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Post by blackandgold on Mar 2, 2013 22:57:47 GMT -5
for becoming co-champion of the regular season in the Summit League. While of course I am bummed Oakland wasn't at the top, I have to say if I had to root for another program to do so it would be Western Illinois and Coach Molinari. It is amazing to me what he has done in his time there, surviving some major hardships to bring WIU to a respectable level, and now, a share of a championship. WIU's ceiling for the postseason was probably changed forever when Terell Parks went down with an injury in Bracket Busters, yet the Necks won two home games without their game-changing center to earn their share of the title. I saw that they had over 5,000 fans in attendance tonight, the highest in Western Hall in 26+ years. This is a pretty cool scene after the game: pbs.twimg.com/media/BEZqi2ECIAA4Czb.jpg:largeI am really happy for our conference brethren tonight. Even in Coach Mo's first few years, it was always so painful to read their message board given all the injuries and transfers that the program had to survive. That the pieces finally came together over the last two seasons for them is pretty awesome for this small, long-suffering program that is in the middle of nowhere compared to its conference peers. Hopefully the WIU faithful will get to enjoy this for a few days and maybe even be inspired to make the trip to Sioux Falls, because the path awaiting the Necks is a tough one. If seeds hold, WIU's path to a championship would include South Dakota in the quarters, North Dakota State in the semis, and South Dakota State in the finals!
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