Conference Champions and College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 14, 2015
America East
Albany 51 Stony Brook 50 - A stunner started the day's action, as the Great Danes came back to win the conference title on Peter Hooley's three-pointer - their only made three of the game - with 1.6 seconds remaining.
Conference USA
UAB 73 Middle Tennessee 60 - It was no contest for the C-USA title, as UAB shot a blistering 52% for the game (27-52) to eliminate the Blue Raiders.
Ivy
Harvard 53 Yale 51 - After losing to Yale just a week ago and thinking their season was over, Harvard, thanks to Dartmouth beating Yale last Saturday, forced this one-game playoff and fashioned a win, taking the Ivy championship for the fourth straight season.
Mid-Eastern
Hampton 82 Delaware St. 61 - Brian Darden and Reginald Johnson each score 20 points, to propel the Pirates to the Mid-Easter championship. Hampton, which went through the MEAC schedule at 8-8, receives the dubious distinction of being the only team with a won-loss record under .500 (16-17) to garner an invitation to the NCAA tourney.
Big 12
Iowa State 70 Kansas 66 - The Cyclones may have pulled off the upset of the day, dusting Kansas to capture the Big 12 championship. Georges Naing led four Iowa State players in double figures, with 19. The Jayhawks' Wayne Seldon Jr. led all scorers with 25 points.
Mountain West
Wyoming 45 San Diego St. 43 - A shock to some, the Cowboys took the Mountain West championship behind 14 points and six boards from Larry Nance Jr.
Mid-American
Buffalo 89 Central Michigan 84 - In what turned out to be the highest-scoring game of the day, the Bulls from chilly Buffalo prevailed for the MAC title.
Southwest Athletic
Texas Southern 62 Southern U. 58 - The Tigers made 17 of 24 from the stripe, compared to 11-for-19 for Southern, helping themselves to the SWAC championship.
Big East
Villanova 61 Xavier 43 - The #4 team nationally, Villanova easily cruised past Xavier to the Big East championship and a possible #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tourney. Xavier was dead from bayond the arc, making just two of 15 three-pointers.
ACC
Notre Dame 90 North Carolina 82 - Jerian Grant made a living at the foul line, making 15 of 18 en route to sharing game high honors with the Tar Heels' Marcus Paige. Grant had 10 assists, helping to get all of the starting five into double figures.
The game turned midway through the second half. Just as it appear the Tar Heels would pull away, leading 64-56, Demetrius Jackson canned a three with 9:01 left and started the Irish on a 24-2 run that put the game out of reach at 80-66 with 2:55 remaining.
Big Sky
Eastern Washington 69 Montana 65 - Montana got 23 points and 17 rebouds out of their mountain man, Martin Breunig, but his effort was not enough to hold off the Eagles. Tyler Harvey, the nation's leading scorer, scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, erasing an 11-point Montana lead. The win was the first ever for the Eagles over the Grizzlies in the conference tournament and earned them a piece of March Madness.
Big West
UC Irvine 67 Hawaii 58 - There will be Anteaters in the NCAA tourney, as UC Irvine shook off a 33-29 half time deficit and rolled to the Big West championship.
Southland
Stephen F. Austin 83 Sam Houston 70 - The Lumberjacks will be returning to the NCAA tourney as champions of the Southland conference. Last season they chopped down VCU in the opening round and will be looking for more March magic next week. Stephen F. Austin went on a 13-2 run to close out the first half with a commanding 37-27 lead and never looked back.
PAC-12
Arizona 80 Oregon 52 - Oregon led early, but after Gabe York's three-pointer with 12:26 left in the first half put Arizona up 13-10, it was all Wildcats for the blowout win and the conference crown.
Western Athletic (WAC)
New Mexico State 80 Seattle U. 61 - As expected, New Mexico State, which tore through the WAC with a 15-1 mark, pounded Seattle, taking the conference title and the automatic bid.
Conference Championship Scoreboard
Date/Conf. Champ. | Champion (record, defeated, final score) |
March 7 | |
Ohio Valley | Belmont (22-10, Murray State, 88-87) |
March 8 | |
Big South | Coastal Carolina (24-9, Winthop, 81-70) |
Missouri Valley | Northern Iowa (29-3, Illinois, St., 69-60) |
Atlantic Sun | North Florida (23-11, USC Upstate, 63-57) |
March 9 | |
Colonial | Northeastern (23-11, William & Mary, 73-61) |
Metro Atlantic | Manhattan (19-13, Iona, 79-69) |
Southern | Wofford (28-6, Furman, 67-64) |
March 10 | |
Horizon | Valparaiso (28-5, Green Bay, 54-44) |
Northeast | Robert Morris (19-14, St. Francis BRK, 66-63) |
Summit League | N. Dakota St. (23-9, S. Dakota St., 57-56) |
West Coast | Gonzaga (33-2, BYU, 91-75) |
March 11 | |
Patriot League | Lafayette (20-9, American, 65-63) |
March 14 | |
America East | Albany (24-8, Stony Brook, 51-50) |
Conference USA | UAB (19-15, Middle Tenn., 73-60) |
Ivy | Harvard (22-7, Yale, 53-51) |
Mid-Eastern | Hampton (16-17, Delaware St., 82-61) |
Big 12 | Iowa State (25-8, Kansas, 70-66) |
Mountain West | Wyoming (25-9, San Diego St., 45-43) |
Mid-American | Buffalo (23-9, Cent. Michigan, 89-84) |
Southwest Athletic | Texas Southern (22-12, Southern U., 62-58) |
Big East | Villanova (31-2, Xavier, 61-43) |
ACC | Notre Dame (29-5, N. Carolina, 90-82) |
Big Sky | E. Washington (26-8, Montana, 69-65) |
Big West | UC Irvine (21-12, Hawaii, 67-58) |
Southland | Stephen F. Austin (25-8, Sam Houston, 83-70) |
PAC-12 | Arizona (31-3, Oregon, 80-52) |
Western Athletic | New Mexico St. (23-10, Seattle U., 80-61) |