Conference Tournaments UPDATE, late afternoon games, 3/10/12

ACC: Florida State 62 Duke 59 - Florida State advanced to the ACC tourney final to face North Carolina Sunday afternoon. The Seminoles held on desperately as Seth Curry's potential game-tying heave at the buzzer clanged off the rim. The battle was a defensive one, with both teams shooting under 40% from the field. Michael Snaer led Florida State with 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Austin Rivers had 17 for the Blue Devils.

SEC: Vanderbilt 65 Mississippi 53 - The Commodores will play Kentucky Sunday in the SEC tourney final after handling Mississippi in the second semi-fianl of the day. John Jenkins led all scorers with 23 points and five three-pointers.

Big Ten: Ohio State 77 Michigan 55 - The Buckeyes romped to an early lead and never looked back, completely out-playing Michigan. Ohio State advances to the Big Ten final against Michigan State on Sunday. Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas led the way for the Buckeyes with 24 and 22 points, respectively.

Lamar won the Southland conference tourney with a 70-49 win in the tournament championship over McNeese State and Xavier advanced to the A-10 final against St. Bonaventure Sunday with a solid 71-64 win over St. Louis in the semi-final.

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.

Tickets Punched: Memphis Captures Conference-USA; Vermont grabs America East Title

America East: Vermont 51 Stony Brook 43 - The Catamounts reached the NCAA tournament for the 5th time in the last ten years by winning the America East conference tournament over a determined Stony Brook squad, holding the Sea Wolves to just 29% shooting. Brian Voelkel took just one shot, made it, added three free throws for five points, but hauled in 15 rebounds for Vermont. Four McGlynn, the only Catamount in double figures, scored 14 points with four 3-pointers. Vermont will likely be a 15 or 16 seed.

Conference USA: Memphis 83 Marshall 57 - The Memphis Tigers returned to the NCAAs, capturing the Conference-USA championship and automatic bid with a wide-open win over Marshall, which had made an unpredicted run to the tourney final. The Tigers took an 18-point lead into the half and expanded it in the second period. Will Barton led all scorers with 18 points and 13 rebounds to pace unranked, 26-8, Memphis, which has won the conference tourney six times in the last seven years.

Jared Sullinger, Trey Burke and Rob Wilson Each Score 30 in Big Ten Wins

College Hoops Players of the Day for Friday, March 9, 2012

Three players - all from the Big Ten - scored 30 points in Friday's tournament action, each richly deserving of Player of the Day honors, so as the number of teams in conference battles continues to be pared down, we salute their efforts.

In Michigan's 73-69 victory over stubborn Minnesota, whose NCAA tourney life was on the line, freshman guard Trey Burke continued to dazzle with his rapidly-developing skill set, scoring 30 points on 11 of 14 from the field with three 3-pointers.

Burke was on the money from start to finish. He scored 11 of Michigan's first 12 points and had seven of his career high effort in overtime, including the final dagger, a long-range three. The #10 Wolverines face #7 Ohio State in one of a pair of Big Ten semi-final games at 4:05 pm ET Saturday.

The Buckeyes rolled to an 88-71 quarter-final win over Purdue behind Jared Sullinger's 30 points and 12 rebounds, his third straight double-double and 14th of the season.

Sullinger nailed 12 of 17 shots, including a three-pointer and was 5-for-5 from the foul line. Three of his rebounds were on the offensive end and he had two assists and blocked three shots.

On the other side of the Big Ten bracket, #14 Wisconsin led the entire game in a 79-71 win over #15 Indiana. The unlikely scoring leader was senior Rob Wilson, who scored a career high 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting, including an amazing 7 of 10 from beyond the arc.

Wilson, primarily a bench-rider, had a previous high of just 11 points this season and throughout his career with the Badgers averaged 9.5 minutes and 2.6 points per game.

Wisconsin faces Michigan State in semi-final action at 1:40 pm Saturday.

NOTABLE: The Big East and Big 12, along with a number of smaller conferences will crown champions on Saturday, as Louisville matches up with Cincinnati at 9:00 pm ET inside Madison Square Garden. Prior to that contest, #5 Missouri will battle #12 Baylor for the Big 12 title at 6:00 pm ET. The 27-6 Bears lost both regular season meetings with the Mizzou, losing by a point at home and by 15 at Missouri.

Conference tournaments UPDATE: late, late games, 3/9/12

Big 12: Baylor 81 Kansas 72 - #12 Baylor upset #3 Kansas to advance to the Big 12 final on Saturday to face the winner of Texas-Missouri. The Bears ut six players in double figures, throwing the Midwest and West NCAA #1 bids up for grabs.

Big Ten: Ohio State 88 Purdue 71 - #7 Ohio State had few problems eliminating Purdue from the Big Ten tourney. Jared Sullinger's 30 points and 12 rebounds led five Buckeyes in double figures. Ohio State faces Michigan in a semi-final match-up Saturday.

Big East: Louisville 64 Notre Dame 50 - Peyton Siva continued to shine for the Cardinals, scoring 13 points with 9 assists and 8 rebounds, leading Louisville to the Big East final Saturday night against Cincinnati.

ACC: Florida State 82 Miami 71 - Florida State led the entire game, ousting Miami from the ACC tourney and setting up a semi-final showdown Saturday with #6 Duke.

Conference tournaments UPDATE, late games, 3/9/12, Cincy Upsets Syracuse

Big East: Cincinnati 71 Syracuse 68 - Cincinnati turned in the biggest upset of championship week, knocking off #2 Syracuse, handing the Orange just their second loss of the season. The Bearcats built a big, early lead and held on in the final minute against a furious Syracuse rally which cut the lead to one, but a run-out off a made Dion Waiters free throw sealed the victory. Waiters led all scorers with 28 points, but Yancy Gates and Sean Kilpatrick each had 18 for the Bearcats, who will play in the tournament final against the winner of tonight's Louisville - Notre Dame game.

Big Ten: Michigan 73 Minnesota 69 OT - Michigan outlasted Minnesota in overtime to advance in the Big Ten tourney. Minnesota's chances of making the NCAA's field will be in the hands of the selection committee. Wolverine freshman guard Trey Burke paced all scorers with a career high 30 points on 11 of 14 shooting with three trifectas. Michigan is looking like a 3 or 4 seed in Sunday's selection process.

Conference USA: Marshall 73 Southern Miss. 62 - Continuing to thunder though Conference USA, the Herd used Damier Pitts' 24 points and five rebounds to advance to Saturday's conference tourney final against regular season champion Memphis, which reached the final with an 83-52 rout of UCF.

In the ACC, Duke advanced against Virginia Tech with a 60-56 win.

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.

Conference Tournaments UPDATE early games 3/9/12

Big Ten: Michigan State 92 Iowa 75 - Shooting 70%, the Spartans led by as many as 19 in the first half, and 28 in the second half, easily dispatching the Hawkeyes in a Big Ten quarterfinal contest. Draymond Green had his usual all-around game, leading the scoring column with 21 points and hauling in nine rebounds.

Atlantic 10: Massachusetts 77 Temple 71 - UMass erased a five point halftime deficit with an early second half burst and outplayed the Owls down the stretch, pulling off one of the bigger upsets of the conference tourney week. Jesse Morgan led the scoring parade with 21 points, while Chas Williams had 20 points and 10 assists for the 22-10 Minutemen. After going 9-7 in A-10 play during the regular season UMass advances to the tourney semi-final . Temple, which won the conference with a 13-3 record (24-6 overall), probably will still get an NCAA bid, but they'll be on pins and needles until shortly after 6:00 pm ET Sunday.

ACC: North Carolina 85 Maryland 69 - The #4 Tar Heels had little trouble taking out Maryland, but got a bit of a scare when forward John Henson landed hard and suffered a wrist injury to his non-shooting hand. Henson returned for a bit, but played only seven minutes overall, though the injury did not appear to be serious. Kendall Marshall went for 13 points and 15 assists, breaking the all-time ACC single season assist record in the process.

Perry Jones III Scores 31 with 11 Boards as Baylor Advances

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 8, 2012

Of all the fine individual performances on a day full of conference tournament play, the work of Baylor's budding superstar, Perry Jones III, stood out.

Jones led the Bears to an 82-74 win over Kansas State, setting up Friday's semi-final meeting with Kansas in the Big 12 tourney. Jones scored 31 points on 11 of 14 shooting, going 2-for-2 from the 3-point line, making seven of nine free throws. The sophomore forward - who most expect will make the jump to the NBA after the NCAA tourney - added 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double and eighth of the season.

Conference Tournaments UPDATE (late, late games):

Big East: Notre Dame 57 South Florida 53, OT - Determining the final entrant into the Big East semi-finals took overtime, as #23 Notre Dame outscored the Bulls in the extra session, 12-8, setting up a Friday night meeting with Louisville. Despite the loss, it's probably not the end of the road for South Florida. With a 12-6 mark in the conference, a 20-13 record overall and a win over Villanova in the opening round of the tourney, the Bulls should be one of the seven or eight teams from the 16-team Big East to receive an invitation on Sunday.

Big 12: Texas 71 Iowa State 67 - Even though J'Covan Brown missed all five of his three-point attempts, he still managed to lead all scorers with 23 points as the Longhorns advanced to the Big 12 tournament semi-final match-up with Missouri Friday night. The Longhorns may have needed the win over the Cyclones to qualify for the NCAAs, as they went through the conference regular season with a 9-9 mark and are now 20-12 overall. Iowa State (20-10, 12-6) is also projected to receive an at-large bid.

Conference Tourneys UPDATE: Key LATE games, 3/8/2012

Big Ten: Minnesota 75 Northwestern 68 OT - With both teams fighting for their NCAA tournament lives, it was Minnesota prevailing in overtime, in an opening round Big Ten tourney tilt. Even though Minnesota advances and can pad its resume with another win, they are still in doubt for the big dance due to their sub-par 6-12 conference record. Northwestern can now only sit and wait for selection Sunday to see if the committee deems their 8-10 conference resume as sufficient to make the field of 68. Could Northwestern or Minnesota end up in a play-in game? Stranger things have happened. Minnesota's Andre Hollins led all scorers with 25 points, making 10 of 18 shots, including five of 10 from 3-point range.

Conference USA: Marshall 105 Tulsa 100 3OT - The 20-12 Thundering Herd kept its slim tournament hopes alive with a triple overtime victory in the conference tournament quarterfinals. Though the Herd is still not guaranteed anything, the win over Tulsa probably got them on a short list for the NIT, but they can now aim higher, with a Friday meeting with Southern Miss, with whom they split a pair of games during the regular season. DeAndre Kane went 15-35, for a career high 40 points to pace Marshall.

Big East: Louisville 84 Marquette 71 - In one of the more stunning upsets thus far, Louisville upset #9 Marquette in a Big East quarterfinal game, leading all the way, getting 18 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds from point guard Peyton Siva. Kyle Kuric led the Cardinals with 20 points, despite a 7-for-19 shooting effort. Louisville led the entire game and dominated the glass, with 48 rebounds to Marquette's 35.

Big 12: Missouri 88 Oklahoma St. 70 - Kim English scored a game high 27 points and Marcus Denman poured in 24 as the #5 Missouri Tigers advanced to the semi-finals of the Big 12 tournament. The Tigers will face the winner of the Texas-Iowa State game with an eye toward playing Kansas in the tourney final and possibly earning a #1 overall seed in the NCAAs. The Jayhawks and Tigers split a pair of regular season games, each team winning on their home court.

Conference Tourneys UPDATE: Key games, 3/8/2012

Big Ten: Indiana 75 Penn State 58 - While the Hoosiers won this one easily, it was not all fun and games as senior guard Verdell Jones crashed to the floor, screaming and clutching his right knee with 5:45 left in the first half. Team officials say Jones suffered a sprained knee, but it sure looked worse than that. Will update as better information becomes available.

Big 12: Kansas 83 Texas A&M 66 - The #4 Jayhawks got 26 points from Elijah Johnson, built a 12-point lead at the half and expanded it in the second. The Jayhawks, ranked 3rd nationally, will face #12 Baylor on Friday at 7:30 pm ET.

Big East: Cincinnati 72 Georgetown 70 - Yancy Gates led all scorers with 23 points and had eight rebounds as the Bearcats eliminated the #13 Hoyas and will face #2 Syracuse in a semi-final game at 7:00 pm ET Friday.

Mountain West: San Diego State 65 Boise State 62 - The #18 Azetcs weren't supposed to be tested in the opening round of their conference tournament, but they managed to squeak past Boise St. on Jamaal Franklin's buzzer beating three-pointer as time expired. Franklin finished with 19 points. Teammate Chase Tapley led all scorers with 20, on 8 of 14 shooting with four threes. San Diego State shot 51% to Boise's 43%, but were out-rebounded 31-22.

Conference Tournaments UPDATE: Syracuse Ousts UConn; Baylor Drubs K-State

Big East (3rd round): Syracuse 58 Connecticut 55 - Syr: Dion Waiters, 18 points; James Southerland, 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks.

Big 12 (2nd round): Baylor 82 Kansas State 74 - Bay: Perry Jones III, 31 points (11-14), 11 rebounds. Baylor, 53% from field.

ACC (1st round): Maryland 82 Wake Forest 60 - Terrell Stoglin, 8-14, 25 Pts, 7 Rebs, 4 Assists. Maryland, 54% from field.

Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb Lead Huskies to Big East Meeting with Syracuse

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 7, 2012

It may not have been the prettiest of performances, but Connecticut's 71-67 overtime win against West Virginia was the 13th straight post-season victory for Jim Calhoun's Huskies.

UConn, the reigning national champion, won all five of their Big East games last season, six NCAA tourney tilts and now have won two straight in the current Big East feast.

The Huskies (20-12, 8-10) trailed the Mountaineers late in the second half by nine points, but that's whenShabazz Napier- who scored a game high 26 points, went off, scoring nine straight points to bring UConn even at 63-all. Throughout the game, Napier was aided by timely buckets from Jeremy Lamb,who went 9-for-18 with three triples for 22 points and added six rebounds.

Napier was not sharp from the field, making just seven of 22 shots, but that included four three-pointers and he was 8 of 9 from the foul line and dished six assists.

Connecticut shot just 40% for the game, but their defense held West Virginia to 28% from the field.

Connecticut's win - their second in as many days - put them into a third round match-up with second-ranked Syracuse, which took the Huskies' measure on February 25 with a 71-69 win. Tip time at Madison Square Garden is noon ET on Thursday.

Montana Moves On; South Florida Advances in Big East

Damian Lilliard scored 29 points for the Wildcats, but Kareem Jamar and Mathias Ward each dropped in 23, propelling Montana to the Big Sky conference title and a chance to dance in the NCAA tourney with a resounding, 85-66, victory.

Jamar keyed a second half rally by the Grizzlies, making 8 of 12 shots, with 5 of 8 from three-point range.

In the Big East second round, South Florida may have punched its own ticket with a 56-47 win over Villanova. The Bulls went 12-6 in conference play and, with Wednesday's win, are 20-12 on the season.

UPDATE: LIU, Lehigh Earn NCAA Invites; UConn, Louisville, Hoyas Advance in Big East

Long Island University-Brooklyn took its second straight Northeast conference title and another NCAA invite with a 90-73 victory over perennial contender Robert Morris. CJ Garner came off the LIU bench to lead all scorers with 21 points. Teammate Julian Boyd dropped in 18 with 10 boards. LIU topped the conference with a 16-2 record and are 25-8 overall.

The Patriot League tourney championship was a 82-77 shootout won by Lehigh. Bucknell center Mike Muscala scored 30 points and grabbed 14 boards, but CL McCollum scored 29 and Gabe Knutson added 23 for the Mountain Hawks.

Bucknell won the regular season title with a 12-2 record, splitting a pair of games with 13-3 Lehigh.

In Big East second round action, the Connecticut Huskies took out West Virginia in overtime, 71-67, and Louisville held off Seton Hall, 61-55. If any team is on the bubble, it is the Seton Hall Pirates, who won one tournament game and went through the conference with an 8-10 record. Their loss to the Cardinals should result in an NIT invite, at best.

Georgetown put away Pittsburgh, 64-52. Bye, bye, Pitt. NIT, maybe.

Teeng Akol Sends 15-18 Hilltoppers Dancing; Harvard Snags Bid

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, March 6, 2011

Western Kentucky completed their assault on Sun Belt opponents with their fourth straight tournament win, a 74-70 victory over North Texas in the conference tournament championship.

6'11" junior Teeng Akol led all scorers with 23 points, a career high for the import from Sudan. Akol also had five rebounds and blocked four shots.

The Hilltoppers were left for dead on January 5 when a loss to Louisiana Lafayette left the team with a 5-11 record and coach McDonald was fired. Ray Harper was named interim coach at that point, but the team lost three more games in a row. The Hilltoppers then began winning a little bit, taking six of their last 10 conference games, but still finishing the regular season with an 11-18 record and a 7-9 mark in the conference.

With nothing to lose in the conference tourney, the Hilltoppers beat Florida International, Arkansas Little-Rock (West division champion) and Denver before Tuesday's triumph in the final.

At 15-18, Western Kentucky becomes the first team with a losing record to qualify for the NCAA tournament since 16-20 Coppin State qualified out of the Mid-Eastern conference in 2008.

TOURNAMENT FINAL RESULTS:

South Dakota State 52 Illinois State 50 - The Jackrabbits of South Dakota State snatched away an important automatic NCAA bid with their win over the Leathernecks of Illinois State in the Summit conference tournament championship. Senior Griffan Callahan made a pair of free throws to force overtime as the Jackrabbits rallied from a four-point deficit at the half and then made the game-winning three-pointer in overtime for the win.

The 'Rabbits were the fortunate beneficiaries of Illinois State's largesse, because the Leathernecks were the ones to knock off regular season champ, Oral Roberts, in one of the semi-final games, 54-53, Monday. South Dakota State's win leaves Oral Roberts in hoops limbo, hoping to get an at-large seeding from the tournament committee on Sunday. The Golden Eagles won the conference with a 17-1 record and are 27-6 overall, their biggest win a 64-42 win over Xavier in December. Losses at West Virginia, Oklahoma and Gonzaga will work against them.

Detroit 70 Valparaiso 50 - Valparaiso took the regular season title in the Horizon League with a 14-4 record, but could not deliver the goods when it mattered most. Against a Detroit team they beat twice during the season, the Crusaders made just 2 of 18 three-pointers and shot 34% for the game, missing out on their opportunity to go to the big dance.

Instead, the Detroit Titans proved their mettle, taking the tournament championship and the automatic bid, despite an 11-7 record in the conference and a 22-13 record overall. Ray McCallum led all scorers with 21 points, adding six rebounds in the victory. Detroit shot 58% in the second half and ran away with the win. This will be the Titans first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1999.

Elsewhere, Princeton defeated Penn, 62-52, leaving the Quakers a game behind Harvard in the Ivy League. A Quaker win would have forced a one-game playoff with the Crimson, but the loss gives Harvard, which finished conference play with a 12-2 record, the automatic bid.

There are 27 games on tap for Wednesday, including second round games in the Big East and opening rounds in the PAC-12, Big 12 and Conference USA tournaments. A few ore tickets will be punched when Lehigh faces Bucknell in the Patriot League tourney final and Robert Morris and Long Island battle for the Northeast championship. Both championship games are at 7:00 pm ET. Weber State and Montana duel for the Big Sky tourney title at 9:00 pm ET.

Rob Jones, Matthew Delladevoda Lead St. Mary's over Gonzaga; Four More Teams Win Bids to Tourney

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, March 5, 2012

St. Mary's upended #24 Gonzaga in overtime, 78-74, taking home the West Coast Conference tournament trophy and earning the automatic bid to the NCAA tourney.

Senior forward Rob Jones scored 18 points, pulled in nine rebounds and had three steals for the Gaels, who will be making their second trip to the big dance in the past three years. Matthew Delladevoda pumped in 22 points and dished four assists in the victory.

St. Mary's (27-5, 14-2) also won the conference regular season title. It's the first time in school history that they've captured both championships in the same season. For the 25-6 Bulldogs, who finished the WCC regular season at 13-3, in second place, the loss means waiting until Selection Sunday to see if they've done enough to win over the committee for an at-large invitation.

TOURNAMENT FINAL RESULTS:

Davidson 93 Western Carolina 91 - Davidson (25-7) was pushed to overtime by the Catamounts, but prevailed to capture the Southern Conference Tournament championship and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney. Western Carolina and its 17-16 record will likely end up in the NIT.

Loyola (MD) 48 Fairfield 44 - The game wasn't exactly a sprint, but the Greyhounds of Loyola, Maryland took the final of the MAAC conference tournament after finishing second to Iona in the regular season standings. The Greyhounds (13-5, 24-8) will be making their first appearance in the NCAAs since 1995, when the team was coached by Skip Prosser. Loyola overcame a 30-26 half time deficit with an 11-1 run to open the second half and held the Stags to just 14 second half points.

VCU 59 Drexel 56 - Virginia Commonwealth ensured a return trip to the NCAA tourney with a 59-56 win over Drexel in the Colonial Athletic conference championship game. The Rams reached the Final Four last season and will have the opportunity to reprise their epic run when the madness ensues next week at locales across the country.

VCU built a 16 point lead early in the second half, but had to hold off a furious rally from Drexel, which entered the game on a 19-game winning streak, the second longest in the country behind Kentucky. The Dragons won the Colonial conference regular season with a 16-2 record. At 27-6 overall, they appear headed to the NCAA tournament despite their loss in the final.

Creighton Wins MVC Tourney on Doug McDermott's 33 Points; William Buford Leads Buckeyes to Win, Three-way Tie in Big Ten

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 4, 2012

There were two really big games on Sunday that mattered in terms of upcoming seeds n the NCAA tournament. The first was a barn-burner of a Missouri Valley tournament final and the other resulted in a three-way tie for the Big Ten regular season championship.

In St. Louis, #25 Creighton was pushed to overtime by a stubborn Illinois State squad intent on winning their way into the NCAAs. In the end, however, it was the Bluejays chasing off the Redbirds, 83-79 in OT behind likely MVC player of the year, Doug McDermott who paced all scorers with 33 points on 12 of 18 shooting, including three 3-pointers and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. Creighton's leading scorer also grabbed six rebounds in his 41 minutes of floor time.

Illinois State had knocked off Wichita State on Saturday to get to the final, but fell just short. Creighton takes the automatic bid, while #15 Wichita State will have to be patient for a week to find out where they are seeded.

With a win at home against #10 Ohio State in their final regular season game, the 5th-ranked Michigan State Spartans could have claimed the Big Ten title outright, and the Spartans built a 15-point lead midway through the first half as the Buckeyes struggled to find their marks.

Despite the struggles of their star, Jared Sullinger, who was just 5-for-17 from the field and spent much of the last eight minutes on the bench with four fouls but still finished with a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds, the Buckeyes never quit and eventually got the go-ahead bucket on a long jumper by William Buford with one second remaining in regulation.

Buford finished with one of his best games of the season, fitting for the only senior on the Ohio State squad, scoring a game-high 25 points on 8 of 14 shooting with three boards, three steals and an assist.

The Spartans had one last fling at the basket as time expired, but the ball never went near the hoop, as Ohio State took the 72-70 decision.

The result tied the Buckeyes with Michigan State and Michigan - who had topped Penn State earlier in the day - for the conference regular season lead, all three teams finishing with identical 13-5 records.

Michigan State will be the top seed in the Big Ten tournament which opens Thursday, with Ohio State #2 and Michigan the #3 seed.

Jamaal Franklin's 35 and 13 Lead Aztecs to Share WCC Title; Three NCAA Seeds In, More, Sunday

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 3, 2012

As expected, Saturday turned out to be a monster day in college basketball, with three teams clinching spots in the NCAA tourney - UNC Asheville (Big South), Belmont (Atlantic Sun) and Murray State (Ohio Valley) - and #6 North Carolina dusting #4 Duke on the Blue Devils' home court, 88-70, to capture the ACC regular season title, a #1 seed in the conference tournament and a probable shot at a #1 seed in the NCAAs.

With the PAC-12 sublimated to the role of bystander this season, the neighboring West Coast conference has picked up the slack, producing four tournament-eligible teams, each of which produced wins on Saturday.

Colorado State and #17 UNLV beat Air Force and Wyoming, respectively, while New Mexico and San Diego State ended up sharing the regular-season title at 10-4, after splitting their two games during the season. New Mexico topped Boise State, 76-61, while the #20 Aztecs blew an 18-point lead but eventually turned back TCU in overtime, 98-91.

Sophomore guard Jamaal Franklin was 9-for-18 from the field with three 3-pointers and 14-17 from the line for a game high and career high 35 points, to go with 13 rebounds and five assists. It was Franklin's third straight double-double and fifth this season.

While the top four teams in the WCC have the resumes to reach the field of 68, the conference is guaranteed only one automatic bid, to the team that wins the upcoming conference tourney, though all four have a reasonable chance of heading to the Big Dance.

Elsewhere in the Top 25, Iowa State cemented their claim as a tourney team with an 80-72 win over #9 Baylor and #3 Kansas looked the part of a #1 tournament seed, taking apart Texas, 73-63, in the Big 12 regular season finale.

#7 Missouri easily dispatched Texas Tech, 81-59. #20 Temple took care of Fordham, 80-60.

In the Big East, #8 Marquette took care of business against #11 Georgetown, 83-69, earning themselves some time off with a double bye in the conference tourney which begins Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Georgetown, with the loss, will have to play an extra game in the tourney, finishing tied for 4th place in the standings with South Florida and Cincinnati, at 10-6, though the Bearcats held the tie-breaker and will get the double bye after dusting Villanova, 72-68, coupled with West Virginia's 50-44 win over South Florida.

#20 Notre Dame, third in the standings and #2 Syracuse hold the other two double byes. The Orange finished up their regular season undefeated at home with a 58-49 win over #19 Louisville that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicates.

The bracket buster of the day belonged to Illinois State, who upended #15 Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference semi-final, 65-64. The Rewdbirds will face #25 Creighton in the final on Sunday, the winner receiving the automatic bid. Creighton pasted Evansville, 99-71, in the other semi-final.

Sunday's biggest game will be in the Big Ten, where #10 Ohio State invades #5 Michigan State, each team seeking a share of the regular season title. Opening tip is set for 4:00 pm ET.

NOTABLE: Besides the Atlantic Sun, Big South and Missouri Valley, the other remaining conferences outside the majors which will get one automatic bid are America East, Big Sky, Ivy, Horizon, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Northeast, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern Athletic, Summit, Sun Belt, Western Athletic. Most of these will be decided by tournament play. The Ivy League champion may be decided Sunday when Penn plays Princeton. The Quakers are 1/2 game behind Harvard in the standings and would tie the Crimson for first place in the conference with a win, forcing a one-game playoff.

Jack Cooley Leads Irish over Providence with 27 Points and 17 Boards

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 2, 2012

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame assured themselves of a double bye in the upcoming Big East tournament with a timely, 75-69, win on the road at Providence in their final regular season game.

Finishing with a regular season mark of 13-5 in the conference (21-10 overall), the Irish are in third place, with Georgetown and South Florida a half game back. The Hoyas and Bulls both play Saturday, but the Irish and Hoyas get the tie-breaker in case both teams win as they've both beaten South Florida during the regular season.

If South Florida wins their noon game vs. West Virginia and the Hoyas lose at Marquette, the Bulls would finish fourth and receive the automatic double bye.

For #20 Notre Dame, the win was essential after dropping back-to-back road games last week at St. John's and Georgetown, capping a remarkable mid-season turnaround. The Irish were just 3-3 in Big East games before embarking on a nine-game winning streak which included handing #2 Syracuse their only loss of the season.

In Friday's victory, center Jack Cooley was the unstoppable force in the middle, scoring 27 points with 17 rebounds, his tenth double-double of the season and a career high in scoring. Cooley was 10-for-15 from the field and 7-9 from the foul line. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive end.

NOTABLE: Conference tournaments got underway in many of the smaller conferences Friday. The Horizon, Colonial, West Coast, Ohio Valley, Missouri Valley and Southern conferences all had opening round battles. Three ranked teams - Murray State, Creighton and Wichita State - each advanced in their respective tourneys.

Saturday offers a loaded slate of games, with more conferences starting tournaments and many ranked teams playing in their final regular season contests. The most-anticipated games will be at Syracuse, where the Orange host #19 Louisville at 4:00 pm ET, and at Durham, NC, where the #4 Duke Blue Devils host the #6 North Carolina Tar Heels, the winner to take possession of the ACC regular season title and a #1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Opening tip is 7:00 pm ET.