Five years and one day ago, BU had not only a first round NCAA men's hoops tourney game to concern itself with, but a Hockey East semifinal as well. The basketball team was facing Tulsa, a school that most BU folks know nothing about, other than it being in Oklahoma (and a fair number perhaps didn't even know that). BU was riding a 12 seed at the time, thanks to a 25 win season and a respectable conference rep. Upset wasn't just a hidden thought, but was openly bandied about. I won't say we were a trendy upset pick, but the media did put it out there for all to consider.

The hockey team was facing UMass-Lowell, a match-up that usually creates little concern. This has more of a historical base than anything else, as for much of the '90s to that point Lowell was not a very good team.

I watched a big portion of the BU-Tulsa basketball game in the BU student union, killing time before the hockey game mostly. I had visions of an upset, or at least a well-played game.

What transpired was, honestly, not something I'd considered. Tulsa came out hitting everything, while BU was cold. Frigid. Flash frozen, even. BU got plenty of opportunities, but nothing fell. The score mounted, and as Tulsa built its lead, I became more interested in getting to the Fleet Center early to see the other semifinal.

As it was, I think I stuck out most of the basketball game (if not all of it- it was an early afternoon start) and thus got to live through the rare experience of an 81-52 game not being as close as the score indicated.

The hockey game fared better, as we took out Lowell 3-2 en route to the NCAA tournament and finals loss to North Dakota. That was the year that most of North Dakota wound up under several feet of water not too long after the game, making it seem in poor taste to speak ill of that part of the world.

I have to say that, if I had the ability to guarantee one of the BU teams a win tonight, it would be the basketball team. A loss will hurt BU's NCAA tournament position, but it wouldn't keep them out. A BU hoops win over Cincy? For the ages.