IN:
Siena - The Saints will go marching on to their 3rd straight NCAAs after a stirring comeback against upstart Fairfield. It was Siena's third straight comeback win during the tournament. In the quarterfinals, Siena trailed by 12 to Manhattan before righting the ship and winning by 17. Against Rider in the semis, Siena fell behind again by 6 and on Monday night the Stags led by as many as 15 in the first half. Coach Fran McCaffrey's halftime speeches should be bottled and sold as each time Siena remained poised and would eventually chip away at those huge deficits. Unlike the other games though Fairfield was not about to go away without a fight. But Siena is a veteran ball club and knows how to do the little things it takes to win big games. They commit the least fouls per game in the nation. With 22 seconds left and the teams knotted at 60-60, forward Ryan Rossiter missed a short jumper giving Fairfield the final possession. But the Saints had only committed 3 fouls at the time. They were able to foul 3 more times leaving Fairfield with only 1.4 seconds left to get off a shot. An off balanced 3 pointer in the corner clanked off the rim and sent the game to OT. Siena with all the momentum put the game away in the extra period and never trailed again. Seniors Edwin Ubiles had 27 points and Alex Franklin added 22 with 12 boards. It was the Saints 38th straight victory at home, the second longest streak in the nation to Kansas.
Old Dominion - The Monarchs were the regular season champs in the Colonial and earned the automatic bid over a game William and Mary squad 60-53. They won it playing their game of forcing difficult shots and outrebounding the opposition. Old Dominion built an early lead and William and Mary were unable to get closer than 5 points the rest of the way. Stimpy misses out an opportunity for 2 bids from the ultra-competitive CAA after investing 3 draft picks in the conference (ODU, WM, and VCU). The CAA was one of the most highly contested conferences all year as 6 teams finished within 4 games of first place. It's unlikely that the conference will receive more than one bid though. William and Mary had a strong resume but too many bad losses in conference doomed them late in the season.
St. Mary's - For what seems like centuries Gonzaga has ruled the WCC roost winning the conference championship 9 of the past 11 years. St. Mary's built a strong program and was always on the cusp of winning the WCC. Monday night, the Gaels finally vanquished their tormentor Gonzaga for their second WCC title ever since the tournament began in 1987. It broke a nine game drought against the Bulldogs in WCC tournament play. The Gaels came out on fire scoring the first 7 points and unlike last year's title game blowout, were more than ready to play. Tournament MVP Mickey McConnell led the charge with 26 points and Ben Allen poured in a career high 20. St. Mary's turned a 30-29 halftime lead into a rout during an 18-7 run and never looked back. They hit 10 for 21 from downtown, shot 51% for the game and caused 14 Gonzaga turnovers. For Gonzaga, they will be in the tournament but likely will be shipped out of Spokane for the first 2 rounds with the loss. There was much debate on whether St. Mary's would have received an at-large bid if they had lost. With wins at Utah St and against San Diego St. but nothing else it would have been a sleepless night for the Gaels faithful. Instead, they are safely in the dance and the bubble shrinks even further.
DEAD:
W Kentucky - After becoming a stalwart in the tournament the past 2 years, W Kentucky finally met their match against Troy and will not be playing in the NCAA tournament this year. For a while, the Hilltoppers appeared
William and Mary - There are only five original Division I teams in the history of college basketball that have never made the tournament. William and Mary had a chance to rewrite history on Monday in the CAA Championship and get off the schnide. The Tribe fell behind early and despite a late rally came up short. A team that consistently relies on the 3 point shot, was only 9 for 31 (29%) on Monday. The team's leading scorer David Schneider struggled all night finishing 2 for 13 with only 6 points. More than likely the Tribe will head to the NIT which is a decent consolation prize for a school that has only one postseason appearance and that was in 1982.
In Action Tuesday
Big East
Must win games for bubble teams U Conn, Seton Hall, and Cincinnati in first round action.
Big Sky- Semifinals
4 Montana vs 2 N Colorado - Grizzlies vs Bears- while it sounds like a promo for Animal Planet , Big Sky fans know what is at stake in the semifinals. The last pick of the draft #131 N Colorado finished second in the conference with a 12-4 record. Their only loss at home this season was to Montana 64-62. A win on Tuesday will give the Bears a school record 25th win. Montana reached 20 wins for the 2nd time in 13 years. They have superior size with 6'11" Brian Qvale and 7'1" Derek Selvig as well as one of the top scorers in the conference in Anthony Johnson. The Bears counter with the dynamic backcourt of senior Will Figures (16.7 ppg leads the team) and junior Devon Beitzel (14.3 ppg 43% from 3 point range).
6 Portland St vs 1 Weber St - Weber St finished as the top seed at 13-3 in the Big Sky. But the Wildcats enter the conference playoffs on a losing streak and know very well not to get too complacent. Last year, they were 15-1 during the regular season but stumbled against Montana State in the semifinals. Their first round opponent Portland St won the regular season finale 84-79 so the Wildcats will be looking for payback. They were outrebounded 39-33 in that game and need to reverse that trend if they hope to advance to the finals.
Atlantic 10
Must win games for bubble teams in first round action
5 Rhode Island vs 12 St. Joseph's
7 Dayton vs 10 George Washington
Sun Belt Championship
2 N Texas vs 1 Troy - Mean Green is riding a 10 game winning streak and beat Troy in the regular season matchup 75-72.
Summit Championshp
2 IUPUI vs 1 Oakland - Ren has nothing to worry about as he's guaranteed a berth in the tournament. Props to Ren on a well executed strategy as he drafted the top 3 teams in the conference with Oakland, IUPUI and 3rd seeded Oral Roberts.
Horizon Championship
1 Butler vs 2 Wright St - Stimpy wrestled with taking Wright St with his last pick of the draft. But he made the right choice going with N Colorado instead as the Butler Bulldogs should get in the tournament either way.
Totals:
In: Ren 12 Stimpy 23
In: Ren 12 Stimpy 23
Alive: Ren 29 Stimpy 15
Bubble: Ren 13 Stimpy 13
DEAD: Ren 11 Stimpy 15
No comments:
Post a Comment