I was there three years ago when a little guard by the name of Wesley Stokes pulled a "Tyus Edny" and ended the Billiken hopes of upsetting the second-ranked Missouri Tigers. I was there two years ago when Marque Perry dropped in a mid-range jumper with three seconds left, propelling the Billikens to victory over second-ranked Louisville. And I was there last year when Reggie Bryant was about two inches away from sending the Billikens to overtime against the seventh-ranked Arizona Tigers.

Those were fun. But, I think that this year's Billiken squad can top them.

This season, coach Brad Soderberg has stockpiled the schedule with a lot of mid-major conference champions, a few major conference players and no one who even resembles North Carolina A&T. Add to that a run and gun, up-tempo offense, a few shooters and a conference whose main players are weaker than usual and the cards might be stacked right for a surprising Billikens run.

Throughout the past couple of years, the Bills have had a way of putting together a late season run that accumulates with a near miss NCAA tournament berth. The Bills usually start by being upset early on in the season by a team that really has no business being on the court with them. They follow that with a close upset bid of their own, usually with a team that has all but booked their tickets to the Sweet Sixteen, and then, finally, after starting the Conference USA season off pretty slow, they win a couple of games against the top tier of the conference, pull out a couple against the bottom tier and the make a run in the conference tournament. But they always finish one win, or a couple spots in the RPI, below those last couple of tournament invites. You can pretty much set your watch by it.

But not this year. This year, the Billikens start the season off down in paradise, at the Paradise Jam to be precise, in the Virgin Islands. There, they'll square off against Austin Peay, last season's Ohio Valley Conference Champion, and Eastern Michigan. If all goes well they will face off against a team like Arkansas in the championship. Not too shabby. Definitely not North Carolina A&T.

Following, with matches against Iowa, Gonzaga and Dayton before the C-USA season starts, as well as games against the cream of the mid-majors, by the time the Bills face Tulane after New Year's, they should be well on their way to a solid season. And that's where the fun starts. With Cincinnati, Louisville and Marquette not what they once were, and Charlotte and UAB left to fill the void, there is a window of opportunity for the Billikens that didn't exist when Dwayne Wade, Reece Gaines and Danny Fortson owned the Conference. Memphis will, obviously, still be the class of the league, but last season C-USA sent a half dozen teams to the NCAA tourney, and this season they might very well do the same. SLU could figure to slide into one of those spots.

Now the only question is how? Well, as I said, this squad is different than those in years past. Obviously Reggie Bryant will still be relied on for a lot of offensive output, but what makes this squad different from the others? Dwayne Polk, Vas'shun Newborne, Danny Brown and Luke Meyer that's what. Obviously, Tom Frericks will still nail down more boards than a carpenter and the lanky Izik Ohanon will slash to the basket like a gazelle, but the influx of athleticism on this squad is astounding.

I don't normally make predictions. I'm going to make an exception. I think that this season the Bills will not only make it to the Big Dance, but they'll also finish third in C-USA. Polk will win conference Freshman of the Year honors and Bryant will be all-conference.

Some of you might view this as just a hometown fan pulling for his team. You'd be wrong. I don't even like St. Louis. I can't stand the Cardinals, the Rams kill me, and I think that Mike Shannon's is terrible. But I have watched the Bills for three solid years and covered them for two of those years, and these Bills are different. There's a swagger about them that's a lot of fun to watch, and I think that will translate into an incredible season.