Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Another ACC Shocker and the A-10 Could Still Get 6 Bids

Duke watched its bracket seeding take a major hit when it lost at Wake Forest. But Duke can still get to a #2 seed by Selection Sunday. We also watched Dayton take control of its at-large profile, and a number of Pac-12 games had a big impact.

@Wake Forest 82, Duke 72: Yikes. I mean, I know Virginia won the outright ACC title already, but that didn't mean that Syracuse and Duke had to go and kill their at-large profiles like this. Road games are tough, but Duke should have won, and a number of teams are poised to move onto the #2 line if Duke can't hang on to it.

Louisville 84, @SMU 71: Very good road win for Louisville, indeed, one of the best wins of their season. See, this is one of those teams that could move up if a team like Duke falls again. SMU is still in a good position, but the seeding might suffer slightly thanks to losing at home.

Dayton 72, @Saint Louis 67: Not a good finish to Saint Louis's season. SLU looked like the class of the A-10, but it has come back to Earth, especially with this home loss. But the win cannot be understated for Dayton. Dayton needed every little bit of this win, and with a good showing in the A-10, Dayton may still find itself with an at-large berth.

Colorado 59, @Stanford 56: Colorado definitely needed this game, but Stanford needed to not lose at home. Colorado should feel incredibly secure in its bracket status short of a shocking upset in the Pac-12 tourney. Stanford would serve itself well to not lose to Utah this weekend, as a season-ending sweep and a Pac-12 tourney upset might just throw Stanford all the way out of the bracket. It's unlikely, but Stanford is not a lock yet.

Utah 63, @California 59: The much-needed win of the night goes to Utah for winning at California. Utah has problems in the RPI department, but otherwise, it is a good team who has been gathering nice wins as of late. If Utah wins at Stanford this weekend and wins a few games in the Pac-12 tourney, Utah could be looking at an at-large berth. At the very least, Utah is guaranteed not to finish the conference season with a losing record now. For Cal, their late-season woes continue. Other than its upset of Arizona, Cal has done almost nothing right, and it falls even further out of the bracket now.



Hope is alive in Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas, but not everyone can get into the bracket. But those teams did what they needed to do to keep their seasons going. Boise State did not. The Broncos are in Out status after losing at home tonight.

@Connecticut 69, Rutgers 63
Massachusetts 78, @Duquesne 74
Nebraska 70, @Indiana 60
@Kansas 82, Texas Tech 57
@Texas 66, TCU 54
Tennessee 82, @Auburn 54
@Missouri 57, Texas A&M 56
@Arkansas 110, Mississippi 80
@Wisconsin 76, Purdue 70
@New Mexico 80, Air Force 52
@Oklahoma 72, West Virginia 62
Nevada 83, @Boise State 81
@George Washington 76, Saint Joseph's 71 - expected home win, not bad for St. Joe's
Arizona 74, @Oregon State 69
San Diego State 73, @UNLV 64

Big South Tournament

#4S Winthrop 77, #5N Liberty 65
#3N Radford 78, #6S Presbyterian 73
#5S Charleston Southern 81, #4N Campbell 71
#3S Gardner-Webb 81, #6N Longwood 65

Notes: Winthrop plays #1N High Point, Radford plays #2S UNC Asheville, Charleston Southern plays #1S Coastal Carolina, and Gardner-Webb plays #2N VMI on March 7. All games at Conway, SC.

Patriot League Tournament

#5 Army 72, #4 @Bucknell 71
#3 @Holy Cross 54, #6 Lehigh 48
#1 @Boston U 91, Lafayette 54
#2 American 59, Colgate 50

Notes: Army plays at Boston U and Holy Cross plays at American on March 8. Championship at highest seed on March 12.

Northeast Conference Tournament

#1 @Robert Morris 60, #8 Fairleigh Dickinson 53
#2 @Wagner 83, Central Connecticut State 59
#6 Saint Francis (PA) 55, #3 @Bryant 54
#4 @Mount St. Mary's 72, #5 Saint Francis (NY) 71

Notes: Saint Francis (PA) plays at Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary's plays at Wager on March 8. Championship at highest seed on March 11.

Ohio Valley Tournament

#5 Tennessee Tech 74, #8 SIU Edwardsville 67
#6 Southeast Missouri State 79, Eastern Illinois 61

Notes: Tennessee Tech plays #4 Morehead State and Southeast Missouri State plays #3 Eastern Kentucky on March 6. All games at Nashville, TN.



The MAAC, Missouri Valley, and West Coast conference tournaments get underway on Thursday. Other conferences are still in full swing, as a desperate Xavier hosts current-one-seed Villanova and Memphis heads to Cincinnati to work on its seeding. Both of the Conference USA favorites head on the road, both needing wins for their at-large profiles.

#1 Villanova at #11 Xavier
#9 Memphis at #4 Cincinnati
#13 Louisiana Tech at Rice
(LFI) #12 Southern Miss at Tulane
#14 North Carolina Central at Norfolk State
Alcorn State at #16 Texas Southern
#7 Iowa at #5 Michigan State
Oral Roberts at #16 Stephen F. Austin
#5 VCU at Richmond
#6 UCLA at Washington
#15 UC Irvine at Cal State Northridge
#16 Weber State at Portland State

Metro Atlantic Tournament

#9 Monmouth vs. #8 Rider
#10 Fairfield vs. #7 Saint Peters
#11 Niagara vs. #6 Marist

Notes: Monmouth/Rider winner plays #1 Iona, Fairfield/Saint Peters winner plays #2 Manhattan and Niagara/Marist winner plays #3 Quinnipiac on March 8. All games at Springfield, MA.

Atlantic Sun Tournament

#4 East Tennessee State at #1 Florida Gulf Coast
#3 USC Upstate at #2 Mercer

Notes: Winners play in championship on March 9 at highest remaining seed.

Ohio Valley Tournament

#5 Tennessee Tech vs. #4 Morehead State
#6 Southeast Missouri State vs. #3 Eastern Kentucky

Notes: Tennessee Tech/Morehead State winner plays #1 Belmont and Southeast Missouri State/Eastern Kentucky winner plays #2 Murray State on March 7. All games at Nashville, TN.

Missouri Valley Tournament

#9 Evansville vs. #8 Drake
#10 Loyola (IL) vs. #7 Bradley

Notes: Evansville/Drake winner plays #1 Wichita State and Bradley/Loyola (IL) winner plays #2 Indiana State on March 7. All games at Saint Louis, MO.

West Coast Tournament

#10 Loyola Marymount vs. #7 Portland
#9 Santa Clara vs. #8 Pacific

Notes: Loyola Marymount/Portland winner plays #2 BYU and Santa Clara/Pacific winner plays #1 Gonzaga on March 7. All games at Las Vegas, NV.

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