It's time. It's time to finally discuss "the school we don't speak of." No more ignoring. No more giving the city's public school the brush-off.

With its 59-58 win over Detroit in the Horizon League Championship Tuesday, "the school we don't speak of" earned its second automatic NCAA tournament bid in three years, further advancing its status as a rising power in Wisconsin basketball.

"The school we don't speak of" competes in an easier conference than Marquette, that's a given. Comparing the Horizon League to Conference USA or the Big East is like comparing William Hung's appetite to Kirstie Allie's. The disparity between the two conferences is large, but "the school we don't speak of" has accomplished a lot under head coach Bruce Pearl, including a record of 24-5 this season.

People will argue that playing "the school we don't speak of" would only damage the team's chances of making the NCAA tournament if they would lose to this unnamed school. Well, the last time I checked, a double-digit home loss to Saint Louis is not something the selection committee would gaze fondly upon, either.

Playing "the school we don't speak of" would also make the city abuzz with the talk of college basketball. Don't get me wrong, the game each year versus Wisconsin is exciting but playing a school so geographically close would create a great amount of excitement around the two teams.

The style of play that "the school we don't speak of" plays would be a good warm-up for the Big East season. Marquette's future Big East foes and "the school we don't speak of" are not on the same competitive level, but playing against a similar up-tempo style would help prepare the team for the conference season and the daunting task of breaking a full-court press.

Playing and defeating "the school we don't speak of" would go a long way toward establishing confidence early in the season. I find it hard to believe wins at home versus Western Carolina and Sam Houston State created a great sense of confidence and self-assurance for the team.

The most important reason to play "the school we don't speak of" is to once and for all tuck it under the couch cushion that is Marquette's basketball hold on the city of Milwaukee. "The school we don't speak of" has generated some recent excitement, and it's time to put them and their fans in their place.

So next year, tell the Bethune-Cookmans of the world, "Thanks, but no thanks. It's more important to establish city dominance instead."

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Mar. 10 2005.