When we first scheduled our road trip months ago, I have to admit that the trip to SLU was sort of an afterthought. St. Louis is on the way home, and one of my closest friends lives in a ‘burb. Since it was on the way, we figured we might as well throw in one more game! Turns out, the Billikens provided one of the best college basketball experiences of the entire trip.

SLU welcomed New Mexico to Chafietz Arena on New Year’s Eve. The fact that the Lobos were newly ranked 20/23 thanks to that road win at Cincy that we just so happened to witness a few days earlier, gave the game a little more oomph. SLU hasn’t been on my radar this year, and since they are dealing with a new coach since the passing of Rick Majerus, I can’t imagine anyone expects much out of them. Well the scrappy team fed off the booming crowd and put on a performance. They jumped out early, and held on to a solid lead from start to finish.

Lobos coach Steve Alford was so frustrated that he got booted in the second half, which wasn’t going to help the struggling Lobos. When we saw New Mexico play Cincinnati, neither team really looked all that skilled. New Mexico didn’t look any better last night, but SLU displayed a lot more skills than the now #15 Cincinnati. With a halftime score of 33-13, New Mexico had a long hole to crawl out of.

Though New Mexico had a better showing in the second, it wasn’t nearly enough; the final score was an ugly 46-60.

After three straight days of driving and basketball, I was a bit tired by the end of the game, and had hoped for something a bit more enthralling. Aside from the exciting finish at Cincy, the three other games we witnessed were blowouts. As you can see from the final score, this game was no different. Luckily, the fans and the venue provided an unforgettable experience.

For one thing, I got to meet Mary from The Gold Rush, which was definitely a plus. Also, I would venture to say the arena was the most college-y that we’ve been to on our road trip. Despite the fact that it was New Year’s Eve, the stadium was pretty full. There was a band AND cheerleaders, and both were more than decent. The cheerleaders were moving around the entire game, and in the absence of male cheerleaders, the ladies did their own lifts. The band played throughout, never relying on the rap music so prevalent at the other venues. Memphis has a slight edge in the intro, but you’d expect that from a team that plays on an NBA court. SLU gave it a solid effort, and got the attentive crowd pumped.

The dancers – which we got to nickname the SLU-ts (pronounced Sloots, and yes, we’re terrible human beings), were adequate. Better than Cincy, but not as good as Memphis. Hot dog received a sad 6.5, but FINALLY I got to enjoy some real nachos. The ultimate nachos provided me with fresh multicolor chips, hot peppers, cheese, salsa, olives, beans and tomatoes. There was some chili for the carnivores, but even without that it was well worth the $8.25. To my surprise, alcohol was also available. That means that Vandy was the only stop that was dry. Unlike Cincy, SLU offered wine and margaritas, in addition to beer. We were also lucky enough to snag free parking, yet again.

I’m happy to be back in Chicago with my dog and the comforts of home, but I’m sad to close the book on our basketball road trip. I wasn’t sure we’d really make it to all those games and locations in such a short time, but I’m proud to say we did it. And, we witnessed some great games – and venues – in the process.

I credit my hairdo to the snow that fell ALL DAY in Nashville.

Last night’s visit to Nashville started off pretty exciting, but the game itself lacked the fast-paced, tense ending we enjoyed in Cincinnati.

Memorial Gym was unlike any college basketball stadium I’ve visited before, which is entirely refreshing. The building was older, with a classic and original feel. They boast the first raised court in college bball, which also makes it unique. Also unlike other courts, the team benches were seated underneath their respective baskets, rather than on the side of the court.

Overall, the feel of the gym was like a theater rather than a basketball court. There were bleachers (I think I forgot to mention Cincy had actual seats with backs, which I always prefer) throughout most of the stadium, and though our seats were on the 3^rd level we easily snagged a pair in the second.

So while the court itself was pretty cool, the spirit of the game was lacking a little oomph. There was no band (Cincy didn’t have one either), and there weren’t any cheerleaders or dancers! The husband wanted me to note that had there been dancers, he would’ve liked to refer to them as the “Commo-whores.” So perhaps it’s best they weren’t present.

Cincy had a bowl game at the same time as basketball, and still managed to scrounge up plenty of ladies to get us hyped up. One security person told us that the band leaves for winter break. Hope they had a good time relaxing while the basketball team was getting slaughtered.

The game began with even less fanfare than in Cincinnati, save for a few commercials for Vanderbilt on the big screen. Vandy was full-on in the game in the first half, though neither team did anything spectacular. Similarly to the Cincy halftime score, Butler had the lead at the half, 25-22.

The halftime show was the worst I’ve ever seen, because it didn’t exist. One kid had to walk around blindfolded to find a fiberglass house in the middle of the floor, and that was about it. We took that opportunity to try out the nachos and hotdogs. The husband gave the hotdogs a solid 7 (Cincy had a 6) and the nachos were the same salty chips with orange goop. But, I got to select my own hot peepers, which means I had lots and lots.

The second half was rather dull, and probably upsetting if you’re a Commodores fan. Butler started to heat up, and Rotnei Clarke (who pissed me off when Illinois played Butler in Maui) went off and plopped in some 3’s. All of a sudden, Butler was up by nearly 30 points and the crowd got frustrated and antsy. The game went by rather quickly, clocking in at barely two hours. The stadium was practically empty by the end, with a final score of 68-49, Butler.

It was dark and snowy, but the campus still looked lovely. Everyone was friendly, and no one seemed to mind our Orange and Blue getup. Cincy had a more “college-y” feel, but that might because it’s a bigger school, and a larger amount of students live in the immediate area. There was no student section to speak of, and in general the fanbased skewed a lot… more mature.

We’ve arrived in Memphis, and bless the Comfort Inn for having free wi-fi. Now to find a place with tasty snacks (vegetarian preferred) and the Bears game. Thankfully, the snow didn’t follow us.

It was a pretty good weekend for the Buckeye State, tornado warnings in a few areas notwithstanding.

The state of Ohio is sending a record 4 teams to the Sweet 16. Ohio State punched their ticket with a 73-66 win over Gonzaga on Saturday. The good fortunes of the State continued on Sunday. Ohio beat South Florida 62-56, Xavier beat Lehigh 70-58 and Cincinnati beat Florida State 62-56.

The State’s streak will come to an end on Thursday, however, as Ohio State and Cincinnati will square off in Boston at 9:45 ET. Obviously, someone will have to lose that one. Ohio and Xavier are back in action Friday at 7:45 ET and 7:15 ET, respectively. The Musketeers take on third-seeded Baylor while the Bobcats will take on one-seeded North Carolina.