Storming on the Horizon

As we approach late February, we're getting to the exciting part of the college basketball season.  While the NCAA Tournament is obviously the college hoops highlight of the year, the second half of the year's second month has a lot going for it.  Even before conference tournaments begin (I personally love watching schools from obscure leagues battle for their one-and-only automatic bid to the field of 65 68 - Lehigh versus Bucknell for the Patriot League title, anyone?), we get to watch a ton of great in-conference upsets.  This week alone, we got to see two number 1-ranked teams go down: first Ohio State lost at Wisconsin, and then Kansas lost to in-state rival Kansas State.

Having no allegiance to either OSU or KU, I was pumped to see the Buckeyes and Jayhawks lose.  The upsets shake up the national rankings, provide additional intrigue heading into the conference tournaments, and help clarify the NCAA bubble picture.  What I didn't like, however, was how the Wisconsin and Kansas State fans stormed the court after their respective victories.  While, as a Princeton basketball fan, I can't even really imagine the joyous emotion that accompanies a victory over a top-ranked team, I feel like UW and KSU fans should be "better" than their gratuitous court storming would suggest.

In my opnion, court storming should be reserved for either a) championship victories or b) upsets of such epic proportion that they are unlikely to be repeated by that school within the next decade or so.  A couple of years ago when Georgia ran the table in the SEC tournament to earn an unlikely bid into the bracket, their fans deserved to celebrate their SEC tournament title to their hearts' content.  When Princeton upset defending national champion UCLA in the first round of the 1996 NCAAs, their fans earned the right to go nuts.  However, when Wisconsin and Kansas State win a regular season in-conference game, albeit against a top-ranked opponent, they shouldn't be storming the court.

Both UW and KSU are major programs that should, in any given season, have realistic national title aspirations.  While wins over top-teams should be appreciated, they're just one milestone on the way to what should be a much more significant goal for Wisconsin and K-State.  For the Badgers, a 14th-ranked team, to go crazy after upsetting a conference opponent at home actually blows the accomplishment out of proportion.  Badger fans should expect their team to take down the Buckeyes in Madison, and shouldn't settle for anything less.  As a fan, I'd rather see my team and fans handle the win professionally, as if it was a given; be happy for the win, move on and get ready for the next game.  Not until the season ends with a national championship should a power-conference school like Wisconsin be satisfied, and until that point Badger fans should stay off the hardwood.