February 23, 2011 12:25 pm ET by Kyle Whelliston |
CHICAGO -- Every single one of the conference games going on tonight, and tomorrow, and Friday and Saturday too, were scheduled months in advance by a league office (or, in some cases, years ago). Some were circled rivalry games worth driving a day for, others were just-anothers. In early March, that completely changes: we know the dates and times, in most cases we're aware of the places, but all we know about the games themselves is that one season will be over after each.
Single-game elimination basketball, or any event where the loser goes home, is compelling stuff no matter what. In the 7/10 and 4/5 games of one-bid Division I conferences, there are teams that have long since given up and there are some that cling to whatever hope remains. In larger leagues, there might be second chances and minor national tournaments to play in, but it's the drama of the end that has kept us coming to quarterfinal quadruple-headers and early eliminators for years. Coaches fighting for their jobs, seniors fighting for one more game, function and dysfunction, pride and defiance, everything 40 minutes away from being all over.
And all of that's just one week away.
Conference Shootaround
We're going to go with the same format as last Wednesday, and check up on every single race in Hoops Nation as we head into conference tournament time.America EastVermont has clinched the regular season championship. Up at the top, Vermont has the No. 1 and BU is virtually assured of No. 2; it doesn't really matter where Hartford ends up, because they get a guaranteed home game in the quarterfinals (they're hosting). Down below, you can pretty much write it in pen: the opening game of the America East championship, the 8/9 game, will pit Binghamton against UMBC next Thursday night in central Connecticut. Who will get to wear their white jerseys? Two more games to decide that.
1. UVM 13-2; 2. BU 10-4; 3. UME 9-6; 4. ALB 7-7; 5. SB 6-8 HART 6-8; 7. UNH 6-9; 8. BING 4-10; 9. UMBC 4-11
Vermont - 2/27 BU
Boston University - 2/24 at BING 2/27 at UVM
Maine - 2/27 ALB
Albany - 2/23 UMBC 2/27 at UME
Stony Brook - 2/23 at HART 2/27 BING
Hartford - 2/23 SB 2/27 UNH
New Hampshire - 2/27 at HART
Binghamton - 2/24 BU 2/27 at SB
Maryland-Baltimore County - 2/23 at ALB
Atlantic 14Three or four games left in a presumptive three-bid league. The top four go straight to Atlantic City, while Nos. 5 through 12 play campus-site survivor. Fordham can safely be written off, but a sad race for the 12th and final playoff spot is taking shape between Saint Joseph's and Charlotte. That March 5 game in Philadelphia could decide who lives and who dies.
1. XU 12-1; 2. TU 11-2; 3. RICH 10-3; 4. DUQ 9-3; 5. URI 7-5 GW 7-5; 7. UD 7-6; 8. MASS 6-6 BONA 6-6; 10. LAS 4-9 SLU 4-9; 12. CHAR 2-10 SJU 2-10; 14. FORD 0-12
Xavier - 2/27 at UD 3/2 CHAR 3/5 at SLU
Temple - 2/26 at GW 3/2 at MASS 3/5 LAS
Richmond - 2/26 at CHAR 3/2 at SJU 3/5 DUQ
Duquesne - 2/23 URI 2/26 at SLU 3/2 BONA 3/5 at RICH
Rhode Island - 2/23 at DUQ 2/26 at FORD 3/2 GW 3/5 at BONA
George Washington - 2/23 CHAR 2/26 TU 3/2 at URI 3/5 UD
Dayton - 2/27 XU 3/2 SLU 3/5 at GW
Massachusetts - 2/23 SJU 2/27 at LAS 3/2 TU 3/5 at FORD
Saint Bonaventure - 2/23 FORD 2/26 at SJU 3/2 at DUQ 3/5 URI
La Salle - 2/27 MASS 3/2 FORD 3/5 at TU
Saint Louis - 2/26 DUQ 3/2 at UD 3/5 XU
Charlotte - 2/23 at GW 2/26 RICH 3/2 at XU 3/5 SJU
Saint Joseph's - 2/23 at MASS 2/26 BONA 3/2 RICH 3/5 at CHAR
Fordham - 2/23 at BONA 2/26 URI 3/2 at LAS 3/5 MASS
Atlantic SunBelmont has clinched the regular season championship. Mercer, host of the tourney, would be one of the most dangerous No. 5 tourney seeds in America... after all, they rode the No. 6 to the title game last season. With two contests to go, the drop zone is the place to watch. Seventh and tenth are separated by a single game, and only two of those will get to go. It's all for the chance to get beat by Belmont and ETSU by 20, but there are probably jobs on the line.
1. BELM 17-1; 2. ETSU 15-4; 3. JAX 13-5; 4. LIP 11-7; 5. MERC 10-8; 6. UNF 8-10; 7. CAMP 6-12 KENN 6-12; 9. FGCU 5-12; 10. STET 5-13; 11. SCU 3-15
Belmont - 2/24 at MERC 2/26 at KENN
East Tennessee State - 2/24 at CAMP
Jacksonville - 2/24 at FGCU 2/26 at STET
Lipscomb - 2/24 at KENN 2/26 at MERC
Mercer - 2/24 BELM 2/26 LIP
North Florida - 2/24 at STET 2/26 at FGCU
Campbell - 2/24 ETSU 2/26 SCU
Kennesaw State - 2/24 LIP 2/26 BELM
Florida Gulf Coast - 2/24 JAX 2/26 UNF 2/28 at SCU
Stetson - 2/24 UNF 2/26 JAX
South Carolina-Upstate - 2/26 at CAMP 2/28 FGCU
Big SkyThe Big Sky is all about Occam's Razor. Only the top six go to the tourney, which puts Portland State and Sacramento State in a precarious position with three games to go. The top team gets to host, and there are now three teams in line for first, and the tiebreaker scenarios are even more complicated than the Horizon League's. But in the first salvo of the 2012 Big Sky race, Weber State tacked on an extra regular season game with Saint Mary's of the WCC; this will mean injured star Damian Lillard will have played in less than 30 percent of the team's games and will have an easier path to a waiver and a medical redshirt.
1. UMT 11-3; 2. NOCO 10-3; 3. WEB 10-4; 4. NAU 7-6; 5. MTST 5-8 EWU 5-8; 7. POST 4-9 SAC 4-9; 9. IDST 4-10
Montana - 2/24 at POST 2/26 at EWU
Northern Colorado - 2/26 NAU 2/28 at IDST 3/2 SAC
Weber State - 2/26 at SAC 3/2 EWU
Northern Arizona - 2/24 at SAC 2/26 at NOCO 3/2 POST
Montana State - 2/24 at EWU 2/26 at POST 3/2 IDST
Eastern Washington - 2/24 MTST 2/26 UMT 3/2 at WEB
Portland State - 2/24 UMT 2/26 MTST 3/2 at NAU
Sacramento State - 2/24 NAU 2/26 WEB 3/2 at NOCO
Idaho State - 2/28 NOCO 3/2 at MTST
Big SouthCoastal Carolina has clinched the regular season championship. The remaining regular season drama in the BSC is in the middle; it's an eight-team, campus-site tournament, so getting the No. 4 seed gets you a home game. Should VMI beat Presbyterian, Winthrop upset Liberty and Coastal beat Chuck S., the four-seed could very well come down to that Saturday Keydet-Eagle showdown. Presbyterian is not eligible for the tourney while in transition, and Radford is out of both hope and home games.
1. CCU 15-2; 2. LIB 13-3; 3. UNCA 9-7; 4. CHSO 9-8; 5. VMI 8-8 WINT 8-8; 7. HP 7-9; 8. PRES 6-10; 9. GWB 4-12; 10. RAD 2-14
Coastal Carolina - 2/26 at CHSO
Liberty - 2/24 at WINT 2/26 at PRES
North Carolina-Asheville - 2/24 HP 2/26 RAD
Charleston Southern - 2/26 CCU
Virginia Military Institute - 2/24 at PRES 2/26 at WINT
Winthrop - 2/24 LIB 2/26 VMI
High Point - 2/24 at UNCA 2/26 at GWB
Presbyterian - 2/24 VMI 2/26 LIB
Gardner-Webb - 2/24 RAD 2/26 HP
Radford - 2/24 at GWB 2/26 at UNCA
Big WestLong Beach State is on the verge of clinching the title, but Cal Poly could make a major statement with a win at the Pyramid on Thursday. Davis is attempting to climb out of the drop zone of an eight-team tourney, but has a long hard road haul.
1. LBSU 11-2; 2. POLY 9-4; 3. PAC 7-5; 4. UCSB 7-6 CSN 7-6; 6. CSF 5-8; 7. UCR 4-8; 8. UCI 4-9; 9. UCD 3-9
Long Beach State - 2/24 POLY 2/26 UCSB 3/2 at UCR
Cal Poly - 2/24 at LBSU 2/26 at CSF 3/5 at UCSB
Pacific - 2/24 at UCR 2/26 at UCI 3/3 CSF 3/5 CSN
California-Santa Barbara - 2/24 at CSN 2/26 at LBSU 3/5 POLY
Cal State Northridge - 2/24 UCSB 3/3 at UCD 3/5 at PAC
Cal State Fullerton - 2/26 POLY 3/3 at PAC 3/5 at UCD
California-Riverside - 2/24 PAC 2/26 UCD 3/2 LBSU 3/5 UCI
California-Irvine - 2/24 UCD 2/26 PAC 3/5 at UCR
California-Davis - 2/24 at UCI 2/26 at UCR 3/3 CSN 3/5 CSF
ColonialAll George Mason needs is a win or an ODU loss to clinch the title and one-seed in Richmond. The four first-round byes are decided too, and sort order of No. 2 through No. 4 will be figured out over the weekend. The first round will be seeds Nos. 5 through 8 in their light jerseys against the bottom four; James Madison and Drexel are fighting over the right to play Towson, and both have to play VCU again.
1. GMU 14-2; 2. ODU 12-4 VCU 12-4 HOFS 12-4; 5. JMU 9-7 DREX 9-7; 7. UNCW 7-9 DEL 7-9; 9. GSU 6-10; 10. NU 5-11; 11. CWM 3-13; 12. TOWS 0-16
George Mason - 2/24 NU 2/26 at GSU
Old Dominion - 2/24 at JMU 2/26 CWM
Virginia Commonwealth - 2/23 at DREX 2/26 JMU
Hofstra - 2/23 at UNCW 2/26 DEL
James Madison - 2/24 ODU 2/26 at VCU
Drexel - 2/23 VCU 2/26 at TOWS
North Carolina-Wilmington - 2/23 HOFS 2/26 at NU
Delaware - 2/23 TOWS 2/26 at HOFS
Georgia State - 2/23 at CWM 2/26 GMU
Northeastern - 2/24 at GMU 2/26 UNCW
William & Mary - 2/23 GSU 2/26 at ODU
Towson - 2/23 at DEL 2/26 DREX
Conference USAThree or four games remaining in a race that may include five or more teams. More about this in the G!O!T!N! section below.
1. MEM 9-4 USM 9-4 UAB 9-4; 4. UTEP 8-4 TULS 8-4; 6. SMU 7-5; 7. MRSH 6-6; 8. ECU 5-7; 9. RICE 4-8; 10. UCF 4-9 HOU 4-9; 12. TUL 2-11
Memphis - 2/26 at UTEP 3/2 at ECU 3/5 TUL
Southern Mississippi - 2/26 at UCF 3/2 UAB 3/5 at TULS
UAB - 2/26 at HOU 3/2 at USM 3/5 ECU
Texas-El Paso - 2/23 at ECU 2/26 MEM 3/2 MRSH 3/5 at SMU
Tulsa - 2/23 at MRSH 2/26 TUL 3/2 at RICE 3/5 USM
Southern Methodist - 2/23 RICE 2/26 at MRSH 3/2 at UCF 3/5 UTEP
Marshall - 2/23 TULS 2/26 SMU 3/2 at UTEP 3/5 UCF
East Carolina - 2/23 UTEP 2/26 at RICE 3/2 MEM 3/5 at UAB
Rice - 2/23 at SMU 2/26 ECU 3/2 TULS 3/5 at HOU
Central Florida - 2/26 USM 3/2 SMU 3/5 at MRSH
Houston - 2/26 UAB 3/2 at TUL 3/5 RICE
Tulane - 2/26 at TULS 3/2 HOU 3/5 at MEM
Horizon LeagueThe tourney begins six days from now, but there are 256 scenarios with eight regular season games left. That's more than enough math for its own blog post, and thankfully Mr. James Squire at On The Horizon has written that very exact blog post. The Milwaukee at Cleveland State tilt on Thursday remains the most crucial of those remaining eight, because both have the power of destiny and can claim the No. 1 seed (and home cooking) by winning their final two games.
1. CLST 12-4; 2. BUTL 12-5; 3. VALP 11-5 MILW 11-5; 5. WRIG 10-7; 6. UDM 9-8; 7. GB 7-9; 8. LOYO 6-10; 9. YSU 2-14; 10. UIC 2-15
Cleveland State - 2/24 MILW 2/26 GB
Butler - 2/26 LOYO
Valparaiso - 2/24 LOYO 2/26 UIC
Milwaukee - 2/24 at CLST 2/26 at YSU
Wright State - 2/25 UDM
Detroit - 2/25 at WRIG
Green Bay - 2/24 at YSU 2/26 at CLST
Loyola (Ill.) - 2/24 at VALP 2/26 at BUTL
Youngstown State - 2/24 GB 2/26 MILW
Illinois-Chicago - 2/26 at VALP
Ivy LeagueThe stretch drive in the Ancient Eight's 14-game tourney has officially begun, and Harvard has a slight edge in the standings after Princeton's loss to Brown last weekend. That Friday, March 5 game could end up as the title tilt. It's already sold out.
1. HARV 9-1; 2. PRIN 8-1; 3. PENN 5-4; 4. COLU 5-5 YALE 5-5; 6. BRWN 3-7 CORN 3-7; 8. DART 1-9
Harvard - 2/25 at BRWN 2/26 at YALE 3/4 PENN 3/5 PRIN
Princeton - 2/25 CORN 2/26 COLU 3/4 at DART 3/5 at HARV 3/8 at PENN
Pennsylvania - 2/25 COLU 2/26 CORN 3/4 at HARV 3/5 at DART 3/8 PRIN
Columbia - 2/25 at PENN 2/26 at PRIN 3/4 YALE 3/5 BRWN
Yale - 2/25 DART 2/26 HARV 3/4 at COLU 3/5 at CORN
Brown - 2/25 HARV 2/26 DART 3/4 at CORN 3/5 at COLU
Cornell - 2/25 at PRIN 2/26 at PENN 3/4 BRWN 3/5 YALE
Dartmouth - 2/25 at YALE 2/26 at BRWN 3/4 PRIN 3/5 PENN
MEACBethune-Cookman leads the league in wins, and leads the leaders in games in hand. The prizes for surviving the conference regular season are a banner and the opportunity to play the winner of the 8/9 game in the quarterfinals at Winston-Salem. In the middle of the conference, they're fighting to get to No. 5. The bottom six seeds play out in a first round.
1. BETH 11-3; 2. MORG 9-3; 3. COPP 9-4; 4. HAMP 9-5; 5. NCAT 7-6; 6. FAMU 7-7; 7. NORF 6-7; 8. DEST 5-8; 9. SCST 4-10 HOW 4-10; 11. UMES 3-11
Bethune-Cookman - 2/26 SCST 3/3 FAMU
Morgan State - 2/23 DEST 2/26 at NORF 2/28 at NCAT 3/3 at COPP
Coppin State - 2/26 at NCAT 2/28 at NORF 3/3 MORG
Hampton - 2/26 at DEST 3/4 at HOW
North Carolina A&T - 2/26 COPP 2/28 MORG 3/3 at NORF
Florida A&M - 2/28 SCST 3/3 at BETH
Norfolk State - 2/26 MORG 2/28 COPP 3/3 NCAT
Delaware State - 2/23 at MORG 2/26 HAMP 3/3 at UMES
South Carolina State - 2/26 at BETH 2/28 at FAMU
Howard - 2/26 at UMES 3/4 HAMP
Maryland-Eastern Shore - 2/26 HOW 3/3 DEST
Metro AtlanticFairfield has clinched the regular season championship. Siena is attempting to avoid the ignominy of going from three-time league champions to Pillowfight Friday. The 7/10 and 8/9 games occur on late Friday evening, and the winners go directly against the top two seeds within 24 hours. You don't want that. The Saints have to play the newly-minted regular season champs in Bridgeport this weekend, while Canisius gets two home games.
1. FAIR 14-2; 2. RID 11-5 IONA 11-5 SPC 11-5; 5. LMD 9-7; 6. CANI 7-9 SIE 7-9; 8. NIAG 4-12; 9. MAN 3-13 MAR 3-13
Fairfield - 2/25 SIE 2/27 at IONA
Rider - 2/25 at MAR 2/27 SPC
Iona - 2/25 at SPC 2/27 FAIR
Saint Peter's - 2/25 IONA 2/27 at RID
Loyola (Md.) - 2/25 at NIAG 2/27 at CANI
Canisius - 2/25 MAN 2/27 LMD
Siena - 2/25 at FAIR 2/27 MAR
Niagara - 2/25 LMD 2/27 MAN
Manhattan - 2/25 at CANI 2/27 at NIAG
Marist - 2/25 RID 2/27 at SIE
Mid-AmericanStill a ways to go, with two tight races at the tops of both sides. The division winner with the lesser record gets the No. 2 seed and a direct ticket to Cleveland; Nos. 3 and 4 are the next two best records, and also receive byes. Everyone else fights it out at campus sites. Ohio, in last place in the East, is sure hoping lightning strikes twice.
East - 1. KENT 9-3 MIO 9-3; 3. AKR 7-5 BUFF 7-5 BGSU 7-5; 6. OHIO 6-6 West - 1. BSU 7-5 WMU 7-5; 3. CMU 5-7; 4. EMU 4-8; 5. NIU 3-9; 6. TOL 1-11
Kent State - 2/24 BUFF 2/26 OHIO 3/1 at BGSU 3/4 AKR
Miami (Oh.) - 2/23 at AKR 2/26 BGSU 3/2 at BUFF 3/4 OHIO
Akron - 2/23 MIO 2/26 BUFF 3/1 at OHIO 3/4 at KENT
Buffalo - 2/24 at KENT 2/26 at AKR 3/2 MIO 3/5 at BGSU
Bowling Green - 2/23 at OHIO 2/26 at MIO 3/1 KENT 3/5 BUFF
Ohio - 2/23 BGSU 2/26 at KENT 3/1 AKR 3/4 at MIO
Ball State - 2/23 EMU 2/26 at CMU 3/2 at WMU 3/5 NIU
Western Michigan - 2/23 TOL 2/27 at EMU 3/2 BSU 3/5 at CMU
Central Michigan - 2/23 at NIU 2/26 BSU 3/1 at TOL 3/5 WMU
Eastern Michigan - 2/23 at BSU 2/27 WMU 3/2 at NIU 3/5 TOL
Northern Illinois - 2/23 CMU 2/26 at TOL 3/2 EMU 3/5 at BSU
Toledo - 2/23 at WMU 2/26 NIU 3/1 CMU 3/5 at EMU
Missouri ValleyAfter the BracketBusters devastation (3-7), there's still a race to be run. Everything seems to be pointing to Saturday and that final Shocker-Bear throwdown-showdown. Last night's stunning 76-74 Indiana State win at Northern Iowa puts the Sycamores in the driver's seat for the No. 3 seed, which might set up an all-Indiana 3/6 game. The bottom four seeds fight it out for a quick-turnaround opportunity against the two teams that have been clear and superior all year long.
1. WICH 13-3 MOST 13-3; 3. INST 11-6; 4. UNI 10-7; 5. CREI 9-7; 6. EVAN 8-8; 7. DRKE 6-10; 8. SIU 5-11; 9. ILST 4-13; 10. BRAD 3-14
Wichita State - 2/23 CREI 2/26 at MOST
Missouri State - 2/23 at SIU 2/26 WICH
Indiana State - 2/26 SIU
Northern Iowa - 2/26 at CREI
Creighton - 2/23 at WICH 2/26 UNI
Evansville - 2/23 at DRKE 2/26 ILST
Drake - 2/23 EVAN 2/26 at BRAD
Southern Illinois - 2/23 MOST 2/26 at INST
Illinois State - 2/26 at EVAN
Bradley - 2/26 DRKE
NortheastLong Island has clinched the regular season championship. This is an eight-team tournament and Bryant is too new to join in, so the seeds are just about decided. Set? That's a different story. Quinnipiac has the much easier path to the No. 2 seed, while CCSU has to do its Brooklyn swing. Early warning to LIU: over the past six NEC tournaments (since the league switched to a campus-site format), the No. 1 seed has won and gone on to the NCAA Tournament just twice.
1. LIUB 13-2; 2. QUIN 11-5 CCSU 11-5; 4. RMU 10-6; 5. WAG 9-7; 6. SFNY 8-8 MSM 8-8; 8. BRY 7-9; 9. SFPA 6-9; 10. SH 5-11 MON 5-11; 12. FDU 2-14
Long Island - 2/24 BRY 2/26 CCSU
Quinnipiac - 2/24 MON 2/26 FDU
Central Connecticut State - 2/24 at SFNY 2/26 at LIUB
Robert Morris - 1/27 at SH 2/24 MSM 2/26 WAG
Wagner - 2/24 at SFPA 2/26 at RMU
Saint Francis (NY) - 2/24 CCSU 2/26 BRY
Mount Saint Mary's - 2/24 at RMU 2/26 at SFPA
Bryant - 2/24 at LIUB 2/26 at SFNY
Saint Francis (PA) - 2/24 WAG 2/26 MSM
Sacred Heart - 1/27 RMU 2/24 FDU 2/26 MON
Monmouth - 2/24 at QUIN 2/26 at SH
Fairleigh Dickinson - 2/24 at SH 2/26 at QUIN
Ohio ValleyEight teams play, and all qualifiers goes straight to Nashville. Morehead and Murray will square off tomorrow night, but they're almost assured of being the top two. The OVC is using a new double-bye system this year.
1. MURR 12-4 MORE 12-4; 3. APSU 11-5; 4. TNT 11-6; 5. EKU 9-7; 6. TSU 8-8; 7. SEMO 6-10; 8. UTM 5-11; 9. EIU 4-12; 10. JXST 3-14
Murray State - 2/24 MORE 2/26 EKU
Morehead State - 2/24 at MURR 2/26 at UTM
Austin Peay - 2/24 EIU 2/26 SEMO
Tennessee Tech - 2/26 JXST
Eastern Kentucky - 2/24 at UTM 2/26 at MURR
Tennessee State - 2/24 SEMO 2/26 EIU
Southeast Missouri - 2/24 at TSU 2/26 at APSU
Tennessee-Martin - 2/24 EKU 2/26 MORE
Eastern Illinois - 2/24 at APSU 2/26 at TSU
Jacksonville State - 2/26 at TNT
Patriot LeagueBucknell has clinched the regular season championship. It's possible that the league is so imbalanced that two teams end up with winning records and the other six don't. That hasn't happened, but in 2000 and 2008 the third-place team finished .500. In the latter year, 7-7 Colgate made the final. But still, an American-Bucknell replay seems to be a foregone conclusion in 2011, and American had no answers either time.
1. BUCK 11-1; 2. AMER 9-3; 3. LEH 6-6; 4. LAF 5-7 NAVY 5-7 HC 5-7; 7. COLG 4-8; 8. ARMY 3-9
Bucknell - 2/23 LEH 2/26 ARMY
American - 2/23 NAVY 2/26 at LAF
Lehigh - 2/23 at BUCK 2/26 at HC
Lafayette - 2/23 ARMY 2/26 AMER
Navy - 2/23 at AMER 2/26 COLG
Holy Cross - 2/23 at COLG 2/26 LEH
Colgate - 2/23 HC 2/26 at NAVY
Army - 2/23 at LAF 2/26 at BUCK
SouthernCharleston has clinched the regular season championship. Tonight's Chattanooga-Wofford game is huge for the defending champs. What really matters right now in the SoCon is avoiding third place in the South, which gets you an extra game. Seeds N3 through N6 and S3 through S6 have to play a crossover first round, then feed into the quarterfinals against the top two from either division the next day. If the Terriers can win tonight, they could avoid a potential faceoff for that final quarterfinal bye on Saturday.
North - 1. WCU 11-5 CHAT 11-5; 3. APST 8-8; 4. ELON 6-10; 5. UNCG 5-11; 6. SAMF 4-13 South - 1. COFC 14-2; 2. WOFF 12-4; 3. FURM 12-5; 4. DAV 8-8; 5. CITA 5-11; 6. GS 1-15
Western Carolina - 2/24 CITA 2/26 COFC
Chattanooga - 2/23 WOFF 2/26 at SAMF
Appalachian State - 2/24 COFC 2/26 CITA
Elon - 2/24 at DAV 2/26 at GS
North Carolina-Greensboro - 2/24 at GS 2/26 at DAV
Samford - 2/26 CHAT
Charleston - 2/24 at APST 2/26 at WCU
Wofford - 2/23 at CHAT 2/26 at FURM
Furman - 2/26 WOFF
Davidson - 2/24 ELON 2/26 UNCG
The Citadel - 2/24 at WCU 2/26 at APST
Georgia Southern - 2/24 UNCG 2/26 ELON
SouthlandWe still have no idea what's going on here, and won't until next week. All that's clear is that eight teams go to Katy, Texas, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Central Arkansas won't be among them.
East - 1. MCN 8-4; 2. NWSU 7-5; 3. NICH 6-6 SELU 6-6 LAM 6-6; 6. UCA 1-11 West - 1. TXST 8-4; 2. SFA 7-5 SAMH 7-5 UTA 7-5; 5. UTSA 6-6; 6. TAMC 3-9
McNeese State - 2/23 at UTA 2/26 NICH 3/2 SELU 3/5 LAM
Northwestern State - 2/23 at SAMH 2/26 UTA 3/2 at NICH 3/5 SFA
Nicholls State - 2/23 at UCA 2/26 at MCN 3/2 NWSU 3/5 at SELU
Southeastern Louisiana - 2/23 at TXST 2/26 UCA 3/2 at MCN 3/5 NICH
Lamar - 2/23 at SFA 2/26 SAMH 3/2 TXST 3/5 at MCN
Central Arkansas - 2/23 NICH 2/26 at SELU 3/2 at UTSA 3/5 TAMC
Texas State - 2/23 SELU 2/26 UTSA 3/2 at LAM 3/5 at SAMH
Stephen F. Austin - 2/23 LAM 2/27 at TAMC 3/2 SAMH 3/5 at NWSU
Sam Houston State - 2/23 NWSU 2/26 at LAM 3/2 at SFA 3/5 TXST
Texas-Arlington - 2/23 MCN 2/26 at NWSU 3/2 at TAMC 3/5 UTSA
Texas-San Antonio - 2/23 TAMC 2/26 at TXST 3/2 UCA 3/5 at UTA
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 2/23 at UTSA 2/27 SFA 3/2 UTA 3/5 at UCA
BadlandsOakland has clinched the regular season championship. The eight seeds are decided, and the bottom two are set. Just a bit of jostling for the No. 2 position in the final weekend before elimination play commences in Sioux Falls. As should be probably obvious by now, we will not be going to Centenary tomorrow, for what could be either the saddest or most joyous game of the season, anywhere. Funds were not raised.
1. OAK 15-1; 2. IUPUI 11-5 ORU 11-5; 4. IPFW 10-6; 5. SDST 10-7; 6. UMKC 9-7; 7. NDST 7-10; 8. SUU 6-10; 9. WIU 2-14; 10. CENT 0-16
Oakland - 2/24 at UMKC 2/26 at SUU
IUPUI - 2/24 at ORU 2/26 at CENT
Oral Roberts - 2/24 IUPUI 2/26 WIU
IPFW - 2/24 at SUU 2/26 at UMKC
South Dakota State - 2/25 at NDST
Missouri-Kansas City - 2/24 OAK 2/26 IPFW
North Dakota State - 2/25 SDST
Southern Utah - 2/24 IPFW 2/26 OAK
Western Illinois - 2/24 at CENT 2/26 at ORU
Centenary - 2/24 WIU 2/26 IUPUI
Sun BeltFlorida Atlantic has a virtually assured No. 1 East seed in the upcoming tourney at Hot Springs. Now that it's a 12-team league due to New Orleans' exit, there are four byes to the quarterfinals, and the Sun Belt has adopted a SoCon-style system in which the top two seeds from each division get byes. So don't be third in the West. Middle Tennessee seems assured of E2, though the Blue Raiders have lost three in a row -- including this non-con placeholder versus Houston Baptist.
West - 1. ARST 9-5 DEN 9-5 ULL 9-5; 4. UALR 7-6; 5. NTEX 6-7; 6. ULM 2-13 East - 1. FAU 11-3; 2. MTSU 9-6; 3. WKU 7-7; 4. TROY 6-8; 5. USA 5-9; 6. FIU 4-10
Arkansas State - 2/24 NTEX 2/26 UALR
Denver - 2/24 at ULL 2/26 at NTEX
Louisiana-Lafayette - 2/24 DEN 2/26 at ULM
Arkansas-Little Rock - 2/24 at USA 2/26 at ARST 2/28 NTEX
North Texas - 2/24 at ARST 2/26 DEN 2/28 at UALR
Louisiana-Monroe - 2/26 ULL
Florida Atlantic - 2/24 TROY 2/27 at USA
Middle Tennessee - 2/26 WKU
Western Kentucky - 2/24 FIU 2/26 at MTSU
Troy - 2/24 at FAU 2/26 at FIU
South Alabama - 2/24 UALR 2/27 FAU
Florida International - 2/24 at WKU 2/26 TROY
SWACTexas Southern is on the verge of winning the regular-season championship for the first time since 1998. Otherwise, there's a lot of road to go to Shreveport. Even spacing in the SWAC standings means that Southern and Alcorn State will likely be the two teams that don't make the trip.
1. TXSO 13-1; 2. JSU 10-4; 3. MVSU 10-5; 4. ALAM 9-5; 5. ALST 8-6; 6. UAPB 6-9; 7. PVAM 5-9 GRAM 5-9; 9. SOU 3-12 ALC 3-12
Texas Southern - 2/26 at ALAM 2/28 at ALST 3/3 SOU 3/5 ALC
Jackson State - 2/26 at MVSU 2/26 MVSU 2/28 UAPB 2/28 at UAPB 3/3 ALST 3/5 ALAM
Mississippi Valley State - 2/26 JSU 2/26 at JSU 2/28 GRAM 3/3 UAPB
Alabama A&M - 2/26 TXSO 2/28 PVAM 3/3 at GRAM 3/5 at JSU
Alabama State - 2/26 PVAM 2/28 TXSO 3/3 at JSU 3/5 at GRAM
Arkansas-Pine Bluff - 2/26 GRAM 2/28 at JSU 2/28 JSU 3/3 at MVSU
Prairie View - 2/26 at ALST 2/28 at ALAM 3/3 ALC 3/5 SOU
Grambling - 2/26 at UAPB 2/28 at MVSU 3/3 ALAM 3/5 ALST
Southern - 2/26 ALC 3/3 at TXSO 3/5 at PVAM
Alcorn State - 2/26 at SOU 3/3 at PVAM 3/5 at TXSO
West CoastJust when you thought Mark Few's team was dead in the water... Gonzagarus! The Zags destroyed San Francisco in that second place battle over the weekend, and are now ranked again. Folks sure have a long memory when it comes to those Zags. But Saint Mary's can clinch the one-seed and league regular season championship with a win tomorrow night. Any San Francisco loss, though highly unlikely, would cement SMC and Gonzaga as the top two seeds -- those are both good for byes all the way to the semifinals in Las Vegas.
1. SMC 10-2; 2. GONZ 9-3; 3. SF 8-4; 4. PORT 6-6 SCL 6-6; 6. PEPP 5-7; 7. LMU 2-10 USD 2-10
Saint Mary's - 2/24 GONZ 2/26 PORT
Gonzaga - 2/24 at SMC 2/26 at USD
San Francisco - 2/24 PEPP 2/26 LMU
Portland - 2/24 at USD 2/26 at SMC
Santa Clara - 2/24 LMU 2/26 PEPP
Pepperdine - 2/24 at SF 2/26 at SCL
Loyola Marymount - 2/24 at SCL 2/26 at SF
San Diego - 2/24 PORT 2/26 GONZ
Western AthleticUtah State has already clinched a share of the title, and will most assuredly go into Las Vegas with a full head of steam, and maybe even a revenge win against Idaho and a clincher at New Mexico State. At the bottom, who gets dropped? The WAC did away with the 8/9 game for travel purposes, so either San Jose State or Louisiana Tech -- the far outposts at 1,949 miles apart -- will stay home. But they get to play each other! The Man Techsters will stop by on their way back from Hawaii this weekend.
1. USU 12-1; 2. NMSU 8-4; 3. NEV 7-5; 4. BOIS 7-6 ID 7-6; 6. HAW 5-7; 7. FRES 5-8; 8. SJSU 3-9; 9. LTU 2-10
Utah State - 2/26 ID 3/2 at NMSU 3/5 at LTU
New Mexico State - 2/23 at SJSU 2/26 at HAW 3/2 USU 3/5 NEV
Nevada - 2/24 ID 2/26 BOIS 3/3 at LTU 3/5 at NMSU
Boise State - 2/24 at FRES 2/26 at NEV 3/5 SJSU
Idaho - 2/24 at NEV 2/26 at USU 3/3 FRES
Hawaii - 2/24 LTU 2/26 NMSU 3/3 at SJSU 3/5 at FRES
Fresno State - 2/24 BOIS 3/3 at ID 3/5 HAW
San Jose State - 2/23 NMSU 2/26 LTU 3/3 HAW 3/5 at BOIS
Louisiana Tech - 2/24 at HAW 2/26 at SJSU 3/3 NEV 3/5 USU
Today on 360
Big South: UNC Asheville tops Coastal Carolina on buzzer-beater (G!O!T!N!)Horizon League: Butler's Matt Howard named Academic All-American of the YearBadlands: Centenary Gents on Final Season StretchWest Coast: Saint Mary's Adds A 31st Regular Season GameTuesday's Scoreboard | LinescoresGame! Of! The! Night!
Tulsa at Marshall (Conference USA)
Henderson Center - Huntington, WV
7:00 EST
No team has won the Conference USA regular season title with more than five losses. Right now, with three (or four) games left in the regular season, there are five teams tied in the loss column with four. Sure, there was that time in 2004 when C-USA had six bids and five teams finished 12-4, but this year isn't like that. Back then, the Big East hadn't invaded and Cincinnati was still around and DePaul was still good. Now it's brand-name Memphis, Southern Miss, Texas-El Paso and UAB, and a team with a 15-11 overall record that's broken out in league play.
That would be Tulsa, former longtime Missouri Valley member, a team that finished .500 against the 64th-toughest schedule in America and went on to beat most of those aforementioned first-place C-USA teams. The Golden Hurricane won at the FedEx Forum, nipped UTEP and crushed UAB. (They face Southern Miss in the regular season finale.) They're doing it with a lot of 6-foot-4 senior Justin Hurtt, who's averaging 20.1 ppg and is the league's leading scorer. But it's the size that's really mattering: Tulsa leads C-USA in rebounds at 33.9 per contest and grabs 56.2 percent of availables. Credit juniors 6-foot-11 Steven Idlet and 6-foot-6 Joe Richard for most of that; they combine for 12.5 rpg. Add it all up, and Doug Wojcik's team has won five of six, that missed opportunity being a one-point loss at Central Florida. In December, that wouldn't have looked so bad.
Tonight, Tulsa takes to the mountains. Marshall (18-9, 6-6) is not one of the five teams up top, but the Thundering Herd is poised to make this league an even bigger mess. Right now, Tom Herrion's squad is the certified hottest team in the conference, the only one with a three-game win streak (ECU, Rice and Tulane). But it's the accomplishments before this past week that make this team dangerous: a 15-point thump of Memphis at home and a Red Line Upset a month ago against in-state rival West Virginia. Marshall plays tough perimeter defense, as expressed in their 27 percent three-point percentage allowed, and has a high degree of athleticism that allows them to play at a tempo faster than most teams in the league are used to. They also have two 15 ppg scorers, sophomore guard DeAndre Kane and the hero of the WVU win, 5-foot-10 dynamo Damier Pitts. At the very least, the Herd could really mess up the tourney in El Paso.
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