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 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 Thursday:


Game of the Day: Central Connecticut State 64, St. Francis (NY) 62

The No. 4 Blue Devils snapped a three-game skid by ending the No. 5 Terriers five-game winning streak in the quarterfinals of the NEC tournament. CCSU led by just on at the half, and the score was tied eight times before the Blue Devils pulled away late, going on a 11-3 run midway through the second. But the Terriers closed the gap down the stretch. St. Francis had a chance to win or tie with nine seconds remaining, but a Ricky Cadell floater fell short of the basket and the Blue Devils walked away with the 64-62 victory.


Team of the Day: North Florida Osprey

Trailing by six at the half, and by ten with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game, the No. 6 seed Osprey outscored No. 3 Jacksonville by 14 to upset the Dolphins in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. The Dolphins had won both regular season meetings, but only by a combined three points. North Florida now faces No. 2 East Tennessee State who beat them back on February 13th by 23 points.


Player of the Day: Greer Wright and Moussa Camara, Binghamton

Wright and Camara were the only two Bearcats to score in double-digits, but they scored 31 and 30 points apiece en route to a 91-65 victory over UMBC. The senior forward duo shot a combined 21-39, including 13-24 from behind the arc, in the 36 point blowout. Wright provided nine rebounds and six assists while Camara added five boards and three helpers.

They were good too

- Velton Jones, Robert Morris: The sophomore averaged only 11 points during the regular season, but last night, the Philly native dropped a career-high 29 points on 8-12 shooting including 4-5 from behind the arc. In the two previous meetings against the Seahawks, Jones scored only 16 combined points.

- Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Bradley: D.S.E led all players with 26 points on 11-18 shooting in only 26 minutes of work. The sophomore guard was just one of two Braves to score in double-figures and his 11 field goals matched the total for the team.


Thursday Results


America East Conference Tournament First Round

#9 Binghamton 91, #8 UMBC 65


Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#6 North Florida 68, #3 Jacksonville 64
#5 Mercer 73, #4 Lipscomb 63


Big South Conference Tournament Semifinals

#3 UNC-Asheville 62, #7 High Point 45
#1 Coastal Carolina 89, #4 VMI 81


Missouri Valley Conference Tournament First Round

#8 Southern Illinois 57, #9 Illinois State 54
#10 Bradley 63, #7 Drake 48


Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#1 Long Island 90, #8 St. Francis (PA) 75
#2 Quinnipiac 78, #7 Mt., St. Mary's 59
#3 Robert Morris 78, #6 Wagner 74
#4 Central Connecticut State 64, #5 St. Francis (NY) 62


Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#4 Tennessee Tech 83, #8 Tennessee-Martin 59
#3 Austin Peay 76, #7 Southeast Missouri State 60



Friday Slate of Games


Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Macon, GA)

6:30PM - #1 Belmont vs. #5 Mercer
9:00PM - #2 East Tennessee State vs. #6 North Florida


Colonial Atheltic Association Tournament
First Round (Richmond, VA)

12:00PM -#8 UNC-Wilmington vs. #9 Georgia State
2:30PM - #5 Drexel vs. #12 Towson
6:00PM - #7 Delaware vs. #10 Northeastern
8:30PM - #6 James Madison vs. #11 William & Mary


Horizon League Tournament
Second Round (Milwaukee, WI)

6:00PM - #3 Cleveland State vs. #6 Wright State
8:30PM - #4 Valparaiso vs. #5 Detroit


Metro Atlatic Athletic Conference Tournament
First Round (Bridgeport, CT)

7:30PM - #8 Niagara vs. #9 Marist
9:30PM - #7 Siena vs. #10 Manhattan


Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Second Round (St. Louis, MO)

1:05PM - #1 Missouri State vs. #8 Southern Illinois
3:35PM - #4 Northern Iowa vs. #5 Creighton
7:05PM - #2 Wichita State vs. #10 Bradley
9:35PM - #3 Indiana State vs. #6 Evansville


Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Nashville, TN)

7:00PM - #1 Murray State vs. #4 Tennessee Tech
9:00PM - #2 Morehead State vs. #3 Austin Peay


Southern Conference Tournament
First Round (Chattanooga, TN)

2:00PM - #4S Davidson vs. #5N UNC-Greensboro
5:00PM - #3N Appalachian State vs. #6S Georgia Southern
7:00PM - #3S Furman vs. #6N Samford
9:00PM - #4N Elon vs. #5S The Citadel


West Coast Conference Tournament
First Round (Las Vegas, NV)

9:00PM - #5 Portland vs. #8 Loyola Marymount
11:30PM - #6 Pepperdine vs. #7 San Diego