Tourney Central 3/9/2008 (Day 6)Bullet Points
Brackets Atlantic Sun
Belmont won its third consecutive A-Sun championship, as former MMBOW Shane Dansby scored 15 points in a blowout win over Jacksonville.
[1] Belmont 79, [2] Jacksonville 61 | GameFlo Big South
Michael Jenkins had 33 points, tying a BSC championship game high, and the Eagles captured their fourth consecutive tourney title.
[2] Winthrop 66, at [1] North Carolina-Asheville 48 | GameFlo Ohio Valley
The layups and short jumpers that led TSU to a surprise win Friday over No. 2 Murray State weren't falling, and Austin Peay rolled to the title. It's a championship that eluded the Govs last year when Eastern Kentucky got a last-second runner in an upset.
[1] Austin Peay 82, [6] Tennessee State 64 | GameFlo Missouri Valley
The Bulldogs and Redbirds may not have appeared in too many of these title games recently, but they were the two best teams in the Valley this season and will battle for the title this afternoon on CBS.
[1] Drake 75, [4] Creighton 67 | GameFlo Horizon League
Valpo's six-seed luck ran out yesterday, as Cedric Jackson led the Vikings with 22 points and eight rebounds. Mike Green, the Horizon POY, was the POG yesterday for host and one-seed Butler; he had five points in a 12-3 first-half run and finished with 19.
[2] Cleveland State 78, [6] Valparaiso 73 | GameFlo America East
[1] Maryland-Baltimore County 76, [8] Stony Brook 60 | GameFlo Colonial
[1] Virginia Commonwealth 57, [9] Towson 46 | GameFlo Big Sky
Both home teams won in Saturday's opening round. Weber State and Idaho State now move on to Portland, where the two top seeds await them.
at [3] Weber State 65, [6] Montana State 49 | GameFlo Metro Atlantic
The presupposed final four in the MAAC didn't happen -- No. 6 Marist eliminated No. 3 and tourney champs Niagara with a late run that included an intentional foul on the Purple Eagles.
[4] Loyola (Md.) 64, [5] Fairfield 59 | GameFlo Southern
Ola Atoyebi of Elon tipped in an offensive rebound with 20 seconds left, which helped the Phoenix shock Chattanooga. With low seed upsets littering the field, it would seem that Davidson has a cakewalk to the autobid.
[1] Davidson 82, [8] Wofford 49 | GameFlo Summit League
ORU streaked to an easy win over the Gentlemen, but IUPUI had a struggle with UMKC. Fun fact: if IUPUI makes the final and loses, the Jaguars will be only the fourth 26-win team to be left out of the NCAA Tournament (1987 Howard, 1990 SIU, 2007 Akron).
at [1] Oral Roberts 84, [8] Centenary 56 | GameFlo West Coast
It's a high-seed party in the WCC, as numbers three and four survived second round Saturday.
[4] Santa Clara 51, [5] San Francisco 50 | GameFlo On Tap Tonight Missouri Valley Valley Math is totally simple today: an Illinois State win means two bids. A Drake win means... well, maybe could end up meaning two bids too. We'll have to see how the bubble works itself out.
2:05 pm ET - [1] Drake 27-4 (15-3) vs. [2] Illinois State 24-8 (13-5) | Preview Colonial UNCW swept Mason this year, so we might not get that Patriot-Ram final we've been anticipating. Given what's happened in the past two days, if VCU is up by two or less in the final moments, they're well-advised to guard all W&M three-point shooters.
3:00 pm ET - [1] Virginia Commonwealth 24-6 (15-3) vs. [5] William & Mary 16-15 (10-8) | Preview America East With two-time champion Albany eliminated, it might be time for some new blood in the NCAA's out of the A-East. That is, unless the perennial champion Catamounts return to glory.
12:00 pm ET - [1] Maryland-Baltimore County 22-8 (13-3) vs. [4] Vermont 16-14 (9-7) | Preview Metro Atlantic Marist is yet another of this week's dangerous No. 6 seeds -- the Red Foxes beat semifinal opponent Rider in their building this season.
6:00 pm ET - [4] Loyola (Md.) 19-13 (12-6) at [1] Siena 20-10 (13-5) | Preview West Coast The top four seeds fight it out in San Diego. Saint Mary's may be the No. 2, but the Toreros will have a decided home floor advantage.
9:30 pm ET - [1] Gonzaga 24-6 (13-1) vs. [4] Santa Clara 15-15 (6-8) | Preview Northeast
All four top seeds survived the NEC quarters, and the two semifinals will be held today at RMU and Wagner.
3:00 pm ET - [4] Mount Saint Mary`s 16-14 (11-7) at [1] Robert Morris 26-6 (16-2) | Preview Patriot League
After a few travel days off, the Patriot reconvenes at a pair of semifinal sites. The quarterfinals featured two upsets and four close games.
2:00 pm ET - [7] Bucknell 12-18 (6-8) at [3] Colgate 17-13 (7-7) | Preview Southern The semifinals get underway in Charleston, S.C. tonight.
6:00 pm ET - [1] Davidson 24-6 (20-0) vs. [4] North Carolina-Greensboro 19-11 (12-8) | Preview Summit League In Tulsa, the second pair of quarters occur in advance of Monday's semis.
7:00 pm ET - [5] IUPU-Fort Wayne 12-17 (9-9) vs. [4] Southern Utah 11-18 (9-9) | Preview Sun Belt
Quarterfinals get underway in Mobile, Ala. in the Belt.
1:30 pm ET - [8] New Orleans 19-12 (8-10) at [1] South Alabama 25-5 (16-2) | Preview |
|
The sorta-surprise visitor to the A-East semis is No. 6 Boston University, which took down No. 3 seed and two-time champions Albany in overtime. It was the Terriers' ninth win in 11 games.
Nathan Mann of W&M hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left, the second straight day the Tribe needed late long-distance heroics to pull out a win. Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas tandemed for 37 points in the Mason victory; the top two seeds rolled.
