Hoops HD

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the much-anticipated Pac-12 Tournament where Oregon entered as the top seed, and teams like UCLA, USC and Arizona State were looking to cement tournament bids and move up the seed list.  What would have happened in this conference tourney?  It is time to find out!

PAC-12 QUARTERFINALS

The Oregon Ducks entered the Pac-12 Tournament looking to secure a high seed in the Big Dance.  Their rivals, the Oregon State Beavers, were playing for their postseason lives after knocking off Utah the night before in the 8/9 game.  The Beavers slowed the game down and were able to keep it tied at halftime, with each team only having scored 24 points.  That same strategy failed, however, in the second half, as the Ducks pulled away to coast to a 64-52 win.  Payton Pritchard was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points for Oregon.

The second quarterfinal presented an intriguing matchup of two teams that looked to be in solid shape for NCAA Tournament bids – 4-seed USC and 5-seed Arizona.  The game may have looked good on paper, but on the court it was not much of a contest.  Arizona built a halftime lead and kept extending it out in the second period, winning by a final score of 81-61.  Nico Mannion led the way with 23 points for the Wildcats, who now had a date with Oregon in the semifinal round.

The evening session began with the 10-seed Cal taking on 2-seed UCLA.  Despite being the 2-seed, UCLA was not an NCAA Tournament lock, and a loss to a non-tournament caliber Cal team could put the Bruins on the outside looking-in on Selection Sunday.  Mick Cronin’s team instead took care of business, pulling out to a 6-point lead at halftime and winning by a final score of 67-57.  Jalen Hill had a double-double for UCLA, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

The final game of the day matched up 3-seed Arizona State against the surprising 11-seed Washington State Cougars who were fresh off an upset the night before over Colorado.  Wazzu’s win over Colorado had turned a few heads, but their win over Bobby Hurley’s Sun Devils on this night had the college basketball world suddenly paying attention.  Isaac Bonton led the Cougars with 17 points as they built a 7-point halftime lead and refused to let off the gas, winning 75-66 and advancing to the semifinals against UCLA.

PAC-12 SEMIFINALS

The semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament began with a matchup of two teams, Oregon and Arizona, that had at times each played like the best team in the conference this season.  The experts predicted a tight battle, but the Ducks had other plans once again.  Oregon pulled away late in the first half to build a 16-point halftime lead and never let the Wildcats make any serious runs in the second.  The final score was 89-78 in favor of the Ducks, as five different players scored in double-digits led by 20 from Payton Pritchard.

The late game saw everyone asking if Washington State’s Cinderella run could continue, especially given that they were facing a UCLA team that had quite a few head-scratching losses on their profile.  Washington State came ready to play, taking a 43-42 lead into the halftime break.  The second half was back-and-forth the entire way until Chris Smith nailed a 3-pointer for the Bruins with just over a minute left to play to extend a 2 point lead out to 5.  Washington State couldn’t get the clutch shots to fall in the final minute, and when the game ended, UCLA was off to the title game by a final score of 79-74.

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP

The Pac-12 title game saw a matchup of an Oregon team that had to beat their top rivals and then get by a very good Arizona team taking on a UCLA squad that benefited from upset victories by Cal and Washington State to have a much easier (at least in terms of seeds) path to the finals.   The fact that they failed to beat an NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent along the way still had the naysayers doubting whether UCLA even deserved an at-large bid.  The Bruins decided to take matters into their own hands.  Despite trailing by 5 at the halftime break, UCLA fought hard throughout the second half and opened up an 8-point lead late.  Oregon had one last run left and cut the lead to 2 on a Chris Duarte 3-pointer with just over a minute left to play.  However, despite a pair of defensive stops in the final minute, the Ducks missed on three separate chances to tie the game and the UCLA Bruins were Pac-12 Tournament champions, 73-71.

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the MEAC, a tournament with a history of giving us surprising champions.  The top two seeds, North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T had already advanced to the semifinals.  There are two quarterfinals left to play — will one of these games give us a Cinderella in the league, or will one of the top two teams be dancing?  It is time to find out!

MEAC QUARTERFINALS

With North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T having already advanced to the semifinals, two quarterfinals remained to be played on Thursday evening.  In the 4 vs 5 game, 5-seed Morgan State built a small lead at halftime and was able to pull away from Bethune-Cookman in the second, scoring a 79-64 win and advancing to a matchup with top seed NC Central.  Despite 3-seed Norfolk State having the tournament in their home city, it was 6-seed Coppin State that pulled the mild upset in the late game, taking down the Spartans 74-69 thanks to 26 points from Kamar McKnight.

MEAC SEMIFINALS

Morgan State entered the semifinal matchup with North Carolina Central as a decided underdog.  However, this was the MEAC Tournament – an event with a strong history of upsets during tournament play.  Therefore, it should not have been a shock when the Bears overcame a 6-point halftime deficit to win 87-79.  Sheryn Devonish scored 20 points to lead the way and put his team in the championship game.

The second semifinal featured 6-seed Coppin State taking on the 2-seed North Carolina A&T.  The league looked to be on pace for two semifinal upsets when Coppin built a 9-point lead at the half.  However, the Aggies dominated after the break, storming back to tie the game before the first media timeout and winning the game going away, 80-68.  Ronald Jackson led the way for A&T, scoring 13 points while pulling down 18 rebounds.

MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Earlier this season, North Carolina A&T had announced that next season would be their last in the MEAC as the Aggies were heading off to the Big South.  On Saturday afternoon, they had a chance to win the league’s automatic bid in their second-to-last attempt ever to do so.  Standing in the Aggies way was the Morgan State Bears, who had stunned top-seed NC Central in the semifinals.  Ronald Jackson and the Aggies were not going to let themselves be upset this day.  Jackson notched another double-double, with 18 points and 13 boards, as his team rolled over Morgan State by a final score of 84-61.  The Aggies were dancing for the first time in 7 years – though a berth in the First Four in Dayton was likely in store for them.

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.  The opening round on campus sites Monday night had seen a major upset when 12-seed Miami-Ohio took down 5-seed Buffalo.  Would the Redhawks continue their run?  Would top seeds Akron and Bowling Green reach the finals?  It is time to find out!

MAC QUARTERFINALS

Every now and then, something happens at a conference tournament that seems completely inexplicable.  That is how the entire day felt at the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals.  It began with 8-seed Ohio University shocking top-seed Akron 91-79, as Jordan Dartis, Jason Preston and Ben Vander Plas all scored over 20 points for the Bobcats.  Up next, 12-seed Miami-Ohio, a team that has shocked 5-seed Buffalo on the road in the opening round, continued their magic, turning a 1-point halftime deficit into an amazing 25-point win, 88-63.  The first semifinal was set, and it was the 8 seed versus the 12!

After an amazing afternoon of upsets, the MAC was expected to return to normalcy in the evening session when 7-seed Toledo took on 2-seed Bowling Green.  The game was not even close.  However, it was Toledo that rolled in this one, grabbing a 53-35 halftime lead and rolling by a final of 93-65 thanks to 30 points from Marreon Jackson and a double-double (21 point and 17 rebounds) from Willie Jackson.  The craziness was still not over, however, as 6-seed Kent State made the lower seeds four-for-four on the day, overcoming a 5-point halftime deficit to win 83-74 behind 20 points from Anthony Roberts.  And so, the MAC semifinals were set:  8 vs 12 and 6 vs 7!

MAC SEMIFINALS

Miami-Ohio had only won 5 conference games all season, but the underdog Redhawks were suddenly in the semifinals, and amazingly matched up with the 8-seed, Ohio University.  The lower-seeded teams were already 4-for-4 in the games being played in Cleveland, but it appeared that streak might end when Ohio built a 5-point halftime lead.  Miami came out red-hot in the second half, however, and the Bobcats could not recover.  The Redhawks ended up winning again, by a 70-55 blowout margin, and were suddenly one win away from turning a last place finish into an NCAA Tournament bid!  Nike Sibande led the way for the victorious Redhawks, scoring 22 points in the win.

With the lower-seeded teams now 5-for-5 in Cleveland, it would figure that 6-for-6 would happen in the battle between 6-seed Kent State and 7-seed Toledo.  And, of course, it did.  The Rockets came out strong early and never looked back, cruising to a 75-61 win and a spot in the MAC title game against Miami.  Luke Knapke led the way for the Rockets, scoring 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.  And with the win, we had an amazing 7 vs 12 game set to determine who would win the MAC automatic bid!

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP

7-seed Toledo.  12-seed Miami-Ohio.  Neither team was expected to make it past the quarterfinal round, and in Miami’s case, the team wasn’t even expected to make it past the opening round and into the quarters.  Yet here we were, with one of the wildest tournament final matchups we had ever seen.  Miami was the lower-seeded team, and given what had happened the prior two days, that practically made them the favorite to win this game!

The first half was back and forth, with neither team able to establish any serious momentum, and Toledo held the narrow 38-37 edge at the break.  The second half, however, saw the Rockets come out on fire, building a 13-point lead by the under 12 timeout.  Miami was never able to make another serious run after that point, and, for the first and only time in the games in Cleveland, the higher-seeded team had a victory.  Toledo was off to the Big Dance for the first time since 1980 thanks to an 83-74 win!

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the Metro Atlantic Tournament, in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.  The Iona Gaels has come into the season winning four consecutive conference tournament titles, but with head coach Tim Cluess sidelined with health issues that led to his retirement, the Gaels were the 7-seed and had already been eliminated on Wednesday evening by 2-seed St. Peter’s.  Top-seed Siena had also already advanced to the semifinals, but two more quarterfinals were on tap for Thursday.  Let’s see what would have happened in them and the rest of the event!

METRO ATLANTIC QUARTERFINALS

With the top two seeds, Siena and St. Peter’s, already having advanced to Friday’s semifinals, the final two quarterfinals were set to be played on Thursday of Championship Week in the Metro Atlantic.  Up first, was 4-seed Monmouth taking on 5-seed Quinnipiac.  Monmouth, who had led the conference standings at points this season, did not appear ready for the Bobcats, as they fell down by 12 at halftime and were unable to make any serious second half run.  Quinnipiac advanced by a final score of 84-70, thanks to 21 points from Rich Kelly and 15 points and 15 boards from Kevin Marfo.

In the final quarterfinal, 6-seed Niagara gave 3-seed Rider all the could take and more.  Although the Rider Broncs had opened a 9-point lead at halftime, the Purple Eagles, led by 15 points from Marcus Hammond, came storming back in the second.  Hammond’s 3-pointer with 21 seconds left cut the lead to 1, and after the Broncs only made 1 of 2 free throws, Niagara had a couple of chance to tie or take the lead.  However, one shot missed and the final possession ended in a turnover, leading to a 2-point win for Rider, 69-67.

METRO ATLANTIC SEMIFINALS

The first semifinal of the day gave us an amazing thriller, as 5-seed Quinnipiac and 1-seed Siena squared off for a spot in the MAAC Championship game.  Quinnipiac extended a 3-point halftime lead out to 10 early in the second, but Siena was not done.  The Saints fought back and were finally able to tie the game with just under 2 minutes left to play.  A pair of free throw’s by Siena’s Elijah Burns gave the Saints a 71-70 lead with 33 seconds to play, but Quinnipiac looked poised to steal the win when Aaron Falzon sunk a jumper with 6 seconds left on the clock to put the Bobcats up 72-71.  It was then Don Carey’s chance to play hero, as his three-pointer at the buzzer found nothing but net and his Siena teammates mobbed him on the floor, celebrating a buzzer-beating 74-72 victory.

The second semifinal was a battle between two New Jersey schools, 2-seed Saint Peter’s and 3-seed Rider.  The Peacocks built an early lead which they took into the halftime break, but the second half was all about Rider.  The Broncs, led by 16 points from Frederick Scott and a double-double from Tyere Marshall, won 77-67 to set up a matchup with Siena in the championship game.

METRO ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP

Siena entered the MAAC title game fresh off of their amazing buzzer-beater semifinal win over Quinnipiac.  It was likely the momentum from that victory that saw them get off to a great start in this one, building a 20-9 advantage early and coasting to a 43-28 halftime lead.  Rider had one last run left, however, as the Broncs fought had enough to close the game down to a single possession in the final minute.  They did not have quite enough left to get over the top, and when the final horn sounded, the Siena Saints, a team that had been unable, during five years of hosting the MAAC Tournament in Albany, to capture a single championship, were cutting down the nets in Atlantic City and on their way to the Big Dance for the first time in a decade.