Conference Tournament Previews 3/06/06-(MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Southland)

We are continuing to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.

Visit Bubbleteams.com to view the other conference tournament previews and updated conference tournament brackets.

Mid-American:

FIRST ROUND

At higher seeds

Monday, March 6
Game 1: No. 7 Toledo vs. No. 10 Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Western Michigan vs. No. 11 Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Buffalo vs. No. 9 Ball State, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Ohio vs. No. 12 Central Michigan, 7 p.m.

QUARTERFINALS

At Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland

Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 Northern Illinois vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Akron vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Kent State vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Miami vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.

SEMIFINALS

Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

Recap: The Mid American Conference was a league comprised of imbalance this season. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished conference play with 14 or more wins, led by conference champion Kent State. In addition, Akron and Miami of Ohio tied for second place with 14 wins each. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished the conference campaign 22-2 against teams from the Western Division. All six teams from the Eastern Division were a combined 36-12 against their counterparts from the west. In addition, there were five teams from the Eastern Division with at least 16 overall wins while only two teams from the Western Division could muster at most 16 wins. In the West, two teams struggled all season to find the winning formula as Eastern Michigan only won three games and Eastern Michigan only won once. This year the conference tournament includes all 12 teams, one less than last year after former MAC member Marshall bolted to Conference USA.

Favorite: Kent State dominated the conference schedule, outlasting the second and third place teams, Akron and Miami (Ohio). The Golden Flash won seven road games in the MAC, tops amongst all member schools. Kent State did not win a single game by less than four points and won their seven road games by an average of nine points per game. Kent State will be challenged Akron, despite the Zips' slump down the stretch which saw them lose three of their last five games. Akron does get the benefit of playing on the side of a bracket that is populated almost entirely of Western Division teams. Despite their late season struggles, look for the Zips to advance to the title game where they will likely face the winner of Kent State and Miami (Ohio). Miami (Ohio) fashioned a 6-0 start to conference play and a 9-1 finish around an 0-3 stretch in late January that ultimately cost them the conference title. The RedHawks lost twice to Kent State and once to Akron and Western Michigan. Northern Illinois gets the 2 seed because of their first place finish in the Western Division. The Huskies played well against their own division, finishing with a 9-1 mark against their fellow Western Division teams. Unfortunately, Northern Illinois only managed three wins against teams from the East (none of those coming against the top three teams in the East).

Darkhorse: Toledo enters league play with six wins in their last seven games. The Rockets are the ONLY Western Division team to have defeated Kent State (demolishing the Golden Flash 60-44 in early February). Toledo gets a favorable 7 seed and draws the worst team from the East, Bowling Green. The Rockets will be tested by the Falcons, given Bowling Green already beat Toledo once this season (59-52 at Bowling Green). If the Toledo gets past the Falcons, they face 2 seed Northern Illinois. It is unlikely that any team from the West can get very far in this tournament, unless it is through another Western Division team.

MEAC:

At the RBC Center
Raleigh, N.C.

FIRST ROUND

Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 7 Norfolk State vs. No. 10 Maryland-Eastern Shore, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 8 North Carolina A&T vs. No. 9 Howard, 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 8
Game 3: No. 6 Hampton vs. No. 11 Morgan State, 6 p.m.

QUARTERFINALS

Wednesday, March 8
Game 4: No. 1 Delaware State vs. Game 2 winner, 8:15 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Coppin State vs. Game 1 winner, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 9
Game 6: No. 3 Bethune-Cookman vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 4 South Carolina State vs. No. 5 Florida A&M, 8:30 p.m.

SEMIFINALS

Friday, March 10
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 8:30 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Saturday, March 11
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN Classic)

Recap: Delaware State blew through the MEAC winning 16 of 18 league games. The Hornets only two losses came at South Carolina State (63-51) and at Bethune-Cookman (72-71). Delaware State was one of only two teams in the MEAC to finish with an overall winning record (Bethune-Cookman finished 15-14). The Hornets played a brutal non-conference schedule with games at UCLA, Kent State, Rutgers, Northwestern, Michigan, Bradley, Marquette and Maryland (the Hornets also had a neutral site game against Wichita State). Delaware State played their first home game on December 30 against Buffalo. The MEAC had four teams (North Carolina A&T, Howard, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Morgan State) that did not win more than seven games. Even worse, three of those teams suffered through losing streaks of 13 games or more (Morgan State started the season 0-18, NC A&T started the season 0-13 and Howard lost 14 in a row from December 30 to February 20).

Favorite: Delaware State proved they are the class of the league after blowing the competition away with 16 conference wins. The Hornets also scored a solid non-conference win at MAC regular season champion Kent State. The Hornets will be challenged in the semifinals by either South Carolina State or Florida A&M. Despite their overwhelming number of victories, the Hornets' margin of victory was not overwhelming in a majority of their wins (Delaware State only won two games by more than 11 points). Anticipate a tight tournament after the top teams weed out the bottom feeders in the opening rounds.

Darkhorse: South Carolina State was one of only two conference teams to defeat Delaware State during the regular season. The Bulldogs beat the Hornets by eleven at home and only lost by 6 points at Delaware State. South Carolina State must get past Florida A&M in the semifinals before they face Delaware State (assuming the Hornets beat the winner of Howard-NC A&T).

Mountain West:

At The Pepsi Center
Denver

FIRST ROUND

Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 8 Colorado State vs. No. 9 TCU, 9:30 p.m.

QUARTERFINALS

Thursday, March 9
Game 2: No. 1 San Diego State vs. Game 1 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 3: No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 New Mexico, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 4: No. 2 Air Force vs. No. 7 Wyoming, 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 5: No. 3 BYU vs. No. 6 Utah, Midnight (ESPN)

SEMIFINALS

Friday, March 10
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Midnight (ESPN)

CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN)

Recap: San Diego State started the season as the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference. A series of injuries and tough losses left the Aztecs 7-5 entering conference play. The Aztecs found their magic touch, winning nine of their first 10 conference games and creating a lead that was just too much for the rest of the conference to overcome. Air Force won their last six game to push the Aztecs in the race for the conference title, but a 6-4 conference start was too much for the Falcons to overcome. BYU surprised many people with a 12-4 conference record and a second place finish. The Cougars won 10 of their last 11 games after starting the season 2-3 in conference. BYU was one of only three teams to defeat San Diego State and by season's end, the Cougars had fashioned yet another long home court winning streak (14 in a row heading into post-season). In fact, the top three teams in the league finished an astounding 23-1 at home in conference games.

Favorite: BYU is the league hottest team, San Diego State won a league leading six road games and Air Force enters the tournament on a six game winning streak. While all three have a solid chance to claim the league championship, Air Force is still the toughest tam to beat in the Mountain West. Their style of play, coupled with a deliberate pace of play make beating the Falcons a challenge to almost any team. The Falcons have the misfortune to face Wyoming (beat the Falcons at Wyoming and lost by one at Air Force) in the first round and possibly BYU in the second round. Air Force will not have an easy road to the title game.

Darkhorse: Wyoming would be good first pick based on how tough they played Air Force during the regular season (beating the Falcons at home by 5 and losing at Air Force by one), yet the Cowboys enter the tournament with nine losses in their last ten games and look like a team ready for the season to end. Utah faces the same fate with four losses in their last five games. Colorado State finally found some of the winning touch in their last six games that led the Rams to an 11-2 start to the season. New Mexico has shown the same problems winning on the road that have plagued the Lobos in the past (New Mexico won only two conference games, at Colorado State and TCU; the two worst teams in the conference). Amazingly, we find no one as a darkhorse from the Mountain West.

Southland:

At higher seeds

FIRST ROUND

Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 1 Northwestern State vs. No. 8 Texas-San Antonio
Game 2: No. 4 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 5 McNeese State, 8 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Sam Houston State vs. No. 7 Texas-Arlington
Game 4: No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 6 Lamar

SEMIFINALS

Thursday, March 9
Game 5: Highest seed vs. lowest seed, 8 p.m.
Game 6: Second-highest seed vs. second-lowest seed, 8 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Sunday, March 12
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)

Recap: Northwestern State dominated the Southland Conference, winning fifteen of their league 16 games. The Demons only conference loss came at Sam Houston State. Northwestern State was one of only three teams to lose just one conference game this season. The Demons, undefeated at home this season, will retain home court advantage throughout the entire tournament. Northwestern State played one of the most demanding non-conference schedules this season with games at Missouri, at Mississippi State, at Wichita State, at Oklahoma State, at Texas A&M, at Utah State, at Hawaii and neutral site games against Oregon State and Iowa State. The Demons won three of those games (against Oregon State, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State) and lost five others by less than ten points. Sam Houston State was the closest competition to Northwestern State in the conference race-finishing four games in back of Northwestern State at 11-5 in the Southland.

Favorite: Northwestern State is a prohibitive favorite to win their first Southland Conference Tournament title since 2001. The Demons, with home court advantage throughout the tournament, were so dominant on their home court this season only two teams came within 8 points in their 11 home games.

Darkhorse: SE Louisiana enters the conference tournament on a streak of eight wins in their last nine games. The Lions only defeat in that stretch was an 3 point loss in overtime at Sam Houston State. SE Louisiana plays in the bottom half of the bracket, avoiding Northwestern State until the championship game. The Lions were in a similar situation last season, scoring an upset at Northwestern State in the championship game.