Sitting courtside as the Shockers took down the number one team in the country was enough to make this spring break memorable. Hitting on the girlfriend of Gonzaga guard Kevin Pangos the night before was the icing on the cake.

And, yes, that really happened.

If you would have asked me a month ago what my 2013 spring break would consist of, I probably would have told you that it wouldn’t be anything special. In fact, setting up three televisions in my living room for the NCAA Tournament would have been a lot more entertainment than I thought I could have handled.

Boy, was I wrong.

Fast-forward to last Tuesday, when I found myself boarding a plane on a chartered flight to Salt Lake City. If my first chartered flight wasn’t enough, I got to join the media and sit courtside for Wichita State’s second round NCAA Tournament game against Pittsburgh.

Now, let me be honest here. I didn’t give the Shockers much of a chance against Pittsburgh. In fact, I picked against them on my bracket. Again, I was wrong.

Between running various social media sites, taking notes and chatting up fellow sport journalists, I watched the Shockers not only beat Pitt, but literally bring their starting point guard to tears. 

Talk about an awkward first press conference.

After a head scratching first few days in Utah, and a thoroughly busted bracket, the Saturday game versus Gonzaga rolled around. And, as you can guess, I still didn’t give WSU much of a chance to win the game.

But as I walked down John Stockton Avenue to make my last trek to EnergySolutions Arena, something felt different. And, no, it wasn’t due to stopping at the Salt Lake Temple on the way there. 

I channeled my inner Dick Vitale and knew the Shockers had a chance. I finally felt like they could win this game.

After sitting through a nerve racking first half, the score was 36-31 in favor of the Shockers. At this point, nothing else mattered. I wasn’t worrying about the mountains of homework that I had yet to do. The first number one seed in the tournament was about to go down and WSU was going to make its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2006.

As the game came to a close I got to witness Gregg Marshall’s “dance moves” and listen to the band, cheerleaders and team all celebrate together. In a culmination of a spring break that wasn’t supposed to amount to anything, it almost brought a tear to my eye.

As the Shockers prepare for a trip to Los Angeles and a chance to keep moving on in the tournament, I wish them the best and thank them for such an amazing trip.

Lastly, Kevin Pangos, if you read this, no hard feelings.