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It was a pretty crazy week in the Waiting Line… so much so, that as today’s Buffet was being crafted, Kentucky went from definitely out (losing at Georgia) to almost certainly in as of now (today’s win over Florida)….

Let’s take a look, and since this is all happening in real time, here’ how Buffetology looks as of 12pm PT, March 9 (only adjust made for Robert Morris’ loss in the NEC tournament)

Now, we’ve made repeated references to Pack of Wolves Wednesday, the carnage is reflected in the Buffetology above. There were a total of 16 games featuring teams who could feel good about their NCAA tournament chances versus those who either could not, should not, or don’t even know what that feeling is. Only 56% of those teams were successful. The names of the winning schools Wednesday: Washington St, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Xavier, Stanford, Iowa St, and Villanova. Now for Villanova, Stanford & Xavier, Wednesday was huge. For good reasons. For UCLA, California, Oklahoma St, Saint Louis, and especially Georgetown & Miami, it was huge for separate reasons. Throw in Southern Miss losing to Marshall, Illinois losing to Iowa, Virginia falling to Florida St, Wisconsin getting essentially bombed on by Michigan St, Colorado shaking off the Roberson injury to sweep Oregon, New Mexico St rendering La Tech an autobid hopeful, Texas beating Baylor, (you keeping up?) Louisville dousing Cincy, the aforementioned Kentucky loss to Georgia, Boise St losing, and Indiana dropping their 4^th Big Ten game (but Ohio St getting that road win CBS so desperately wanted them to have) it was just how you want the week leading to the weekend of the first conference tournaments/last regular season games.

Waiting Line… Games for Saturday:

In the books:

Kentucky 67-Florida 57: After a pair of ugly road losses, the post-Nerlens Noel edition of Kentucky seemed destined for the NIT, but a show-me performance today versus Florida, and we put Kentucky back in (well, hypothetically, since no Buffetology was published, of course), having been in the middle of Buffetology construction as that went final. Florida now sees themselves on the 3 line. (we will wait for standings to finalize and brackets to come out to really tell you where Florida could go seed-wise)

Kentucky’s back. Back again. Kentucky’s back. Tell a friend. They’re in. They’re out. They’re in again. The Waiting Line… isn’t pretty, so you beat Florida this time of year, that’s going to make the Buffet notice. After Georgia we wanted them out, now we put them not only in, but ahead of the even the final four in. That’s solidifying things for yourself.

UCLA 61 Washington 54. UCLA wasn’t totally in the Waiting Line…, more like 1 ½ feet in, ½ foot out after the loss to Washington State, more like “on alert” that similar performances will not be tolerating for too long, and Washington, perhaps due to the “strength” of everyone else, was creeping towards consideration, well UCLA but an end to that.

Iowa State 83 West Virginia 74. A loss here wouldn’t have been killer, but as a follow up to their win over Oklahoma State, this a nice solidifier not only for Iowa State’s chances, but also as a sign of which direction they are headed in. Iowa State was among the last four in at last blush, but they’ll get a long look tomorrow night once the weekend shakes out to pop ahead of some just ahead of them.

Ole Miss 81 LSU 67 You don’t beat LSU and do anything good for your chances, but you bust them open in Death Valley like that, and you definitely notice that they want back in the Buffet. For now they are at the front of the Waiting Line… but still not quite in.

Saint Louis 78 La Salle 54. Hmm, maybe we take back what we just said about Ole Miss still being out.

Minnesota 73 Purdue 89. Minnesota isn’t going anywhere just yet, but this is two straight bad losses, and some horrible defense to boot, and eye is being kept on them next week, because they’re teetering towards the line. There’s a wealth of nice wins that others won’t have, but their string of performances suggest maybe they don’t belong.

Iowa 74 Nebraska 60. Maybe we should ask Minnesota how difficult the RED ALERT can be… we won’t, but just commend Iowa for managing to stay in the conversation even if they did nothing to enhance the discussion.

NC State 67 Florida St 71. This was never going to be listed here, because it seemed irrelevant, then NC State made it relevant, much like Cincy below, this game just says bad things about where NC State is headed, even if it doesn’t mean their invitation is in jeopardy.

In play:

Boise State hosting San Diego St: What a huge win this would be for a Boise St team who’s been teetering on the Waiting Line… fence most of the year.

Georgia at Alabama. Only so many teams can absorb a loss to Georgia right now, Alabama, especially at home, you are not one of them.

South Florida at Cincinnati: Cincy isn’t actually in the Waiting Line… but they’ve sunk to a 10 seed, it’s time to stem that tide.

Missouri @ Tennessee – Missouri is solidly safe, almost cemented at the 8 seed slot, and this wouldn’t be a bad loss. Tennessee isn’t solid anywhere, and this is almost a gift of a game, Missouri will look like a solid win on their resume, but they play like a sub100 team on the road, we’ll notice if Tennessee doesn’t get the win, especially when we’re splitting hairs at the bottom of the Buffet invitation list.

Arizona St @ Arizona – Another free falling lock (Arizona) this time versus a free falling Waiting Liner… (Arizona State), something will have to give.

Oregon St @ Colorado – Colorado already showed themselves bit to be ok with Andre Roberson. They’ll need to do so, he should be back for the P12 tournament, but if not, and he can’t get back at all, the Committee will evaluate them without him, don’t lose to Oregon St, no matter what, but especially if that’s who don’t want the committee to think you are.

Oklahoma @ TCU – Kansas can get by with a random loss to TCU, Oklahoma, you are not Kansas

Illinois State @ Wichita St – This is the classic MVC conundrum. Illinois State is not a bad team. They should’ve been a higher MVC seed and if they hadn’t waited, apparently, until now, to be the team they should’ve been, they’d be in the Waiting Line… with Wichita. But, if Wichita loses, even though it isn’t a death knell, it does give all other big conference teams a week to prove themselves up while Wichita has a blowout loss to Creighton and (hypothetically) this loss weighing on the committee’s minds. Advice from the Buffet: As good as Carmichael and Co. are, Shockers, don’t lose here.

Kansas at Baylor: You can’t lose to Kansas and hurt your chances. Unless you get blown out at home, and unless you playing like Baylor has been, and this game has become a near must. Without it, they’ll need to do some SERIOUS Big12 tourney damage, with it, they’ll probably resemble Kentucky after they beat Florida today.

Xavier at Butler – The Musketeers sort of snuck up out of nowhere, didn’t they? Beat Memphis on February 26, Saint Louis earlier this week, VCU on Feb 23, and suddenly, this win might go a long way to wiping out a lot of the bad. Without, there’s probably not enough there to support a plate at the Buffet, but with it, and X gets a long look leading into and through the A10 tournament.

Murray @ Belmont – Belmont was actually a line ahead of the last 4 teams in at last Buffet, but not sure they’d stay there with a loss here. Murray isn’t bad loss, but nonetheless, Belmont loses the championship and things get tense for them.

Louisiana Tech @ Denver – For the WAC regular season title. Not real Waiting Line… implications, but both could be teams that make a higher seed’s life miserable next week.

UCF @ Southern Miss – Personally the Buffet thinks we can turn out the lights, the party’s over for USM after the home loss to Marshall, but they still linger around some people’s last 4 or 8 out, so remind them that while SOMEONE still believes, they ought to remember to beat the teams they should.

San Diego @ Saint Mary’s – As of right now, as long as they get to the WCC final, St Mary’s is likely getting in. But it’s weakly scheduled, soft resume that may or may not deserve it, so don’t lose to USD, because even the tepid Buffet support will go up in smoke.

As always, questions, comments (but not about grammar/editing, the Buffet wants you to have knowledge, not a Strunk & White lesson. And we make this promise, you get HoopsHD through critical mass, and the Buffet will be succinct, grammatically correct, and still maintain the same level of entertainment. Vow made) please bring them to the Buffet at either the comment section below, to reach the Buffet at inthebuffet@gmail.com, or on Twitter at @inthebuffet.

We will be back with a look at Scanning the Scene… where 1-15 conference seasons = semifinals or 11-20 overall records = tournament finals. Or 9 game winning streaks have you breeze through higher seeds and on to your championship game.

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

Posted on March 9, 2013 by The Buffet

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

Spanning the scene

Huge Buffet

Killer Top Seeds

An extra day of conference tourneys…

And, as though it had only been 14 hours, we’re back. Make this a breakfast buffet. Today, the main line has your America East, CAA, and Summit League previews. Plus, a new special called “Spanning the Scene.” We here at the Buffet realized that we often preview, sometimes give you a last night in, but often leave the conference tourneys hanging in pursuit of the next tipping tourney, and sometimes, yes sometimes, you want to have another helping of what we made on Thursday. WANT NO LONGER. We will take a look at the tournament progression to date and see where we stand. We’ll also prime you for today’s generous portion of In the Waiting Line.. affairs, and take a look back at the carnage that was Pack of Wolves Wednesday. As always, please consult the tremendous Daily Viewing Guide to know what’s on, when, and how you can watch it: https://hoopshd.com/2013/03/09/conference-tournament-viewing-guide-march-9-2013/

For now, let’s head to the Northeast for the

2014 AMERICA EAST MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY SEFCU

March 8-10, SEFCU Arena at the University of Albany, Albany, NY

March 16 @ Highest Remaining Seed

Is this year the year? After their 3^rd conference title in 4 years but 0 tournament titles, is Stony Brook ready to break through with their first NCAA tournament appearance in the 14^th year participating in Division 1, and if it happens, how embarrassed should Northwestern feel? After a single game separated the Seawolves and Vermont for their previous regular season titles, Stony Brook cleared the Catamounts and BU by 3 games, as freshman Jameel Warner provided the extra punch SBU needed to really get a stranglehold on the conference (this has been a banner year for Stony Brook athletics, who advanced to the College World Series for the first time last summer (first team ever from the America East and first team from New York in 30 years)). He’s joined by Do-It-All Tommy Brenton, who won’t light the stat sheet on fire, but just seems to be everywhere, as well as Anthony Jackson & Dave Coley. Stony Brooks comes in ranked tops in the conference in both offensive and defensive efficiency (31^st in the country for that matter) and sit at an impressive 57^th overall in the KenPom (www.kenpom.com) rankings. They come having won six straight, including a 65-48 win over Vermont. The best part, for them and for us, is coach Steve Pikiell, who has lived through the Div1/AmEast transitional lean years, has stocked the cupboard, as Coley & Jackson are only juniors, and Warney is the next big SBU thing as just a freshman.

Wait, where’s Boston U? Despite tying for second with Vermont, you’ll look endlessly if you try to find their quarterfinal matchup tomorrow. Apparently announced before transferring conferences was vogue, Boston U will lace them up in the Patriot League next year, and America East, perhaps training at the Phil Martelli school of the code of transferring has banned them from participating in the conference tournament. Don’t mind that they played an entire conference slate, these aren’t the Terriers you’re looking for… You know who’s the most psyched about this (even more than the top seeds who now permanently avoid BU), it’s Binghamton, the 1-15, 11^th place finisher, would be home planning spring break already, but the ouster of Boston U, means the tournament needs a 10^th team, and apparently any will qualify.

Vermont. I mean, would it be an America East preview without Catamount Chat? The AmEast’s second place team won 6 of 7 midseason, and it was believed that it was time, they were going to reassume control of the league and go from there, but from there they only went into a 2 game losing streak, that seemed to have been righted in time for conference tournament play, only to fall to Hartford, at home, on senior night. But Brian Voekel, Clancy Rugg (all-name candidate), Luke Apfeld, Sando Carissimo and crew still play that suffocating style that always plays well in the tournament (ask Michigan St, Wisconsin or the John Chaney Temple Owls) which means you can’t ignore them, even if they lose to Maine & Rhode Island.

Who Should Win: Time for a new America East coronation, and Stony Brook’s first time eat at the Buffet with the rest of the field of 68.

If not them, who? Can’T ignore Albany, the home standing Great Danes get home cooking until the final, which isn’t a decisive advantage, but you get to a final, win a couple games, and suddenly momentum can be a funny thing. This team didn’t exactly light the world on fire this year, but they did notch a win in Seattle against Washington, and regardless of Washington’s rough year, that’s still a cross country trip at the beginning of the season, in a sneaky tough place to play (Hec Edmundson gets LOUD, the Buffet has been)… and Mike Black and Jacob Iati can score in the America East as well as anyone…

Hartford. The Hawks come in having won 6 of 8, including an end of regular season road win over Vermont and a 5 point win hosting Stony Brook, so they’ve shown the goods in conference… and we like stars in the tournaments, especially from a below the line sleeper, and Mark Nwakamma is just that, the sophomore averaged 14.7 (up 5 points from his freshman season) and 5.5 rebounds per game this year. Plus, they’ve got Jack Sikma’s son Nate. No work if he just acts tall and stands behind the 3pt line bombing away or not, but we’d like him too. Future hopes abound here, as only 1 senior gets meaningful minutes, and even he, John Peterson, doesn’t get 20 per game of those.

Best Non-Conference Win: Albany at Washington, 63-62

It’s a Stony Brook World…

2013 America East Player of the Year: Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook

2013 America East Defensive Player of the Year: Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook

2013 America East Freshman of the Year: Jameel Warney, Stony Brook

2013 America East Coach of the Year: Steve Pikiell, Stony Brook

2012-13 America East First Team:

Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook

Mike Black, Albany

D.J. Irving, Boston U (no, it’s totally cool that a kid this good has to miss a year of being able to make the NCAAs because his school is, gulp, DOING WHAT EVERY OTHER SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY IS DOING)

Mark Nwakamma, Hartford

Brian Voekel, Vermont

America East 2013 Jack Leasure Madbomber Award Candidate:

Jacob Iati, Albany, 84/203, 31 games, 2.7/game, 41%

America East Gregory Douglas Ott Award Candidate: Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook, 2.3

THE SUMMIT LEAGUE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT AT THE FALLS

March 9-12, Sioux Falls Arena, Sioux Falls, ND

Now this one has all the makings of a good one, South Dakota St, the defending conference tournament champion is your top seed, and they feature not-to-be missed star, Nate Wolters. Then there’s new to the top of the conference scene, Western Illinois, who other than being unable to beat South Dakota St, have a ridiculously great nickname, the Leathernecks, and a playing style that suits it – giving up 52.6 points per game (#2 in the nation!) and slow the game down to a point of suffocation that lulls opponents to sleep long enough for their inept offense to score JUST enough points to win. The Golden Grizzlies are back, but they are just quit missing something, not quite the offensive showcase they have been with Reggie Hamilton, Keith Benson & Dominique Morrison, but they did take out both Dakota States, so they can’t be simply dismissed. Then there’s the wildcard as the #3 seed – who have welcomed Taylor Braun back after he missed 10 games with a foot injury, fully loaded, there could be a run in the Bison

So Dakota State – featuring the league’s far and away best player (take a look at the minute by minute in their loss at Murray State after Wolters tweaked his back for evidence), this team ran through the Summit League at 13-3, but we would’ve thought they would have played to an overall profile more Waiting Line-able. We can forgive the Cal St Bakersfield loss because that’s when Wolters first hurt his back, and that game meant nothing to them at that point, but losses to Hofstra, South Dakota, and blowout defeats at the hands of Minnesota and Belmont (by 27) are less defensible. But that’s more of a look at the Jackrabbits through an at-large prism, for the purposes of this weekend, this is a squad that lost a few of road games in conference, but otherwise tore through the league, winning games by an average 16.7 points, and there main point of weakness (playing on the road where they went 7-9) is offset a bit by the tournament being housed in Sioux Falls.

No Dakota State – Getting healthy and feeling good. That’s the banner North Dakota State carries into this weekend. Star Taylor Braun is back, and they carry a two game win streak coming in and at full strength, granted that was against Utah Valley & Nebraska-Omaha, but given that they were no better than a .500 team leading into that, it’s a welcome change, and something no doubt will be used by them to signal a sign of things to come. This was the best team in conference, from the eyeball and KenPom test, with Braun in the lineup (wins over South Dakota St and Oakland provide strong evidence of that), and Braun together with Marshall Bjoklund will make them a force, and the Buffet silently pulling for an All-Dakota State final to give us a battle of Summit heavyweight – it helps greatly that UMKC snagged the 6 seed, which should provide NDSU with a virtual first round bye.

Who Should Win: With two games under his belt, and one more tune up in the first round, before a semifinal battle with Western Illinois, we see Taylor Braun getting up to speed, and then providing a great star versus star battle in the final with Nate Wolters, but ultimately, it’ll be whether Jordan Dykstra and Chad White can step up more than Marshall Bjorklund, TravVonn Wright and Lawrence Alexander, and that overall team depth and 68% FG percentage for Bjorklund just makes us think it’ll be a Bison Bison world. It’s a battle of the top offensively efficient versus the top defensively efficient, and we wonder how much that O-efficiency will improve for NDSU with Braun back, and as a solid defensive player in his own right, there shouldn’t be much slippage on that end of the floor either.

If not them, then who: Braun’s injury opened the door for another team to grab the #2 spot, and Leathernecks were that team. After getting lured into a shootout against Nebraska-Omaha to open the conference season, I mean who doesn’t, WIU settled in. Totals of 112, 92, 83, 85, 119, 113, and 104 were the common theme, and their grind it out, get in your face style can frustrate opponents to the point of submission. Granted, they went 0-2 versus So Dak St and Oakland (and beat NDSU 50-42 without Braun), but the formula for overcoming talent deficiencies is there and that’s when Terrell Parks (who LOCKS IT DOWN on D) and Ceola Clark III can make just enough shots to do the deed (although keep Parks FAR AWAY from the free throw line, where the Leathernecks leading scorer is hitting on only 44% of his attempts)

Oakland may not be star studded like just a few years back, but that might be because of the team’s lack of top seed Summit status, Travis Bader, perhaps through shot volume, can score (22 ppg) and pretty much shoot anywhere that isn’t a two pointer (89% FT shooter and a 3pt% and FG% that are identical) and they hold wins over all of the top seeds in this tournament. Their odds may be long, but with those wins plus over Horizon League reg season champ Valparaiso, the mettle is there to win 3 in 3.

Best Non-Conference win: South Dakota St. Jackrabbits at New Mexico, 70-65, the infamous “Snowstorm game” – where South Dakota St was forced to take a 1220 mile bus following their game at Belmont because a snow storm.

2013 Summit League Player of the Year: Nate Wolters, South Dakota St

2013 Summit League Defensive Player of the Year: Terrell Parks, Western Illinois

2013 Summit League Newcomer of the Year: Duke Mondy, Oakland

2013 Summit League Coach of the Year: Jim Molinari, Western Illinois

2012-13 Summit League First Team:

Travis Bader, Oakland

Marshall Bjorklund, North Dakota St

Ceola Clark III, Western Illinois

Frank Gaines, IUPU-Fort Wayne

Terrell Parks, Western Illinois

Nate Wolters, So Dakota St

Taylor Braun, No Dakota St* (he actually was voted to the 2^nd team, but let’s be real – no injury, we’re talking potential Summit POY tie here)

Summit League 2013 Jack Leasure Madbomber Award Candidate:

Travis Bader, Oakland, get ready for this one… 131/337, 31 games, 4.2/game, 39%

Summit League Gregory Douglas Ott Award Candidate: Nate Wolter, So Dakota St, 2.5 A/TO

COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY JANIKING

March 9-11, Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, VA

The Colonial Athletic Association. Or as we like to call it, “The if Virginia fails to earn an at-large bid, the reason why” Conference. Or the “Where is everyone? Where did everybody go” tournament (Arby’s, Roast Beef sale… sadly this is nowhere to be found in land of the interwebs)

Let’s take item two first – yes, you will only find 7 teams in this year’s tournament. Towson (who finished 2^nd) and UNC-Wilmington won’t be competing because their athletes go to class like UConn. CAA pulled America East petulance on Georgia State and Old Dominion because of the impending conference departures (Ga State to the Sun Belt and ODU to Conference USA) – never mind that they had no problem letting VCU compete in the tournament last year and DEFINITELY no problem letting Georgia State compete in 2006, after their first season in the conference.

And, yes, this season saw Virginia fall to Old Dominion, George Mason, and Delaware .

Ok, enough about teams not in the CAA tournament – let’s focus on those who are. Northeastern won the regular season title by running out to an 8-0 conference start and then holding on for dear life as a Feb 13 home loss to Delaware brought the teams within 1 game of each other, and wasn’t until Delaware lost to James Madison at home and NE righted the ship for a quick 2 game win streak that regular season CAA things were settled. NE also owns a non-conference win over Belmont and a some real good shows against UMass, Charlotte and La Salle (all fringe Waiting Line… teams) so there’s something to the Huskies. They put up the most points in an often scoring starved league, and at 70 per it means they can find the points when others sometimes cannot. Joel Smith emerged as a top CAA talent, and with Jonathan Lee back from injury and Quincy Ford steadying the unit, this is a team capable of shaking off losing 3 of 5 to finish the season, and be the team that rattled off back to back wins to clinch the crown.

Delaware. This is arguably the league’s most talented team top to bottom, with Devon Saddler, Jarvis Threatt, Jamele Hagins and even Kyle Anderson all capable CAA performers, Saddler especially is electric, averaging 20 per game, Delaware showed at-large capable moxie with a win at Virginia early on, and their strong performances vs. Kansas St (3 point loss), La Salle (tight game until a 7 point finish) and Temple (5 point loss) in a pair of road games versus those Atlantic 10 squads. They come in winning 4 straight and 7 of 8, including wins over conference #2 Towson (in Towson) and at Northeastern.

Who Should Win: We like a Saddler-fueled march for this abbreviated version of the CAA tournament.

If not them, who? With so many teams not included in the tournament, dropping down to the #3 seed would be too easy, so we’ll look at preseason favorite Drexel, who had such a disappointing season but maintains the talent if they could just put together a 40-minute effort. Drexel is that classic mid-major, a loss to whom looks terrible on the resume from a rata data/advanced statistic point of view, but if you step back and realize who the Dragons should have been, you realize the loss wasn’t AS bad as it looks. The kind of team who a sleeper run to a tournament championship title would surprise no one here at the Buffet (a first round loss to James Madison would be equally unsurprising). But, for a refresher, keep a lookout for Damion Lee, Chris Fouch, and Frantz Massenat.

Best Non-Conference win: Northeastern versus Belmont 74-71

2013 CAA Player of the Year: Jerrelle Benimon, Towson

2013 CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Jamelle Hagins, Delaware

2013 CAA Freshman of the Year: R.J. Hunter, Georgia State

2013 CAA Coach of the Year: Pat Skerry, Towson

2012-13 CAA First Team:

Jerrelle Benimon, Towson

R.J. Hunter, Georgia State

Keith Rendleman, UNCW

Devon Saddler, Delaware

Joel Smith, Northeastern

CAA 2013 Jack Leasure Madbomber Award Candidate:

Marcus Thornton, William & Mary, 90/208, 29 games, 3.1/gm, 43

CAA Gregory Douglas Ott Award Candidate: Bryon Allen, George Mason, 2.4 A/TO

THE PETE TEDESCO V. BRIAN TUCCI INVITATIONAL– WELCOME TO THE IVY LEAGUE

March 9: Princeton @ Brown; Harvard v. Cornell; March 12: Princeton @ Penn

If teams are tied: March 16 @ the Palestra, Philadelphia, PA

So here we go, the scenario we as college hoops fans dream of – 1 more championship game combined with forcing the Ivy League into the tournament like atmosphere they so desperately try to avoid, OH THE MISSED CLASSES. You know, if they weren’t so militant about things, maybe this – http://yilb.com/harvards-kyle-casey-and-brandyn-curry-in-a-cheating-scandal – doesn’t happen. On that, in the landscape of coaching, no one takes it on the chin more than Tommy Amaker, a lot of it is due, but in a small school environment, he has thrived. And, like it or not, this year might be some of his best work yet. He lost his captains and best player preseason in an embarrassing academic fraud scandal. Yet, pieced things together for a (to date) 18-9 season and at least a share of Ivy league title, they went to Berkley and beat Cal, went to Moraga and lost to St. Mary’s by a point, and until a disaster of a weekend through the P-schools, had won 14 of 17. We will stop short of commending him, but we will take a moratorium on picking fun for the rest of the 2012-13 season. Filling in the gaps for the absence of team leader Kyle Casey and the points both he and Curry provided has been Wesley Saunders (So), Syani Chambers (Fr) and the ever steady floor general, Laurent Rivard (Jr). Which also means, if you notice the class designations, should those three avoid cheating on their exams too, like or not Amaker’s Crimson are poised to stick around. And that could be next year, as Casey (who, to his credit, well, unless he’s guilty then not so much, has stay silent on the issue while Harvard conducts its investigation) has voluntarily withdrawn from the school to preserve his final year of eligibility, and went to work for a nonprofit foundation conducting afterschool programs for 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders. As many as 125 students were potentially involved in the cheating scandal and naturally the star basketball player became the face of the drama – and truthfully, if he participated, we have no remorse for this, he chose to play college basketball and he chose to cheat. Whatever happens, happens. If he didn’t, or if there’s more to the story, this high road was the best path to take.

Princeton. It’s not always pretty, but with an Ivy league best defense, and a split of matchups with Harvard, the Tigers want back in the tournament. They had destiny in their grasp, but last night’s loss to Yale was hurtful, putting the onus on them to win tonight and then survive the annual rivalry scrum at Penn on Tuesday night. They don’t score much, but when they do expect it to come from Ian Hummer and Denton Koooooooooooon. This team has shown road moxie – winning at Buffalo, Lafayette, Kent State, and Elon, and losing to Akron by only 4 and Wagner but just 6 – no this isn’t building a good tournament case, but it’s results against similar competition we’re interested in, and Princeton has performed. With a 4 game win streak snapped at Yale last night, it’s time to buck up if you’re a Tiger, and get yourself to an Ivy League playoff next week.

Season results versus remaining schedule:

Harvard: won at Cornell 67-65 on February 8

Princeton: defeated Brown at home 63-46 on February 8, knocked off Penn 65-63 on January 12.

So, a seemingly winnable game versus Brown, and then each team has a game against a team they only narrowly knocked off the first time around, it’s like Princeton has a play-in game, before a couple of semifinal games… should be fun.

Best Non-conference win between the only two teams with a shot at getting in the Buffet:

This is how amazingly close these two teams are:

Princeton over RPI #53 Bucknell 79-67

Harvard over RPI #49 California (road win)

Ivy League Postseason Awards will be announced after the end of the regular season.

Ivy League 2013 Jack Leasure Madbomber Award Candidate:

Laurent Rivard, Harvard 70/176, 27 games, 2.6/gm, 40%

Ivy League Gregory Douglas Ott Award Candidate: Brian Barbour, Colgate 3.1 A/TO

Ok Buffet readership… the Waiting Line… and Spanning the Scene will be coming as one of the best days of college hoops unfolds, but we wanted to get your tournament previews as the slate of tournament games gets going.

Preview of Waiting Line… attractions: How Minnesota really must like waiting and not eating, Kentucky striving for a huge post-Nerlens Noel win to get back in line, Syracuse, while in the Buffet, looking more Waiting Line… than Buffet line these days, a scuttling La Salle team trying for an A10 signature, and a pair of tournament finals (one that will be complete by the time Buffet Part II gets to your doors, and looks pretty much over now) plus Blackbirds looking to sing in the dead of the NEC.

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Championship Week Notebook and other Action for Saturday, March 9th

Posted on March 9, 2013 by David Griggs

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK NOTEBOOK

-250 TEAMS REMAIN!!!

Check out Chad’s viewiing guide for all of today’s action linked below.

https://hoopshd.com/2013/03/09/conference-tournament-viewing-guide-march-9-2013/

-The Ohio Valley semifinals were exciting, but neither game went all the way down to the wire. After falling behind early, Belmont got control of Tennessee State by the second half and pretty much retained it. Murray State struggled in the first half, but finally surged ahead of Eastern Kentucky late in the second half. I believe Belmont is in even if they lose today, which a good thing because Murray can be tough to beat when they play to their potential. Murray has not shot without a win. They’ll probably miss the NIT as well, so it truly is an all or nothing situation for Murray.

-LMU’s miracle run continues. They’ve won three straight conference tournament games after winning just one conference game all season. The last two were decided in the final possession. They face Gonzaga tonight, so chances are their luck will run out. BYU fell to San Diego in the other game. Anyone who thought BYU was a tournament team before last night is crazy. Anyone who still thinks that needs to be institutionalized. San Diego will face Saint Mary’s in the other semifinal game. If SMC loses, I think they’re done as far as an at-large goes.

-The top two seeds in the Atlantic Sun advanced without too much trouble. FGCU will face Mercer at Mercer. Since Mercer is the first place team, it’s fitting that they got to host the conference tournament. It was predetermined, but you can’t say they didn’t deserve to host. Both teams have some notable wins, so I don’t think either of them will land in the First Four.

-Creighton and Wichita struggled for part of the game, but advanced to the semis of the Missouri Valley. Illinois State, who is the sixth place team but the team I picked to win it, jumped out to a huge lead against Northern Iowa. UNI came all the way back and actually got the lead, but Illinois State finally got control in the final minutes. They’ll face Wichita State in what will be a do-or-die situation with them. Indiana State, who won in a thriller against Evansville, will face Creighton. Creighton and Wichita are safe. Illinois State and Indiana State must win to stay alive.

-The better seeded team won both quarterfinal games in the Horizon, but both had to sweat it out. Wright State had a commanding lead over Youngstown, but the Penguins cut it to as close as four late in the game. Green Bay needed a last second three-pointer to beat UIC. Wright State squares off against Detroit, who they split the season series with each team winning on the road. Valpo had no trouble in their two games against Green Bay this season, and I don’t think they will tonight either. The championship game will be played on the highest remaining seed’s home floor, so Green Bay is the only team that has no chance of hosting it.

-The first pair of Summit League quarterfinal games tip off today. South Dakota State and Western Illinois are the top two seeds, and both appear to be undermatched, which will hopefully give them an easy route to the semifinals. This conference is a three horse race between those two and North Dakota State. If all advance to the semis, it should be a very exciting tournament from that point on. South Dakota State is probably the team that’s best built to pull off an upset in the NCAA Tournament, but North Dakota State is good as well. They’re also very young, so watch out for them next year. The other two semis are tomorrow. I guess the idea is to give the top two teams a day to rest prior to the semis.

-The America East quarters get underway today in Albany. Stony Brook was the regular season champion, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see anyone in the top four win it. Albany is the host team and could face Stony Brook tomorrow if both win.

-The Big South resumes after a day off with the semifinals. Gardner Webb will face Liberty, who is the upset special of the field so far, and Charleston Southern will face VMI. It’s a unique semifinal. We’ve got a Cinderella in Liberty, a resurged Charleston Southern team who won the division after struggling for several years, a VMI team who loves to run up and down the floor and put points on the board, and Gardner Webb, who is a solid team that gave some heavyweights fits OOC.

-The Colonial quarterfinals are today. Between teams who are ineligible for postseason play and others who are leaving the conference next season, what has normally been a twelve team tournament will only feature seven this year. The story in the conference, hands down, was Towson State. They won just one game a year ago and set an all-time NCAA record for most losses in a season. This year, they posted an 18-13 record and finished in a tie for second in the conference. They are easily the most improved team in the country. Unfortunately, they are not able to participate in the conference tourney due to APR infractions, which is a shame.

Northeastern was the regular season champion and byes into the semis. George Mason will face Drexel, who had a very good season last year where they almost made the NCAAs. They returned all their starters this year, but for some reason fell flat. Whereas Towson was the most improved team, I believe Drexel could easily be the most disappointing team. George Mason, who just two years ago was a top 25 team, has also taken a plunge. I don’t think the coaching is quite as good as it was when Larranaga was there. That’s the nicest way I know how to put that. Delaware (who was also kind of disappointing despite finishing as the #2 seed) will face Hofstra and James Madison will face William & Mary in the other games.

-The Patriot League is down to the semis. Lehigh and Lafayette will play each other at Lafayette. This is a rivalry game, so it should be a fun one. Bucknell will host Army in the other game. Bucknell and Lehigh are potentially dangerous teams, but neither can get in without the automatic bid.

-There is no Ivy League tournament, but if Harvard wins and Princeton loses, Harvard wins the automatic bid. If they both win, and Princeton wins against Penn this upcoming Tuesday, the two teams will be tied and will have a one game playoff at the Palestra in Philadelphia next Saturday.

-The two Metro Atlantic opening round games were exciting, but poorly played. The quarters get underway today. The top five teams are separated by just two games, so it really is sort of a free for all. Iona appears to be the best overall team, but they’re also the fifth place team. However, with a player like Momo Jones, they could end up winning this thing despite being fifth.

-The SoCon and Sun Belt quarters are also today. Davidson is the hands down favorite to win the SoCon and Middle Tennessee is the hands down favorite to win the SBC. Middle will get looked at for an at-large even if they don’t win the tournament, but any team they lose to will be considered a bad loss, so they’ll really be sweating.

OTHER ACTION

-DUKE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). This is college basketball’s premier rivalry. This edition features a Duke team that will likely be a #1 or a #2 seed, but who doesn’t have a true road win against a tournament caliber team and could really use one to boost their profile. UNC has been somewhat disappointing this year, but they have looked good lately, especially at home. So, as it normally seems to be, it’s big both on paper and off paper.

-SYRACUSE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). This is the last time these two will meet as members of the Big East. Georgetown is in the discussion for a #1 seed. They won at Syracuse earlier this year and this would be another big win both on and off paper for them. Syracuse has a very solid profile as well. This is as much about the rivalry as it is about putting a big win on the resume.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). Boise suffered a heartbreaking loss earlier in the week at UNLV. I think they’re one win away from making the NCAA Tournament. It can either come today or in the quarters of the MWC conference tourney, where they will face this same San Diego State team. Even if they lose both they have a decent shot, but one more win will lock it up.

-UAB AT MEMPHIS (Conference USA). Because the league is so weak, there really isn’t anything Memphis can do to improve their profile. I think they’re safely in unless they bomb this game and the quarterfinal game, but they aren’t likely to improve their resume much.

-FLORIDA AT KENTUCKY (SEC). I don’t think Kentucky has any chance in the world without a win today, and even if they do win it isn’t a sure thing. Florida hasn’t been the best road team, so an upset is not out of the question.

-MINNESOTA AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Purdue hasn’t had the best season, but they have looked good lately. Minnesota’s profile is good, but they haven’t been the best road team, so a win today would help their profile some.

-OLE MISS AT LSU (SEC). I think Ole Miss is too far outside the bubble. For them to have any chance at all they need to win today and have a good showing with some quality wins in the conference tournament.

-LA SALLE AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). I think both teams are safely in. Saint Louis is trying to win a share of the title, and La Salle is looking for a really good road win to move them further inside the bubble.

-KANSAS STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). These two are likely protected seeds. What’s interesting is that Kansas City is a site for the rounds of 64 and 32 and both teams would benefit from being placed there, so it is an important game in that regard.

-IOWA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big Twelve). Iowa State is a bubble team that could use more road wins.

-PITTSBURGH AT DEPAUL (Big East). Nothing much to be gained here from Pitt. They just need to avoid a bad loss.

-MARQUETTE AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Saint John’s is on the bubble and can play their way in, but they’ll need a big win today and some wins in the conference tournament to make that happen. Marquette is looking to get a protected seed and could use some notable road wins to cement it.

-NC STATE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). NC State is safely in, but they haven’t been the best road team and could improve their resume some with a win today.

-UCLA AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). UCLA is safely in and can clinch a share of the Pac Twelve title with a win today.

-TEXAS A&M AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Both these teams are outside the bubble and I really don’t see either getting in, but stranger things have happened, I guess.

-NEBRASKA AT IOWA (Big Ten). Iowa is outside the bubble and a loss today would pretty much kill them.

-OREGON AT UTAH (Pac Twelve). I think Oregon is safely in, but they’re moving down the seed list and can’t afford a bad loss like this one.

-CLEMSON AT MIAMI, FL (ACC). Miami can finally clinch an outright first place finish and keep themselves in the hunt for a #1 seed with a win today.

-MISSOURI AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Missouri is in but could use a good road win. Tennessee is outside the bubble and needs to win today, as well as win some games in the conference tournament, and even that may not be enough.

-SOUTH FLORIDA AT CINCINNATI (Big East). Cincinnati is in a tailspin and needs this win. This will be a very bad loss if they don’t pick it up, and at that point they’d be in real trouble of missing the tournament entirely.

-ARIZONA STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve). Arizona State is outside the bubble, but a win in a game like this will do wonders for them. They can still play their way in, but they have a lot of work to do. Arizona won the first game easily, and that was on the road, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t have too much trouble today.

-OREGON STATE AT COLORADO (Pac Twelve). Colorado is safely in and just needs to avoid adding a bad loss to their profile.

-OKLAHOMA AT TCU (Big Twelve). Not much to be gained here for Oklahoma. They just need to avoid a damaging loss.

-FRESNO STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West). Vegas is in very good shape and is simply looking to avoid a bad loss that would hurt their seed.

-NEW MEXICO AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West). New Mexico has the profile of a #2 seed, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the committee seeded them a bit lower than that. AFA is not the easiest place to win, so they need to be on upset alert.

-KANSAS AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve). Kansas is in the hunt for a #1 seed. Baylor is outside the bubble and needs to win today to even get a serious look.

-XAVIER AT BUTLER (Atlantic Ten). Xavier has really struggled this year, but if they’re able to win today they could land just outside the bubble heading into the conference tournament. Butler hasn’t been playing well lately, and they lost to Xavier rather handily in an early season OOC game. Next year these two teams will continue to be conference rivals. Just not in the Atlantic Ten. So, it is a noteworthy game in that regard as well.

-LOUISIANA TECH AT DENVER (WAC). Both of these teams appear to be outside the bubble with little chance of getting in it without the automatic bid, but the selection of Iona makes me scratch my head a little, especially with Denver. They played a lot of road games, they’ve held serve in conference, and for the most part they’ve avoided bad losses. One of these teams could land in the First Four. It’s less likely to happen than it is to not happen, but still….

Griggs

Posted in News and Notes | Tagged Atlantic Sun, Bucknell, Butler, Championship Week, colonial athletic association, Creighton, duke, georgetown, Horizon League, Lehigh, Missouri Valley, north carolina, ohio valley, Patriot League, summit league, Syracuse, towson, xavier | Comments Off

Small Conference Game of the Day – March 9

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Chad

January 9, 2010. Utah Valley defeats visiting Chicago State 48-43. With the victory, the first ever regular season conference game in Great West Conference history was complete.

March 9, 2013. Chicago State travels to take on Houston Baptist and NJIT heads out on the road to battle Texas-Pan American. And with these two games, the regular season history of the Great West Conference will come to an end.

The Great West Conference never had an automatic bid. It never even came close to obtaining one, either under the rules in place when it was formed requiring continuity of membership for a minimum number of years, or under the rules in place at its end, requiring at least 7 full Division I members. Next season, Utah Valley, Texas-Pan American and Chicago State head for the WAC while Houston Baptist moves on to the Southland. NJIT is still attempting to find its next conference home, with either the America East or the Northeast conference as their most likely destination; otherwise, they will be an independent next year.

What the Great West does have is the distinction of being the smallest of the small D1 conferences. Naturally, the Small Conference Game of the Day has chosen to end its regular season run this year with the final two regular season games in Great West history. While there is still a conference tournament to play next weekend, and a CIT appearance guaranteed for at least the conference tournament champion (last year the CIT took Utah Valley as an at-large as well), today marks the end of an era for the SCGD’s favorite small conference.

The Great West’s biggest claim to fame came at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season. The six games played in the Great West tournament had the following final scores: 73-70, 71-70, 72-70, 72-70, 65-63, and 77-76 OT. Every game came down to the final possession, making it, in terms of final score margin, the closest and most exciting conference tournament ever played. The total margin of difference in all six games combined was a mere 11 points.

As for today’s end to the Great West, our two SCGD’s both tip-off at 8:00 PM Eastern. Chicago State is 8-21 on the season and 2-5 in conference, as they travel to Houston Baptist who is 12-15 overall and 3-4 in league play. NJIT has already clinched the conference’s regular season title with a 6-1 conference mark and 16-11 overall record. They will be at Texas-Pan American which is 15-15 overall and 4-3 in conference. The final conference member, Utah Valley, finished 3-5 in conference play and currently sits at 14-16 overall (Utah Valley has a non-conference game as it hosts independent Cal State-Bakersfield in its regular season finale today as well).

Tonight is truly the end of an era. We say goodbye to our regular installments of the SCGD for the season, and we say goodbye to the Great West Conference. The Great West will not be missed by many, but for those of us that have a place in our hearts for the little guys, it is definitely sad to see the smallest of all conferences come to an end.

Posted in News and Notes | Comments Off

Conference Tournament Viewing Guide – March 9, 2013

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Chad

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)

Saturday, March 9

America East Quarterfinal:
12:00 PM – (2) Vermont vs (7) New Hampshire, espn3
2:30 PM – (3) Hartford vs (6) Maryland-Baltimore County, espn3
6:00 PM – (1) Stony Brook vs (8) Binghamton, espn3
8:30 PM – (4) Albany vs (5) Maine, espn3

Atlantic Sun Championship:
12:00 PM – (1) Mercer vs (2) Florida Gulf Coast, ESPN2

Big South Semifinal:
12:00 PM – (S1) Charleston Southern vs (N2) Virginia Military, espn3
2:30 PM – (S2) Gardner-Webb vs (N5) Liberty, espn3

Colonial Quarterfinal:
3:30 PM – (4) George Mason vs (5) Drexel, Local TV/caasports.com
6:00 PM – (2) Delaware vs (7) Hofstra, Local TV/caasports.com
8:30 PM – (3) James Madison vs (6) William & Mary, Local TV/caasports.com

Horizon Semifinal:
6:00 PM – (2) Detroit vs (3) Wright State, espn3
8:30 PM – (1) Valparaiso vs (4) Green Bay, ESPNU

Ivy League Regular Season:
5:30 PM – Cornell at Harvard, NBC Sports Network
6:00 PM – Princeton at Brown, brownbears.com (PPV)
***Harvard can clinch the automatic bid with a win and a Princeton loss.

Metro Atlantic Quarterfinal:
2:30 PM – (1) Niagara vs (9) Siena, espn3
5:00 PM – (4) Iona vs (5) Canisius, espn3
7:30 PM – (2) Rider vs (7) Fairfield, espn3
10:00 PM – (3) Loyola vs (6) Manhattan, espn3

Missouri Valley Semifinal:
2:30 PM – (1) Creighton vs (5) Indiana State, Local TV/Fox College Sports Pacific/espn3
5:00 PM – (2) Wichita State vs (6) Illinois State, Local TV/Fox College Sports Pacific/espn3

Northeast Semifinal:
12:00 PM – (2) Wagner vs (3) Long Island University, Local TV/Fox College Sports Central/espn3
2:30 PM – (1) Robert Morris vs (5) Mount St. Mary’s, Local TV/Fox College Sports Central/espn3

Ohio Valley Championship:
7:00 PM – (1) Belmont vs (2) Murray State, ESPN2

Patriot League Semifinal:
2:00 PM – (2) Lafayette vs (3) Lehigh, CBS Sports Network
4:30 PM – (1) Bucknell vs (4) Army, CBS Sports Network

Southern Quarterfinal:
12:00 PM – (1) Davidson vs (9) Georgia Southern, espn3
2:30 PM – (4) Appalachian State vs (12) Furman, espn3
6:00 PM – (2) Elon vs (10) UNC-Greensboro, espn3
8:30 PM – (3) College of Charleston vs (6) Western Carolina, espn3

Summit Quarterfinal:
7:00 PM – (1) South Dakota State vs (8) IUPUI, Local TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic
9:30 PM – (2) Western Illinois vs (7) South Dakota, Local TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic

Sun Belt Quarterfinal:
7:00 PM – (4) Florida International vs (5) Arkansas-Little Rock, sunbeltsports.org
7:30 PM – (1) Middle Tennessee vs (8) Louisiana-Lafayette, Local TV/espn3
9:30 PM – (3) South Alabama vs (6) Western Kentucky, sunbeltsports.org
10:00 PM – (2) Arkansas State vs (10) Troy, Local TV/espn3

West Coast Semifinal:
9:00 PM – (1) Gonzaga vs (9) Loyola Marymount, ESPN2
11:30 PM – (2) St. Mary’s vs (6) San Diego, ESPN2

Posted in CBB on TV | 2 Comments

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Championship Week Notebook and other Action for Saturday, March 9th

Small Conference Game of the Day – March 9

Conference Tournament Viewing Guide – March 9, 2013

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