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Post by Commissioner on Mar 14, 2019 22:45:44 GMT -5
Thursday, March 14.
Titan Non-Conference Opponents Central Michigan 89, Kent State 81. Central (23-10) advance to the MAC semis to play Buffalo. Kent is 22-10, with the NIT a very long shot. CIT?
#18 Buffalo 82, Akron 46. Buffalo (29-3) is a pretty good team--deep, balanced, well-coached. Akron finishes 17-16.
Northern Illinois 80, Toledo 76. A MAC shocker. Toledo (25-7) wasn't going to get an at-large bid anyway, but this should stop Rocket fans from bitching about it. The NIT is a good tournament.
Bowling Green 99, Ball State 86. After a high scoring first half left BGSU up 54-51 at the break, the Falcons (21-11) pulled away with just a modest bit of defense in the second.
Xavier 63, Creighton 61. Zach Hankins had 22 points for Xavier (18-14), including the go-ahead with 20 seconds left on the clock. He also led all players with 9 rebounds.
Other Games #2 Virginia 76, North Carolina State 56. After trailing by 2 at the break, UVa ((29-2) turned it on in the second half. NC State (22-11), has probably done enough to make the dance, but they'll be nervous until they see their name called on the screen.
#3 North Carolina 83, Louisville 70. The ACC quarterfinals could almost be the NCAA Elite 8. #5 Duke 84, Syracuse 72. Zion is back, baby! With 29 points and 14 rebounds. #12 Florida State 65, #16 Virginia Tech 63 (OT). Freshman Devin Vassell got FSU (26-6) to the overtime with a big 3 point shot with about 5 seconds left in regulation, and Terrance Mann won it with an off-balance toss up with 2 seconds left in overtime. Vassell's 14 points led FSU's balanced attack, in which 10 players scored.
West Virginia 79, #7 Texas Tech 74. Big upset for the Mountaineers (14-19), that may cost Tech (26-6) a line in the seeding. Emmet Matthews led WVU with 28 points.
#14 Nevada 77, Boise State 69. #15 Kansas State 70, Texas Christian 61. Selection Sunday will be a nail biter for the 20-13 Horned Frogs. Personally, I think they needed this one to make the field. #17 Kansas 65, Texas 57. Texas finishes 16-16. After four seasons in Austin, Shaka Smart is 66-65. The bloom is off the yellow rose. He doesn't look so Smart anymore. Add your cliche here:
Nebraska 69, #21 Maryland 61. #22 Auburn 81, Missouri 71. #23 Marquette 86, St. John's 54. St. John's (21-12) will be another team on pins and needles Sunday afternoon. #25 Villanova 73, Providence 62.
Seton Hall 73, Georgetown 57. This probably does in the hopes of Georgetown (19-13), while moving Seton Hall (19-12) from bubble to in. Ohio State 79, Indiana 75. Knock Indiana (17-15) out of the bracket for sure. OSU (19-13) remains on the bubble. Minnesota 77, Penn State 72 (OT). Alabama 62, Mississippi 57. Ole Miss 20-12 is probably in despite the loss. Alabama probably needs to upset Kentucky tomorrow. Iowa State 83, Baylor 66. Arizona State 83, UCLA 72. UCLA (17-16) went 10-10 after firing Steve Alford. ASU (22-9) is awfully close to clinching a berth. Washington 78, USC 75.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 16, 2019 7:16:16 GMT -5
Friday, The Ides of March
Titan Non-Conference Opponents #25 Villanova 71, Xavier 65 (OT). Xavier led most of the way, but Villanova erased a 7 point disadvantage in the final 3 minutes to get to OT and then the win. Paul Scruggs had 28 points and Zach Hankins 18 for the Musketeers (18-15). Phil Booth led Villanova (24-9) with 28.
St. Louis 64, Dayton 55. Dayton (21-11) failed to take advantage of VCU being upset in the A10 tournament, and indeed was upset themselves by the Billikens (21-12).
Bowling Green 71, Northern Illinois 67. The Falcons (21-11) advanced behind 25 points from Dylan Frye. They'll face Buffalo in the MAC final Saturday.
Wichita State 80, Temple 74. Temple (23-9) will be on pins and needles during the Sunday selection show, after falling to Wichita State in the American Conference quarters. Ernest Aflakpui had 16 points and 19 rebounds for the Owls, but the Shockers' Markis McDuffie countered with 34 and 12. After a long, inconsistent season, the Shockers have won 6 straight, peaking at the right moment.
Other Games of Note #6 Michigan State 77, Ohio State 70. Career win #600 for Tom Izzo. OSU (19-14) will sweat out Selection Sunday, but bid stealers in the Mountain West and Atlantic 10 today didn't help their chances.
#10 Michigan 74, Iowa 53. Michigan (26-5) looked very good.
#18 Buffalo 85, Central Michigan 81. CMU (23-11) led much of the way but couldn't hold off Buffalo. Bills' star CJ Massinburg put Buffalo (30-3) up for good by hitting a free throw with 2:23 to play, and scored Buffalo's last 9 points in the game, finishing with a game high 21. Lots of bubble teams were happy to see Buffalo come back.
#12 Florida State 69, #2 Virginia 59. The ACC semis could almost be the Final 4. #5 Duke 74, #3 North Carolina 73. Wow. Another great game in a great rivalry, and one worthy of a top notch national title game. Zion Williamson has shown no ill effects at all from his injury, and had 31 points, including what proved to be the game winner on a put back with 30 seconds left, and 11 rebounds. After UNC failed to score, Duke's RJ Barrett missed a pair of free throws, setting up the Tar Heels for the final shot. But Colby White's trey was just off the mark. Duke held UNC to 4-26 from deep, and along with Zion, that was the difference.
#4 Kentucky 73, Alabama 55. #8 Tennessee 83, Mississippi State 76. Florida 76, #9 LSU 73. Andrew Nembhard's three with 1 second left gave the Gators (19-14) a comeback win in the SEC quarters. Nembhard led Florida with 20 points. A big win for Florida, probably moving them past, say, Ohio State in the at-large pecking order. Naz Reid had 26 points and 14 boards for top-seeded LSU (26-6).
#11 Houston 84, Connecticut 45. Can you recall a 30-2 team with a lower profile than Houston?
Minnesota 75, #13 Purdue 73. The Gophers (21-12) were a likely selection anyway, but they can certainly breathe easier after knocking off Purdue (23-9) Friday. Jordan Murphy completed an old-fashioned 3 point play for the lead with 2 minutes left, then sank 2 free throws a few seconds later, which was enough for the win as Purdue star Carsen Edwards missed a three on the final possession.
San Diego State 65, #14 Nevada 56. San Diego State (21-12) advances to the MWC final, trying to steal a bid from some 7th place P5 team. Iowa State 63, #15 Kansas State 59. Iowa State (22-11) is another team that was probably in anyway, but certainly feels better after this game. They're in. #17 Kansas 88, West Virginia 74. #19 Wisconsin 66, Nebraska 61. The Badgers (23--9) survived a 4 point, 7 turnover performance from star Ethan Happ. #22 Auburn 73, South Carolina 64.
Seton Hall 81, #23 Marquette 79. I can't sum this game up better than Jeff Borzello: "85 free throws, nine technicals, three ejections, four guys fouled out, there was a scuffle, Myles Powell was ejected then wasn't, words exchanged in handshake line, game was three hours without overtime, Seton Hall won by two." Marquette's Markus Howard had an odd 21 points. He really had a terrible game, shooting 1-15 from the field and missing a final shot for the win, but he made 18 free throws in 24 attempts. Marquette (24-9) will enter the NCAA tournament next week with 5 losses in its last 6 games. Seton Hall, OTOH, will enter the Saturday final against Villanova with 4 straight wins, 3 of them over ranked teams.
#24 Cincinnati 82, SMU 74.
Rhode Island 75, Virginia Commonwealth 70. Here's a likely bid stealer, as VCU (25-7) was probable a lock. Rhode Island (18-14), which lost to VCU by 34 last month, snapped the Rams' 12 game winning streak. But they're probably celebrating at the A10 offices, knowing they'll now likely get a second bid for the conference. Marcus Santos-Silva had a big night in defeat, with 26 points and 22 rebounds.
Memphis 79, Central Florida 55. Memphis (21-12) hasn't stolen a bid yet, but they're definitely a threat playing the AAC tournament on their home court.
Washington 66, Colorado 61. Oregon 79, Arizona State 75 (OT). And finally, the PAC 12. If the ACC semis had a Final Four feel, the PAC 12 semis had something of an NIT final four feel to them. Oregon (22-12) is peaking timely, with 7 straight wins. The Ducks led early by a lot, but an 18-1 ASU run early in the second half turned the game around. Oregon didn't retake a lead until the OT, when it scored the first 8 points. Arizona State (22-10) is probably OK get an NCAA bid, but shouldn't bet the house on it.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 17, 2019 8:06:40 GMT -5
Saturday, March 16
Titan Non-Conference Opponents #18 Buffalo 87, Bowling Green 73. Up just three with under 5 minutes to play, Buffalo closed out the MAC title game like a true champ. The Bills (31-3) held Bowling Green scoreless for over 3:30, going on a 12-0 run to wrap it up. BGSU (22-12) will hope for an NIT bid.
Some other scores I noticed #6 Michigan State 67, #19 Wisconsin 55. Cassius Winston had 21 points and Kenny Goins had 13 points and 12 boards as MSU (27-6) advanced to the B10 final. #10 Michigan 76, Minnesota 49. UM (28-5) is playing some awesome ball again. Seven turnovers, 52% from the floor, held Minnesota to 41% overall and 2-12 from the arc. Looking forward to a super game Sunday.
Lewis 65, Grand Valley State 63. In the D-II Championship first round, #1 seed Lewis, trailing by 4 with just over three minutes to play, held 8th seeded Grand Valley scoreless for 2:57, and escaped with a win. Grand Valley reached the tournament by upsetting regular season champ Davenport to win the GLIAC tournament. Davenport ended the year ranked 12th in D-II but was not eligible for an at-large bid as they are in their last year of "transitioning" to D-II.
#5 Duke 73, Florida State 63. Duke (29-5) presumably clinches a #1 seed.
#8 Tennessee 82, #4 Kentucky 78. Tennessee takes the rubber match, outscoring Kentucky 18-6 in the final three minutes. I wonder if this knocks the Cats out of a #1 seed. #22 Auburn 65, Florida 62. Florida (19-15) really helped their odds with their Friday upset of LSU, but they're still not a lock after Auburn's come from behind win. Auburn faces Tennessee Sunday for the SEC tournament title.
#11 Houston 61, Memphis 58. Houston (31-2) missed 10 straight shots late, allowing tournament host Memphis to get what had been a lopsided game back to a single possession, but the Tigers (21-13) couldn't complete the comeback. #24 Cincinnati 66, Wichita State 63. Cincy (27-6) will face Houston on Sunday for the AAC automatic bid, but both teams will be called later in the day.
Iowa State 78, #17 Kansas 66. The Big 12 title for Iowa State. #25 Villanova 74, Seton Hall 72. Myles Powell scored 25 points for Seton Hall (20-13), but missed the potential game winner with 5 seconds to play. It's the third consecutive Big East tournament championship for 'Nova (25-9).
Oregon 68, Washington 48. It's hardly a given that PAC 12 regular season champ Washington (26-8) makes the field. They have a NET ranking of 45 and are 1-7 against other teams likely to make the field--that 1 being over Oregon back in January. But more likely they are in, and the PAC 12 will also qualify Arizona State for a reasonable contingent of three entries. The Ducks (23-12), who opened this one up with a 14-0 run early in the second half, are playing well and have won 8 straight.
Utah State 64, San Diego State 57. Bubble teams breathed a little easier after Utah State (28-6) won on Saturday, preventing SD State from stealing a bid.
New Mexico State 89, Grand Canyon 57. New Mexico State (30-4) won its 19th in a row to claim the WAC title. Junior Trevelin Queen had a career high 27 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Dan Majerle draws big crowds at Grand Canyon (20-13) and has 6 straight winning seasons and 4 straight 20-win seasons, but hasn't been able to reach an NIT or NCAA yet, and won't this year.
Old Dominion 62, Western Kentucky 56. It's ODU (26-8) for the CUSA bid. The Monarchs have averaged over 24 wins a year for the past 5 years, but this is their first bid in that time.
Vermont 66, UMBC 49. Do you realize that Vermont (27-6) has recorded 11 consecutive 20-win seasons, and 16 in the last 18 years. They won the America East Conference tournament with an easy win over UMBC (21-13), last year's NCAA tourney darling. UMBC had won both regular season meetings.
Cal-Irvine 92, Cal State-Fullerton 64. You probably haven't hear a word this season about Cal-Irvine, but they've won 30 games and now the Big West title.
Montana 68, Eastern Washington 62. Jud Heathcote's old team is going back to the dance. It wasn't easy. Regular season champ Montana (26-8) trailed for the first 30 minutes or so, and the final margin was their biggest lead.
Prairie View A&M 92, Texas Southern 86. Prairie View makes the NCAA for the first time since 1998, the second time ever, by winning the SWAC over Coach Davis's old team.
Abilene Christian 77, New Orleans 60. Abilene Christian (27-6), which dropped out of D-I for 40 years before returning in 2014, will make its first-ever NCAA appearance as Southland Conference tournament champions.
North Carolina Central 50, Norfolk State 47. NC Central (18-15) snagged a bid by beating top-seeded Norfolk (21-13) in the MEAC final. The Eagles appeared to take control with a 25-6 second half run, but then went stone cold, missing 9 of their last 10 shots and failing to score in the game's final four minutes. But Norfolk's last three point attempt was off, and NC Central goes to the NCAA for the 3rd straight year. The Eagles NET ranking is 305.
Georgia State 59, Texas State 46. Ray McCallum's team (23-9) advances to the Sunbelt final.
St Bonaventure 68, Rhode Island 51. St. Louis 67, Davidson 44. Two old Titan rivals from better days, St. Louis and St. Bonaventure, will go for the A10 title on Sunday, stealing a bid from some 7th place P6 team--or some other deserving mid-major. A 12-0 Billiken run early in the second half broke this one open. Davidson (24-9) looks NIT bound.
Yale 83, Princeton 77. Harvard 66, Penn 58. It'll be Harvard/Yale for the Ivy bid on Sunday.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh 96, Swathmore 82. The NCAA D-III 2019 men's champion is Oshkosh, by gosh!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2019 15:22:04 GMT -5
Congratulations Coach McCallum and Georgia St on making the NCAA Tournament
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 17, 2019 16:17:39 GMT -5
Congratulations Coach McCallum and Georgia St on making the NCAA Tournament Good news for a good man who is also a good coach. Also glad that Corey Allen is at least around that environment and enjoying a program experiencing that success.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2019 16:39:33 GMT -5
It's been a terrific week of basketball, especially the past 2 days. Nobody can compete with the Titans for my loyalty, but two of my other favorites got into the NCAAs: Coach Ray with Georgia St and the Buffalo Bulls, while 2 others barely missed by losing into their Conference tournament championship games: Coach Mihalich and his Hofstra Pride and the Bonnies of St Bonaventure
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 17, 2019 16:47:10 GMT -5
Selection Sunday, March 17
Yale 97, Harvard 85. Yale broke open a tight game with a 15-0 run midway through the second half. The Eli (22-7) shot 60% from the field and 28 of 30 from the foul line. Harvard (18-11) claims an automatic NIT berth.
St. Louis 55, St. Bonaventure 53. St Bonaventure held St. Louis (23-12) without a field goal for the first nine minutes and change of the game, opening a 15 point lead. But it was the Billikens' turn in the second half, as they limited the St. Bonaventure (18-16) to 19 points and rallied for the win when Bonnies final effort bounced out.
#22 Auburn 84, #8 Tennessee 64. The Kentucky game must've taken a lot out of Tennessee (29-5), which got smoked today.
Georgia State 73, UT-Arlington 64. Corey Allen and Ray McCallum get to the tournament (though Cory, of course, is sitting this year). Georgia State (24-9) wins the Sunbelt.
#24 Cincinnati 69, #11 Houston 57. Jerron Cumberland led UC's upset with 33 points.
#6 Michigan State 65, #10 Michigan 55. State (28-6) is awesome. They scored the last 10 points of the game to win. Senior Matt McQuade led with 27, and former walk-on Kenny Goins cemented the win with a pair of late free throws. These teams could both make the Final Four.
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 17, 2019 16:50:43 GMT -5
Saturday, March 16#5 Duke 73, Florida State 63. Duke (29-5) presumably clinches a #1 seed. #11 Houston 61, Memphis 58. Houston (31-2) missed 10 straight shots late, allowing tournament host Memphis to get what had been a lopsided game back to a single possession, but the Tigers (21-13) couldn't complete the comeback. Iowa State 78, #17 Kansas 66. The Big 12 title for Iowa State. Oregon 68, Washington 48. It's hardly a given that PAC 12 regular season champ Washington (26-8) makes the field. They have a NET ranking of 45 and are 1-7 against other teams likely to make the field--that 1 being over Oregon back in January. But more likely they are in, and the PAC 12 will also qualify Arizona State for a reasonable contingent of three entries. The Ducks (23-12), who opened this one up with a 14-0 run early in the second half, are playing well and have won 8 straight. New Mexico State 89, Grand Canyon 57. New Mexico State (30-4) won its 19th in a row to claim the WAC title. Junior Trevelin Queen had a career high 27 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Dan Majerle draws big crowds at Grand Canyon (20-13) and has 6 straight winning seasons and 4 straight 20-win seasons, but hasn't been able to reach an NIT or NCAA yet, and won't this year. Old Dominion 62, Western Kentucky 56. It's ODU (26-8) for the CUSA bid. The Monarchs have averaged over 24 wins a year for the past 5 years, but this is their first bid in that time. Vermont 66, UMBC 49. Do you realize that Vermont (27-6) has recorded 11 consecutive 20-win seasons, and 16 in the last 18 years. They won the America East Conference tournament with an easy win over UMBC (21-13), last year's NCAA tourney darling. UMBC had won both regular season meetings. Some thoughts from yesterday's scores. I hate Duke. Sampson has done a fantastic job at Houston, but it shouldn't be a surprise. He's won everywhere he has been. Remember, Antoine Davis originally signed with Houston before deciding to play for his Dad at Texas Southern and then Detroit. Imagine being such a strong program that an off year is finishing third in the league and making the finals of the conference tournament, all while dealing with extended player absences due to injury and eligibility questions. That's Kansas for you. I had no idea Vermont had been so successful over the past two decades. I need to pay attention. The hype that Dan Marjerle gets far exceeds the actual success of the GCU program on the court. I think he's doing an excellent job, but I've heard GCU referred to as one of the top mid major programs in the country. No. Rick Stansbury gets a ton of hype for his recruiting successes, rightfully so (if you ignore the fact that he has a pattern of hiring people connected to the recruits he's after), but it hasn't resulted in the domination of Conference USA that some predicted when he was hired. This was year three and he finished 11-7 in conference, down from the 14-4 last season. College basketball fans and media obsess over recruiting, but it is just part of the game. Washington is one of the weakest Power 5 conference champs I can remember seeing. They scored two points in the first nine minutes plus of the second half as Oregon took the PAC 12 conference title. It is a testament to how bad the PAC 12 was this year that a team like Washington went 15-3 in league play.
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Post by titantarheel on Mar 17, 2019 19:33:48 GMT -5
I can't even be mad at RailsplitterSam because he led off this post with "I hate Duke". Music to my ears.
The ACC with 3!!! #1 seeds in the tourney. Can't imagine a league has ever done that? While Duke is the heavy favorite, they aren't as invincible as people once thought, even with Zion back. Carolina was a no-traveling call on Zions game winner in the ACC-Tourney to having beaten them on Saturday night. Also, my Heels turned in just a phenomenal season and one I honestly didn't see coming. One of those seasons where its fun to enjoy the ride as they continually raised the bar of success and expectations.
MSU. What can you say about that team? They just win, period. They have no supreme stud athletes or players but they just win ball games. I'm as big a Winston fan you'll find, but I'm also realistic he isn't wildly athletic nor can he easily get his own shot off. Again, he found ways to put the ball in the basket today and lead the Spartans to a great comeback win over UM.
This is just such a fun, fun, FUN time of year for basketball!
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 17, 2019 20:33:21 GMT -5
I can't even be mad at RailsplitterSam because he led off this post with "I hate Duke". Music to my ears. The ACC with 3!!! #1 seeds in the tourney. Can't imagine a league has ever done that? While Duke is the heavy favorite, they aren't as invincible as people once thought, even with Zion back. Carolina was a no-traveling call on Zions game winner in the ACC-Tourney to having beaten them on Saturday night. Also, my Heels turned in just a phenomenal season and one I honestly didn't see coming. One of those seasons where its fun to enjoy the ride as they continually raised the bar of success and expectations. MSU. What can you say about that team? They just win, period. They have no supreme stud athletes or players but they just win ball games. I'm as big a Winston fan you'll find, but I'm also realistic he isn't wildly athletic nor can he easily get his own shot off. Again, he found ways to put the ball in the basket today and lead the Spartans to a great comeback win over UM. This is just such a fun, fun, FUN time of year for basketball! Three number one seeds from one conference is incredible. I can't remember it happening before. It brings to mind that Final Four in the mid 80s when the Big East had three teams in the Final Four. The Tar Heels have been a team I root for since the days of Phil Ford. They could have a deep run. I hate Duke so much that I turned the sound down on a game I was watching today because Jim Spanarkel was doing the color commentary.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 18, 2019 21:50:47 GMT -5
Monday, March 18 The Season rolls on!
The CIT started less than 24 hours after announcing its teams:
NJIT 92, Quinnipiac 81. 777 fans (exactly 111 more than the anti-Christ) packed into the NJIT Wellness and Events Center in Newark (it suddenly dawns on me--why didn't I drive up?) to watch the hometown Highlanders (22-12) bop the Bobcats of Quinnipiac (16-15). Sophomore Zach Cook led the winners with 34 points. NJIT is on to the CIT Sweet 16!
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 19, 2019 16:09:16 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 18:49:01 GMT -5
St Francis, Pa leading Indiana by 6 at the half and my Hofstra team leading NC State by 3 at the half. Terrific!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 20:04:40 GMT -5
St Francis, Pa leading Indiana by 6 at the half and my Hofstra team leading NC State by 3 at the half. Terrific! Well that didn't last ๐
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 19, 2019 20:35:05 GMT -5
St Francis, Pa leading Indiana by 6 at the half and my Hofstra team leading NC State by 3 at the half. Terrific! Well that didn't last ๐ That Indiana game changed quickly.
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