M-V-C! M-V-C!

This has never happened before. Sure, I always want the other Valley teams to do reasonably well in the tournament, but I don't openly root for them. I've never been at a bar and cheered out loud for them.

But as Patrick O'Bryant was laying the smack down on Kansas, seemingly the entire bar -- in Omaha -- roared. Me and my buddy Drew even got up and did the Atlanta Braves/Florida State "Tomahawk Chop" for these Bradley Braves.

When Bradley won, their fans in the arena chanted not "B-U!" but "M-V-C!". Several of their fans commented on message boards that this win was not for them, but for the Valley. Wichita State fans did the same the next night when the Shockers won again to advance to the Sweet 16. And Bradley had another chance to yell the chant on Sunday when they upset Pitt ("upset" in seeding only, since it was obvious Bradley was the better team and this was no upset).

What in the world could have caused this show of solidarity? This feeling of winning one for the conference?

A national media frenzy led by Nantz, Packer and Phelps calling into question the validity of the Valley garnering as many bids to the big dance as the ACC and Big XII, that's what. When this trio spent their air time ripping the league, taking potshots at its teams and claiming (wrongly) that because they weren't from one of the Big Six that they obviously weren't any good, they not showed grave ignorance to the great basketball played in the MVC, they bonded the fans of these 10 teams in a way never before possible.

Billy Packer was asked by Tony Kornheiser on PTI last Tuesday about the idea that the MVC and other leagues would love to play Big East, Big Ten, or ACC teams if only given the chance, so to use their lack of wins against those leagues is not quite fair. Packer's response was, "That's the beauty of the NCAA Tournament. You don't get to make your own schedule, you have to play and beat the teams you're assigned to play. If the MVC says these teams won't plays them, go beat them in the Tournament. I'd love to see two of their teams advance to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8, but it's not going to happen."

Well, Billy, you're right -- for once. Funny thing is, the Big East, SEC, and Big XII teams unlucky enough to draw Valley teams mostly got beat. Sometimes, they even got ran out of the gym. No wonder they won't play Valley schools willingly -- like all teams, they don't like to lose, and for many of them if they played Valley teams 10 times, they'd go 6-4 or 5-5. The best of the Valley can compete with the best of anybody. This weekend, the Valley went 4-2 against the competition, proving this. Highlights:

Wichita State defeated Big East member Seton Hall 86-66 in a game that believe it or not wasn't as close as the 20-point blowout margin indicates. Just a behind-the-woodshed whoopin'.

The Shockers then beat SEC regular-season champion and #2 seed Tennessee 80-73 in a game they led virtually all night.

Bradley solidly beat traditional power and second-place Big XII team Kansas 77-73, and led almost all night. And amazingly, if you watched the game it was clear Bradley won because they had more talent and simply played better than Kansas. Honestly.

The Braves then dismantled Big East power Pittsburgh 72-66. They led for all but a few sparing minutes and had leads of as big as 14 points.

Not to mention Northern Iowa led Big East power Georgetown for most of their game before losing late. The same Georgetown team that blew out Big Ten Champ Ohio State two days later.

So against top-tier teams from three premier conferences, Bradley and Wichita State came out and showed they were better. And Northern Iowa competed valiently and nearly won their game.

I would fully expect Digger Phelps to be crying all day tomorrow. Poor Digger will never admit his grevious error in not only discounting the league but attempting to assassinate it via his commentary on ESPN. But now that the Valley has proven they can play, I bet he's just absolutely distraught.

As for Jim Nantz, he aired these ridiculous statements about the Valley during the Villanova/Arizona game Sunday:

"Some people said the Valley didn't deserve 4 teams in the tournament. Obviously they've acquitted themselves quite well with wins over good teams like Kansas, Pitt and Tennessee."

Actually Jim, it wasn't some people. It was you. But that's OK.

Here's the crazy thing. I think the answer is absolutely "yes". Wichita State plays fellow bracket-buster George Mason in the regional semifinals -- the same Patriots team who beat Wichita State in Wichita on Bracket Buster Saturday. Think the Shockers won't be ready to play that one? Think again. They absolutely can win that game, and if was a betting man I'd put money on the Shockers. UCONN would be standing between them and the Final Four, presuming Washington doesn't upset the Other Huskies, but I want to see this game. How close is the best in the Valley from the best team in land? 5 points? 10 points? Could they maybe win? Like I say, I want to see this game happen.

And Bradley? There is no one in the Oakland bracket that can contain 7'1" Patrick O'Bryant if he plays possessed like he did this weekend. No one. Not #1 seed Memphis who they play in the semifinals. Not Gonzaga or UCLA. But here again, a matchup I'm dying to see: Gonzaga, the ex-mid major, against Bradley.

Oh yeah, the Jays have a game tonight too. A big one, actually, as the ACC's Miami Hurricanes are in town to take on the Jays. An ACC team in Omaha? Yeah, its not Maryland like we all wanted, but Miami will do.

And if they win, and Notre Dame beats Michigan, guess who comes to Omaha Wednesday? The Fighting Irish. Oh boy. Can you even imagine? The NIT ain't great, but if you can get home games against Miami and Notre Dame, it becomes just slightly more acceptible, doesn't it?

Notre Dame-Michigan tips an hour before the Jays-Canes battle, so we'll know by halftime whether a road trip is in the offing with a Jays win, or if the Irish will be headed to Omaha.

Stop back tomorrow for a recap of what I hope is a Jays win.

You bet.