I started following college basketball in 1995 when Valparaiso won the Mid Continent Conference but weren't in the NCAA tournament. They call it Hoosier Hardwood Hysteria and it affects not only college but high school teams. It's quite contagious

Then there was "The Shot" in 1988...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sho...iso_University)

Valpo now belongs to the Horizon League, which gets an automatic NCAA bid. The Horizon League teams are all in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. This year Butler University (in Indianapolis) is playing in the NCAA for the Horizon League. Go, Butler!