Conference Tournament Preview: Six teams that can win a game in the NCAA's

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.

To kick off our preview of the conference tournaments, lets take a look at six teams that aren't going to be getting an at-large berth, but are capable of winning a game in March.


Siena Saints: 24-6, 17-1 MAAC

We've written this before, but Siena reminds me a lot of the Davidson team from 2008 that made that miraculous run to the Elite 8. After winning a game in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments, Siena had quite a bit of expectation coming into this season. But like Davidson in 2008, Siena lost all of their marquee games this season. Their best win? Northeastern, who finished in second place in the CAA. But rest assured, which ever four or five seed draws the Saints in the first round of the NCAA's will know what they are in for.

Ronald Moore doesn't score a lot, but he is probably Siena's MVP.
(photo credit: Albany Times-Union)

There are quite a few things to like about this Siena team. With Ryan Rossiter and Edwin Ubiles, they have the size and athleticism that many low- and mid-major teams lack, while Alex Franklin is your prototypical mid-major post -- undersized, but scrappy and productive. Throw Clarence Jackson in the mix, and they have four guys that are capable of going for 20 on a given night. They have arguably the most underrated point guard in the country in Ronald Moore. But most of all, this is a team that has already experienced wins in the tournament. They aren't going to be fazed by the bright lights of March.


Murray State Racers: 27-4, 17-1 OVC

Murray State rolled through OVC play, winning their first 16 games before losing to preseason favorite Morehead State on the road. Of their 17 league wins, 12 came by double digits. You would be hard-pressed to find a more balanced team in the country than the Racers. Ten players average at least 10 mpg, with no one playing more than 26.5 mpg. In one of the oddest statistics that you will see, Murray State has five players that average between 10.2 and 10.7 ppg. Murray State pressures the ball, forcing turnovers and bad shots as well as any team in the country. On the offensive end of the floor, they take smart shots and hit the offensive glass. Murray State has a number of talented players that can beat you in a variety of ways.


Portland Pilots: 19-9, 10-4 WCC

Portland made a lot of noise early in the season as they beat both Minnesota and UCLA en route to the finals of the 76 Classic back in November. They even managed to work their way into the top 25 for a week. That ranking went by the wayside as the Pilots proceeded to lose three straight and five of seven after beating the Gophers. As a result, the college basketball-watching public essentially forgot about the Pilots. But this is a team built for an upset. They are experienced -- their top seven scorers are all juniors or seniors. Luke Sikma and Robin Smuelders give them size and a couple scoring threats in the paint. They have an experienced and talented point guard in TJ Campbell that can beat you as a scorer or a playmaker. They are fourth in the country at shooting threes, led by the deadly Jared Stohl. It would be an upset for Portland to actually make the tournament, especially when you consider leading scorer Nik Raivio will be out for the WCC tourney, but if they can get there this is a team that may be able to shoot their way into the second round.


Cornell Big Red: 25-4, 11-1 Ivy

Cornell is all but a lock to make the tournament, so long as they can beat either Brown or Yale this weekend. When they do get there, don't expect Cornell to be much more than a 13 or 14 seed. That said, this is a team that can play with anyone in the country. Just ask Kansas, who trailed for most of the second half against Cornell playing in the Phog.

There are not many guys out there that can shoot it better than Ryan Wittman.
(photo credit: Syracuse.com)

There are three guys that make this team go -- point guard Louis Dale, sharp-shooter Ryan Wittman, and aptly named seven-foot center Jeff Foote. The Big Red are not a very athletic team and will struggle to defend against high-majors, but they execute with precision on the offensive end, shoot the heck out of the ball from three, and don't take many bad shots. If they get hot, look out.


Oakland Grizzlies: 23-8, 17-1 Summit

Oakland got smoked early on in the season. Wisconsin, Kansas, Memphis, Michigan State, and Syracuse all had their way with the Grizzlies before the conference regular season started. But since Summit League play began, all Oakland has done is win. It hasn't always been pretty. In fact, of Oakland's 17 wins in the Summit League, only two were blowouts of more than 14 points. This is a team that has been tested during the regular season, and as you know, "winning" is a learned skill. The Grizzlies have as good of a 1-2 punch as you are going to find at this level. 6'11" Keith Benson is an NBA prospect. Benson does not have a great back-to-the-basket game yet, he is capable on the block. But his best attribute is his ability to knock down shots from the perimeter. By forcing an opponent's center to guard him, it opens up space for Johnanthon Jones. Jones' number are a bit down from last season, when he was the nation's leader in assists, but the 5'11" point guard is still a nightmare to keep in front and one of the best playmakers in the country.


Radford Highlanders: 19-11, 13-5 Big South

Radford didn't even win their conference regular season title. With 11 losses on the season and a second place finish in a low-major league, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Highlanders are going to be getting a pretty low seed if they do happen to make it to the dance. That said, I still think Radford could spring an upset thanks to their presence in the paint. Artsiom Parakhouski, a 6'11 Belarusian that averages 21 ppg and 13 rpg, is a load to handle no matter what level of basketball you are playing. He's joined up front by two 6'8" forwards in Lazar Trifunovic and Joey Lynch-Flohr, who both also average double figures. Radford is good defensively and excellent on the glass, which you probably would expect with that front line. Combined with a couple of talented wings and point guard Amir Johnson (a 5'9" senior that averaged 13 ppg as a sophomore, but has since taken over role of playmaker), the Highlanders will put a scare into a first round opponent if they can get there.
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Friday's Madness

Seeing as championship week has officially started, we are going to be doing a new daily madness segment. Here, you can find the daily scores and schedules for every conference tournament game that day as Trizzle will once again be taking over BIAH. For a full schedule of the conference tournaments and a listing of the automatic bids, click here.


GAME OF THE DAY: Belmont 65, Mercer 64

Belmont's seniors have been to the NCAA tournament each of their three seasons in school, but it was freshman Mitch Hedgepeth who kept alive their chances of playing in four straight. The Bruins held a 59-48 lead with just 10:43 left, but Mercer was able to come back, eventually taking the lead 62-60 on a dunk by Daniel Emerson with 2:30 left. After a Belmont free throw cut the lead to 62-61, the Bruins Alex Renfroe drove and scored, putting Belmont back ahead with 32 seconds left. James Florence would respond by hitting a jumper to get the lead back with 9 seconds left. After a timeout, Belmont's Andy Wicke drove the lane, but was blocked by Mark Hall. The ball landed right in Hedgeweth's hands, and he went back up with it and scored with 0.2 on the clock for the win. Hedgeweth finished with five for Belmont, who was led by 15 from Renfroe and Wicke. Florence had 24 to lead Mercer. Belmont will advance to play East Tennessee State in the semis on Friday.

Belmont's Andy Wicke (left) and Mark Hedgeweth celebrate the win.
(photo credit: Jae S. Lee/The Tennessean)

TEAM OF THE DAY: Quinnipiac Braves

In a day without much in the way of upsets, Quinnipiac may have had the most impressive win. The five seed in the NEC tournament, Quinnipiac was forced to travel to Brooklyn to play Long Island (LI in BK? I don't get it either). The Braves were able to open up a 16 point second half lead, before the Blackbirds, who were led by freshman Julian Boyd, stormed back to tie the game at the buzzer (on a Boyd three pointer) and force OT. QU took control in overtime as they scored the first four points and never were really threatened. Quinnipiac, who was led by 22 points from James Feldeine, will face #1 seed Robert Morris on Sunday.


PLAYER OF THE DAY: Kenny Thomas, Radford

Thomas went off in Radford's first game in the Big South tourney, going for 35 points on 10-18 shooting in a 94-86 win over UNC-Asheville. He was 5-8 from deep and also had five boards and two steals. He had 24 of his 35 in the second half. It was more than just the numbers, however. He made a lot of big plays as well. With Radford up just 51-44 miday through the second half, Thomas went on an 8-0 by himself to open up a 15 point lead. When Asheville cut the lead to 78-76 with around five minutes left, it was Thomas who scored to end the run. Thomas came into the Big South Tournament on fire. For the season, he averaged 14.8 ppg, but in his last four games coming in, he had been scoring 22.5 per.

Thursday's Results

Atlantic Sun First Round:
- #3 Belmont 65, #6 Mercer 64
- #4 Lipscomb 82, #5 Campbell 52

Big South Semis:
- #2 VMI 78, #3 Liberty 58
- #1 Radford 94, #4 UNC Asheville 86

Missouri Valley First Round:
- #7 Wichita State 59, #10 Missouri State 46
- #9 Indiana State 62, #8 Drake 55

Northeast Conference Quarters:
- #1 Robert Morris 83, #8 St. Francis NY 70
- #5 Quinnipiac 86, #4 Long Island 78 OT
- #2 Mt. St. Mary's 72, #7 Wagner 62
- #3 Sacred Heart 76, #6 Central Connecticut State 64


Friday's Games

Atlantic Sun Semis (at Lipscomb's Allen Arena):
- 7:30 PM: #2 East Tennessee State vs. #3 Belmont
- 9:30 PM: #1 Jacksonville @ #4 Lipscomb

America East First Round (Albany):
- 7:00 PM: #8 Maine vs. #9 Hartford

Colonial Athletic First Round (Richmond):
- 12:00 PM: #8 Georgia Southern vs. #9 Delaware
- 2:30 PM: #5 Hofstra vs. #12 UNC Wilmington
- 6:00 PM: #7 James Madison vs. #10 William & Mary
- 8:30 PM: #6 Drexel vs. #11 Towson

Horizon Second Round (Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis):
- 6:00 PM: #4 Wright State vs. #5 UW-Milwaukee
- 8:00 PM: #3 Cleveland State vs. #7 Illinois-Chicago

MAAC First Round (Albany):
- 7:30 PM: #8 Loyola MD vs. #9 Canisius
- 9:30 PM: #7 Iona vs. #10 Marist

Missouri Valley Quarters (St. Louis):
- 1:00 PM: #1 Northern Iowa vs. #8 Indiana State
- 3:35 PM: #4 Bradley vs. #5 Southern Illinois
- 7:05 PM: #2 Creighton vs. #7 Wichita State
- 9:35 PM: #3 Illinois State vs. #6 Evansville

Ohio Valley Semis (Nashville):
- 7:00 PM: #1 Tennessee-Martin vs. #4 Morehead State
- 9:00 PM: #2 Austin Peay vs. #3 Murray State

Southern Tournament (Chattanooga):
- 2:00 PM: #4N Appalachian State vs. #5S Georgia Southern
- 4:30 PM: #3S College of Charleston vs. #6N UNC Greensboro
- 7:00 PM: #4S Western Carolina vs. #5N Elon
- 9:30 PM: #3N Samford vs. #6S Furman

West Coast Tournament (Vegas):
- 9:00 PM: #5 San Diego vs. #5 Loyola Marymount
- 11:30 PM: #6 Pepperdine vs. #7 San Francisco Continue reading...