Ef 'Em Up, Ef 'Em Up, GO UMASS

Number of undergrads who graduate from UMass-Amherst each year: approximately 6,000

Percentage of those undergrads who are in-state residents: 80%

Percentage of those in-state grads who hail from east of Worcester: approximately 70%

Based on those statistics, the number of in-state UMass-Amherst grads living east of Worcester who have graduated in the past 30 years: 100,800

Number of people rooting on UMass at Cask 'N Flagon during last night's NIT Final Four: 12

It's not quite the real NCAA Tournament, nor is it even close to the Final Four glory of '96, but beating Syracuse and Florida is a pretty big deal. After a painful rebuilding decade, the UMass Minutemen are slowly becoming a force to be recknoned with in both the A-10 and NCAA. Unlike UConn, who basically bump up their win statistics by playing junior colleges and D-list basketball programs, the Minutemen have to fight tooth and nail for a respectable schedule, for their games to be broadcast outside 413, and for the Boston papers for once (just once!) write something positive about our flagship state university's basketball program. While most of us didn't choose to attend UMass for their "rah rah" sports atmosphere, it's great to see a school that impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents get some national recognition for a change.

The Minutemen return to New York's Madison Square Garden to take on Ohio State for the NIT title this Thursday at 7pm.