Tourney Central 3/16/2008 (Day 13)

by Kyle Whelliston on March 16, 2008 9:27 AM • Permalink

Bullet Points

The autobid picture is nearly complete, as seven champions were named on Saturday.
Kent State and UMBC followed up their regular-season trophies with tourney rings, in the MAC and America East respectively.
In a low-seed shocker, No. 7 Coppin State upset No. 1 Morgan State in the MEAC.
Temple took the A-14 crown by beating Philly rivals Saint Joseph's, but both teams are likely in. Mississippi Valley State won the SWAC on last-second free throws, and Cal State Fullerton emerged victorious in the Big West.
There's always one game during Championship Fortnight that stands above the others in terms of thrills and drama. This year, it was the WAC battle between Boise State and New Mexico State; in three overtimes, BSU prevailed 107-102.
One more championship game remains at our level: the Southland winner-take-all battle between Texas-Arlington and Northwestern State.
You thought it might never come, but it's Selection Sunday.

Brackets

America East

UMBC joins D.C.-based American of the Patriot League as first-time DelMarVa NCAA participants. The Retrievers jumped out to a 22-6 lead and never let go, and former Coppin Stater Darryl Proctor scored 23 on 10-for-14 shooting. Hartford made a few runs, but all they were able to manage was to cut the lead from the 20's to the low teens.

at [1] Maryland-Baltimore County 82, [2] Hartford 65 | GameFlo

Atlantic 10

Deonte Christmas capped off a tourney MVP week with a 22-point performance, and Owl guard Ryan Brooks rebounded from a mistake-filled first half to give Temple the 15-point spark it needed to overcome the Joes.

[2] Temple 69, [5] Saint Joseph's 64 | GameFlo

MEAC

Just when you thought the MEAC had an upset candidate, they get upset themselves in the title game. Tywain McKee was the last-minute hero for the third day in a row, scoring his final two of 33 points on a runner with three seconds to go. A lot of team's Dayton bubbles just burst -- Coppin is the first 20-loss team to ever make the NCAA Tournament.

[7] Coppin State 62, [1] Morgan State 60 | GameFlo

SWAC

Delta Devils leading scorer Carl Lucas nailed a pair of free throws with less than a a second remaining to pull MVSU to its first SWAC championship since 1996.

[2] Mississippi Valley State 59, [4] Jackson State 58 | GameFlo

Mid-American

A day after looking spent and exhausted, Kent State put the clamps on Akron's running game, shot 51 percent, and cruised to a blowout win in the MAC championship. The victory not only sent the Golden Flashes back to the Dance, it sealed a three-game sweep of the crosstown rival Zips.

[1] Kent State 74, [3] Akron 55 | GameFlo

Western Athletic

Don't worry if you missed the game, ESPN Classic will boil it down to two hours and play it for years to come. Boise State was up 17-3 early on, and a furious second half rally brought the Aggies back close, capped by a Jonathan Gibson 3 with 17 seconds left in regulation put the Aggies on top temporarily. Boise State took a lead in the first OT only to have NMSU tie it on free throws. In the second OT, as the number of big man foul-outs escalated, the Aggies jumped out in front before the Broncos reeled them back in. Finally, in the third session, NMSU had no more gas, and Boise built a five-point lead it never relinquished.

[3] Boise State 107, at [4] New Mexico State 102 (3OT) | GameFlo

Big West

The Titans shot 53 percent from the floor and built an early lead, leaving the Anteaters in the dust. Fullerton hasn't been where it is now since 1978, before several of its players were born.

[3] Cal State Fullerton 81, [5] California-Irvine 66 | GameFlo

On Tap Tonight

Southland

The final mid-major championship game is between the Southland's March magicians and a team looking to Dance for the first time. NWSU is appearing in its fourth straight title game, and could be on the Dayton bubble with its sub-.500 record. UTA looked like a team that could storm the league with eight straight nonconference wins, before a wrist injury to guard Brandon Long hurt the team's overall backcourt play.

1:00 pm ET - [5] Northwestern State 15-17 (9-7) vs. [7] Texas-Arlington 20-11 (7-9) | Preview
Recent: 01/05/2008 UTARL 82 @NWSU 86 01/06/2007 NWSU 78 @UTARL 65