-Kennesaw State became the first team that is eligible for the NCAA Tournament to be removed from the Survival Board last night (linked above). Tonight in the Northeast Conference, if Central Connecticut loses at Wagner, AND Bryant wins at Saint Francis Brooklyn, Central Connecticut will be Eliminated
LINKS
For yesterday’s Hoops HD Bracket Rundown where the panel builds a seed list on air – CLICK HERE
For Jon Teitel’s interview with former Wake Forest/South Carolina head coach Dave Odom – CLICK HERE
Sacred Heart (16-11, 9-5) at Merrimack (18-10, 12-3) – 5:00 PM EST (CBS Sports Network)
Today’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to North Andover, Massachusetts for a matchup between one of the major surprises of this college season – the Merrimack Warriors host the Sacred Heart Pioneers in a matchup of teams in the top half of the Northeast Conference. Merrimack had a 9-game winning streak in conference play at one point from early January onward through early February, although the Warriors have gone 2-2 in their last four games. Merrimack beat SHU 65-57 when Juvaris Hayes went off for 17 points, 8 steals, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Matchups have been pivotal to Sacred Heart’s success in the NEC this season – or lack thereof in the case of their record against the top of the conference. In addition to their loss to Merrimack, the Pioneers are a combined 0-4 against Saint Francis (PA) and Robert Morris but are 9-0 against other teams in the conference. EJ Anosike is averaging 15.8 points a game and 11.3 rebounds a game for the Pioneers thus far this season.
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES
-Northern Iowa was in good shape to land inside the bubble. All they needed to do was win out, which required them beating sub-NIT caliber teams the rest of the way. Last night, they failed to do that as they fell to Indiana State. They still have a shot at makign the field if they don’t win the conference tournament, but not nearly as good as the shot that they had before losing that game.
-Arizona State picked up another big win at home last night against Oregon and continues to look better and better as the season winds down. If they keep this up, then not only will they be inside the bubble, but in the top half of the bracket.
-Iowa remains hot after knocking off Ohio State and picking up another big win last night.