Tourney Central Extra: The Last Brackets
With the end of the regular season today, all conference tournament brackets on our side of the Red Line have been finalized. After the jump, opening brackets for the seven leagues starting up during the second week of Championship Fortnight: the MEAC, SWAC, Big West, Great West, Atlantic 14, WAC and Southland.
Atlantic 12
The A-14 leaves Fordham and La Salle at home, and begins play at campus sites on Tuesday. The four survivors will meet up in Atlantic City, where the brütal process of deciding the Atlantic One will take place. It's Metal Madness!
Big West
The "California Bus League" will decide which is the best Cal State or UC at the Anaheim Convention Center, beginning on Wednesday. Remember, this tourney is a little wacky: the two first round winners meet up with the next two higher seeds in the second round, and on up the ladder.
Great West
The newest conference in The Mid-Majority won't be eligible for an NCAA bid until at least 2020 (and will lose South Dakota to the Badlands next year), but these players and coaches will be able to compete for a championship on a basketball court. The winner will go to the College Insider Tournament, a move which gave the CIT the only press it's received all season. It's just nice to see NJIT in a bracket.
MEAC
The great MEAxperiment continues in Winston-Salem beginning on Tuesday, where in addition to the hoops, there will be a Battle of the Bands and the crowning of Miss MEAC. Don't let the tarps on the seats fool you, HBCU's can indeed throw basketball parties; down the road in Charlotte, the Division II CIAA just held another awesome event. Will the Division I folks measure up this time? Winston-Salem State, not having achieved full membership yet, will not play. The Rams would have been the No. 7 seed.
SWAC
After years in Birmingham in front of sparse crowds, the Southwestern Athletic Conference gives Shreveport, La. a try. Action gets underway with two pairs of quarterfinals on Wednesday and Thursday, with the top two seeds getting a rest day (if they win) before Friday's semifinals. Not appearing are Southern and Alcorn State (although the Braves knocked off Prairie View on Saturday for their second SWAC win of the year ).
Southland
"Merrell Madness" returns to Katy, Texas with a full quarterfinal slate on Wednesday. Lamar, McNeese State, Northwestern State and Central Arkansas did not qualify for the tourney.
Western Athletic
The Wickity offers a slight change this season: there is no 8-vs.-9 game, meaning Hawaii stays at home. The event is being held in the land of No. 2 Nevada, the prearranged tourney host.
