Championship Week Notebook: Wednesday, March 13th

177 TEAMS REMAIN!!! The breakdown is below

Check out Chad’s Conference Tournament Viewing Guide to follow all the action….

https://hoopshd.com/2013/03/12/conference-tournament-viewing-guide-march-13-2013/

 

-ACC – 12 (Miami, FL (at-large), Duke (at-large), North Carolina (at-large), NC State (at-large), Virginia (under consideration), Maryland (under consideration), Florida State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson, Virginia Tech)

-AMERICA EAST – 2 (Albany, Vermont)

-ATLANTIC TEN – 12 (Saint Louis (at-large), VCU (at-large), La Salle (under consideration), Temple (under consideration), UMass (under consideration), Xavier (under consideration), Charlotte (under consideration), Saint Joseph’s, Richmond, Dayton, George Washington)

-ATLANTIC SUN – 1 (FGCU – champion)

-BIG TWELVE – 10 (Kansas (at-large), Kansas State (at-large), Oklahoma State (at-large), Oklahoma (at-large), Iowa State (under consideration), Baylor (under consideration), Texas, West Virginia, Texas Tech, West Virginia)

-BIG EAST – 12 (Louisville (at-large), Georgetown (at-large), Marquette (at-large), Pittsburgh (at-large), Notre Dame (at-large), Syracuse (at-large), Villanova (under consideration), Cincinnati (under consideration), Saint John’s (under consideration), Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall)

-BIG SKY – 7 (Montana, Weber State, North Dakota, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona)

-BIG SOUTH – 1 (Liberty, (champion))

-BIG TEN – 12 (Indiana (at-large), Michigan (at-large), Michigan State (at-large), Ohio State (at-large), Wisconsin (at-large), Illinois (at-large), Minnesota (at-large), Iowa (under consideration), Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State)

-BIG WEST – 8 (Long Beach, Cal Poly, Pacific, UC Irvine, Hawaii, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton)

-COLONIAL – 1 (James Madison (champion)

-CONFERENCE USA – 11 (Memphis (at-large), Southern Miss (under consideration), UTEP, East Carolina, Tulsa, Houston, UAB, Tulane, Marshall, SMU, Rice)

-HORIZON LEAGUE – 1 (Valparaiso (champion))

-IVY – 1 (Harvard (champion))

-MAC – 8 (Akron (under consideration), Ohio, Western Michigan, Kent State, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Miami OH)

-METRO ATLANTIC – 1 (Iona (champion))

-MEAC – 8 (Norfolk State, North Carolina Central, Hampton, Savannah State, Morgan State, Delaware State, North Carolina A&T, Bethune Cookman)

-MISSOURI VALLEY – 2 (Creighton (at-large), Wichita State (at-large)

-MOUNTAIN WEST – 8 (New Mexico (at-large), Colorado State (at-large), UNLV (at-large), San Diego State (at-large), Boise State (at-large), Air Force (under consideration), Fresno State, Wyoming)

-NORTHEAST – 1 (LIU Brooklyn (champion))

-OHIO VALLEY – 1 (Belmont (champion)

-PAC TWELVE – 12 (UCLA (at-large), California (at-large), Arizona (at-large), Oregon (under consideration), Colorado (under consideration), Arizona State (under consideration),Washington, USC, Stanford, Utah, Washington State, Oregon State)

-PATRIOT LEAGUE – 2 (Bucknell, Lafayette)

-SEC – 14 (Florida (at-large), Missouri (under consideration), Kentucky (under consideration), Ole Miss (under consideration), Alabama (under consideration), Tennessee (under consideration), Arkansas (under consideration), Georgia, LSU, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Auburn)

-SOUTHERN CONFERENCE – 1 (Davidson (champion))

-SOUTHLAND – 8 (Stephen F Austin (under consideration), Northwestern State, Oral Roberts, Southeast Louisiana, Nicholls State, Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas, McNeese State)

-SUMMIT LEAGUE – 1 (South Dakota State (champion)

-SUN BELT – 2 (Western Kentucky (champion), Middle Tennessee (under consideration))

-SWAC – 7 (Southern, Jackson State, Alcorn State, Prarie View A&M, Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Grambling)

-WAC – 8 (Louisiana Tech (under consideration) Denver (under consideration), New Mexico State, Utah State, Texas Arlington, Idaho, Texas State, TX San Antonio)

-WEST COAST – 2 (Gonzaga (champion), Saint Mary’s (under consideration)

-More analysis and breakdowns to come later.

For all of today’s action, check out Chad’s viewing guide linked below.

-Mount Saint Mary’s winning streak came to an end last night as LIU Brooklyn completely ran away from them in the second half to win the NEC Championship. I would expect them to end up on the #16 line.

 

NOTES

-South Dakota State wasn’t playing on their home floor, but the crowd certainly favored them against North Dakota State. It was a close and low scoring affair for much of the game, but SDSU led most of the way and picked up their second straight Summit League championship. They nearly pulled an upset last year and won’t be an easy opponent in the round of 64. North Dakota State will return pretty much their entire roster and should be a dangerous team next year. Perhaps they can play their way into a situation where they don’t have to win the conference tournament.

 

-Unfortunately, the Horizon League championship game failed to produce yet another buzzer beater in a tournament that has given us quite a few. Valpo looked like they were going to run away from it, but Wright State came back and actually built a six point lead with five minutes to go. Their defense also forced 25 Valpo turnovers, which was way above their season average. Valpo’s defense got cranked up forcing Wright State to go ice cold at the end of the game, and Valpo ended up winning 62-54 for their first NCAA appearance since joining the Horizon League. Like North Dakota State, Wright State returns the bulk of their roster for next season, so all is not lost.

 

-Seton Hall needed overtime to beat South Florida 46-42 in the opening round of the Big East Tournament. If you missed the game, the score is a fantastic indicator of how the game went. Rutgers beat DePaul handily in the other game.

 

-UTSA won in the opening round of the WAC and Texas State downed Seattle in the other game, Wyoming kept their season alive with a win over Nevada in the opening round of the Mountain West, and Bethune Cookman, North Carolina A&T and Delaware State were all winners in the MEAC opening round.

 

-The Mountain West Quarterfinals. There is not a single game that appears to be dull in any way. Wyoming has not been the same since losing a key player to suspension, so they’re probably way overmatched against New Mexico, and Colorado State shouldn’t have too much trouble with Fresno but literally every other game in this tournament is up for grabs.

Air Force is the #6 seed, and they are extremely difficult to play against. They face UNLV today, who is hosting the tournament.

San Diego State will face Boise State. I believe both teams are in, but both have a great chance to improve their profile today, and throughout the tournament.

 

-The Patriot League Championship is today at Bucknell as they host Lafayette. I could see the Bison being a dangerous team in the round of 64, but they can’t get in without the win today.

 

-The Big East continues today. Cincinnati takes on Providence this afternoon. The Bearcats are probably in whether they win or not, but they’d really make themselves look a lot better if they at least win this first game. Syracuse will face a weak looking Seton Hall team today as well.

Villanova will face Saint John’s. Right now it appears as though Nova is inside the bubble and Saint John’s is out, so that is an extremely pivotal game for both teams.

Notre Dame is safely in and will face Rutgers today as well.

 

-The Pac Twelve opening round features an Arizona State team that still may be able to play their way onto the bubble. They face Stanford today. Colorado appears to be safely in, but they’ll sure make it easier on themselves if they can avoid a loss to Oregon State today. Washington faces Washington State and USC faces Utah in the other two games.

 

-The Big Twelve opening round features for teams that need to win the tournament to stay alive. West Virginia faces Texas Tech and Texas squares off against TCU.

 

-Conference USA features six teams that need to win the tournament to stay alive. UAB takes on SMU, Houston battles crosstown rival Rice, and Tulane takes on Marshall.

 

-The second round of the MAC is today as Ball State faces Buffalo and Eastern Michigan takes on Miami OH.

 

-The first half of the MEAC quarterfinals take place tonight. The two favorites are Norfolk State, who ran through the conference, and NC Central, who is having their best season since jumping up to div1. This is a tournament that often collapses, so hopefully for those two teams the seeds will hold up.

 

-The SEC opening round will feature South Carolina against Mississippi State and Texas A&M against Auburn. TAMU appeared to be halfway decent for awhile, but then ended up finishing 11th in the conference.

 

-The Southland opening round and the SWAC quarters get underway today as well.

Griggs

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Conference Tournament Viewing Guide – March 13, 2013

Here is the list of conference tournament games on the schedule for today, together with their available television/webstreaming options.  Please note that I only list webstreams for games without national television coverage, even if a stream may also be available. “Local TV” means that the game does not have full national coverage and you should check your local listings.  (PPV) means that there is a charge for the webstream.

(all times are eastern)

Wednesday, March 13

Big East Second Round:
12:00 PM – (8) Providence vs (9) Cincinnati, ESPN
2:30 PM – (5) Syracuse vs (12) Seton Hall, ESPN
7:00 PM – (7) Villanova vs (10) St. John’s, ESPN2
9:30 PM – (6) Notre Dame vs (11) Rutgers, ESPN2

Big Twelve First Round:
7:00 PM – (8) West Virginia vs (9) Texas Tech, Local TV/espn3
9:30 PM – (7) Texas vs (10) TCU, Local TV/espn3

Conference USA First Round:
4:30 PM – (7) UAB vs (10) SMU, conferenceusa.com (PPV)
7:00 PM – (6) Houston vs (11) Rice, conferenceusa.com (PPV)
9:30 PM – (8) Tulane vs (9) Marshall, conferenceusa.com (PPV)

MAC Second Round:
6:30 PM – (5) Ball State vs (8) Buffalo, Local TV/espn3
9:00 PM – (7) Eastern Michigan vs (11) Miami-Ohio, Local TV/espn3

MEAC Quarterfinal:
6:00 PM – (1) Norfolk State vs (8) Bethune-Cookman, meachoops.com
8:30 PM – (2) North Carolina Central vs (7) North Carolina A&T, meachoops.com

Mountain West Quarterfinal:
3:00 PM – (3) UNLV vs (6) Air Force, CBS Sports Network
5:30 PM – (2) Colorado State vs (7) Fresno State, CBS Sports Network
9:30 PM – (1) New Mexico vs (8) Wyoming, CBS Sports Network
12:00 AM – (4) San Diego State vs (5) Boise State, CBS Sports Network

Pac Twelve First Round:
3:00 PM – (8) Stanford vs (9) Arizona State, Pac 12 Network
5:30 PM – (5) Colorado vs (12) Oregon State, Pac 12 Network
9:00 PM – (7) USC vs (10) Utah, Pac 12 Network
11:30 PM – (6) Washington vs (11) Washington State, Pac 12 Network

Patriot Championship:
7:30 PM – (1) Bucknell vs (2) Lafayette, CBS Sports Network

SEC First Round:
7:30 PM – (12) South Carolina vs (13) Mississippi State, Local TV/espn3
10:00 PM – (11) Texas A&M vs (14) Auburn, Local TV/espn3

Southland First Round:
6:00 PM – (5) Nicholls State vs (8) McNeese State, southland.org
8:30 PM – (6) Sam Houston State vs (7) Central Arkansas, southland,org

SWAC Quarterfinal:
9:00 PM – (6) Alabama A&M vs (7) Grambling State, swac.org

Posted in CBB on TV | 1 Comment

On the 7th Day of Conference Tourneys, the Buffet gave to me…

On the 7th Day of Conference tourneys gave to me…

 

Mo’ of Momo

A wealth of auto bidding

Top Seeded Carnage

Scanning the scene

Huge Buffet

Killer Top Seeds

An extra day of conference tourneys…

 

7 days in readership, today was a little more favorite-normal night, and come Scanning the Scene, we will give you the details, we’ve got previews on tap, and with the WCC final, we are ready for our Buffetology leading into the major conferences tipping off.  Quick reminder, as much of readership are alumni of and/or fans of teams from major conferences, we will not provide a conference season recap as part of the previews, but rather a run through of the Buffetology projects/Waiting Line… status as we see it, of the teams competing in the tournament.  But first, let’s go check out the Wiggity Wiggity Wigitty WAC.  Yes, we wrote that, we don’t take it back, and are actually slightly proud.

Where do we stand? the LATEST Buffetology:

 

2013 WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 12-16, Orleans Arena, Las Vegas baby Vegas, Nevada

 

It shapes up for a shootout out West, a pair of teams at 14-2, seeded based on RPI #s that sit just 11 slots away from each other.  Pretty much, they were doled out seed on the strength the difference between a Louisiana Tech beating Southern Miss and Denver losing to them on the road (of course, it much more scientific than that, but it’s essentially the glaring difference in the results).  That’s the separate between #1 seed Louisiana Tech and #2 seed Denver.  Both teams have very mid-major like Waiting Line… aspirations.  As in, they play in one of those leagues where they only have a 1-2 chances at a good win in the conference tournament, and really to maximize they would have to win.  Denver has a bit of a leg up there, as they get New Mexico St, but really if they beat the Aggies, the only team they could afford a loss to in the championship is La Tech. Anyone else, and it would their first bad loss, but one they probably could not afford at this stage, even with the recent performances of fellow Waiting Line… teams.

 

Louisiana Tech is the top seed, but they were 16-0 in conference, before a pair of late season road losses may have been a sign of where things are headed, especially for a team without a real strong resume – they pretty much a riding an RPI wave from beating Southern Miss (ranked 35) and going undefeated at home.  However, somehow their RPI is like NBA scouts drafting Casey Jacobson, it ignores their biggest flaws – his defense, footspeed and over athleticism, theirs a loss to McNeese St.  It’s hard to say we saw their pair of double-digit late season losses coming, they had pretty much cruised leading up to then, with some close wins, but not a string of them to indicate they were a team ready to lose.  However, this is a team that is really a poor performer on the road, but at least they’ve got the Lady Techsters pulling for them.   The good thing about Louisiana Tech is they don’t have too much trouble scoring points, even though they aren’t particularly efficient, per Ken Pomeroy, they still led the WAC in ppg, and on defense they lock down, 31st in the country in D efficiency – but what gives the Buffet pause, is those points are slightly TOO evenly distributed.  Raheem Appleby is a clear go-to – 14.5 points and Michale Kyser with his 5 rebs and 2 blocks per game is a presence inside, but down the list scoring-wise it goes: 8.3, 7.5, 7.5, 7.4, 6.6, 5.0, 4.9 – a dedicated defense effort by a conference for that knows you, and suddenly guys who aren’t accustomed to shouldering the load are put in the spotlight right away, and that could be trouble, and was exactly what happened in their season closing, and conference title sharing loss to Denver 78-54.

 

Hence, Denver is our pick.  They haven’t loss since January 23rd, and only twice since December 29th, winning 10 straight and 17 of 18 over that period, including a nice road BracketBuster in at Northern Iowa. Really, it’s a shame they can’t take a mulligan, now that they’ve got their game together, on the start of the season when they went 1-5, losing to all five tournament caliber teams they played (Iona, California, Colorado St, @Southern Miss and at Stanford). Now, it seems easy to say having won 17 of 18, but then again, two teams finished 16-2 in conference, which perhaps is more indicative of a weak WAC than two teams who deserve long tournament looks.  For our money, if Denver has a nice showing getting to final and falls in a close one to Louisiana Tech, we would consider them FAR more deserving than some other Waiting Line… teams, such as St. Mary’s, who didn’t schedule nearly as well, and had an equally dominating conference season, yet DID beat Creighton, but limped their way (and not in an injured sense) through the WCC tournament before looking wholly outmatched by Gonzaga.  In any event, since Louisiana Tech can’t pretend Las Vegas is Ruston, the guess here is we won’t need that deep Denver inspection.  Just in case, get to know Chris Udolfa (12.9 ppg), Royce O’Neale (11.5), Brett Olson (11.1), Chase Hallam (10.0) and Jalen Love (7.1). Those ppg averages may not seem dramatically more than La Tech’s, and no one scores as much as Appleby, but we feel a lot more secure in a team with multiple double-digit guys. The guard situation is a little dicier, as they are literally led in rebounding and assists by the same two front-court guys (Udolfa & O’Neale)

 

If not them, who? Seems obvious that “the who” would be New Mexico State, the only team not named Denver or Louisiana Tech to beat those teams in conference play.  Since it seems Southern Miss would really like to play in the WAC, they completed the top of the WAC trifecta, losing to the Aggie on Dec 1.

Keep your eye on Daniel Mullings, who can put points up in a moment’s notice, and All-Name candidate Bandja Sy, a battler inside with 7.3 rpg to go with his 11.8 points.

 

Best Non-Conference win: (tie)

New Mexico vs. Southern Miss 68-60

Louisiana Tech vs. Southern Miss 65-55

 

WAC Postseason Awards have not been announced yet

2013 WAC Player of the Year:  

2013 WAC Defensive Player of the Year:

2013 WAC Freshman of the Year:  

2013 WAC Coach of the Year:  

 

2012-13 WAC First Team:

 

 

WAC 2013 Jack Leasure Madbomber Award Candidate:  (this could be the favorite in the clubhouse)

Connor Hill, Idaho, 85/189, 29 games, 2.9.game 45%

Gregory Douglas Ott Award Candidate: 

Da’Shawn Gomez, New Mexico St, 3.8 A/TO

 

Also, a shout out to Seattle U and Coach Cameron Dollar, after getting ducked for years from D1 schools not wanting to play his upstart DII school, they played their first season in a D1 conference.  It wasn’t a successful W-L season, but it will be, mark our words.

 

Mountain West Conference

 

We will just go ahead and call it – this was the most successful year to date for the Mountain West.  It has finished the regular season #1. Yes that’s a number sign, followed by a ONE, in Conference RPI.  That would be better than the Big12, Big East, ACC, SEC, and Pac10.  That’s even higher than the Big 10 (by .0026 points) who, while no one is arguing is weaker than the MWC, but it is still quite an accomplishment.  It did seem as though it would be a bit more of a free-for-all for the conference championship, but preseason favorites UNLV & San Diego St struggled their way through the conference season, Wyoming briefly flashed as a potential candidate and then faded (losing 5 straight after already getting out to a 4-7 start), and some newer and then very new faces at the top of the standings made a push, before ultimately the consistency and depth of the Lobos of New Mexico won out, as they won the nation’s top conference (by RPI rating) by 2 games. A tremendous accomplishment.  One thing you’ll notice is uniformly true, the MWC is treacherous on the road (the top six teams have a combined 8 home losses this season, an average of 1.33 losses per team), but it also might suggest that UNLV has a slight leg up this week, as a tournament full of poor road teams can lead to unpredictable results.  Instead of a straight preview, we will look at the top team’s chances of getting out of the Waiting Line… and into the Buffet.  (But for those who demand answers, we think it could be a slight shocker, with Colorado St. pulling the MWC title out this week, they will face the only quasi-home team in action (UNLV) but that would be in the semis, and if UNLV is going to be a home court locomotive, best to get them before their momentum really propels them down the tracks)

 

New Mexico:  New Mexico is in a tough spot, in the Buffet’s estimation.  Currently sitting as a 4, a run through the MWC would be a powerful statement, but there are just really well profiled teams ahead of them. Difficult to see anyone come from the 2 line down to a 4, or even a 3 (except maybe Kansas, if that Baylor game was a signal), but there are a couple of vulnerable 3s, Miami FL has shown some weakness lately, Ohio St has been the opposite, but they just rose to a 3 in the Buffet, so maybe they get slotted one line lower with a weak B10 tournament showing, and Florida, who hasn’t beaten anyone squarely in the tournament since Missouri (at home, when, as mentioned, Missouri plays like a low major on the road) on January 19.  Florida does have a weaker overall schedule, but stronger non-conference wins, yet they’ve done no impressive work on the road, versus New Mexico, who has less profile wins overall, but defeated Colorado St on the road (and twice overall, who is 15 in RPI), UConn on a neutral court, and Cincinnati on the road (not to mention Boise St, who is in the top 50).  If Florida fails to win the SEC (or even Miami loses before a Duke re-rematch), New Mexico could be primed for a #3 line.  Tough spot because they can do everything right, and still not have an opportunity to move up.  Junior Kendall Williams is still something to see on a basketball court (with 14 ppg, 5 assists, 1.2 steals, and nearly 4 rebounds), and he brings his friends to the party: Alex Kirk and Tony Snell with their 12.1 points and Kirk’s 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.  And Hugh Greenwood still looks like Johnny Lawrence from the Karate Kid.

 

Colorado St.: Per Ken Pomeroy’s ratings, this is the top ranked team in the MWC.  And carry an offense efficiency that is rated 6th in the nation (they are 20th overall per KenPom).  The trouble is, while the computers love them, their profile is a bit weak as well.  Really good at home, only one bad loss, in Chicago at UIC on December 8, but only 1-2 non-conference wins that mean much (both road games though, to their credit: Denver & Washington).  For now, they sit as a 6, there is some wiggle room their as the 5 line has struggled lately, and even Arizona is precarious as a 4.  Beating UNLV in their home city and then New Mexico in the final might see the Rams demand we push them up.  They also have tremendous balance with 5 guys averaging between 9-15 points, as mentioned before, we like a go-to scorer at tournament time, but when you’ve got multiple guys at 10 or more, you show an ability to get points somewhere other than your main source in times of drought. Here, the main source is All-Name candidate, Colton Iverson, with his 14.6 points and 9.7 rebounds, but they also get points from shooters Dorian Green and Wes Eikmeier (13.1 and 12.5), Greg Smith (11.3) and Iverson’s front court partner in crime, Pierce Hornung and his 9 and 9.  Green is also their chief facilitator, at 4 assists per game.

 

UNLV. Now this is a hard team to figure, are they just inconsistent, a nine game winning streak and sterling home record also has them losing 3 out of 4 on the road in a critical point of the MWC season, or they just not that good (getting swept by Fresno St suggests the latter).  UNLV had a tremendous year at the Thomas & Mack, introduced us all to Anthony Bennett, one of the best, if not the best, freshman in the country, and started the year 11-1 with wins over Iowa St and at Cal.  But then they failed to get another big non-conference win (North Carolina round II would have qualified), and kept losing on the road in conference, that saw them never really contend for the regular season title.  They did sweep San Diego St, split with New Mexico and Colorado St, so they can play with the MWC big boys, it’s just a matter of which UNLV shows up and if Orleans Arena is close enough to T&M to make them feel like they’re protecting their home floor.  They sit as a 6, and truthfully, unless those on the 5 side, along with their fellow 6s really falter, there’s not a lot of upward mobility in their future (even w/ wins over Colorado St and New Mexico), and, more likely, you’ve got UCLA, Notre Dame and UNC pressing hard on their heels.  You turn on UNLV and you’re watching the Anthonys (Marshall – 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds who can step out and shoot the three on occasion only 1 per game, but hitting on 37%, to go with 1.3 blks and Marshall, 10.5 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists) and Katin Reinhardt (10ppg).  The big news for them is if Mike Moser, who missed several games with a dislocated elbow, is getting back to as close to form as his recent production suggests.  Averaging 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1 block per game over his last 4 – he does not have to be the 14 point scorer he was last year, but another go to option when an Anthony is getting shut down, and UNLV suddenly becomes the dangerous team we always expected them to be.

 

San Diego St. Talk about a disappointment.  This team returns the majority of their talent – and while they lost a bit of size with the graduation of 6’11” Garrett Green, J.J. O’Brien is actually out producing Green numbers (more points, slightly more rebounds, and more steals per game).  Yet,  this is a team rife with inconsistency, as they’ve shown an ability to beat Waiting Line… caliber teams: Indiana St, UCLA (during their period of dysfunction), Boise St and even those slightly beyond the waiting line: New Mexico, Colorado St, and a terrific showing in a 1 point holiday time tournament loss to UofA.  But they opened the season getting blown out on an aircraft carrier by Syracuse, have not had a real true road win of note (USC? Nevada? Missouri St?) and are 4-6 away overall.  We have watched them plummet down the Buffetology seeding ladder, and they are currently an 8, they have room to grow, with a MWC road featuring Boise St, New Mexico (hypothetically), and then a potential final with Colorado St or UNLV, that’s three games against either Buffet-bound or head of the Waiting Line… teams, that could get them to the 6 range that they had seemed destined for before road misery took hold.  You know our old friends on this squad: Jamal Franklin, Chase Tapley, Xavier Thames, and James Rahon.  The biggest mystery for us is Rahon, ice cold from deep as a member of SD State’s Sweet 16 outfit in 2011; he has gone from a 43% 3pt shooter to a 30% 3pt shooter.  It’s unlikely that 2 year trend downward gets fixed in the next few days, but SD State would become a whole different team if he could.

 

Boise St.  Last seen in the NCAAs after winning the WAC tournament in 2008, and before that as a member of the Big Sky in 1994, this team has never received an at-large invitation, but this streak is likely over, as they added a pair of top 30 wins (San Diego St & Colorado St) to go with their previous strong profile wins over UNLV and at Creighton.  Weighing them down in the 11 line is their pair of ugly road losses to Utah (175, which just makes them join the company of Pac12 teams who suffered that fate) and Nevada (169).  A win over San Diego St., and you can hand them a plate.  2 wins, and they can start dreaming of the 8/9 line, and MWC Championship and that won’t be a dream.  Should they lose to SD St, our intuition will be that they will stay plenty safely in, but it’ll be a longer 72 hours than it needs to be.  Boise has a pair of big time scorer, outside sharpshooter Anthony Drmic with 17 points, 4.7 rebounds and hitting 40% of his 3s and Derrick Marks, the facilitator who also can fill the hoop, with 16.4 points, 3.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds.  They are backed mostly by Jeff Elorriaga, and his 10.4 pts/3.4 rebounds and 45% 3pt shooting (hitting on average 3 per game).

 

Air Force: This is a team sitting back DEEP in the Waiting Line… but a .500 MWC finish and an end of regular season over New Mexico (coupled with wins over UNLV, San Diego St and Boise St) does get our attention somewhat.  Their resume is lacking non-conference and in strong road wins, but with only 2 bad losses and both in conference, a run to the MWC final could garner more inspection for the Falcons. It would also give us more time on TV with Michael Lyons, his 18 pts, 4 rebounds, 2 assists.

 

 

Best Non-Conference win: Boise State at Creighton 83-70

 

2013 MWC Player of the Year:  Kendall Williams. New Mexico

2013 MWC Defensive Player of the Year:  Khem Birch, UNLV

2013 MWC Freshman of the Year:  Anthony Bennett, UNLV

2013 MWC Newcomer of the Year:  Colton Iverson, Colorado State

2013 MWC Sixth Man of the Year:  Daniel Bejarano, Colorado State

2013 MWC Coach of the Year:  Steve Alford, New Mexico

 

2012-13 MWC First Team:

Michael Lyons, Air Force               Sr.           G

Colton Iverson, Colorado State Sr.           F/C

Kendall Williams, New Mexico*                 Jr.           G

Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State*             Jr.

Anthony Bennett, UNLV               Fr.           F

 

MWC 2013 Jack Leasure Madbomber Award Candidate:  (tie)

Anthony Drmic, Boise State, 73/185, 30 games, 2.4/gm, 40%

Jeff Elorriaga, Boise State, 81/179, 27 games, 3.0gm, 45%

Malik Story, Nevada, 78/220, 30 games, 2.6/gm, 36%

 

MWC Gregory Douglas Ott Award Candidate: 

Todd Fletcher, Air Force, 3.2 A/TO

 

The Buffet is aware the Big East tourney starts today, but as it involved 4 teams who don’t even know what the Waiting Line… could possible look like, we will save your reading team and hold that preview for tomorrow.  For now, let’s Scan the Scene and sign off for Day 7.

 

SCANNING THE SCENE…

 

America East:  #2 Albany vs. #1 Vermont, Saturday 11:30am ET

Atlantic Sun: Florida Gulf Coast, Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament champion.

Big South: Liberty Flames, 2013 Big South Conference Tournament champion.

Colonial:  Apparently Northeastern is into degree of difficulty, this time they notched a bit too far, falling down 23-1 in the first 13 minutes, 40-18 at halftime, trying to close it, and had it to 8 with 8:23 left, but a foul to Joel Smith, and the momentum was gone, and AJ Davis’ 26 points and Rayshawn Goins 14 points and 13 rebounds led the Dukes to a 70-57 win, a CAA tournament title and their first NCAA tournament bid since 1991

Horizon League: Championship game tonight, Valpo off their buzzer beating clincher faces the #3 seed Wright State Raiders who upset Ray McCallum and Detroit to get here.

MAAC: Mo’ Mo’ Momo.  A game slightly marred by an overzealous ref looking to make the postgame write-up as much as the teams (we will not print his name for that VERY reason) saw Iona pull a reverse on Tim Cluess’ teams usual script, they dominated after halftime and didn’t let up for a 60-57 win (it was an 8 point spread before an uncontested 3 by Manhattan that left .1 on the clock, only the in-arena scoreboard read 0, so fans/players ran on the court to celebrate – and predictably, given the preceding sentenced, Mr. Big Shot (other words would like be used for non-family friendly publications), decided to T up Iona, seemed reasonable. Damn those kids for wanting to celebrate making the NCAA tournament again, especially when the clock read 0:00.

MEAC: Top seeds held serve, as #5 Morgan State and #4 Savannah State really didn’t have too much trouble, the balance of opening round games take place tonight (See HoopsHD.com viewers guide to find your time and listing)

MAC: A couple of held serve games (Buffalo over CMU and Eastern Michigan (do yourselves a favor, passed along to the Buffet was the scheduled from the EMU athletics home page, and look how extended they believe the season would be for them, Jack Palance salutes their confidence).  One mini upset, but probably only seeding and not talent wise was Miami Ohio knocking off Bowling Green.

MVC: Creighton Blue Jays, 2013 Arch Madness champions

NEC: We’re crowning a champion (and 16 seed, and maybe even a first four participant) tonight at the WRAC: #3 Long Island vs. #5 Mount Saint Mary’s at 7pm ET

OVC: Belmont Bruins, 2013 OVC Tournament champions.

Patriot: Bucknell (#1) vs. Lafayette (#2), Wednesday at 7pm ET.

Southern: Davidson Wildcats, 2013 Southern Conference tournament champions after easily handling College of Charleston 74-55, behind 24 points and 8 rebounds from De’Mon Brooks and 3 other starters going into double figures.

Summit: It’s the fierce, always nationally relevant, battle for Dakota Supremacy! As expected, South Dakota St had little trouble with IPFW, as Naterz Gonna Nate has 18 points, and Chad White added 17 with Tony Fiegen putting in 16, quickly erasing an early 10 point lead, before racing out in the 2nd half, with a final after half spread of 40-22 en route to a 72-56 lead.  They will face North Dakota St, who although were dictated tempo to by Western Illinois, were able to get just enough to knock of the Leathernecks 55-43, with a 31-23 second half – led by TrayVonn Wright’s 19 points and the rapidly getting up to speed Taylorz Gonna Taylor with 14 points and 7 boards.

Sun Belt: For the second straight year, Western Kentucky, Sun Belt conference tournament champions, virtually no-showed the conference season, then rode a wave of upsets both by them and on the other side of the bracket to an NCAA berth, and likely first four date next Tuesday, squeezing out a 65-63 win over FIU Fightin’ Pitinos – led by George Fant’s double-double: 17 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.

West Coast: It truly wasn’t even 65-51 close, Gonzaga, 2013 WCC Conference champions, beat St. Mary’s pillar to post, but the Gaels have heart, they get credit for that, and even after watching Jordan Page go down with a knee injury, stuck around, best they could, ultimately Kelly Olynyk just continued his storybook season with 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Bulldogs and give St. Mary’s a long 6 days of waiting.

 

Until next time readership, hope you got enough to eat, but will come back for more….

Posted in Bracketology, News and Notes, The Buffet | Comments Off on On the 7th Day of Conference Tourneys, the Buffet gave to me…

Championship Week Notebook: Tuesday, March 12th

188 TEAMS REMAIN!!! The breakdown is below

Check out Chad’s Viewing Guide to follow all the action

https://hoopshd.com/2013/03/11/conference-tournament-viewing-guide-march-12-2013/

-ACC – 12 (Miami, FL (at-large), Duke (at-large), North Carolina (at-large), NC State (at-large), Virginia (under consideration), Maryland (under consideration), Florida State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson, Virginia Tech)

-AMERICA EAST – 2 (Albany, Vermont)

-ATLANTIC TEN – 12 (Saint Louis (at-large), VCU (at-large), La Salle (under consideration), Temple (under consideration), UMass (under consideration), Xavier (under consideration), Charlotte (under consideration), Saint Joseph’s, Richmond, Dayton, George Washington)

-ATLANTIC SUN – 1 (FGCU – champion)

-BIG TWELVE – 10 (Kansas (at-large), Kansas State (at-large), Oklahoma State (at-large), Oklahoma (at-large), Iowa State (under consideration), Baylor (under consideration), Texas, West Virginia, Texas Tech, West Virginia)

-BIG EAST – 14 (Louisville (at-large), Georgetown (at-large), Marquette (at-large), Pittsburgh (at-large), Notre Dame (at-large), Syracuse (at-large), Villanova (under consideration), Cincinnati (under consideration), Saint John’s (under consideration), Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Florida, DePaul)

-BIG SKY – 7  (Montana, Weber State, North Dakota, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona)

-BIG SOUTH – 1 (Liberty (champion))

-BIG TEN – 12 (Indiana (at-large), Michigan (at-large), Michigan State (at-large), Ohio State (at-large), Wisconsin (at-large), Illinois (at-large), Minnesota (at-large), Iowa (under consideration), Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State)

-BIG WEST – 8 (Long Beach, Cal Poly, Pacific, UC Irvine, Hawaii, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton)

-COLONIAL – 1 (James Madison (champion))

-CONFERENCE USA – 11 (Memphis (at-large), Southern Miss (under consideration), UTEP, East Carolina, Tulsa, Houston, UAB, Tulane, Marshall, SMU, Rice)

-HORIZON LEAGUE – 2 (Wright State, Valparaiso)

-IVY – 1 (Harvard (champion))

-MAC – 8 (Akron (under consideration), Ohio, Western Michigan, Kent State, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Miami OH)

-METRO ATLANTIC – 1 (Iona (champion))

-MEAC – 11 (Norfolk State, North Carolina Central, Hampton, Savannah State, Morgan State, Delaware State, North Carolina A&T, Bethune Cookman, Coppin State, Florida A&M, Howard)

-MISSOURI VALLEY – 2 (Creighton (at-large), Wichita State (at-large)

-MOUNTAIN WEST – 9 (New Mexico (at-large), Colorado State (at-large), UNLV (at-large), San Diego State (at-large), Boise State (at-large), Air Force (under consideration), Fresno State, Wyoming, Nevada)

-NORTHEAST – 2 (LIU Brooklyn, Mount Saint Mary’s)

-OHIO VALLEY – 1 (Belmont (champion)

-PAC TWELVE – 12 (UCLA (at-large), California (at-large), Arizona (at-large), Oregon (under consideration), Colorado (under consideration), Arizona State (under consideration),Washington, USC, Stanford, Utah, Washington State, Oregon State)

-PATRIOT LEAGUE – 2 (Bucknell, Lafayette)

-SEC – 14 (Florida (at-large), Missouri (under consideration), Kentucky (under consideration), Ole Miss (under consideration), Alabama (under consideration), Tennessee (under consideration), Arkansas (under consideration), Georgia, LSU, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Auburn)

-SOUTHERN CONFERENCE – 1 (Davidson (Champion))

-SOUTHLAND – 8 (Stephen F Austin (under consideration), Northwestern State, Oral Roberts, Southeast Louisiana, Nicholls State, Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas, McNeese State)

-SUMMIT LEAGUE – 2 (South Dakota State (under consideration), North Dakota State)

-SUN BELT – 2 (Western Kentucky (champion), Middle Tennessee (under consideration))

-SWAC – 7 (Southern, Jackson State, Alcorn State, Prarie View A&M, Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Grambling)

-WAC – 10 (Louisiana Tech (under consideration) Denver (under consideration), New Mexico State, Utah State, Texas Arlington, Idaho, Texas State, San Jose State, TX San Antonio, Seattle)

-WEST COAST – 2 (Gonzaga (champion), Saint Mary’s (under consideration)

 

NOTES

-The most exciting game of the night was the Sun Belt Championship. Western Kentucky led for most of the game, but it was very close the entire way. It wasn’t until the final minute that WKU got complete control. For the second year in a row, WKU failed to finish the regular season with a winning conference record. But, for the second year in a row, they won the conference tournament. They’re most likely heading to Dayton, but if we keep seeing these upsets in conference tournaments they may avoid it.

-The Metro Atlantic Final was another good game between the rivals of Manhattan and Iona. It’s a shame that they couldn’t have played it closer to NYC. Manhattan, despite being just 14-17, had a lead for most of the first half, but Iona got control in the second half. There were two ridiculous technical fouls in this game. One was on Manhattan coach Steve Masiello for having half of his shoe out of the coaches box. That is technically a rule, but he was fifty feet from the action and the only way that referee mike Kittz could have seen him was if he had his back to all the players. Kind of makes you wonder if they’re paying attention to the right things. The second was called with less than a second on the clock because the Iona fans stormed the court prior to it hitting zero. It was completely meaningless and also pointless, but I guess it was also technically within the rules. I wonder if referee Mike Kittz also works football games. At the end of the game when the quarterback takes a knee and the players and coaches file onto the field to begin shaking hands even though there is still time on the clock, would he throw a flag?? Oh well. Maybe he doesn’t get a whole lot of TV games and wanted to make sure he was seen.

-The two best teams in the Summit advanced to the championship game. North Dakota State and South Dakota State will face off tonight in what should be a fun one. Both semifinal games were sloppy, so hopefully we see a better game tonight. The two split during the regular season, so this is the winner-take-all rubber match. SDSU is probably better equipped to pull off a first round upset, but NDSU is good as well, and they also return pretty much their entire roster for next season, so they should be a team to pay attention to a year from now. Head coach Saul Phillips has done well with that program.

-James Madison opened up a big lead early on Northeastern, and stayed ahead to win the Colonial Championship. They’ll almost assuredly be a #16 seed.

-Davidson had no trouble at all with College of Chalreston in the SoCon Championship. They’ll be a very dangerous first round team. They were good last year too and have most of their players back. They were kind of disappointing in November and December, but they are still very capable of pulling an upset.

-Gonzaga manhandled Saint Mary’s to win the WCC in what was perhaps the least surprising result in a night that gave us no surprises. They should get a #1 seed. SMC is right on the bubble and most likely destined for the First Four if they get in at all.

-South Carolina State and Savannah State won opening round games in the MEAC Tournament, and Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Miami OH won opening round games in the MAC Tournament.

-Mount Saint Mary’s finished fifth, but is on a big winning streak right now and will travel to LIU Brooklyn for the NEC Championship. The winner will almost assuredly be a #16 seed and perhaps even end up in the First Four.

-I talked about it yesterday, but the Horizon League Championship is tonight between Wright State and Valparaiso. Valpo lost at home in the championship game a year ago and should be jacked up for this one tonight. Both teams won on buzzer beaters in the semifinals.

-The WAC and Big East opening rounds are tonight. The Big East is a major tournament, but no major players are playing today. DePaul will face Rutgers and South Florida will face Seton Hall.

-The opening round of the MEAC also resumes tonight. The internet streaming went down during yesterday’s games. It was barely watchable when it was working, though.

Griggs

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Conference Tournament Viewing Guide – March 12, 2013

Here is the list of conference tournament games on the schedule for today, together with their available television/webstreaming options.  Please note that I only list webstreams for games without national television coverage, even if a stream may also be available. “Local TV” means that the game does not have full national coverage and you should check your local listings.  (PPV) means that there is a charge for the webstream.

(all times are eastern)

Tuesday, March 12

Big East First Round:
7:00 PM – (12) Seton Hall vs (13) South Florida, ESPNU
9:30 PM – (11) Rutgers vs (14) DePaul, ESPNU

Horizon Championship:
9:00 PM – (1) Valparaiso vs (3) Wright State, ESPN

MEAC First Round:
4:00 PM – (8) Bethune-Cookman vs (9) Coppin State, meachoops.com
6:30 PM – (7) North Carolina A&T vs (10) Florida A&M, meachoops.com
9:00 PM – (6) Delaware State vs (11) Howard, meachoops.com

Mountain West First Round:
8:00 PM – (8) Wyoming vs (9) Nevada, themwc.com

Northeast Championship:
7:00 PM – (3) Long Island University vs (5) Mount St. Mary’s, ESPN2

Summit Championship:
9:00 PM – (1) South Dakota State vs (3) North Dakota State, ESPN2

WAC First Round:
9:00 PM – (7) Texas State vs (10) Seattle, wacsports.com (PPV)
11:30 PM – (8) San Jose State vs (9) Texas-San Antonio, wacsports.com (PPV)

Posted in CBB on TV | 1 Comment

On the Sixth Day of Conference Tourneys, the Buffet Gave to me…

On the Sixth Day of Conference tourneys, the Buffet gave to me…

 

A wealth of auto bidding

Top Seeded Carnage

Scanning the scene

Huge Buffet

Killer Top Seeds

An extra day of conference tourneys…

 

Welcome back Readership, we have got ourselves a couple of tourneys tipping, a big night of auto bidding, and a WCC final with Waiting Line… implications.  We take you to the MEAC & MAC and then will Scan the Scene, before tomorrow morning’s post-weekend/post-WCC final Buffetology (along with the daily requisite previews)

 

MEAC 2013 Men’s Basketball Tournament

March 11-16, Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia.

 Two teams come in on 5 game streaks. Unfortunately, that is 10 games shy of the hottest team in the conference.   North Carolina Central tried it, having won 16 of 17. And Morgan has won 8 of 9. But its Norfolk St, they of the thrilling upset of Missouri a year ago, who had for an encore an undefeated MEAC season, and they still only won the conference by a game.  

Norfolk State – It sure didn’t start out looking like an encore. A 2-5 start to the season, perhaps still in Missouri hangover.  Then after getting to 6-5, another 5 game losing streak, reminded us all that the MEAC is still the MEAC.  Then, the conference season started in earnest and Norfolk stopped losing.  But the thing is, it wasn’t all that dominant. Their average victory was 7.5 points, and you subtract a couple of big blowouts, and suddenly Norfolk is scraping their way to an undefeated season by less than 6 points per win.  And more than that, Norfolk and #2 seed NC Central never faced each other in the regular season.  Bizarre, right? It’s a different cast of characters with a familiar faces in an new role.  Pendarvis Williams has assumed the Kyle O’Quinn leadership role, raising his ppg average to 14.1, Rob Johnson is still the quintessential glue guy, but it’s Delaware transfer Malcolm Harris that plays the Chris McEachin side kick role. 

We might actually see a bit more in NC Central – more proven places to get points – Jeremy Ingram (15.9), junior college transfer Stanton Kidd  (14.5 pts and 7 rebs per game) and Ray Willis (12 and 4)… much like any MEAC team, there’s not really much in non-conference, except perhaps a 9 point loss to Marquette. But, what we like about this team is their ability to change styles, and win, if they don’t get the opportunity to dictate tempo.  For example, they followed up a 51-43 win at Florida A&M with an 81-75 win over Bethune Cookman.  Chameleons in bad conference can usually spell good things.  Really got to piss NC A&T off that they aren’t the best North Carolina team in the MEAC anymore.

Who Should Win: Upset? Not really, but the Buffet is actually hoping for chalk here, so the final can feature the conference’s 16-0 team play the 15-1, who would be meeting for the very first time.

If not them, who?  Well, it’s the MEAC, so we should be looking for the below .500 regular season team, right? Well, we won’t go that far, but how about a 14-14 team on a 5 game winning streak? Your fighting Todd Bozemans of Morgan State.  They played both NC Central and Norfolk tight, and with Justin Black and Dewayne Jackson, they are never out of things.

Best Non-Conference win: North Carolina A&T over Eastern Kentucky 78-67

 

2013 MEAC Player of the Year: Pendarvis Williams, Norfolk St

2013 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year: Austin Witter, North Carolina A&T

2013 MEAC Freshman of the Year: Deron Powers, Hampton Baby Hampton

2013 MEAC Coach of the Year: Anthony Evans, Norfolk St

 

2012-13 MEAC First Team:

Jeremy Ingram, N.C. Central

Pendarvis Williams, Norfolk

DeWayne Jackson, Morgan St

Stanton Kidd, N.C. Central

Adrien Coleman, Bethune-Cookman

 

MEAC 2013 Jack Leasure Madbomber Award Candidate:

Andre Armstrong, Coppin State, 70/193, 30 games, 2.3/gm, 36%

 

MEAC Gregory Douglas Ott Award Candidate:  Emanuel Chapman, North Carolina Central, 2.2 A/TO

MAC-TION PACKED EXCITEMENT AT THE Q

2013 FIRST ENERGY MID AMERICAN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

March 11, 13-16 at the Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH

 The Buffet was all ready to describe the MAC tourney as a party for two, between a pair of strong teams who, even if they didn’t have the direct resume for an at-large, were certainly at large caliber, last year’s tournament darlings, Ohio Bobcats, living life after John Groce swimmingly and Akron, a 24-6 season, nice non-conference work versus Middle Tennessee St (more on them later), North Dakota St, a great showing on a neutral court versus Oklahoma St.  But then Akron starting point guard decided to invite everyone to the party, as he looked to distribute a lot more than assists, getting busted for felony marijuana possession with intent to distribute. There is still lots of talent on this Zips team, with Zeke Marshall, Demetrius Treadwell and Nick Harney leading the way, but a lot of weight is suddenly falling on the shoulders of 5’11 freshman guard Carmelo Betancourt, who is likely going to see a major bump in his 10 minutes per game.  He should some playmaking promise in his first extended play following the Abreu arrest/suspension, playing 27 minutes and handing 4 assists against only 1 turnover.  If he picks up from that, this may not be the Akron team that the Buffet would’ve argued should get the “Iona” slot in the first four, but it is a team that can win the MAC.

The other favorite to win the MAC, and probably now the odds-on – Ohio.  This is just as well, since anything that gets DJ Cooper on our TV screens more is only to our benefit.  Every major contributor from 2011 is back, which is surprising that they weren’t able to parlay the Michigan upset and the near #1 seed toppling of UNC into a stronger regular season, but luckily for them, Alex Abreu saw  a tremendous value proposition and hole in the marijuana distribution market, which clears the path a little. And Ohio lost but twice in conference, and both were to an Akron squad who had Abreu.

If not them who? Kent State was 5-7 in conference, and the thought of them being a sleeper pick (considering losses this MAC year included games versus Toledo, Bowling Green, and Northern Illinois (note: this one is BAD).  But, starting with a 3 point loss versus Ohio, this team turned things around and come in carrying a 5 game winning streak.  Also in 4 games vs. Akron & Ohio, they were only 1-3, but lost by a total of 8 points in those 3 games.  The Fightin’ Antonio Gates feature a pair of good MAC scorers in Chris Evans & Randal Holt.  Holt, of course, is your resident MadBomber candidate, launching 207 this season in 31 games, at a 39% clip.

Buffalo finished 7-9 in conference, suffering losses to teams like them in the middle to bottom tier of the 2013 MAC standings – Miami OH, Bowling Green, E.Michigan – but, we did happen to notice they blew out Akron (with Abreu), lost to them by just 4 in Akron, and at home, felt to Ohio by just 3.  They also beat MAAC reg season champ Niagara, The Fightin’ Turner Battles are led by Javon McCrea, a kid who can flat score the ball inside – shooting 56%.

 Best Non-Conference win: Akron over Middle Tennessee State 82-77.

(MAC individual awards have not been announced yet)

2013 MAC Player of the Year:

2013 MAC Defensive Player of the Year:

2013 MAC Freshman of the Year:

2013 MAC Coach of the Year:

 

2012-13 MAC First Team:

Zeke Marshall, C, Akron

Javon McCrea, F, Buffalo

Chris Evans, F, Kent State

Rian Pearson, G, Toledo

D.J. Cooper, G, Ohio

 

MAC 2013 Jack Leasure Madbomber Award Candidate:

Randal Holt, Kent State, 80/207, 31 games, 2.6/gm, 39%

MAC Gregory Douglas Ott Award Candidate: 

Tony Watson, Buffalo 2.4 A/TO

 

Also, curious note, Missouri actually competes in the MAC for wrestling.

 

SCANNING THE SCENE…

The scene, the place everyone wants to be … but are truly part of the scene, are dressing like you don’t care about the scene, but secretly are obsessed with, are you trying to so hard to be part of the scene, but it just isn’t working out, or are you so far removed from the scene, that thinking about it is impossible to conceptualize.  We’ll let you decide.   For now, let’s check out the Conference Tournament scenes:

America East:  Things got shaken up yesterday, as home standing Albany took out the top seed Stony Brook, 61-59.  Opposite them in next Saturday’s early AM final is the #2 seed and perennial America East stalwart, Vermont.

Big South: Liberty Flames, 2013 Big South Conference Tournament champs. The upstart Flames, with John Caleb Sanders putting together a string of top notch performances, became just the 2nd team in NCAA history to make the tournament with 20 losses.  Trivia for the Readership (prize being a Buffet t-shirt, whenever it is first printed: who was the other? Answer in comments, inthebuffet@gmail.com, or @inthebuffet)

Colonial: after surviving a furious upset attempt, Northeastern, the top seed, faces James Madison, after a mild upset of Buffett CAA tourney favorite Delaware, tonight at 7pm EST in the CAA tournament final

MAAC: Momo lives on! Iona knocked off top set Niagara, and the bottom side of the bracket rife with upsets saw #6 Manhattan survive to tonight’s 9pm EST final in Springfield.

MVC: Creighton Blue Jays, 2013 Arch Madness Champions The favorites dominated, and gave us a thriller. Both should be safely in, although Wichita St is probably best considered a Waiting Line… team.

NEC: Number 1 and number 2 are gone, but the league’s hottest, #5 Mount Saint Mary’s steps on the hardwood against probably the most talented, #3 seed LIU Brooklyn on Tuesday night at 7pm ET at the WRAC (Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center) on LIU’s campus.

OVC: Belmont Bruins, 2013 OVC Tournament Champions.  #1 vs. #2 gave us exactly what we hoped, and overtime thriller, we just didn’t want to see Isaiah Canaan dribble it off his foot and Murray right out of an automatic bid.

Patriot: Once CJ McCollum was declared out for the tourney, this because a virtual Bucknell (#1) vs. Lafayette (#2) tournament final lock, and that’s what we’ve got, Wednesday at 7pm ET.

Southern: One of the few number ones to avoid disaster yesterday, Davidson squares off with College of Charleston (#3) tonight, after they pulled a mini upset of #2 seeded Elon, at 7pm ET in Asheville, NC.

Summit: Oakland was upset, with makes this a three team race (most likely, qualifiers, always) – The Leathernecks are the first to test the Taylor Braun re-infused NDSU team (27 points, 7 rebounds against UMKC) and SDSU gets IPFW, who defeated the #4 seed Golden Grizzlies for the third time this season (and in back to back games for both). NDSU/IPFW is at 7pm ET and NDSU/W.Illinois is at 930pm ET.

Sun Belt: Losing Isaiah Canaan hurt the Buffet, but given it was likely him or losing both Kerron and Ian Clark, we had to make the tradeoff, but losing the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee St would be devastating.  They left it up to committee chance, forgetting how to shoot free throws (12-21 for the game), and letting us have to hear about the genius of the Pitino family tree for at least one more night.  Florida International is the 4 seed, and they’ll get the other product of the upset express that has gone on in Hot Springs, Western Kentucky, looking for their 4th tournament appearance in the last 6 yrs.  That final tips at 7pm ET tonight.

West Coast: #1 v #2, the perennial battle of WCC Goliaths, Gonzaga v Saint Mary’s College tonight at 9pm ET.  St Mary’s sure decided to make it interesting, and imperil their at-large chances, needing OT to outlast San Diego, 69-66.  Gonzaga meanwhile had an easier time with their semi, finishing off a 66-48 win BUT we cannot ignore the week/weekend enjoyed by Loyola Marymount, who did give a bit of a challenge to Gonzaga before ultimately either being overwhelmed by the Zags goodness or just remembering that they aren’t good, even if Anthony Ireland and Ashley Hamiton are. The Lions finished the WCC season 1-15 in conference play.  Yes ONE and 15.  However, they were a team possessed in the tournament, beating Portland in the first round 65-54, then taking out 5 seeded USF 61-60, before capping their upset run with a 60-58 win over Santa Clara.  Thus, TRIPLING their number of wins in 16 games in just 3.  That’s a Buffet special.

The newest Buffetology will be held off until tonight, as the WCC final will have serious Waiting Line… implications, depending on how St Mary’s does, until then… hope you had your fill, but please, keep coming back for more.

Posted in News and Notes, The Buffet | Comments Off on On the Sixth Day of Conference Tourneys, the Buffet Gave to me…