Championship Week Video Notebook: Friday, March 6th

Posted on March 7, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad and David review all of the conference tournament games from Friday night, and look ahead to what’s coming up on Saturday.  They also update the NCAA Tournament Survival Board.

 

For all of the Conference Tournament Info you need, including a viewing guide of all of today’s action – CLICK HERE

Big South – Semifinals
12:00 PM – (5) Winthrop vs (9) Longwood, espn3
2:30 PM – (3) Coastal Carolina vs (7) Gardner-Webb, espn3

Colonial – Quarterfinals
12:00 PM – (1) William & Mary vs (8) Elon, Regional TV/caa.tv
2:30 PM – (4) James Madison vs (5) Hofstra, Regional TV/caa.tv
6:00 PM – (2) UNC-Wilmington vs (10) College of Cahrleston, Regional TV/caa.tv
8:30 PM – (3) Northeastern vs (6) Delaware, Regional TV/caa.tv

Horizon League – Semifinals
7:00 PM – (2) Green Bay vs (6) Illinois-Chicago, espn3
9:30 PM – (1) Valparaiso vs (4) Cleveland State, ESPNU

Ivy League
* A Yale win or a Harvard loss today will clinch the automatic bid for Yale.  A Yale loss and a Harvard win will force a one-game playoff next weekend.
6:00 PM – Brown at Harvard, CBS Sports Network
7:00 PM – Yale at Dartmouth, ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com (PPV)

Metro Atlantic – Quarterfinals
12:00 PM – (1) Iona vs (8) Siena, espn3
2:30 PM – (4) Monmouth vs (5) Canisius, espn3
5:30 PM – (2) Rider vs (7) St. Peter’s, espn3
8:00 PM – (3) Manhattan vs (11) Marist, espn3

Missouri Valley – Semifinals
2:30 PM – (1) Wichita State vs (4) Illinois State, Regional TV, Fox College Sports Pacific/espn3
5:00 PM – (2) Northern Iowa vs (6) Loyola-Chicago, Regional TV/Fox College Sports Pacific/espn3

Northeast – Semifinals
12:00 PM – (2) Robert Morris vs (3) Bryant, Local TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic/necfrontrow.com
2:00 PM – (1) St. Francis-Brooklyn vs (5) St. Francis-PA, Local TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic/necfrontrow.com

Ohio Valley – Championship
7:00 PM – (1) Murray State vs (3) Belmont, ESPN2

Southern – Quarterfinals
12:00 PM – (1) Wofford vs (8) UNC-Greensboro, espn3
2:30 PM – (4) Western Carolina vs (5) East Tennessee State, espn3
6:00 PM – (2) Chattanooga vs (10) Furman, espn3
8:30 PM – (3) Mercer vs (6) VMI, espn3

Summit League – Quarterfinals
7:00 PM – (1) South Dakota State vs (8) Western Illinois, Regional TV/espn3
9:30 PM – (2) North Dakota State vs (7) Denver, Regional TV/espn3

West Coast – Quarterfinals
3:00 PM – (3) Saint Mary’s vs (6) Portland, Local TV/BYU-TV/thew.tv
5:30 PM – (4) Pepperdine vs (5) San Diego, Local TV/BYU-TV/thew.tv
9:00 PM – (1) Gonzaga vs (8) San Francisco, ESPN2
11:30 PM – (2) Brigham Young vs (7) Santa Clara, ESPN2

 

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show…

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Bracket Projections: March 6th

Posted on March 6, 2015 by David Griggs

Okay, this was kind of fun despite the technical audio difficulties of the podcast.  The five of us, being Warren Nolan, Chad Sherwood, David Griggs, Joby Fortson and John Stalica, all did separate seed list rankings and submitted them to Chad Sherwood, who much to David Griggs’s despair, acted as the chairman.  He tallied up the votes, and revealed the bracket on air, line by line during the podcast.  None of us knew how the final bracket was going to come out, so watching it was literally like watching Selection Sunday.

Just like the real Selection Committee, the individual participants did not agree with everything that the group decided.  We were pretty much in agreement about the top three lines, but there was some disagreement over whether or not Northern Iowa and Wichita State, much less both of them, deserved #4 seeds with so few quality wins other than beating each other.

The group appeared to be in strong disagreement with who some of the final teams were.  David favors Miami FL, but they ended up missing the field, as did BYU despite their big win at Gonzaga.  Illinois not only made it, but is inside the First Four, whereas some of the panel did not even have them in the field.

-To watch the Bracket Rundown Video Podcast to see the bracket revealed and discussed line by line – CLICK HERE

 

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NEXT IN LINE: Miami FL, BYU, Tulsa, Texas A&M

 

OTHER VERY IMPORTANT LINKS

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day, which is a game between Harvard and Yale with massive NCAA Tournament implications, and a look at other big regular season games – CLICK HERE

-For our most recent CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK, which includes a review of last night’s conference tournament action, a preview of today’s action, and an update of the Hoops HD NCAA Tournament Survival Board, and today’s viewing guide – CLICK HERE

-For all other Conference Tournament Info – CLICK HERE

-To check out the Hoops HD NCAA Tournament Survival Board, which is the best and most relied upon resource that is available to the real Selection Committee (so says us) – CLICK HERE

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Friday, March 6, 2015: Yale at Harvard

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Chad

For our latest Bracket Rundown, CLICK HERE.

For our latest Championship Week Video Notebook, CLICK HERE.

Yale at Harvard, 8:00 PM Eastern, American Sports Network

As we enter the final weekend of the regular season for those conferences not already deep into conference tournament play, there is little question as to which game was going to be chosen for tonight’s UTR Game of the Day.  The MAC will be winding up play tonight and determining which teams receive its conference tournament byes.  While that is very important (including a huge game between Buffalo and Bowling Green that could be the difference between a team having to play 2 games and 5 games in the MAC tournament), the showdown in the Ivy League is the clear cut choice for tonight.  The winner of tonight’s Yale at Harvard game will only need to win their regular season finale on Saturday (or have tonight’s loser lose again in their finale) to clinch the automatic bid.  In an absolute worse case scenario, tonight’s winner will guarantee at least a tie for the regular season crown and a berth in a one game playoff.

Yale enters play tonight at 10-2 in conference and 21-8 overall.  Their two conference losses both came at home, to Harvard by 2 points and to Columbia.  Luckily for the Bulldogs, their last two games are on the road.  Yale is led by Justin Sears, though keep an eye on Jack Montague, a strong three-point shooter, and Matt Townsend as options beyond Sears.  If the Bulldogs can pick up the victory tonight, a win at Dartmouth tomorrow night (7:00 PM) will give the Bulldogs their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1962.  This would end the second longest NCAA tournament drought among teams that have been at least once before, with only conference-mate Dartmouth (which has not been in the field since 1959) having a longer streak.

Harvard is looking to lock up its fourth straight Ivy League championship and NCAA tournament berth this weekend.  The Crimson enter play tonight at 10-2 in conference and 20-6 overall.  While they did win at Yale earlier this year, a pair of startling losses in Ivy League play (at home to Dartmouth and at Cornell), plus a handful of close calls that they pulled out, have left us scratching our heads about what appeared to be, in terms of talent at least, not only the best team in the Ivy League but a team with Top 25 potential.  Despite their setbacks this season, the team led by Wesley Saunders, Siyani Chambers and Steve Moundou-Missi needs to simply hold serve in a pair of home games this weekend to return to the Big Dance (Saturday night they host Brown, 6:00 PM, CBS Sports Network).  The atmosphere should be electric in Cambridge tonight, and there is no reason not to expect a tough close game that could come down to the final possessions.

 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED REGULAR SEASON GAMES

-TEXAS TECH AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve).  I’ve been really impressed with how Baylor has been playing lately, despite their recent loss at Texas.  I think they’re safe for a protected seed so long as they hold serve in their remaining games.

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Bracket Rundown: March 5th

Posted on March 6, 2015 by David Griggs

We apologize for the audio technical difficulties early on, but we don’t apologize too strongly because the show is still great.  Chad, David, John, Warren and Joby all submitted seed lists where they ranked the teams 1-through-68, and the results were tabulated by Chad to create the bracket.  No one else on the panel knew the results, so they were seeing them for the first time as the bracket was revealed seed line by seed line.  Again, then consensus is not unanimous, so they discussed and debated each line as it was revealed.

 

For our most recent nightly Championship Week Video Notebook – CLICK HERE

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show…

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Championship Week Video Notebook: Thursday, March 5th

Posted on March 6, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad and David recap the conference tournament action from the Ohio Valley, Metro Atlantic Patriot League, Atlantic Sun and Missouri Valley.  They also look ahead to tonight’s big game between Harvard and Yale, that will most likely determine the Ivy League Champion, and preview the Big South, Ohio Valley, Missouri Valley, and West Coast Conference tournament games that are coming up…

 

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT VIEWING GUIDE FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 6

BIG SOUTH QUARTERFINALS
12:00 PM – (1) Charleston Southern vs (9) Longwood, espn3
2:30 PM – (4) Radford vs (5) Winthrop, espn3
6:00 PM – (2) High Point vs (7) Gardner-Webb, espn3
8:30 PM – (3) Coastal Carolina vs (6) UNC-Asheville, espn3

COLONIAL FIRST ROUND
6:00 PM – (8) Elon vs (9) Towson, caa.tv
8:30 PM – (7) Drexel vs (10) College of Charleston, caa.tv

HORIZON LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS
7:00 PM – (3) Oakland vs (6) Illinois-Chicago, espn3
9:30 PM – (4) Cleveland State vs (5) Detroit, espn3

MISSOURI VALLEY QUARTERFINALS
1:00 PM – (1) Wichita State vs (9) Southern Illinois, Regional TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic/espn3
3:30 PM – (4) Illinois State vs (5) Evansville, Regional TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic/espn3
7:00 PM – (2) Northern Iowa vs (10) Bradley, Regional TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic/espn3
9:30 PM – (3) Indiana State vs (6) Loyola-Chicago, Regional TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic/espn3

OHIO VALLEY SEMIFINALS
7:30 PM – (1) Murray State vs (5) Morehead State, ESPNU
10:00 PM – (2) Eastern Kentucky vs (3) Belmont, ESPNU

SOUTHERN FIRST ROUND
6:00 PM – (8) UNC-Greensboro vs (9) Samford, espn3
8:30 PM – (7) The Citadel vs (10) Furman, espn3

WEST COAST FIRST ROUND
9:00 PM – (8) San Francisco vs (9) Pacific, BYU-TV/thew.tv
11:30 PM – (7) Santa Clara vs (10) Loyola Marymount, BYU-TV/thew.tv

 

And for all you radio lovers, there is an mp3 version of the show below…

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Championship Week News and Notes, and Highlighted Games for Thursday, March 5th

Posted on March 5, 2015 by David Griggs

NEWS, NOTES AND LINKS

Folks, we’ve got Championship Week covered!!

-For our latest Championship Week Video Notebook, where we review all of last night’s conference tournament action and preview tonight’s action, along with today’s viewing guide – CLICK HERE

-For our updated NCAA Tournament Survival Board, which is the most reliable and valued resource of the NCAA Selection Committee – CLICK HERE

-For all the Conference Tournament information you need – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-We will be recording our Bracket Rundown Video Podcast tonight, and we will have a full roster.  Chad will be joined by David, Warren, John and Joby, who have submitted their seed lists in advance.  We don’t know what the final tally of those seed list rankings will be, but we will find out tonight when the bracket is built.

 

TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TEMPLE AT EAST CAROLINA (American).  Temple is right on the bubble and can’t afford a loss to a weak East Carolina team, even if it is a road loss.

-WISCONSIN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  The one thing Wisky is lacking in terms of being a #1 seed is a road win against a protected seed caliber team, and tonight isn’t going to change that.  Minney is outside the bubble and although winning this game would be a huge step in the right direction, they’d still have work to do after this.

-ARKANSAS AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC).  Arkansas can still end up as a protected seed if they finish strong and pick up some big netural floor wins in the SEC Tournament.

-MEMPHIS AT UCONN (American).  If UConn wins out to the championship game of the AAC, they’ll have a chance, and even then it is just a chance.

-VCU AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten).  This is a hugely important game between a VCU that appears to be safely in, but who’s program needs stabilizing, and a Davidson team that’s right on the bubble and needs a quality win.  Expect a fun and energetic atmosphere.

-CALIFORNIA AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve).  Zona is at least a solid #2 seed and still has a chance to get up to the #1 line, but I think it’s a very small chance.  Even if they win out their profile probably still won’t be strong enough.

-STANFORD AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve).  Stanford is outside the bubble, and although they’ll have chances to play their way back in, I question whether or not they’re good enough.  That’s not why we’re highlighting this, though.  We’re highlighting it because of the Curtain of Distraction!!!  The best thing in the history of sports fandom will once again be on display tonight!!

-UTAH AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac Twelve).  Despite not winning at Arizona and not having a whole lot in the way of big wins, Utah is still high in the rankings and still has a very good chance of ending up as a protected seed, especially if they finish strong.

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