Nyghtewynd
03-01-2007, 01:05 AM
Not every day can be Upset Central. There are some days during Championship Ten Days Or So when the favorites do what they're supposed to do...and that's especially true when a conference plays early games on home courts. That's pretty much the story of the day, as three conferences opened up first-round action with fairly predictable results.
SUN BELT CONFERENCE: Conference RPI 21, SOS 19
The five first-round games in this (bloated) thirteen-team conference saw four higher seeds prevail and one lower seed (by a little) steal a win on the road. The upset saw nine-seed Middle Tennessee State (14-16, RPI 169) prove that Hey, Maybe Beating A Team Three Times In One Season Is Hard After All! with a 72-64 win at Troy. They get the number-one seed South Alabama (19-10, 135) when the tourney proper begins on Sunday. The second quarter will feature four-seed Louisiana-Monroe (18-13, 192, after a 83-67 win over Worst Team In The Freaking Country (TM) candidate Denver) facing the five-seed North Texas (20-10, 153) after their 93-78 win against Louisiana-Lafayette. The other half of the bracket also saw the higher seeds winning to move on to face rested foes, as six-seed Florida Atlantic (16-14, 143) slipped by in-state rival Florida International 91-88 to head to a Sunday contest against three-seed Western Kentucky (20-10, 88). WKU's an interesting story for those who follow NIT-ology, as they are by far the best NIT-at-large candidate, but they won't get the auto bid with a tournament loss because of finishing a full game behind USA in the regular season. The final quarter sees seven-seed New Orleans (13-16, 211) face #2 Arkansas State (14-14, 187) after a 77-70 victory over UARL.
Tournament implications: There are a couple of interesting ones here, but they're probably limited to the NIT. Arky State is a *very* weak two-seed due to their championship of a Western Division which is far the junior of the East. Therefore, one would think that WSU should have the upper hand, as they won't face a team with RPI better than 187 in the semis, but their tough game will be against FAU in the quarters. USA, on the other hand, has the possibility of beating first a decent MTSU and a decent North Texas before the finals. Fitness may be an issue if the expected USA/WKU final comes to pass.
PATRIOT LEAGUE: Conference RPI 17, SOS 18
Ah, the Patriot League. It used to be no scholarships, but alas the money even got to these august institutions (note: if you've never read The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein, a season-long saga of life before money in the PL, get thee to a library). But at least Brackets By Spirograph haven't affected them. Eight teams, three game days, be there aloha. All eight were in action tonight, and again only one upset, but it was a semi-decent one. There are two NCAA-possible teams here, and it's very likely that one will be in the NCAAs and the other will be an NIT lock. The first of the pair, Holy Cross (23-8, 66) got off to a good start with an 83-53 shellacking of Lafayette, and they'll move on to face American (16-13, 190) after their 59-44 win over Colgate. The other is Kansas-Kryptonite Bucknell (21-8, 81), and after their 62-43 win over Navy, they'll attempt to get another service academy win after Army's (15-15, 233) win at third-seed Lehigh. All games in this conference are on home courts, so most of the country is rooting for another Holy Cross/Bucknell showdown and rubber match after each beat the other on home soil.
Tournament Implications: As mentioned above, one of the two will (probably win the tournament) and the other will go to the NIT. If there's an upset, who knows?
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE: Conference RPI 19, SOS 17)
Look, you know and I know what we want to see here: Davidson (24-4, 59)/Appy State (21-6, 51). That's what the country wants. That's what America NEEDS. And besides, it's beautiful timing that the game happens just about when the MVC semifinals end. Get done at Kiel, head to a local establishment, and watch MORE BASKETBALL. Nine games in four days isn't nearly enough. Tonight was the first round, and it was 100% Grade-A chalk. Eighth-seed Chattanooga (15-13, 240) got a 64-55 win over Wofford, seven-seed Western Carolina (11-19, 247) snuck past Elon (now the Phoenix, but formerly known as the Fighting Christians, one of the best nicknames EVAR) 69-65, and six-seed Georgia Southern (15-15, 262) defeated The Citadel 62-46. So the Mocs of Chattanooga will hit the floor tomorrow afternoon against top-seeded Davidson, four-seed UNC-Greensboro (16-13, 186) will take on fifth-seed Furman (12-15, 203), Western Carolina gets back on the hardwood against Appy State, and Georgia Southern faces third-seed College of Charleston (20-10, 116).
Tournament Implications: Well, like I said, it's pretty much Davidson and Appy. If one wins the tournament, the other will be on the edge of the NCAA bubble. If neither win the tournament, both may be in trouble. Davidson has the regular-season title and therefore the NIT auto bid, and Appy State is currently in the NIT according to NIT-ology (http://tcaa.puretecmo.com/nit06.html), which is probably the only person in the country sick enough to guess at such things. COC, though, is the wildcard here. They have past conference tournament success, and while they lost all four games to the Davidson/Appy duo, their only other loss came against...you guessed it, Georgia Southern, in the last game of the regular season. If COC can get past that one, they could screw up the best-laid plans.
TOMORROW: The Southern Conference plays the quarterfinal games, the Big South begins their four-team festival in Rock Hill, SC, and the A-Sun kicks off along with a certain small-time conference based in St. Louis. Maybe you've heard of it.
SUN BELT CONFERENCE: Conference RPI 21, SOS 19
The five first-round games in this (bloated) thirteen-team conference saw four higher seeds prevail and one lower seed (by a little) steal a win on the road. The upset saw nine-seed Middle Tennessee State (14-16, RPI 169) prove that Hey, Maybe Beating A Team Three Times In One Season Is Hard After All! with a 72-64 win at Troy. They get the number-one seed South Alabama (19-10, 135) when the tourney proper begins on Sunday. The second quarter will feature four-seed Louisiana-Monroe (18-13, 192, after a 83-67 win over Worst Team In The Freaking Country (TM) candidate Denver) facing the five-seed North Texas (20-10, 153) after their 93-78 win against Louisiana-Lafayette. The other half of the bracket also saw the higher seeds winning to move on to face rested foes, as six-seed Florida Atlantic (16-14, 143) slipped by in-state rival Florida International 91-88 to head to a Sunday contest against three-seed Western Kentucky (20-10, 88). WKU's an interesting story for those who follow NIT-ology, as they are by far the best NIT-at-large candidate, but they won't get the auto bid with a tournament loss because of finishing a full game behind USA in the regular season. The final quarter sees seven-seed New Orleans (13-16, 211) face #2 Arkansas State (14-14, 187) after a 77-70 victory over UARL.
Tournament implications: There are a couple of interesting ones here, but they're probably limited to the NIT. Arky State is a *very* weak two-seed due to their championship of a Western Division which is far the junior of the East. Therefore, one would think that WSU should have the upper hand, as they won't face a team with RPI better than 187 in the semis, but their tough game will be against FAU in the quarters. USA, on the other hand, has the possibility of beating first a decent MTSU and a decent North Texas before the finals. Fitness may be an issue if the expected USA/WKU final comes to pass.
PATRIOT LEAGUE: Conference RPI 17, SOS 18
Ah, the Patriot League. It used to be no scholarships, but alas the money even got to these august institutions (note: if you've never read The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein, a season-long saga of life before money in the PL, get thee to a library). But at least Brackets By Spirograph haven't affected them. Eight teams, three game days, be there aloha. All eight were in action tonight, and again only one upset, but it was a semi-decent one. There are two NCAA-possible teams here, and it's very likely that one will be in the NCAAs and the other will be an NIT lock. The first of the pair, Holy Cross (23-8, 66) got off to a good start with an 83-53 shellacking of Lafayette, and they'll move on to face American (16-13, 190) after their 59-44 win over Colgate. The other is Kansas-Kryptonite Bucknell (21-8, 81), and after their 62-43 win over Navy, they'll attempt to get another service academy win after Army's (15-15, 233) win at third-seed Lehigh. All games in this conference are on home courts, so most of the country is rooting for another Holy Cross/Bucknell showdown and rubber match after each beat the other on home soil.
Tournament Implications: As mentioned above, one of the two will (probably win the tournament) and the other will go to the NIT. If there's an upset, who knows?
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE: Conference RPI 19, SOS 17)
Look, you know and I know what we want to see here: Davidson (24-4, 59)/Appy State (21-6, 51). That's what the country wants. That's what America NEEDS. And besides, it's beautiful timing that the game happens just about when the MVC semifinals end. Get done at Kiel, head to a local establishment, and watch MORE BASKETBALL. Nine games in four days isn't nearly enough. Tonight was the first round, and it was 100% Grade-A chalk. Eighth-seed Chattanooga (15-13, 240) got a 64-55 win over Wofford, seven-seed Western Carolina (11-19, 247) snuck past Elon (now the Phoenix, but formerly known as the Fighting Christians, one of the best nicknames EVAR) 69-65, and six-seed Georgia Southern (15-15, 262) defeated The Citadel 62-46. So the Mocs of Chattanooga will hit the floor tomorrow afternoon against top-seeded Davidson, four-seed UNC-Greensboro (16-13, 186) will take on fifth-seed Furman (12-15, 203), Western Carolina gets back on the hardwood against Appy State, and Georgia Southern faces third-seed College of Charleston (20-10, 116).
Tournament Implications: Well, like I said, it's pretty much Davidson and Appy. If one wins the tournament, the other will be on the edge of the NCAA bubble. If neither win the tournament, both may be in trouble. Davidson has the regular-season title and therefore the NIT auto bid, and Appy State is currently in the NIT according to NIT-ology (http://tcaa.puretecmo.com/nit06.html), which is probably the only person in the country sick enough to guess at such things. COC, though, is the wildcard here. They have past conference tournament success, and while they lost all four games to the Davidson/Appy duo, their only other loss came against...you guessed it, Georgia Southern, in the last game of the regular season. If COC can get past that one, they could screw up the best-laid plans.
TOMORROW: The Southern Conference plays the quarterfinal games, the Big South begins their four-team festival in Rock Hill, SC, and the A-Sun kicks off along with a certain small-time conference based in St. Louis. Maybe you've heard of it.