Men's basketball reporter Tom Keller concluded his days on the road in Dayton, Ohio.

We stayed in the Dayton Marriott, which was quite a change of pace from the steady diet of Best Westerns and Days Inns we've stayed at all season. I think we can all agree that the quality of a hotel is directly proportional to the number of pillows they give you. At the Marriott, there were four on each bed, plus two more in the closet. Enough said.

Notable faces on press row included John Thompson (former Georgetown coach and current radio analyst) and Eric Montross (former North Carolina center and current huge white guy).

But the most notable face in the crowd was The Washington Post's Michael Wilbon, probably better known for his role as cohost of ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption." Wilbon's so famous that he was getting catcalls from the stands. As you can imagine, reporters don't deal with that often. I, too, felt the urge to say something to him, but couldn't think of anything less awkward than, "So, you're on TV, huh? I have one of those."

After I finished writing on the MSU game, I started watching the end of the UNC-Murray State game on a TV in the media work room. Sure enough, a small group started gathering, including Wilbon. We ended up shooting the breeze for half an hour about the game, the draft and whether this year's tournament should be renamed "The Screw You, Billy Packer Invitational."

I'm at the point now where I'm not starstruck by athletes anymore, but I must admit to being a little wide-eyed during that conversation.

Ironically, Wilbon was staying at our hotel, so we ran into him again later in the lobby. He bemoaned the crowd in the hotel bar, wondered aloud if one of the shuttle buses would take him to a McDonald's, then relented and asked the front desk for a list of pizza delivery places. Really cool guy.

I'm trying to forget how poorly MSU played, but I'll always remember how that night made me feel like Stat Boy, if only for a short while.

Reach Tom Keller at kellert1@msu.edu.