We are continuing to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view the other conference tournament previews and updated conference tournament brackets.
ACC:
At Greensboro Coliseum
Greensboro, N.C.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 9
Game 1: No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 Clemson, noon
Game 2: No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 12 Wake Forest, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Virginia vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4: No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Georgia Tech, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 5: No. 1 Duke vs. Game 1 winner, noon (ESPN2)
Game 6: No. 4 N.C. State vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 7: No. 2 North Carolina vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 8: No. 3 Boston College vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 11
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 12
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: The ACC was dominated for much of the season by Duke, yet as the conference play came to a close, the North Carolina Tar Heels began to flex their might and a late season win at Duke has put the strength of the Blue Devils in question. Duke finished the regular season with a 2 game cushion over North Carolina and until the last week of the season, Duke was undefeated in league play. North Carolina started the season with a struggle at home against tiny Gardner-Webb, beating the small school from Boiling Spring NC by just one point in their season opener. The Tar Heels made up for the loss of much of the talent on last season's championship team with a class of fantastic freshman and some unheralded upperclassmen. North Carolina finished the regular season 8-2 on the road, almost unheard of with such a young team; scoring victories at Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina State and Maryland. The only place the Tar Heels seemed to have trouble winning was at home, where the Heels were still 13-4. Boston College had a rough start to their inaugural ACC season, losing their first three games. By the end of the season, the Eagles had turned things around, winning eleven of their last 13 ACC games to finish second in the league. North Carolina State had the opposite fortune by season's end. The Wolfpack lost their last three ACC games to finish the season 10-6 in conference, good for fourth place. Many teams struggled within the ACC campaign including Maryland (hampered by the loss of senior guard Chris McCray), Virginia (improved, yet still struggling to learn how to win), Clemson (started the season 10-0 and finished 7-11), Georgia Tech (with just four wins in the ACC this season) and Wake Forest (inexplicably in last place with just 2 ACC wins on the season).
Favorite: Duke enters the ACC Tournament with 27 wins and a solid lock on a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Yet all is not well in Durham, especially after two straight losses. The Blue Devils bounced back from a similar situation last season to take the ACC title (after UNC was upset by Georgia Tech) and perhaps the same will occur here. We like North Carolina as the favorite to win the ACC title. No team in the ACC is playing better than the Heels, undefeated since a home loss to Duke in early February and riding a six-game road winning streak. In fact, the Heels only lost one road game during the entire ACC season, a feat even last year's NCAA Championship team could not accomplish. The Heels will be tested in the semifinals by Boston College (if the Eagles get past the winner of Maryland/Georgia Tech). Should UNC make their way to the final, we like their chances in a possible rematch with Duke.
Darkhorse: There are popular choices amongst the 10 teams in the ACC Tournament not named Duke or North Carolina as darkhorses, i.e. Maryland or NC State. However, we like the BC Eagles as a possible darkhorse. Boston College dominated the Tar Heels at North Carolina and was the last team not named Duke to defeat UNC this season. Boston College plays too many games close to the vest, yet with their size and guard play, they have a solid chance to upset the favored Heels.
Big Ten:
At Conseco Fieldhouse
Indianapolis
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 9
Game 1: No. 8 Penn State vs. No. 9 Northwestern, 12 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2: No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Minnesota, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 3: No. 6 Michigan State vs. No. 11 Purdue, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 4: No. 1 Ohio State vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 5: No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Indiana, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 6: No. 2 Iowa vs. Game 2 winner, 6:40 p.m.
Game 7: No. 3 Illinois vs. Game 3 winner, 9:10 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1:40 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 4:05 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 12
Game 10: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Recap: The Big Ten had a solid season with three teams winning more than 20 games and six teams winning 18 or more games. Ohio State surged ahead of a tight pack of teams to win the league title by one game over second place Iowa and Illinois. The Buckeyes were helped by a league leading five wins away from home, second in the Big Ten to only Illinois. Ohio State and Illinois ended the season much like they started 2005. The Buckeyes won their first 11 games (before losing at Indiana) and Illinois won their first 15 games (before losing their first game at Iowa). Iowa might have won the Big Ten if they had been able to find just one more win on the road. The Hawkeyes won every conference home game, yet just won just three road games in the Big Ten. The flip side to the success of these three Big Ten teams was the struggle of many more. Wisconsin started the conference season 4-0, and then lost five of their next six games and limped to a 9-7 Big Ten record. Indiana suffered much the same ignominy, starting their Big Ten season 4-1, losing 6 of their next 7 conference games (and a home game to Connecticut) and their head coach, before turning their season around with four straight wins heading into the conference tournament. Michigan State never quite lived up to pre-season expectations and hype, losing five of their last seven games, finishing 8-8 in the conference. The Spartans tied the Michigan Wolverines, who were also plagued by inconsistency. The most consistently inconsistent team was Penn State. The Nittany Lions won as many road games as home games and yet found a way to end Illinois' 33 game home winning streak. The Lions, plagued by a lack of size, guard play and leadership, somehow found their way to six conference wins. Penn State actually finished ahead of Minnesota, Northwestern and Purdue. Matt Painter found his first as Gene Keady's replacement a struggle, yet was able to score upsets of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota at home.
Favorite: Ohio State and Illinois are playing the best basketball of any two Big Ten teams, as the tournament gets under way. The Buckeyes have won nine of their last ten games (including wins at Michigan and Michigan State). The Illini have won five of their last six games and are looking to avenge a loss in their sole game against Ohio State this season. Waiting in the wings is Iowa, a surprising 2 seed in the Big ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes are hampered by their inability to win on the road in Big Ten play (3-5 this season, with their only wins coming at Penn State, Indiana and Purdue). Should the Hawkeyes and Illini meet, we like Illinois' chances.
Darkhorse: Michigan State is a popular pick as a darkhorse and if we were swayed by their abundance of talent, we might pick them to make some noise in the Big Ten Tournament. The problem is the Spartans defense is some of the worst in the NCAA and the loss of Matt Trannon (amazingly !!) has hurt their depth. Michigan State will make a great second round opponent for Illinois, but we doubt they will make a deep tournament run. We like the chances of the Michigan Wolverines as our darkhorse. Michigan gets a good draw, having to beat Minnesota (a team they routed twice during the regular season) and then the opportunity to play the solid, yet overseeded Iowa Hawkeyes. The horrific loss Michigan took at Iowa earlier this year is troubling, yet the Hawkeyes are a much different team away from Iowa City. Should the Wolverines get past the quarterfinals, they would likely face either Illinois (a team they played well in both games this season) or Michigan State. Given the Spartans spotty play and poor defense, we like Michigan's chances.
Big 12:
At American Airlines Center
Dallas
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 9
Game 1: No. 8 Texas Tech vs. No. 9 Kansas State, 12:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 2: No. 5 Colorado vs. No. 12 Baylor, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 3: No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 Iowa State, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 4: No. 6 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Missouri, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 5: No. 1 Texas vs. Game 1 winner, 12:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 6: No. 4 Texas A&M vs. Game 2 winner, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 7: No. 2 Kansas vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 8: No. 3 Oklahoma vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 11
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4:20 p.m. (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 12
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: The Big 12 had four teams finish with 20 or more wins this season. However, only five teams finished with a winning conference record. Texas eked out a tie for the regular season conference title with a home win against Oklahoma in the season finale. The Longhorns overcame a difficult start that saw them lose by a big margin in back-to-back games to Duke and Tennessee. Kansas tied Texas for the conference title after starting the season 3-4. The Jayhawks won 19 of their next 22 games, including a mid-season winning streak of 22 in a row, to finish 22-7 overall. Oklahoma won four straight one-point games at season's end to help them to a third place finish. The Sooners finished just ahead of the league's hottest team, Texas A&M. The Aggies enter the conference tournament on a 7 game winning streak. Texas A&M was floundering at 3-6 in conference before they found their winning ways in early February. Colorado has been the league's most inconsistent team (or consistent, depending on your point of view). The Buffaloes lost just one conference home game, while winning only two conference road games, on their way to a 9-7 league record. A number of league teams struggled to finish after solid starts. Nebraska started the season 12-3 only to finish 5-9. Kansas State (12-4 to start and 3-8 to finish), Oklahoma State (12-5 to start and 4-9 to finish), and Iowa State (10-3 to start and 5-10 to finish) also experienced the same struggles at season's end. Missouri suffered through a seven game losing streak at mid-season that caused head coach Quin Snyder to resign. The Tigers only won two of their last 12 games. Baylor did not win their first game until February 1st, when they upset Kansas State at home. The Bears also did not play their first game until January 11 due to NCAA sanctions.
Favorite: Texas and Kansas enter the league tournament playing the best basketball of any team in the Big 12. The Longhorns have been undone by several losses to marginal conference teams, yet when Texas needed to win a big game, they found a way to pull through. Kansas found hit their winning stride by mid-January. The Jayhawks beat every conference team with a worse record during their winning stretch. The only game Kansas was unable to win was at Texas, losing handily in late February. The Jayhawks won six road games during the conference campaign, best in all the Big 12. The Jayhawks proved they are capable of beating the teams seeded 4-12 during the season. The Jayhawks trouble came against the one team that was above them in the standings. Kansas should be able to roll through their half of the bracket to the semifinals where they will likely face Oklahoma. That is where Kansas might yet again experience some difficulty against squads that provide better competition. Texas is pushing towards a high seed in the NCAA Tournament and this year the conference tournament is being played in their own backyard in Dallas, Texas. The Longhorns have traditionally not received big support from their own fans (unless they are playing a big game). Texas has the advantage of playing their half of the bracket against five teams they defeated during the season. That should be good enough to get Texas to the title game, where they are likely to meet either Oklahoma or Kansas, two teams they beat handily at home.
Darkhorse: It is hard to find a darkhorse from this league, given the difficulty almost every team seeded 5-12 has had either winning games away from home, or just winning games the last half of the season. Oklahoma State, perhaps buoyed by the loss of their head coach, Eddie Sutton, is one of the few teams seeded in the bottom half of the bracket that has found a way to win big games at season's end. The Cowboys have won three of their last five games (including in that streak is a one-point loss in the final seconds at Oklahoma). The Cowboys have the misfortune to face the Kansas Jayhawks in the second round. Kansas dominated Oklahoma State during the regular season, defeating the Cowboys by 15 in Stillwater. Nebraska enters the tournament having lost three in a row and six of their last 8 games. We like their draw against struggling Missouri and then Oklahoma, yet how can anyone have much faith in a team that struggled so mightily to end the season. Given the makeup of the bracket, it is hard to find almost any other team that can pull of the few upsets it takes to be a darkhorse.
SEC:
At The Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tenn.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 9
Game 1: E5 South Carolina vs. W4 Mississippi State, 1 p.m.
Game 2: W6 Ole Miss vs. E3 Kentucky, 3:15 p.m.
Game 3: W5 Auburn vs. E4 Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: E6 Georgia vs. W3 Arkansas, 9:45 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 5: E1 Tennessee vs. Game 1 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 6: W2 Alabama vs. Game 2 winner, 3:15 p.m.
Game 7: W1 LSU vs. Game 3 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 8: E2 Florida vs. Game 4 winner, 9:45 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 11
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3:15 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 12
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 1 p.m.
Recap: The SEC was full of surprises as the season unfolded. Tennessee and LSU won each division with ease, although Tennessee needed to win two close games against Florida to solidify their hold on the top spot in the east. The Volunteers started the season 11-1 and won another 8 games in a row before losing three of their last five to finish the season 12-4 in conference. The LSU Tigers were even more dominant in the West, losing just two games in conference (at Alabama and at Florida). The Tigers suffered through a frustrating non-conference campaign, losing five games by a total of 11 points. LSU won the West by four games over pre-season favorite Alabama and surging Arkansas. The Crimson Tide turned around a 7-5 non-conference record with a solid showing in the SEC. Arkansas enters the SEC Tournament as the hottest team in the league, riding a five game winning streak. The Razorbacks have scored wins against Alabama, Florida and Tennessee in that streak. Florida started the season 17-0 and found some difficulty in conference play, losing twice to Tennessee and South Carolina. Kentucky might be the most talked about team as the SEC Tournament starts play.... and not because of their stellar play. Kentucky, in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament, plays Mississippi in the first round of the SEC Tournament (a date on which the Wildcats are not used to playing). The Rebels will be searching for a new coach after dismissing head coach Rod Barnes at the end of the season.
Favorite: LSU and Tennessee enter the tournament as top seeds, yet LSU is playing the best basketball of anyone in the SEC (except maybe Arkansas). The Tigers have won 14 of their last 16 games and appear to be on a roll towards the NCAA Tournament. LSU would have to face Florida (one of two teams to beat the Tigers) or possibly Arkansas in the semifinals. The bracket does provide a challenge to the Tigers. On the other side, Tennessee would face struggling South Carolina or Mississippi State in the quarterfinals and either Kentucky or Alabama in the semifinals. Both teams were able to score an upset of the top seeded Volunteers in the weeks leading up to the SEC Tournament. Both teams are favorites, yet we are uneasy about their chances to take the SEC Tournament title.
Darkhorse: Arkansas is on a roll as they enter the SEC Tournament. While it is unlikely the Razorbacks will win four straight to take the title, we like their chances to make some noise in the tournament. Arkansas has won the games they are supposed to win and home wins against Alabama and Florida seemed to give this squad the confidence they needed to beat Tennessee on the road. Arkansas is capable of making the semifinals, where they are likely to face LSU. Unfortunately, the Tigers beat the Razorbacks twice this season, so we will head to the opposite side of the bracket for our darkhorse. The Alabama Crimson Tide is the only team in the SEC Tournament to have at least one win against the top four seeds from both sides of the bracket. The Tide finished the regular season 4-2 against the eastern half of the conference (beating the top four teams from the East while losing to the bottom two teams-South Carolina and Georgia) and 6-4 against the Western half of the conference. The Tide has had more trouble with the worse teams in the league than the best teams. If the Tide can get past Georgia (no mean feat considering the Bulldogs beat Alabama in their only meeting this year), they have a good chance to run past a struggling Kentucky and a struggling Tennessee. That would place them in the finals against either LSU, Arkansas (as we predict). Having to play four games in four days would be a hindrance for the Tide, but we like their chances.
SWAC:
At Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center Arena
Birmingham, Ala.
FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 9
Game 1: No. 1 Southern vs. No. 8 Alcorn State, 8:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Alabama State vs. No. 5 Jackson State, 11 a.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Alabama A&M vs. No. 7 Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 6 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Grambling vs. No. 6 Mississippi Valley State, 1:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Recap: Southern entered conference entered conference play in a similar circumstance as many of their league counterparts. The Jaguars had only two wins in their first 10 games. Yet, Southern found the ability to turn around their season and dominate the SWAC; winning the conference by four games over their nearest competition. In fact, the Jaguars were the only conference team that finished the regular season with more than 13 wins and one of only two SWAC teams to finish with a winning record. The entire conference had such difficulty in their non-conference schedule that all 10 league teams had just eight non-conference wins against Division 1 competition (Savannah State, Duquesne, Coppin State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas-San Antonio, Lipscomb, Louisiana Tech and South Alabama). Compare that to the 11 wins league teams had against non-division 1 competition and it paints a picture of a rough non-conference schedule for every SWAC team. The two last place teams (Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M) failed to make the conference tournament.
Favorite: Southern is the odds-on favorite to advance to the win the SWAC Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Jaguars three conference losses all came away from home and all were by six points or less. Regular season champions have historically done well in the SWAC Tournament and it is anticipated that Southern will hold true to that form.
Darkhorse: Given that over half the conference teams have less than 10 wins (both inside the conference and overall); finding a darkhorse will not be easy. Alabama A&M enters the SWAC Tournament on a five game winning streak and the Bulldogs played Southern well during the regular season, losing twice to the Jaguars by seven and four points. Our choice is the Alabama State Hornets as the darkhorse from the SWAC. The Hornets own three of the eight non-conference wins from the league and were one of three conference teams to upend Southern. Alabama State may be the one SWAC team that played Southern the toughest this season, losing at Southern in overtime and beating the Jaguars at home by 4. If the Hornets are able to get by Jackson State in the quarterfinals, they have a good shot at upsetting Southern in the conference semifinals.
WAC:
At Lawlor Events Center
Reno, Nev.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 1: No. 3 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 6 Boise State, 3 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Utah State vs. No. 7 San Jose State, 5:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 1 Nevada vs. No. 8 Idaho, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Hawaii vs. No. 5 New Mexico State, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 9 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 11:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 12
Game 7: Semifinal winners, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Nevada won their third straight conference title after struggling to start conference play. Nevada started the regular season and ranked in the top 25 after wins against UNLV, Kansas, Pacific and Georgia. The Wolf Pack lost four of their next 7 games to fall to 3-3 in conference and out of the top 25. The Wolf Pack regained their composure to win their last eleven games and outlast Utah State and Louisiana Tech for the WAC title. Louisiana Tech started the WAC season strong, posting a 7-1 record the first half of the conference campaign. The Bulldogs were unable to carry that momentum into the second half of conference play after losing three of four games (twice to Nevada and once at home to Utah State). Utah State had a chance to win the regular season title with a win at home against Nevada on February 25th. The Aggies lost that game to finish in a tie for second place in the conference. Utah State was undone by two losses to new WAC member New Mexico State. Last place team Idaho would not have made the conference tournament, after finishing the conference season 1-15, were it not for Fresno State being ruled ineligible for the WAC Tournament for NCAA sanctions.
Favorite: Nevada is the hottest team in the WAC and the Wolf Pack host the tournament for the second straight season. Nevada enters the conference tournament on an eleven game winning streak (the Wolf Pack have not lost since January 23 to Utah State). Nevada has scored conference wins at Utah State, at Louisiana Tech and at home against Akron and Louisiana Tech. The Wolf Pack must avoid last season's disappointment when the Wolf Pack were upset at home in the conference quarterfinals by Boise State.
Darkhorse: While Nevada enters the conference tournament as the hottest team in the league, there are at least two teams playing nearly as well as the Wolf Pack. Hawaii has won seven of their last nine games, including three games away from home (where the Rainbows have historically had difficulty). The Rainbows also own wins against Nevada and Utah State (albeit at home, where Hawaii has always been tough to beat). The Rainbows quarterfinal opponent is New Mexico State, winners of six of their last seven games. The Aggies own wins against Utah State at home and at Pacific during their stretch run. Despite starting the season 7-10, New Mexico State found a way to turn around their level of play and currently sit at 15-13, guaranteed of a winning record in their inaugural season in the WAC. New Mexico State faces the task of having to defeat Hawaii in the first round and then play Nevada on their own home court in the semifinals. Another possible candidate for a darkhorse is Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs have won four of their last five games, including wins at Southern Illinois and Hawaii (both traditionally tough places to find victories). Louisiana Tech will face a Boise State squad they swept this season (although both games were close contests). Our pick is Utah State. While the Aggies certainly do not enter the conference tournament as a lower seed, they are an underdog to win on Nevada's home floor. Utah State already won at Nevada earlier this season and the Aggies face a good draw (having to beat 6-24 San Jose State and either Boise State or Louisiana Tech, two teams Utah State was undefeated against this season). We like Nevada to continue their winning streak, but finding their way to a conference tournament title will be a greater challenge than many think.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
NCAA Tournament Bracket Update 3/08/06
We will continue to replicate the NCAA Tournament bracket projection from our other website Bubbleteams.com all week through Selection Sunday.
Washington Region
Philadelphia, PA
1-Connecticut
16-FDU/Southern
8-Alabama
9-Northern Iowa
San Diego, CA
5-Washington
12-Florida State
4-Iowa
13-South Alabama
Greensboro, NC
6-Georgetown
11-California
3-NC
14-Pacific
Dallas, TX
7-Arkansas
10-Seton Hall
2-Texas
15-Northwestern State
Oakland Region
Dallas, TX
1-Memphis
16-Albany
8-Wichita State
9-Kentucky
San Diego, CA
5-Pitt
12-Wisconsin Milwaukee
4-UCLA
13-Iona
Jacksonville, FL
6-Florida
11-NC Wilmington
3-George Washington
14-Penn
Dayton, OH
7-Marquette
10-Texas A&M
2-Ohio State
15-Davidson
Minneapolis Region
Greensboro, NC
1-Duke
16-Belmont
8-Indiana
9-Arizona
Auburn Hills, MI
5-Oklahoma
12-George Mason
4-WVU
13-Kent State
Dayton, OH
6-Wisconsin
11-Bucknell
3-Tennessee
14-Murray State
Salt Lake City, UT
7-Michigan State
10-UAB
2-Gonzaga
15-Northern Arizona
Atlanta Region
Philadelphia, PA
1-Villanova
16-Delaware State
8-Michigan
9-Southern Illinois
Salt Lake City, UT
5-BC
13-San Diego State
4-Kansas
12-Missouri State
Jacksonville, FL
6-NC State
11-Bradley
3-LSU
14-Winthrop
Auburn Hills, MI
7-Nevada
10-Cincinnati
2-Illinois
15-Oral Roberts
We will continue to tweak the bracket as the week continues. Check back each day for more updates.
Washington Region
Philadelphia, PA
1-Connecticut
16-FDU/Southern
8-Alabama
9-Northern Iowa
San Diego, CA
5-Washington
12-Florida State
4-Iowa
13-South Alabama
Greensboro, NC
6-Georgetown
11-California
3-NC
14-Pacific
Dallas, TX
7-Arkansas
10-Seton Hall
2-Texas
15-Northwestern State
Oakland Region
Dallas, TX
1-Memphis
16-Albany
8-Wichita State
9-Kentucky
San Diego, CA
5-Pitt
12-Wisconsin Milwaukee
4-UCLA
13-Iona
Jacksonville, FL
6-Florida
11-NC Wilmington
3-George Washington
14-Penn
Dayton, OH
7-Marquette
10-Texas A&M
2-Ohio State
15-Davidson
Minneapolis Region
Greensboro, NC
1-Duke
16-Belmont
8-Indiana
9-Arizona
Auburn Hills, MI
5-Oklahoma
12-George Mason
4-WVU
13-Kent State
Dayton, OH
6-Wisconsin
11-Bucknell
3-Tennessee
14-Murray State
Salt Lake City, UT
7-Michigan State
10-UAB
2-Gonzaga
15-Northern Arizona
Atlanta Region
Philadelphia, PA
1-Villanova
16-Delaware State
8-Michigan
9-Southern Illinois
Salt Lake City, UT
5-BC
13-San Diego State
4-Kansas
12-Missouri State
Jacksonville, FL
6-NC State
11-Bradley
3-LSU
14-Winthrop
Auburn Hills, MI
7-Nevada
10-Cincinnati
2-Illinois
15-Oral Roberts
We will continue to tweak the bracket as the week continues. Check back each day for more updates.
Conference Tournament Updates 3/07/06
Updated brackets for every conference tournament (including every major conference tournament) are now available at Bubbleteams.com along with new conference tournament previews and updated scores.
We will continue to offer real-time updates and tournament results. This is the one and ONLY site that updates tournament brackets with scores and results as they happen.
Big Sky:
Top seeds Montana and Northern Arizona both advance to the conference championship.
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 73, No. 3 Eastern Washington 71, OT
Game 4: No. 1 Northern Arizona 98, No. 5 Sacramento State 83
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Wednesday, March 8
Game 5: No. 1 Northern Arizona vs. No. 2 Montana, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Horizon:
Wisconsin-Milwaukee wins the Horizon Tournament for the second straight season and the third time in four years.
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 87, No. 2 Butler 71
MEAC:
Norfolk State and Howard each advance to the quarterfinals to face the top two seeds.
At the RBC Center
Raleigh, N.C.
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 7 Norfolk State 73, No. 10 Maryland-Eastern Shore 71
Game 2: No. 9 Howard 62, No. 8 North Carolina A&T 52
Wednesday, March 8
Game 3: No. 6 Hampton vs. No. 11 Morgan State, 6 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Wednesday, March 8
Game 4: No. 1 Delaware State vs. No. 9 Howard, 8:15 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Coppin State vs. No. 7 Norfolk State, 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 9
Game 6: No. 3 Bethune-Cookman vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 4 South Carolina State vs. No. 5 Florida A&M, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN Classic)
Mid-Continent:
Oral Roberts denies Chicago State their cinderella story to advance to their first NCAA Tournament since 1984.
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 77 No. 5 Southern Utah 66
Game 4: No. 6 Chicago State 75,No. 3 UMKC 66
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: No. 1 Oral Roberts 77, No. 4 Valparaiso 58
Game 6: No. 6 Chicago State 57, No. 2 IUPUI 53
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: No. 1 Oral Roberts 85, No. 6 Chicago State 72
Mountain West:
Colorado State defeats TCU to advance to the quarterfinals where they will face top seed San Diego State.
At The Pepsi Center
Denver
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 8 Colorado State 64, No. 9 TCU 60
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 2: No. 1 San Diego State vs. No. 8 Colorado State, 2 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 3: No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 New Mexico, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 4: No. 2 Air Force vs. No. 7 Wyoming, 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 5: No. 3 BYU vs. No. 6 Utah, Midnight (ESPN)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Midnight (ESPN)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Southland:
At higher seeds
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 1 Northwestern State 75, No. 8 Texas-San Antonio 61
Game 2: No. 4 Stephen F. Austin 72, No. 5 McNeese State 70
Game 3: No. 2 Sam Houston State 86, No. 7 Texas-Arlington 84, 2OT
Game 4: No. 6 Lamar 68, No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana 65
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 1 Northwestern State vs. No. 6 Lamar, 8 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Sam Houston State vs. No. 4 Stephen F. Austin, 8 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 12
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sun Belt:
South Alabama dominates Western Kentucky to win the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
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: W3 Denver 58, E2 Middle Tennessee 57
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W4 New Orleans 61
Game 6: W1 South Alabama 78, E4 Arkansas-Little Rock 53
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 62, E3 Arkansas State 59, OT
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: W1 South Alabama 75, W3 Denver 65
Game 9: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 72
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: W1 South Alabama 95, E1 Western Kentucky 70
We will continue to offer real-time updates and tournament results. This is the one and ONLY site that updates tournament brackets with scores and results as they happen.
Big Sky:
Top seeds Montana and Northern Arizona both advance to the conference championship.
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 73, No. 3 Eastern Washington 71, OT
Game 4: No. 1 Northern Arizona 98, No. 5 Sacramento State 83
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Wednesday, March 8
Game 5: No. 1 Northern Arizona vs. No. 2 Montana, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Horizon:
Wisconsin-Milwaukee wins the Horizon Tournament for the second straight season and the third time in four years.
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 87, No. 2 Butler 71
MEAC:
Norfolk State and Howard each advance to the quarterfinals to face the top two seeds.
At the RBC Center
Raleigh, N.C.
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 7 Norfolk State 73, No. 10 Maryland-Eastern Shore 71
Game 2: No. 9 Howard 62, No. 8 North Carolina A&T 52
Wednesday, March 8
Game 3: No. 6 Hampton vs. No. 11 Morgan State, 6 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Wednesday, March 8
Game 4: No. 1 Delaware State vs. No. 9 Howard, 8:15 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Coppin State vs. No. 7 Norfolk State, 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 9
Game 6: No. 3 Bethune-Cookman vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 4 South Carolina State vs. No. 5 Florida A&M, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN Classic)
Mid-Continent:
Oral Roberts denies Chicago State their cinderella story to advance to their first NCAA Tournament since 1984.
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 77 No. 5 Southern Utah 66
Game 4: No. 6 Chicago State 75,No. 3 UMKC 66
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: No. 1 Oral Roberts 77, No. 4 Valparaiso 58
Game 6: No. 6 Chicago State 57, No. 2 IUPUI 53
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: No. 1 Oral Roberts 85, No. 6 Chicago State 72
Mountain West:
Colorado State defeats TCU to advance to the quarterfinals where they will face top seed San Diego State.
At The Pepsi Center
Denver
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 8 Colorado State 64, No. 9 TCU 60
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 2: No. 1 San Diego State vs. No. 8 Colorado State, 2 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 3: No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 New Mexico, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 4: No. 2 Air Force vs. No. 7 Wyoming, 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 5: No. 3 BYU vs. No. 6 Utah, Midnight (ESPN)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Midnight (ESPN)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Southland:
At higher seeds
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 1 Northwestern State 75, No. 8 Texas-San Antonio 61
Game 2: No. 4 Stephen F. Austin 72, No. 5 McNeese State 70
Game 3: No. 2 Sam Houston State 86, No. 7 Texas-Arlington 84, 2OT
Game 4: No. 6 Lamar 68, No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana 65
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 1 Northwestern State vs. No. 6 Lamar, 8 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Sam Houston State vs. No. 4 Stephen F. Austin, 8 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 12
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sun Belt:
South Alabama dominates Western Kentucky to win the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
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: W3 Denver 58, E2 Middle Tennessee 57
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W4 New Orleans 61
Game 6: W1 South Alabama 78, E4 Arkansas-Little Rock 53
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 62, E3 Arkansas State 59, OT
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: W1 South Alabama 75, W3 Denver 65
Game 9: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 72
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: W1 South Alabama 95, E1 Western Kentucky 70
Bubble Wrap 3/07/06
There are no bubble teams in action tonight, but there are still three conference tournaments to be decided.
Oral Roberts: The Titans erase the memories of last year's championship game loss to Oakland with a resounding win against upstart Chicago State.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee: The Panthers advance to their second straight NCAA Tournament and their third in four years.
South Alabama: The Jaguars crush Western Kentucky to earn their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1998.
Oral Roberts: The Titans erase the memories of last year's championship game loss to Oakland with a resounding win against upstart Chicago State.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee: The Panthers advance to their second straight NCAA Tournament and their third in four years.
South Alabama: The Jaguars crush Western Kentucky to earn their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1998.
Conference Tournament Previews 3/07/06-(Atlantic 10, Big East, Big West, Conferenc USA, Pac 10)
We are continuing to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view the other conference tournament previews and updated conference tournament brackets.
Atlantic Ten:
At U.S. Bank Arena
Cincinnati
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 8 Rhode Island vs. No. 9 Temple, 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 5 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 12 Dayton, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Massachusetts vs. No. 10 Xavier, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 Fordham vs. No. 11 Richmond, 9 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 1 George Washington vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 Saint Louis vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 Charlotte vs. Game 3 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 La Salle vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: George Washington was one of only three teams to finish the regular season undefeated in conference play. The Colonials were tested in several games; most recently, a one-point overtime win against Charlotte at home. GW won two other overtime games and won six overall games by points or less. The Atlantic Ten welcomed Charlotte and St. Louis from Conference USA and both teams had an immediate impact. The 49ers finished second in the league and St. Louis finished fourth. The Atlantic Ten had just one team with twenty or more wins (George Washington) for the second straight season. St. Louis started the season with one of the most unusual oddities ever seen in sports-the Billikens alternated winning a game and losing a game for 18 straight games. The streak (of sorts) came to an end after St. Louis won at Rhode Island after a win at home against Fordham.
Favorite: George Washington swept through the Atlantic Ten without losing a game; the second time an Atlantic Ten team has accomplished that feat in three years. Although, the Colonials hope that history does not repeat itself (St. Joseph's was undefeated and #1 in the nation when they were upset in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Ten Tournament by Xavier in 2004). George Washington might find themselves challenged in the semifinals by St. Louis, a loser to the Colonials by five in overtime in early January. Should George Washington make the finals, they are likely to find themselves facing a Charlotte team that handed the Colonials a win in the regular season finale for both teams.
Darkhorse: Charlotte was a horrific home team this season, losing six games on their home court. The flip side to that is how solid the 49ers were on the road, especially in league play. Charlotte finished the season 6-2 in Atlantic Ten road games, losing in overtime at GW by one point and losing at Richmond by seven earlier in the season. Xavier will be a popular choice as a possible sleeper, yet the Musketeers have struggled since a mid-January upset of Cincinnati, losing eight of their last 13 games. Xavier was hurt by the loss of senior guard Dedrick Finn and a season ending injury to all-conference center Brian Thorton. Xavier is bolstered by this year's tournament being played in Cincinnati, yet despite their recent success in past tournaments, it would be surprising to see this Musketeer team make it past the quarterfinals.
Big East:
At Madison Square Garden
New York City
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Syracuse, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 2: No. 5 Georgetown vs. No. 12 Notre Dame, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 3: No. 7 Seton Hall vs. No. 10 Rutgers, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4: No. 6 Pittsburgh vs. No. 11 Louisville, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 1 Connecticut vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 6: No. 4 Marquette vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 7: No. 2 Villanova vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 8: No. 3 West Virginia vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: Connecticut and Villanova were so dominant in Big East play that between the two teams, they won 26 of 28 games against every other team in the conference (besides each other). The closest team to the Huskies and Wildcats was West Virginia, which stormed to an 8-0 start to the season in league play, yet crashed back down to earth with a 3-5 finish (aided by a front ended schedule that allowed them to play most of the weaker teams early). Pitt also started the season (and Big East) undefeated. The Panthers began with 15 straight wins, only to struggle to a 6-6 finish that saw the Panthers fall to 10-6 in conference and 21-6 overall. Marquette, in their inaugural Big East season, and Georgetown had surprisingly solid showings. The Golden Eagles finished in a tie for fourth with Pitt and the resurgent Georgetown Hoyas. The Hoyas would have finished with sole possession of fourth place, except for a season ending loss at South Florida (0-15 in conference play before they defeated Georgetown). The Bulls were not the only new arrival to find treading the waters of the Big East more difficult than possibly imagined. Louisville entered this season with high expectations after last season's trip to the Final Four. The Cardinals never quite found a way to defeat most of the Big East top teams (losing twice to Villanova, Connecticut, and once to Pitt, Syracuse, Cincinnati and West Virginia). Louisville inexplicably finished the conference campaign with just one road win (at Providence). Joining the Cardinals in their futility was DePaul. The Blue Demons stared the Big East 1-7 and never were able to turn around their season. The Blue Demons did act as spoiler during the final weeks of Big East play, defeating both Seton Hall and Syracuse in back-to-back games. The most talked about topic surrounding the Big East during the final weeks of the season was which teams would not make the 12-team conference tournament. Four teams (St. John's, Providence, DePaul and South Florida) did not qualify for play in Madison Square Garden. Notre Dame was almost one of those teams left out of the tournament. The Irish were this season's hard luck story, losing more close games than most anyone could imagine in one season. The Fighting Irish lost by less than nine points in every one of their conference defeats. Notre Dame lost four games in overtime (two of those in double overtime), two games by two points and one game by one point.
Favorite: Connecticut and Villanova are on a collision course for each other and there seems to be few teams that are capable of derailing either team in their quest for a third match this season. The two favorites are head and shoulders above any other team in the deep, yet non-threatening Big East tournament field. To anoint any other team status as a favorite would be pure insanity.
Darkhorse: The Big East Tournament always seems to provide a sleeper and in a league this deep, there is always someone waiting to make a statement and play themselves into possible NCAA Tournament position. Pitt enters as a six seed. The Panthers are a quality team with solid inside play that lacks the stamina and tenacity to make a serious tournament run (and having to win our straight games is always a challenge). Marquette, one of only two teams to defeat Connecticut this season, has to face the winner of Georgetown-Notre Dame and then possibly Connecticut again. Both Syracuse and Louisville face off in the opening round and get the Huskies as a reward for their win. Louisville is trying to win their way into the NCAA Tournament through Pitt, West Virginia and potentially Villanova. The one team that has nothing to lose and everything to gain is Notre Dame. The Irish can dismiss many of their demons from this season with a solid tournament run. The bracket sets up well for Notre Dame; an opening round match-up with Georgetown, a quarterfinal game against Marquette and a likely semifinal game against Connecticut. All three are teams Notre Dame played well against this season (but then again, so is every team Notre Dame played) and all three are teams the Irish can beat. It is improbable Notre Dame would play their way to a championship and given the terrain of this year's Big East Tournament, just making it to the conference semifinals would be a great accomplishment for most of these teams.
Big West:
At Anaheim Convention Center Arena
Anaheim, Calif.
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 5 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 8 UC Riverside, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 7 Cal State Northridge, 11:30 p.m.
SECOND ROUND
Thursday, March 9
Game 3: No. 3 Long Beach State vs. Lowest remaining seed, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Cal Poly vs. Highest remaining seed, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 5: No. 1 Pacific vs. Lowest remaining seed, 9 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 UC Irvine vs. Highest remaining seed, 11:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, midnight (ESPN)
Recap: Pacific emerged as the best team in a less than mediocre Big West Conference this season. The Tigers started the season 7-5 and the conference campaign with a home loss to lowly UC Riverside. Pacific proceeded to rattle off thirteen wins in their next 15 games, including 12 of 13 in conference. The Tigers played well enough to catch UC Irvine (8-0 to start the conference season and 2-4 to finish the conference season). Every team, except Pacific, struggled in the non-conference campaign. Cal Poly was 2-11 outside Big West play (with two wins against non-Division 1 teams), UC Irvine was 6-8 outside the conference (with losses against Cal-State Stanislaus and Arkansas-Monticello-both non-Division 1 teams) and UC Riverside (started the season 0-10 and finished 2-11outside league play). Long Beach State was an offensive machine throughout the regular season scoring 90 points or more 9 different times (including breaking the 100 point barrier three times). In addition, the 49ers were held below 70 points just four times.
Favorite: Pacific should dominate the conference tournament like they did the regular season. The Tigers have won 12 straight conference games and face the prospect of only having to win two tournament games, courtesy of the Big West Tournament protecting the top seeds. The Tigers will be trying to avenge their loss in last season's tournament final to Utah State.
Darkhorse: Long Beach State finished the season 10-3, with six of those wins coming on the road. Pacific and UCSB were the only two league teams Long Beach State was unable to defeat away from home. The 49ers also won at Manhattan, scoring a season high 108 points in the win.
Conference USA:
At the FedExForum
Memphis, Tenn.
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 7 Rice vs. No. 10 SMU, 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Tulsa vs. No. 11 Southern Miss, 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Tulane vs. No. 9 Marshall, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Central Florida vs. No. 12 East Carolina, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 UAB vs. Game 1 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 UTEP vs. Game 2 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Memphis vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Houston vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30/7:00 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4:30/7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 11:35 a.m.
Recap: Memphis was well on their way to an undefeated conference season when a small road trip to UAB got in their way. The Blazers kept the Tigers from an undefeated season, but not from a regular season conference championship. While Memphis exemplified why most of the nation thought Conference USA was a top-heavy one-team league. UAB just took things a step further and showed why the conference was actually a two-team league. Memphis finished the regular season 10-1 and defeated a number of quality non-conference teams (Alabama, Gonzaga, UCLA, Cincinnati) to make up for their sub-par conference schedule. Memphis played ten of their 14 conference games against teams with losing records. The conference had just four teams with winning overall records and winning conference records (Memphis, UAB, UTEP and Houston). Houston defeated LSU and Arizona to jump start their non-conference campaigns.
Favorite: Memphis is by far the best team in Conference USA and having the benefit of playing the conference tournament on their home court just adds to the likelihood that the Tigers will sweep their way to a tournament title.
Darkhorse: UAB and Houston were the only conference teams to come within ten points of the Tigers at home all season (both teams lost by seven at Memphis). Given so many teams are entering the conference tournament with losing records, finding a darkhorse is near impossible. It would be a major upset for any of the teams seeded 5-12 to just make it last the quarterfinals. The only team seeded 5-12 to enter the tournament with more wins than losses in their last ten games is Tulane (6-4 in their last ten games). Central Florida does enter with three wins in their last four games (against Rice, East Carolina and TCU). If any team from the eight squads playing in the first round is able to pull of an upset in the quarterfinals, it might just be the Knights; otherwise, this conference tournament is set to see more chalk than an elementary school supply room.
Pac Ten:
At Staples Center
Los Angeles
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 8 Arizona State vs. No. 9 Oregon State, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 10 Washington State, 11:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 3: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 5 Stanford, 3 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 UCLA vs. Game 1 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 3 Cal vs. No. 6 USC, 9 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Washington vs. Game 2 winner, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 11:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6:15 p.m.
Recap: California was on cruise control, tied for the lead in the Pac Ten and playing last place Arizona State at home on February 18. The Bears were about to take control if first place in the conference when the unthinkable happened..... they lost ! What followed has been a bookend to the start of the season for California. The Bears opened their season at Eastern Michigan; and without Pac Ten scoring and rebounding champion Leon Powe, the Bears LOST to the Eagles. California did rebound to win their next six games, but that loss must still leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Cal players, coaches and fans. When California fell on their sword, the UCLA Bruins were there to finish them off. UCLA exacted revenge for an earlier home loss to Cal after winning in overtime in Berkeley and wrapping up the regular season title. UCLA finished the season with 14 conference wins, including a season sweep of Arizona. The Bruins avoided any bad losses and upsets and earned the 1 seed for the Pac 10 Tournament. Washington had their home court winning streak end at 32 games when Arizona marched into Seattle and dumped Washington on New Years Eve. The Huskies lost their next Pac 10 home game to Washington State before rebounding to win at USC and UCLA. The Huskies scored a season sweep of the fist place Bruins later in the season with a solid home win against the Bruins. Washington would have won the regular season title had they not been swept by last place Washington State during the season (????) USC and new head coach Tim Floyd made an impact pushing the Trojans to a 16-12 overall record and pulling off an upset of UCLA (one day after Cal lost to Arizona State). The Oregon Ducks struggled to find their rhythm all season and limped to a 12-17 overall record (7-11 in conference). The only Pac 10 team that was deemed more disappointing was Stanford, which opened the season with losses to UC Irvine at home and at Montana and at UC Davis. The Cardinal did rebound to finish 11-7 in conference and fifth overall.
Favorite: UCLA is the top seed, yet Washington enters the tournament as the league's hottest team with eight wins in a row. The Huskies have owned the Bruins this season and if Washington can avoid a bad loss in the tournament (i.e. another loss to Washington State), the Huskies have a strong chance to upend the Bruins for the league title. UCLA has a relatively easy path to the title game, having to go through either Arizona State/Oregon State and the winner of Stanford/Arizona. The Bruins were 8-0 against the four teams from their side of the bracket, while Washington was just 5-3 against their side.
Darkhorse: USC has had some solid wins this season, defeating North Carolina, UCLA and Arizona. Unfortunately, the Trojans have been inconsistent, losing to Arizona State, Washington State and Oregon. USC has the talent to pull off an upset of a struggling California, but do they have the tenacity ? Arizona is the safe (and easy) choice as a darkhorse for the Pac 10 Tournament. So we will go out on a limb and stick with the Trojans. They may only get past the first round, but when facing such talented teams as Washington (and possibly UCLA), getting past the first round is about as much as we can expect.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view the other conference tournament previews and updated conference tournament brackets.
Atlantic Ten:
At U.S. Bank Arena
Cincinnati
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 8 Rhode Island vs. No. 9 Temple, 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 5 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 12 Dayton, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Massachusetts vs. No. 10 Xavier, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 Fordham vs. No. 11 Richmond, 9 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 1 George Washington vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 Saint Louis vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 Charlotte vs. Game 3 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 La Salle vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: George Washington was one of only three teams to finish the regular season undefeated in conference play. The Colonials were tested in several games; most recently, a one-point overtime win against Charlotte at home. GW won two other overtime games and won six overall games by points or less. The Atlantic Ten welcomed Charlotte and St. Louis from Conference USA and both teams had an immediate impact. The 49ers finished second in the league and St. Louis finished fourth. The Atlantic Ten had just one team with twenty or more wins (George Washington) for the second straight season. St. Louis started the season with one of the most unusual oddities ever seen in sports-the Billikens alternated winning a game and losing a game for 18 straight games. The streak (of sorts) came to an end after St. Louis won at Rhode Island after a win at home against Fordham.
Favorite: George Washington swept through the Atlantic Ten without losing a game; the second time an Atlantic Ten team has accomplished that feat in three years. Although, the Colonials hope that history does not repeat itself (St. Joseph's was undefeated and #1 in the nation when they were upset in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Ten Tournament by Xavier in 2004). George Washington might find themselves challenged in the semifinals by St. Louis, a loser to the Colonials by five in overtime in early January. Should George Washington make the finals, they are likely to find themselves facing a Charlotte team that handed the Colonials a win in the regular season finale for both teams.
Darkhorse: Charlotte was a horrific home team this season, losing six games on their home court. The flip side to that is how solid the 49ers were on the road, especially in league play. Charlotte finished the season 6-2 in Atlantic Ten road games, losing in overtime at GW by one point and losing at Richmond by seven earlier in the season. Xavier will be a popular choice as a possible sleeper, yet the Musketeers have struggled since a mid-January upset of Cincinnati, losing eight of their last 13 games. Xavier was hurt by the loss of senior guard Dedrick Finn and a season ending injury to all-conference center Brian Thorton. Xavier is bolstered by this year's tournament being played in Cincinnati, yet despite their recent success in past tournaments, it would be surprising to see this Musketeer team make it past the quarterfinals.
Big East:
At Madison Square Garden
New York City
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Syracuse, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 2: No. 5 Georgetown vs. No. 12 Notre Dame, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 3: No. 7 Seton Hall vs. No. 10 Rutgers, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4: No. 6 Pittsburgh vs. No. 11 Louisville, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 1 Connecticut vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 6: No. 4 Marquette vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 7: No. 2 Villanova vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 8: No. 3 West Virginia vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: Connecticut and Villanova were so dominant in Big East play that between the two teams, they won 26 of 28 games against every other team in the conference (besides each other). The closest team to the Huskies and Wildcats was West Virginia, which stormed to an 8-0 start to the season in league play, yet crashed back down to earth with a 3-5 finish (aided by a front ended schedule that allowed them to play most of the weaker teams early). Pitt also started the season (and Big East) undefeated. The Panthers began with 15 straight wins, only to struggle to a 6-6 finish that saw the Panthers fall to 10-6 in conference and 21-6 overall. Marquette, in their inaugural Big East season, and Georgetown had surprisingly solid showings. The Golden Eagles finished in a tie for fourth with Pitt and the resurgent Georgetown Hoyas. The Hoyas would have finished with sole possession of fourth place, except for a season ending loss at South Florida (0-15 in conference play before they defeated Georgetown). The Bulls were not the only new arrival to find treading the waters of the Big East more difficult than possibly imagined. Louisville entered this season with high expectations after last season's trip to the Final Four. The Cardinals never quite found a way to defeat most of the Big East top teams (losing twice to Villanova, Connecticut, and once to Pitt, Syracuse, Cincinnati and West Virginia). Louisville inexplicably finished the conference campaign with just one road win (at Providence). Joining the Cardinals in their futility was DePaul. The Blue Demons stared the Big East 1-7 and never were able to turn around their season. The Blue Demons did act as spoiler during the final weeks of Big East play, defeating both Seton Hall and Syracuse in back-to-back games. The most talked about topic surrounding the Big East during the final weeks of the season was which teams would not make the 12-team conference tournament. Four teams (St. John's, Providence, DePaul and South Florida) did not qualify for play in Madison Square Garden. Notre Dame was almost one of those teams left out of the tournament. The Irish were this season's hard luck story, losing more close games than most anyone could imagine in one season. The Fighting Irish lost by less than nine points in every one of their conference defeats. Notre Dame lost four games in overtime (two of those in double overtime), two games by two points and one game by one point.
Favorite: Connecticut and Villanova are on a collision course for each other and there seems to be few teams that are capable of derailing either team in their quest for a third match this season. The two favorites are head and shoulders above any other team in the deep, yet non-threatening Big East tournament field. To anoint any other team status as a favorite would be pure insanity.
Darkhorse: The Big East Tournament always seems to provide a sleeper and in a league this deep, there is always someone waiting to make a statement and play themselves into possible NCAA Tournament position. Pitt enters as a six seed. The Panthers are a quality team with solid inside play that lacks the stamina and tenacity to make a serious tournament run (and having to win our straight games is always a challenge). Marquette, one of only two teams to defeat Connecticut this season, has to face the winner of Georgetown-Notre Dame and then possibly Connecticut again. Both Syracuse and Louisville face off in the opening round and get the Huskies as a reward for their win. Louisville is trying to win their way into the NCAA Tournament through Pitt, West Virginia and potentially Villanova. The one team that has nothing to lose and everything to gain is Notre Dame. The Irish can dismiss many of their demons from this season with a solid tournament run. The bracket sets up well for Notre Dame; an opening round match-up with Georgetown, a quarterfinal game against Marquette and a likely semifinal game against Connecticut. All three are teams Notre Dame played well against this season (but then again, so is every team Notre Dame played) and all three are teams the Irish can beat. It is improbable Notre Dame would play their way to a championship and given the terrain of this year's Big East Tournament, just making it to the conference semifinals would be a great accomplishment for most of these teams.
Big West:
At Anaheim Convention Center Arena
Anaheim, Calif.
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 5 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 8 UC Riverside, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 7 Cal State Northridge, 11:30 p.m.
SECOND ROUND
Thursday, March 9
Game 3: No. 3 Long Beach State vs. Lowest remaining seed, 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Cal Poly vs. Highest remaining seed, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 5: No. 1 Pacific vs. Lowest remaining seed, 9 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 UC Irvine vs. Highest remaining seed, 11:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, midnight (ESPN)
Recap: Pacific emerged as the best team in a less than mediocre Big West Conference this season. The Tigers started the season 7-5 and the conference campaign with a home loss to lowly UC Riverside. Pacific proceeded to rattle off thirteen wins in their next 15 games, including 12 of 13 in conference. The Tigers played well enough to catch UC Irvine (8-0 to start the conference season and 2-4 to finish the conference season). Every team, except Pacific, struggled in the non-conference campaign. Cal Poly was 2-11 outside Big West play (with two wins against non-Division 1 teams), UC Irvine was 6-8 outside the conference (with losses against Cal-State Stanislaus and Arkansas-Monticello-both non-Division 1 teams) and UC Riverside (started the season 0-10 and finished 2-11outside league play). Long Beach State was an offensive machine throughout the regular season scoring 90 points or more 9 different times (including breaking the 100 point barrier three times). In addition, the 49ers were held below 70 points just four times.
Favorite: Pacific should dominate the conference tournament like they did the regular season. The Tigers have won 12 straight conference games and face the prospect of only having to win two tournament games, courtesy of the Big West Tournament protecting the top seeds. The Tigers will be trying to avenge their loss in last season's tournament final to Utah State.
Darkhorse: Long Beach State finished the season 10-3, with six of those wins coming on the road. Pacific and UCSB were the only two league teams Long Beach State was unable to defeat away from home. The 49ers also won at Manhattan, scoring a season high 108 points in the win.
Conference USA:
At the FedExForum
Memphis, Tenn.
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 7 Rice vs. No. 10 SMU, 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Tulsa vs. No. 11 Southern Miss, 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Tulane vs. No. 9 Marshall, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Central Florida vs. No. 12 East Carolina, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 UAB vs. Game 1 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 UTEP vs. Game 2 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Memphis vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Houston vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30/7:00 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4:30/7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 11:35 a.m.
Recap: Memphis was well on their way to an undefeated conference season when a small road trip to UAB got in their way. The Blazers kept the Tigers from an undefeated season, but not from a regular season conference championship. While Memphis exemplified why most of the nation thought Conference USA was a top-heavy one-team league. UAB just took things a step further and showed why the conference was actually a two-team league. Memphis finished the regular season 10-1 and defeated a number of quality non-conference teams (Alabama, Gonzaga, UCLA, Cincinnati) to make up for their sub-par conference schedule. Memphis played ten of their 14 conference games against teams with losing records. The conference had just four teams with winning overall records and winning conference records (Memphis, UAB, UTEP and Houston). Houston defeated LSU and Arizona to jump start their non-conference campaigns.
Favorite: Memphis is by far the best team in Conference USA and having the benefit of playing the conference tournament on their home court just adds to the likelihood that the Tigers will sweep their way to a tournament title.
Darkhorse: UAB and Houston were the only conference teams to come within ten points of the Tigers at home all season (both teams lost by seven at Memphis). Given so many teams are entering the conference tournament with losing records, finding a darkhorse is near impossible. It would be a major upset for any of the teams seeded 5-12 to just make it last the quarterfinals. The only team seeded 5-12 to enter the tournament with more wins than losses in their last ten games is Tulane (6-4 in their last ten games). Central Florida does enter with three wins in their last four games (against Rice, East Carolina and TCU). If any team from the eight squads playing in the first round is able to pull of an upset in the quarterfinals, it might just be the Knights; otherwise, this conference tournament is set to see more chalk than an elementary school supply room.
Pac Ten:
At Staples Center
Los Angeles
FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 8 Arizona State vs. No. 9 Oregon State, 9 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 10 Washington State, 11:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 3: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 5 Stanford, 3 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 UCLA vs. Game 1 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 3 Cal vs. No. 6 USC, 9 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Washington vs. Game 2 winner, 11:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 11:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6:15 p.m.
Recap: California was on cruise control, tied for the lead in the Pac Ten and playing last place Arizona State at home on February 18. The Bears were about to take control if first place in the conference when the unthinkable happened..... they lost ! What followed has been a bookend to the start of the season for California. The Bears opened their season at Eastern Michigan; and without Pac Ten scoring and rebounding champion Leon Powe, the Bears LOST to the Eagles. California did rebound to win their next six games, but that loss must still leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Cal players, coaches and fans. When California fell on their sword, the UCLA Bruins were there to finish them off. UCLA exacted revenge for an earlier home loss to Cal after winning in overtime in Berkeley and wrapping up the regular season title. UCLA finished the season with 14 conference wins, including a season sweep of Arizona. The Bruins avoided any bad losses and upsets and earned the 1 seed for the Pac 10 Tournament. Washington had their home court winning streak end at 32 games when Arizona marched into Seattle and dumped Washington on New Years Eve. The Huskies lost their next Pac 10 home game to Washington State before rebounding to win at USC and UCLA. The Huskies scored a season sweep of the fist place Bruins later in the season with a solid home win against the Bruins. Washington would have won the regular season title had they not been swept by last place Washington State during the season (????) USC and new head coach Tim Floyd made an impact pushing the Trojans to a 16-12 overall record and pulling off an upset of UCLA (one day after Cal lost to Arizona State). The Oregon Ducks struggled to find their rhythm all season and limped to a 12-17 overall record (7-11 in conference). The only Pac 10 team that was deemed more disappointing was Stanford, which opened the season with losses to UC Irvine at home and at Montana and at UC Davis. The Cardinal did rebound to finish 11-7 in conference and fifth overall.
Favorite: UCLA is the top seed, yet Washington enters the tournament as the league's hottest team with eight wins in a row. The Huskies have owned the Bruins this season and if Washington can avoid a bad loss in the tournament (i.e. another loss to Washington State), the Huskies have a strong chance to upend the Bruins for the league title. UCLA has a relatively easy path to the title game, having to go through either Arizona State/Oregon State and the winner of Stanford/Arizona. The Bruins were 8-0 against the four teams from their side of the bracket, while Washington was just 5-3 against their side.
Darkhorse: USC has had some solid wins this season, defeating North Carolina, UCLA and Arizona. Unfortunately, the Trojans have been inconsistent, losing to Arizona State, Washington State and Oregon. USC has the talent to pull off an upset of a struggling California, but do they have the tenacity ? Arizona is the safe (and easy) choice as a darkhorse for the Pac 10 Tournament. So we will go out on a limb and stick with the Trojans. They may only get past the first round, but when facing such talented teams as Washington (and possibly UCLA), getting past the first round is about as much as we can expect.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Conference Tournament Updates 3/06/06
Updated brackets for every conference tournament (including every major conference tournament) are now available at Bubbleteams.com along with new conference tournament previews and updated scores.
Colonial:
NC Wilmington holds off Hofstra to capture the CAA Championship.
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 69 No. 5 Northeastern 54
Game 10: No. 3 Hofstra 58, No. 2 George Mason 49
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: No. 1 UNC Wilmington 78, No. 3 Hofstra 67
MAAC:
Iona dominates St. Peter's to capture the MAAC title.
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. 5 Saint Peter's 84, No. 1 Manhattan 74
Game 8: No. 2 Iona 100 No. 3 Marist 84
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: No. 2 Iona 80, No. 5 Saint Peter's 61
Mid American:
All four higher seeds held home court with Toledo, Buffalo, Western Michigan and Ohio advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Monday, March 6
Game 1: No. 7 Toledo 77, No. 10 Bowling Green 52
Game 2: No. 6 Western Michigan 60, No. 11 Eastern Michigan 55
Game 3: No. 8 Buffalo 80, No. 9 Ball State 72
Game 4: No. 5 Ohio 82, No. 12 Central Michigan 53
QUARTERFINALS
At Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 Northern Illinois vs. No. 7 Toledo, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Akron vs. No. 6 Western Michigan, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Kent State vs. No. 8 Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Ohio, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Mid-Continent:
Chicago State upsets number 2 seed IUPUI to advance to their first Mid-Continent title game against Oral Roberts..
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 77 No. 5 Southern Utah 66
Game 4: No. 6 Chicago State 75,No. 3 UMKC 66
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: No. 1 Oral Roberts 77, No. 4 Valparaiso 58
Game 6: No. 6 Chicago State 57, No. 2 IUPUI 53
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 6 Chicago State, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Sun Belt:
South Alabama advances to the tournament final to face Western Kentucky.
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: W3 Denver 58, E2 Middle Tennessee 57
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W4 New Orleans 61
Game 6: W1 South Alabama 78, E4 Arkansas-Little Rock 53
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 62, E3 Arkansas State 59, OT
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: W1 South Alabama 75, W3 Denver 65
Game 9: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 72
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: W1 South Alabama vs. E1 Western Kentucky, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
West Coast:
Gonzaga wins the WCC title with a one point victory against Loyola Marymount.
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, OT
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga 96, No. 5 San Diego 92, OT
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount 66, No. 3 Saint Mary's 63
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: No. 1 Gonzaga 68, No. 2 Loyola Marymount 67
Colonial:
NC Wilmington holds off Hofstra to capture the CAA Championship.
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 69 No. 5 Northeastern 54
Game 10: No. 3 Hofstra 58, No. 2 George Mason 49
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: No. 1 UNC Wilmington 78, No. 3 Hofstra 67
MAAC:
Iona dominates St. Peter's to capture the MAAC title.
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. 5 Saint Peter's 84, No. 1 Manhattan 74
Game 8: No. 2 Iona 100 No. 3 Marist 84
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: No. 2 Iona 80, No. 5 Saint Peter's 61
Mid American:
All four higher seeds held home court with Toledo, Buffalo, Western Michigan and Ohio advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Monday, March 6
Game 1: No. 7 Toledo 77, No. 10 Bowling Green 52
Game 2: No. 6 Western Michigan 60, No. 11 Eastern Michigan 55
Game 3: No. 8 Buffalo 80, No. 9 Ball State 72
Game 4: No. 5 Ohio 82, No. 12 Central Michigan 53
QUARTERFINALS
At Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 Northern Illinois vs. No. 7 Toledo, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Akron vs. No. 6 Western Michigan, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Kent State vs. No. 8 Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Ohio, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Mid-Continent:
Chicago State upsets number 2 seed IUPUI to advance to their first Mid-Continent title game against Oral Roberts..
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 77 No. 5 Southern Utah 66
Game 4: No. 6 Chicago State 75,No. 3 UMKC 66
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: No. 1 Oral Roberts 77, No. 4 Valparaiso 58
Game 6: No. 6 Chicago State 57, No. 2 IUPUI 53
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 6 Chicago State, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Sun Belt:
South Alabama advances to the tournament final to face Western Kentucky.
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: W3 Denver 58, E2 Middle Tennessee 57
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W4 New Orleans 61
Game 6: W1 South Alabama 78, E4 Arkansas-Little Rock 53
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 62, E3 Arkansas State 59, OT
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: W1 South Alabama 75, W3 Denver 65
Game 9: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 72
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: W1 South Alabama vs. E1 Western Kentucky, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
West Coast:
Gonzaga wins the WCC title with a one point victory against Loyola Marymount.
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, OT
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga 96, No. 5 San Diego 92, OT
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount 66, No. 3 Saint Mary's 63
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: No. 1 Gonzaga 68, No. 2 Loyola Marymount 67
Bubble Wrap 3/06/06
Tonight provides a light lineup of bubble action. The most meaningful game is in the Colonial Conference where two bubble teams square off for the automatic bid. The bigger question is what happens to the loser... at-large bid or NIT? The MAAC and WCC warp up their conference tournament and all bubble eyes will be on Gonzaga. At this point in the week, no bubble team wants the Bulldogs to lose their conference tournament and "steal" a bid away from someone on the bubble. Check back periodically for updates and check out Bubbleteams.com for updated scores, conference tournament brackets, tournament previews and an updated NCAA Tournament bracket.
NC Wilmington: The Seahawks avoid the nervousness of having to wait to see their name announced on Selection Sunday with a win over Hofstra in the CAA title game. The Seahawks built a 23-point lead and held on to win by 11.
Hofstra: The Pride must now wait and see if their 24 wins (including two against fellow bubble team, George Mason) and top 30 RPI is enough to earn them an at-large bid out of the CAA. The NCAA Selection Committee has historically rewarded teams with a high RPI, yet in this season of uncertainty (and with the Pride's lack of any real quality wins), a bid is very much in question.
Iona: The Gaels dispatch St. Peter's handily to tae the MAAC Tournament title and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs gave many a bubble team cause for concern with a close one-point victory over Loyola Marymount for the WCC Tournament title. Gonzaga played yet another game close to the vest, getting themselves behind by 13 in the second half before surging ahead by 5 with under 4 minutes left in the game and holding on to win when the Lions missed a last second layup down one in the final seconds.
NC Wilmington: The Seahawks avoid the nervousness of having to wait to see their name announced on Selection Sunday with a win over Hofstra in the CAA title game. The Seahawks built a 23-point lead and held on to win by 11.
Hofstra: The Pride must now wait and see if their 24 wins (including two against fellow bubble team, George Mason) and top 30 RPI is enough to earn them an at-large bid out of the CAA. The NCAA Selection Committee has historically rewarded teams with a high RPI, yet in this season of uncertainty (and with the Pride's lack of any real quality wins), a bid is very much in question.
Iona: The Gaels dispatch St. Peter's handily to tae the MAAC Tournament title and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs gave many a bubble team cause for concern with a close one-point victory over Loyola Marymount for the WCC Tournament title. Gonzaga played yet another game close to the vest, getting themselves behind by 13 in the second half before surging ahead by 5 with under 4 minutes left in the game and holding on to win when the Lions missed a last second layup down one in the final seconds.
Conference Tournament Previews 3/06/06-(MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Southland)
We are continuing to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view the other conference tournament previews and updated conference tournament brackets.
Mid-American:
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Monday, March 6
Game 1: No. 7 Toledo vs. No. 10 Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Western Michigan vs. No. 11 Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Buffalo vs. No. 9 Ball State, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Ohio vs. No. 12 Central Michigan, 7 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
At Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 Northern Illinois vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Akron vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Kent State vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Miami vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Mid American Conference was a league comprised of imbalance this season. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished conference play with 14 or more wins, led by conference champion Kent State. In addition, Akron and Miami of Ohio tied for second place with 14 wins each. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished the conference campaign 22-2 against teams from the Western Division. All six teams from the Eastern Division were a combined 36-12 against their counterparts from the west. In addition, there were five teams from the Eastern Division with at least 16 overall wins while only two teams from the Western Division could muster at most 16 wins. In the West, two teams struggled all season to find the winning formula as Eastern Michigan only won three games and Eastern Michigan only won once. This year the conference tournament includes all 12 teams, one less than last year after former MAC member Marshall bolted to Conference USA.
Favorite: Kent State dominated the conference schedule, outlasting the second and third place teams, Akron and Miami (Ohio). The Golden Flash won seven road games in the MAC, tops amongst all member schools. Kent State did not win a single game by less than four points and won their seven road games by an average of nine points per game. Kent State will be challenged Akron, despite the Zips' slump down the stretch which saw them lose three of their last five games. Akron does get the benefit of playing on the side of a bracket that is populated almost entirely of Western Division teams. Despite their late season struggles, look for the Zips to advance to the title game where they will likely face the winner of Kent State and Miami (Ohio). Miami (Ohio) fashioned a 6-0 start to conference play and a 9-1 finish around an 0-3 stretch in late January that ultimately cost them the conference title. The RedHawks lost twice to Kent State and once to Akron and Western Michigan. Northern Illinois gets the 2 seed because of their first place finish in the Western Division. The Huskies played well against their own division, finishing with a 9-1 mark against their fellow Western Division teams. Unfortunately, Northern Illinois only managed three wins against teams from the East (none of those coming against the top three teams in the East).
Darkhorse: Toledo enters league play with six wins in their last seven games. The Rockets are the ONLY Western Division team to have defeated Kent State (demolishing the Golden Flash 60-44 in early February). Toledo gets a favorable 7 seed and draws the worst team from the East, Bowling Green. The Rockets will be tested by the Falcons, given Bowling Green already beat Toledo once this season (59-52 at Bowling Green). If the Toledo gets past the Falcons, they face 2 seed Northern Illinois. It is unlikely that any team from the West can get very far in this tournament, unless it is through another Western Division team.
MEAC:
At the RBC Center
Raleigh, N.C.
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 7 Norfolk State vs. No. 10 Maryland-Eastern Shore, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 8 North Carolina A&T vs. No. 9 Howard, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 8
Game 3: No. 6 Hampton vs. No. 11 Morgan State, 6 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Wednesday, March 8
Game 4: No. 1 Delaware State vs. Game 2 winner, 8:15 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Coppin State vs. Game 1 winner, 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 9
Game 6: No. 3 Bethune-Cookman vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 4 South Carolina State vs. No. 5 Florida A&M, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN Classic)
Recap: Delaware State blew through the MEAC winning 16 of 18 league games. The Hornets only two losses came at South Carolina State (63-51) and at Bethune-Cookman (72-71). Delaware State was one of only two teams in the MEAC to finish with an overall winning record (Bethune-Cookman finished 15-14). The Hornets played a brutal non-conference schedule with games at UCLA, Kent State, Rutgers, Northwestern, Michigan, Bradley, Marquette and Maryland (the Hornets also had a neutral site game against Wichita State). Delaware State played their first home game on December 30 against Buffalo. The MEAC had four teams (North Carolina A&T, Howard, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Morgan State) that did not win more than seven games. Even worse, three of those teams suffered through losing streaks of 13 games or more (Morgan State started the season 0-18, NC A&T started the season 0-13 and Howard lost 14 in a row from December 30 to February 20).
Favorite: Delaware State proved they are the class of the league after blowing the competition away with 16 conference wins. The Hornets also scored a solid non-conference win at MAC regular season champion Kent State. The Hornets will be challenged in the semifinals by either South Carolina State or Florida A&M. Despite their overwhelming number of victories, the Hornets' margin of victory was not overwhelming in a majority of their wins (Delaware State only won two games by more than 11 points). Anticipate a tight tournament after the top teams weed out the bottom feeders in the opening rounds.
Darkhorse: South Carolina State was one of only two conference teams to defeat Delaware State during the regular season. The Bulldogs beat the Hornets by eleven at home and only lost by 6 points at Delaware State. South Carolina State must get past Florida A&M in the semifinals before they face Delaware State (assuming the Hornets beat the winner of Howard-NC A&T).
Mountain West:
At The Pepsi Center
Denver
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 8 Colorado State vs. No. 9 TCU, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 2: No. 1 San Diego State vs. Game 1 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 3: No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 New Mexico, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 4: No. 2 Air Force vs. No. 7 Wyoming, 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 5: No. 3 BYU vs. No. 6 Utah, Midnight (ESPN)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Midnight (ESPN)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: San Diego State started the season as the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference. A series of injuries and tough losses left the Aztecs 7-5 entering conference play. The Aztecs found their magic touch, winning nine of their first 10 conference games and creating a lead that was just too much for the rest of the conference to overcome. Air Force won their last six game to push the Aztecs in the race for the conference title, but a 6-4 conference start was too much for the Falcons to overcome. BYU surprised many people with a 12-4 conference record and a second place finish. The Cougars won 10 of their last 11 games after starting the season 2-3 in conference. BYU was one of only three teams to defeat San Diego State and by season's end, the Cougars had fashioned yet another long home court winning streak (14 in a row heading into post-season). In fact, the top three teams in the league finished an astounding 23-1 at home in conference games.
Favorite: BYU is the league hottest team, San Diego State won a league leading six road games and Air Force enters the tournament on a six game winning streak. While all three have a solid chance to claim the league championship, Air Force is still the toughest tam to beat in the Mountain West. Their style of play, coupled with a deliberate pace of play make beating the Falcons a challenge to almost any team. The Falcons have the misfortune to face Wyoming (beat the Falcons at Wyoming and lost by one at Air Force) in the first round and possibly BYU in the second round. Air Force will not have an easy road to the title game.
Darkhorse: Wyoming would be good first pick based on how tough they played Air Force during the regular season (beating the Falcons at home by 5 and losing at Air Force by one), yet the Cowboys enter the tournament with nine losses in their last ten games and look like a team ready for the season to end. Utah faces the same fate with four losses in their last five games. Colorado State finally found some of the winning touch in their last six games that led the Rams to an 11-2 start to the season. New Mexico has shown the same problems winning on the road that have plagued the Lobos in the past (New Mexico won only two conference games, at Colorado State and TCU; the two worst teams in the conference). Amazingly, we find no one as a darkhorse from the Mountain West.
Southland:
At higher seeds
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 1 Northwestern State vs. No. 8 Texas-San Antonio
Game 2: No. 4 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 5 McNeese State, 8 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Sam Houston State vs. No. 7 Texas-Arlington
Game 4: No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 6 Lamar
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: Highest seed vs. lowest seed, 8 p.m.
Game 6: Second-highest seed vs. second-lowest seed, 8 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 12
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Northwestern State dominated the Southland Conference, winning fifteen of their league 16 games. The Demons only conference loss came at Sam Houston State. Northwestern State was one of only three teams to lose just one conference game this season. The Demons, undefeated at home this season, will retain home court advantage throughout the entire tournament. Northwestern State played one of the most demanding non-conference schedules this season with games at Missouri, at Mississippi State, at Wichita State, at Oklahoma State, at Texas A&M, at Utah State, at Hawaii and neutral site games against Oregon State and Iowa State. The Demons won three of those games (against Oregon State, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State) and lost five others by less than ten points. Sam Houston State was the closest competition to Northwestern State in the conference race-finishing four games in back of Northwestern State at 11-5 in the Southland.
Favorite: Northwestern State is a prohibitive favorite to win their first Southland Conference Tournament title since 2001. The Demons, with home court advantage throughout the tournament, were so dominant on their home court this season only two teams came within 8 points in their 11 home games.
Darkhorse: SE Louisiana enters the conference tournament on a streak of eight wins in their last nine games. The Lions only defeat in that stretch was an 3 point loss in overtime at Sam Houston State. SE Louisiana plays in the bottom half of the bracket, avoiding Northwestern State until the championship game. The Lions were in a similar situation last season, scoring an upset at Northwestern State in the championship game.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view the other conference tournament previews and updated conference tournament brackets.
Mid-American:
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Monday, March 6
Game 1: No. 7 Toledo vs. No. 10 Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Western Michigan vs. No. 11 Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Buffalo vs. No. 9 Ball State, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Ohio vs. No. 12 Central Michigan, 7 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
At Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 Northern Illinois vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Akron vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Kent State vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Miami vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Mid American Conference was a league comprised of imbalance this season. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished conference play with 14 or more wins, led by conference champion Kent State. In addition, Akron and Miami of Ohio tied for second place with 14 wins each. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished the conference campaign 22-2 against teams from the Western Division. All six teams from the Eastern Division were a combined 36-12 against their counterparts from the west. In addition, there were five teams from the Eastern Division with at least 16 overall wins while only two teams from the Western Division could muster at most 16 wins. In the West, two teams struggled all season to find the winning formula as Eastern Michigan only won three games and Eastern Michigan only won once. This year the conference tournament includes all 12 teams, one less than last year after former MAC member Marshall bolted to Conference USA.
Favorite: Kent State dominated the conference schedule, outlasting the second and third place teams, Akron and Miami (Ohio). The Golden Flash won seven road games in the MAC, tops amongst all member schools. Kent State did not win a single game by less than four points and won their seven road games by an average of nine points per game. Kent State will be challenged Akron, despite the Zips' slump down the stretch which saw them lose three of their last five games. Akron does get the benefit of playing on the side of a bracket that is populated almost entirely of Western Division teams. Despite their late season struggles, look for the Zips to advance to the title game where they will likely face the winner of Kent State and Miami (Ohio). Miami (Ohio) fashioned a 6-0 start to conference play and a 9-1 finish around an 0-3 stretch in late January that ultimately cost them the conference title. The RedHawks lost twice to Kent State and once to Akron and Western Michigan. Northern Illinois gets the 2 seed because of their first place finish in the Western Division. The Huskies played well against their own division, finishing with a 9-1 mark against their fellow Western Division teams. Unfortunately, Northern Illinois only managed three wins against teams from the East (none of those coming against the top three teams in the East).
Darkhorse: Toledo enters league play with six wins in their last seven games. The Rockets are the ONLY Western Division team to have defeated Kent State (demolishing the Golden Flash 60-44 in early February). Toledo gets a favorable 7 seed and draws the worst team from the East, Bowling Green. The Rockets will be tested by the Falcons, given Bowling Green already beat Toledo once this season (59-52 at Bowling Green). If the Toledo gets past the Falcons, they face 2 seed Northern Illinois. It is unlikely that any team from the West can get very far in this tournament, unless it is through another Western Division team.
MEAC:
At the RBC Center
Raleigh, N.C.
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 7 Norfolk State vs. No. 10 Maryland-Eastern Shore, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 8 North Carolina A&T vs. No. 9 Howard, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 8
Game 3: No. 6 Hampton vs. No. 11 Morgan State, 6 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Wednesday, March 8
Game 4: No. 1 Delaware State vs. Game 2 winner, 8:15 p.m.
Game 5: No. 2 Coppin State vs. Game 1 winner, 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 9
Game 6: No. 3 Bethune-Cookman vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 7: No. 4 South Carolina State vs. No. 5 Florida A&M, 8:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 8:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN Classic)
Recap: Delaware State blew through the MEAC winning 16 of 18 league games. The Hornets only two losses came at South Carolina State (63-51) and at Bethune-Cookman (72-71). Delaware State was one of only two teams in the MEAC to finish with an overall winning record (Bethune-Cookman finished 15-14). The Hornets played a brutal non-conference schedule with games at UCLA, Kent State, Rutgers, Northwestern, Michigan, Bradley, Marquette and Maryland (the Hornets also had a neutral site game against Wichita State). Delaware State played their first home game on December 30 against Buffalo. The MEAC had four teams (North Carolina A&T, Howard, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Morgan State) that did not win more than seven games. Even worse, three of those teams suffered through losing streaks of 13 games or more (Morgan State started the season 0-18, NC A&T started the season 0-13 and Howard lost 14 in a row from December 30 to February 20).
Favorite: Delaware State proved they are the class of the league after blowing the competition away with 16 conference wins. The Hornets also scored a solid non-conference win at MAC regular season champion Kent State. The Hornets will be challenged in the semifinals by either South Carolina State or Florida A&M. Despite their overwhelming number of victories, the Hornets' margin of victory was not overwhelming in a majority of their wins (Delaware State only won two games by more than 11 points). Anticipate a tight tournament after the top teams weed out the bottom feeders in the opening rounds.
Darkhorse: South Carolina State was one of only two conference teams to defeat Delaware State during the regular season. The Bulldogs beat the Hornets by eleven at home and only lost by 6 points at Delaware State. South Carolina State must get past Florida A&M in the semifinals before they face Delaware State (assuming the Hornets beat the winner of Howard-NC A&T).
Mountain West:
At The Pepsi Center
Denver
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 8 Colorado State vs. No. 9 TCU, 9:30 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 2: No. 1 San Diego State vs. Game 1 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 3: No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 New Mexico, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 4: No. 2 Air Force vs. No. 7 Wyoming, 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 5: No. 3 BYU vs. No. 6 Utah, Midnight (ESPN)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner 9 p.m. (ESPN Full Court)
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Midnight (ESPN)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Recap: San Diego State started the season as the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference. A series of injuries and tough losses left the Aztecs 7-5 entering conference play. The Aztecs found their magic touch, winning nine of their first 10 conference games and creating a lead that was just too much for the rest of the conference to overcome. Air Force won their last six game to push the Aztecs in the race for the conference title, but a 6-4 conference start was too much for the Falcons to overcome. BYU surprised many people with a 12-4 conference record and a second place finish. The Cougars won 10 of their last 11 games after starting the season 2-3 in conference. BYU was one of only three teams to defeat San Diego State and by season's end, the Cougars had fashioned yet another long home court winning streak (14 in a row heading into post-season). In fact, the top three teams in the league finished an astounding 23-1 at home in conference games.
Favorite: BYU is the league hottest team, San Diego State won a league leading six road games and Air Force enters the tournament on a six game winning streak. While all three have a solid chance to claim the league championship, Air Force is still the toughest tam to beat in the Mountain West. Their style of play, coupled with a deliberate pace of play make beating the Falcons a challenge to almost any team. The Falcons have the misfortune to face Wyoming (beat the Falcons at Wyoming and lost by one at Air Force) in the first round and possibly BYU in the second round. Air Force will not have an easy road to the title game.
Darkhorse: Wyoming would be good first pick based on how tough they played Air Force during the regular season (beating the Falcons at home by 5 and losing at Air Force by one), yet the Cowboys enter the tournament with nine losses in their last ten games and look like a team ready for the season to end. Utah faces the same fate with four losses in their last five games. Colorado State finally found some of the winning touch in their last six games that led the Rams to an 11-2 start to the season. New Mexico has shown the same problems winning on the road that have plagued the Lobos in the past (New Mexico won only two conference games, at Colorado State and TCU; the two worst teams in the conference). Amazingly, we find no one as a darkhorse from the Mountain West.
Southland:
At higher seeds
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 7
Game 1: No. 1 Northwestern State vs. No. 8 Texas-San Antonio
Game 2: No. 4 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 5 McNeese State, 8 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Sam Houston State vs. No. 7 Texas-Arlington
Game 4: No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 6 Lamar
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: Highest seed vs. lowest seed, 8 p.m.
Game 6: Second-highest seed vs. second-lowest seed, 8 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 12
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: Northwestern State dominated the Southland Conference, winning fifteen of their league 16 games. The Demons only conference loss came at Sam Houston State. Northwestern State was one of only three teams to lose just one conference game this season. The Demons, undefeated at home this season, will retain home court advantage throughout the entire tournament. Northwestern State played one of the most demanding non-conference schedules this season with games at Missouri, at Mississippi State, at Wichita State, at Oklahoma State, at Texas A&M, at Utah State, at Hawaii and neutral site games against Oregon State and Iowa State. The Demons won three of those games (against Oregon State, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State) and lost five others by less than ten points. Sam Houston State was the closest competition to Northwestern State in the conference race-finishing four games in back of Northwestern State at 11-5 in the Southland.
Favorite: Northwestern State is a prohibitive favorite to win their first Southland Conference Tournament title since 2001. The Demons, with home court advantage throughout the tournament, were so dominant on their home court this season only two teams came within 8 points in their 11 home games.
Darkhorse: SE Louisiana enters the conference tournament on a streak of eight wins in their last nine games. The Lions only defeat in that stretch was an 3 point loss in overtime at Sam Houston State. SE Louisiana plays in the bottom half of the bracket, avoiding Northwestern State until the championship game. The Lions were in a similar situation last season, scoring an upset at Northwestern State in the championship game.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
NCAA Tournament Bracket Update 3/05/06
We will continue to replicate the NCAA Tournament bracket projection from our other website Bubbleteams.com all week through Selection Sunday.
Washington Region
Philadelphia, PA
1-Connecticut
16-FDU/Southern
8-Alabama
9-Northern Iowa
San Diego, CA
5-Washington
12-Florida State
4-Iowa
13-Wisconsin Milwaukee
6-Georgetown
11-California
Greensboro, NC
3-NC
14-Pacific
Dallas, TX
7-Arkansas
10-Seton Hall
2-Texas
15-Northwestern State
Oakland Region
Dallas, TX
1-Memphis
16-Albany
8-Wichita State
9-Kentucky
San Diego, CA
5-Pitt
12-Western Kentucky
4-UCLA
13-Iona
Jacksonville, FL
6-Florida
11-Bucknell
3-George Washington
14-Penn
Dayton, OH
7-Marquette
10-Texas A&M
2-Ohio State
15-Davidson
Minneapolis Region
Greensboro, NC
1-Duke
16-Belmont
8-Indiana
9-Arizona
Auburn Hills, MI
5-Oklahoma
12-NC Wilmington
4-WVU
13-Kent State
Dayton, OH
6-Wisconsin
11-Southern Illinois
3-Tennessee
14-Murray State
Salt Lake City, UT
7-Michigan State
10-UAB
2-Gonzaga
15-Northern Arizona
Atlanta Region
Philadelphia, PA
1-Villanova
16-Delaware State
8-Michigan
9-George Mason
Salt Lake City, UT
5-BC
12-Missouri State
4-Kansas
13-San Diego State
Jacksonville, FL
6-NC State
11-Bradley
3-LSU
14-Winthrop
Auburn Hills, MI
7-Nevada
10-Cincinnati
2-Illinois
15-Oral Roberts
We will continue to tweak the bracket as the week continues. Check back each day for more updates.
Washington Region
Philadelphia, PA
1-Connecticut
16-FDU/Southern
8-Alabama
9-Northern Iowa
San Diego, CA
5-Washington
12-Florida State
4-Iowa
13-Wisconsin Milwaukee
6-Georgetown
11-California
Greensboro, NC
3-NC
14-Pacific
Dallas, TX
7-Arkansas
10-Seton Hall
2-Texas
15-Northwestern State
Oakland Region
Dallas, TX
1-Memphis
16-Albany
8-Wichita State
9-Kentucky
San Diego, CA
5-Pitt
12-Western Kentucky
4-UCLA
13-Iona
Jacksonville, FL
6-Florida
11-Bucknell
3-George Washington
14-Penn
Dayton, OH
7-Marquette
10-Texas A&M
2-Ohio State
15-Davidson
Minneapolis Region
Greensboro, NC
1-Duke
16-Belmont
8-Indiana
9-Arizona
Auburn Hills, MI
5-Oklahoma
12-NC Wilmington
4-WVU
13-Kent State
Dayton, OH
6-Wisconsin
11-Southern Illinois
3-Tennessee
14-Murray State
Salt Lake City, UT
7-Michigan State
10-UAB
2-Gonzaga
15-Northern Arizona
Atlanta Region
Philadelphia, PA
1-Villanova
16-Delaware State
8-Michigan
9-George Mason
Salt Lake City, UT
5-BC
12-Missouri State
4-Kansas
13-San Diego State
Jacksonville, FL
6-NC State
11-Bradley
3-LSU
14-Winthrop
Auburn Hills, MI
7-Nevada
10-Cincinnati
2-Illinois
15-Oral Roberts
We will continue to tweak the bracket as the week continues. Check back each day for more updates.
Conference Tournament Updates 3/05/06
Updated brackets for every conference tournament (including every major conference tournament) are now available at Bubbleteams.com along with new conference tournament previews and updated scores.
America East:
Vermont pulled off their second straight upset, downing host team and 2 seed Binghamton to advance to the championship game against 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 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. 6 Vermont 66, No. 2 Binghamton 59
Game 7: No. 1 Albany 67, No. 5 New Hampshire 54
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: No. 1 Albany vs. No. 6 Vermont, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Colonial:
NC Wilmington dispatches Northeastern and advances to the CAA Championship game where they will face 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 69 No. 5 Northeastern 54
Game 10: No. 3 Hofstra 58, No. 2 George Mason 49
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: No. 1 UNC Wilmington vs. No. 3 Hofstra, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
MAAC:
St. Peter's upset top seed Manhattan to win their third straight game in the MAAC Tournament and advance to the championship game where they will face Iona.
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. 5 Saint Peter's 84, No. 1 Manhattan 74
Game 8: No. 2 Iona 100 No. 3 Marist 84
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: No. 2 Iona vs. No. 5 Saint Peter's, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Mid-Continent:
Valparaiso advances to face top seed Oral Roberts and Chicago State upset UMKC for the right to play IUPUI.
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 77 No. 5 Southern Utah 66
Game 4: No. 6 Chicago State 75,No. 3 UMKC 66
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 4 Valparaiso, 7 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 IUPUI vs. No. 6 Chicago State, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Missouri Valley:
Southern Illinois becomes the first of what should be many teams from the Missouri Valley Conference to earn bids to the NCAA Tournament.
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 59, No. 5 Bradley 46
Northeast:
Monmouth upset 2 seed Central Connecticut to advance to the Northeast Championship game against Fairleigh Dickinson.
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 71 No. 5 Robert Morris 55
Game 6: No. 3 Monmouth 62, No. 2 Central Connecticut 48
CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, March 8
Game 7: No. 3 Monmouth vs. No. 1 Fairleigh Dickinson, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Patriot:
The top 2 seeds Bucknell and Holy Cross will advance to the championship game to face each other, yet again.
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 64, No. 4 American 50
At Hart Center
Worcester, Mass.
Game 6: No. 2 Holy Cross 73, No. 3 Lehigh 66
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Friday, March 10
Game 7: No. 1 Bucknell vs. No. 2 Holy Cross, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Southern:
Davidson returns to the NCAA Tournament with a rout of Chattanooga.
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 80, No. 5 Chattanooga 55
Sun Belt:
Denver, South Alabama, Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Lafayette all advance to the conference semifinals.
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: W3 Denver 58, E2 Middle Tennessee 57
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W4 New Orleans 61
Game 6: W1 South Alabama 78, E4 Arkansas-Little Rock 53
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 62, E3 Arkansas State 59, OT
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: W3 Denver vs. W1 South Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
Game 9: E1 Western Kentucky vs. W2 Louisiana-Lafayette, 10 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
West Coast:
Gonzaga needed overtime to defeat San Diego and advance to the WCC finals where they will face Loyola Marymount.
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, OT
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga 96, No. 5 San Diego 92, OT
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount 66, No. 3 Saint Mary's 63
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 2 Loyola Marymount, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
America East:
Vermont pulled off their second straight upset, downing host team and 2 seed Binghamton to advance to the championship game against 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 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. 6 Vermont 66, No. 2 Binghamton 59
Game 7: No. 1 Albany 67, No. 5 New Hampshire 54
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Saturday, March 11
Game 8: No. 1 Albany vs. No. 6 Vermont, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Colonial:
NC Wilmington dispatches Northeastern and advances to the CAA Championship game where they will face 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 69 No. 5 Northeastern 54
Game 10: No. 3 Hofstra 58, No. 2 George Mason 49
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 11: No. 1 UNC Wilmington vs. No. 3 Hofstra, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
MAAC:
St. Peter's upset top seed Manhattan to win their third straight game in the MAAC Tournament and advance to the championship game where they will face Iona.
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. 5 Saint Peter's 84, No. 1 Manhattan 74
Game 8: No. 2 Iona 100 No. 3 Marist 84
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 9: No. 2 Iona vs. No. 5 Saint Peter's, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Mid-Continent:
Valparaiso advances to face top seed Oral Roberts and Chicago State upset UMKC for the right to play IUPUI.
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 77 No. 5 Southern Utah 66
Game 4: No. 6 Chicago State 75,No. 3 UMKC 66
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 5: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 4 Valparaiso, 7 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 IUPUI vs. No. 6 Chicago State, 9:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Missouri Valley:
Southern Illinois becomes the first of what should be many teams from the Missouri Valley Conference to earn bids to the NCAA Tournament.
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 59, No. 5 Bradley 46
Northeast:
Monmouth upset 2 seed Central Connecticut to advance to the Northeast Championship game against Fairleigh Dickinson.
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 71 No. 5 Robert Morris 55
Game 6: No. 3 Monmouth 62, No. 2 Central Connecticut 48
CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, March 8
Game 7: No. 3 Monmouth vs. No. 1 Fairleigh Dickinson, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Patriot:
The top 2 seeds Bucknell and Holy Cross will advance to the championship game to face each other, yet again.
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 64, No. 4 American 50
At Hart Center
Worcester, Mass.
Game 6: No. 2 Holy Cross 73, No. 3 Lehigh 66
CHAMPIONSHIP
At higher seed
Friday, March 10
Game 7: No. 1 Bucknell vs. No. 2 Holy Cross, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Southern:
Davidson returns to the NCAA Tournament with a rout of Chattanooga.
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 80, No. 5 Chattanooga 55
Sun Belt:
Denver, South Alabama, Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Lafayette all advance to the conference semifinals.
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: W3 Denver 58, E2 Middle Tennessee 57
Game 5: E1 Western Kentucky 80, W4 New Orleans 61
Game 6: W1 South Alabama 78, E4 Arkansas-Little Rock 53
Game 7: W2 Louisiana-Lafayette 62, E3 Arkansas State 59, OT
SEMIFINALS
Monday, March 6
Game 8: W3 Denver vs. W1 South Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
Game 9: E1 Western Kentucky vs. W2 Louisiana-Lafayette, 10 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, March 7
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
West Coast:
Gonzaga needed overtime to defeat San Diego and advance to the WCC finals where they will face Loyola Marymount.
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, OT
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, March 5
Game 5: No. 1 Gonzaga 96, No. 5 San Diego 92, OT
Game 6: No. 2 Loyola Marymount 66, No. 3 Saint Mary's 63
CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 6
Game 7: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 2 Loyola Marymount, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Bubble Wrap
We will update teams that improve their stock and lose serious ground as Championship Week continues. Check back periodically for updates and check out Bubbleteams.com for updated scores, conference tournament brackets, tournament previews and an updated NCAA Tournament bracket.
Kentucky: The Wildcats could afford this loss being they have a 9-7 SEC record and 19 wins overall. It would be wise for Kentucky to win their opening round game in the SEC Tournament against Mississippi. The selection committee never looks upon a bad loss at this point of the season favorably.
Syracuse: The Orangemen will still be thought of as deserving when they miss this year's NCAA Tournament. Syracuse played a very difficult schedule, yet the Orange did not win nearly enough big games and three straight losses, including a humiliating blowout at DePaul will leave Syracuse at best an NIT bid this season. Not only did the Orange NOT post a marquee win, they had a horrific loss. With a losing record in the Big East, Syracuse just does not have enough to qualify for an at-large invitation to this year's dance.
Florida State: The Seminoles followed their upset of Duke with a win at Miami. While a win over Miami is not a marquee win, it does give the Seminoles a winning record and a 5 seed in the ACC and, more importantly, it helps Florida State avoid a bad loss and sets them up for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The only thing that would put that in jeopardy is a first round loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament. Should the Seminoles lose that game, once again there would be talk of FSU and the bubble.
Davidson: The Wildcats make amends for last season's upset loss in the Southern semifinals with a blowout win over Chattanooga. Arkansas: The Razorbacks eliminate any doubt whether they deserve an NCAA bid with their 10th SEC win and their 21st win overall. Regardless of what happens in the SEC Tournament, Arkansas will be dancing.
Bradley: The Braves magical run ends just short of an automatic NCAA bid. Now Bradley has to hope that seven wins in their last 8 games, a top 30 RPI and a solid resume will be enough to impress the committee. Bradley will likely be either the third or fourth team selected out of the MVC (behind automatic qualifier Southern Illinois, regular season champion Wichita State and possibly Northern Iowa).
Southern Illinois: The Salukis completed their run to a conference championship with a convincing 13 point win over the Bradley Braves and in the process earned the automatic bid from the Missouri Valley Conference.
George Mason: The Patriots have solid resume- conference champions of the CAA, 23 wins (including 15 wins in the #10 RPI conference), a top 25 RPI and a 16-3 record in their last 19 games. Yet the Patriots have just 2 wins against the top 50 RPI (at Wichita State and at home vs. NC Wilmington. The Patriots have just the one solid non-conference win to present to the committee. NC Wilmington and Hofstra meet for the conference title and if a second team is selected from the CAA it is likely to be the loser of the championship game. That leaves the Patriots the third team out of the CAA, a conference that has not earned more than one bid since 1986 (Navy earned the automatic bid and Richmond was an at-large qualifier). The play of several bubble teams throughout this week will give more insight about the fate of George Mason.
Hofstra: The Pride find themselves in much the same circumstance as the other two CAA teams, except they still have the chance to earn the automatic bid from the league in Monday's championship game. Hofstra now has 23 wins (including two against George Mason in the last 10 days) and a spot in the CAA title game. It would be best for Hofstra to win the conference title and leave the committee to decide between George Mason and NC Wilmington. Should the Pride lose, their weak non-conference schedule with just one win against a top 100 RPI team might spell doom for their chances at an at-large bid.
Kentucky: The Wildcats could afford this loss being they have a 9-7 SEC record and 19 wins overall. It would be wise for Kentucky to win their opening round game in the SEC Tournament against Mississippi. The selection committee never looks upon a bad loss at this point of the season favorably.
Syracuse: The Orangemen will still be thought of as deserving when they miss this year's NCAA Tournament. Syracuse played a very difficult schedule, yet the Orange did not win nearly enough big games and three straight losses, including a humiliating blowout at DePaul will leave Syracuse at best an NIT bid this season. Not only did the Orange NOT post a marquee win, they had a horrific loss. With a losing record in the Big East, Syracuse just does not have enough to qualify for an at-large invitation to this year's dance.
Florida State: The Seminoles followed their upset of Duke with a win at Miami. While a win over Miami is not a marquee win, it does give the Seminoles a winning record and a 5 seed in the ACC and, more importantly, it helps Florida State avoid a bad loss and sets them up for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The only thing that would put that in jeopardy is a first round loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament. Should the Seminoles lose that game, once again there would be talk of FSU and the bubble.
Davidson: The Wildcats make amends for last season's upset loss in the Southern semifinals with a blowout win over Chattanooga. Arkansas: The Razorbacks eliminate any doubt whether they deserve an NCAA bid with their 10th SEC win and their 21st win overall. Regardless of what happens in the SEC Tournament, Arkansas will be dancing.
Bradley: The Braves magical run ends just short of an automatic NCAA bid. Now Bradley has to hope that seven wins in their last 8 games, a top 30 RPI and a solid resume will be enough to impress the committee. Bradley will likely be either the third or fourth team selected out of the MVC (behind automatic qualifier Southern Illinois, regular season champion Wichita State and possibly Northern Iowa).
Southern Illinois: The Salukis completed their run to a conference championship with a convincing 13 point win over the Bradley Braves and in the process earned the automatic bid from the Missouri Valley Conference.
George Mason: The Patriots have solid resume- conference champions of the CAA, 23 wins (including 15 wins in the #10 RPI conference), a top 25 RPI and a 16-3 record in their last 19 games. Yet the Patriots have just 2 wins against the top 50 RPI (at Wichita State and at home vs. NC Wilmington. The Patriots have just the one solid non-conference win to present to the committee. NC Wilmington and Hofstra meet for the conference title and if a second team is selected from the CAA it is likely to be the loser of the championship game. That leaves the Patriots the third team out of the CAA, a conference that has not earned more than one bid since 1986 (Navy earned the automatic bid and Richmond was an at-large qualifier). The play of several bubble teams throughout this week will give more insight about the fate of George Mason.
Hofstra: The Pride find themselves in much the same circumstance as the other two CAA teams, except they still have the chance to earn the automatic bid from the league in Monday's championship game. Hofstra now has 23 wins (including two against George Mason in the last 10 days) and a spot in the CAA title game. It would be best for Hofstra to win the conference title and leave the committee to decide between George Mason and NC Wilmington. Should the Pride lose, their weak non-conference schedule with just one win against a top 100 RPI team might spell doom for their chances at an at-large bid.
Conference Tournament Previews 3/05/06-(MAC)
We are continuing to post the conference tournament previews from our other website here.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view the other conference tournament previews and updated conference tournament brackets.
Mid American:
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Monday, March 6
Game 1: No. 7 Toledo vs. No. 10 Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Western Michigan vs. No. 11 Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Buffalo vs. No. 9 Ball State, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Ohio vs. No. 12 Central Michigan, 7 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
At Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 Northern Illinois vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Akron vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Kent State vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Miami vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Mid American Conference was a league comprised of imbalance this season. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished conference play with 14 or more wins, led by conference champion Kent State. In addition, Akron and Miami of Ohio tied for second place with 14 wins each. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished the conference campaign 22-2 against teams from the Western Division. All six teams from the Eastern Division were a combined 36-12 against their counterparts from the west. In addition, there were five teams from the Eastern Division with at least 16 overall wins while only two teams from the Western Division could muster at most 16 wins. In the West, two teams struggled all season to find the winning formula as Eastern Michigan only won three games and Eastern Michigan only won once. This year the conference tournament includes all 12 teams, one less than last year after former MAC member Marshall bolted to Conference USA.
Favorite: Kent State dominated the conference schedule, outlasting the second and third place teams, Akron and Miami (Ohio). The Golden Flash won seven road games in the MAC, tops amongst all member schools. Kent State did not win a single game by less than four points and won their seven road games by an average of nine points per game. Kent State will be challenged Akron, despite the Zips' slump down the stretch which saw them lose three of their last five games. Akron does get the benefit of playing on the side of a bracket that is populated almost entirely of Western Division teams. Despite their late season struggles, look for the Zips to advance to the title game where they will likely face the winner of Kent State and Miami (Ohio). Miami (Ohio) fashioned a 6-0 start to conference play and a 9-1 finish around an 0-3 stretch in late January that ultimately cost them the conference title. The RedHawks lost twice to Kent State and once to Akron and Western Michigan. Northern Illinois gets the 2 seed because of their first place finish in the Western Division. The Huskies played well against their own division, finishing with a 9-1 mark against their fellow Western Division teams. Unfortunately, Northern Illinois only managed three wins against teams from the East (none of those coming against the top three teams in the East).
Darkhorse: Toledo enters league play with six wins in their last seven games. The Rockets are the ONLY Western Division team to have defeated Kent State (demolishing the Golden Flash 60-44 in early February). Toledo gets a favorable 7 seed and draws the worst team from the East, Bowling Green. The Rockets will be tested by the Falcons, given Bowling Green already beat Toledo once this season (59-52 at Bowling Green). If the Toledo gets past the Falcons, they face 2 seed Northern Illinois. It is unlikely that any team from the West can get very far in this tournament, unless it is through another Western Division team.
Visit Bubbleteams.com to view the other conference tournament previews and updated conference tournament brackets.
Mid American:
FIRST ROUND
At higher seeds
Monday, March 6
Game 1: No. 7 Toledo vs. No. 10 Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Western Michigan vs. No. 11 Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Buffalo vs. No. 9 Ball State, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Ohio vs. No. 12 Central Michigan, 7 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
At Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland
Thursday, March 9
Game 5: No. 2 Northern Illinois vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Akron vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Kent State vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Miami vs. Game 4 winner, 9:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 10
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Recap: The Mid American Conference was a league comprised of imbalance this season. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished conference play with 14 or more wins, led by conference champion Kent State. In addition, Akron and Miami of Ohio tied for second place with 14 wins each. The top three teams in the Eastern Division finished the conference campaign 22-2 against teams from the Western Division. All six teams from the Eastern Division were a combined 36-12 against their counterparts from the west. In addition, there were five teams from the Eastern Division with at least 16 overall wins while only two teams from the Western Division could muster at most 16 wins. In the West, two teams struggled all season to find the winning formula as Eastern Michigan only won three games and Eastern Michigan only won once. This year the conference tournament includes all 12 teams, one less than last year after former MAC member Marshall bolted to Conference USA.
Favorite: Kent State dominated the conference schedule, outlasting the second and third place teams, Akron and Miami (Ohio). The Golden Flash won seven road games in the MAC, tops amongst all member schools. Kent State did not win a single game by less than four points and won their seven road games by an average of nine points per game. Kent State will be challenged Akron, despite the Zips' slump down the stretch which saw them lose three of their last five games. Akron does get the benefit of playing on the side of a bracket that is populated almost entirely of Western Division teams. Despite their late season struggles, look for the Zips to advance to the title game where they will likely face the winner of Kent State and Miami (Ohio). Miami (Ohio) fashioned a 6-0 start to conference play and a 9-1 finish around an 0-3 stretch in late January that ultimately cost them the conference title. The RedHawks lost twice to Kent State and once to Akron and Western Michigan. Northern Illinois gets the 2 seed because of their first place finish in the Western Division. The Huskies played well against their own division, finishing with a 9-1 mark against their fellow Western Division teams. Unfortunately, Northern Illinois only managed three wins against teams from the East (none of those coming against the top three teams in the East).
Darkhorse: Toledo enters league play with six wins in their last seven games. The Rockets are the ONLY Western Division team to have defeated Kent State (demolishing the Golden Flash 60-44 in early February). Toledo gets a favorable 7 seed and draws the worst team from the East, Bowling Green. The Rockets will be tested by the Falcons, given Bowling Green already beat Toledo once this season (59-52 at Bowling Green). If the Toledo gets past the Falcons, they face 2 seed Northern Illinois. It is unlikely that any team from the West can get very far in this tournament, unless it is through another Western Division team.
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