BasketBinge 2013

I'm hitting the road again.

I'm overselling it by calling it a "BasketBinge", but it's catchy so it stuck. I'm catching three games in two days, which is far less of a task than the four in one day I caught last year at the SoCon tournament. The difference? This time, it's in two states and a federal district and I'll cover over 350 miles end to end.

My decision to head north for UMBC's pep band alumni day started it all. Ten years removed from my career with the Down and Dirty Dawg Band, I'm making my way back for alumni day this year. I soon thought, hey, I can make a trip out of this and catch a few other games in the process.

I first set my sights on VCU, and as - luck? - would have it, they're facing off against new (and brief) A-10 conference foe Butler in a battle of recent Final Four Cinderellas. What's more, VCU's pep band is known to please, which is the reason I first looked in their direction. Unfortunately, the caliber of opponent made the ticket a bit rich for my blood.

I only recently decided I'd start the journey relatively locally, at Wake Forest as the Terps visit. They'll play a nooner over in Winston-Salem, and I just learned today that that game will be CP3 Day, where the Deacs will honor one of their own, NBA star and Winston-Salem native Chris Paul.

After that is where the trip gets ambitious: I'll hop in the car and hit the road up to DC to make it to Rutgers at Georgetown for a 9pm tip. There's plenty of time to make this happen, mind you, but it doesn't leave much room for error. While this is by no means a key Big East rivalry, recent developments do lead me to believe this will likely be the last time the two meet as conferencemates.

After a good night's sleep, I'll be up on Sunday to head over to the Retriever Activities Center, the arena I called home for four years and to this day. Looking at the RSVPs, it looks like there are a handful of other folks from my days, and a good deal much younger. I'm looking quite forward to this one-day-only unretirement.

I'm sure there'll be updates from the road. While they may make it here, I encourage you to follow on Twitter or Facebook to be sure to catch them.

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