Western Illinois Final Four live stream in 30 minutes

Here’s the link for the live stream. We tip off against No. 5 seed Cal in the Final Four at 8:30 p.m. ET // 7:30 p.m. CT. If we win, we’ll play Kansas in the national championship game immediately after.

I’ll be hanging out on Twitch for a press conference as soon as this email is published. Come say hi if you want.

Major shout-out to the great Mike Rutherford for doing a Leathernecks hype video. Mike is way too good at this:

Western Illinois vs. Cal rosters and line

You know we have a line for tonight (via David Fucillo of Draft Kings Nation):

David Fucillo @davidfucillo

Thinking I’ll install Cal as a 5.5-point favorite over Western Illinois. I’m gonna take the points because I’m a sucker for the Cinderella.

Ricky O'Donnell @SBN_Ricky

We made the Final Four with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in 'College Hoops 2K8' We're live streaming the game TOMORROW at 8:30 p.m. ET https://t.co/IWkmqjF2BT No. 5 seed Cal is the opponent Email with the link coming 30 mins before tip. Subscribe! https://t.co/CAcGhZLTQy

Our Leathernecks enter as a 95 overall. Here’s a look at the roster:

Cal enters as a 97 overall. Here’s a look at the Bears roster.

The Bears have four players rated in the 90s, compared to two for us. It’s worth noting their tallest player is a 6’8 small forward.

Could this be a big night for our star center Deke Van? He seems relaxed and ready:

Deke Van @deke_van

What do you do before the big game?

Can we recognize the RTs/likes combo there? Thank you. Whoever started that account gets official Leathernecks Booster status. Someone started an Instagram fan page, too.

Uh, also, the real Western Illinois basketball program has changed their Twitter avatar to a picture of Deke.

Western Illinois Men's Basketball @WIU_MensHoops

#NewProfilePic 😏

What a world.

I was even invited to do a radio hit on 670 The Score in Chicago to promote this.

Thank you so much to everyone who has followed along, shared, and donated. The Venmo handle is ricky-odonnell-1. The generosity of Leatherneck Nation has blown me away.

To answer a few frequently asked questions:

1) Yes, I will continue this series even if we win it all tonight.

2) Yes, I will recap the results in a new email/post, probably on Sunday or Monday. The video of tonight should be rewatchable on my Twitch page after the stream ends, too.

To quote Scottie Pippen in the “Mr. Sub” commercial: “Ladies, let’s have a party.”

I’ll see you guys on Twitch. Leatherneck Nation forever.