this is indiana.

It's gameday. 

Hoosier Nation, get up. Let's beat the Cats.... AGAIN. 

Show everyone that Indiana basketball is BACK.

And this time, for good.

Goodness gracious, I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through this work day. I am so freaking excited. Kind of like Kristen Wiig in SNL's skit Surprise Party. You feel me, Hoosiers? I know Kentucky is out for revenge... major revenge, but I've still got faith in this team. Let's hope Hulls and Sheehey make it rain 3's and Anthony Davis get's in foul trouble early. 

GO HOOSIERS.

Hoo Hoo HOOSIERS

Today at 9:45 pm ET, my Indiana Hoosiers will take on New Mexico State in the first round of the tourney (I'm sorry, I can't get used to the new "second and third round" terms). It's been long awaited, this return to the tournament, the return to being a contender in the tournament, the return to the way Indiana basketball has always been. Except, unlike the beginning of the season, Indiana is no longer on their "innocent climb" as Jay Bilas so well put it. They're back. And they're a team to beat. If I know anything about Tom Crean and the Hoosiers, they will enter this game tonight focused, prepared, and ready to win to make Indiana, Verdell Jones, and their entire fan base proud. Let's go Hoosiers :)

"Tom Crean, who inherited the worst situation a college basketball coach could ever have found, stood on the edge of the court, near the place where on this night 18 years before Knight said he wished to be buried upside down so his critics could kiss his backside. The new coach smiled, remembering the moment he met each of the players who would stick with him when everything else had fallen apart." - Les Carpenter, Yahoo Sports

"It's Indiana. It's Indiana."

Hoo, Hoo, HOOSIERS.

I can't deny that I'm an Illinois girl at heart. Growing up 10 minutes away from campus and going to basketball and football games since 4 months old will do that. However, I wouldn't say my friends at Indiana quite understand why I love Illinois. Why I would go to Indiana if I'm always cheering for a rival team?
On Thursday, Illinois played IU in Bloomington. My parents came for the game, decked in orange and blue. I was loyal to my school and wore cream and crimson. I cheered for both teams, maybe even pulling more for Illinois. Illinois was favored to win, and should have won by at least 15 points since IU was missing two starters, Maurice Creek and Verdell Jones. But Assembly Hall was rocking, the students were cheering, and Indiana was playing. And in the end, I couldn't lie and say I wasn't happy for IU beating their first ranked opponent in the Tom Crean era. Tom Crean is a fantastic coach with so much energy and excitement, and I actually am excited to see what he and the Hoosiers do in the next few years with top recruits like Cody Zeller. After all, this is Indiana... a basketball school, a national championship school. And how can you not love Indiana and get excited for Hoosier basketball when you have videos like Brice Fox and Daniel Weber's "This is IU"?