The Real March Madness: Day 1

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 68 team bracket will be made.

For a comprehensive listing off all the conference tournaments, follow this link or click the "Complete Conference Tournament Schedules" page at the top of the screen.

Here is what happened on Tuesday:


Game of the Day: High Point 66, Liberty 60

I guess you could call this an upset, since the Flames were the No. 2 seed in the Big South Conference tournament, despite finishing the regular season on a four-game losing streak. No. 7 High Point led by nine with just under a minute-and-a-half to play, but Liberty scored 10 points in 60 seconds and cut the lead to just one with just 20 seconds left. But High Point hit their foul shots down the stretch and sealed the upset victory as they advance to play UNC-Asheville on Thursday.


Team of the Day: Detroit Titans

The No. 5 seed Titans dropped 90 points for just the second time this season, en route to a 21 point victory over No. 4 Loyola (IL) in the first round of the Horizon League tournament. Six Detroit players scored in double-figures, led by Chase Simon's 19. Loyola's only lead on the night was at 4-3 with 16 minutes left in the game. The Titans advance to play No. 4 Valpo on Saturday.

They were good too

- Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: The top-seeded Chanticleers struggled down the stretch of the regular season due to injuries, suspensions, and a good old NCAA investigation. Down the stretch of tonight's game, top-seeded CCU used a late-game surge to beat No. 8 Gardner-Webb in the first round of the Big South tournament. The team's two previous meetings had been decided by a combined five-points, and with five minutes remaining, this game figured to follow the trend. But an 18-10 run over the last five minutes gave the Chanticleers their first double-digit win since early-January, as well as a spot in the semifinals against No. 4 VMI.


Player of the Day: Shay Shine, High Point

Shine scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half as No. 7 High Point knocked off the No. 2 seed Flames of Liberty in the Big South Conference tournament. Liberty led for most of the first half and the early part of the second, but a Shine-led comeback, in which he scored 10 of his team's 12 straight points, gave High Point the lead with nine minutes left, a lead they would not relinquish. This was the fourth time this season Shine score more than 20 points, but just the second in which his team won, and the first since early January. Shine is also a two-time member of B.I.A.H POSTERIZED.

They were good too:

- Matt Dickey, UNC-Asheville: You may remember Dickey from his game-winning buzzer-beater off of an in-bounds steal to beat Coastal Carolina last week. But last night Dickey scored a career-high 29 points as the No. 3 seed Bulldogs defeated the No. 6 seed Buccaneers of Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs trailed by seven with 12 minutes to play, but Dickey scored seven of Asheville's 15 straight points to take the lead and seal the victory. Asheville will play High Point on Thursday.

- Brandon Wood, Valparaiso: The junior guard logged his first double-double of the season as the No. 4 seed Crusaders beat No. 9 Youngstown State in the first round of the Horizon League tournament. Wood scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Valpo built a steady lead and were able to fend off the Penguins. Wood also tallied five assists in the win. Valpo gets Detroit on Saturday.


Tuesday Results

Big South Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#1 Coastal Carolina 83, #8 Gardner-Webb 72
#7 High Point 66, #2 Liberty 60
#3 UNC-Asheville 72, #6 Charleston Southern 63
#4 VMI 78, #5 Winthrop 73


Horizon League Tournament First Round

#3 Cleveland State 73, #10 Illinois-Chicago 61
#6 Wright State 60, #7 Green Bay 50
#4 Valparaiso 80,#9 Youngstown State 71
#5 Detroit 90, #8 Loyola 69



Wednesday Slate of Games

Atlantic-Sun Conference Tournament
First Round (Macon, GA)

2:30PM - #8 Kennesaw State vs. #1 Belmont
9:00PM - #7 Campbell vs. #2 East Tennessee State


Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
First Round (Nashville, TN)

6:00PM - #8 Tennessee-Martin vs. #5 Tennessee State
8:00PM - #7 Southeast Missouri vs. #6 Eastern Kentucky


Patriot League Tournament
Quarterfinals (At higher seeds)

7:00PM - #8 Army at #1 Bucknell
7:00PM - #7 Colgate at #2 American
7:00PM - #6 Lafayette at #3 Holy Cross
7:00PM - #5 Navy at #4 Lehigh