The Real March Madness: Day 2

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 Wednesday


Game of the Day: Kennesaw State 72, Lipscomb 69

Kurtis Woods scored on a go-ahead layup with 19 seconds left and Kennesaw State upset top-seeded Lipscomb 72-69 on Wednesday in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. Markeith Cummings knocked down two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to seal the game for the Owls (13-19), who snapped a seven-game losing streak.Jordan Burgason attempted a 3-pointer for the Bisons but his shot hit the back of the rim as time expired to preserve the victory for eighth-seeded Kennesaw State. Conference PotY Adnan Hodzic led Lipscomb with 29 points and 16 rebounds, which was his 11th and final double-double of the year.

Team of the Day: Kennesaw State Owls

The Owls, seeded dead last in the A-Sun tournament pulled the upset of the week, beating top-seeded Lipscomb. What was so great about the Owls last night is that they controlled the tempo of the game, forced Lipscomb to take alot of bad outside shots, and won the turnover battle. Lipscomb was held to 6-22 from behind the arc, and committed 15 turnovers, compared to Kennesaw State's seven. If the Owls defense wasn't enough, the offense got it done. Four players scored in double-digits,including 14 from reserve guard Kelvin McConnell who was 4-4 from behind the 3-point line.

Player of the Day: Stephen Lumpkins, American


Tournament Results

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
First Round (Macon, GA)
#8 Kennesaw State 72, #1 Lipscomb 69
#2 Jacksonville 76, #7 North Florida 69

Patriot League Tournament
First Round (at higher seed)
#1 Lehigh 64, #8 Army 45
#7 Holy Cross 67, #2 Bucknell 64
#3 Lafayette 73, #6 Colgate 65
#4 American 62, #5 Navy 60


Thursday's Slate of Tournament Games

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Macon, GA)
2:30PM - #5 East Tennessee State vs. #4 Campbell
9:00PM - #6 Mercer vs. #3 Belmont

Big South Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Conway, SC)
6:00PM - #2 Radford vs. #3 Winthrop
8:00PM - #1 Coastal Carolina vs. #4 UNC-Ashville

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
First Round (St. Louis, MO)
6:05PM - #8 Drake vs. #9 Southern Illinois
8:35PM - #7 Missouri State vs. #10 Evansville

Northeast Conference Tournament
First Round (at higher seed)
7:00PM - #8 Monmouth at #1 Quinnipiac
7:00PM - #7 Central Connecticut State at #2 Robert Morris
7:00PM - #6 St. Francis (PA) at #3 Mt. St. Marys
7:00PM - #5 Farliegh Dickinson at #4 Long Island