It's March - the most wonderful time of the year. The time of year where every game matters. The time of year when the best are competing for seeding in the NCAAs and conference tournaments. And the time of year when others are fighting to get on the right side of the bubble.
Smaller conference tournaments are already under way, with every team from a one seed to a ten seed fighting just to make the NCAA tournament. Anything can happen when these teams lay it all on the line for their ONE shot to play in the NCAA tournament.
After The Jump, I will provide you with everything you need to know about the games going on tonight.
Big East Games:
- #15 St. John's @ Seton Hall - 7pm - ESPN2 - Unless you think St. John's will lose to Seton Hall and South Florida, this game doesn't have implications for Big East seeding. A St. John's loss would help keep us ahead of the Johnies on the seeding lines and perhaps help Seton Hall make the NIT, so go Pirates?!?
Conference Tournaments:
Big South Semi Finals:
- #3 UNC Asheville vs. #8 High Point - 6pm - ESPNU - Split their season series. UNC Asheville lost @ High Point by 3 in December but won at home by 14 on February 24th
- #1 Coastal Carolina vs. #4 VMI - 8pm - ESPNU - The Chanticleers swept VMI, winning both games by double digits
OVC Quarter Finals:
- #4 Tenn. Tech vs. #8 Tenn-Martin - 7pm - Tennessee Martin upset the #5 Tenn St. seed last night. Tenn Tech swept the season series, but their first game did go to 3OT on Tech's home court
- #3 Austin Peay vs. #7 SE Missouri St - 9pm - SE Missouri St. upset the 6 seed E. Kentucky last night. Peay swept the series winning by double digits both times, including a 23pt drubbing in the last game of the season
NorthEast Conference Quarter Finals:
- #1 Long Island vs. #8 St. Francis PA - 7pm - Long Island only lost 2 games in conference but 1 of those was @ St. Francis PA by 15. LIU won by 14 at home
- #2 Quinnipiac vs. #7 Mount St. Mary's - 7pm - They split the season series with Quinnipiac winning by 2 at home in December and losing by 9 @ Mount St. Mary's in January
- #3 Robert Morris vs. #6 Wagner - 7pm - Bobby Mo lost @ Wagner in OT in the beginning of January but won the rematch in the last game of the season by 17
- #4 Central Connecticut St vs. #5 St. Francis NY - 7pm - Split the season series. CCSU won at home by 18 in the beginning of January and St. Francis won the rematch by 10 at home on Feb 24th.
Atlantic Sun Quarter Finals:
- #3 Jacksonville vs. #6 North Florida - 2:30pm - Jacksonville swept the season series but only by a combined 3pts in the two games. It's 20-15 in favor of the Dolphins with 5 minutes to play in the first half
- #4 Lipscomb vs. #5 Mercer - 9pm - Lipscomb won at home by 12 in December but lost the rematch by 1 in the last game of the season
Missouri Valley Conference 1st round:
- #8 Southern Illinois vs. #9 Illinois St. - 7:05pm - Winner advances to play the #1 seeded Missouri St. They split the season series
- #7 Drake vs. #10 Bradley - 9:35 pm - Winner advances to play the #2 seeded Wichita St. Split the season series but Drake was blown out on the road in the rematch
American East Conference 1st round:
- #8 UMBC vs. #9 Binghampton - 8:15pm - The winner advances to play the #1 seeded Vermont. The teams split the season series
Just for Fun:
- #10 Wisconsin @ Indiana - 9pm - ESPN - For seeding purposes we want Wisconsin to lose because we want anyone remotely near us on the seeding lines to lose. Indiana has already beaten Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota at home. Wisconsin is not as imposing on the road and has a showdown in Columbus on the horizon. Upset alert on HIGH
- UCLA @ Washington - 9pm - ESPN2 - Washington is in serious jeopardy of missing the NCAA tournament. Most brackets still have them in as a 10 seed. They have 2 top 50 wins @ UCLA and home vs. Arizona. Their best OOC win is over #95 Long Beach St. They have 3 bad losses to teams outside the top 100 including one to #229 Oregon St.
- #18 Arizona vs. Oregon St. - No real implications. Despite their ranking, Arizona's profile isn't that great, with only 2 top 50 wins. Their best OOC win was over #103 NC St. (man remember when we thought that was going to be a good win for us) and they've already lost to this Oregon St. team, who is a paltry #229 in the RPI
- Tennessee @ South Carolina - 7pm - ESPN - Tennessee is in trouble if they lose this game. They've got 7 top 50 wins, but they already have 12 losses, and a 13th would leave them dangerously on the bubble. They end their season ending with a game against Kentucky, potentially leaving them with a losing conference record. If they lose out including a first round loss in the SEC tournament, the Volunteers could be on the outside looking in. Anything short of that though, they should at least be in Dayton.