Western Kentucky had no business being here, and head coach Steve Small knew it.
Not after key reserve Shatika Hutcherson was academically disqualified before the season even began. Not after the 1999 Sun Belt freshman of the year Kristina Covington went down for the season with a torn ACL in Western Kentucky's season opener. Not after freshman Elisha Ford tore her ACL in practice four days later. Not after Kenosha Chastang, the team's tallest player, left the team in January to move back to Ohio.
And certainly not after a dismal 67-62 loss to Arkansas State that dropped the Lady Toppers' record to 5-6 in early January.
"It's remarkable that this team's even in this position," Small said.
But there was Small (or Ears, as his players playfully call the witty coach with the flapping side doors), sporting a smile a mile wide, complaining about the lack of food and generally mucking it up with reporters during the press conference prior to tonight's second-round contest between his 10th-seeded Lady Toppers (22-9) and the second-seeded Blue Devils (27-5) in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 8:35 p.m.
And this is the same WKU team that was, at one time, down to eight healthy scholarship players.
"I asked everybody on campus if they want to play basketball-that didn't work," Small said. "I've asked volleyball players. I see people, I tell them I can get them eligibility and a scholarship. It didn't work."
But what eventually worked was his players getting better. Junior forward ShaRae Mansfield emerged into an All-American. Senior Jaime Walz bounced back from a torn ACL suffered last season and played her way on to the All-Sun Belt team. And Hutcherson straightened out her grades and became a valuable sixth member of the rotation.
With the players gelling and the injuries disappearing, the Lady Toppers have won 17 of their last 20 games, with their only losses coming against Sun Belt juggernaut and the West's No. 1 seed, Louisiana Tech.
"We're excited to play [tonight]," Small said. "I know we're going against the odds. We know how good Duke is, but we'll lay it on the line. Hopefully, it will be an exciting game."
And Western Kentucky is no stranger to exciting games.
In its first-round contest against seventh-seeded Marquette, Western Kentucky escaped with a 68-65 win when Kiesha Oliver's midcourt heave at the buzzer barely rimmed out.
In its final game before the NCAAs, the Lady Toppers met up with Louisiana Tech in the Sun Belt conference championship game, and nearly shocked the Lady Techsters. Western Kentucky rallied from a 22-point second half deficit and tied the game with 1:32 to play.
Although Tamicha Jackson's 30-foot bomb with 1.2 seconds left gave Louisiana Tech the win, the Lady Toppers didn't come away from the contest empty-handed.
"I think the second half against Louisiana Tech gave everybody confidence and momentum coming into the tournament," WKU guard Jamie Britt said. "Being able to outscore and outplay Tech in the second half lets us know that we can play with anybody in the country.
"If we play that well against them, and they're a solid three team in the country, we can play and beat anybody."
Britt may think so, but the Lady Toppers still haven't beaten a team ranked in the top 25 of the RPI until Marquette. So should they be nervous facing a Duke team that advanced to the Final Four last season? Not if your name is Steve Small.
"I've already gotten my bonus," Small said. "I've got my Nike bonus, I've got my college bonus. If the girls would hurry up and lose, I can go collect my bonuses. But I don't want to lose."
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