They're going away fast. The latest casualty to the season: Eastern Michigan women's basketball, whose close game at Syracuse in the WNIT octofinals ended with a 72-63 defeat. The back-and-forth match came to a cold, abrupt end when EMU scored a mere two points in the final 5:16. That's gonna be a hindrance.
So that leaves Toledo women's basketball, the regular season champion. They will play that very Syracuse Orange squad at Savage Arena on Sunday afternoon. Fancy time for a WNIT quarterfinals game, isn't it?
But while we shall cheer the Lady Rocket on as far as they can go without refueling, it's time to realize that ... well, the season is nearing to a close.
Kinda sad, isn't it? Other than, y'know, the announced attendance that SYRACUSE BASKETBALL had for the game. 286? Really? And that was the largest of the three crowds they hosted during this WNIT. Eastern Michigan averaged over 500 fans during their season.
But SU won't be hosting the game much longer. Now that the setting switches to Toledo (who's losing a little bit of money on this whole tournament run), the home court advantage goes away and they won't be playing in front of empty seats anymore. UT has averaged over 2,000 fans over three games during this WNIT run, and you can only imagine how many more games they host, since the WNIT doesn't have a neutral location in its bracket. The Lady Rockets have lost just one game all year at home (Missouri State), so finances be damned keeping the tournament local is paramount for their chances.
If you want the MAC basketball season to progress, even if you're a Bowling Green fan, you'll want to put your chips into this team. When it comes to mid-major pride, sometimes conference blood must run thicker than rivalry water. Remember, Falcons ... you made the important tournament. UT didn't.