Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Mississippi Valley State, 8:30 PM Eastern, mvsusports.com
For Day 5 of our Championship Week Video Notebook, CLICK HERE.
The end. The finale. This is it, the last day of regular season play for the Under the Radar conferences and therefore, the final entry in the 2016-17 Under the Radar Game of the Day. And there is a ton to be decided in the conferences that finish up play today. The Big Sky regular season title will be decided between North Dakota (hosting Portland State at 4:00 PM Eastern) and Eastern Washington (at Northern Arizona, 6:30 PM Eastern). The Big West regular season crown will go to today’s winner when UC-Davis is at UC-Irvine (6:00 PM Eastern). The Mountain West will be decided in Reno as Colorado State is at Nevada (8:00 PM Eastern).
There will also be a series of eliminations today. Four teams are still alive for the fourth and final spot in the Ivy League tournament, with Penn (hosting Harvard at 7:00 PM Eastern) and Columbia (at Yale at 7:00 PM Eastern) having the best chances to advance to next weekend’s inaugural event. Three teams are also still alive for the eighth and final spot in the Southland tournament. If Nicholls State defeats New Orleans (4:00 PM Eastern), the Colonels get that spot. If not, the winner of today’s Central Arkansas at Northwestern State game (4:00 PM Eastern) will take it.
Despite all those stakes, the Under the Radar Game of the Day is going to spend this final afternoon it Itta Bena, Mississippi for the SWAC game between Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State. This game is a winner-take-all contest, with the victor claiming the eighth and final spot in the SWAC tournament and the loser’s season coming to an end. The MVSU Delta Devils have won back-to-back games to stay alive in the hunt for the SWAC tournament berth including a 4 point home win over Grambling on Monday night. Marcus Romain scored 24 points in that game while Isaac Williams added 20. Arkansas-Pine Bluff has been heading in the opposite direction, losing their last five games. The Golden Lions lost at home to Jackson State on Monday night, with no players scoring more than 10 points. Pine Bluff will need someone to step up if they want to win on the road this afternoon and keep their season alive for at least one more game.