Poor Ben Smith. The entire state of Indiana is hurting today after the state's schools were all shut out of the dance. In his column in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Ben takes out his frustration by bashing Bucknell and taking a rip at former BU AD Rick Hartzell.

Gems from the column include:

How can we show our faces again, we Hoosiers of "Hoosiers," now that Bucknell's in and we're not?

. . .

First, (Indiana coach Mike) Davis has to watch Iowa coach Steve Alford arrive in Indianapolis like a conquering hero for the sub-regional; then he gets to watch Northern Iowa play Wisconsin – the very team his Hoosiers played on a night when one of the floor officials was Rick Hartzell, Northern Iowa’s athletic director.

The Big Ten verbally riddled Doug Gottlieb of ESPN for pointing out the impropriety of a school official from one bubble team officiating the game of another, but Gottlieb was absolutely right. It was improper – and it looks even more so now.

Sour grapes make boring whine.