What the men’s bas­ket­ball team has accom­plished this sea­son is not short of spec­tac­u­lar. The team won its first GLIAC North Division title since 2005 and earned a share of the reg­u­lar sea­son con­fer­ence title. The team also claimed the No. 1 seed in the con­fer­ence tournament.

A record crowd of 2,443 watched as the Bulldogs and Lakers bat­tled back-and-forth in an instant clas­sic on Saturday. It was encour­ag­ing to see Wink Arena com­pletely packed and loud; that’s the way all home courts in col­lege bas­ket­ball should be. The team feeds off the crowd’s energy and this can often affect the out­come of a game.

However, the Bulldogs aver­aged just 740 fans per game through­out the reg­u­lar sea­son. The best team in the con­fer­ence and the team with a 12–1 home record ranked fourth in atten­dance. The team should have aver­aged at least 1,000 fans like Grand Valley and Findlay did.

With the GLIAC Tournament set to tip off March 2, the Bulldogs need our sup­port now more than ever. Home-court advan­tage does not work if there aren’t any fans in the stands. The num­ber of peo­ple in the stands is a reflec­tion of our school spirit. What mes­sage does that send to oppo­nents if we have a half-empty house for a home play­off game?

If noth­ing else, go to the games to watch Justin Keenan. He was picked as the pre­sea­son Division II National Player of the Year and has lived up to the expec­ta­tions. Keenan leads the con­fer­ence in scor­ing and rebound­ing, aver­ag­ing 21.7 points and 10 boards per con­test. He broke the GLIAC scor­ing record on Saturday, pass­ing GVSU leg­end John Flynn.

This week will be the last chance to see career shot-blocking leader Lou Williams, as well as seniors Darien Gay and Matt DeHart in a Bulldog uniform.

The men’s bas­ket­ball pro­gram has not been this good in six years and no one knows how long it will be until they are atop the con­fer­ence again. Even if you’re not a diehard bas­ket­ball fan, this is the year to jump on the band­wagon. n