NCAA Tournament Qualifier #4
Congratulations to the Indiana State Sycamores, the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champions. ISU defeated Missouri State Sunday by a score of 60-56, giving them eight wins in their last nine games. This Sycamore team is not to be confused with the 1979 National Finalists with some guy named Larry Bird doing a lot of the scoring, but ISU (20-13) has enough talent to pull off an upset in the first round. The last time they were in the Big Dance, ISU upset Oklahoma 70-68 in the first round of the 2001 tourney; they lost 85-68 to Gonzaga in the next round. The Sycamores lost by nine at Notre Dame and by 13 against Purdue, so they can compete against Top 10 teams.
Indiana State joins UNC-Asheville, Belmont, and Morehead State as automatic qualifiers in the NCAA Tournament.
Four More Teams To Enter The Dance Party Tonight
The field of automatic qualifiers doubles from four to eight tonight. Let’s take a look at the four conference championships for Monday.
Colonial Athletic Association
Virginia Commonwealth (23-10) vs. Old Dominion (26-6)
7:00 PM EST on ESPN
In the semifinal round, VCU upset top-seed George Mason 79-63, while Old Dominion ousted Hofstra 77-69. Bubble teams will be cheering hard for ODU because if VCU wins, the CAA could send an extra team to the Dance. George Mason and ODU are virtually assured at-large spots, but VCU will be College Insiders, CBI or NIT-bound if they lose tonight.
ODU has won eight games in a row and 12 of 13. Big forward Frank Hassell has continued to improve and impress down below, and Notre Dame can tell you how well he plays in the postseason; ODU beat the Irish in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
VCU slumped at the end of the regular season, losing four of their final five games (and the one win was in the Bracketbuster) to fall from first to fourth. The Rams won nine games in a row in the middle of the season, including a road victory over their opponent tonight.
Forward Jamie Skeen will be the key man to watch. If he can match or beat Hassell point-for-point and rebound-for-rebound, VCU should pull off the victory. If Hassell wins the battle, then the Monarchs will live up to their preseason billing as best in the league.
If the game comes down to the backcourt, then VCU has the superior tandem there with Bradford Burgess and Joey Rodriguez. If the battle comes down to the rebounding game, ODU will win and maybe win by 10-20 points.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
St. Peter’s (19-13) vs. Iona (22-10)
7:00 PM EST on ESPN2
St. Peter’s pulled off the big upset in this tournament, defeating #1-seed Fairfield 62-48 in yesterday’s semifinal round. Iona slaughtered Rider 83-59 to earn their spot in the championship game. The Gaels won their opener by 30 over Siena, so they are the clear-cut favorite tonight.
St. Peter’s is an experienced team. The Peacocks’ top four players are seniors—Wesley Jenkins, Jeron Belin, Nick Leon, and Ryan Bacon. The quartet averages a combined 45 points a game with all four averaging more than 10 points a game. Their strongest asset is their defensive ability, and teams have a tough time scoring on SPU. Unfortunately, the Peacocks barely top 40% shooting from the field and less than 64% at the foul line. To win tonight, they need to connect on at least 45% of their shots and get some second chance opportunities.
Iona has the look of a champion. The Gaels have won nine games in a row by an average margin of 18.6 points per game. They swept SPU by 18 and 14 in the regular season. Star forward Michael Glover has recorded 17 double-doubles, and the only thing that could prevent him from making it 18 tonight would be his early exit from the game due to the game being a blowout.
As you can surmise, we think Iona will put this game away with a big run about halfway into the opening half after a five to eight-minute period to calm the nerves.
Southern Conference
College of Charleston (24-9) vs. Wofford (20-12)
9:00 PM EST on ESPN2
Semifinal Scores
College of Charleston 63 Furman 58
Wofford 86 Western Carolina 72
The top two teams in the league meet for the third time and Charleston won the first two meetings. The Cougars won the battle on the boards in both games and in turn took several more shots. Andrew Goudelock was unstoppable in both games, and Wofford must do something to keep the ball out of his hands tonight and prevent him from scoring his average of 23 points per game to have a chance.
The Terriers are the defending SoCon Tournament champions, and they were the overwhelming pick to repeat as champions this year. They will need a repeat of yesterday’s performance to pull off the upset. Wofford connected on 54% of their field goals, 50% of their three-point attempts, and 80% at the foul line. Their big three, Noah Dahlman, Jamar Diggs, and Cameron Rundles, teamed for 52 points and 16 rebounds. Wofford also has excellent depth with three players capable of coming off the bench and scoring points and pulling down rebounds in massive numbers.
Charleston proved to be the better team in the regular season sweep, but we tend to believe this night will belong to Wofford. The Terriers are playing up to their potential, while the Cougars are not.
West Coast Conference
Saint Mary’s (24-7) vs. Gonzaga (23-9)
9:00 PM EST on ESPN
Semifinal Round
Saint Mary’s 73 Santa Clara 64
Gonzaga 71 San Francisco 67
This is the game of the night. We tend to believe both teams have done enough to punch a ticket to the tournament, but still, this will be a hard-fought rivalry game.
The teams split their regular season series, both winning close games on the other’s home court. If you like offense, then this is the game for you. Both teams routinely top 80 points per game, and both have enjoyed many nights where they shot in excess of 50% from the field.
Gonzaga has won eight games in a row, and the Bulldogs utilize great depth to wear down opponents. They can go 10-deep with very little drop in talent, as no player averages over 14 points per game, and only one tops six rebounds per game.
SMC relies on a trio of talented players in Mickey McConnell, Rob Jones, and Matthew Dellavedova. They team up to average 43.3 points per game. McConnell is one of the best outside shooters in the nation, and he is virtually automatic at the charity stripe.
This game is a tossup in the truest since, and we expect it to go down to the final minute for the third time this season. They could not settle it in 40 minutes the last time they faced off, so this has to be considered a 50-50 game. We will go with Gonzaga’s 50% chance tonight.
Continuing Tournaments
America East Conference
Semifinal Round
Boston U. 55 Hartford 49
Stony Brook 69 Vermont 47
Championship Game—Saturday, March 12@ 12 Noon on ESPN2
Stony Brook (15-16) at Boston U (20-13)
Northeast Conference
Semifinal Round
Long Island 69 Central Connecticut 67
Robert Morris 64 Quinnipiac 62
Championship Game—Wednesday, March 9 @ 7PM on ESPN2
Robert Morris (18-13) at Long Island (26-5)
Patriot League
Semifinal Round
Lafayette 73 American 71 2ot
Bucknell 66 Lehigh 64
Championship Game—Friday, March 11 @ 4:45 PM on ESPN2
Lafayette (13-18) at Bucknell (24-8)
Summit League
Quarterfinal Round
South Dakota State 85 I P F W 75
I U P U I 79 Missouri-KC 55
Semifinal Round—Monday, March 7 @ Sioux Falls, SD
Oakland (23-9) vs. South Dakota State (19-11) @ 7:00 PM EST
Oral Roberts (18-14) vs. I U P U I (19-13) @ 9:30 PM EST
Sunbelt Conference
Quarterfinal Round
Western Kentucky 81 Louisiana-Lafayette 76
North Texas 78 Florida Atlantic 64
Middle Tennessee 73 Florida International 38
U A L R 59 Arkansas State 52
Semifinal Round—Monday, March 7 @ Hot Springs, AR
Western Kentucky (16-15) vs. North Texas (21-10) @ 7:00 PM EST
Middle Tennessee (16-15) vs. U A L R (17-16) @ 9:30 PM EST
Coming Tomorrow: The Big Sky Conference and Horizon League Tournament Championships are decided, and four more conference tournaments begin. Check back Tuesday afternoon for more coverage.
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