Many fans have superstitions, and the Lunatic is no exception. He very typically always has a Purdue shirt on when his Boilers play. But after spending so much time trying to get rid of this superstition, it has managed to creep back into his head.

I have to start this story to mention how proud of both of my children – but for this story, my daughter Katie gets to take the stage. On Wednesday, Katie completed the drivers exam to get her drivers license. She is doing great as a driver, but any parent out there knows that with the pride of knowing that your child is growing up into adult comes the nervousness of what that also brings. But yesterday is what has brought back the Lunatic’s superstition.

This winter, Katie got the opportunity to be the student manager for the Glen Allen High School swim team. She helped the coaches with organizing and leading practices, and then of course, helped out with whatever was needed during the swim meets, whether it was making sure a swimmer was at the starting block or simply providing another person poolside cheering for the team. Last night was the swim team’s end-of-season banquet, and so Elizabeth and I got to go and beam in happiness as the coach thanked Katie for everything she did this season.

You might be thinking to yourself, that is super nice, but I am still not following why this has created a basketball superstition for the Lunatic. Well, the swim banquet went from 6 – 7:30 pm. At 6:30 pm, Purdue opened their Big 10 tournament against Northwestern, a team that I watched the Boilers struggle against just last week as they snuck out a last minute victory. After the banquet, I checked my phone to see how the Boilers were doing, and smiled as the Boilers were up at half-time 45-21.

And then the horrible thought came back into my mind. I have been watching the Boilers through February as they have had struggles. And now when I don’t watch them, they look like the incredible team that was expected to be a contender when the season started in November.

I have tried for years to get that horrible fear out of my head that my watching a game can be a jinx. And realistically, I know that can’t be true since I have seen the Boilers win more games than they have lost. I turned the game on in the second half and was lucky enough to watch Braden Smith break the Big 10 Tournament single game record as he got his 16th assist on a drive to the basket followed by a bounce pass to Oscar Cluff for a layup. Smith also moved to 2nd on the all-time list, now just 31 assists away from Bobby Hurley’s record of 1,076 assists in a college career.

So, I still got to see some of the game, and they did win by 13, but the nervousness is still there. If I knew that I could help my Boilers win a national championship by simply not watching the games, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I am also one of their biggest fans – I want to watch them and cheer them on.

So, the Lunatic doesn’t know what to do. I will probably watch them tonight at 6:30 pm as they play #11 Nebraska. But I am nervous that the best thing for me to do is find something else to do when they play.

Leaving the chaotic mind of the Lunatic and getting back to basketball, Thursday wasn’t kind to many of the bubble teams as some of the teams you hear talked about the most such as Miami(OH) and Auburn lost yesterday. But a few teams made statements to probably secure their status.

In the ACC, Clemson beat North Carolina and Miami beat Louisville. I think both teams were already in, but they probably finalized the deal by getting to the semi-finals along with Virginia and Duke (who was in a 1-point game against bubble team Florida State).

The Big 12 semi-finals today will be a huge preview of the tournament. We have #2 Arizona vs #7 Iowa State at 7 pm, and #5 Houston vs #14 Kansas at 9:30 pm. Could not ask for a better set of games!!!!!

The Big East has one of the biggest bubble games of the night as Seton Hall plays St. John’s at 5:30 pm. The nightcap features #6 UConn against Georgetown. If you are a fan of a bubble team outside of Seton Hall, you are rooting for UConn to play St. John’s one more time for the final, since it looks like both Seton Hall or Georgetown would be stealing a bid.

The favorites won in the Big 10, so we should have a great set of quarterfinal games. If there is one of these teams still on the fence, it would be Ohio State who gets the tough task of playing #3 Michigan at Noon or UCLA who gets the tough task of playing #8 Michigan State at 9 pm.

In the SEC, most of the favorites won leading to some great quarterfinals as well. But I have my attention on a surging Oklahoma team who now gets a chance to play #17 Arkansas after upsetting Texas A&M by 20 yesterday. There is also the bid-stealer Ole Miss (14-19), whose upset of Georgia yesterday has earned them a date at 7 pm with #15 Alabama.

The Mountain West always gets a few bids – but this year, it is less clear of how safe their teams are. So, if you want to stay up late to watch some teams playing with everything on the line, check them out at 9:30 pm when Utah State takes on Nevada, and midnight when San Diego State takes on New Mexico.

The Atlantic 10 also starts their games for their leaders who are still in contention for a bid – as St. Louis kicks off the action against George Washington at 11;30 am, and local VCU takes on Duquesne at 5 pm. With so many of the power conference bubble teams losing, there is certainly opportunity for the Rams and Billikens to make the tournament with a strong showing this weekend.

For the Lunatic, he needs to remind himself that turning on a television (or watching on his phone) can not impact whether or not the ball goes through the hoop for his beloved Boilermakers. For the rest of you, don’t let the Lunatic’s superstitions creep in, because if you do, you will miss so much great basketball!!!! We are fans – we need to watch the games!!!!!

Enjoy the games today!!!!