Under The Radar Postseason News, Notes and Highlighted Games – Thursday, March 17

Before we get to the main course of NCAA Tournament action, let’s take a look at the other three postseason tournaments that are underway:

– Last night’s stunner took place in Olean between St. Bonaventure and Wagner – the Seahawks began the game by taking a 26-10 lead on the road. The Bonnies were able to cut the lead to 2 late in the 2nd half, but Romone Saunders hit a crushing 3 on the next possession for Wagner and they were able to pull off the biggest upset of the NIT this season. Wagner’s reward will be a road trip to Creighton on Saturday at noon (EDT).

– There were a pair of other close games in the NIT last night – after Hofstra tied their game at GW with 13 seconds remaining in regulation, Alex Mitola would hit a game-winner 9 seconds later to give the Colonials an 82-80 victory. Princeton also had a 2-point lead in regulation against Virginia Tech, but the Hokies’ Seth Allen hit a pair of free throws with 32 seconds remaining to tie the game and force OT after Princeton was unable to cash in on their final possession of regulation. Jalen Hudson had a decisive 3-point play to give Virginia Tech an 86-81 overtime victory.

– The misery continues for North Dakota – despite a CIT-high 5 appearances in the tournament, they are still winless thanks to UC-Irvine’s 89-86 win in OT last night. The other thrilling game of the night came between UT-Martin and Central Michigan; the Skyhawks were able to keep Central Michigan scoreless for the final 2:57 of this game. Alex-Anderson hit the go-ahead 3-pointer for UT-Martin; they would go on to win 76-73.

– Last night was a very exciting game if you love offense between Nebraska-Omaha and Duquesne. It was a rarity indeed for the Mavericks – they ended up scoring 80 points in the 2nd half against Duquesne, yet they still lost 120-112 to the Dukes. Both teams exceeded the previous CBI record of 102 points that Creighton posted in 2011 in a win against Davidson. Another exciting finish came between Albany and Ohio – after Albany’s Evan Singletary hit a 3 near the end of regulation to send the game to OT, Treg Setty scored 9 of his game-high 30 points to ensure that Ohio would move on to the 2nd round of the CBI.

– Despite being down by 6 at the half, UNC-Greensboro managed to secure their first-ever postseason victory with a 69-65 victory over Houston Baptist. In another game where one set of Catamounts was assured to win, Vermont defeated Western Carolina 79-74.

NIT

(4) FLORIDA STATE AT (1) VALPARAISO – Both teams are on a quick turnaround after a pair of wins on Tuesday night. Valpo had a close game with Texas Southern for about a half, but Alec Peters and Keith Carter led the Crusaders to an 11-point win at home. Florida State gradually pulled away from Davidson after dominating the Wildcats in the paint (48 points to 24) and on the boards (44-28). The winner will play either Georgia or St. Mary’s for the right to advance to Madison Square Garden.

CIT (click on the CIT link for a live stream)

JACKSON STATE AT GRAND CANYON (10:00 PM) – Both the Tigers and the Lopes won a pair of close games on Monday night, and there will be a quick turnaround for this 2nd round game between Jackson State and the Team of the People. Don’t forget to stream this game along with the other 4 NCAA Tournament games going on tonight as well!