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SEASON 7

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Peers and Seers

Tourney Central 3/13/2011 (Day 13)
March 13, 2011 9:28 am ET by Kyle Whelliston

Bullet Points

    On the penultimate day of Championship Fortnight, more hoisted nets, climbed ladders, cut nets and commemorative ballcaps than on any other day of the year. Congratulations to the winners of automatic bids in ten conferences on Saturday.
    Utah State backed up its regular season championship with a tourney title. Boston University came back from a deep deficit to defeat Stony Brook for the America East championship from the two-seed. Hampton, the No. 2 in the MEAC, defeated two-time bracket champions Morgan State in Winston-Salem. Alabama State, who got on a massive hot streak near the end of the SWAC season, rode their momentum all the way to a title.It was a day that mostly belonged to low seeds, the teams that proved themselves more capable of handling one-game sprints than 16-game regular season marathons. And one-and-done, after all, is the test they'll face in the NCAA Tournament. The winners of the Southland are No. 7 seed Texas-San Antonio, befitting a season in that league full of extreme parity. Akron parlayed the No. 6 into a MAC championship. UC Santa Barbara came out of a No. 5 seed to repeat as champions of the Big West. And in a somewhat accidental conference tourney, the "14-Game Tournament" of the Ivy League culminated in a one-game playoff, won by Princeton over Harvard on a Douglas Davis buzzer-beater that will never be forgotten.And don't forget the champions of the fledgling Great West: North Dakota, who will not go to the NCAA Tournament but beat defending champions South Dakota in two overtimes. That ended in a buzzer-beater too.There is one more league championship game left in Hoops Nation. The Atlantic Two will half itself to become the Atlantic One; Dayton and Richmond, the two winners from yesterday's semifinals in Atlantic City, will face off. After that, the fourth and final chapter of the beautiful season will begin.

Brackets

America East



at [2] Boston University 56, [5] Stony Brook 54
Star of the Game: John Holland 27 Pts (8-19 FG, 10-11 FT), 11 Reb, 3 Stl
Terriers Rally for 56-54 AE Title Victory, Earn Trip to the Big Dance - Stepping to the line with 2.4 seconds left in regulation, senior John Holland coolly sank two free throws to give the Boston University men's basketball team its first lead of the game and clinch a 56-54 win over Stony Brook for the Terriers' first America East championship since 2002. With its 11th-straight victory, BU (21-13) earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Holland scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half en route to earning the league's Reggie Lewis Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament. Down by as many 15 points in the second half, he recorded 14 straight points during BU's game-changing 17-3 run that put the squad within two, 44-42, with 8:54 remaining. ... via Boston University

Atlantic 4



[9] Dayton 64, [12] Saint Joseph's 61
Star of the Game: Chris Wright 17 Pts (6-13 FG, 5-9 FT), 15 Reb
On To The Title Game, UD Downs Saint Joseph's 64-61 In A-10 Semis - Chris Wright tallied a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Dayton Flyers advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship title game with a 64-61 victory over the Saint Joseph's Hawks. UD will play Richmond in the finals on Sunday, March 13 at 1 p.m. ET. Chris Johnson scored 19 points and hauled in four rebounds for Dayton as the Flyers have won three straight in the tournament. ... via Dayton

[3] Richmond 58, [2] Temple 54
Star of the Game: Justin Harper 18 Pts (7-15 FG, 2-3 FT), 9 Reb
Spiders Clip No. 24 Temple, 58-54, Meet Flyers Sunday For A-10 Title - Richmond defeated No. 24 ranked Temple 58-54 Saturday in the Atlantic 10 semifinals to advance to its second-straight A-10 title game. The Spiders play for the A-10 Championship Sunday at 1 p.m. against Dayton on CBS with Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. Richmond moves to 26-7 overall, tying a school-record for wins with the 1987-88 team and last year's squad. The Spiders have won six-straight, 13 of the last 15 and 15 of the last 18. Richmond, which finished A-10 play 13-3, has avenged two of its conference losses in the last two days with wins over Rhode Island and Temple. ... via Richmond

Big West



No. 5 Gauchos Stun Top-Seeded Long Beach, Advance to 2nd Straight NCAA Tournament - UC Santa Barbara picked a pretty opportune time to put together its first four-game winning streak of the season. On Saturday, the fifth-seeded Gauchos (18-13) beat the No. 1 seed, Long Beach State (22-11), 64-56. It was their fourth consecutive win, the last three of which came at the 2011 ampm Big West Tournament. With its championship game win on Saturday night, UCSB qualifies for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. ... via California-Santa Barbara

Conference USA



[4] Memphis 67, [3] Texas-El Paso 66
Star of the Game: Chris Crawford 15 Pts (5-7 FG), 6 Reb, 2 Stl
Tournament-MVP Jackson Lifts Memphis Past UTEP, 67-66, to Claim C-USA Crown - Joe Jackson stepped to the line with seven seconds left and earned his nickname "King of Memphis" by calmly sinking two free throws to lift Memphis past UTEP, 67-66, en route to the Tigers' fifth C-USA Championship crown. In a game that Memphis never led until the last free throw by Jackson the Tigers battled back after being down 62-50 with 6:13 remaining. Christian Polk hit consecutive triples to extend the Miners' lead to 12 before an old-fashioned three-point play from Jackson sparked a 9-0 Tigers run to get them back in the game. Gabriel McCuley converted a dunk for UTEP to extend the lead to 64-59 with 2:41 to play, but Jackson again answered with an and-one on the other end to close the gap to 64-62. ... via Memphis

Great West



[3] North Dakota 77, [4] South Dakota 76
Star of the Game: Jamal Webb 12 Pts (4-9 FG, 4-6 FT), 10 Reb, 2 Stl
Great West Conference Tournament champions! - North Dakota's Josh Schuler (Urbana, Ohio) picked a good time to hit the first game-winning shot of his life. The redshirt freshman buried a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining in the second overtime to give the third-seeded Fighting Sioux men's basketball team a 77-76 victory over fourth-seeded South Dakota in the title game of the 2011 Great West Conference Tournament presented by Pepsi. The Sioux (19-14) erased a four-point deficit in the final 15 seconds of the second extra session to secure their first Division I conference title in program history and first league title of any kind since winning the North Central Conference crown during 1993-94 season. Schuler, who sat out the first nine-plus minutes of the extra sessions, subbed in just seconds before drilling the game-winning basket from the left baseline. ... via North Dakota

Ivy League



Princeton 63, Harvard 62
Star of the Game: Kareem Maddox 10 Pts (4-12 FG, 2-2 FT), 13 Reb
Davis Hits, Tigers Dance - Douglas Davis has scored 1,097 points in his three-season Princeton career. Ask any Princeton fan for his or her favorite two of those points. It won't be a tough choice. Davis' jumper from just inside the 3-point arc on a play that began with Princeton down by one point and with 2.8 seconds to go lifted the Tigers to a 63-62 win over Harvard in an Ivy League playoff game at Yale's John J. Lee Amphitheater. Davis' shot fell, and for an Ivy League-record 24th time, the Princeton Tigers are going dancing. ... via Princeton

MEAC



[2] Hampton 60, [4] Morgan State 55
Star of the Game: Brandon Tunnell 20 Pts (7-10 FG, 5-7 FT)
Pirates Defeat Morgan State To Claim 2011 MEAC Basketball Tournament Title - Brandon Tunnell scored 12 of his career-high 20 points in the second half and Darrion Pellum added all 12 of his after intermission to help Hampton defeat Morgan State, 60-55 in the MEAC Tournament Championship at the Joel Coliseum. The Pirates (24-8) denied the Bears their fourth consecutive tournament title and Joyner obtained his first ever as a head coach. The win also secured Hampton an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. ... via Hampton

Mid-American



[6] Akron 66, [1] Kent State 65 1
Star of the Game: Zeke Marshall 9 Pts (3-6 FG, 3-7 FT), 13 Reb
Akron Wins MAC Title; Punches Ticket to NCAA Tournament - The University of Akron men's basketball team, behind Mid-American Conference Tournament MVP Zeke Marshall, defeated rival Kent State 66-65 in overtime on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena to claim the MAC Tournament championship and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Marshall broke the school and MAC Tournament record with nine blocks, none more important than his swat of KSU's Rodriquez Sherman with six seconds left, to help seal the victory. He finished the game with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds. ... via Akron

Southland



[7] Texas-San Antonio 75, [1] McNeese State 72
Star of the Game: Jeromie Hill 25 Pts (10-14 FG, 1-1 FT)
UTSA advances to NCAA Tournament with 75-72 victory against McNeese State - Freshman Jeromie Hill poured in 25 points and senior Devin Gibson added 15 to lead UTSA to a 75-72 victory against McNeese State in Saturday's State Farm Southland Conference Tournament Championship Game. The Roadrunners (19-13) earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, the program's fourth overall and first since 2004. UTSA held as much as nine-point lead against the Regular Season Champion Cowboys (21-11), but it had to withstand a flurry of 3-pointers in the final minutes to secure the victory. ... via Texas-San Antonio

SWAC



[4] Alabama State 65, [6] Grambling 48
Star of the Game: Tramayne Moorer 14 Pts (6-12 FG, 2-3 FT), 8 Reb
ASU Throttles Grambling; Wins SWAC Tournament Championship - Alabama State defeated Grambling State 65-48 at the Special Events Center in the 2011 Farmers Insurance Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament Championship. The victory gave Lewis Jackson his second conference tournament crown in his six years as head coach and the school's fourth. ASU led 10-4 at the 15 minute mark of the first half. GSU responded with a pair of layups each from Justin Patton and Donald Qualls tying the game at 10 apiece. Qualls scored 35 points the night prior in the semi-finals against Jackson State. He finished with only 12 points on the night to lead Grambling. ... via Alabama State

Western Athletic



[1] Utah State 77, [2] Boise State 69
Star of the Game: Tai Wesley 19 Pts (5-8 FG, 8-10 FT), 9 Reb, 3 Stl
Aggie Men Are 2011 WAC Champions With 77-69 Win Over Boise State Saturday - For the second time in the last three years, Utah State is the Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Champion after the No. 17/23 Aggies beat the Broncos of Boise State, 77-69, Saturday night in the championship game at the Orleans Arena. It was USU's second WAC Tournament title after winning the 2009 crown and eighth tournament championship overall, winning six postseason titles in 27 years in the Big West Conference. Utah State won its eighth-straight game in improving to 30-3 overall, tying a school record for most wins, matching the 2008-09 squad (30-5) and earned the WAC's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. It is the Aggies' eighth NCAA Tournament berth in the last 12 years under head coach Stew Morrill, ninth in the last 14 years and 20th time in school history. The only other time in school history that USU has gone to the NCAA Tournament in three-straight years was 1962, '63 and '64. ... via Utah State

On Tap Tonight

Atlantic 2

Tools: Standings • Statistics • Tempo-Free Aerial • 18-Year Tourney History


[9] Dayton vs. [3] Richmond - 2:00 pm ET • BBState Preview/Box
UD - 22-12 (7-9) RPI: 68 State: 85 SOS: 70 Last 10: 5-5 Form: LLWWW PF/PA: 66.9/64.5
RICH - 26-7 (13-3) RPI: 55 State: 21 SOS: 141 Last 10: 9-1 Form: WWWWW PF/PA: 70.3/61.2
NCAA Selection Sheets: Dayton • Richmond
Recent meetings: 01/25/2011 RICH 70 @UD 61 03/04/2010 UD 56 @RICH 60
Players to watch:
UD - #33 Chris Wright Sr. F (13.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.9 apg)
RICH - #32 Justin Harper Sr. F (17.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.1 apg)