Some thoughts the day after

.....You have to give an enormous amount of credit to the Mount coaching staff. They nursed four starters through foul trouble and pushed the right buttons. Not to mention the fact, that when they forced Sacred Heart out of the zone in the second half, they posted up both Holland and Beidler for some key buckets.

.....I don't believe the 1800+ attendance for a second. There were a lot more there than that. Guranteed. I know one Mount fan who will give you everything he owns if there were only 1800 there. But let's say there were just 1800 there. That was the loudest that barn has ever been. Period. No exclamation point. It's never been louder. Never. Not for the Ricky Skaggs concert. Nothing. This was the peak. And there were at least 2500 hundred there - at least.

.....Speaking of the crowd. The standing ovation directed towards the team at the timeout with 1:15 left was top notch.

.....Too bad there isn't a bus big enough to take them all to the Sewall Center.

.....I think the winner of the NEC championship is no worse than a 15 seed. Both RMU and MSM have RPI's between 110-120 right now. There are two teams in the field with higher and two others between 110 & 120. Plus the winners from the SWAC, MEAC and Big West will all be higher. In addition, there are several other possibilities out there (America East, Big Sky, Southland, Southern and the Patriot) that will make it a no-brainer. And don't forget the Mount owns a win over American on its floor, and the two teams might be compared.

.....Don't underestimate how important free throw shooting has been. The Mount has missed six shots in each of its first two games - shooting at a 75% clip. Meanwhile, its oppenents have made just 51% and shot 17 less fouls.