And we sadly already have our first casualty of March. Not a lot of people are going to realize that 17-14 Eastern Kentucky was the Atlantic Sun regular season champion. After a rough non-conference that included trouncings by the likes of Alabama and Purdue, the Colonels bounced back strong to go 12-4 in the Atlantic Sun, claiming the regular season title by a game over Stetson and Lipscomb.

But in the cruel world of March Madness that ended when they lost in the final seconds of the Atlantic Sun quarterfinals to Jacksonville 67-65. And just to show that March can be cruel to everyone, Lipscomb found themselves in the same situation the same evening as their season ended with a 77-75 loss to North Alabama.

It is the world of the mid-major conference. You might get a regular season banner to put up, but if you want to play in the NCAA Tournament, you must win your last 3 games – and at the end of the day, we all know since there are 32 conferences, only 32 teams are going to succeed with that challenge. If you are in the Big 10 like Purdue and get upset in the tournament, you know you have a second chance – they don’t need the automatic bid. But for many of the conferences, this is their one and only shot.

And every year, several of those conference champions end up with the NIT as their consolation – this year, Eastern Kentucky is the first and they likely won’t be the last. March can be cruel. But for every team that has heartbreak, there is a team that is excited their season is continuing. It is a huge roller coaster of emotions.

The Madness is here – embrace the chaos!