Conference Tournament discussion

• Mulva

  

  Figured I'd get this started. Hard to believe it's less than 2 weeks until selection Sunday already.
  
  3 conference tourneys kick off tomorrow, Horizon, Big South, and OVC.
  
  The OVC could be a good one. Murray State is the obvious favorite, but I could see Austin Peay or Morehead State (who just beat them) giving them a run for it.
  
  Butler is the overwhelming favorite in the Horizon and would be a bid stealer should someone knock them off. After going 18-0 in the regular season that doesn't seem likely to happen though, especially since the Horizon has that bizarre format that gives them a bye all the way to the semis.
  
  Coastal Carolina won the Big South, going 26-5 (14-3), but Radford and Winthrop both went 12-5 in conference and are right there with them. Radford would be my pick to take that one down.
  
  First championship games are Saturday night.
• swamisez

  

  Winthrop has had a pretty good history of getting into the NCAA's. Not sure where they are playing the Big South tournament this year, but it is always a real tight finish.
  
  I am excited for the SoCon tournament this year. App State, Wofford, Western Carolina all are pretty good teams and capable of beating a team in the NCAA tournament IMO.
• Mulva

  

  Also, anyone seen the Championship week pick'em on ESPN?
  

  Finish at the top of the leaderboard after the 76 posted matchups and you'll be taking home $3,000 in cash. Championship Week Pick 'Em will also offer a "Spot Day Promotion" on Thursday, March 11. During the "Spot Day," 23 questions will be on the board. Select the most correct answers (and enter the closest tiebreaker value) and $2,000 will be heading your way.

  Every BCS conference tournament game and many of the mid-major championship games as well.
  
  http://games.espn.go.com/cwpickem/en/frontpage
  
  Starts next Sunday I think.
• Azubuike24

  

  Good topic. Some pressure on certain teams this week for sure.
  
  MAAC - Siena isn't going to get an at-large bid, and despite being the best team in the MAAC, other teams (notably Niagara and Iona) have a history of knocking them off in this Tourney.
  
  OVC - Murray State, like Mulva said dominated the league, but if they are beaten, they could end up tying for the most wins ever for a team who doesn't get an at-large bid (29).
  
  WCC - St. Mary's is probably an at-large team, especially if they make the finals, but they haven't gotten over the Gonzaga hump and they might have a third chance to do so.
  
  CAA - Might be the best Tournament of them all this week with 6 or 7 teams capable of winning the whole thing. I almost planned a trip to Richmond to see the last 3 days of this one, it should be good.
  
  Sun Belt - Like Siena, watch out for Western Kentucky. A team who has been red hot and that nobody will want to face in the NCAA's if they get there. The Sun Belt is wide open though, so the Toppers could go out early or win it all.
• Azubuike24

  

  I saw it, looks interesting. I wish it started this week, but I'll still do it. Maybe we should start a Huddle group?
• wildcats20

  

  Carolina makes a run in the ACC Tourny but lose to Dook in the Final.
  
  
• Laley23

  

  Id like to see Utah State a few more times (I know they dont play this week). But this is a mid-major who can do some major damage. I have been following them all year, but only gotten to see them twice.
  
  The team leads the nation in FT shooting percentage. Hopefully I am able to catch the semis and finals of their games to make a better judgment before the NCAAs.
• Azubuike24

  

  Utah State is the ultimate TEAM. A core group who has played together for a few years and has the right mix of leadership, experience, coaching and talent. Definitely a team that should win the WAC. Then again, Nevada, NMSU and Louisiana Tech are all just as talented and capable of taking that automatic bid.
• ohiotiger33

  

  wildcats20 wrote: Carolina makes a run in the ACC Tourny but lose to Dook in the Final.
  
  

  Will that get you guys home court for the NIT first two rounds? lol.
• mattinctown

  As bad as Carolina is this year, they still could make a run in th ACC Tournament, they'll be a desperate group and that is always a scary thought. Really would like to see Murray State win the OVC and see how they do in the first round of the NCAA's against possibly a 3 seed. SoCon and CAA should be great tournaments, tons of teams could win either one.
  If St. Mary's doesn't make the WCC final, I don't see them getting in, they didn't get in last year with 26 wins. I'll go with Winthrop or Radford in the Big South, though all the games will be at Coastal Carolina as long as they keep winning.
• wildcats20

  

  ohiotiger33 wrote:

  wildcats20 wrote: Carolina makes a run in the ACC Tourny but lose to Dook in the Final.
  
  

  Will that get you guys home court for the NIT first two rounds? lol.

  LOL I had to laugh at that.
• Mulva

  

  Radford has had a 16 point halftime lead erased by Charleston-Southern, who gave them a lot of trouble during the regular season (Southern won by 15 at home, only lost by 3 in overtime at Radford).
  
  Going to OT tied at 55.
  
  The other favorites are looking pretty good right now in the Big South and OVC.
• Mulva

  

  Radford pulled it off in OT. All 4 higher seeds in the Big South advance.
  
  Austin Peay got upset by Tennessee Tech, so Murray State's road just got significantly easier.
  
  Atlantic Sun and Patriot Tourneys kick off tomorrow. The Patriot League is horrible, and the winner will be headed toward a 16 seed.
  
  The A-Sun should be a battle. The top 4 teams all finished 14-6 in conference, with 5th place East Tennessee State only 1 game back at 13-7.
• Mulva

  

  Top seed Lipscomb goes down to 8 seed Kennesaw State in the Atlantic Sun. First real upset.
• mattinctown

  Winthrop looks like they will be in the finals of the Big South against Coastal Carolina or UNC Asheville.
• Mulva

  

  Some of the better mid-major conference tourney's get going tomorrow. WCC and CAA both kick off, and the MVC quarterfinals are tomorrow too (7-10 and 8-9 games today).
• Azubuike24

  

  Former South Carolina forward Chad Gray leading Coastal Carolina to a likely NCAA bid in the Atlantic Sun. They will be 28-5 and take on Winthrop, one of the 5 teams to defeat them this season.
• mattinctown

  Coastal was picked 8th in the Big South preseason poll, coached by former Clemson coach Cliff Ellis, great season by them, would love to see them in the NCAA.
• Azubuike24

  

  Missouri Valley Quarterfinals tomorrow.
  
  Toughest game might be #2 Wichita State getting #7 Missouri State. I think Creighton, Northern Iowa and Illinois State should roll.
  
  Ohio Valley Semifinals tomorrow.
  
  It's setting up to be another Murray State/Morehead State showdown as both Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky have been eliminated.
• Mulva

  

  I think Creighton is a team to watch out for in the MVC tourney. I said that a couple of months ago (of course, P'Allen Stinnett wasn't suspended then), but they're still a talented team and much better than they played most of this year.
  
  Another team to watch for is Niagara in the MAAC (tournament also starts tomorrow). They're a 6 seed, and open with a tough game against Iona, but a veteran team and probably the #2 team in the conference on paper.
  
  They've been one of the 5 most disappointing teams in the country in my opinion this year, after losing only 1 player off of a 26-win team last season, but they went 6-2 the final 8 games to get to 9-9 in conference.
  
  Went 0-2 against Iona during the regular season, but if they win that one I think they'd probably end up taking on Siena for the tournament championship.
• Mulva

  

  Eastern Illinois is up 4 on Murray State about midway through the 2nd half. Very low scoring.
• Laley23

  

  Murray St losing would be the biggest upset. They rolled that conference. They have no shot at an At-Large either so they need to win.
• mattinctown

  Murray State moves on to the OVC finals, will probably play Morehead State.
  
  Also, Cornell is the first team in the field, winning the Ivy League regular season, could be a tough out as they gave Kansas all they wanted.
• Azubuike24

  

  Murray State/Morehead State for the OVC bid tomorrow.
  Wichita State/Illinois State and Northern Iowa/Bradley in the MVC semifinals.
  The 5th place and 6th place teams from the Atlantic Sun, ETSU and Mercer vie for that automatic bid.
  Coastal Carolina goes for their 29th win and the Big South auto-bid against Winthrop.
  Hofstra/Northeastern and George Mason/VCU, two decent CAA quarterfinals.
  Iona/Niagara in one of the MAAC quarterfinals.
  SoCon favorite Appalachian State with a tougher quarterfinal against The Citadel.
  The Sun Belt Tourney begins, maybe the most wide open conference tourney in the country. There are 8-9 teams who can win that league's bid.
• Azubuike24

  

  Favorites Western Carolina (quarterfinals) and Northern Iowa (semifinals) hold on for another day.