The Big East Tournament is over. Honestly, it came and went too quickly. To my peers, they are probably thinking I am nuts. Hard to argue against them.

It all started with the banquet Friday night. To have 12 teams in town, all together to celebrate the season and then play in the tournament is great. I likened it to when I attended the 1996 men's NCAA Tournament in Charlotte. I got to know all the teams a little better. Found reasons to not root for Duke and reasons to cheer on Austin Croshere and the Providence Friars when they played the Blue Devils.

I can't forget Murray State. My friends and I were all but converted into Racers fans.

That's what the past five days were to me. It made me appreciate Kia Vaughn and Krystal Ellis more than I did. It made me wonder what Jessica Dickson might do if she had more talent around her.

With game after game after game, I never wanted the action to stop. I hoped that there would be consolation games added at the last minute and the other teams would suddenly appear rather than have gone home.

Then I get excited.

The NCAA Tournament is just around the corner. And it will be here, in Hartford. And collectively, maybe the teams seeded here won't be as good as the teams of the Big East. But if you love this game, like I do, then wouldn't you want to see a team like Oklahoma or George Washington? Maybe this year's Cinderella of the women's tournament tries on its slippers here. Wouldn't that be exciting?

Maybe there's a Murray State in there. Not for me. But for you.