(Robbie Avila, Per Indiana State Men's Basketball)

Indiana State Men’s Basketball was the cherry on top of the beautiful mid-major madness that was the 2023-2024 regular season.



Historically speaking, Indiana State is one of the greatest all-time mid-majors. In 1978, the Sycamores went all the way to the National Championship in their first appearance in the big dance. The deepest run by a first-time participant in history. That team just happened to be led by Larry Bird.



This past season, Indiana State entered the college basketball national rankings for the first time in 45 years. They were ranked No. 23, and they were the talk of the town. People were falling in love with their squad. Andy Katz of NCAA.com ranked ISU No. 19.



They had a high-powered offense that was led by one of the most entertaining big men in all of college basketball. Robbie Avila, the 6’10 210lbs center with sports goggles. He is nicknamed ‘Larry Nerd’, ‘Cream Abdul-Jabbar’, and ‘Steph Blurry’, and man can this guy ball. Check out his highlights: LINK.



The Sycamores fell victim to championship week after falling to Drake in the conference championship game. Despite ranking as high as 29 in the NET ratings, a key metric for tournament decision makers. In my mind, the NCAA decision-makers got this wrong. Maybe it’s my love for mid-majors, maybe it’s my love for Cream Abdul-Jabaar. OR maybe it’s because I think this team deserved to get into the tournament because they DOMINATED their regular season, passed the eye test, and have a cult following that would be locked in on the TV to watch them.