Updated brackets for every conference tournament are now available at Bubbleteams.com along with conference tournament previews and updated scores.
America East:
Albany will face New Hampshire and Vermont will play host Binghamton in the conference semifinals.
FIRST ROUND
At Events Center
Vestal, N.Y.
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 8 Maryland-Baltimore County 88, No. 9 Stony Brook 70
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 2: No. 2 Binghamton 71, No. 7 Maine 62
Game 3: No. 6 Vermont 64, No. 3 Boston University 61
Game 4: No. 1 Albany 79, No. 8 Maryland-Baltimore County 65
Game 5: No. 5 New Hampshire 66, No. 4 Hartford 62
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 6: No. 2 Binghamton vs. No. 6 Vermont, Noon
Game 7: No. 1 Albany vs. No. 5 New Hampshire, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Games 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Atlantic Sun:
Belmont wins the Atlantic Sun Championship in overtime vs. Lipscomb to advance to their first NCAA Tournament.
At Memorial Center
Johnson City, Tenn.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Lipscomb 78, No. 8 Mercer 62
Game 2: No. 4 Gardner-Webb 64, No. 5 East Tennessee State 63
Game 3: No. 2 Belmont 90, No. 7 Campbell 76
Game 4: No. 6 Stetson 54, No. 3 Florida Atlantic 44
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Lipscomb 70, No. 4 Gardner-Webb 51
Game 6: No. 2 Belmont 72, No. 6 Stetson 59
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 2 Belmont 64, No. 1 Lipscomb 59
Big Sky:
Eastern Washington joins Sacramento State in the conference semifinals.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Saturday, March 4
Game 1: No. 5 Sacramento State 71, No. 4 Montana State 70
Game 2: No. 3 Eastern Washington 81, No. 6 Portland State 75
SEMIFINALS
At Walkup Skydome
Flagstaff, Ariz.
Tuesday, March 7
Game 3: No. 2 Montana vs. No. 3 Eastern Washington, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 Northern Arizona vs. No. 5 Sacramento State, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Wednesday, March 8
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Big South:
Winthrop scored the final basket with under 10 seconds on the clock to defeat Coastal Carolina and become the second team to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb 28
Game 1: No. 1 Winthrop 93, No. 8 Liberty 52
Game 2: No. 5 High Point 87, No. 4 Radford 84
Game 3: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 78, No. 7 UNC Asheville 62
Game 4: No. 6 Charleston Southern 97, No. 3 Birmingham Southern 76
SEMIFINALS
At Winthrop Coliseum
Rock Hill, S.C.
Thursday, March 2
Game 5: No. 1 Winthrop 77, No. 5 High Point 65
Game 6: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 73, No. 6 Charleston Southern 67
At higher seed
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 1 Winthrop 51, No. 2 Coastal Carolina 50
Colonial:
NC Wilmington and Northeastern will meet in the semifinals along with George Mason and Hofstra.
At the Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, Va.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 9 Delaware 52, No. 8 Drexel 49
Game 2: No. 5 Northeastern 74, No. 12 James Madison 56
Game 3: No. 10 Georgia State 72, No. 7 Towson 64
Game 4: No. 6 VCU 62, No. 11 William & Mary 59
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 5: No. 1 UNC Wilmington 69, No. 9 Delaware 56
Game 6: No. 5 Northeastern 71, No. 4 Old Dominion 63
Game 7: No. 2 George Mason 61, No. 10 Georgia State 56, OT
Game 8: No. 3 Hofstra 72, No. 6 VCU 66
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: No. 1 UNC Wilmington vs. No. 5 Northeastern, 3:30 p.m.
Game 10: No. 2 George Mason vs. No. 3 Hofstra, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Horizon:
The Horizon League played out as expected with Butler advancing to the semifinals to play host Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 77, No. 7 Wright State 64
Game 2: No. 5 Detroit 92, No. 8 Cleveland State 58
Game 3: No. 4 Loyola-Chi. 76, No. 9 Youngstown State 61
QUARTERFINALS
At The Klotsche Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay 76, No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 66
Game 5: No. 4 Loyola-Chi. 64, No. 5 Detroit 55
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 6: No. 2 Butler 73, No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay 51
Game 7: No. 1 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 80, No. 4 Loyola-Chi 66
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Tuesday, March 7
Game 8: No. 1 Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. No. 2 Butler , 9 p.m. (ESPN)
MAAC:
St. Peter's will play top seeded Manhattan and Iona will face 3 seed Marist in the conference semifinals.
At Pepsi Arena
Albany, N.Y.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 Saint Peter's 80, No. 10 Rider 51
Game 2: No. 7 Niagara 84, No. 8 Fairfield 77
Game 3: No. 9 Canisius 74, No. 6 Loyola, Md. 72
SECOND ROUND
Saturday, March 4
Game 4: No. 5 Saint Peter's 63, No. 4 Siena 62
Game 5: No. 2 Iona 80, No. 7 Niagara 54
Game 6: No. 3 Marist 68, No. 9 Canisius 62
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 7: No. 1 Manhattan vs. No. 5 Saint Peter's, 6 p.m.
Game 8: No. 2 Iona vs. No. 3 Marist, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Mid-Continent:
Oral Roberts held off a determined Western Illinois to advance to the conference semifinals along with IUPUI, a winner against last season's conference cinderella Oakland.
At John Q. Hammons Arena
Tulsa, Okla.
FIRST ROUND
Saturday, March 4
Game 1: No. 1 Oral Roberts 60, No. 8 Western Illinois 53
Game 2: No. 2 IUPUI 69, No. 7 Oakland 63
Sunday, March 5
Game 3: No. 4 Valparaiso vs. No. 5 Southern Utah, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 UMKC vs. No. 6 Chicago State, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 IUPUI vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Missouri Valley:
Bradley continues there amazing run to the MVC title game with an upset of 1 seed Wichita State. The Braves will face the Southern Illinois Salukis, a 55-46 winner in overtime against Northern Iowa.
At Savvis Center
St. Louis, Mo.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 9 Indiana State 72, No. 8 Drake 63
Game 2: No. 7 Evansville 52, No. 10 Illinois State 45
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 3: No. 1 Wichita State 81, No. 9 Indiana State 63
Game 4: No. 5 Bradley 54, No. 4 Creighton 47
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Illinois 71, No. 7 Evansville 55
Game 6: No. 6 Northern Iowa 57, No. 3 Missouri State 42
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 5 Bradley 60, No. 1 Wichita State 52
Game 8: No. 2 Southern Illinois 55, No. 6 Northern Iowa 46, OT
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: No. 2 Southern Illinois vs. No. 5 Bradley, 2 p.m.
Ohio Valley:
Murray State wins their 20th OVC Championship and advances to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last eight years.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 1 Murray State 65, UT-Martin 52
Game 2: No. 4 Jacksonville St. 86, No. 5 Eastern Kentucky 59
Game 3: No. 2 Samford 78, Tennessee State 67
Game 4: No. 3 Tennessee Tech 78, No. 6 Austin Peay 74
SEMIFINALS
At The Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tenn.
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Murray State 69, No. 4 Jacksonville St. 64
Game 6: No. 2 Samford 73, No. 3 Tennessee Tech 67
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Game 7: No. 1 Murray State 74, No. 2 Samford 57
Southern:
Chattanooga advances to their fourth straight championship game in the Southern Conference where they will face 3 seed Davidson.
At North Charleston Coliseum
North Charleston, S.C.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Appalachian St. 66, No. 9 Wofford 65
Game 2: No. 10 UNC Greensboro 69, No. 7 Western Carolina 65
Game 3: No. 11 The Citadel 65, No. 6 Furman 53
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 8 Appalachian St. 74, No. 1 Georgia Southern 61
Game 5: No. 5 Chattanooga 65, No. 4 College of Charleston 63
Game 6: No. 2 Elon 64, No. 10 UNC Greensboro 61 OT
Game 7: No. 3 Davidson 79, No. 11 The Citadel 73
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 8: No. 5 Chattanooga 78, No. 8 Appalachian St. 75
Game 9: No. 3 Davidson 65, No. 2 Elon 58
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 10: No. 3 Davidson vs. No. 5 Chattanooga, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
West Coast:
San Diego advances to play host Gonzaga iand St. Mary's Advences to play Loyola Marymount in the conference semifinals.
At McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane, Wash.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 San Diego 85, No. 8 Pepperdine 72
Game 2: No. 7 Santa Clara 72, No. 6 Portland 68
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 3: No. 5 San Diego 62, No. 4 San Francisco 59
Game 4: No. 3 Saint Mary's 76, No. 7 Santa Clara 72
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 5 San Diego, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount vs. No. 3 Saint Mary's, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Bubble Boys
We will update teams that improve their stock and lose serious ground on this first Saturday of Championship Week. Be sure to check back periodically and check out Bubbleteams.com for updated scores, conference tournament brackets, tournament previews and an updated NCAA Tournament bracket.
Expansions and Contractions:
Winthrop: Winthrop advances to the NCAA Tournament with a 51-50 win over Coastal Carolina. The Eagles Craig Bradshaw scored on a short jumper with 10 seconds left in the game. The Chanticleers had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but failed to get a shot off. Winthrop advances to their second straight NCAA Tournament.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats continue to follow the pattern of winning big games that has been set forth by numerous other teams during this final week of the regular season. Cincinnati defeated West Virginia to get themselves to .500 in the Big East and set up with a possible at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The fate of the Bearcats will depend on the outcome of several other teams in the conference tournaments, but at least Cincinnati has a chance to continue fighting for what should be the eighth bid out of the Big East. The Bearcats would be wise to add one more win their resume before resting on their laurels and hoping that all they have done thus far this season is enough to advance to the Big Dance.
NC Wilmington: The Seahawks finished off 9 seed Delaware to move forward to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. NC Wilmington needs to win their semifinal game and advance to the championship game of the conference tournament to have a legitimate claim at an at-large bid. With so many other bubble teams posting big wins this week, this is the Seahawks' only chance to make a statement and get some needed face time.
Texas A&M: The Aggies post their seventh consecutive win, pushing their Big 12 record to 10-6 and their overall record to 20-7. Texas A&M still has a spotty RPI in the high 40s/low 50s, but given their recent win against Texas, their current winning streak and the failure of Colorado to secure what would be the fourth bid from the Big 12, the Aggies have all but sewn up a berth in this years NCAA Tournament. One more win in the Big 12 Tournament would secure an at-large bid for Texas A&M.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores had their chance to pull of another signature upset and put their name in with the bubble elite. Alas, Vanderbilt withered in the final minutes and lost to Tennessee at home, thus ending any chances at a possible at-large bid. Even a run to the SEC title game will not be enough for the Commodores this season.
Wichita State: The Shockers are far from a bubble team, but they do deserve mention because after their loss to Bradley in the MVC semifinals they will be nervously waiting to see their name in the field of 65. Fear not Wichita State, a regular season championship, 24 wins (including 14 in conference) and a top 25 RPI will be enough to get you into the Big Dance this year.
Bradley: The Braves continue their improbable run towards what appears to be either an automatic or at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. A solid upset of number 1 seed Wichita State has Bradley pushing towards the head of the class of the slew of bubble teams out of the MVC. The Bradley win did hurt Creighton, because now the Braves have a chance to play Southern Illinois for the automatic bid out of the MVC. The Creighton Blue Jays are behind Northern Iowa, Missouri State and Wichita State in the bubble pecking order. At this point, they have to hope Northern Iowa wins the MVC Tournament and they somehow earn an unlikely fifth bid out of the MVC.
Indiana: Gee, Now do you think the Hoosiers deserve an NCAA at-large bid ? After a midseason swoon that indirectly led to head coach Mike Davis' departure, the Hoosiers have righted the ship and are riding a four game winning streak. Indiana is a lock to make the field of 65. A fifth place finish in the Big Ten, nine Big Ten wins, five wins against the top 30 RPI and six wins against the top 50 RPI means head coach Mike Davis will end his tenure at Indiana with an NCAA bid.
Michigan: The Wolverines should be safe, but just to be certain, the maize and blue would not want to flame out in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan has done just enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. While losing six of their last nine games is not a good way for the Wolverines to make a statement to the NCAA Selection Committee, three wins against the top 20 RPI and ten wins against the top 100 RPI along with a top 30 RPI should be just enough to get Michigan in.... just be sure to win that first round game in the Big ten Tournament.
Air Force: Eh, the Falcons win again... and yet again it is against a marginal MWC team. Air Force has a lot of wins, 22 to be exact, and they only have 5 losses. Air Force plays in a lower level major conference and they got in two years ago with the same number of conference wins, yet it just does not seem fathomable that the Falcons would be rewarded with an at-large bid over so many other teams that have scored BIG upset wins this past week. The best bet for the Falcons is to win the MWC championship. Anything else, and there might be some sadness in Colorado Springs on Selection Sunday.
Murray State: The Racers become the fourth team to punch a ticket to the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide lost at Mississippi State to drop to 17-11 and 10-6 in the SEC. Not the smartest move given so many other teams got key wins this week, but when taken into account, it should still not cost the Tide an at-large bid.
Northern Iowa: The Panthers lost a heartbreaker to Southern Illinois. It is a good thing Northern Iowa has a solid non-conference resume to hang their hat on, because their play in the past two weeks has been suspect. Despite the loss, the Panthers are still a solid choice to come out of the MVC for an at-large bid.
Southern Illinois: The Salukis face the Bradley Braves for the MVC Championship. In what must be described as unexpected, the two teams that sat at the bottom of the pile of potential bubble teams from the MVC have each played their way to a possible MVC Tournament Championship. Southern Illinois should push their way back into the top 40 RPI and with another solid win, erase the bad memories of recent losses in the MVC. The Salukis also own two wins over Northern Iowa in the past week and wins against Kent State, Wichita State, Bradley and a season sweep of Creighton in the regular season. The real loser was the Creighton Blue Jays, who have likely dropped to the sixth choice as a bubble teams out of the MVC.
George Mason: The Patriots barely beat 10 seed Georgia State in the CAA quarterfinals. As more and more bubble teams post big wins, the bubble becomes smaller and smaller for teams like the Patriots. Even if George Mason makes the CAA title game, there might not be enough room for them in this year's tournament should they lose.
California: The Bears would be golden in any other year than this one. Just what do you do with a team from a Big 6 conference that has won 18 games and 12 in conference. The answer to that question is usually automatic; you put them in the dance. However, this year is quite a different story. The Pac Ten has struggled, their RPI rating is down and there is some thought that even 12 wins, including wins over UCLA, Washington and Arizona, is not enough. What will most affect the Bears are the happenings from other one-bid conferences. The Bears need to beat USC in the first round of the Pac Ten Tournament and possibly make he tournament finals to make a final stab at an at-large bid. Anything less than that and they are taking their chances with what can be a fickle selection committee.
UAB: The Blazers took care of business winning their 22nd game overall and their 12th in conference. UAB just needs to avoid bad losses (meaning make the Conference USA semifinals) and they should grab another at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Colorado: The Buffaloes barely beat Iowa State in heir season finale. While other bubble teams have been grabbing marquee wins and signature upsets, the Buffaloes have been bumbling and stumbling along. Colorado now sits behind Texas A&M in the race for another bid out of the Big 12. The Buffaloes have the chance to steal that bid away from the Aggies. Colorado is the 5 seed in the Big 12 Conference championship and Texas A&M is the 4 seed. If the Buffs can win their first round game they can possibly steal away an at-large bid from Texas A&M. Even if the Buffs win their first round game, they will still need to beat the Aggies to get back into the field of 65.
Expansions and Contractions:
Winthrop: Winthrop advances to the NCAA Tournament with a 51-50 win over Coastal Carolina. The Eagles Craig Bradshaw scored on a short jumper with 10 seconds left in the game. The Chanticleers had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but failed to get a shot off. Winthrop advances to their second straight NCAA Tournament.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats continue to follow the pattern of winning big games that has been set forth by numerous other teams during this final week of the regular season. Cincinnati defeated West Virginia to get themselves to .500 in the Big East and set up with a possible at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The fate of the Bearcats will depend on the outcome of several other teams in the conference tournaments, but at least Cincinnati has a chance to continue fighting for what should be the eighth bid out of the Big East. The Bearcats would be wise to add one more win their resume before resting on their laurels and hoping that all they have done thus far this season is enough to advance to the Big Dance.
NC Wilmington: The Seahawks finished off 9 seed Delaware to move forward to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. NC Wilmington needs to win their semifinal game and advance to the championship game of the conference tournament to have a legitimate claim at an at-large bid. With so many other bubble teams posting big wins this week, this is the Seahawks' only chance to make a statement and get some needed face time.
Texas A&M: The Aggies post their seventh consecutive win, pushing their Big 12 record to 10-6 and their overall record to 20-7. Texas A&M still has a spotty RPI in the high 40s/low 50s, but given their recent win against Texas, their current winning streak and the failure of Colorado to secure what would be the fourth bid from the Big 12, the Aggies have all but sewn up a berth in this years NCAA Tournament. One more win in the Big 12 Tournament would secure an at-large bid for Texas A&M.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores had their chance to pull of another signature upset and put their name in with the bubble elite. Alas, Vanderbilt withered in the final minutes and lost to Tennessee at home, thus ending any chances at a possible at-large bid. Even a run to the SEC title game will not be enough for the Commodores this season.
Wichita State: The Shockers are far from a bubble team, but they do deserve mention because after their loss to Bradley in the MVC semifinals they will be nervously waiting to see their name in the field of 65. Fear not Wichita State, a regular season championship, 24 wins (including 14 in conference) and a top 25 RPI will be enough to get you into the Big Dance this year.
Bradley: The Braves continue their improbable run towards what appears to be either an automatic or at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. A solid upset of number 1 seed Wichita State has Bradley pushing towards the head of the class of the slew of bubble teams out of the MVC. The Bradley win did hurt Creighton, because now the Braves have a chance to play Southern Illinois for the automatic bid out of the MVC. The Creighton Blue Jays are behind Northern Iowa, Missouri State and Wichita State in the bubble pecking order. At this point, they have to hope Northern Iowa wins the MVC Tournament and they somehow earn an unlikely fifth bid out of the MVC.
Indiana: Gee, Now do you think the Hoosiers deserve an NCAA at-large bid ? After a midseason swoon that indirectly led to head coach Mike Davis' departure, the Hoosiers have righted the ship and are riding a four game winning streak. Indiana is a lock to make the field of 65. A fifth place finish in the Big Ten, nine Big Ten wins, five wins against the top 30 RPI and six wins against the top 50 RPI means head coach Mike Davis will end his tenure at Indiana with an NCAA bid.
Michigan: The Wolverines should be safe, but just to be certain, the maize and blue would not want to flame out in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan has done just enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. While losing six of their last nine games is not a good way for the Wolverines to make a statement to the NCAA Selection Committee, three wins against the top 20 RPI and ten wins against the top 100 RPI along with a top 30 RPI should be just enough to get Michigan in.... just be sure to win that first round game in the Big ten Tournament.
Air Force: Eh, the Falcons win again... and yet again it is against a marginal MWC team. Air Force has a lot of wins, 22 to be exact, and they only have 5 losses. Air Force plays in a lower level major conference and they got in two years ago with the same number of conference wins, yet it just does not seem fathomable that the Falcons would be rewarded with an at-large bid over so many other teams that have scored BIG upset wins this past week. The best bet for the Falcons is to win the MWC championship. Anything else, and there might be some sadness in Colorado Springs on Selection Sunday.
Murray State: The Racers become the fourth team to punch a ticket to the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide lost at Mississippi State to drop to 17-11 and 10-6 in the SEC. Not the smartest move given so many other teams got key wins this week, but when taken into account, it should still not cost the Tide an at-large bid.
Northern Iowa: The Panthers lost a heartbreaker to Southern Illinois. It is a good thing Northern Iowa has a solid non-conference resume to hang their hat on, because their play in the past two weeks has been suspect. Despite the loss, the Panthers are still a solid choice to come out of the MVC for an at-large bid.
Southern Illinois: The Salukis face the Bradley Braves for the MVC Championship. In what must be described as unexpected, the two teams that sat at the bottom of the pile of potential bubble teams from the MVC have each played their way to a possible MVC Tournament Championship. Southern Illinois should push their way back into the top 40 RPI and with another solid win, erase the bad memories of recent losses in the MVC. The Salukis also own two wins over Northern Iowa in the past week and wins against Kent State, Wichita State, Bradley and a season sweep of Creighton in the regular season. The real loser was the Creighton Blue Jays, who have likely dropped to the sixth choice as a bubble teams out of the MVC.
George Mason: The Patriots barely beat 10 seed Georgia State in the CAA quarterfinals. As more and more bubble teams post big wins, the bubble becomes smaller and smaller for teams like the Patriots. Even if George Mason makes the CAA title game, there might not be enough room for them in this year's tournament should they lose.
California: The Bears would be golden in any other year than this one. Just what do you do with a team from a Big 6 conference that has won 18 games and 12 in conference. The answer to that question is usually automatic; you put them in the dance. However, this year is quite a different story. The Pac Ten has struggled, their RPI rating is down and there is some thought that even 12 wins, including wins over UCLA, Washington and Arizona, is not enough. What will most affect the Bears are the happenings from other one-bid conferences. The Bears need to beat USC in the first round of the Pac Ten Tournament and possibly make he tournament finals to make a final stab at an at-large bid. Anything less than that and they are taking their chances with what can be a fickle selection committee.
UAB: The Blazers took care of business winning their 22nd game overall and their 12th in conference. UAB just needs to avoid bad losses (meaning make the Conference USA semifinals) and they should grab another at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Colorado: The Buffaloes barely beat Iowa State in heir season finale. While other bubble teams have been grabbing marquee wins and signature upsets, the Buffaloes have been bumbling and stumbling along. Colorado now sits behind Texas A&M in the race for another bid out of the Big 12. The Buffaloes have the chance to steal that bid away from the Aggies. Colorado is the 5 seed in the Big 12 Conference championship and Texas A&M is the 4 seed. If the Buffs can win their first round game they can possibly steal away an at-large bid from Texas A&M. Even if the Buffs win their first round game, they will still need to beat the Aggies to get back into the field of 65.
Conference Tournament Previews 3/04/06-(Mid Continent, Big Sky)
We are continuing to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
Mid Continent:
At John Q. Hammons Arena
Tulsa, Okla.
FIRST ROUND
Saturday, March 4
Game 1: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 8 Western Illinois, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 IUPUI vs. No. 7 Oakland, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 5
Game 3: No. 4 Valparaiso vs. No. 5 Southern Utah, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 UMKC vs. No. 6 Chicago State, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: Oral Roberts made a late season run to win eight of their last ten games and forge a tie for the regular season conference title. IUPUI finished in a first place tie with Oral Roberts after losing their last two games. Oral Roberts also earned the 1 seed for the conference tournament, which will be played in their hometown of Tulsa, but not on their home court. IUPUI had been the hottest team in the Mid-Continent Conference, winning 13 of 14 games after starting the season 3-6. The Jaguars spit the season series with the Titans, with each team winning on their home court.
Favorite: Oral Roberts started to live up to their preseason hype once the conference season kicked into gear. With guard Ken Tutt slowly returning to form off the bench, the Titans are finally playing like most pundits expected them to when the season started. Tutt, sidelined by a foot injury most of the season. finally returned to Titans in late February. Tutt has been relegated to coming off the bench since his return. After a slow start, Tutt regained his all-conference from in his final two regular-season games. Tutt averaged 17.0 points, shooting 63 percent from the field and 86 percent from the line. Tutt scored 18 in his regular-season finale against Valparaiso. The Titans are once again the favorite to take the Mid-Continent Conference crown. Oral Roberts hopes to erase the disappointment suffered in last season's conference title game, when the Titans lost to Oakland by one, and make a run to this year's NCAA Tournament.
Darkhorse: Last season was the first since 1999 that Valparaiso did not either tie or win the regular season conference title or win the conference tournament. This season the Crusaders are in the unenviable position as conference underdogs. Valparaiso makes a quaint choice as a darkhorse, yet given their inability to win on the road (only four road wins all season), they are not a solid choice as a darkhorse this year. Chicago State has won eight of their last 12 games, after starting the season 1-14. The Cougars picked up two crucial road wins in that span and defeated conference co-champion IUPUI in their next to last game of the season. Chicago State faces an inconsistent Missouri-Kansas City in the first round. Should the Cougars get past the Kangaroos, they would likely face IUPUI again, just a little more than a week since defeating IUPUI. In a league that rarely has a darkhorse emerge, Chicago State looks to be the best of a mediocre lot.
Big Sky:
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Saturday, March 4
Game 1: No. 4 Montana State vs No. 5 Sacramento State, 4:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 3 Eastern Washington vs. No. 6 Portland State, 10 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
At Walkup Skydome
Flagstaff, Ariz.
Tuesday, March 7
Game 3: Higher seed vs. No. 2 Montana, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Lower seed vs. No. 1 Northern Arizona, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Wednesday, March 8
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Northern Arizona swept through the Big Sky winning 12 of 14 league games. The Lumberjacks only league losses came at Eastern Washington and Montana. Northern Arizona earns the top seed and is the host for the conference tournament. Number 2 seed Montana started their non-conference campaign 8-2 and seemed poised to make a run at a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, a few bad losses during the conference season (at Weber State and Idaho State-two teams that did not even make the conference tournament) kept the Grizzlies from winning the regular season championship.
Favorite: Northern Arizona finished the season 12-1 at home and did not lose a Big Sky Conference game at home. However, the Lumberjacks did not win a single conference home game (seven games in all) by more than 10 points. Does that mean that Northern Arizona knows how to win close games, or is just a indicator that the Lumberjacks have been lucky enough to get the right bounce of the ball in the right situation. Northern Arizona will face either Sacramento State or Montana State, two teams that stayed within six points of the Lumberjacks on their home floor. Northern Arizona will be aided by conference alignment that allows the top two seeds to advance to conference semifinals without having to play a game. Should the Lumberjacks somehow lose in the semifinals, Montana will be waiting in the wings to step into the top spot. Last season the Grizzlies emerged from a 3 seed to advance to the NCAA Tournament after top seed Portland State lost in the conference semifinals to Weber State. Montana played a solid non-conference schedule and despite the possibility of having to face the top seed Northern Arizona on their home floor, we will declare the Montana Grizzlies our choice as Big Sky favorite.
Darkhorse: Montana State lost two close games to the top seeded Northern Arizona and seem poised to take a run at the Lumberjacks in the semifinals. The Bobcats must get past Sacramento State, losers of nine of their last 10 games, in the first round. Should Montana State make it to the conference semifinals, we like their chances against top seeded Northern Arizona. In 2000, 2002 and 2005, the regular season conference champion has been upset at some point during the conference tournament. In two of those three tournaments, the Montana Grizzlies have been there to fill the void and emerge as Big Sky Conference Tournament champion.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
Mid Continent:
At John Q. Hammons Arena
Tulsa, Okla.
FIRST ROUND
Saturday, March 4
Game 1: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 8 Western Illinois, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 IUPUI vs. No. 7 Oakland, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 5
Game 3: No. 4 Valparaiso vs. No. 5 Southern Utah, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 UMKC vs. No. 6 Chicago State, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: Oral Roberts made a late season run to win eight of their last ten games and forge a tie for the regular season conference title. IUPUI finished in a first place tie with Oral Roberts after losing their last two games. Oral Roberts also earned the 1 seed for the conference tournament, which will be played in their hometown of Tulsa, but not on their home court. IUPUI had been the hottest team in the Mid-Continent Conference, winning 13 of 14 games after starting the season 3-6. The Jaguars spit the season series with the Titans, with each team winning on their home court.
Favorite: Oral Roberts started to live up to their preseason hype once the conference season kicked into gear. With guard Ken Tutt slowly returning to form off the bench, the Titans are finally playing like most pundits expected them to when the season started. Tutt, sidelined by a foot injury most of the season. finally returned to Titans in late February. Tutt has been relegated to coming off the bench since his return. After a slow start, Tutt regained his all-conference from in his final two regular-season games. Tutt averaged 17.0 points, shooting 63 percent from the field and 86 percent from the line. Tutt scored 18 in his regular-season finale against Valparaiso. The Titans are once again the favorite to take the Mid-Continent Conference crown. Oral Roberts hopes to erase the disappointment suffered in last season's conference title game, when the Titans lost to Oakland by one, and make a run to this year's NCAA Tournament.
Darkhorse: Last season was the first since 1999 that Valparaiso did not either tie or win the regular season conference title or win the conference tournament. This season the Crusaders are in the unenviable position as conference underdogs. Valparaiso makes a quaint choice as a darkhorse, yet given their inability to win on the road (only four road wins all season), they are not a solid choice as a darkhorse this year. Chicago State has won eight of their last 12 games, after starting the season 1-14. The Cougars picked up two crucial road wins in that span and defeated conference co-champion IUPUI in their next to last game of the season. Chicago State faces an inconsistent Missouri-Kansas City in the first round. Should the Cougars get past the Kangaroos, they would likely face IUPUI again, just a little more than a week since defeating IUPUI. In a league that rarely has a darkhorse emerge, Chicago State looks to be the best of a mediocre lot.
Big Sky:
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Saturday, March 4
Game 1: No. 4 Montana State vs No. 5 Sacramento State, 4:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 3 Eastern Washington vs. No. 6 Portland State, 10 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
At Walkup Skydome
Flagstaff, Ariz.
Tuesday, March 7
Game 3: Higher seed vs. No. 2 Montana, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Lower seed vs. No. 1 Northern Arizona, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Wednesday, March 8
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Northern Arizona swept through the Big Sky winning 12 of 14 league games. The Lumberjacks only league losses came at Eastern Washington and Montana. Northern Arizona earns the top seed and is the host for the conference tournament. Number 2 seed Montana started their non-conference campaign 8-2 and seemed poised to make a run at a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, a few bad losses during the conference season (at Weber State and Idaho State-two teams that did not even make the conference tournament) kept the Grizzlies from winning the regular season championship.
Favorite: Northern Arizona finished the season 12-1 at home and did not lose a Big Sky Conference game at home. However, the Lumberjacks did not win a single conference home game (seven games in all) by more than 10 points. Does that mean that Northern Arizona knows how to win close games, or is just a indicator that the Lumberjacks have been lucky enough to get the right bounce of the ball in the right situation. Northern Arizona will face either Sacramento State or Montana State, two teams that stayed within six points of the Lumberjacks on their home floor. Northern Arizona will be aided by conference alignment that allows the top two seeds to advance to conference semifinals without having to play a game. Should the Lumberjacks somehow lose in the semifinals, Montana will be waiting in the wings to step into the top spot. Last season the Grizzlies emerged from a 3 seed to advance to the NCAA Tournament after top seed Portland State lost in the conference semifinals to Weber State. Montana played a solid non-conference schedule and despite the possibility of having to face the top seed Northern Arizona on their home floor, we will declare the Montana Grizzlies our choice as Big Sky favorite.
Darkhorse: Montana State lost two close games to the top seeded Northern Arizona and seem poised to take a run at the Lumberjacks in the semifinals. The Bobcats must get past Sacramento State, losers of nine of their last 10 games, in the first round. Should Montana State make it to the conference semifinals, we like their chances against top seeded Northern Arizona. In 2000, 2002 and 2005, the regular season conference champion has been upset at some point during the conference tournament. In two of those three tournaments, the Montana Grizzlies have been there to fill the void and emerge as Big Sky Conference Tournament champion.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Conference Tournament Updates 3/03/06
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
America East:
UMBC defeated Stony Brook to advance to the conference quarterfinals where they will face top seed Albany.
FIRST ROUND
At Events Center
Vestal, N.Y.
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 8 Maryland-Baltimore County 88, No. 9 Stony Brook 70
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 2: No. 2 Binghamton vs. No. 7 Maine, noon
Game 3: No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Maine, 2:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 Albany vs. No. 8 Maryland-Baltimore County, 6 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 Hartford vs. No. 5 New Hampshire, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 6: Winners of Games 2 and 3, Noon
Game 7: Winners of Games 4 and 5, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Winners of Games 6 and 7, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Atlantic Sun:
Lipscomb dominated Gardner-Webb and Belmont handily beat Stetson to set the championship match between the top two teams in the Atlantic Sun.
At Memorial Center
Johnson City, Tenn.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Lipscomb 78, No. 8 Mercer 62
Game 2: No. 4 Gardner-Webb 64, No. 5 East Tennessee State 63
Game 3: No. 2 Belmont 90, No. 7 Campbell 76
Game 4: No. 6 Stetson 54, No. 3 Florida Atlantic 44
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Lipscomb 70, No. 4 Gardner-Webb 51
Game 6: No. 2 Belmont 72, No. 6 Stetson 59
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 1 Lipscomb vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Colonial:
Delaware and Georgia State each pulled of upsets to advance to the quarterfinals. 5 seed Northeastern advanced to face Old Dominion and 6 seed VCU barely beat William & Mary to set up a solid quarterfinal game against Hofstra.
At the Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, Va.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 9 Delaware 52, No. 8 Drexel 49
Game 2: No. 5 Northeastern 74, No. 12 James Madison 56
Game 3: No. 10 Georgia State 72, No. 7 Towson 64
Game 4: No. 6 VCU 62, No. 11 William & Mary 59
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 5: No. 1 UNC Wilmington vs. No. 9 Delaware, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 Old Dominion vs. No. 5 Northeastern, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 George Mason vs. No. 10 Georgia State, 6 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Hofstra vs. No. 6 VCU, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Horizon:
Wisconsin-Green Bay advanced to the semifinals to face 2 seed Butler and Loyola-Chicago defeated Illinois-Chicago to advance and play host Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 77, No. 7 Wright State 64
Game 2: No. 5 Detroit 92, No. 8 Cleveland State 58
Game 3: No. 4 Loyola-Chi. 76, No. 9 Youngstown State 61
QUARTERFINALS
At The Klotsche Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay 76, No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 66
Game 5: No. 4 Loyola-Chi. 64, No. 5 Detroit 55
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 6: No. 2 Butler vs. No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 7: No. 1 Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. No. 4 Loyola-Chi, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Tuesday, March 7
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
MAAC:
St. Peter's and Niagara each won their opening round games and Canisius dropped in a buzzer beater to advance to the second round of the MAAC Tournament.
At Pepsi Arena
Albany, N.Y.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 Saint Peter's 80, No. 10 Rider 51
Game 2: No. 7 Niagara 84, No. 8 Fairfield 77
Game 3: No. 9 Canisius 74, No. 6 Loyola, Md. 72
SECOND ROUND
Saturday, March 4
Game 4: No. 4 Siena vs. No. 5 Saint Peter's, 5 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Iona vs. No. 7 Niagara, 7:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Marist vs. No. 9 Canisius, 10 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 7: No. 1 Manhattan vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Missouri Valley:
Top seed Wichita State defteated Indiana State to advance to the semifinals to face 5 seed Bradley, an upset winner against bubble team Creighton and Southern Illinois advanced to the semifinals to face Northern Iowa.
At Savvis Center
St. Louis, Mo.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 9 Indiana State 72, No. 8 Drake 63
Game 2: No. 7 Evansville 52, No. 10 Illinois State 45
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 3: No. 1 Wichita State 81, No. 9 Indiana State 63
Game 4: No. 5 Bradley 54, No. 4 Creighton 47
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Illinois 71, No. 7 Evansville 55
Game 6: No. 6 Northern Iowa 57, No. 3 Missouri State 42
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 1 Wichita State vs. No. 5 Bradley, 2:30 p.m.
Game 8: No. 2 Southern Illinois vs. No. 6 Northern Iowa, 5 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Winners of Games 7 and 8, 2 p.m.
Ohio Valley:
The top two seeds, Murray State and Samford, won close contests to advance to the championship game of the OVC.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 1 Murray State 65, UT-Martin 52
Game 2: No. 4 Jacksonville St. 86, No. 5 Eastern Kentucky 59
Game 3: No. 2 Samford 78, Tennessee State 67
Game 4: No. 3 Tennessee Tech 78, No. 6 Austin Peay 74
SEMIFINALS
At The Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tenn.
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Murray State 69, No. 4 Jacksonville St. 64
Game 6: No. 2 Samford 73, No. 3 Tennessee Tech 67
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Game 7: No. 1 Murray State vs. No. 2 Samford, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Patriot:
The Patriot League held form as all top four seeds advanced to the semifinals.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
At Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 1: No. 4 American 75, No. 5 Lafayette 62
Game 2: No. 1 Bucknell 59, No. 8 Army 47
At Hart Center
Worcester, Mass.
Game 3: No. 3 Lehigh 48, No. 6 Colgate 44
Game 4: No. 2 Holy Cross 78, No. 7 Navy 50
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
At Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 5: No. 1 Bucknell vs. No. 4 American, 1 p.m.
At Hart CenterWorcester, Mass.
Game 6: No. 2 Holy Cross vs. No. 3 Lehigh, 1 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Friday, March 10
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Southern:
Appalachian State and Chattanooga both scored upsets to advance to the semifinals. Elon needed overtime to defeat NC Greensboro and advanceto meet 3 seed Davidson.
At North Charleston Coliseum
North Charleston, S.C.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Appalachian St. 66, No. 9 Wofford 65
Game 2: No. 10 UNC Greensboro 69, No. 7 Western Carolina 65
Game 3: No. 11 The Citadel 65, No. 6 Furman 53
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 8 Appalachian St. 74, No. 1 Georgia Southern 61
Game 5: No. 5 Chattanooga 65, No. 4 College of Charleston 63
Game 6: No. 2 Elon 64, No. 10 UNC Greensboro 61 OT
Game 7: No. 3 Davidson 79, No. 11 The Citadel 73
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 8: No. 8 Appalachian St. vs. No. 5 Chattanooga, 12 p.m.
Game 9: No. 2 Elon vs. No. 3 Davidson, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sun Belt:
Troy upset Arkansas State to join New Orleans and Arkansas-Little Rock as each advanced to the conference quarterfinals.
At the Murphy Center
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: W4 New Orleans 76, E5 Florida International 56
Game 2: E4 Arkansas-Little Rock 72, W5 North Texas 55
Game 3: W6 Troy 107, E3 Arkansas State 83
QUARTERFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 4: E2 Middle Tennessee vs. W3 Denver, 1 p.m.
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky vs. W4 New Orleans, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: W1 South Alabama vs. E4 Arkansas-Little Rock, 7 p.m.
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette vs. E3 Arkansas State, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
West Coast:
San Diego and Santa Clara each advanced to the second round where they will meet San Francisco and St. Mary's, respectively.
At McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane, Wash.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 San Diego 85, No. 8 Pepperdine 72
Game 2: No. 7 Santa Clara 72, No. 6 Portland 68
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 3: No. 4 San Francisco vs. No. 5 San Diego, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Saint Mary's vs. No. 7 Santa Clara, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount vs. Game 4 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
America East:
UMBC defeated Stony Brook to advance to the conference quarterfinals where they will face top seed Albany.
FIRST ROUND
At Events Center
Vestal, N.Y.
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 8 Maryland-Baltimore County 88, No. 9 Stony Brook 70
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 2: No. 2 Binghamton vs. No. 7 Maine, noon
Game 3: No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Maine, 2:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 Albany vs. No. 8 Maryland-Baltimore County, 6 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 Hartford vs. No. 5 New Hampshire, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 6: Winners of Games 2 and 3, Noon
Game 7: Winners of Games 4 and 5, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Winners of Games 6 and 7, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Atlantic Sun:
Lipscomb dominated Gardner-Webb and Belmont handily beat Stetson to set the championship match between the top two teams in the Atlantic Sun.
At Memorial Center
Johnson City, Tenn.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Lipscomb 78, No. 8 Mercer 62
Game 2: No. 4 Gardner-Webb 64, No. 5 East Tennessee State 63
Game 3: No. 2 Belmont 90, No. 7 Campbell 76
Game 4: No. 6 Stetson 54, No. 3 Florida Atlantic 44
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Lipscomb 70, No. 4 Gardner-Webb 51
Game 6: No. 2 Belmont 72, No. 6 Stetson 59
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 1 Lipscomb vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Colonial:
Delaware and Georgia State each pulled of upsets to advance to the quarterfinals. 5 seed Northeastern advanced to face Old Dominion and 6 seed VCU barely beat William & Mary to set up a solid quarterfinal game against Hofstra.
At the Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, Va.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 9 Delaware 52, No. 8 Drexel 49
Game 2: No. 5 Northeastern 74, No. 12 James Madison 56
Game 3: No. 10 Georgia State 72, No. 7 Towson 64
Game 4: No. 6 VCU 62, No. 11 William & Mary 59
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 5: No. 1 UNC Wilmington vs. No. 9 Delaware, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 Old Dominion vs. No. 5 Northeastern, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 George Mason vs. No. 10 Georgia State, 6 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Hofstra vs. No. 6 VCU, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Horizon:
Wisconsin-Green Bay advanced to the semifinals to face 2 seed Butler and Loyola-Chicago defeated Illinois-Chicago to advance and play host Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 77, No. 7 Wright State 64
Game 2: No. 5 Detroit 92, No. 8 Cleveland State 58
Game 3: No. 4 Loyola-Chi. 76, No. 9 Youngstown State 61
QUARTERFINALS
At The Klotsche Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay 76, No. 6 Illinois-Chicago 66
Game 5: No. 4 Loyola-Chi. 64, No. 5 Detroit 55
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 6: No. 2 Butler vs. No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 7: No. 1 Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. No. 4 Loyola-Chi, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Tuesday, March 7
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
MAAC:
St. Peter's and Niagara each won their opening round games and Canisius dropped in a buzzer beater to advance to the second round of the MAAC Tournament.
At Pepsi Arena
Albany, N.Y.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 Saint Peter's 80, No. 10 Rider 51
Game 2: No. 7 Niagara 84, No. 8 Fairfield 77
Game 3: No. 9 Canisius 74, No. 6 Loyola, Md. 72
SECOND ROUND
Saturday, March 4
Game 4: No. 4 Siena vs. No. 5 Saint Peter's, 5 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Iona vs. No. 7 Niagara, 7:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Marist vs. No. 9 Canisius, 10 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 7: No. 1 Manhattan vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Missouri Valley:
Top seed Wichita State defteated Indiana State to advance to the semifinals to face 5 seed Bradley, an upset winner against bubble team Creighton and Southern Illinois advanced to the semifinals to face Northern Iowa.
At Savvis Center
St. Louis, Mo.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 9 Indiana State 72, No. 8 Drake 63
Game 2: No. 7 Evansville 52, No. 10 Illinois State 45
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 3: No. 1 Wichita State 81, No. 9 Indiana State 63
Game 4: No. 5 Bradley 54, No. 4 Creighton 47
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Illinois 71, No. 7 Evansville 55
Game 6: No. 6 Northern Iowa 57, No. 3 Missouri State 42
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 1 Wichita State vs. No. 5 Bradley, 2:30 p.m.
Game 8: No. 2 Southern Illinois vs. No. 6 Northern Iowa, 5 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Winners of Games 7 and 8, 2 p.m.
Ohio Valley:
The top two seeds, Murray State and Samford, won close contests to advance to the championship game of the OVC.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 1 Murray State 65, UT-Martin 52
Game 2: No. 4 Jacksonville St. 86, No. 5 Eastern Kentucky 59
Game 3: No. 2 Samford 78, Tennessee State 67
Game 4: No. 3 Tennessee Tech 78, No. 6 Austin Peay 74
SEMIFINALS
At The Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tenn.
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Murray State 69, No. 4 Jacksonville St. 64
Game 6: No. 2 Samford 73, No. 3 Tennessee Tech 67
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Game 7: No. 1 Murray State vs. No. 2 Samford, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Patriot:
The Patriot League held form as all top four seeds advanced to the semifinals.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
At Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 1: No. 4 American 75, No. 5 Lafayette 62
Game 2: No. 1 Bucknell 59, No. 8 Army 47
At Hart Center
Worcester, Mass.
Game 3: No. 3 Lehigh 48, No. 6 Colgate 44
Game 4: No. 2 Holy Cross 78, No. 7 Navy 50
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
At Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 5: No. 1 Bucknell vs. No. 4 American, 1 p.m.
At Hart CenterWorcester, Mass.
Game 6: No. 2 Holy Cross vs. No. 3 Lehigh, 1 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Friday, March 10
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Southern:
Appalachian State and Chattanooga both scored upsets to advance to the semifinals. Elon needed overtime to defeat NC Greensboro and advanceto meet 3 seed Davidson.
At North Charleston Coliseum
North Charleston, S.C.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Appalachian St. 66, No. 9 Wofford 65
Game 2: No. 10 UNC Greensboro 69, No. 7 Western Carolina 65
Game 3: No. 11 The Citadel 65, No. 6 Furman 53
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 8 Appalachian St. 74, No. 1 Georgia Southern 61
Game 5: No. 5 Chattanooga 65, No. 4 College of Charleston 63
Game 6: No. 2 Elon 64, No. 10 UNC Greensboro 61 OT
Game 7: No. 3 Davidson 79, No. 11 The Citadel 73
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 8: No. 8 Appalachian St. vs. No. 5 Chattanooga, 12 p.m.
Game 9: No. 2 Elon vs. No. 3 Davidson, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sun Belt:
Troy upset Arkansas State to join New Orleans and Arkansas-Little Rock as each advanced to the conference quarterfinals.
At the Murphy Center
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: W4 New Orleans 76, E5 Florida International 56
Game 2: E4 Arkansas-Little Rock 72, W5 North Texas 55
Game 3: W6 Troy 107, E3 Arkansas State 83
QUARTERFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 4: E2 Middle Tennessee vs. W3 Denver, 1 p.m.
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky vs. W4 New Orleans, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: W1 South Alabama vs. E4 Arkansas-Little Rock, 7 p.m.
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette vs. E3 Arkansas State, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
West Coast:
San Diego and Santa Clara each advanced to the second round where they will meet San Francisco and St. Mary's, respectively.
At McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane, Wash.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 San Diego 85, No. 8 Pepperdine 72
Game 2: No. 7 Santa Clara 72, No. 6 Portland 68
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 3: No. 4 San Francisco vs. No. 5 San Diego, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Saint Mary's vs. No. 7 Santa Clara, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount vs. Game 4 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Bubblicious !!
Thursday and Friday have seen some additional shifts amongst the teams on the bubble, so be sure to visit Bubbleteams.com to check out updated scores and schedules.
Expansion and contraction:
First one in !
The Penn Quakers clinched first place in the Ivy League with a 57-55 win at Yale. The Quakers earn the automatic berth and earn the first bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
Northern Iowa: Just when everyone was ready to count out the Panthers, they go and defeat fellow bubble team and conference foe Missouri State to advance to the conference semifinals in the MVC. It would be unlikely the committee would now keep out the Panthers, despite a late season swoon. A top 25 RPI, a nice slate of solid wins (LSU, Wichita State twice, Iowa) and this latest win should be just enough to bump the Panthers over the top and push them into the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri State: What do you tell a team that has a top 20 RPI, a 20-8 overall record (12-6 in conference) with 4 wins against the top 50 RPI after they lose during Championship Week? Well, if that team were from a Big 6 power conference, you would congratulate them on what would likely be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, if that team is from the Missouri Valley Conference, you are much more likely to say they do not deserve a bid as much as some 8-8 team from the Big East of the ACC simply because of the teams they played. This is the fate that the Bears face after their loss to Northern Iowa in the MVC quarterfinals. Everything statistical and numerical would point to Missouri State getting an at-large bid to the Big Dance, but this year.... with the craziness that has occurred just in the last week?? Who knows what the future will bring the Bears come Selection Sunday?
Seton Hall: There was much consternation over the Pirates after they had lost three straight games... all to teams at the bottom of the Big East. It had looked grim for the Pirates facing two games against Cincinnati and Pitt. After a win against Cincinnati, Seton Hall looked in better shape, if they could just somehow win at Pitt. Lo and behold, the Hall did what teams who deserve an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament are supposed to do. They won a BIG game, defeating the Panthers at Pitt and all but locked up an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Seton Hall still has a shaky RPI and a few bad losses, but with wins at NC State, Pitt and at home against WVU and a 5-4 record against the top 50 RPI, it would be unfathomable for the Selection Committee to hold out the Hall now, especially after the recent collapses of Cincinnati and Syracuse. Welcome to the field of 65 Seton Hall..... you definitely earned it.
Bradley: The Braves have muddied the waters of the MVC after their win against Creighton in the conference quarterfinals. The Braves continued their hot streak, winning their sixth game in a row and their tenth in their last 12 games. Bradley still has a spotty resume, with no real marquee non-conference wins; yet it is getting harder and harder to leave the Braves out of the NCAA Tournament. The question is..... who do they replace?
Creighton: Creighton looked to be solid for an at-large bid.... that is until the lost their last two games (and four of their last six), including a loss in the MVC quarterfinals against Bradley. Creighton looked all but in a week ago, but despite a 28 RPI and a 6-6 record vs the top 50 RPI, it is questionable whether the Blue Jays have done enough in the committee's eyes to earn an at-large bid. Much will depend on the happenings across the nation over the next ten days. Should conference favorites like George Mason and George Washington lose in their conference tournament, it will make it even harder and harder to justify the inclusion of Creighton in this year's Big Dance.
Southern Illinois: The Salukis made life on the bubble even more challenging after their quarterfinal win against lowly Evansville. Southern Illinois will earn few points for this victory (and they may even drop a few spots in the RPI), yet they are still alive in the race for the automatic bid out of the MVC and they are fighting with several fellow bubble brethren from their own conference. It is hard to tell just what the Selection Committee would do with this team. Should they make the conference finals, it might be enough to push them over the top of other bubble teams, like Creighton and the loser of Northern Iowa and Missouri State.
Arizona: Hah, like the committee would leave out the Wildcats. Despite an 18-10 record, Arizona is 11-6 in the Pac Ten and is the #19 RPI team in all the land. Arizona is in, regardless of their last two games.
California: The Bears had their chance, blowing a double-digit lead in the second half to UCLA at home. California must win their season finale against USC and hope their 12-6 conference record stands for more than a mediocre RPI, a lack of a solid non-conference win and several questionable losses (Oregon State and Arizona State). The Bears need two more wins to solidify their standing with the Selection Committee.
Syracuse: The Orangemen may have suffered the WORST loss of ANY team in the past twenty years looking to play their way off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament. Margin of victory is usually not a consideration of whether a team is included or left out of the Big Dance, yet how can the NCAA Selection Committee ignore a 39 point thrashing by a 12-14 team that is only 5-10 in their own conference. Amazingly Syracuse can still reverse the damage b winning at home against Villanova this weekend. Syracuse still would likely need at least one win in the Big East Tournament, although a win against the Wildcats would push the Orange to 20 wins and likely raise their RPI into the low 20s. There has never been an at-large team with an RPI better than 33 left out of the tournament (15-12 Oklahoma had a #33 RPI in 1994 and was not invited). What is even more disturbing is how is appeared the Syracuse players had no interest in the outcome of their game. In the end that may be the most damaging result of their HUGE loss to DePaul.
UAB: One BIG is usually not enough to propel a bubble team into the Big Dance. A team still needs to win their remaining games (or at least a majority of them) to make a solid case for an at-large bid. That being said, defeating the #3 team in the nation and ending a 15 game winning streak is a pretty damn good start! UAB just needs to avoid the hangover that often follows a big win, like theirs over Memphis. The Blazers MUST NOT lose to Marshall this weekend. Their win against the Herd should lock them either a 2 or 3 seed in the conference tournament. As long as they make the conference semifinals, UAB should be golden for another return trip to the NCAA Tournament this season.
Expansion and contraction:
First one in !
The Penn Quakers clinched first place in the Ivy League with a 57-55 win at Yale. The Quakers earn the automatic berth and earn the first bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
Northern Iowa: Just when everyone was ready to count out the Panthers, they go and defeat fellow bubble team and conference foe Missouri State to advance to the conference semifinals in the MVC. It would be unlikely the committee would now keep out the Panthers, despite a late season swoon. A top 25 RPI, a nice slate of solid wins (LSU, Wichita State twice, Iowa) and this latest win should be just enough to bump the Panthers over the top and push them into the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri State: What do you tell a team that has a top 20 RPI, a 20-8 overall record (12-6 in conference) with 4 wins against the top 50 RPI after they lose during Championship Week? Well, if that team were from a Big 6 power conference, you would congratulate them on what would likely be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, if that team is from the Missouri Valley Conference, you are much more likely to say they do not deserve a bid as much as some 8-8 team from the Big East of the ACC simply because of the teams they played. This is the fate that the Bears face after their loss to Northern Iowa in the MVC quarterfinals. Everything statistical and numerical would point to Missouri State getting an at-large bid to the Big Dance, but this year.... with the craziness that has occurred just in the last week?? Who knows what the future will bring the Bears come Selection Sunday?
Seton Hall: There was much consternation over the Pirates after they had lost three straight games... all to teams at the bottom of the Big East. It had looked grim for the Pirates facing two games against Cincinnati and Pitt. After a win against Cincinnati, Seton Hall looked in better shape, if they could just somehow win at Pitt. Lo and behold, the Hall did what teams who deserve an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament are supposed to do. They won a BIG game, defeating the Panthers at Pitt and all but locked up an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Seton Hall still has a shaky RPI and a few bad losses, but with wins at NC State, Pitt and at home against WVU and a 5-4 record against the top 50 RPI, it would be unfathomable for the Selection Committee to hold out the Hall now, especially after the recent collapses of Cincinnati and Syracuse. Welcome to the field of 65 Seton Hall..... you definitely earned it.
Bradley: The Braves have muddied the waters of the MVC after their win against Creighton in the conference quarterfinals. The Braves continued their hot streak, winning their sixth game in a row and their tenth in their last 12 games. Bradley still has a spotty resume, with no real marquee non-conference wins; yet it is getting harder and harder to leave the Braves out of the NCAA Tournament. The question is..... who do they replace?
Creighton: Creighton looked to be solid for an at-large bid.... that is until the lost their last two games (and four of their last six), including a loss in the MVC quarterfinals against Bradley. Creighton looked all but in a week ago, but despite a 28 RPI and a 6-6 record vs the top 50 RPI, it is questionable whether the Blue Jays have done enough in the committee's eyes to earn an at-large bid. Much will depend on the happenings across the nation over the next ten days. Should conference favorites like George Mason and George Washington lose in their conference tournament, it will make it even harder and harder to justify the inclusion of Creighton in this year's Big Dance.
Southern Illinois: The Salukis made life on the bubble even more challenging after their quarterfinal win against lowly Evansville. Southern Illinois will earn few points for this victory (and they may even drop a few spots in the RPI), yet they are still alive in the race for the automatic bid out of the MVC and they are fighting with several fellow bubble brethren from their own conference. It is hard to tell just what the Selection Committee would do with this team. Should they make the conference finals, it might be enough to push them over the top of other bubble teams, like Creighton and the loser of Northern Iowa and Missouri State.
Arizona: Hah, like the committee would leave out the Wildcats. Despite an 18-10 record, Arizona is 11-6 in the Pac Ten and is the #19 RPI team in all the land. Arizona is in, regardless of their last two games.
California: The Bears had their chance, blowing a double-digit lead in the second half to UCLA at home. California must win their season finale against USC and hope their 12-6 conference record stands for more than a mediocre RPI, a lack of a solid non-conference win and several questionable losses (Oregon State and Arizona State). The Bears need two more wins to solidify their standing with the Selection Committee.
Syracuse: The Orangemen may have suffered the WORST loss of ANY team in the past twenty years looking to play their way off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament. Margin of victory is usually not a consideration of whether a team is included or left out of the Big Dance, yet how can the NCAA Selection Committee ignore a 39 point thrashing by a 12-14 team that is only 5-10 in their own conference. Amazingly Syracuse can still reverse the damage b winning at home against Villanova this weekend. Syracuse still would likely need at least one win in the Big East Tournament, although a win against the Wildcats would push the Orange to 20 wins and likely raise their RPI into the low 20s. There has never been an at-large team with an RPI better than 33 left out of the tournament (15-12 Oklahoma had a #33 RPI in 1994 and was not invited). What is even more disturbing is how is appeared the Syracuse players had no interest in the outcome of their game. In the end that may be the most damaging result of their HUGE loss to DePaul.
UAB: One BIG is usually not enough to propel a bubble team into the Big Dance. A team still needs to win their remaining games (or at least a majority of them) to make a solid case for an at-large bid. That being said, defeating the #3 team in the nation and ending a 15 game winning streak is a pretty damn good start! UAB just needs to avoid the hangover that often follows a big win, like theirs over Memphis. The Blazers MUST NOT lose to Marshall this weekend. Their win against the Herd should lock them either a 2 or 3 seed in the conference tournament. As long as they make the conference semifinals, UAB should be golden for another return trip to the NCAA Tournament this season.
Conference Tournament Previews 3/03/06-(WCC)
We are continuing to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
West Coast:
At McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane, Wash.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 San Diego vs. No. 8 Pepperdine, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Portland vs. No. 7 Santa Clara, 11:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 3: No. 4 San Francisco vs. Game 1 winner, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Saint Mary's vs. Game 2 winner, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount vs. Game 4 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: Gonzaga stormed through the West Coast Conference, finishing undefeated in league play for the second time in three years. The Bulldogs did not finish unblemished without having to face several close calls and near misses. Gonzaga eked out close wins against San Francisco (77-74 at Gonzaga), St. Mary's (62-61at Gonzaga) and San Diego (64-63 at San Diego. In the end, the Bulldogs showed why they are the most talented team in the WCC and why they are very deserving of another invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
Favorite: Gonzaga could not be a heavier favorite. The Bulldogs are riding a 16 game winning streak and they are hosts for the conference tournament this year. In addition, as a 1 seed, Gonzaga gets a free pass to the league semifinals. Gonzaga was one of only three WCC teams to finish the regular season with a winning record. San Diego and St. Mary's finished with identical 15-11 records.
Darkhorse: Except for Gonzaga, no other WCC team won more than 8 league games. If not for the close calls the Bulldogs overcame during the regular season, Gonzaga would be considered an almost improbable favorite to repeat as WCC champion. Two teams that might give the Bulldogs trouble are two of the teams that gave Gonzaga their closest calls at home this season, St. Mary's and San Francisco. The San Francisco Dons need to get past their quarterfinal math against the Pepperdine-San Diego winner. Despite coming into the conference tournament 7-7 in league play and 11-16 overall, San Francisco was able to stay within ten points of the Bulldogs in two losses this season. St. Mary's has the benefit of having to avoid Gonzaga until the conference finals. The Gaels, winners of eight of their last 9 games (their only loss was a 1 point defeat after Sean Mallon hit a free throw for Gonzaga with under a second left in the game), have to face the winner of Portland-Santa Clara and then face a slumping Loyola Marymount team (losers of four in a row entering the tournament) in the semifinal game.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
West Coast:
At McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane, Wash.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 San Diego vs. No. 8 Pepperdine, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Portland vs. No. 7 Santa Clara, 11:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 3: No. 4 San Francisco vs. Game 1 winner, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Saint Mary's vs. Game 2 winner, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount vs. Game 4 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: Gonzaga stormed through the West Coast Conference, finishing undefeated in league play for the second time in three years. The Bulldogs did not finish unblemished without having to face several close calls and near misses. Gonzaga eked out close wins against San Francisco (77-74 at Gonzaga), St. Mary's (62-61at Gonzaga) and San Diego (64-63 at San Diego. In the end, the Bulldogs showed why they are the most talented team in the WCC and why they are very deserving of another invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
Favorite: Gonzaga could not be a heavier favorite. The Bulldogs are riding a 16 game winning streak and they are hosts for the conference tournament this year. In addition, as a 1 seed, Gonzaga gets a free pass to the league semifinals. Gonzaga was one of only three WCC teams to finish the regular season with a winning record. San Diego and St. Mary's finished with identical 15-11 records.
Darkhorse: Except for Gonzaga, no other WCC team won more than 8 league games. If not for the close calls the Bulldogs overcame during the regular season, Gonzaga would be considered an almost improbable favorite to repeat as WCC champion. Two teams that might give the Bulldogs trouble are two of the teams that gave Gonzaga their closest calls at home this season, St. Mary's and San Francisco. The San Francisco Dons need to get past their quarterfinal math against the Pepperdine-San Diego winner. Despite coming into the conference tournament 7-7 in league play and 11-16 overall, San Francisco was able to stay within ten points of the Bulldogs in two losses this season. St. Mary's has the benefit of having to avoid Gonzaga until the conference finals. The Gaels, winners of eight of their last 9 games (their only loss was a 1 point defeat after Sean Mallon hit a free throw for Gonzaga with under a second left in the game), have to face the winner of Portland-Santa Clara and then face a slumping Loyola Marymount team (losers of four in a row entering the tournament) in the semifinal game.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Conference Tournament Updates 3/02/06
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
Thursday saw a few minor upsets in conference tournament action and set up some interesting matchups for Friday's games.
Atlantic Sun:
Number 6 seed Stetson upset Florida Atlantic, three of the remaining top four seeds (Lipscomb, Belmont and Gardner-Webb) all advanced and the host East Tennessee State Buccaneers failed to make it to the semifinals.
At Memorial Center
Johnson City, Tenn.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Lipscomb 78, No. 8 Mercer 62
Game 2: No. 4 Gardner-Webb 64, No. 5 East Tennessee State 63
Game 3: No. 2 Belmont 90, No. 7 Campbell 76
Game 4: No. 6 Stetson 54, No. 3 Florida Atlantic 44
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Lipscomb vs. No. 4 Gardner-Webb, 7 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 6 Stetson , 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Big South:
The Winthrop Eagles advanced to the title game to face the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb 28
Game 1: No. 1 Winthrop 93, No. 8 Liberty 52
Game 2: No. 5 High Point 87, No. 4 Radford 84
Game 3: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 78, No. 7 UNC Asheville 62
Game 4: No. 6 Charleston Southern 97, No. 3 Birmingham Southern 76
SEMIFINALS
At Winthrop Coliseum
Rock Hill, S.C.
Thursday, March 2
Game 5: No. 1 Winthrop 77, No. 5 High Point 65
Game 6: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 73, No. 6 Charleston Southern 67
CHAMPIONSHIP
At Winthrop Coliseum
Rock Hill, S.C.
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 2 Coastal Carolina
Missouri Valley:
Indiana State advanced to face league champion Wichita State in the quarterfinals and Evansville defeats Illinois State to set up a rematch with Southern Illinois.
At Savvis Center
St. Louis, Mo.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 9 Indiana State 72, No. 8 Drake 63
Game 2: No. 7 Evansville 52, No. 10 Illinois State 45
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 3: No. 1 Wichita State vs. No. 9 Indiana St, 1 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Creighton vs. No. 5 Bradley, 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Illinois No. 7 Evansville
Game 6: No. 3 Missouri State vs. No. 6 Northern Iowa, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Winners of Games 3 and 4, 2:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winners of Games 5 and 6, 5 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Winners of Games 7 and 8, 2 p.m.
Northeast:
At higher seeds
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Fairleigh Dickinson 66, No. 8 Quinnipiac 65
Game 2: No. 2 Central Connecticut 86, No. 7 Sacred Heart 68
Game 3: No. 3 Monmouth 74, No. 6 LIU-Brooklyn 63
Game 4: No. 5 Robert Morris 67, No. 4 Mount Saint Mary's 66
SEMIFINALS
At higher seeds
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 5 Robert Morris, 1 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Central Connecticut vs. No. 3 Monmouth, 4 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, March 8
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Southern:
Two of the three lower seeds (The Citadel and NC Greensboro) advanced to the Southern quarterfinals along with Appalachian State, advancing to face top seed Georgia Southern.
At North Charleston Coliseum
North Charleston, S.C.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Appalachian St. 66, No. 9 Wofford 65
Game 2: No. 10 UNC Greensboro 69, No. 7 Western Carolina 65
Game 3: No. 11 The Citadel 65, No. 6 Furman 53
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 1 Georgia Southern vs. No. 8 Appalachian St., 12 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 College of Charleston vs. No. 5 Chattanooga, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Elon vs. No. 10 UNC Greensboro, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 3 Davidson vs. No. 11 The Citadel, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Thursday saw a few minor upsets in conference tournament action and set up some interesting matchups for Friday's games.
Atlantic Sun:
Number 6 seed Stetson upset Florida Atlantic, three of the remaining top four seeds (Lipscomb, Belmont and Gardner-Webb) all advanced and the host East Tennessee State Buccaneers failed to make it to the semifinals.
At Memorial Center
Johnson City, Tenn.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Lipscomb 78, No. 8 Mercer 62
Game 2: No. 4 Gardner-Webb 64, No. 5 East Tennessee State 63
Game 3: No. 2 Belmont 90, No. 7 Campbell 76
Game 4: No. 6 Stetson 54, No. 3 Florida Atlantic 44
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Lipscomb vs. No. 4 Gardner-Webb, 7 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 6 Stetson , 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Big South:
The Winthrop Eagles advanced to the title game to face the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb 28
Game 1: No. 1 Winthrop 93, No. 8 Liberty 52
Game 2: No. 5 High Point 87, No. 4 Radford 84
Game 3: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 78, No. 7 UNC Asheville 62
Game 4: No. 6 Charleston Southern 97, No. 3 Birmingham Southern 76
SEMIFINALS
At Winthrop Coliseum
Rock Hill, S.C.
Thursday, March 2
Game 5: No. 1 Winthrop 77, No. 5 High Point 65
Game 6: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 73, No. 6 Charleston Southern 67
CHAMPIONSHIP
At Winthrop Coliseum
Rock Hill, S.C.
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 2 Coastal Carolina
Missouri Valley:
Indiana State advanced to face league champion Wichita State in the quarterfinals and Evansville defeats Illinois State to set up a rematch with Southern Illinois.
At Savvis Center
St. Louis, Mo.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 9 Indiana State 72, No. 8 Drake 63
Game 2: No. 7 Evansville 52, No. 10 Illinois State 45
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 3: No. 1 Wichita State vs. No. 9 Indiana St, 1 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Creighton vs. No. 5 Bradley, 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Illinois No. 7 Evansville
Game 6: No. 3 Missouri State vs. No. 6 Northern Iowa, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Winners of Games 3 and 4, 2:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winners of Games 5 and 6, 5 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Winners of Games 7 and 8, 2 p.m.
Northeast:
At higher seeds
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Fairleigh Dickinson 66, No. 8 Quinnipiac 65
Game 2: No. 2 Central Connecticut 86, No. 7 Sacred Heart 68
Game 3: No. 3 Monmouth 74, No. 6 LIU-Brooklyn 63
Game 4: No. 5 Robert Morris 67, No. 4 Mount Saint Mary's 66
SEMIFINALS
At higher seeds
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 5 Robert Morris, 1 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Central Connecticut vs. No. 3 Monmouth, 4 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, March 8
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Southern:
Two of the three lower seeds (The Citadel and NC Greensboro) advanced to the Southern quarterfinals along with Appalachian State, advancing to face top seed Georgia Southern.
At North Charleston Coliseum
North Charleston, S.C.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Appalachian St. 66, No. 9 Wofford 65
Game 2: No. 10 UNC Greensboro 69, No. 7 Western Carolina 65
Game 3: No. 11 The Citadel 65, No. 6 Furman 53
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 1 Georgia Southern vs. No. 8 Appalachian St., 12 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 College of Charleston vs. No. 5 Chattanooga, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Elon vs. No. 10 UNC Greensboro, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 3 Davidson vs. No. 11 The Citadel, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Conference Tournament Previews-(Colonial, MAAC, Sun Belt, Patriot, America East, WCC)
We are continuing to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
Colonial:
At the Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, Va.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 8 Drexel vs. No. 9 Delaware, 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 5 Northeastern vs. No. 12 James Madison, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Towson vs. No. 10 Georgia State, 6 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 VCU vs. No. 11 William & Mary, 8:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 5: No. 1 UNC Wilmington vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 Old Dominion vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 George Mason vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Hofstra vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: The Colonial Conference had one its best seasons in the history of the conference. The CAA had four teams with at least 20 wins this season. Old Dominion started the season as the favorite to repeat for the conference title. The Monarchs experienced a few struggles through the CAA campaign and finished in fourth place with a very respectable 13-5 conference record. The Hofstra Pride surprised a few pundits with their third place a finish and 14-4 conference mark. George Mason and NC Wilmington tied for the top spot with an amazing 15-3 conference record. The Patriots and Seahawks were the class of the league winning what turned out to be on the top ten conferences in the NCAA. New conference member Northeastern did experience a few potholes on their way to a very strong 12-6 league mark and a fifth place finish. The Huskies are looking to repeat their success from last season, when they made the America East Conference finals against Vermont.
Favorite: League co-champions NC Wilmington and George Mason made their mark with striking similarity. The Patriots are have won 18 of 21 games since starting the season 4-3. The Patriots only league losses came at Hofstra, NC Wilmington and Old Dominion. NC Wilmington also lost to the Hofstra Pride and the Old Dominion Monarchs. The Seahawks other loss came at the hands of the Patriots. NC Wilmington has won 13 of their last 15 games (and 10 of their last 11) since suffering a three game losing streak just after Christmas. The Seahawks earned the benefit of the #1 seed for the conference tournament, thus avoiding having to face George Mason or Hofstra until the conference finals. The Seahawks do have the possibility of facing defending champion Old Dominion in the semifinal round, should the Monarchs advance. Hofstra faces the prospect of having to face VCU in the quarterfinals, George Mason in the semifinals and either Old Dominion or George Mason in the finals. Should the Pride run through those three solid teams to win the CAA Conference Tournament, it would be considered a victory well earned.
Darkhorse: The Virginia Commonwealth Rams are not playing on their home court, but the Richmond Coliseum is as close as home to the Rams as can be. VCU previously called the Coliseum home and have been a solid home court team this season. VCU fought their way to the conference tournament championship last season and the Rams are capable of doing the same this season. The Rams would have to win four games in four days, a daunting task for ay team, but even more difficult considering the level of competition in this year's Colonial Conference Tournament.
Sun Belt:
At the Murphy Center
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: W4 New Orleans vs E5 Florida International, 3:30 p.m.
Game 2: E4 Arkansas-Little Rock vs. W5 North Texas, 7 p.m.
Game 3: E3 Arkansas State vs. W6 Troy, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 4: E2 Middle Tennessee vs. W3 Denver, 1 p.m.
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky vs. Game 1 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: W1 South Alabama vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Game 3 winner, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Sun Belt Conference started the season having to deal with the loss of former league member New Mexico State to the WAC and the inclusion of former Atlantic Sun member Troy. The league also has to face the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina to the University of New Orleans and the rescheduling dilemmas that were left in the aftermath. Te league also had to overcome the loss of several talented players at Louisiana-Lafayette, Denver and Middle Tennessee State. The league also was looking for ways to improve on sending three league members to the post-season, the most since 1994. Two teams, South Alabama and Western Kentucky, dominated the regular season. The Hilltoppers and Jaguars were the only two league teams to finish with double digit conference wins. The Sun Belt also only had four teams finish with winning records-Eastern champion Western Kentucky, Western Champion South Alabama, Denver and Middle Tennessee State. The league tournament moves this season to the Murphy Center, the home court of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
Favorite: Western Kentucky is a solid favorite to win their first conference championship since 2003. The Hilltoppers were the class of the league, losing at Troy and Middle Tennessee State during the regular season conference schedule. WKU won their only meeting with the Jaguars during the regular season, winning by a point at South Alabama in late January. The Jaguars won what was considered the weaker of the two divisions. South Alabama was the only team with a winning league mark in the Western Division of the Sun Belt.
Darkhorse: Middle Tennessee State plays the Sun Belt Tournament on their home court this season, where the Blue Raiders won nine games. Middle Tennessee State was one of only two teams to defeat Western Kentucky during the regular season, beating the Hilltoppers by six points in late February. The Blue Raiders have also played well of late, winning eight of their last 10 games to finish the season. Unfortunately, home teams have rarely fared well in the Sun Belt Tournament, and in a league with such dominance from the top two teams, finding a darkhorse is a true challenge.
Metro Atlantic:
At Pepsi Arena
Albany, N.Y.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 Saint Peter's vs. No. 10 Rider, 4:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Niagara vs. No. 8 Fairfield, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 6 Loyola, Md. vs. No. 9 Canisius, 9:30 p.m.
SECOND ROUND
Saturday, March 4
Game 4: No. 4 Siena vs. Game 1 winner, 5 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Iona vs. Game 2 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Marist vs. Game 3 winner, 10 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 7: No. 1 Manhattan vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Iona Gaels and Manhattan Jaspers battled for the MAAC regular season title down to the last game of the regular season. In the end it was the Jaspers taking the regular season crown from the Gaels and earning a valued 1 seed in the conference tournament. Manhattan gets the privilege of being able to sit out until the semifinal round of the MAAC Tournament. The Jaspers earned their regular season crown on the basis of a season sweep of Iona. Manhattan overcame an 0-4 start to their season with ten game winning streak, which included a 19 point win at Iona in early January. The Jaspers nearly blew their regular season title after suffering a series of bad losses (75-56 loss to #10 seed Rider, 67-51 home loss to 7 seed Niagara, 86-75 loss to 9 seed Canisius) during the regular season. Iona suffered a slightly similar fate losing the league title after dropping their last two games after winning 12 of 14 games from the start of January through the middle of February.
Favorite: A cursory glance would seem to indicate the conference tournament is a two horse race between Iona and Manhattan. However, this season has been marked by unexpected losses and poor play ate odd moments by both league leaders. Iona lost four games at home and only one game on the road, their season finale at Manhattan, all season. The Gaels dropped home game to Manhattan, St. Peter's, Marist and Siena. The Siena Saints, usually a solid home team, lost three games at home this season. Despite hosting the conference tournament, even the Saints are not a strong choice as a favorite. This might be one of the most wide open conference tournaments contested this week.
Darkhorse: St. Peter's has been a team of streaks this season. On two occasions the Peacocks have posted four game losing streaks and one three game losing streak. St. Peter's has also posted a four and five game winning streak. Although putting all your faith in the Peacocks as a darkhorse is a shaky prospect, any team with Keydren Clark as a senior leader is a strong team to sneak through the field. Expect Clark to have a solid tournament, in what will be his last go-around in the MAAC. It would be quite miraculous for any of the five teams from the bottom half of the bracket to make much noise in the conference championship. All five teams seeded 6-10 finished with losing conference records and the prospect of having to win four straight games would seem to be too much for any of these teams to overcome.
Patriot:
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
At Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 1: No. 4 American vs. No. 5 Lafayette, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Bucknell vs. No. 8 Army, 8 p.m.
At Hart Center
Worcester, Mass.
Game 3: No. 3 Lehigh vs. No. 6 Colgate, 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Holy Cross vs. No. 7 Navy, 8 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
At Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
At Hart Center
Worcester, Mass.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Friday, March 10
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Bucknell is one of four teams currently undefeated in their regular season conference race. The Bison stormed through the Patriot League winning by no less than five points in any league game and winning ten of 14 league games by 10 or more points. The Bison also have the benefit of playing the conference tournament on their home floor. Bucknell was pushed for a while during the regular season by Lehigh. The Engineers had a chance to tie Bucknell for the league lead in their next to last game of the year. Unfortunately, Lehigh was unable to grab a victory at Bucknell and lost to the Bison, 81-70. The Engineers also lost a shot at a second place finish after losing their regular season finale at Holy Cross. The loss was crushing for Lehigh as being a 2 seed would have given them home court for the first two rounds of the conference tournament.
Favorite: Bucknell is the class of the league and it would take an upset of monumental proportions for the Bison to miss taking a second straight league title. Should Holy Cross somehow weave their way to the championship game, they would be looking for redemption; after losing last season's championship game to the Bison on their home floor.
Darkhorse: The bottom five league teams finished a combined 0-30 against the top three seeds in the conference tournament and 1-31 against the top 4 seeds in the tournament (somehow Navy managed a 77-68 home win against American). This is a league dominated by one great team and two solid teams. The rest of the league is best left to start rebuilding for next season. We have NO choice for a darkhorse in this league this season.
America East:
FIRST ROUND
At Events Center
Vestal, N.Y.
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 8 Maryland-Baltimore County vs. No. 9 Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 2: No. 2 Binghamton vs. No. 7 Maine, noon
Game 3: No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Maine, 2:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 Albany vs. Game 1 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 Hartford vs. No. 5 New Hampshire, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 6: Winners of Games 2 and 3, Noon
Game 7: Winners of Games 4 and 5, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Winners of Games 6 and 7, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Recap: The America East Conference had a solid season in 2004-05. The league posted its first win in NCAA Tournament play after Vermont upset #4 seed Syracuse. Three teams made postseason play with Boston and Northeastern making the NIT. This season has seen a slip in talent and team quality. Albany won the regular season league title with a 12-4 record. The Danes were the class of the league in non-conference play as well, posting a league high seven wins against non-conference opposition. No other league member had more than four out of conference wins. The Danes were pushed for the league title by the Binghamton Bearcats. The Bearcats are the only other league team to finish with a winning record. Favorite: Albany was the class of the league, losing just three games (twice to New Hampshire ?? and once at Vermont).
Favorite: The Danes are a solid favorite to make the league championship game where they will likely face Binghamton, the host team for the first three rounds of the America East Tournament. The Danes get the good fortune of having to avoid to possibility of playing Binghamton until the champion game, thus avoiding a conference tournament game on the Bearcats' home court. Should Albany somehow lose before the title game, Binghamton is in solid position to sweep to the title game.
Darkhorse: Amazingly, the New Hampshire Wildcats are in good position to be a darkhorse in the conference tournament. A fifth place finish puts the Wildcats in position to possibly face Albany (a team they defeated twice in overtime during the regular season) in the semifinals. Despite starting the season 2-11, New Hampshire was able to win nine of their last 14 games and finish in fifth place. We will continue to post conference previews, conference tournament brackets (with scoring updates), bubble updates and our NCAA Tournament bracket projections throughout the opening weekend of Championship Week.
West Coast:
At McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane, Wash.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 San Diego vs. No. 8 Pepperdine, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Portland vs. No. 7 Santa Clara, 11:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 3: No. 4 San Francisco vs. Game 1 winner, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Saint Mary's vs. Game 2 winner, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount vs. Game 4 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
Colonial:
At the Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, Va.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 8 Drexel vs. No. 9 Delaware, 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 5 Northeastern vs. No. 12 James Madison, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Towson vs. No. 10 Georgia State, 6 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 VCU vs. No. 11 William & Mary, 8:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 5: No. 1 UNC Wilmington vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 Old Dominion vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 George Mason vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Hofstra vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: The Colonial Conference had one its best seasons in the history of the conference. The CAA had four teams with at least 20 wins this season. Old Dominion started the season as the favorite to repeat for the conference title. The Monarchs experienced a few struggles through the CAA campaign and finished in fourth place with a very respectable 13-5 conference record. The Hofstra Pride surprised a few pundits with their third place a finish and 14-4 conference mark. George Mason and NC Wilmington tied for the top spot with an amazing 15-3 conference record. The Patriots and Seahawks were the class of the league winning what turned out to be on the top ten conferences in the NCAA. New conference member Northeastern did experience a few potholes on their way to a very strong 12-6 league mark and a fifth place finish. The Huskies are looking to repeat their success from last season, when they made the America East Conference finals against Vermont.
Favorite: League co-champions NC Wilmington and George Mason made their mark with striking similarity. The Patriots are have won 18 of 21 games since starting the season 4-3. The Patriots only league losses came at Hofstra, NC Wilmington and Old Dominion. NC Wilmington also lost to the Hofstra Pride and the Old Dominion Monarchs. The Seahawks other loss came at the hands of the Patriots. NC Wilmington has won 13 of their last 15 games (and 10 of their last 11) since suffering a three game losing streak just after Christmas. The Seahawks earned the benefit of the #1 seed for the conference tournament, thus avoiding having to face George Mason or Hofstra until the conference finals. The Seahawks do have the possibility of facing defending champion Old Dominion in the semifinal round, should the Monarchs advance. Hofstra faces the prospect of having to face VCU in the quarterfinals, George Mason in the semifinals and either Old Dominion or George Mason in the finals. Should the Pride run through those three solid teams to win the CAA Conference Tournament, it would be considered a victory well earned.
Darkhorse: The Virginia Commonwealth Rams are not playing on their home court, but the Richmond Coliseum is as close as home to the Rams as can be. VCU previously called the Coliseum home and have been a solid home court team this season. VCU fought their way to the conference tournament championship last season and the Rams are capable of doing the same this season. The Rams would have to win four games in four days, a daunting task for ay team, but even more difficult considering the level of competition in this year's Colonial Conference Tournament.
Sun Belt:
At the Murphy Center
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: W4 New Orleans vs E5 Florida International, 3:30 p.m.
Game 2: E4 Arkansas-Little Rock vs. W5 North Texas, 7 p.m.
Game 3: E3 Arkansas State vs. W6 Troy, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 4: E2 Middle Tennessee vs. W3 Denver, 1 p.m.
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky vs. Game 1 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: W1 South Alabama vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Game 3 winner, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Sun Belt Conference started the season having to deal with the loss of former league member New Mexico State to the WAC and the inclusion of former Atlantic Sun member Troy. The league also has to face the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina to the University of New Orleans and the rescheduling dilemmas that were left in the aftermath. Te league also had to overcome the loss of several talented players at Louisiana-Lafayette, Denver and Middle Tennessee State. The league also was looking for ways to improve on sending three league members to the post-season, the most since 1994. Two teams, South Alabama and Western Kentucky, dominated the regular season. The Hilltoppers and Jaguars were the only two league teams to finish with double digit conference wins. The Sun Belt also only had four teams finish with winning records-Eastern champion Western Kentucky, Western Champion South Alabama, Denver and Middle Tennessee State. The league tournament moves this season to the Murphy Center, the home court of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
Favorite: Western Kentucky is a solid favorite to win their first conference championship since 2003. The Hilltoppers were the class of the league, losing at Troy and Middle Tennessee State during the regular season conference schedule. WKU won their only meeting with the Jaguars during the regular season, winning by a point at South Alabama in late January. The Jaguars won what was considered the weaker of the two divisions. South Alabama was the only team with a winning league mark in the Western Division of the Sun Belt.
Darkhorse: Middle Tennessee State plays the Sun Belt Tournament on their home court this season, where the Blue Raiders won nine games. Middle Tennessee State was one of only two teams to defeat Western Kentucky during the regular season, beating the Hilltoppers by six points in late February. The Blue Raiders have also played well of late, winning eight of their last 10 games to finish the season. Unfortunately, home teams have rarely fared well in the Sun Belt Tournament, and in a league with such dominance from the top two teams, finding a darkhorse is a true challenge.
Metro Atlantic:
At Pepsi Arena
Albany, N.Y.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 Saint Peter's vs. No. 10 Rider, 4:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Niagara vs. No. 8 Fairfield, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 6 Loyola, Md. vs. No. 9 Canisius, 9:30 p.m.
SECOND ROUND
Saturday, March 4
Game 4: No. 4 Siena vs. Game 1 winner, 5 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Iona vs. Game 2 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Marist vs. Game 3 winner, 10 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 7: No. 1 Manhattan vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Iona Gaels and Manhattan Jaspers battled for the MAAC regular season title down to the last game of the regular season. In the end it was the Jaspers taking the regular season crown from the Gaels and earning a valued 1 seed in the conference tournament. Manhattan gets the privilege of being able to sit out until the semifinal round of the MAAC Tournament. The Jaspers earned their regular season crown on the basis of a season sweep of Iona. Manhattan overcame an 0-4 start to their season with ten game winning streak, which included a 19 point win at Iona in early January. The Jaspers nearly blew their regular season title after suffering a series of bad losses (75-56 loss to #10 seed Rider, 67-51 home loss to 7 seed Niagara, 86-75 loss to 9 seed Canisius) during the regular season. Iona suffered a slightly similar fate losing the league title after dropping their last two games after winning 12 of 14 games from the start of January through the middle of February.
Favorite: A cursory glance would seem to indicate the conference tournament is a two horse race between Iona and Manhattan. However, this season has been marked by unexpected losses and poor play ate odd moments by both league leaders. Iona lost four games at home and only one game on the road, their season finale at Manhattan, all season. The Gaels dropped home game to Manhattan, St. Peter's, Marist and Siena. The Siena Saints, usually a solid home team, lost three games at home this season. Despite hosting the conference tournament, even the Saints are not a strong choice as a favorite. This might be one of the most wide open conference tournaments contested this week.
Darkhorse: St. Peter's has been a team of streaks this season. On two occasions the Peacocks have posted four game losing streaks and one three game losing streak. St. Peter's has also posted a four and five game winning streak. Although putting all your faith in the Peacocks as a darkhorse is a shaky prospect, any team with Keydren Clark as a senior leader is a strong team to sneak through the field. Expect Clark to have a solid tournament, in what will be his last go-around in the MAAC. It would be quite miraculous for any of the five teams from the bottom half of the bracket to make much noise in the conference championship. All five teams seeded 6-10 finished with losing conference records and the prospect of having to win four straight games would seem to be too much for any of these teams to overcome.
Patriot:
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
At Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 1: No. 4 American vs. No. 5 Lafayette, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Bucknell vs. No. 8 Army, 8 p.m.
At Hart Center
Worcester, Mass.
Game 3: No. 3 Lehigh vs. No. 6 Colgate, 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Holy Cross vs. No. 7 Navy, 8 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
At Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
At Hart Center
Worcester, Mass.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Friday, March 10
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Bucknell is one of four teams currently undefeated in their regular season conference race. The Bison stormed through the Patriot League winning by no less than five points in any league game and winning ten of 14 league games by 10 or more points. The Bison also have the benefit of playing the conference tournament on their home floor. Bucknell was pushed for a while during the regular season by Lehigh. The Engineers had a chance to tie Bucknell for the league lead in their next to last game of the year. Unfortunately, Lehigh was unable to grab a victory at Bucknell and lost to the Bison, 81-70. The Engineers also lost a shot at a second place finish after losing their regular season finale at Holy Cross. The loss was crushing for Lehigh as being a 2 seed would have given them home court for the first two rounds of the conference tournament.
Favorite: Bucknell is the class of the league and it would take an upset of monumental proportions for the Bison to miss taking a second straight league title. Should Holy Cross somehow weave their way to the championship game, they would be looking for redemption; after losing last season's championship game to the Bison on their home floor.
Darkhorse: The bottom five league teams finished a combined 0-30 against the top three seeds in the conference tournament and 1-31 against the top 4 seeds in the tournament (somehow Navy managed a 77-68 home win against American). This is a league dominated by one great team and two solid teams. The rest of the league is best left to start rebuilding for next season. We have NO choice for a darkhorse in this league this season.
America East:
FIRST ROUND
At Events Center
Vestal, N.Y.
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 8 Maryland-Baltimore County vs. No. 9 Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 2: No. 2 Binghamton vs. No. 7 Maine, noon
Game 3: No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Maine, 2:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 Albany vs. Game 1 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 Hartford vs. No. 5 New Hampshire, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 6: Winners of Games 2 and 3, Noon
Game 7: Winners of Games 4 and 5, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Winners of Games 6 and 7, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Recap: The America East Conference had a solid season in 2004-05. The league posted its first win in NCAA Tournament play after Vermont upset #4 seed Syracuse. Three teams made postseason play with Boston and Northeastern making the NIT. This season has seen a slip in talent and team quality. Albany won the regular season league title with a 12-4 record. The Danes were the class of the league in non-conference play as well, posting a league high seven wins against non-conference opposition. No other league member had more than four out of conference wins. The Danes were pushed for the league title by the Binghamton Bearcats. The Bearcats are the only other league team to finish with a winning record. Favorite: Albany was the class of the league, losing just three games (twice to New Hampshire ?? and once at Vermont).
Favorite: The Danes are a solid favorite to make the league championship game where they will likely face Binghamton, the host team for the first three rounds of the America East Tournament. The Danes get the good fortune of having to avoid to possibility of playing Binghamton until the champion game, thus avoiding a conference tournament game on the Bearcats' home court. Should Albany somehow lose before the title game, Binghamton is in solid position to sweep to the title game.
Darkhorse: Amazingly, the New Hampshire Wildcats are in good position to be a darkhorse in the conference tournament. A fifth place finish puts the Wildcats in position to possibly face Albany (a team they defeated twice in overtime during the regular season) in the semifinals. Despite starting the season 2-11, New Hampshire was able to win nine of their last 14 games and finish in fifth place. We will continue to post conference previews, conference tournament brackets (with scoring updates), bubble updates and our NCAA Tournament bracket projections throughout the opening weekend of Championship Week.
West Coast:
At McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane, Wash.
FIRST ROUND
Friday, March 3
Game 1: No. 5 San Diego vs. No. 8 Pepperdine, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Portland vs. No. 7 Santa Clara, 11:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 3: No. 4 San Francisco vs. Game 1 winner, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Saint Mary's vs. Game 2 winner, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount vs. Game 4 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Tiny Bubbles
Visit Bubbleteams.com to check out updated scores and schedules.
More Movers and Shakers:
Florida State: Conventional wisdom would be to drop the Seminoles right into the field of 65 after their win against Duke. After all, doesn’t beating the #1 team in the nation deserve the reward of an at-large bid? Not yet! Florida State still needs to win at least two more games to safely slide into the NCAA Tournament. Should the Seminoles lose this weekend at Miami, they would destroy the good feeling earned after their win against the Blue Devils. FSU needs to win their last game (at Miami) and probably win at least one game in the ACC Tournament to feel safe about inclusion in this year's Big Dance.
Indiana: The Hoosiers are one more win away from a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Given their success against the top 25 RPI and what is now assured to be at least an 8-8 record in the #1 RPI conference, Indiana just needs to win either at Michigan this weekend or win their first game in the Big Tournament. Lose both games and Indiana will hard-pressed to feel secure in an at-large bid.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores are 16-10, 7-8 SEC, and still scratching and clawing their way to an at-large bid. Vanderbilt owns two wins over Kentucky and a win at Georgetown. Unfortunately, that is about all Vanderbilt has in its favor for now. The Commodores need at least three more wins to erase the negative stigma from a midseason four game losing streak and lackluster play in this year's SEC. Vanderbilt must defeat reeling Tennessee this weekend and then make it to the SEC semifinals to have even an outside shot at an at-large bid.
Texas A&M: The Aggies were one of the key winners from Wednesday night's games. Texas A&M extended their winning streak to six games and are only two wins away from an at-large berth. Texas A&M needs to win at Texas Tech to end the season and then win their opener in the Big 12 Tournament. Amusingly, the Aggies might just be playing fellow Big 12 bubble boy Colorado for the right to grab the fourth at-large bid from the Big 12. Should the Aggies lose their next two games, they would likely be on the cold outside looking in this season.
Kentucky: The Wildcats got the marquee win they needed, defeating suddenly cold Tennessee. Kentucky earned a solid road win in Knoxville and is now in solid position to make the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats can finish no worse than 8-8 in the SEC and even a first round loss in the SEC Tournament should not cost Kentucky an at-large bid.
Alabama: The Tide defeated a weak Mississippi for their 10th SEC win. The Tide are in the field of 65, even if they lose their last two games.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks won their 20th game, ninth in the SEC, guaranteeing them a winning conference record. Arkansas has done more than enough with their recent marquee wins and a solid four game-winning streak. A loss at Georgia ad in the first round of the SEC Tournament would be bad, but even losses in both games would not be likely to drop the Razorbacks from an at-large bid.
Colorado: The Buffaloes do not just lose.... they lose in STYLE. Colorado continued to underimpress the selection committee with another poor road loss at Kansas. The Buffaloes still have a chance to finish above .500 in the Big 12 with a win at home against Iowa State this weekend. Unfortunately, even finishing above .500 is not sufficient for the Buffaloes to feel safe about an at-large bid. Colorado finished 10-6 in the Big 12 in 2004 and a first round loss in the Big 12 Tournament that season doomed the Buffaloes to the NIT. Colorado needs to win their season finale and win at least one game in the Big 12 Tournament to move them on the right side of the bubble.
Maryland: Many a Maryland fan still hold out distant hope that their Terrapins can make the NCAA Tournament. Maryland needs to win at Virginia and win at least three games in the ACC Tournament. Anything less than that and Maryland will likely be playing in their second straight NIT.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats have a MUST WIN game this weekend against West Virginia. Cincinnati has to win this game to finish .500 in the Big East. Given their decent slate of marquee wins and their solid strength of schedule, a .500 record in the Big East and their 18th win might just be enough to push them over the top. An extra win in the Big East Tournament would add the resume of the Bearcats. This is one team that will be sweating it out on Selection Sunday.
Seton Hall: The Pirates righted their ship with a home win against their Big East and bubble brethren Cincinnati. Seton Hall now needs to win their season finale at Pitt to solidify an at-large bid. Should the Pirates win that game, they would lock up the eighth bid from the Big East and put themselves in tight with the election committee.
We will have our updated conference tournament brackets and projections posted later this evening.
More Movers and Shakers:
Florida State: Conventional wisdom would be to drop the Seminoles right into the field of 65 after their win against Duke. After all, doesn’t beating the #1 team in the nation deserve the reward of an at-large bid? Not yet! Florida State still needs to win at least two more games to safely slide into the NCAA Tournament. Should the Seminoles lose this weekend at Miami, they would destroy the good feeling earned after their win against the Blue Devils. FSU needs to win their last game (at Miami) and probably win at least one game in the ACC Tournament to feel safe about inclusion in this year's Big Dance.
Indiana: The Hoosiers are one more win away from a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Given their success against the top 25 RPI and what is now assured to be at least an 8-8 record in the #1 RPI conference, Indiana just needs to win either at Michigan this weekend or win their first game in the Big Tournament. Lose both games and Indiana will hard-pressed to feel secure in an at-large bid.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores are 16-10, 7-8 SEC, and still scratching and clawing their way to an at-large bid. Vanderbilt owns two wins over Kentucky and a win at Georgetown. Unfortunately, that is about all Vanderbilt has in its favor for now. The Commodores need at least three more wins to erase the negative stigma from a midseason four game losing streak and lackluster play in this year's SEC. Vanderbilt must defeat reeling Tennessee this weekend and then make it to the SEC semifinals to have even an outside shot at an at-large bid.
Texas A&M: The Aggies were one of the key winners from Wednesday night's games. Texas A&M extended their winning streak to six games and are only two wins away from an at-large berth. Texas A&M needs to win at Texas Tech to end the season and then win their opener in the Big 12 Tournament. Amusingly, the Aggies might just be playing fellow Big 12 bubble boy Colorado for the right to grab the fourth at-large bid from the Big 12. Should the Aggies lose their next two games, they would likely be on the cold outside looking in this season.
Kentucky: The Wildcats got the marquee win they needed, defeating suddenly cold Tennessee. Kentucky earned a solid road win in Knoxville and is now in solid position to make the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats can finish no worse than 8-8 in the SEC and even a first round loss in the SEC Tournament should not cost Kentucky an at-large bid.
Alabama: The Tide defeated a weak Mississippi for their 10th SEC win. The Tide are in the field of 65, even if they lose their last two games.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks won their 20th game, ninth in the SEC, guaranteeing them a winning conference record. Arkansas has done more than enough with their recent marquee wins and a solid four game-winning streak. A loss at Georgia ad in the first round of the SEC Tournament would be bad, but even losses in both games would not be likely to drop the Razorbacks from an at-large bid.
Colorado: The Buffaloes do not just lose.... they lose in STYLE. Colorado continued to underimpress the selection committee with another poor road loss at Kansas. The Buffaloes still have a chance to finish above .500 in the Big 12 with a win at home against Iowa State this weekend. Unfortunately, even finishing above .500 is not sufficient for the Buffaloes to feel safe about an at-large bid. Colorado finished 10-6 in the Big 12 in 2004 and a first round loss in the Big 12 Tournament that season doomed the Buffaloes to the NIT. Colorado needs to win their season finale and win at least one game in the Big 12 Tournament to move them on the right side of the bubble.
Maryland: Many a Maryland fan still hold out distant hope that their Terrapins can make the NCAA Tournament. Maryland needs to win at Virginia and win at least three games in the ACC Tournament. Anything less than that and Maryland will likely be playing in their second straight NIT.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats have a MUST WIN game this weekend against West Virginia. Cincinnati has to win this game to finish .500 in the Big East. Given their decent slate of marquee wins and their solid strength of schedule, a .500 record in the Big East and their 18th win might just be enough to push them over the top. An extra win in the Big East Tournament would add the resume of the Bearcats. This is one team that will be sweating it out on Selection Sunday.
Seton Hall: The Pirates righted their ship with a home win against their Big East and bubble brethren Cincinnati. Seton Hall now needs to win their season finale at Pitt to solidify an at-large bid. Should the Pirates win that game, they would lock up the eighth bid from the Big East and put themselves in tight with the election committee.
We will have our updated conference tournament brackets and projections posted later this evening.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Conference Tournament Update 2/28/06
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
There were few upsets and surprises in the first day of conference tournament action.
Horizon:
The home teams held court as Loyola (Chicago), Illinois-Chicago and Detroit all advanced to the conference quarterfinals.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 6 Illinois-Chicago, No. 7 Wright State, 77-64
Game 2: No. 5 Detroit, No. 8 Cleveland State, 92-58
Game 3: No. 4 Loyola-Chi., No. 9 Youngstown State, 76-61
QUARTERFINALS
At The Klotsche Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. No. 6 Illinois-Chicago, 4:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 Loyola-Chi vs. No. 5 Detroit , 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 6: No. 2 Butler vs. Game 4 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 7: No. 1 Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Tuesday, March 7Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Big South:
Two higher seeds (Winthrop and Coastal Carolina) advanced while two lower seeds (Charleston Southern and High Point) pulled of upsets on the road.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb 28
Game 1: No. 1 Winthrop 93, No. 8 Liberty 52
Game 2: No. 5 High Point 87, No. 4 Radford 84
Game 3: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 78, No. 7 UNC Asheville 62
Game 4: No. 6 Charleston Southern 97, No. 3 Birmingham-Southern 76
SEMIFINALS
At Winthrop Coliseum
Rock Hill, S.C.
Thursday, March 2
Game 5: No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 5 High Point
Game 6: No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 6 Charleston Southern
At higher seed
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Ohio Valley:
All four top seed advanced to the semifinal round on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 1 Murray State 65, No. 8 UT-Martin 52
Game 2: No. 4 Jacksonville St. 86, No. 5 Eastern Kentucky 59
Game 3: No. 2 Samford 78, No. 7 Tennessee State 67
Game 4: No. 3 Tennessee Tech 78, No. 6 Austin Peay 74
SEMIFINALS
At The Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tenn.
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Murray State vs. No. 4 Jacksonville St., 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 6: No. 2 Samford vs. No. 3 Tennessee Tech, 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Updated conference tournament brackets, projections and reviews will be available throughout the week.
There were few upsets and surprises in the first day of conference tournament action.
Horizon:
The home teams held court as Loyola (Chicago), Illinois-Chicago and Detroit all advanced to the conference quarterfinals.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 6 Illinois-Chicago, No. 7 Wright State, 77-64
Game 2: No. 5 Detroit, No. 8 Cleveland State, 92-58
Game 3: No. 4 Loyola-Chi., No. 9 Youngstown State, 76-61
QUARTERFINALS
At The Klotsche Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. No. 6 Illinois-Chicago, 4:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 Loyola-Chi vs. No. 5 Detroit , 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 6: No. 2 Butler vs. Game 4 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 7: No. 1 Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Tuesday, March 7Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Big South:
Two higher seeds (Winthrop and Coastal Carolina) advanced while two lower seeds (Charleston Southern and High Point) pulled of upsets on the road.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb 28
Game 1: No. 1 Winthrop 93, No. 8 Liberty 52
Game 2: No. 5 High Point 87, No. 4 Radford 84
Game 3: No. 2 Coastal Carolina 78, No. 7 UNC Asheville 62
Game 4: No. 6 Charleston Southern 97, No. 3 Birmingham-Southern 76
SEMIFINALS
At Winthrop Coliseum
Rock Hill, S.C.
Thursday, March 2
Game 5: No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 5 High Point
Game 6: No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 6 Charleston Southern
At higher seed
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Ohio Valley:
All four top seed advanced to the semifinal round on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 1 Murray State 65, No. 8 UT-Martin 52
Game 2: No. 4 Jacksonville St. 86, No. 5 Eastern Kentucky 59
Game 3: No. 2 Samford 78, No. 7 Tennessee State 67
Game 4: No. 3 Tennessee Tech 78, No. 6 Austin Peay 74
SEMIFINALS
At The Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tenn.
Friday, March 3
Game 5: No. 1 Murray State vs. No. 4 Jacksonville St., 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 6: No. 2 Samford vs. No. 3 Tennessee Tech, 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Updated conference tournament brackets, projections and reviews will be available throughout the week.
Conference Tournament Previews-(Southern, MVC, A-Sun, Northeast, Big South, Horizon, OVC)
We have been asked to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
Southern Conference:
At North Charleston Coliseum
North Charleston, S.C.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Appalachian St. vs. No. 9 Wofford, 3;30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Western Carolina vs. No. 10 UNC Greensboro, 6 p.m.
Game 3: No. 6 Furman vs. No. 11 The Citadel, 8:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 1 Georgia Southern vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 College of Charleston vs. No. 5 Chattanooga, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Elon vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 3 Davidson vs. Game 3 winner, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Southern Conference experienced a slight downturn this season, exemplified by the first place team (and tournament #2 seed) Elon Phoenix. The Phoenix won the Northern Division of the Southern Conference with a 10-4 conference record. Unfortunately, the Phoenix did not find as much success in their non-conference games, finishing 14-13 overall. In fact, the only Division 1 non-conference team Elon defeated was Clemson. Much greater fortune was found in the South Division, where the Georgia Southern Eagles finished 11-4, 20-8 overall; earning the Eagles a 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Eagles were the only Southern Conference team to lose less than ten games, marking a poor overall season for Southern teams.
Favorite: Georgia Southern is a slight favorite to win the conference tournament, despite having to face either Wofford or Appalachian State, each winners against the Eagles during the regular season. Should Georgia Southern advance past their quarterfinal round game, they would have to face either Chattanooga, winners of eight of their last 11 games and defending conference champions, or host team College of Charleston. The road seems to be a difficult one for Georgia Southern to claim the conference crown this season. Instead, we will go with Davidson as this year's tournament favorite. Despite a sub-par season, the Wildcats have prepared themselves for this year's tournament with a solid non-conference schedule and a decent showing in the conference standings. Davidson is looking to erase the bad memories of last seasons disappointing semifinal loss, after posting a perfect 16-0 conference record.
Darkhorse: College of Charleston would be a solid choice as tournament darkhorse, given the historic difficulty of having to play in Charleston Coliseum. Unfortunately, this season, the Cougars seemed to lack some bite when facing opponents in their own arena, losing to Georgia Southern and Davidson at home. Instead, we will go way off the board and jump on the Wofford Terriers as our darkhorse for the Southern Conference Tournament. The Terriers won at Appalachian State and split with Georgia Southern this season (losing by 16 on the road and winning by 16 at home). The only drawback to picking the Terriers is the prospect of having to win four games in four days, but that's why they call teams like Wofford a darkhorse!
Atlantic Sun:
At Memorial Center
Johnson City, Tenn.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Lipscomb vs. No. 8 Mercer, 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Gardner-Webb vs. No. 5 East Tennessee State, 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 7 Campbell, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 6 Stetson, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Belmont and Lipscomb shared the A-Sun regular season title with identical 15-5 conference records. The Belmont Bruins won nine of their last 10 games to catch the Lipscomb Bisons. The Atlantic Sun experienced a resurgence and rejuvenation this season, as two provisional Division 1 members, Kennesaw and North Florida, joined he league. Each team played a full league schedule and Kennesaw would have qualified for a 6 seed in the conference tournament if not for them being ineligible for postseason play.
Favorite: It would be a challenge to differentiate between either regular season champion as a favorite. Belmont is one of the hottest teams in the league, winning nine of their last ten games. Lipscomb has the tougher draw, having to face either Gardner-Webb, the only team to defeat Belmont in their last ten games, or the East Tennessee State Buccaneers-the host team for the conference tournament. The Gardner-Webb Bulldogs, winners of ten of their last 12 games, overcame a slow start to the conference race to finish in fourth place, just a game ahead of the Buccaneers.
Darkhorse: East Tennessee State would hardly be considered a darkhorse, given that they are the host team this year for the conference tournament. Unfortunately, a late season four game losing streak dropped the Bucs down to fifth place; leaving the prospect of having to defeat Gardner-Webb and possibly Lipscomb, both teams they lost to at home during the regular season. The best choice for a possible darkhorse is the Stetson Hatters. Stetson enters the conference tourney having won eight games in a row and eleven of their last 12. The Hatters upset Lipscomb, Gardner-Webb and East Tennessee State; losing only to potential second round opponent Belmont. The Hatters are playing their best ball of the season right now and they seem to be on a roll that might carry them all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri Valley Conference:
At Savvis Center
St. Louis, Mo.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Drake vs. No. 9 Indiana State, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Evansville vs. No. 10 Illinois State, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 3: No. 1 Wichita State vs. Game 1 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Creighton vs. No. 5 Bradley, 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Illinois vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Missouri State vs. No. 6 Northern Iowa, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Winners of Games 3 and 4, 2:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winners of Games 5 and 6, 5 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Winners of Games 7 and 8, 2 p.m.
Recap: The Missouri Valley Conference has been the topic of many a discussion this season in college basketball. The MVC has six teams that are vying for at-large tournament bids, making for what should be a fantastic conference tournament. Northern Iowa was the league leader until a late season four game losing streak dropped the Panthers from first place to sixth place. The Bradley Braves turned around their midseason misfortune by winning nine of their last 11 games and finishing in a tie for fifth place. The Creighton Blue Jays played solid basketball all season, finishing 12-6 in conference and 12-6 overall. Southern Illinois turned around their early season difficulties with an eleven game winning streak. Amazingly, despite losing four of their last seven conference games, the Salukis finished in a tie for second place just two games behind regular season champion Wichita State. The Shockers dominated the regular season of the Missouri Valley Conference finishing 14-4. Considering the depth of this season's league and the number of potential NCAA Tournament teams, Wichita State has completed as fine of a season as any in recent MVC memory.
Favorite: Wichita State is a slight favorite over the remainder of the MVC field. Given the strength and consistency of the Shockers' play this season, it would be foolhardy to not consider them a favorite for the MVC Tournament title. However, one team left unmentioned has the best draw and possibly the best chance to make it all the way to the title game and claim an elusive NCAA Tournament berth. Missouri State has won seven of their last eight league games, finishing in a tie for second place and earning the 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Bears play the slumping Northern Iowa Panthers in the first round. Hardly an east foe, but given the Panthers' troubles lately, one of the more advantageous matchups of the first round. Should Missouri State get past Northern Iowa, they would face Southern Illinois in the semifinals. Once again the Bears would be facing a team just coming out of a losing streak. Given the Bears' recent success, we are confident that they just might have enough muscle to make it to the conference finals, yet again, where maybe this season, they can finally cut down the nets.
Darkhorse: Indiana State had one of the most unusual starts to any season in almost 20 years of college basketball. The Sycamores started the 2005 season with 8 straight wins, including an upset of the Indiana Hoosiers. A loss to Wichita State in their second Missouri Valley Conference game started what would become an 11 game losing streak. Indiana State had dug themselves into a hole and started the month of February with a 1-10 conference record. In what might be the most amazing moment of the Sycamores season, Indiana State ended their 11 game losing streak and simultaneously ended Southern Illinois' 33 game home winning streak (the nation's longest streak at the time). The Sycamores rebounded to win three of their next four games (including wins against Northern Iowa and Bradley) and finish ninth in the Missouri Valley. The Sycamores seemed to find some of the mojo from their early season success and we think that might translate into a few wins in the MVC Tournament. Indiana State does face a Drake team that defeated the Sycamores twice in the regular season. However, since their last win against Indiana State, Drake has lost 10 of their last 11 games and appears to mailing in the rest of this season. Should the Sycamores recapture the magic that they had to start the season they might just be lucky enough to bookend their 2005-06 campaign with a pair of winning streaks, except this one would carry them into the NCAA Tournament.
Northeast Conference:
Each game played at higher seed
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 8 Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Central Connecticut vs. No. 7 Sacred Heart, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 3 Monmouth vs. No. 6 LIU-Brooklyn, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Mount Saint Mary's vs. No. 5 Robert Morris, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: Highest seed vs. lowest seed
Game 6: Second-highest seed vs. second-lowest seed
CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, March 8
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Fairleigh Dickinson was 3-2 in conference just five games into the Northeast Conference season and appeared to be stuck in neutral as the month of January pressed on. Suddenly the Knights caught fire and emerged as the best team in the conference, claiming the crown after winning 11 of their last 13 conference games. FDU even went on the road and won at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Bracket Buster Saturday. The Knights might have shared the league title with Central Connecticut State had the Blue Devils not lost three straight road games at the start of February. Wrapped around those three losses were separate five and six game winning streaks. Monmouth overcame a 1-7 start to their season to finish 11-5 in league play and in sole possession of third place. The Hawks never won more than three games in a row all season, yet won five road games in Northeast play.
Favorite: Fairleigh Dickinson and Central Connecticut State have been playing the best basketball since the start of the 2006 and must both be considered favorites to claim the Northeast Conference Tournament crown. While tournament favorites and regular season champions have fared well in the conference tournament, Fairleigh Dickinson must be careful to avoid the fate of last years #1 seed Monmouth, which lost in the semifinals at home to #6 seed Wagner.
Darkhorse: Since the Northeast Conference reseeds after each round (with the lowest remaining seed playing at the home gym of the highest remaining seed), finding a darkhorse in past seasons has proven difficult. We will stay close to the vest for our darkhorse this season and jump on the bandwagon of the Monmouth Hawks. The Hawks are the only team to have defeated Central Connecticut State twice this season. The Hawks also own an overtime win against Fairleigh Dickinson, ending the Knights' 11 game winning streak back on February 20. We are looking for Monmouth to avenge last season's disappointing finish and reclaim their spot in the Big Dance.
Big South:
FIRST ROUND
Each game played at higher seed
Tuesday, Feb 28
Game 1: No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 8 Liberty, 7:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Radford vs. No. 5 High Point, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 7 UNC Asheville 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Birmingham-Southern vs. No. 6 Charleston Southern, 8 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
At Winthrop ColiseumRock Hill, S.C.
Thursday, March 2
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
Game played at higher seed
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Recap: The start of the Big South Conference schedule had many pundits predicting the Winthrop Eagles would easily win the conference race (while more than a few projected the Eagles might even finish undefeated by season's end). In the end the Eagles did emerge on top of the conference standings, although not after a few surprises and a few shocking losses. Three teams (Winthrop, Birmingham Southern and Coastal Carolina) finished the conference schedule with 12 wins or more; a first in Big South Conference play. The conference also experienced some benefit from several notable upsets (highlighted by Winthrop's win at Marquette on November 19th). The conference finished in the top 20 RPI for the first time in the brief history of the Big South.
Favorite: The Winthrop Eagles are a tenuous favorite. bolstered by their having the benefit of playing home games through the conference finals. The Eagles did stumble at home once this season, losing to Coastal Carolina. The Eagles were 12-1 at home this season and are 28-1 at home since the start of the 2004-05 season. In addition, the Eagles closest margin of victory in their seven conference home wins was never less than 16 points. Their stellar home record and solid play for the majority of the 2005-06 campaign places Winthrop ahead of a very strong pack of contenders. The other two teams with strong chances to take the Big South title are the Birmingham Southern Panthers and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The Panthers reeled of nine straight victories from early January through early February to take a brief lead in the Big South Conference race. The Chanticleers enter the conference tournament as the hottest team in the Big South, riding a ten game winning streak. Coastal Carolina entered their road game at Winthrop with a record of 4-9 (2-4 in conference). Coastal Carolina emerged with an improbable victory and a season sweep of Winthrop, after defeating the Eagles at home eleven days later. In addition, the Chanticleers have only won by less than seven points once during their winning streak.
Darkhorse: It would be hard to call Coastal Carolina a darkhorse, given their winning streak and their success against Winthrop this season. Yet, there is no team playing as well right now in the Big South as Coastal Carolina. Given Winthrop's dominance at home the past two seasons, it would appear the only team with the resume to challenge the Eagles is the Chanticleers.
Horizon League:
FIRST ROUND
Games played at higher seed
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 6 Illinois-Chicago vs. No. 7 Wright State, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 5 Detroit vs. No. 8 Cleveland State, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 4 Loyola-Chi. vs. No. 9 Youngstown State, 8 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
At The Klotsche Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. Game 1 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 6: No. 2 Butler vs. Game 4 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 7: No. 1 Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Game played at higher seed
Tuesday, March 7
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: Wisconsin-Milwaukee struggled to finish the conference season in first places, losing three of their last six conference games. The Panthers did finish on top of the league, but only after Detroit upset Butler on the last Saturday of league play.
Favorite: Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a slight favorite because the tournament is played on their home court and the Panthers earned a pass to the league semifinals based on their second place finish. In addition, all four teams that defeated UWM are in the lower half of the bracket. UWM will face a serious challenge from the Butler Bulldogs. Butler 9-3 in their last 12 games, split their two regular season games with the Panthers.
Darkhorse: Any darkhorse is likely to come from the lower half of the bracket of the conference tournament. Wisconsin-Green Bay earned the #3 seed on the basis of a tiebreaker of five teams, all with 8-8 records. Illinois-Chicago swept Wright State, defeated UWM and Wisconsin-Green Bay this season. Unfortunately, the Flames were swept by Butler during the conference season. If Wright State can get by Illinois-Chicago, the Raiders face three potential opponents which they have played tough all season.
Ohio Valley:
FIRST ROUND
Game played at higher seed
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 1 Murray State vs. No. 8 UT-Martin, 8 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Jacksonville St. vs. No. 5 Eastern Kentucky, 8 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Samford vs. No. 7 Tennessee State, 8:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Tennessee Tech vs. No. 6 Austin Peay, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
At The Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tenn.
Friday, March 3
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Ohio Valley Conference boasted seven teams with winning conference records this season. The Samford Bulldogs experienced a resurgence, finishing with 14 conference wins and an overall record of 16-10. Murray State once again was the class of the league, finishing 17-3 in conference and 20-6 overall. Tennessee-Martin is the only conference team to enter the tournament with a losing record. The Ohio valley Conference is one of the few NCAA conferences that has its members play every other conference member twice. The tight constraints on scheduling typically allow OVC teams the opportunity to schedule very few non-conference games.
Favorite: Murray State is an obvious favorite, having posted just three losses in 20 conference games. The only two teams in the conference tournament to defeat the Racers are in the lower half of the bracket, giving Murray State a good chance to at least make it to the conference finals. Samford finished in second place, just ahead of Tennessee Tech. Both teams struggled as the conference schedule came to a close. The Bulldogs have lost four of their last six games, while the Eagles have dropped six of their last ten games.
Darkhorse: Austin Peay will be looking to repeat last year's tournament success (when they posted two straight upsets on their way to a championship game loss to Eastern Kentucky). The Governors have six losses of ten points or less during the conference schedule. Once again, Austin Peay faces the challenge of having to win at Tennessee Tech in the conference opener and then possibly face Samford in the conference semifinals.
We will post each conference tournament preview and schedule as the calendar progresses towards Championip Week.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view each conference tournament bracket and check out the other conference tournament previews.
Southern Conference:
At North Charleston Coliseum
North Charleston, S.C.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Appalachian St. vs. No. 9 Wofford, 3;30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Western Carolina vs. No. 10 UNC Greensboro, 6 p.m.
Game 3: No. 6 Furman vs. No. 11 The Citadel, 8:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 1 Georgia Southern vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 5: No. 4 College of Charleston vs. No. 5 Chattanooga, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Elon vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 3 Davidson vs. Game 3 winner, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Southern Conference experienced a slight downturn this season, exemplified by the first place team (and tournament #2 seed) Elon Phoenix. The Phoenix won the Northern Division of the Southern Conference with a 10-4 conference record. Unfortunately, the Phoenix did not find as much success in their non-conference games, finishing 14-13 overall. In fact, the only Division 1 non-conference team Elon defeated was Clemson. Much greater fortune was found in the South Division, where the Georgia Southern Eagles finished 11-4, 20-8 overall; earning the Eagles a 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Eagles were the only Southern Conference team to lose less than ten games, marking a poor overall season for Southern teams.
Favorite: Georgia Southern is a slight favorite to win the conference tournament, despite having to face either Wofford or Appalachian State, each winners against the Eagles during the regular season. Should Georgia Southern advance past their quarterfinal round game, they would have to face either Chattanooga, winners of eight of their last 11 games and defending conference champions, or host team College of Charleston. The road seems to be a difficult one for Georgia Southern to claim the conference crown this season. Instead, we will go with Davidson as this year's tournament favorite. Despite a sub-par season, the Wildcats have prepared themselves for this year's tournament with a solid non-conference schedule and a decent showing in the conference standings. Davidson is looking to erase the bad memories of last seasons disappointing semifinal loss, after posting a perfect 16-0 conference record.
Darkhorse: College of Charleston would be a solid choice as tournament darkhorse, given the historic difficulty of having to play in Charleston Coliseum. Unfortunately, this season, the Cougars seemed to lack some bite when facing opponents in their own arena, losing to Georgia Southern and Davidson at home. Instead, we will go way off the board and jump on the Wofford Terriers as our darkhorse for the Southern Conference Tournament. The Terriers won at Appalachian State and split with Georgia Southern this season (losing by 16 on the road and winning by 16 at home). The only drawback to picking the Terriers is the prospect of having to win four games in four days, but that's why they call teams like Wofford a darkhorse!
Atlantic Sun:
At Memorial Center
Johnson City, Tenn.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Lipscomb vs. No. 8 Mercer, 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Gardner-Webb vs. No. 5 East Tennessee State, 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 7 Campbell, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 6 Stetson, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Belmont and Lipscomb shared the A-Sun regular season title with identical 15-5 conference records. The Belmont Bruins won nine of their last 10 games to catch the Lipscomb Bisons. The Atlantic Sun experienced a resurgence and rejuvenation this season, as two provisional Division 1 members, Kennesaw and North Florida, joined he league. Each team played a full league schedule and Kennesaw would have qualified for a 6 seed in the conference tournament if not for them being ineligible for postseason play.
Favorite: It would be a challenge to differentiate between either regular season champion as a favorite. Belmont is one of the hottest teams in the league, winning nine of their last ten games. Lipscomb has the tougher draw, having to face either Gardner-Webb, the only team to defeat Belmont in their last ten games, or the East Tennessee State Buccaneers-the host team for the conference tournament. The Gardner-Webb Bulldogs, winners of ten of their last 12 games, overcame a slow start to the conference race to finish in fourth place, just a game ahead of the Buccaneers.
Darkhorse: East Tennessee State would hardly be considered a darkhorse, given that they are the host team this year for the conference tournament. Unfortunately, a late season four game losing streak dropped the Bucs down to fifth place; leaving the prospect of having to defeat Gardner-Webb and possibly Lipscomb, both teams they lost to at home during the regular season. The best choice for a possible darkhorse is the Stetson Hatters. Stetson enters the conference tourney having won eight games in a row and eleven of their last 12. The Hatters upset Lipscomb, Gardner-Webb and East Tennessee State; losing only to potential second round opponent Belmont. The Hatters are playing their best ball of the season right now and they seem to be on a roll that might carry them all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri Valley Conference:
At Savvis Center
St. Louis, Mo.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 8 Drake vs. No. 9 Indiana State, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Evansville vs. No. 10 Illinois State, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 3
Game 3: No. 1 Wichita State vs. Game 1 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Creighton vs. No. 5 Bradley, 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Illinois vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Missouri State vs. No. 6 Northern Iowa, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Winners of Games 3 and 4, 2:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winners of Games 5 and 6, 5 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 5
Game 9: Winners of Games 7 and 8, 2 p.m.
Recap: The Missouri Valley Conference has been the topic of many a discussion this season in college basketball. The MVC has six teams that are vying for at-large tournament bids, making for what should be a fantastic conference tournament. Northern Iowa was the league leader until a late season four game losing streak dropped the Panthers from first place to sixth place. The Bradley Braves turned around their midseason misfortune by winning nine of their last 11 games and finishing in a tie for fifth place. The Creighton Blue Jays played solid basketball all season, finishing 12-6 in conference and 12-6 overall. Southern Illinois turned around their early season difficulties with an eleven game winning streak. Amazingly, despite losing four of their last seven conference games, the Salukis finished in a tie for second place just two games behind regular season champion Wichita State. The Shockers dominated the regular season of the Missouri Valley Conference finishing 14-4. Considering the depth of this season's league and the number of potential NCAA Tournament teams, Wichita State has completed as fine of a season as any in recent MVC memory.
Favorite: Wichita State is a slight favorite over the remainder of the MVC field. Given the strength and consistency of the Shockers' play this season, it would be foolhardy to not consider them a favorite for the MVC Tournament title. However, one team left unmentioned has the best draw and possibly the best chance to make it all the way to the title game and claim an elusive NCAA Tournament berth. Missouri State has won seven of their last eight league games, finishing in a tie for second place and earning the 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Bears play the slumping Northern Iowa Panthers in the first round. Hardly an east foe, but given the Panthers' troubles lately, one of the more advantageous matchups of the first round. Should Missouri State get past Northern Iowa, they would face Southern Illinois in the semifinals. Once again the Bears would be facing a team just coming out of a losing streak. Given the Bears' recent success, we are confident that they just might have enough muscle to make it to the conference finals, yet again, where maybe this season, they can finally cut down the nets.
Darkhorse: Indiana State had one of the most unusual starts to any season in almost 20 years of college basketball. The Sycamores started the 2005 season with 8 straight wins, including an upset of the Indiana Hoosiers. A loss to Wichita State in their second Missouri Valley Conference game started what would become an 11 game losing streak. Indiana State had dug themselves into a hole and started the month of February with a 1-10 conference record. In what might be the most amazing moment of the Sycamores season, Indiana State ended their 11 game losing streak and simultaneously ended Southern Illinois' 33 game home winning streak (the nation's longest streak at the time). The Sycamores rebounded to win three of their next four games (including wins against Northern Iowa and Bradley) and finish ninth in the Missouri Valley. The Sycamores seemed to find some of the mojo from their early season success and we think that might translate into a few wins in the MVC Tournament. Indiana State does face a Drake team that defeated the Sycamores twice in the regular season. However, since their last win against Indiana State, Drake has lost 10 of their last 11 games and appears to mailing in the rest of this season. Should the Sycamores recapture the magic that they had to start the season they might just be lucky enough to bookend their 2005-06 campaign with a pair of winning streaks, except this one would carry them into the NCAA Tournament.
Northeast Conference:
Each game played at higher seed
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 8 Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Central Connecticut vs. No. 7 Sacred Heart, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 3 Monmouth vs. No. 6 LIU-Brooklyn, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Mount Saint Mary's vs. No. 5 Robert Morris, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: Highest seed vs. lowest seed
Game 6: Second-highest seed vs. second-lowest seed
CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, March 8
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Fairleigh Dickinson was 3-2 in conference just five games into the Northeast Conference season and appeared to be stuck in neutral as the month of January pressed on. Suddenly the Knights caught fire and emerged as the best team in the conference, claiming the crown after winning 11 of their last 13 conference games. FDU even went on the road and won at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Bracket Buster Saturday. The Knights might have shared the league title with Central Connecticut State had the Blue Devils not lost three straight road games at the start of February. Wrapped around those three losses were separate five and six game winning streaks. Monmouth overcame a 1-7 start to their season to finish 11-5 in league play and in sole possession of third place. The Hawks never won more than three games in a row all season, yet won five road games in Northeast play.
Favorite: Fairleigh Dickinson and Central Connecticut State have been playing the best basketball since the start of the 2006 and must both be considered favorites to claim the Northeast Conference Tournament crown. While tournament favorites and regular season champions have fared well in the conference tournament, Fairleigh Dickinson must be careful to avoid the fate of last years #1 seed Monmouth, which lost in the semifinals at home to #6 seed Wagner.
Darkhorse: Since the Northeast Conference reseeds after each round (with the lowest remaining seed playing at the home gym of the highest remaining seed), finding a darkhorse in past seasons has proven difficult. We will stay close to the vest for our darkhorse this season and jump on the bandwagon of the Monmouth Hawks. The Hawks are the only team to have defeated Central Connecticut State twice this season. The Hawks also own an overtime win against Fairleigh Dickinson, ending the Knights' 11 game winning streak back on February 20. We are looking for Monmouth to avenge last season's disappointing finish and reclaim their spot in the Big Dance.
Big South:
FIRST ROUND
Each game played at higher seed
Tuesday, Feb 28
Game 1: No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 8 Liberty, 7:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Radford vs. No. 5 High Point, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 7 UNC Asheville 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Birmingham-Southern vs. No. 6 Charleston Southern, 8 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
At Winthrop ColiseumRock Hill, S.C.
Thursday, March 2
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
Game played at higher seed
Saturday, March 4
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Recap: The start of the Big South Conference schedule had many pundits predicting the Winthrop Eagles would easily win the conference race (while more than a few projected the Eagles might even finish undefeated by season's end). In the end the Eagles did emerge on top of the conference standings, although not after a few surprises and a few shocking losses. Three teams (Winthrop, Birmingham Southern and Coastal Carolina) finished the conference schedule with 12 wins or more; a first in Big South Conference play. The conference also experienced some benefit from several notable upsets (highlighted by Winthrop's win at Marquette on November 19th). The conference finished in the top 20 RPI for the first time in the brief history of the Big South.
Favorite: The Winthrop Eagles are a tenuous favorite. bolstered by their having the benefit of playing home games through the conference finals. The Eagles did stumble at home once this season, losing to Coastal Carolina. The Eagles were 12-1 at home this season and are 28-1 at home since the start of the 2004-05 season. In addition, the Eagles closest margin of victory in their seven conference home wins was never less than 16 points. Their stellar home record and solid play for the majority of the 2005-06 campaign places Winthrop ahead of a very strong pack of contenders. The other two teams with strong chances to take the Big South title are the Birmingham Southern Panthers and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The Panthers reeled of nine straight victories from early January through early February to take a brief lead in the Big South Conference race. The Chanticleers enter the conference tournament as the hottest team in the Big South, riding a ten game winning streak. Coastal Carolina entered their road game at Winthrop with a record of 4-9 (2-4 in conference). Coastal Carolina emerged with an improbable victory and a season sweep of Winthrop, after defeating the Eagles at home eleven days later. In addition, the Chanticleers have only won by less than seven points once during their winning streak.
Darkhorse: It would be hard to call Coastal Carolina a darkhorse, given their winning streak and their success against Winthrop this season. Yet, there is no team playing as well right now in the Big South as Coastal Carolina. Given Winthrop's dominance at home the past two seasons, it would appear the only team with the resume to challenge the Eagles is the Chanticleers.
Horizon League:
FIRST ROUND
Games played at higher seed
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 6 Illinois-Chicago vs. No. 7 Wright State, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 5 Detroit vs. No. 8 Cleveland State, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 4 Loyola-Chi. vs. No. 9 Youngstown State, 8 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
At The Klotsche Center
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, March 3
Game 4: No. 3 Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. Game 1 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 4
Game 6: No. 2 Butler vs. Game 4 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 7: No. 1 Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Game played at higher seed
Tuesday, March 7
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: Wisconsin-Milwaukee struggled to finish the conference season in first places, losing three of their last six conference games. The Panthers did finish on top of the league, but only after Detroit upset Butler on the last Saturday of league play.
Favorite: Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a slight favorite because the tournament is played on their home court and the Panthers earned a pass to the league semifinals based on their second place finish. In addition, all four teams that defeated UWM are in the lower half of the bracket. UWM will face a serious challenge from the Butler Bulldogs. Butler 9-3 in their last 12 games, split their two regular season games with the Panthers.
Darkhorse: Any darkhorse is likely to come from the lower half of the bracket of the conference tournament. Wisconsin-Green Bay earned the #3 seed on the basis of a tiebreaker of five teams, all with 8-8 records. Illinois-Chicago swept Wright State, defeated UWM and Wisconsin-Green Bay this season. Unfortunately, the Flames were swept by Butler during the conference season. If Wright State can get by Illinois-Chicago, the Raiders face three potential opponents which they have played tough all season.
Ohio Valley:
FIRST ROUND
Game played at higher seed
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Game 1: No. 1 Murray State vs. No. 8 UT-Martin, 8 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Jacksonville St. vs. No. 5 Eastern Kentucky, 8 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Samford vs. No. 7 Tennessee State, 8:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Tennessee Tech vs. No. 6 Austin Peay, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
At The Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tenn.
Friday, March 3
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 5
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Ohio Valley Conference boasted seven teams with winning conference records this season. The Samford Bulldogs experienced a resurgence, finishing with 14 conference wins and an overall record of 16-10. Murray State once again was the class of the league, finishing 17-3 in conference and 20-6 overall. Tennessee-Martin is the only conference team to enter the tournament with a losing record. The Ohio valley Conference is one of the few NCAA conferences that has its members play every other conference member twice. The tight constraints on scheduling typically allow OVC teams the opportunity to schedule very few non-conference games.
Favorite: Murray State is an obvious favorite, having posted just three losses in 20 conference games. The only two teams in the conference tournament to defeat the Racers are in the lower half of the bracket, giving Murray State a good chance to at least make it to the conference finals. Samford finished in second place, just ahead of Tennessee Tech. Both teams struggled as the conference schedule came to a close. The Bulldogs have lost four of their last six games, while the Eagles have dropped six of their last ten games.
Darkhorse: Austin Peay will be looking to repeat last year's tournament success (when they posted two straight upsets on their way to a championship game loss to Eastern Kentucky). The Governors have six losses of ten points or less during the conference schedule. Once again, Austin Peay faces the challenge of having to win at Tennessee Tech in the conference opener and then possibly face Samford in the conference semifinals.
We will post each conference tournament preview and schedule as the calendar progresses towards Championip Week.
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