IN:
N Texas - Ren's gamble on the Sun Belt pays off as Mean Green eked out a tough 66-63 win over top seed Troy for the automatic bid. Senior Eric Tramiel was named tournament MVP after a 20 point 10 rebound effort in the final. Troy's hot shooting in the first half tailed out considerably as N Texas went to a 2-3 zone in the second half. They dominated the glass outrebounding the Trojans 42-28 and limited Troy to zero second chance points in the 2nd half. Troy scored 7 straight points to tie the game at 63-63 with 24 seconds left. But Josh White, a 5'10" junior drove the lane and pulled up for the go ahead basket to sink Troy's chances. The Mean Green established a school record with their 24th win of the season and enter the tournament with 11 straight victories.
Oakland - The Golden Grizzlies are off to the NCAAs once again after dominating the Summit Conference. They capped off a tremendous season by thrashing #2 seed IUPUI 76-64. Coach Greg Kampe lauded his team afterward calling them "the greatest team in league history". He mentioned the team's goal this year which is scrawled on the "goal board" in the locker room is to reach the sweet 16. This is not a team that is just happy to be one and done in the NCAAs. Derick Nelson poured in 36 points a career high in the contest and was named tournament MVP. The Golden Grizzlies set a league record with 17 wins in conference and have now won 20 of their last 21 Summit contests.
Moving on up
Montana - It was a good night to be a grizzlie as the Montana Grizzlies ended a dream season for the N Colorado Bears. It was the Bears who were the media darlings for their improbable run at the Big Sky title. They had amassed 24 victories a far cry from the four victories they had in 2006-07. They came back to tie the game at 60-60 during a 17-3 run capped off by Will Figures' back to back 3 pointers. But it was Will Cherry's jumper with 24 seconds left that put Montana ahead to stay. They would score the last 6 points en route to the 68-63 win.
Weber St - Finally some good news for Stimpy as the top seeded Wildcats (20-9) outlasted Portland St 69-60 to advance to the finals. Weber St shot a horrific 33% from the field but Portland St's woes at the free throw line (6-17 35%) helped prevent the upset.
Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Rhode Island, and Dayton all survived 1st round games as well.
DEAD
IUPUI
U Conn
N Colorado
George Washington
Wednesday Action
Do or Die Games for...There will be total carnage on Wednesday as 16 teams will be faced with a do or die game.
Texas Tech
Stephen F Austin
Nebraska
UT San Antonio
Texas A and M Corpus Christi
Morgan St
Oklahoma
UC Irvine
Cincinnati
Sam Houston St
Tulsa
Iowa St
Washington St
Oregon
NEC Championship 2 Robert Morris vs 1 Quinnipiac - It will be a head to head showdown Ren vs Stimpy for all the marbles in the NEC between the top 2 seeds. Quinnipiac won the only meeting between the 2 schools 87-79 on the road. James Johnson lit up the scoreboard for 28 points in that contest. The championship will be a classic offense vs defense matchup. Quinnipiac leads the conference in scoring at 74.3 ppg while Robert Morris are second in the conference in FG percentage allowed, limiting opponents to 41%. Quinnipiac has been a rebounding machine and leads the nation in rebounding margin at 9.5 per game. The Bobcats are led by player of the year Justin Rutty a bullish 6'7" 240 lb rock who is 9th in the nation in rebounds at 11.0 per game. He has 16 double doubles on the year and is one of the most ferocious rebounders on the offensive glass as well. Robert Morris counters with the polar opposite of Rutty a 5'9" quick as a waterbug guard Karon Abraham. He was the freshman of the year in the NEC and led his team in scoring at 13.3 ppg. He ranks second in the league in 3 point percentage at 44.9%. Robert Morris will be seeking its 7th NEC title while Quinnipiac is looking for its first ever trip to the NCAAs.
Big Sky Championship
4 Montana vs 1 Weber St
Montana has arguably the best player on the court in Anthony Johnson who averages 18.8 ppg. The Grizzlies play a methodic offense and like to slow it down. Weber St will have home court advantage and will be looking to exact revenge for their 14 point loss on the road to Montana on Feb 28. In that game, Weber St was outrebounded 38-29. Size will be a definite issue in this game with Montana boasting the twin towers of 6'11" Brian Qvale and 7'1" Derek Selvig. The 2 schools have met in the Big Sky championship game five times, most recently in 2005 when the Grizzlies prevailed.
Totals
IN: Ren 14 Stimpy 23
Alive: Ren 25 Stimpy 14
Bubble: Ren 12 Stimpy 13
DEAD: Ren 14 Stimpy 16
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