To describe the kind of season the NIU men’s basketball team has had requires a dictionary, or at least a good vocabulary.

Words like impressive, unexpected and brilliant come to mind.

Head coach Jim Molinari has picked out his own adjective.

“Special,” Molinari calls this season. “This is a special group. Each of the people involved have really sacrificed.”

The word “special” keeps popping up when Molinari discusses the season, and who can argue with his assessment? Some of the Huskies’ accomplishments include:

‘Winning a school-record 23 games, eclipsing the 21 victories of 1972’s squad.

‘Capturing the Mid-Continent Conference regular-season crown in their first season in the M-C.

‘Moving into the national spotlight by being ranked 31st in the Associated Press college basketball poll and 30th in the USA Today-CNN poll.

‘Tying the school record of 11-straight wins overall and at Chick Evans Field House.

‘Winning a school-best eight-straight road matches.

‘Earning the No. 2 ranking in NCAA team defense.

The list goes on.

Coming off of a surprising 17-11 season in Molinari’s first year as a head coach, the Huskies had all but one regular contributor (Phil Leib) back for the current season.

Although a “good” year was expected, NIU started its “special” season on the right track (winning at Maine, 65-51) and hasn’t looked back since.

Even Molinari has acknowledged that the success of his team has come as a surprise, but said the season-opener gave a hint that this team was special.

“I had an inkling when we beat Maine on the road,” Molinari said. “When we won the Jowers Jamboree I felt, ‘Now we can win something.’

“I got genuinely excited after Rice (a 76-66 NIU victory at Rice’s notoriously rough Autry Court).”

The victory in the Jowers Jamboree Tournament at Southwest Texas State gave NIU its first in-season tourney title since 1971-72.

The early season success on the road is what gave NIU the confidence to continue its winning ways. “We really built our confidence at Southwest Texas, it grew at Evansville,” Molinari said, “then really built at Southwest Texas.”

The NIU victory parade continued once the Huskies started play in the M-C. Picked for third in a preseason poll of the league coaches, NIU has sliced through the loop on its way to the itle.

“I knew it could be special after our first three conference games,” Molinari said.

Once again, the word “special” enters the picture, but might soon have to be written in capital letters if the Huskies can continue their habit of winning once the M-C Tournament begins March 3 at Wisconsin-Green Bay.

At stake is a guaranteed berth in the NCAAs, which goes to the tournament champion.

“I really think this conference has great parity: we beat Western (Illinois) twice by two points, Green Bay barely gets by Valparaiso,” Molinari said. “Every team is going in thinking they can win it.”

The Huskies’ toughest obstacle in the tournament should be the host team, Wisconsin-Green Bay, which has handed NIU its only two league losses.

But NIU has met almost every challenge this season and is solidly poised to continue its success into the postseason … and wouldn’t that be special?