Conference Tournament Central Thursday

There were some ridiculously good conference tournament games last night. I'll get to those along with last night's regular season games and tonight's contests with an emphasis on the bubble teams.


Conference Tournaments Last Night
-The first two quarterfinal games were played in Nashville in the Atlantic Sun yesterday, and it had the top two seeds Belmont and Jacksonville both picking up wins. The other 2 quarter games are today.
-Yesterday I said that the Patriot League games would be rediculous, and they didn't come close to disappointing. Top seed American barely edged Holy Cross, 62-60. 3rd seed Colgate squeaked by Lafayette 76-74. 5th seeded Army beat Lehigh 64-61 in OT. And then there was the 3OT thriller between 2nd seeded Navy and the 7 seed Bucknell. The Midshipmen tipped in a layup with 2 seconds left to lead 86-84. The Bucknell frantically threw the ball in, and star Guard John Griffin hit a 40 footer as time expired to win it 87-86 in 3OT for the Bison. Watch this tournament! The semis are on Sunday.
-The first round was last night in the Sun Belt, and had higher seeds Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Florida Atlantic, and New Orleans prevailing. The lone upset was the 12 seed Troy pulling a 70-60 upset at 5 seed Louisiana Lafayette. The quarters are Sunday in Mobile.

Conference Tournaments Today
-Arch Madness starts today in St Louis, as the Missouri Valley Conference gets down to business. The first round today pits Missouri State and Evansville in the 7/10 game, and Indiana State battles Wichita State in the 8/9. Quarters are tomorrow.
-The NEC starts their tournament today on campus sites. Top seeded Robert Morris hosts Monmouth, 2nd seeded Wagner hosts LIU, the 3 seed Sacred Heart plays Central Connecticut State, and Mount St Mary's plays Quinnapiac in the 4/5 game. Semis are on Sunday.
-Big South semis are today at the Justice Center in Ashville. 2nd seeded Winthrop will play the 3 seed High Point at 6, followed by top seed UNC-Ashville playing 4th seed Liberty at 8:30. Both games are on ESPNU. The final is on Saturday.


Wednesday Night Stock Market
Stock Up
Dayton, Temple, and UMASS- Their A-10 wins last night kept them in contention for an at large bid.
Miami- The 'Canes got a big win over BC last night and could be that 3rd team from the ACC.
Syracuse- The Orange eliminated Seton Hall, but will need more wins to stay on the bubble.
Kentucky- They won at South Carolina last night and 11-4 in the SEC is pretty good.
UAB- The Blazers get their 22nd win at the hands of Tulsa to stay in that at large mix.
Oklahoma- The Sooners got a big win at rival OK State for win number twenty.
Villanova- The Wildcats remain alive after beating USF.
Vanderbilt- What a gutsy, quality 86-85 OT win over Miss State.
Houston- The Cougars also got a much needed C-USA win over UCF to make them 22-7.
Tennessee- Florida started off on fire last night in Gainsville, but the Vols hung tough, and eeked out an 89-86 win for their first regular season SEC crown in 41 years.
Texas A&M- The Aggies avenged their 5OT loss to Baylor by winning at Waco.
BYU- The Cougars defeated Wyoming for the Mountain West title.
Stock Down
Seton Hall- The Pirates are done after their loss to Syracuse.
Oklahoma State- Any hope the Cowboys had are now officially lost.
Florida- The Gators played their hearts out against Tennessee, but fell short. The 21-9 Gators may still get in, but they'd be feeling a lot better coming off a win.
Baylor- Ditto Florida, the 20-9 Bears will likely still get in, but a sweep of TAMU would've been sweet.

Tonight On TV
6pm
High Point vs Winthrop- ESPNU
-The two teams look to get closer to dancing in this Big South semifinal match.
7pm
Clemson @ Georgia Tech- ESPN2
-The 21-9 Tigers can't afford the loss to the middling Yellow Jackets.
UConn @ Providence- ESPN
-The Huskies look to solidify a top Big East tonight at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
7:30pm
DePaul @ Cincinnati- Full Court
-The Blue Demons would like to make the Big East Tournament, but may not if they fall to the Bearcats.
8pm
Liberty vs UNC Ashville- ESPNU
-Kenny George and co look to reach the Big South final.
8:30pm
San Jose State @ New Mexico State- Full Court
-NMSU is still on the bubble and will be out with a loss to the Spartans.
Arizona State @ Oregon- Full Court
-It's a Pac 10 elimination game in what could be the most hostile environment in the nation.
9pm
Michigan State @ Illinois- ESPN2
-The Illini aren't very good, but it'll be a tough test for the Spartans in Champaign and the sea of orange.
Xavier @ St Joe's- ESPN
-The Hawks are square on the bubble, and a win over the Muskateers could put them in great shape. A loss may knock them off. High stakes...

Bubble Games
Two more bubble matches hit the Pac 10, as Arizona will surely be out if they loss at woeful Oregon State, and USC will suffer a tough blow if they fall at home to Cal.