NCAA Round of 64 Late Thursday Game Results; ACC, Big East, PAC-12 Unbeaten After Day One

Round of 64 Late Thursday Game Results

East Region

(1) Villanova 93 (16) Lafayette 52

(8) NC State 66 (9) LSU 65

Midwest Region

(8) Cincinnati 66 (9) Purdue 65 - Cincinnati lived very dangerously here, tying the game on a layup at the buzzer in regulation and winning it in overtime by the narrowest of margin.

(1) Kentucky 79 (16) Hampton 50 - The Wildcats certainly didn't let down their fans, running away from the Pirates after building a 41-22 score at the half.

West Region

(4) North Carolina 67 (13) Harvard 65 - This was much closer than the Tar Heels would have liked. In fact, Harvard hoisted a three-pointer as time ran out that could have reversed the outcome, but, fortune fell on North Carolina, surviving barly their first tournament challenge.

(5) Arkansas 56 (12) Wofford 53


South Region

(5) Utah 57 (12) Stephen F. Austin 50 - many a TV pundit picked this as the upset for the first day, but they were proven wrong.

(4) Georgetown 74 (13) Eastern Washington 64

Conference Power Scoreboard

Conference	W-L	Winners (#of Ws)
ACC	4-0	Notre Dame (1), NC State (1), North Carolina (1), Arkansas (1)
Big East	4-0	Butler (1), Xavier (1), Villanova (1), Georgetown
Big Ten	1-1	Ohio State (1)
Big 12	0-3	0000
Pac-12	3-0	UCLA (1), Arizona (1), Utah (1)
SEC	2-2	Ole Miss (1), Kentucky
All Others	6-13	Hampton(1), Robert Morris (1), Dayton (1), UAB (1), Georgia St. (1), Cincinnati (1)

30 of 31 Automatic Bids In: Mississippi, Miami, St. Louis Punch Tourney Tickets

With all the tournaments finished except the Big Ten, the field is nearly set for the 2013 NCAA Championship.

Today's results:

ACC Final: Miami 87 North Carolina 77 - In a championship game that more resembled a 3-point shooting competition, Miami's Trey McKinney Jones made six of nine from beyond the arc (7-for-11 overall) for 20 points to lead the Hurricanes to their first ACC championship, following up on their regular season title.

Game high scorers were Shane Larkin for Miami and PJ Hairston for North Carolina, each of whom tallied 28.


SEC Final: Mississippi 69 Florida 66 - Murphy Holloway scored 23 points and hauled down 11 rebounds, and Marshall Henderson scored 21 as the Rebels roared back from a 36-24 half time deficit to win their first SEC championship since 1981. With that result, Mississippi gets the automatic NCAA bid, while Florida, the regular season conference champ, will wait until later in the day to see where they are seeded.


Atlantic 10 Final: St. Louis 62 VCU 56 - The Billikens followed up their regular season championship with a win over VCU to capture the A-10 tourney. Kwamain Mitchell came off the Billiken bench to score 19 points. Treveon Graham scored a game high 20 for the Commodores, who are almost certain to receive an at-large bid.

That leaves only the Big Ten to complete the 31 automatic bids.

Below is a chart of the automatic bids so far, with Wisconsin-Ohio State in progress. The tournament selection process concludes with the reveal of the seedings and brackets beginning at 6:00 pm EDT, live on CBS.

2013 NCAA Tournament Automatic Bids by Conference

Harvard	Ivy League
Belmont	Ohio Valley
Florida Gulf Coast	Atlantic Sun
James Madison	Colonial Athletic Association
Iona	MAAC
Creighton	Missouri Valley
LIU Brooklyn	Northeast
Western Kentucky	Sun Belt
Liberty	Big South
Gonzaga	West Coast
Davidson	Southern
South Dakota State	Summit League
Valparaiso	Horizon League
Bucknell	Patriot
New Mexico	Mountain West
Memphis	Conference USA
Albany	America East
Northwestern State	Southland
Pacific	Big West
Chicago State	Great West
Montana	Big Sky
Southern	SWAC
North Carolina A&T	MEAC
New Mexico State	WAC
Akron	MAC
Louisville	Big East
Oregon	PAC-12
Kansas	Big 12
Miami	ACC
Mississippi	SEC
St. Louis	Atlantic 10
Wisconsin/Ohio St.	Big Ten

SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Atlantic-10 Semi-Final Results, Highlights

Conference Tournament Updates:

Big Ten Semi-Finals

Wisconsin 68 Indiana 56 - The Badgers beat Indiana for the 12st straight time and third time this season, something to keep in mind should the two meet again in the NCAA tournament.

Ohio State 61 Michigan State 58 - Arron Craft scored 20 points, had three rebounds, nine assists and four steals to lead the Buckeyes past the Spartans and into the Big Ten final.

Ohio State and Wisconsin will duel for the Big Ten championship Sunday afternoon.

ACC Semi-Finals

Miami 91 NC State 81 - Durand Scott pumped in 32 points as the Hurricanes blew past the Wolfpack, advancing to the Sunday tourney final.

North Carolina 79 Maryland 76 - North Carolina held on against a determined Maryland team to advance to the ACC final. With the loss, Maryland will have to wait until Sunday afternoon to determine their post-season fate, though any team that beats Duke twice in a season deserves a good, hard look.

Sunday's ACC final features the tournament's top-seeded team, the Miami Hurricanes, against the Tar Heels from North Carolina.

SEC Semi-Finals

Florida 61 Alabama 51 - The Gators broke open a close game with a 15-point, second half run and cruised to the win. Kenny Boynton led all scorers with 16 points.

Mississippi 64 Vanderbilt 52 - Ole Miss likely played themselves into the NCAA tourney with this semi-final win, turning a 26-all tie at the half into a solid victory and a shot at Florida in the conference final on Sunday.

Atlantic-10 Semi-Finals

St. Louis 67 Butler 56 - 16th-ranked Billikens whipped Butler for the third time this season, advancing to the A-10 final. Dwayne Evans scored a game-high 25 and scored a double-double with 11 rebounds. St. Louis boasts a 26-6 record and a 13-3 mark in conference.

VCU 71 Massachusetts 62 - Troy Daniels came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points and Juvonte Reddic scored 18 with 12 rebounds to lead the Commodores into the A-10 Final.

VCU faces St. Louis in the tourney final Sunday. The Billikens took a 76-62 victory at home over VCU during the regular season.

NCAA Tournament Conference Scoreboard:

With just eight teams remaining after Thursday and Friday's regional semi-final games, all of the smaller conferences have been ousted, leaving only the ACC (North Carolina), Big Ten (Ohio State), Big East (Syracuse, Louisville) Big 12 (Kansas, Baylor) and SEC (Kentucky, Florida).

Regional final match-ups include only one scenario that could produce a Final Four meeting within the same conference, that being the potential South-West game that could come down to an all-SEC showdown between Florida and Kentucky.

Suffered the worst in regional play was the Big Ten, which entered the week with five teams still in the hunt (Wisconsin, Ohio State, Purdue, Michigan State and Indiana), but was decimated in the semi-finals, leaving only the Buckeyes to fend for the conference.

The Big East, which sent nine teams to the tournament, still has two left - Syracuse and Louisville. Syracuse could eliminate the Big Ten completely with a win over Ohio State on Saturday, while the Cardinals hope to whittle the SEC down to one with a win over Florida, also on Saturday.

Two potential meetings in the championship game could involve teams from the same conference. Syracuse could face Louisville in an all-Big East final or Kansas could meet up with Baylor, a Big 12 championship assured.

The SEC, which sent only four teams to the tourney, leads the way with a 7-2 record. Alabama went down ot Creighton in the opening round, while Vanderbilt won one game before falling to Wisconsin in the sub-regional round of 32.

Through games of Friday, March 23

Conference	W	L
Atlantic-10	4	4
ACC	6	4
Big East	13	7
Big Ten	10	5
Big 12	8	5
Conf-USA	0	2
Missouri Valley	1	2
Mountain West	1	4
Ohio Valley	1	1
PAC-12	1	2
SEC	7	2
West Coast	2	3
All others	7	20

Upsets Rule Selection Sunday: UNC, Kentucky, Xavier Defeated

ACC Final: Florida State 85 North Carolina 82 - Luke Loucks wasn't supposed to outplay Kendall Marshall, UNC's record-breaking point guard, but he did, scoring 10 points with nine assists and six rebounds, en route to Florida State's first ACC tournament championship since joining the conference in 1991. Under coach Leonard Hamilton - who was named ACC coach of the year - the Seminoles split two games with perennial powerhouse Duke and pummeled North Carolina, 90-57, during the regular season, then went out and beat them both in the conference tourney.

The Seminoles beat Duke, 62-59 in the semi-final Saturday, setting up their conquest of the Tar Heels and a potentially high seed (2 or 3) in the upcoming NCAA tourney.

SEC Final: Vanderbilt 71 Kentucky 64 - After losing twice to Kentucky during the regular season, the Commodores of Vanderbilt turned the tables on the Wildcats, winning the SEC tournament for the first time since 1951. Jeffery Taylor led all scorers with 17 points. Festus Ezile and John Jenkins each chipped in with 16 points.

Vandy's and Florida State's wins completed a weekend in which the improbable became reality, as the the four teams most likely to earn number one seeds in the NCAA tournament were defeated in their conference tourneys. On Friday, Kansas was taken to task by Baylor in the Big 12 semis and Syracuse was dumped by Cncinnati in the Big East semi-fianls.

Atlantic-10: St. Bonaventure 67 Xavier 56 - perhaps the most improbable victors of the day were the Bonnies, who knocked off an undisciplined Xavier squad to capture the A-10 championship. The Bonnies won four of their last five regular season games to finish 10-6 in the conference, then beat St. Joseph's, UMass and Xavier to grab its first Atlantic-10 title and the automatic seeding in the NCAA tourney, their first trip to the big dance since 2000. Conference Player of the Year Andrew Nicholson had 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots as he dominated the interior.

Conference tournaments UPDATE, afternoon games, 3/10/12; Norfolk State Reaches first NCAA; Kentucky, Tar Heels Prevail

SEC: Kentucky 74 Florida 71 - It was a struggle for the #1 Wildcats, but they outlasted a determined Gator team to advance to the SEC tourney final. Kentucky will face the winner of the Mississippi-Vanderbilt semi-final game on Sunday.

ACC: North Carolina 69 North Carolina St. 67 - Playing without center/forward John Henson, North Carolina trailed early, built a six-point second half lead but gave it up down the stretch to the Wolf Pack, a team they've beaten 12 straight times. Kendall Marshall's banked shot with 10.2 seconds remaining provided the slim winning margin for the #4 Tar Heels who will face the winner of the today's Duke-Florida St. game on Sunday.

Mid-Eastern: Norfolk State 73 Bethune-Cookman 70 - Winning their way to the school's first ever NCAA tournament, Norfolk State's Spartans held on for a game win in the conference tourney final and get the automatic bid. Kyle O'Quinn led the way with 18 points and 7 boards.

Big Ten: Michigan State 65 Wisconsin 52 - Draymond Green scored 14 points and ripped down 16 rebounds to lead the Spartans to the Big Ten final. On Sunday afternoon, Michigan State will face the winner of today's Ohio State-Michigan semi-final.

In the Atlantic-10 semi-finals, St. Bonaventure held on against UMass for an 84-80 victory. They will face either Xavier or St. Louis in Sunday's championship game.

Conference Tournaments UPDATE afternoon games, 3/9/12

Big Ten: Wisconsin 79 Indiana 71 - The 14th-ranked Badgers took an early lead and were never headed, advancing to a Big Ten semi-final meeting with Michigan State on Saturday. Wisconsin got a career high 30 points from senior Rob Wilson, who was on fire from beyond the arc, making seven of 10 three-pointers. Indiana's Verdell Jones, who left Thursday's game with a knee injury originally described as a sprain by the Hoosier staff, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.

ACC: North Carolina State 67 Virginia 64 - Taking a 36-33 lead into the half, NC State played Virginia even in the second stanza to advance in the ACC tourney. The Wolf Pack will face #1 seed North Carolina on Saturday. CJ Leslie led the way with 19 points and 13 boards. The win may be just enough to get NC State into the big dance. Virginia is virtually assured of a spot in the tournament.

Atlantic-10: St. Bonaventure 71 St. Joseph's 68 - Upsets seem to be the order of the day in the A-10, as the Bonnies advance to a semi-final match-up with Massachusetts, Saturday afternoon. 20-13 St. Joseph's may be on the outside looking in, in terms of an NCAA bid.

SEC: Kentucky 60 LSU 51 - The Wildcats were hardly impressive, beating LSU in their first tournament action of the month, though Kentucky did manage to hold the Tigers to 29% shooting. The top-ranked Wildcats were just 1 of 9 from 3-point range and committed 18 turnovers.

Mississippi St. Plays Its way In; Duke Takes ACC

Mississippi St. 64, Tennessee 61

Phil Turner hit a 3-pointer to put Mississippi State ahead late and then made two free throws with 8 seconds left to lift the Bulldogs over the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC Championship game. Turner finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the biggest game of his career.

The Bulldogs are 23-12 and went 9-7 in the SEC regular season, and were considered by many to be a bubble team that would not make it into the NCAA tourney without winning the championship. Mississippi St. beat the best the conference could offer, knocking off Georgia, South Carolina, LSU and the Vols over the four-day span and should have been considered already in, whatever the outcome of today's game.

That said, the Bulldogs get the automatic bid and will likely become a 7 or 8 seed.


Duke 79, Florida State 69

Gerald Henderson's three pointer seven minutes into the game gave Duke the lead and the Blue Devils ran away and hid from the upset-minded Seminoles to capture the ACC tournament title. Duke took a 35-21 lead into the break and were never challenged after that.

Henderson finished with 27 points, second on the Duke scoring ladder behind Jon Scheyer's 29. Toney Douglas scored 28 for the Seminoles.

Both Florida State and Duke were already assured of making the NCAA field, though now Duke seems almost certain to be a #2 seed. Florida State is projected as a 3 or 4.

Kentucky May Be Left Out

The Kentucky Wildcats have not missed the NCAA tournament since 1991, but their recent performance - four straight losses, including Saturday's 60-53 defeat at Florida - bodes ill for one of the most storied programs in college basketball.

The Gators struck early, gaining a quick ten-point lead, and never let the Wildcats back in the game. After consecutive losses to LSU, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, Kentucky ends the regular season at 8-8 in the conference and 19-12 overall. They would conceivably have to reach the finals of the SEC tournament this coming week in order to have a reasonable chance of receiving an NCAA invitation and even then, it's an iffy call.

Elsewhere, Jonny Flynn scored 24 points and Andy Rautins hit 4 of 9 3-pointers in a 20-point effort, as #25 Syracuse upended #13 Marquette, 86-79, in overtime, helping their NCAA case as they get ready for the upcoming Big East tournament. Marquette has lost four straight - all to ranked opponents - and look ripe for an early exit from both the Big East and NCAA tourneys. Syracuse, on the other hand, has won 4 in a row. Both teams are nearly sure bets to receive NCAA bids.

More SEC Mayhem: Vols Trip Gamecocks for SEC West

Hanging around the upper echelon of the SEC East for the entire season, but never regarded as a threat, the Tennessee Volunteers (10-5, 19-10) got right when the getting was good, downing front-running South Carolina for the second time this season, this time on the Gamecocks' home court.

Tyler Smith. J.P. Prince and Wayne Chism stepped into their leadership roles gradually this season after the departure of 2007-08 leader Chris Lofton, but finally have gelled into the solid unit which delivered the death blows that knocked off the Gamecocks, 86-70 and captured the SEC West title.

In a truly dominating performance, Smith scored a game high 22 points, Prince had 20 and Chism finished with 15.

The game was close until the about five minutes into the second half when the Vols went on a tear that would seal the victory. Leading by just four at the half, the Vols stretched their lead to as many as 17 as time wound under six minutes. They would eventually lead by 20 as the clock ran down.

After losses by both Kentucky and Florida on Wednesday, the Volunteers found themselves in a flatfooted tie with South Carolina for the top spot in the SEC East at 9-5 and made the most of their opportunity. The result of their final regular season home game, on Saturday against Alabama (6-9, 16-13) is now immaterial, as they lay claim the division crown.

Elsewhere, in Top 25 action, #11 Villanova laid waste to the Providence Friars, 97-80, casting serious doubt on the Friars' post-season aspirations. The Wildcats (25-6, 13-5) are a shoo-in for a #3 or 4 seeding in the NCAAs, but the 18-12, 10-8 Friars will spend the next two weeks sitting atop the tournament bubble. Unless they produce some magic in next week's Big East tournament, their chances of making the NCAA field are virtually nil.

Dropping Like Flies in SEC

Vanderbilt 75, #12 LSU 67 - In a game with little meaning for either team, LSU lost for just the second time in conference play.

Georgia 90, Kentucky 85 - Very damaging loss at home for the Wildcats drops them to 19-11 and 8-7 in the SEC. Third straight conference loss. Kentucky plays at Florida Saturday to finish the season.

Mlssissippi St. 80, Florida 71 - losses for leaders all around in SEC. Florida now 21-9, 8-7.

#6 Louisville 95, Seton Hall 78 - The Cardinals improved to 15-2 in the Big East, with only a game at West Virginia on Saturday between them and a possible conference title. If Pitt beats UConn on Sunday, Louisville would finish at 16-2, Uconn and Pitt, 15-3.

If the Huskies avenge an earlier loss to Pitt, they will be the outright champ.

#5 Memphis 65, Houston 60 - The Tigers host Tulane Saturday. A Memphis win completes a 16-0 regular season in Conference-USA.

LSU Upends Kentucky; Purdue Hammers Ohio State

#18 LSU 73, Kentucky 70

Tasmin Mitchell's 3-pointer with 9.3 seconds left provided the winning margin for LSU's 10th consecutive victory, as they won at Kentucky for the first time in 20 years, leaving no doubt that they are a team to be reckoned with in the post-season.

The Tigers led by as many as 12 points in the first half, only to see Kentucky to come back to lead by 10 in the second half.

As the two SEC foes battled through a memorable contest, Bo Spencer's 3-pointer at 1:18 gave the Tigers a 69-66 lead. After the teams traded free throws, Darius Miller hit a clutch three for Kentucky to tie the game at 70, but then Mitchell hit the biggest shot of the game, his only 3-point make of the game, with 9.7 left.

Marcus Thornton led the Tigers with 23 points to go with 6 rebounds; Michell had 21 and 8 boards. Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks had 28 and 24 points, respectively, for Kentucky.

LSU has already wrapped up the SEC West and is assured an NCAA bid, but Kentucky lost for the third time in four games and is on the tournament fringe, at 8-6 and 19-10 overall.


#16 Purdue 75, Ohio State 50

In a team effeort, Purdue shot 55%, put five players in double figures, and seriously damaged Ohio State's chances of getting a NCAA invite.

The Boilermakers sent the Buckeyes to an 8-8 record in the conference and 18-9 overall. The Buckeyes need to win their remaining Big 10 games - March 3, at Iowa and March 8, against Northwestern - in order to keep their hopes alive as they have lost 4 of their last 5.

SEC: Kentucky Rolls at Rupp, 77-58 over Vols

The last time Bruce Pearl's Tennessee Volunteers faced Kentucky, Jodie Meeks went off for 54 points in a 90-72 Kentucky rout, so he and his players were determined to stop Meeks when the SEC foes met at Rupp Arena on Saturday.

The Vols accomplished one goal - limiting Meeks to a pedestrian 14 points - but the rest of Kentucky's troops rose to the occasion for a dominating 77-58 win.

Tennessee put themselves into a big hole, unable to score for the first 8 minutes of the game, missing all seven shots and turning the ball over five times before finally getting on the board. By then, though, Kentucky led 15-2, and even though the Vols got to within 7 points by halftime, they just could not compete with the fired-up Wildcats, who are on a mission to take the SEC East division and finish impressively enough to snag a bid for the NCAA tournament.

Midway through the second half, the Wildcats opened up a 22-point lead, and kept the Vols at bay the rest of the way. Patrick Patterson put up a game-high 19 points on 9-12 shooting, many of them on dunks, and Darius Miller threw down 17, with a perfect 6-for-6 shooting performance, including 3 three-pointers.

The day began with 4 teams - Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida - all tied for the division lead at 7-4. By mid-afternoon, the Wildcats had earned at least a share of the top spot, as Florida and SC each played later in the day (more in subsequent posts).

The win puts Kentucky in a good spot at 19-8 and 8-4, with just four more regular season games remaining, while dropping the Vols to 16-10 and 7-5 and a likely end to their post-season hopes.

Three of those four games for Kentucky are against some of the best teams in the SEC, however. On Feb. 25, they travel to South Carolina, returning home on the 28th to host LSU and then Georgia on March 4, before finishing at Florida on the 7th.

Should the Wildcats reach the NCAAs, they will have trouble advancing very far as they are undersized inside and are often out of position on defense. They will need maximum production from Meeks the rest of the season, no matter how long it extends.

SEC Snub: LSU Wins 9th Straight But Remains Unranked

Not a single team from the SEC made the AP Top 25 poll or the second consecutive week, even though LSU has won 9 straight in the conference. At 21-4 and 9-1, the Tigers seem almost assured of making the grade on Monday, when the latest iteration of the Top 25 is released.

The Tigers received 167 votes in last week's poll, a solid #26 right behind Florida St, which made the poll for the first time since 1998. On Saturday, the Seminoles were brought back to earth by #7 Wake Forest, taking an 86-63 beating on the road.

While losing to the high-ranked Demon Deacons may not be enough to pull down Florida State (19-6, 6-4), LSU's come-from-behind, 73-66 win over Mississippi should carry more weight with the voters.

Along with the Tigers, South Carolina seems deserving of a ranking as well. The Gamecocks, at 7-3, are in a logjam with Kentucky and Florida for the East division lead, but they hold a win over Kentucky and a split with the Gators and have won 6 of their last 7 en route to an 18-5 record.

Both the Tigers and amecocks are idle until Feb. 18 (Wednesday), so it will be interesting to see if the voters decide to include the SEC in their calculus. The SEC normally places 4 or 5 teams in the NCAA tournament, so it would be stunning to see the conference shut out of the rankings in the polls leading up to the big dance.

With #21 Utah State, #24 Ohio State and #25 Florida State all suffering losses and #23 Syracuse being taken to overtime by Georgetown (4-8 in the Big East) on Saturday, will the voters find a spot for at least one SEC squad?

SEC in Flux: Florida dumped, Wildcats 'Getting It'

Likely the most contentious conference in the nation, teams in the SEC took some serious turns at ranking maneuvers over the past week.

The enigmatic Arkansas Razorbacks, which started their SEC campaign with two wins (Auburn and Alabama) followed by two losses (South Carolina and Georgia), yesterday won their third straight, whipping the tar out of the Florida Gators, 80-61, while moving into first place tie with Mississippi State in the West division.

That may have come as a surprise to some, but the Gators are rebuilding, having lost their starting five after capturing two straight NCAA championships. That level of excellence is difficult to maintain, even for coach Billy Donovan.

Meanwhile, the Razorbacks have been knocking on the door for the past couple of seasons. They made an unanticipated run to the SEC championship game last season, only to lose to the Gators by 21 and end up in the NIT tourney.

Sonny Weems led the scoring with 17 and Gary Ervin added 15 points with six assists. Arkansas improved to 16-5 and 5-2 in the conference.

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The only ranked team in the SEC West, Mississippi, lost at home to South Carolina, 80-77, while the Mississippi St. Bulldogs fell 76-71 at SEC East leader Tennessee (19-2, 6-1), clearly the class of the conference.

Kentucky made more noise with their third consecutive conference win and first on the road, knocking down Georgia, 63-58 to get to 4-2. Both Vanderbilt and Mississippi are 3-4 in SEC play after beginning the season undefeated, with 15-0 and 13-0 records, respectively.

The SEC may not be the best conference in the country, but it certainly is one of the more unpredictable and exciting.

Hot Game Picks for Conference Tourneys

With the major conference tourneys underway, the focus shifts to Madison Square Garden, site of the Big East games, LA's Staples Center for the PAC-10, the Georgia Dome for the SEC, Chicago's United Center (Big 10), the Ford Center in Oklahoma City (Big 12) and the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa for the ACC tourney. But first, two more teams snatched up automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament last night:

Central Connecticut State 74 Sacred Heart 70 - The Blue Devils of Central Connecticut got big games from their upperclassmen guards, junior Tristan Blackwood and senior Javier Mojica, who combined to hit 9 of 16 3-pointers and tally 46 points overall. Those efforts led to a win over Sacred Heart in the finals of the Northeast Conference tournament and the right to play on in March. Central Connecticut was easily the class of the conference at 16-2, with a 22-11 record overall.

The Blue Devils look very much like a one-and-done kind of team, as their record prior to conference play was an underassuming 3-9, with losses to such stellar powerhouses as St. Bonaventure, Lehigh and Harvard (you really have to work to lose to an Ivy League team). Wherever these guys get seeded, they should at least be able to generate some offense. They scored 70 or more points in 11 of their last 13 games.

Weber St. 88 Northern Arizona 80 - Out in the Big Sky, a trio of scorers -
Dezmon Harris (20 points), Juan Pablo Silviera (21) and David Patten (22) - led the Wildcats to victory in the championship game. Weber St. and No. Arizona had tied for first place in the regular season at 11-5, but the Wildcats shot a blistering 66% (29-44) from the field, opened up a 16-point halftime lead and coasted home.

The Wildcats had already beaten the Lumberjacks twice during conference play, so completing the trifecta was a crowing achievement. They finish up at 20-11 and played just one then-ranked team, losing to Washington in December, 80-51.

Conference Tourney Scores -

Big East
Syracuse 78 Connecticut 65
#18 Marquette 76 St. John's 67
Villanova 75 DePaul 67
West Virginia 92 Providence 79

PAC-10
Washington 59 Arizona St. 51
California 70 Oregon St. 51

Today's Tourney Picks
12:00 pm Florida St. vs. Clemson (-1.5) - Take the Seminoles to move on. Al Thornton scored a career high 45 points in the season finale over Miami. The senior forward is a big time scorer and leader. Clemson won their regular season tilts, 68-66, and 71-58 at Clemson, but Florida St. will have home fans on hand in Tampa. Look for Toney Douglas to add some spark for Florida State.

12:00 pm Georgetown (-5) vs. Villanova - End of the line for the Wildcats. If they lose, their 23-10 record could still be good enough to get a bid. The Hoyas are too big up front and should blow 'Nova away.

1:00 pm Kentucky (-4) vs. Alabama - The Wildcats are no great shakes and Alabama's late season woes are also well-documented. Both teams collapsed late in the season, losing 5 of their final 7 games. The only meeting this season was at Alabama, where the Tide prevailed, 72-61. There's a good chance that neither of these teams will make the field of 65. In what should be an ugly (but close) game, you must take the points.

2:00 pm Notre Dame (-1.5) vs. Syracuse - The Orangemen got hot at the right time, winning 5 straight before dropping their season finale at Villanova. Their win yesterday over UConn was a nice start and they're fully loaded for this one. The Irish beat them 103-91 at the Carrier Dome earlier in the season, one of only three Notre Dame Big East road wins. The Irish ride a 5-game win streak and look good off the first round bye. Tough call, as the Irish don't generally play well at the Garden, but they have the firepower to prevail. Syracuse should get a bid even if they lose here.

3:00 pm Arizona (-2) vs. Oregon - Arizona struggled through the PAC-10 schedule, but won 5 of their last 7 to finish 10-8. One of those wins was a 77-74 win on February 10 at Oregon. Following that game, the Wildcats lost at home to USC and UCLA, but finished up with three straight road wins. Oregon also lost their first meeting, 79-77 at Arizona, so they really are up against it. I'm taking the Ducks to pull off the upset. They can't be too happy losing two close games to the Wildcats.

7:00 pm Duke (-9.5) vs. North Carolina State - The Blue Devils have struggled all season mostly because they don't have a third scoring threat after DeMarcus Nelson and Greg Paulus. Duke finished with losses to Maryland and at North Carolina and are really not on the bubble, though they should be. They crushed NC State back in January, 79-56, and the Wolfpack has been a blowout victim to most of the better teams in the ACC. Duke should handle this one with ease.

9:45 pm Tennessee (-2) vs. LSU - LSU has Big Baby Glen Davis in the middle, but the Vols have Chris Lofton on the perimeter and he should prove to be the decisive factor. Tennessee closed out the regular season with four straight wins including triumphs over Alabama and Florida, so they are rarin' to go and should seal a tourney bid with a win here. The last meeting between these two resulted in a 70-67 Volunteer win. At 16-14, LSU must win the tournament to get an NCAA bid, but dreams die hard this time of year.

Slippery Slope in the SEC

Three ranked teams from the SEC hit the hardwood on Wednesday night. Funny thing, only one of them won.

The SEC has turned into the basketball version of Little League. There's one big kid (Florida) who always hits home runs, but the rest of the league is full of kids and teams who look like champs one day and the next, they're distracted by the cheerleaders. Nothing happens like it's supposed to, the unexpected becomes the new normal. So it was last night...

#3 Florida 63 South Carolina 49 - The Gators got back on the winning side of the scoreboard (and how dumb do the voters look for dropping them to #3?) at home last night as Al Horford scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. To nobody's surprise, the win clinched the SEC East for the Gators who are now 25-3 and 12-1 in the conference with just 3 games remaining.

Mississippi St. 83 #17 Vanderbilt 70 - Jamont Gordon pulled off the rare triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to help keep the Bulldogs in a first-place tie with rival Mississippi in the SEC West. Charles Rhodes pumped in 23 for the host Bulldogs.

Both are 7-6 and lead Alabama by 1 game in the standings. After starting off conference play at 3-6, the Bulldogs have won 4 straight with games at Arkansas and Georgia before returning home to face Alabama to close out the regular season.

Tennessee 69 #25 Alabama 66 - It took 81 shots and an overtime session, but Tennessee defended their turf and sent Alabama home losers of their 7th SEC game. Chris Lofton scored 20 for the Vols, who shot only 35% but took 26 more shots than Alabama due to the Crimson Tides' 26 turnovers.

Tennessee recorded an astonishing 18 steals as they improved their post-season chances by getting over the .500 mark. At 7-6, the Vols have just 3 games remaining - at Arkansas, home vs. Florida and at Georgia - in the regular season.

It's still an uphill battle for the Vols, and they'll likely have to do well in the SEC tourney to continue playing in March.

As for the Tide, the loss was their 3rd in their last four games and dropped them to 6-7, behind both Miss. and Miss. St. in the SEC West. They'll have a chance to save their season as they host Auburn and Miss. before heading to Miss. St. to end their regular season.

Top 25 Home Winners

#2 Ohio State 68 Penn St. 60 - Greg Oden, OSU: 17 points, 14 rebounds.

#5 North Carolina 83 NC State 64 - Brandan Wright scored 24 and Tyler Hansbrough added 20 as the Tar Heels claimed sole possession of first place in the ACC at 10-3.

#20 Louisville 72 St. John's 48 - The streaking Cardinals blew past the Red Storm, recording their 4th straight win and continued to hold 3rd place in the Big East at 10-4. With just games at Connecticut and at home vs. Seton Hall remaining, Louisville looks like a lock for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. They are 20-8 overall.

#21 BYU 76 Colorado St. 67 - The Cougars won their 8th straight and 30th straight at home, securing their hold on first place in the Mountain West at 11-2. They hold a 1 1/2 game advantage over Air Force and UNLV, both at 10-4. Keena Young led all scoring with 24 points as BYU improved to 21-6.

Top 25 Road Winners

#8 Texas A&M 66 Oklahoma St. 46 - Acie Law scored 19 points and the Aggies' defense held the Cowboys' Mario Boggan and JamesOn Curry to a combined 13 points in the blowout. Oklahoma State's top scoring duo were 6-24 from the floor.

The win kept Texas A&M in a tie for first place in the Big 12 with Kansas at 11-2, while the Cowboys slumped to 5-7 and likely ended any hopes of making the March Madness field of 65 with their 5th loss in their last 6 games.

#12 Georgetown 75 Cincinnati 65 - The Hoyas won their 10th straight to remain tied for first in the Big East with Pitt at 11-2. Jeff Green scored 21 points as Georgetown shot 54%.

#13 Southern Illinois 58 Indiana St. 50 - The Salukis overcame a poor shooting night with stellar defense en route to their 10th win in a row and the Missouri Valley title. With a two-game lead over Creighton and one game left, the 11-3 Salukis clinched the championship and will receive a solid seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Top 25 Losers

Miami (FL) 68 #24 Virginia 60 - The Cavaliers gave up first place in the ACC, but still look like a solid choice for post-season play. A road loss to 4-9 Miami isn't going to look good on their resume, but their 9-4 conference record, with wins over Duke, Clemson and Maryland (twice), should be enough to get them into the March Madness field.