Milwaukee's Banner Boys are still 6th in the Midwest and we've climbed to 15th nationally. So how far are we from the important slots?

Midwest

Banner Boys: 316, 6th
Purple and Black (K-State Alumni): 343, 5th
Jackson TN Underdawgs: 371, 4th
The Region: 393, 3rd
Golden Eagles (Marquette Alumni): 637, 2nd (5th nationally)
Hilton Magic Legends (Iowa State Alumni): 971, 1st (also 1st nationally)

The Banner Boys are solidly in sixth place. After a brief spat with "Iowa's Finest," we easily took them over and are now 71 votes ahead of them. We are 80 votes ahead of "Always a Brave," the host. They're Bradley alumni and will host the Midwest Regional in Peoria. They're also the reigning champions of the Midwest Regional, so they pushed for and got to host.

We want to walk into Peoria and take the Midwest Regional. But we have another opportunity here: if we can get into the Top 5 ASAP, we can pitch to local sports media that Marquette and Milwaukee alumni teams will be represented in The Basketball Tournament. We can spin how this can lead to a possible "Dream Game" for all those local hoops fans who never got to see Clay Tucker, Ed McCants, Joah Tucker, Chris Hill, Jason McCoy and others play in college against Marquette.

Enough local coverage can lead to a major voting war between fans of the two schools. If we do well enough, the two schools would finish #1 and #2 in voting in the Midwest. This is a great opportunity because it puts us both in a GREAT position to move the Midwest Regional for 2018 to Milwaukee. We have a decent argument right now, but if both schools finish Top 3 in Midwestern voting, it's an absolute shoo-in. The 2018 Midwest Regional could be played in The Al McGuire Center, the Klotsche Center, hell Panther Arena if attendance spikes this year.