Tag: NCAA tourney (Page 7 of 9)

      North Dakota State is going to the Dance

      March 10, 2009 /

      In their first year of Division I eligibility, the North Dakota State Bison (26-6) won the Summit League Championship, 66-64, earning a berth in the NCAA tournament. NDSU trailed for much of the game, and was down by 12 with 9:05 to play before going on an 18-4 run, capped by Ben Woodside’s leaning jumper with just three seconds remaining. That gave the Bison the lead for good.

      Why am I blogging about the Summit League Championship? Well, two reasons: a) it was an exciting game that deserves attention, and b) I played college ball with the NDSU coach, Saul Phillips. Saul is the kind of guy that had “future coach” written all over him even then. He was an assistant under Bo Ryan at UW-Milwaukee for two years and was an assistant at NDSU for three seasons before getting the head job in 2007. He’s a great guy and clearly a very good coach.

      When the two teams played in early January, Oakland hung a loss on the Bison. NDSU was 8-5 at that point, so they have rattled off 18 wins in the 19 games since. Transitioning to the D1 level is tough, and Phillips has handled it well. With the job he’s done at NDSU, he’s a rising star in the coaching world.

      Go Bison!

      College Basketball, March Madness

      Gonzaga, Siena win

      March 10, 2009 /

      Good news for the major conference bubble teams — Gonzaga blew out Saint Mary’s in the WCC final and Siena beat Niagra in the MAAC final. Both teams probably would have made the NCAA tourney without winning their conference final, so the fact that there were no surprises is good news for the other bubble teams.

      Saint Mary’s might be in with a 25-6 record, but they lost to the Bulldogs by 25 points, and there are lingering questions about the health of the Gaels’ best player, Patrick Mills, who went 2-16 from the field and scored just five points in the loss. He has posted just 17 points in two games since returning from an injury to his right hand, so if the committee doesn’t feel that he’s up to snuff, Saint Mary’s is very much on the bubble.

      The Big East Championship starts today (BIGEAST.tv) while the Pac-10 and Big 12 tournaments start tomorrow. The Big 10, SEC and ACC tournaments begin on Thursday.

      College Basketball

      UNC beats Duke to clinch ACC regular season title

      March 8, 2009 /

      It was nip and tuck most of the way, but the Tar Heels got it together late in the second half to pull away over arch rival Duke, 79-71. North Carolina has almost a two-point lead over the next-best team in Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings (which is the main way that I fill out my bracket), but I just don’t like this team to win it all. They’re sloppy with the ball, have poor spacing on offense and they missed a ton of free throws. But they have so much talent that when the game is tight in the second half, they always seem to be able to put together a run to put the game away. Really, they could win it all or they could lose in the second round to an eight- or nine-seed that plays a good, clean game.

      Five Tar Heels scored in double figures, led by Tyler Hansbrough’s 17 points. Conversely, Duke was very content to walk the ball up and run its half court offense, which put the ball into the hands of Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler, and allowed them to go to work. Coach K really shortened his bench for this game — just three reserves played a total of 19 minutes (and they failed to score a single point).

      The win should seal a #1 seed for North Carolina, and barring Duke winning the ACC tournament (coupled with an early round exit by Oklahoma or UConn), the Blue Devils are probably looking at a #2 or #3 seed. Check back tomorrow for a preview of all the major conference tournaments.

      College Basketball, March Madness

      #4 Pitt sweeps season series with #1 UConn

      March 7, 2009 /

      Pitt swingman Sam Young scored 31 points to lead the Panthers in their second win this season over the Huskies, 70-60. Pitt was in control for much of the game, but UConn trimmed the lead to two (52-50) with 8:26 to play, but after a timeout, Pitt went on a 13-4 run over the next six-plus minutes to put the game away.

      According to Jim Lunardi, Pitt was already projected to be a #1 seed, but this win probably clinched it for the Panthers. They have the top RPI and the 13th-toughest schedule. UConn is probably safe as well, but an early exit from the Big East Championship might give the selection committee pause, especially if projected #2 seeds Duke, Louisville, Memphis and/or Michigan State are impressive in their conference tournaments. UConn has the 5th-best RPI, but their 43rd-ranked schedule isn’t much better than Memphis (47th) and doesn’t compare to those aforementioned teams.

      College Basketball, March Madness

      Upsets in the Big 12; UNC & Pitt take care of business

      March 5, 2009 /

      #5 Oklahoma visited #12 Missouri last night, and the Tigers pulled the upset, 73-64. Blake Griffin had 16 points and 21 rebounds, but turned the ball over six times in the loss. The Tigers were obviously motivated after the 25-point drubbing they took from the Kansas Jayhawks. This looks like it would have been a fun game to watch — too bad it was only on ESPN360. The network really should have a way to bring great matchups like this to a wider audience.

      #9 Kansas lost to unranked Texas Tech, 84-65. Senior Alan Voskuil had 35 points on 9 of 14 shooting from long range. I’m not sure what to make of these Big 12 teams right now. Kansas and Oklahoma looked like the cream of the crop, and they turn around a lose to Texas Tech and Missouri, respectively. (In the Sooners’ defense, Missouri was the #12 team in the nation and the game was on the road.) Oklahoma was in line for a #1 seed, but it looks like they still have some work to do.

      Meanwhile, #2 North Carolina fended off a feisty Virginia Tech squad, 86-78, while #4 Pitt beat #15 Marquette, 90-75. The Tar Heels earned at least a share of the ACC regular season title, though they’ll have to beat archrival Duke on Sunday to avoid sharing the honors with the Blue Devils.

      College Basketball, March Madness

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