“We’ve started to budget this trip in our work schedules,” Wang said. “If they ever get an East Coast location, it’s going to be huge.”

Of the cities chosen to host NCAA Tournament games, Spokane was by far the furthest from Cambridge.

After the morning pep rally, fans trickled into the Spokane Arena and began to gather in Section 103. Some reflected on the program that Coach Tommy Amaker has built.

“We had one or two on the team who could touch the rim, and now athletically we can stand toe-to-toe with Cincinnati,” said David C. Scheper ’80, who once called the Harvard basketball games for WHRB, Harvard’s undergraduate radio station.

Sitting with Scheper was Amos “Alex” Lowder ’02, who played as a guard on the men’s basketball team while at Harvard.

“Coach Amaker has made a real effort to connect with alumni,” Lowder said, adding that the coach and his assistants make a point of stopping to talk with alumni when the travel to road games.

“It feels like a community,” Lowder said.

Scheper added that basketball, like football, has become a rallying point for alumni.

“When you’re really good at something that people can rally around, people will come from far and wide...even if the game is in Spokane.

—Staff writer Matthew Q. Clarida can be reached at matthew.clarida@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattclarida.