As I anticipate what I am expecting will be a great night of Division II boys semifinal basketball tonight at Arco Arena, there are a few thoughts bouncing around in my head from the tournament so far.

There has been some amazing basketball and some fine teams on display, and I have had the great opportunity to visit Fairfield, Galt and Stockton while watching the teams I cover.

There is one thing that I feel very strongly about in terms of future tournament improvements. Last night at UOP, I watched the latter end of a great Division II girls game between Bella Vista and Vallejo. Both teams had large numbers of students in the house and there was even a pep band there. It was an electric atmosphere.

The prior night, I watched fans file off of rooters' busses to support the Division V boys teams in Galt.

Then, came the Woodcreek girls' D-II semifinal against St. Francis. I am used to seeing the Woodcreek teams play before huge crowds, but Wednesday night's support was a significant group of outstanding parents and a smattering of students.

Contrast that with the D-I girls semifinal that followed, for which Kennedy and McClatchy had significant student cheering sections.

I believe the difference may be largely due to the fact that Woodcreek is the one team in that group that has a boys and girls team still playing. With the cost of admission ($12 to park and $8 student admission) at the boys' game tonight at Arco alone, let alone back-to-back school nights, the schedule really stuck it to Woodcreek's girls.

I do not contend that the crowd support had anything to do with the outcome, but in Division IV, where Colfax had both teams still in the mix, the girls and boys semis were played last night (same night, same venue) and the Colfax teams played back-to-back games.

I understand the whole Arco Arena thing and all of that, but it seems that the section could do something to get the D-II boys and girls into the same night, same arena scenario that is in place for the D-III through D-V schools. I can only imagine the size of the crowd for both games if the Woodcreek girls and boys played consecutive games in the same place.

A couple of other random thoughts. I found it interesting last night that, just as Woodcreek coach Ray Beck was emptying his bench while down 20 points with four minutes to play, St. Francis coach Victor Pitton was reinserting his superstar guards to pick up a few extra points against the Timberwolf reserves. He only left them in about a minute, but it still seemed strange when you consider the 10 girls on his bench in a game that was already decided.

This last one is probably something that bothers only me, and I am sure it is my problem, but I will mention it anyway.

I have never been a fan of crowds storming the court after a win, particularly a win that does not earn the ultimate championship prize. Don't know why, but it just bothers me a little bit.

I understand it even less when you are cheering for a team who is supposed to win. I love the saying, "Act like you've been there before." The other night after their No. 1 seeded team beat No. 4 Valley Christian in a Division V semifinal, the Victory Christian students stormed the floor and seemed ready to cut down the nets.

With a section final still to come, and having just won a game in which they were the higher seed and should have expected to win, I guess I just saw it as a bit excessive. I know, what's wrong with letting them have a little fun?, and I may be the only one who feels that way.

If you are headed out to Arco tonight or the next two days, enjoy the show. It should be a lot of fun.