It's Been a Fun Season

It was with great sadness that I listened to the Hilltoppers play themselves out of the Sunbelt Tournament on Monday evening. From what I hear, there isn’t a real big chance that they will get into the NIT, so I believe that they have probably played their last game for the season. But it has been a fun season.

Before becoming a student at WKU, I paid absolutely zero attention to the Hilltoppers. I was purely a fan of the UK Wildcats. It is hard not to be a fan of the Wildcats; they’re just good.

After becoming a student at WKU and gaining free admission to all the games, there was no reason not to stop by the arena to catch the game after class, if I wanted to. The more games I attended, the more I knew about players; the more I knew about the players, the more I enjoyed the games.

I was talking with someone about the Wildcat talent vs. the Topper talent recently and I’ll freely admit that the Toppers are nowhere nearly as talented as the Wildcats, but in their own conference, they are contenders. They play with a lot of heart and it’s fun to watch them even if they don’t play on the level of the Wildcats, although I do think they won against them several years ago under a different coach.

The Toppers ended their regular season at home the same way they started it: by taking it into overtime and winning it by a three pointer or less. Both times they won with last second shots. The atmosphere in a game like that is unbelievable. It’s heart stopping too.

We are losing only one major player this year, our point guard. The other two seniors were walk-ons that didn’t make it into the game a whole lot. Next year should be a good year for the Toppers if everyone sticks around and stays out of trouble.

So now if I had to choose between watching the Toppers or listening to the Wildcats, I’m afraid I’d have to choose the Toppers. Two years ago, I would never have thought I’d say that but it’s true. I’m still a Wildcat fan but accessibility and school spirit can make a difference.