The Real March Madness: Day 3

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 Thursday:


Game of the Day: Drake 63, Southern Illinois 61

I love the Missouri Valley Conference. The players, coaches and fans give 110% every night, and it really is one of the more competetive conferences in the country. If you've attended, then you can attest: Arch Madness is as intense as any tournament in the country. This game sums up what the MVC stands for. SIU built up a 10 point lead midway through the second half, but Drake used a 13-0 run to take a 54-51 run. The two teams would trade baskets for the last five minutes of the game before Gene Teague scored in the paint to tie the game at 61 with 34 seconds left.

(photo credit: Des Moines Register)

Senior Josh Young would answer at the other end, hitting a fade-away 10 footer with 1.5 seconds left to send the Bulldogs to a date with Northern Iowa in the quarters.

They were good too

• Mercer 87, Belmont 81: The Bears got 24 points form James Florence as they overcame a double digit deficit in the second half to knock off the Bruins, a team that had tied for the Atlantic Sun lead. Three of the A-Sun's top four teams lost. Mercer advances to play Jacksonville tonight.
  

Player of the Day: James Johnson, Quinnipiac

The Bobcats coasted through the first round of the NEC tournament, and Johnson led the cruise. At the end of a 84-75 win over Monmouth, he had compiled 23 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, and 3 steals. Johnson was one of five Bobcats to score in double-figures, but none shot as well as him.

(photo credit: Quinnipiac.edu)

He was 6-8 from the field, 3-4 from behind the arc and 8-10 from the line. But what is most impressive is that this performance came from a guy who averages only 12, 3, and 3 and has to share the ball with NEC PotY Justin Rutty. The top-seeded Bobcats take on the Blackbirds of Long Island in the semifinals.

They were good too

• Micah Williams, East Tennessee State: Williams went for 32 points as the Buccaneers advanced to take on Kennesaw State, who upset Lipscomb. To make it more impressive, Williams averaged just 11.6 ppg coming in, and hadn't scored more than 22 all season long.
  

Team of the Day: Winthrop Eagles

How can the team of the day not be the Eagles? Winthrop knocked off the two-seed (and for many, the Big South favorite) Radford 61-46 to advance to the Big South title game at 4:00 pm on Saturday. Artsiom Parakhouski may end up being an NBA player one day, but tonight Winthrop's zone stymied him on the offensive end. Winthrop stymied Radford as a whole for that matter, as the Highlanders managed just just 46 points on 25% shooting. Reggie Middleton went for 16 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists to lead the Eagles.

They were good too

• Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: Coastal Carolina advanced to the title game of the Big South tournament with a dominating performance against UNC-Asheville. The Chanticleers got up by as much as 30 in the second half as they put five players in double figures.
  

Tournament Results

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Macon, GA)
#5 East Tennessee State 72, #4 Campbell 64
#6 Mercer 87, #3 Belmont 81

Big South Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Conway, SC)
#1 Coastal Carolina 92, #4 UNC-Ashville 73
#3 Winthrop 61, #2 Radford 46

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
First Round (St. Louis, MO)
#8 Drake 63, #9 Southern Illinois 61
#7 Missouri State 52, #10 Evansville 46

Northeast Conference Tournament
First Round (at higher seed)
#1 Quinnipiac 84, #8 Monmouth 75
#2 Robert Morris 71, #7 Central Connecticut State 63
#3 Mt. St. Marys 65, #6 St. Francis (PA) 50
#4 Long Island 63, #5 Farliegh Dickinson 61


Friday's Slate of Tournament Games

Colonial Athletic Association Tournament
Frist Round (Richmond, VA)
12:00PM - #8 Towson vs. #9 UNC Wilmington
2:30PM - #5 VCU vs. #12 Delaware
6:00PM - #7 Hofstra vs. #10 Georgia State
8:30PM - #6 Drexel vs. #11 James Madison

Horizon League Tournament
First Round (Indianapolis, IN)
6:00PM - #3 UW-Green Bay vs. #7 Detroit
8:00PM - #4 UW-Milwaukee vs. #5 Cleveland State

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament
First Round (Albany, NY)
7:30PM - #8 Loyola vs. #9 Manhattan
9:30PM - #7 Canasius vs. #10 Marist

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Nashville, TN)
7:00 PM - ESPNU - #1 Murray State vs. #4 Eastern Illinois
9:00 PM - ESPNU - #2 Morehead State vs. #6 Tennessee Tech

Southern Conference Tournament
First Round (Chattanooga, TN)
2:00PM - #3S Davidson vs. #6N Elon
3:30PM - #4N UNC Greensboro vs. #5S Furman
7:00PM - #4S The Citadel vs. #5N Samford
8:30PM - #3N Chattanooga vs. #6S Georgia Southern

West Coast Conference Tournament
First Round (Las Vegas, NV)
6:00PM - #5 Loyola Marymount vs. #8 Pepperdine
8:30PM - #6 San Diego vs. #7 Santa Clara