Semi Ojeleye Leads SMU to AA Semi-Finals With 36 Points, 12 Boards

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 10, 2017

Advancing through the quarterfinals of the American Athletic conference with an 81-77 win over East Carolina, the SMU Mustangs got their 14th straight win thanks largely to a career-high 36 points from junior forward, Semi Ojeleye.

Ojeleye, a transfer from Duke who sat out last season in order to play for the Mustangs, has been a solid boost to the program, averaging 19.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. In Friday's victory, Ojeleye was 12-for-19 from the field, adding another 11 points on 13 free throw attempts. With 12 rebounds, the 6'7" forward recorded his fifth double-double of the season.

The 12th-ranked Mustangs are 28-4 and will meet Central Florida in the conference tournament semi-final on Saturday. SMU already holds a 65-60 win at UCF from the regular season.

Villanova Advances In Big East; Donte DiVincenzo Scores 25

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 9, 2017

Within the slew of conference tournament games this week, it's easy to overlook otherwise fantastic performances by players not quite on the national radar.

Such would be the case of freshman Donte DiVincenzo, who came off the bench to score a game-high and career-high 25 points as the Wildcats slaughtered St. John's, 108-67.

In 31 minutes, DiVincenzo was 7-for-8 from the field, going 5-for-6 from three-[point range and 6-for-8 from the foul line. The 6'5" guard also collected five boards and dished four assists.

The #2-ranked Wilcats are on cruise control in the Big East tourney and are widely expected to win the conference title handily and receive a #1 seeding in the NCAA tournament.

Zach DeLay Scores 31, Adds 15 Boards As Hokies Advance In ACC Tourney

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Senior Zach LeDay dominated the interior, leading Virginia Tech to a 99-90 victory over Wake Forest in the second round of the ACC tournament.

LeDay came off the Hokie bench to go 8-for-15 from the field, also grabbing 15 boards, seven of them off the offensive glass. The 6'7" forward from Dallas, Texas, was deadly from the charity stripe, making 14 of 18 free throws. The win sends the Demon Deacons home and possibly out of the NCAA, while the Hokies continue against Florida State on Thursday night (7:00 pm ET) in the quarterfinal round of the tourney.

One bid was taken on Wednesday, as the Bucknell Bison Thundered past Lehigh in the Patriot League Tournament Final, http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400945694. The game was tight in the first half, with Bucknell taking a one-point lead into the break, 35-34, but the Bison rampaged in the second half, outscoring Lehigh, 46-31, for the easy win.

Mike Daum Scores 37 As South Dakota State Captures Summit Title; Three Others Advance To NCAA Tourney

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Four more teams punched their tickets to March Madness on Tuesday:

Gonzaga defeated St. Mary's for the third time this season, 74-56, this time winning the finals of the West Coast conference tournament.

Mount St. Mary's defeated St. Francis for the Northeast Conference (NEC) title, 71-61; Northern Kentucky defeated Milwaukee, 59-53, earning the NCAA bid from the Horizon League.

The nation's second-leading scorer, Mike Daum, led South Dakota State to the Summit League championship with a game-high 37 points, defeating Omaha, 79-77. The victory earned the Jackrabbits their fourth NCAA bid.

Daum, the Summit League Player of the Year, made 14 of 24 shots from the field and was 5-for-9 from three-point land. He cashed all four of his free throws and added 12 rebounds, five of them on the offensive end. The Jackrabbits were just 8-8 in the conference and 18-16 overall, but a player like Daum, who average 25.4 points per game, make them a threat under any condition.

C.J. Bryce Leads UNC-Wilmington To CAA Title; Iona, E. Tennessee St. Also Receive Bids

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, March 6, 2017

C.J. Bryce scored 24 points, leading UNC Wilmington to its second straight NCAA tournament berth, winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship with a 78-69 victory over College of Charleston Monday night.

Bryce, a 6'5" sophomore from Charlotte, NC, was 9-for-15 from the field, hitting three of four from three-point land. He also had five rebounds and five assists in the championship effort.

The Seahawks went 15-3 in conference play and are an impressive 29-5 overall. Including their three tournament wins, UNCW has won seven straight and head to the first round of the NCAA tourney, the location of their game to be determined on Sunday, when the selection committee seeds all 68 teams.

Also earning automatic bids were Iona, capturing the MAAC championship with an 87-86 victory over Sienna in the tourney final.

Finally, East Tennessee State rallied past UNC Greensboro, 79-74, to win the Southern conference tournament and the automatic NCAA invitation. The Buccaneers trailed the Spartans 38-31, at the half, but shot the lights out in the second half, scoring 49 points for the win.

Caleb Swanigan's 25th Double-Double Leads Purdue Past Northwestern

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 5, 2017

The Purdue Boilermakers cemented their claim on the Big Ten regular season title, winning at Northwestern, 69-65. Finishing the regular season with a 14-4 record, the Boilermakers wrapped up two games ahead of Maryland and Wisconsin, at 12-6.

Fueling the Boilermakers was their candidate for national player of the year, Caleb Swanigan, who notched his 25th double-double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

The 6'9" sophomore from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was 8-for-15 from the field and hauled down 14 rebounds. Swingian's effort was aided by Vince Edwards' 25 points.

Swanigan and Edwards lead #16 Purdue into the upcoming Big Ten tournament, the winner of which will grab an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, though Purdue is assured to get at least an at-large bid should they not win the conference tourney.

Swanigan averages 18.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, making him one of the more versatile inside players in the collegiate ranks.

---

A week out from Selection Sunday and there are already a host of teams that have played their way into the Big Dance.

On Saturday, Jacksonville State took down the Ohio Valley conference championship with a 66-55 win over UT-Martin. It's the first OVC title for the Gamecocks and their first NCAA invite since jumping to Division 1 and joining the conference in 2003.

Sunday began with Winthrop ending the dreams of Campbell, taking the Big South conference title with a no-doubter, 76-59 win over the upstart Fighting Camels. Winthrop had gone to the conference championship game in each of the past four seasons, but this is their first win during that span.

Florida Gulf Coast captured the Atlantic Sun conference championship, defeating North Florida, 77-61. The automatic bid is the third for the Eagles in the last six seasons.

The Missouri Valley conference championship went to Wichita State, as the Shockers pounded Illinois State, 71-51. Both teams were 17-1 in conference play, but 21st-ranked Wichita State was clearly the better of the two, racking up a 30-4 record overall.

Princeton, champions of the Ivy League, wrapped up an undefeated, 14-0, conference schedule with a 85-48 win over Dartmouth on Saturday. The perfect confernce mark was the sixth in Princeton's rich basketball history, but the kicker is that the Tigers, despite winning the conference title by four games, will have to play on in the first ever Ivy League Tournament. The league has implemented a four-team playoff, with the top seed playing #4 and #2 playing #3. All games will be played at the Palestra in Philadelphia, home to Princeton's first opponent, the Penn Quakers.

Semi-final games are on Saturday, March 11, with the finals on Sunday, March 12.

Syracuse Improves Post-Season Chances Behind 40 Points By Andrew White III

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

Likely in need of a win for consideration by the NCAA Tournament selection committee, the Syracuse Orange torched the visiting Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets before a sellout crowd at the Carrier Dome Saturday, using a stifling defense and 40 points from Andrew White III for a 90-61 victory.

White, in his final home game as an Orange, set a career mark with 40 points. Deadly accurate from anywhere on the floor, White was 12-for-16 from the field, including a Syracuse season-high eight threes on nine attempts. The fifth-year senior also went 8-for-9 from the foul line, adding three rebounds, two assists and a pair of thefts.

A transfer from Nebraska, and previously having spent two seasons at Kansas, White tied the Syracuse record for most points scored in the Carrier Dome, matching the effort by Gene Waldron in 1983 against Iona.

The Orange avenged a 71-65 two weeks ago at Georgia Tech and bolstered their chances of making the NCAA tourney, improving to 18-13 overall and 10-8 in the ACC.

Syracuse's 2-3 zone, brainchild of mastermind coach Jim Boeheim, limited the Yellow Jackets to 44% shooting, and was even more effective at limiting three-pointers. Georgia Tech shot just 25% (5-for-20) from beyond the arc. In contrast, the Orange were blistering, hitting at 54% overall and 62.5% (15-for-24) from three-point range.

Elsewhere in the ACC, #5 North Carolina captured the regular season title with a 90-83 win over #17 Duke and #8 Louisville outlasted #19 Notre Dame, 71-64.

The Tar Heels finished conference play with a 14-4 mark, two games better than Florida State, Louisville, and Notre Dame, each of which finished at 12-6.

The conference tournament, the winner of which will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney, runs Wednesday, March 8 through Saturday, March 11 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.