the undefeated college basketball team nobody saw coming

Over the past two months, Wally Szczerbiak has fallen into an enthralling routine.

The former NBA all-star is a part of a group text with fellow former players from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he became a college basketball folk hero in 1999 while leading the RedHawks on a run to the Sweet 16.

While they’d still pass along messages to one another, their alma mater only offered so much reason for enthusiasm, carrying a nearly two-decade NCAA Tournament drought as it stacked up losing season after losing season.

This season, though, it has taken on a decidedly different tone

“Every night, I’m texting the group ‘How about our RedHawks? What a win!’” Szczerbiak told me.