Like thousands of fathers across the country, Martin Inglesby’s bond with his sports-loving son has grown one morning at a time. But neither he nor his son really enjoyed what the daily ritual evolved into over the last few months.

Twenty-eight teams are gone from the 2021 Women’s NIT field, leaving just four in the Memphis area vying for the championship. 

The goal for Illinois is to be the team cutting down the nets on the first Monday of April — something that obviously did not work out — so head coach Brad Underwood’s opening statement following the top-seeded Fighting Illini’s 78-49 win over no. 16 Drexel in Friday’s NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional opener was about as bottom-line and businesslike as possible.

The previously unimaginable — winning a conference tournament yet not getting to perform in the NCAA Tournament — became reality over the span of a few days last March for 11 programs including, of course, CAA champion Hofstra.

Twenty-one years ago in Indianapolis, Michigan State won what is still today the last national championship claimed by a Big Ten Conference program. 

Zach Spiker appreciated how many friends and former co-workers wanted to text him as late Monday night seeped into Tuesday morning. But with the biggest game of his career awaiting in mere hours, Spiker shut off his cell phone.