Everyone loves the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Four straight days jam-packed with 12 hours of do-or-die college hoops is more than most people can handle.
But for junkies like us, the next 13 days are just as good, for it is when the true Madness takes place. Over the course of these two weeks, we whittle some 347 teams down to 30 conference champions (the Ivy doesn't have a tournament). Auto-bids will be won. Bubbles will be burst. Buzzers will be beaten. And most importantly, a 65 team bracket will be made.
Here is what happened on Sunday:
Game of the Day: CAA Semis
Anyone fortunate to be in attendance at Richmond Coliseum yesterday was treated to a pair of thrillers as Old Dominion came back from 12 down with 8 minutes left to beat a scrappy VCU team and William & Mary managed to survive six shots by Northeastern on the final possession to beat the Huskies.
Gerald Lee led the Monarchs with 26 points on Sunday, but it was his turnover that gave VCU a chance to win with 6.5 seconds left on the clock. The Rams had built a 12 point by trapping and forcing ODU to turn the ball over, but the Monarchs had come back to tie the game. After Lee's turnover (which came while the 6'11" center was dribbling the ball 40 feet from the rim), VCU inbounded the ball to Joey Rodriguez, who dribbled out the clock without the Rams getting off a shot to win the game. In the overtime, Ben Finney scored five of his 11 points, including a huge three with 1:08 left that gave ODU a four point lead after VCU missed going for a steal.
William & Mary blew all of a 14 point halftime lead, allowing Northeastern to take a 45-44 lead in the final minute, but David Schneider, who had not made a shot all game, hit his first field of the game, a three with 35.9 seconds, to give the Tribe a 47-45 lead. Northeastern would get seven shots at the rim at the other end, twice taking the ball out of bounds underneath the rim, but to no avail.
They were good too
- Oral Roberts 65, North Dakota State 64 OT: The Bison dug a 13 point second half hole and were down by as much as 12 points with 9:00 left in the game, but they would come back, using an 18-6 run capped by a jumper from Michael Tveidt to tie the game with 14 seconds left. In OT, ORU jumped out to a quick lead, and NDSU was able to get it to a single point on two occasions, including on a layup with 10 seconds left. After Dominique Morrison missed the front end of a 1-and-1, NDSU had a chance to win it, but Nate Zastrow missed a shot at the buzzer.
- Ohio 85, Ball State 77 OT: Armon Bassett answered a layup by DJ Cooper that gave Ball State a late 69-67 lead with an and-one layup of his own. He would miss the layup, but the bucket forced overtime, where the Bobcats jumped out to a four point lead and never looked back.
- Western Kentucky 65, Arkansas State 64: Down 62-56 with two minutes and change left, the Hilltoppers would knock down three straight threes, the last two by AJ Slaughter, and Western Kentucky survived as Arkansas State missed a layup after WKU missed to front end of a 1-and-1.
- North Texas 69, Louisiana-Monroe 66: North Texas used a 10-1 run in the last 3:44 to erase a 60-53 deficit, eventually beating the Warhawks to advance to the A-Sun semis.
Player of the Day: Kellen Brand, Appalachian State
Brand, a 6'1" senior that averages just 10.9 ppg, went off for 37 points and 7 boards as the Mountaineers knocked off Southern Conference two seed College of Charleston to advance to the finals of the SoCon tournament. Brand scored 22 in the second half, as ASU pushed a 16 point half time lead to as much as 25. Brand was 14-19 from the field and 5-6 from deep. In comparison, Charleston as a team was 18-64 from the field and 8-30 from deep.
They were good too
- AJ Slaughter, Western Kentucky: Slaughter went for 28 points to lead the Hilltoppers to a comeback win over Arkansas State. Slaughter hit back to back three in the final two minutes, one to tie the game and the other to give WKU a three point lead.
- Eric Tramiel, North Texas: Tramiel had 22 points and 17 boards to lead the Mean Green to a come from behind win over Louisiana-Monroe.
- Justin Rutty, Quinnipiac and Jaytornah Wisseh, LIU: Rutty and Wisseh had a battle in one of the semifinals of the NEC tournament. Wisseh outplayed Rutty, finishing with 33 points and 7 assists, but Rutty got the last laugh, as he went for 22 points and 16 boards in a 83-78 win for QU.
Team of the Day: Boston Terriers
Corey Lowe score 24 points off the bench for BU as they held on to beat regular season champ Stony Brook in the semis of the America East tournament. BU jumped out to a 16 point lead in the first half on the strength of a 15-0 run late in the first half. But Stony Brook wasn't going to go away easily, eventually taking the lead late in the second half. But it was a Lowe three that gave BU the lead for good with 4:33 left and sparked the deciding 9-0 run.
Welcome to the Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Finals (St. Louis, MO)
#1 Northern Iowa 67, #2 Wichita State 52
Tournament Results
America East Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Albany, NY)
#4 Boston 70, #1 Stony Brook 63
#2 Vermont 57 #6 New Hampshire 38
Colonial Athletic Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Richmond, VA)
#1 Old Dominion 73, #5 VCU 69 OT
#3 William & Mary 47, #2 Northeastern 45
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Albany, NY)
#1 Siena 72, #5 Rider 62
#2 Fairfield 69, #6 Niagara 63
Mid-American Conference Tournament
First Round (at higher seed)
#9 Ohio 85, #8 Ball State 77 OT
#5 Buffalo 72, #12 Toledo 54
#7 Western Michigan 75, #10 Bowling Green 73
#6 Eastern Michigan 65, #11 Norhtern Illinois 59
Northeast Conference Tournament
Semifinals (at higher seed)
#1 Quinnipiac 83, #4 Long Island 78
#2 Robert Morris 80, #3 Mt. St. Marys 62
Patriot League Tournament
Semifinals (at higher seed)
#3 Lafayette 66, #7 Holy Cross 63
#4 American 57 #1 Lehigh 79
Southern Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Chattanooga, TN)
#1S Wofford 77, #2N Western Carolina 58
#1N Appalachian State 77, #2S Charleston 54
Summit League Tournament
Quarterfinals (Sioux Falls, SD)
#5 IPFW 71, #4 South Dakota State 66
#3 Oral Roberts 65, #6 North Dakota State 64 OT
Sun Belt Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Hot Springs, AR)
#1 Troy 67, #9 South Alabama 55
#4 Western Kentucky 55, #5 Arkansas State 54
#2 North Texas 69, #7 Louisiana-Monroe 66
#6 Denver 73, #3 Middle Tennessee 58
West Coast Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)
#1 Gonzaga 77, #5 Loyola Marymount 62
#2 St. Marys 69, #3 Portland 55
Monday's Slate of Tournament Games
Colonial Athletic Association Tournament
Finals (Richmond, VA)
7:00PM - #1 Old Dominion vs. #3 William & Mary
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament
Finals (Albany, NY)
7:00PM - #1 Siena vs. #2 Fairfield
Southern Conference Tournament
Finals (Chattanooga, TN)
9:00PM - #1S Wofford vs. #1N Appalachian State
Summit League Tournament
Semifinals (Sioux Falls, SD)
6:00PM - #1 Oakland vs. #5 IPFW
8:30PM - #2 IUPUI vs. #3 Oral Roberts
Sun Belt Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Hot Springs, AR)
6:00PM - #1 Troy vs. #4 Western Kentucky
8:30PM - #2 North Texas vs. #6 Denver
West Coast Conference Tournament
Finals (Las Vegas, NV)
6:00PM - #1 Gonzaga vs. #2 St. Marys
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