Too Many Games that Matter

The Wildcats sure could have used this guy...

Moving On up

Cornell - For the 3rd straight season, Cornell becomes the first team into the tournament by clinching the Ivy League title by beating Brown easily on Friday night.  The Big Red finished 12-1 in the conference and have the type of experienced senior laden squad to do some damage in the tournament. 

E Tenn St - The 5th seeded Buccaneers took care of business by disposing of the upstart Kennesaw Owls 69-64.  Micah Williams led ETSU w/ 20 points.  They'll face another cinderella story in Mercer in the A-Sun Championship game.  Mercer, the 6th seed sent 2nd seed Jacksonville packing 66-63.  Forward Danny Emerson was a beast w/ 21 points and 15 rebounds.  

Hofstra - Advances to the quarterfinals with a 68-67 squeaker over Georgia St. 

Murray St- The Racers avoided disaster and were able to pull out a tight one against upstart E Illinois.  It was a surprisingly difficult game for Murray St who has dominated the OVC all year losing just once in conference.  Forward Tony Easley saved the day by blocking two consecutive shots in the last 15 seconds that would have tied the game.  Murray St will have to play much better in the championship against Morehead St who won easily in their semifinal vs Tenn Tech. 

LMU 87 Pepperdine 84 - Even though Ren technically drafted LMU, we doubt the bugger even knew who the Lions were playing Friday.  He certainly didn't watch it streaming online.  Thus, we'll highlight LMU in Stimpy green because it's more his team than Ren's.  The Lions get San Francisco next. 

Killed in Battle

Davidson
Wisconsin Green Bay
Missouri St

On Tap for Saturday

American East Tournament - Quarterfinals

1 Stonybrook vs 8 Albany

2 Vermont vs 7 UMBC

Colonial Athletic Tournament - Quarterfinals

2 Northeastern vs 7 Hofstra - #2 seed Northeastern will have revenge on their minds after losing at home to Hofstra less than two weeks ago.   

1 Old Dominion vs 8 Towson - The Monarchs can ill afford to slip up against Towson who they've already beaten twice.  ODU is riding a perfect 15-0 record at home as well.

4 George Mason vs 5 VCU - The Rams will get a second chance to beat G Mason on the road in this showdown of perennial CAA powerhouses.  VCU appeared to have the game won leading by as many as 15 points.  Joey Rodriguez was en fuego in that game hitting six 3 pointers to end with 24 points.  But the Patriots locked down VCU in the second half and a late 9-0 run got them back in it.  They would win it in OT 82-77 behind Cam Long's 19 points and Mike Morrison's 18 and 10 boards.  Both teams had missed opportunities at the charity stripe w/ 11 missed free throws each.  

3 William and Mary vs 11 James Madison

Big South Championship

Coastal Carolina vs Winthrop - The Chanticleers have been the class of the Big South but Winthrop certainly has the pedigree and has come up with some big wins.  The Eagles proved that by disposing of Radford easily.  The two split a pair during the regular season.  Coastal Carolina is 17-1 at home and will seek be seeking its 29th victory of the season and a trip to the tournament.  Ren really needs this one bad.

Arch Madness - Semifinals

1 N Iowa vs 5 Bradley

2 Wichita St vs 3 Illinois St - An absolutely huge game for both parties.  The Shockers most likely need to win out to get in the tournament and a loss to Osiris Eldridge and the Redbirds would be devastating.  It would automatically give the berth to Stimpy with the possibility of a 2nd bid if Illinois St were to pull the upset.  The two school split the regular season matchups.  Illinois St has won 7 of their past 8 games.  The game will likely tilt based on which Osiris Eldridge shows up for Illinois St.  In the win at home, he tossed in 26 points while he was flustered in Wichita by Toure Murray and finished with just 9 points.  The loser of this game has no shot at a berth so it's sudden death.  

Atlantic Sun Championship 

ETSU vs Mercer - As we discussed above, one of these two cinderellas will be dancing after tomorrow.  For Mercer, they'd reach .500 with a win.  In a crazy tournament that saw all four of the top seeds eliminated, Ren is hoping the upset trend does not continue.

OVC Championship
Murray St vs Morehead St (in Nashville) - The OVC's version of Syracuse vs Villanova, these two teams have been the class of the league all season.  The Eagles handed Murray St their only OVC loss of the season which ended the Racers' then nation leading 17 game winning streak. 
WCC Quarterfinals
5 LMU vs 4 San Francisco - A battle of two teams with cinderella hopes.  Both are very capable of competing with the best in the league and both toppled the goliath that is Gonzaga during the regular season.
6 San Diego vs 3 Portland
So Con Quarterfinals
2N W Carolina vs 6N Elon
2S Charleston vs 3S Chattanooga
Stimpy with 2 dogs in the race will be one step closer to a guaranteed So Con berth if form holds on Saturday.
Big Sky First Round 
4 Montana vs 5 N Arizona - A loss to the Lumberjacks could be devastating as Stimpy has both the #1 and #2 seeds in the bracket.
NEC Semifinals 
1 Quinnipiac vs 4 Long Island
2 Robert Morris vs 3 Mt St. Mary's
While this conference is destined for a 14 or 15 seed, it's an important battle between the forces of Ren and Stimpy.  The 2 represented schools appear to be on a collision course for the title.  First, both must take care of business on Saturday against 2 very capable opponents. 
Totals
IN: Ren 10 Stimpy 19
Alive: Ren 36 Stimpy 25
Bubble: Ren 14 Stimpy 17
DEAD: Ren 5 Stimpy 5