in the NCAA Tournament) quickly faded from my thoughts. How could this story — a first for the Horizon League — be told? By going straight to the source, that's how.

A flurry of text messages left my phone in a matter of moments, and before I knew it, with a dab of modern technology, I was speaking (via Skype) with Green Bay's Head Coach, Matt Bollant. To say he was elated, would be an understatement. Take a listen...



Also willing to share some thoughts with HLN, was All-Horizon League 1st-teamer, Kayla Tetschlag. I'd be selling her short if I didn't also identify her as an HLN Blog extraordinaire! Her entries, all season long, were fantastic. Talking with her on Monday night, it was clear just how thankful she and her teammates were to have been given a "new life" this season.



Somehow lost in all of this, are Green Bay and Cleveland State's actual seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The Phoenix earned the Dayton Region's 12-seed and will play Virginia, a 5-seed, in Ames, IA on Sunday evening. Cleveland State was selected as a 15-seed and will play the Kansas City Region's 2-seed, Notre Dame. That game will take place on Notre Dame's home floor, in South Bend, IN, on Sunday afternoon.

Hiding in the background during all of this, are the Butler Bulldogs, winners of 23 games this season, and the Horizon League's runner-up in both the regular-season and post-season championship. Sunday, they were worried that the post-season wasn't in their future this year. But, as fate would have it, they'll now represent the Horizon League in the WNIT. The Bulldogs will play at Illinois State on Wednesday at 8:05pm ET.

The post-season may have just begun, but the madness is surely in full swing.