Championship Week(s): Conference Tournament Thread

[mabrowndog]

* In the AAC, #7 Rutgers escapes #10 S. Florida. They were up 2 and shooting a pair from the line with :05 left. Kadeem Jack missed both, yet managed to get the offensive board (credited to the team). After another Bulls foul, J.J. Moore hit his pair with :04 left to end it, 72-68.
 
* Big 12: #8 Oklahoma St led by 23 at the half and went on to hammer #9 Texas Tech 80-62. Marcus Smart was his usual stud-like self with 18 pts (6/10 shooting), 7 assists, 7 boards, 6 steals, and 0 turnovers.
 
* SEC: #13 S. Carolina was all over Auburn from the opening tip, leading the #12 Tigers by a dozen at the half and winning it 74-56. Duane Notice with 23 pts & 8 reb off the bench for the Gamecocks. 
 
* A-10: #13 Fordham takes the play-in game over #12 George Mason, 70-67. After missing 2 free throws with :04 left, the last one intentionally, MU's Patrick Holloway was able to get off a potential tying three at the buzzer, but it was off the mark. Byron Allen's career for the Patriots comes to an end with 22 pts.
 
* MWC; #7 Fresno trailed #10 Air Force 56-41 with 5:46 left, but the Bulldogs closed with a stunning 20-3 run to avoid the upset, 61-59. Alex Davis (layup & 4/4 on FTs), Tyler Johnson (2 threes) and Allen Huddleston (3 makes in the paint) each had 6 points in that final sprint. Johnson finishes with 19 pts & 14 reb.

 

[mabrowndog]

In the Southland, #6 Oral Roberts led by 15 with 9:43 to play, but allowed #7 McNeese St to go on a 20-8 run and get within 3 with 1:22 left. ORU staggered to the finish line, making just 1 FG and 3 FTs the rest of the way, the Cowboys were a one-man team tonight and ran out of gas as the Titans won it 66-62. Ledrick Eackles, son of ex-Heat & Bullets/Wizards guard Ledell, racked 28 pts & 6 reb for McNeese in the final game of his career.
 
The Titans will play #3 Sam Houston St tomorrow. #5 Nicholls St, a 71-64 winner earlier today over #8 SE Louisiana, faces #4 Northwestern St.

 

[DJnVa]

Boise St. has jumped out to a 21-0 lead against San Jose St.
 
EDIT: At the under 12 timeout, still a bagel for SJSU.  Watch here: http://www.themw.com/#!/GameCenter/531c006ce4b0effd2b47de9c

 

[mabrowndog]

Unreal. And they've already played nearly 8 minutes.
 
EDIT - Make it 25-0, with 11:17 left in the half.
 
EDIT - And the Spartans finally get on the board with a free throw with 10:56 left. Holy shit.

 

[DJnVa]

25-1!!!!!

 

[mabrowndog]

San Jose on a huge 3-0 run. The comeback is on, bitches.

 

[mabrowndog]

* MEAC 2-seed Hampton is in trouble against #7 Coppin State, down 74-73 with :53 left.
 
EDIT - Coppin up 76-74 with :32 left.
 
EDIT - Coppin leading 80-77 with 15.3 left.
 
EDIT - Coppin wins it, 83-77. The Eagles will get the winner of tomorrow night's quarterfinal between #3 Morgan St & #6 Florida A&M. Coppin has been to the NCAAs 4 times under 28-year coach Fang Mitchell, and they knocked off 2-seed South Carolina back in '97. Their last appearance was in 2008 when they lost to Mount St. Mary's in the Dayton play-in.
 
* SWAC top seed Southern U, one of the APR violators allowed to play by the NCAA despite having nothing to play for, is justifiably getting their asses kicked by #8 Prairie View A&M, 48-34 with 5:14 left. If the Jaguars lose, #4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff will be the only ineligible team still playing.
 
EDIT - The Panthers are now up 20 with 26 seconds left. Southern is done.

 

[Greg29fan]

Auburn lost to South Carolina at the SEC Tournament...Auburn proceeded to fire their coach at the team hotel.
 
http://t.co/6Jt1aB6xAl

 

[mabrowndog]

Auburn lost to South Carolina at the SEC Tournament...Auburn proceeded to fire their coach at the team hotel.
 
http://t.co/6Jt1aB6xAl

 
Ouch.
 
Can't say I blame Jay Jacobs. By all accounts the Tigers were flat out of the gates tonight, and after 4 seasons they've essentially treaded water at best. But Barbee is a good young coach (as his success at UTEP proved) with a high pedigree, and I doubt he'll be unemployed for long. Anyone who played for and/or coached under Calipari will always be able to get a D-I job provided they keep their nose clean. Right, Billy Bayno?

 

[mabrowndog]

Dear Georgetown: The sand may be running out of your NCAA hourglass.
 
DePaul, winners of 3 Big East games this season, is up 51-45 inside of 5 minutes. 
 
EDIT - Make it 8 with 3:51 to play.

 

[mabrowndog]

I wonder if 11-seed Vanderbilt will fire Kevin Stallings after getting waxed by #14 Mississippi State tonight, 82-68. The Commodores were down 5 at the break, and the Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to start the 2nd. Vandy was never any closer than 9 the rest of the way. 

 

[mabrowndog]

Dear Georgetown: The sand may be running out of your NCAA hourglass.
 
DePaul, winners of 3 Big East games this season, is up 51-45 inside of 5 minutes. 
 
EDIT - Make it 8 with 3:51 to play.

 
Hoyas back within 3, but DePaul gets a huge ORB after a long miss with 25 secs left. Georgetown has to foul and the Demons head to the line with 21.9 on the clock, leading 55-52.
 
EDIT - Two huge makes. Hoyas are in deep shit.
 
EDIT - A GT layup, 1 of 2 DP FTs, and another GT layup makes it a 2-pt game with 6.8 on the clock. Hoyas use their final time-out.
 
EDIT - Garrett buries both FTs with 5.6 left. And that'll do it. 60-56 final. DePaul gets Creighton next.

 

[mabrowndog]

In the AAC, #8 Temple & #9 UCF are in overtime, Knights up 80-78 with 1:59 to play. Isaiah Sykes hit a three at the end of regulation, but it didn't beat the zeroes on the clock.
 
EDIT - Tied 82-82, 9.6 secs left, UCF ball. Sykes again took too long to get a shot off, and it's well short. On to double OT.
 
EDIT - UCF up 91-90, 4.2 left in the 2nd OT, and they're heading to the line. Calvin Newell buries both shots.
 
EDIT - Up three, UCF fouls Pepper with 2.4 left to prevent the three. And he misses the first shot. Desperation time coming...
 
EDIT - Pepper misses the 2nd, UCF gets the board, and it's another Temple foul with 2.1 left. Just one of the two FTs will ice it.
 
EDIT - Spurlock misses the 1st, but swishes the 2nd. And that'll do it. UCF wins it 94-90. Sykes leads the way with a career-high 36 pts & 9 boards. The Knights will get top seed Cincinnati next.

 

[mabrowndog]

* C-USA #9 Charlotte just polished off #8 UAB, 80-70. The 49ers get top seed Louisiana Tech next.
 
* Despite losing the 2nd half 36-35, MWC #6 Boise somehow hung on for an 83-52 squeaker over #11 San Jose St. 
 
* Big 12: #7 Baylor was in control throughout, leading #10 TCU at the half by a dozen and eventually winning 76-68. Cory Jefferson was a beast on the boards with 8 ORB (10 total reb) plus 20 pts. Bryce O'Neale added 14 pts & a dozen reb (4 ORB), while Isaiah Austin scored 18 and blocked 5 Frog shots. They'll get the #2 Sooners next.
 
* Pac 12: #7 Oregon won the intrastate battle with #10 Oregon St, breaking open a 41-40 halftime lead and outscoring the Beavers by 13 in the 2nd on the way to an 88-74 victory. The Ducks face #2 UCLA.
 
* MAC #6 Eastern MIchigan trailed #7 Northern Illinois 35-24 at the half, but the Eagles (nee Hurons) doubled up the Huskies and then some in the 2nd. They outscored NIU 29-13 and advanced, 53-48, despite shooting a horrid 29.5% from the floor (including 3/16 on threes). Hitting 77.4% from the line (24/31) certainly helped, as did 13 steals and 16 Husky turnovers.
 
* Just one game still underway and it's in the Pac 12, as #6 Stanford leads #11 WASU 35-28 at the half. The winner gets #3 ASU.
 
EDIT - The Cardinal blow their halftime lead and fall behind by 3 midway through the 2nd half, but they recover to close out the game on a 27-13 run and win it, 74-63.

 

[mabrowndog]

Thursday's schedule. No title games today.
 
12:00 pm - A10 1st Rd - #8 LaSalle vs #9 St. Bonaventure (Comcast SportsNet)
12:00 pm - ACC 2nd Rd - #8 Maryland vs #9 Florida St (ESPN)
12:00 pm - Big East QF - #1 Villanova vs #8 Seton Hall (FS1)
12:00 pm - Big Ten 1st Rd - #8 Indiana vs #9 Illinois (BTN)
12:30 pm - Big 12 QF - #4 Iowa St vs #5 Kansas St (ESPN2)
01:00 pm - AAC QF - #3 SMU vs #6 Houston (ESPNU)
01:00 pm - SEC 2nd Rd - #8 Missouri vs #9 Texas A&M (ESPN3)
01:30 pm - SWAC QF - #3 Alabama St vs #6 Alcorn St
02:00 pm - ACC 2nd Rd - #5 Pittsburgh vs #12 Wake Forest (ESPN)
02:00 pm - C-USA QF - #2 Tulsa vs #7 Tulane
02:30 pm - A10 1st Rd - #5 Dayton vs #13 Fordham (NBCSN)
02:30 pm - Big East QF - #4 Providence vs #5 St. John's (FS1)
02:30 pm - Big Ten 1st Rd - #5 Ohio St vs #12 Purdue (BTN)
03:00 pm - AAC QF - #2 Louisville vs #7 Rutgers (ESPNU)
03:00 pm - Big 12 QF - #1 Kansas vs #8 Oklahoma St (ESPN2)
03:00 pm - Big West QF - #2 UC-Santa Barbara vs #7 Cal Poly (Fox PT)
03:00 pm - MWC QF - #1 San Diego St vs #8 Utah St (CBSSN)
03:00 pm - Pac 12 QF - #1 Arizona vs #8 Utah (P12N)
03:00 pm - WAC QF - #1 Utah Valley vs #8 Texas-Pan American
03:30 pm - SEC 2nd Rd - #5 Arkansas vs #13 S. Carolina (ESPN3)
04:05 pm - Big Sky 1st Rd - #2 North Dakota vs #7 Sacramento St
04:30 pm - C-USA QF - #3 Middle Tennessee vs #6 Old Dominion
05:30 pm - Big West QF - #3 Long Beach vs #6 Cal St-Fullerton (Fox PT)
05:30 pm - MWC QF - #4 UNLV vs #5 Wyoming (CBSSN)
05:30 pm - Pac 12 QF - #4 California vs #5 Colorado (P12N)
05:30 pm - WAC QF - #4 UMKC vs vs #5 Idaho
06:00 pm - A10 1st Rd - #7 Richmond vs #10 Duquesne (NBCSN)
06:00 pm - MEAC QF - #3 Morgan St vs #6 Florida A&M
06:00 pm - SLand 2nd Rd - #4 Northwestern St vs #5 Nicholls St
06:30 pm - Big Sky 1st Rd - #3 Northern Arizona vs #6 Northern Colorado
06:30 pm - Big Ten 1st Rd - #7 Minnesota vs #10 Penn St (ESPN2)
06:30 pm - MAC 2nd Rd - #4 Akron vs #5 Ohio U. (ESPN3)
07:00 pm - AAC QF - #1 Cincinnati vs #9 C. Florida (ESPNU)
07:00 pm - ACC 2nd Rd - #7 NC State vs #10 Miami FL (ESPN)
07:00 pm - Big 12 QF - #2 Oklahoma vs #7 Baylor (B12N / ESPN3)
07:00 pm - Big East QF - #2 Creighton vs #10 DePaul (FS1)
07:00 pm - SEC 2nd Rd - #7 LSU vs #10 Alabama (ESPN3)
07:00 pm - Sun Belt 1st Rd - #5 Arkansas-Little Rock vs #8 Troy (ESPN3)
08:00 pm - C-USA QF - #4 Southern Miss vs #5 UTEP
08:00 pm - MEAC QF - #4 Norfolk St vs #5 Savannah St
08:30 pm - Big Ten 1st Rd - #6 Iowa vs #11 Northwestern (ESPN2)
08:30 pm - SLand 2nd Rd - #3 Sam Houston St vs #6 Oral Roberts
09:00 pm - A10 1st Rd - #6 UMass vs #11 Rhode Island (Comcast SportsNet)
09:00 pm - AAC QF - #4 UConn vs #5 Memphis (ESPNU)
09:00 pm - ACC 2nd Rd - #6 Clemson vs #11 Georgia Tech (ESPN)
09:00 pm - Big Sky 1st Rd - #4 Montana vs #5 Portland St
09:00 pm - Big West QF - #1 UC-Irvine vs #8 UC-Riverside (Fox PT)
09:00 pm - MAC 2nd Rd - #3 Buffalo vs #6 E. Michigan (ESPN3)
09:00 pm - MWC QF - #3 Nevada vs #6 Boise St (CBSSN)
09:00 pm - Pac 12 QF - #2 UCLA vs #7 Oregon (P12N)
09:00 pm - WAC QF - #2 New Mexico St vs #7 Seattle
09:30 pm - Big 12 QF - #3 Texas vs #6 West Virginia (B12N / ESPN3)
09:30 pm - Big East QF - #3 Xavier vs #6 Marquette (FS1)
09:30 pm - SEC 2nd Rd - #6 Ole Miss vs #14 Mississippi St (ESPN3)
09:30 pm - Sun Belt 1st Rd - #6 Texas-Arlington vs #7 Louisiana-Monroe (ESPN3)
09:30 pm - SWAC QF - #4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs #5 Alabama A&M
10:30 pm - C-USA QF - #1 Louisiana Tech vs #9 Charlotte
11:30 pm - Big West QF - #4 Hawaii vs #5 Cal St-Northridge (Fox PT)
11:30 pm - MWC QF - #2 New Mexico vs #7 Fresno St (CBSSN)
11:30 pm - Pac 12 QF - #3 Arizona St vs #6 Stanford (P12N)
11:30 pm - WAC QF - #3 Chicago St vs #6 Cal State-Bakersfield

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Heh. Mount St. Mary's fans swarming and storming the Robert Morris court. Great scene. Can't wait to see these kids in the play-in game.
 
The Colonials become the 8th automatic NIT bid recipient.

 
Apropos of nothing, "the Mount" is where Bridget Anne Kelly, Chris Christie's former chief of staff and the person who started the "traffic problems in Fort Lee" problems for Christie, went to school.

 

[Dgilpin]

Seton Hall out to a 13 point lead 10 mins into their game against Villanova. A loss here would kill any chance Nova has a 1 seed and actually hurt the winner of St. Johns and Providence. As it would eliminate an opportunity to pick a quality win.
 
Edit: Seton Hall with a 34-26 lead at the half

 

[mabrowndog]

This is one of those days where you wish you could pay complete and full attention to a dozen games simultaneously. Every single one of the matchups currently underway is compelling (SHU/Nova) and/or close (all the others are within 3 pts). 

 

[mabrowndog]

Seton Hall out to a 13 point lead 10 mins into their game against Villanova. A loss here would kill any chance Nova has a 1 seed and actually hurt the winner of St. Johns and Providence. As it would eliminate an opportunity to pick a quality win.
 
Edit: Seton Hall with a 34-26 lead at the half

 
Pirates have stretched it to 11 with 14:36 to play. 
 
EDIT - Nova on a 9-0 run, and it's a 5-pt game with 10:17 left. Closest it's been since 16-11 in the 1st.

 

[Greg29fan]

Nova has it down to five

 

[mabrowndog]

Some of the other games starting to get some distance on the scoreboard:
 
A-10: St. Bon up 7 on La Salle (6:30 left)
ACC: FSU over MD by 8 (11:28 left)
Big Ten: Illinois over Indiana by 5 (8:23 left)

 

[mabrowndog]

Nova has it down to five

 
Bell misses the breakaway dunk, but Nova grabs the board and gets the bucket anyway. And they get the FT. Two point game with 9:15 left.
 
EDIT - Steal and bucket, and we're tied. Wow. SHU looks frazzled as hell.
 
EDIT - Hilliard for three -- Nova leads! A 16-0 Wildcat run.

 

[mabrowndog]

The Noles have outscored the Terps by a dozen in the 2nd half. Leading 53-43 with 10:12 left.

 

[mabrowndog]

#3 SMU trailed #6 Houston 8 minutes in, 20-18, but outscored them 20-9 to take a 9-pt halftime lead, 38-29.

 

[Greg29fan]

The Hall gets a couple stops and retakes the lead by 3

 

[mabrowndog]

La Salle trying to claw back, just hit a couple FTs to make it 76-71 SBU with 1:25 left.

 

[Dgilpin]

Seton Hall up 5 with 4:49 left
 
FSU keeping their bubble hopes alive with a 4 point lead over Maryland

 

[mabrowndog]

Ndoye with a jump hook in the paint for SBU, and LaSalle only hits 1 of 2 FTs on the other end. Bonnies lead 78-72 with :43 left.

 

[mabrowndog]

Illinois was up by as many as 7, but Indiana cut it to 53-52 with under 3:00. The Illini got it back to 4 on an Abrams three and now they're heading to the line with 1:19 left.

 

[mascho]

In the B1G, Illinois currently up 6 with 1:10 to go.

 

[Dgilpin]

Illinois was up by as many as 7, but Indiana cut it to 53-52 with under 3:00. The Illini got it back to 4 on an Abrams three and now they're heading to the line with 1:19 left.

 

In the B1G, Illinois currently up 6 with 1:10 to go.

 
Definitely the result most Wolverine fans were hoping for, I don't think anyone wanted to play back to back games against the Hoosiers

 

[mabrowndog]

St. Bonaventure advances, 82-72. Tyreek Duren ends his LaSalle career with 15 points.

 

[mabrowndog]

SHU up 1 over Nova, 1:15 left.

 

[mabrowndog]

Illinois wins it 64-54. The Hoosiers' 5 starters had 15 turnovers to just 5 for IL's starting quintet. Tracy Abrams was a beast with 25 pts & 7 reb.

 

[mabrowndog]

Sina for THREEE!!! SHU up by 1 with 17.2 left.

 

[mabrowndog]

Hilliard with the spinning floater, Nova takes the lead back 63-62. 3.7 secs left. Time out Pirates.

 

[mabrowndog]

Maryland back within a bucket of FSU. 2:29 left.
 
EDIT - And they just tied it with 1:28 left. Six unanswered pts for the Terps.

 

[mascho]

Terps tie it on a 3 on 1 dunk. Terps have the Mo.

 

[NoLastCall125]

Down goes Nova. Wow.

 

[Greg29fan]

THE HALL

 

[mabrowndog]

DOWN GOES NOVA! Wow.

 

[mabrowndog]

Sterling Fucking Gibbs. Holy shit, that was cash money.

 

[Dgilpin]

THE HALL

 

DOWN GOES NOVA! Wow.

 
 
Dog is right, fantastic college basketball day.

 

[mabrowndog]

Maryland down 2, with the ball, and they call a reach-in on FSU with 15.1 left.
 
EDIT - Wells hits the 1st... And he gets the 2nd.  Tied up. 65-65

 

[mabrowndog]

Wow, what a sweet play by the Noles. White with the unreal pass, and they get the backdoor slam. FSU wins 67-65.

 

[Greg29fan]

LOL Maryland

 

[mabrowndog]

On to the Big 12, where Iowa St's up 2 on KSU with 4:13 left.

 

[DukeSox]

LOL Maryland

LOL is right.  Adios btches

 

[mabrowndog]

ISU prevails with a strong finish, 91-85. 

 

[mabrowndog]

Houston's on the verge of upsetting SMU, leading 64-59 with :31 left.
 
Missouri's up 62-59 on TAMU with 3:54 to play.