Treveon Graham Leads VCU to Atlantic 10 Title; All Conference Champions Crowned, It's Time to Choose At-Large Teams

Conference Champions and College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 15, 2015

SEC
Kentucky 78 Arkansas 63 - Kentucky completed its mission, as promised, to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated, their 34-0 record a gauntlet thrown down to 67 other teams. The Wildcats led right from the opening tip, starting with an 8-0 run to put the Razorbacks on their heels, and were never threatened. A 41-25 lead at the half as cut to nine by the Razorbacks but the Wildcats expanded it to as many as 21 points as Kentucky simply outplayed the hopelessly-overmatched Arkansas squad.

Atlantic 10
VCU 71 Dayton 65 - VCU got hot nearing the end of the first half and finished with a 9-2 run for a 33-26 lead at the break. Dayton battled back to tie the game at numerous points in the second half but could never wrest the lead away from the Rams, who engineered a four-point lead with under a minute to play and then proceeded to make eight straight free throws to secure the championship, their first, after reaching the final in each of the past two seasons.

Treveon Graham led all scorers with 20 points and ripped down a game-high 13 boards. Graham, who was 3-for-8 on three-pointers, also contributed four assists and a steal.

Sun Belt
Georgia State 38 Georgia Southern 36 - In the lowest-scoring championship game this season, the Panthers outlasted the Eagles thanks to 18 points from Kevin Ware. Georgia State shot just 33% from the field, but it was enough to win, as Georgia Southern hit at merely a 23% rate (11-47).

Big Ten
Wisconsin 80 Michigan State 69 OT - With an automatic bid on the line and a possible #1 seed for Wisconsin at stake, the Spartans took the Badgers into overtime, but eventually came up short as Wisconsin fulfilled their season-long destiny of being the best team to come out of the Big Ten and shut out the Spartans in overtime, 11-0. Nigel Hayes had a huge game, leading all scorers with 25 points, including a perfect, 12-for-12 from the foul line.

American
SMU 62 Connecticut 54 - Rodney Purvis kept the Huskies alive with a game-high 29 points, but eventually, basketball is a team game and the balanced scoring of the Mustangs brought home the American Athletic conference title. Coach Larry Brown has yet another team in the NCAA tournament.

That's a wrap for now. On to the selection process, seedings and bracket madness. Full report later tonight and/or early Monday AM.

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)
March 15
SEC	Kentucky (34-0, Arkansas, 78-63)
Atlantic 10	VCU (26-9, Dayton, 71-65)
Sun Belt	Georgia State (24-9, Georgia Southern, 38-36)
Big Ten	Wisconsin (31-3, Michigan State, 80-69)
American	SMU (27-6, Connecticut, 62-54)

Field Filling Out as More Conference Champs Crowned; Jerian Grant Powers Fighting Irish to ACC Crown

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)

Kentucky, Arizona, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Kansas advance in conference tourneys; Bobby Portis Leads Arkansas in SEC

Conference Tournament Highlights and

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, April 13, 2015

There was enough college hoops action Friday night to fill up the entire weekend, what with 19 conference tournaments in various stages of elimination. 14 tourneys wrap up on Saturday, plus the Ivy League will decide its representative for the NCAA Championship when Yale meet Harvard in a one-game playoff at 4:00 pm EDT in Philadelphia.

Sunday, five more conferences - American, Atlantic 10, Big Ten, SEC, and Sun Belt - will crown champions, leading up to the selection committee announcements of the at-large bids and overall seedings in the four regions, beginning at 6:00 pm EDT.

Highlights from Friday's games include:

#1 Kentucky advancing to the semi-final in the SEC with a 64-49 win over Florida, where they face Auburn, Saturday, at 1:00 pm EDT.

On the other side of the bracket, Georgia topped South Carolina, 74-62, while Arkansas eliminated Tennessee, 80-72, and will meet the Bulldogs in a semi-final match-up Saturday, at 3:00 pm EDT. In their victory, forward Bobby Portis put up player of the day numbers, scoring a game-high 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting, going 9-for-10 from the foul line, and was the game's top rebounder, with 11. Despite being out-boarded, 41-31, the Razorbacks made up for that deficiency with hounding defense, holding the Vols to just 33% shooting.

A 6'11" sophomore, Portis posted his 12th double double of the season and added a pair of assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. In their only meeting of the season, Arkansas won, 79-75, at Georgia, on January 6.

The ACC has settled on the combatants for their final, as North Carolina ousted top-seeded Virginia, 71-67, and Notre Dame handled #2 seed (and #2 nationally), Duke, 74-64.

The Tar Heels and Irish square off Saturday night, at 8:30 pm EDT.

In the PAC-12, Arizona ousted UCLA, 70-64, advancing to the final, where they will meet Oregon, a 76-64 winner over a resolute Utah squad, 67-64, on Joseph Young's 25 points and buzzer-beating three-pointer. The PAC-12 final is scheduled for 8:00 pm PDT.

The Big Ten semi-finals start at 1:00 pm EDT on Saturday, when Wisconsin battles Purdue, followed by a 3:30 meeting between Michigan State and Maryland.

In the Big 12, #13 Iowa State meets #9 Kansas in the final at 6:00 pm EDT.

CBD's Conference Champion Scoreboard will be updated in Saturday night's post, along with results and highlights.

UCLA Looking for At-Large Bid after Isaac Hamilton's Career High 36 Leads the Bruins past USC

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 12, 2015

Arizona is the only team from the PAC-12 that is ranked, but it's a good bet that the conference will send at least four teams to the NCAA tournament, and the UCLA Bruins, by virtue of their 96-70 trouncing of cross-town rival USC in the opening round of the conference tourney, are almost certain to be among that group.

If the Bruins get an at-large bid, they can thank sophomore guard, Isaac Hamilton, who scored a career-high 36 points, going 13-for-17 overall and blistering the nets with a 7-for-9 barrage from beyond the arc.

Hamilton's previous career best was 21 points, against UAB earlier this season, prior to conference play.

The 6'4" LA native averaged 10.1 points per game this season and scored in double figures 19 times prior to his performance against the Trojans.

Hamilton added four rebounds and made two steals for the Bruins, who are 20-12 overall and went 11-7 in the PAC-12.

While there was a slew of games on Thursday, no conference champions were crowned, nor will any be crowned until Saturday, when 15 teams get their tickets punched.

Lafayette Grabs Patriot League Title; Anthony "Cat" Barber Pours in 34 as NC State Eliminates Pitt from ACC Tourney

Conference Champions and College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 11, 2015

With the Patriot League tournament complete, there are now 12 teams which have qualified for automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, leaving 20 more to be determined by conference tournament championships, and then 32 at-large bids will be awarded on Sunday, March 15, along with four teams designated as "play-ins" for four games slated for Tuesday and Wednesday, March 17 and 18.

Those play-in teams are matched against seeded squads, making the total of 68 teams selected to take part in the annual March Madness ritual.

While many post-season tourneys are in early rounds, they will all be completed by Sunday aftenoon, the Big Ten and SEC among those closing out at the last minute. Tonight featured just one tournament final - the Patriot League - and there won't be another until Saturday, March 14, when a slew of 15 conferences will be decided. That includes the Ivy League, which normally is among the first of the conferences to announce a champion, but, because of a tie in the regular season standings between Yale and Harvard, and the fact that the Ivy doesn't hold a post-season tournament, a one-game playoff is scheduled on the 14th.

Saturday will be a huge day of college hoops action, including the finals of the Big 12, Big East, Big Sky, Conference USA, WAC and ACC.

Patriot League
Lafayette 65 American 63 - Two teams that weren't supposed to be in the Patriot League final decided which would represent the conference in the NCAA tournament. Lafayette finished 9-9 in league play, tied for fourth place, while American went 8-10 in conference play, finishing in a three-way tie for sixth place.

After a slow start, Lafayette took a first half lead and held a comfortable lead most of the way, until the Eagles began to surge midway through the second half, closing the gap and eventually grabbing a lead at 55-53 on Marko Vasic's three-point play with 5:14 remaining. That turned out to be the only second half lead for the Eagles as Seth Hinrichs and Zach Rufer hit back-to-back three-pointers for the Leopards.

American closed to within a point, at 61-60, but Nick Linder, who led all scorers with 25 points, scored four straight points on a layup and a pair of free throws. Pee Wee Gardner's three-pointer at the buzzer closed the gap back to two, but it was too late.

Lafayette heads to the tournament with a respectable record of 20-12.

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Player of the day honors go to Anthony "Cat" Barber who tallied a career-high 34 points to lead North Carolina State to an 81-70 victory over Pitt in their opening game of the ACC tournament.

Barber hit nine of 13 shots from the field, including four of five from three-point range, and nailed all 12 of his free throws. Barber also dished out five assists and gathered in three rebounds.

The win improved the Wolfpack's overall record to 20-12 and puts them in a good position to capture a at-large bid on selection Sunday. NC State went 10-8 through the ACC regular season, including a quality win over Duke, one of just three ACC teams to top the Blue Devils.

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 (20-12, American, 65-63)

Valpo, Robert Morris, Gonzaga Head for NCAA Tourney; Lawrence Alexander Leads Bison to Summit League Title

Conference Championships and College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Horizon League
Valparaiso 54 Green Bay 44 - Valparaiso is headed back to the NCAA tournament after taking care of business in the Horizon League championship, downing the Phoenix of Green Bay with a smoldering defensive effort. While the Crusaders shot just 37.5% (18-48), their counterparts from Green Bay hit only 30% of their shots from the field (16-53), including going 2-for-15 from three-point range.

Valparaiso forced 12 turnovers, blocked six shots (five by forward Vashil Fernandez) and snatched up seven steals.

The Crusaders went 13-3 in conference play and are winners of the tournament championship for the second time in three years.

Northeast
Robert Morris 66 St. Francis BRK 63 - Lucky Jones knocked down a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to play and St. Francis Brooklyn could not respond as tine wore down, sending Robert Morris to the upset win in the Northeast conference championship game and on to the NCAA tournament with the automatic bid.

St. Francis owned the regular season with a 15-3 mark in conference play, but was denied by a gritty effort from the Robert Morris Colonials who were 8-for-16 from beyond the arc. Jones, chipped in 12 points from off the bench, adding to Rodney Prior's team-high 17 points. The Colonials had five players in double figures.

Summit League
North Dakota State 57 South Dakota State 56 - For the second straight season the Bison will represent the Summit League in the NCAA tourney, after edging South Dakota State's Jackrabbits in the conference tournament title game. Summit League player of the year, Lawrence Alexander, pumped in a game-high 25 points, making six of nine from three-point range and scoring 17 of his team's 34 points in the second half.

Both the Bison and Jackrabbits finished the regular season with 12-4 marks in the conference, so it was only fitting that the game would go down to the wire. North Dakota State kept the 'Rabbits in the game late, twice missing front ends of 1-and-1 free throw situations, but South Dakota's George Marshall and Deondre Parks each misfired on shots that would have won the game in the final seconds.

West Coast
Gonzaga 94 BYU 81 - For the 13th time, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are champions of the West Coast confrence, easily disposing of the BYU Cougars, despite a game-high 28 points by the Cougars' Kyle Collinsworth.

The win ran the Zags' record to 32-2 overall, after going 17-1 in conference play, avenging their loss to the Cougars duing the regular season. Their only other loss was a 66-63 OT setback at Arizona back on December 6. Once a so-called "Cinderella" team, Gonzaga has evolved into a national contender and could easily be the #1 seed in the West Region when the selection committee announced the seedings this Sunday.

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
March 14
America East
ACC
Big 12
Big East
Big Sky
Big West
Conference USA
Ivy*
Mid-American
Mid-Eastern
Mountain West
PAC-12
Southland
Southwest Athletic
Western Athletic
March 15
American
Atlantic 10
Big Ten
SEC
Sun Belt

Northeastern, Wofford Head for the Big Dance; Emmy Andujar, Ashton Pankey Power Manhattan to MAAC Title

Conference Championships and College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, March 9, 2015

Colonial
Northeastern 71 William & Mary 62 - The Northeastern Huskies are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991 after taking out William & Mary in the final of the Colonial tournament. Quincy Ford paced all scorers with 22 points, contributing four boards, three blocks and a pair of assists.

The Huskies were 23-11 for the season with a 12-6 conference mark.

Southern
Wofford 67 Furman 64 - In a game that was hotly contested from start to finish, the Wofford Terriers finally shook free of the Palladins of Furman to capture the Southern tourney title and a trip to the NCAAs. The Terriers put four players into double figures, topped by forward Lee Skinner's 17 points.

For the second straight year, Woffard will represent the Southern conference in the national championship tourney.

Metro Atlantic
Manhattan 79 Iona 69 - for the third straight season, the Manhattan Jaspers and Iona Gaels met for the MAAC tournament championship, and for the second year in a row, it was the Jaspers who got the better of it, as a couple of boys from the Bronx - Ashton Pankey and Emmy Andujar - dominated the interior and led their team to victory.

Pankey finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Andujar contributed 18 points and 11 boards. The two forwards helped Manhattan out-rebound the Gaels, 41-33, and provided heady defense throughout. Pankey had a pair of blocked shots. Andujar had two steals.

The game was close until the final stages, when it was tied at 60-60, with 7:01 to play. Manhattan used a 13-4 run over the next 3:56 to establish an unassailable lead.

NOTE: ESPN's Joe Lunardi had Iona penciled in as a #12 seed out of the MAAC, so, ya know, screw Joe Lunardi and his "bracketology." Remember, analyst starts with "anal."

Who's In? Conference Champions

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
Northeast
Summit League
West Coast
March 11
Patriot League
March 14
America East
ACC
Big 12
Big East
Big Sky
Big West
Conference USA
Ivy*
Mid-American
Mid-Eastern
Mountain West
PAC-12
Southland
Southwest Athletic
Western Athletic
March 15
American
Atlantic 10
Big Ten
SEC
Sun Belt

Seth Tuttle Leads Northern Iowa to MVC Title; Coastal Carolina, North Florida also in Tourney

Conference Championship Results and College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 8, 2015
Big South
Coastal Carolina 81 Winthrop 70 - Led by Warren Gillis' 22 points, the Chanticleers punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament winning the Big South tourney with a convincing, 81-70, victory over Winthrop. Gillis added six assists and three rebounds. Coastal Carolina hit 42% from three-point range, making nine of 22 attempts.

Missouri Valley
Northern Iowa 69 Illinois St. 60 - The Northern Iowa Panthers knew they would be in for a tussle, as the Redbirds of Illinois State had already knocked off Wichita State in the semi-final on Saturday, but they failed to respond until the second half, as the two teams went to the locker rooms with Illinois State ahead by a healthy, 36-22, score.

The Panthers came out flying in the second half, however, going on a 25-4 run to open the second twenty minutes, eventually taking the lead at 41-40, and expanding it to 47-40 before the Redbirds were able to respond. Illinois State re-tied the game with a 7-0 run, but Northern Iowa showed their class and poise down the stretch, outscoring their opponents 22-13 for the win.

Nate Buss and Seth Tuttle each paced the Panthers with 15 points, but Tuttle contributed nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Atlantic Sun
North Florida 63 South Carolina Upstate 57 - The Ospreys of North Florida will be dancing for the first time in March, after capturing the Atlantic Sun title game with a 63-57 win over a resolute squad from South Carolina Upstate. Trailing 34-25 at the half, USC Upstate rallied and made a game of it, but in the end the Ospreys were too much and too generous with each other, sharing 11 assists. North Florida's Demarcus Daniels led all scorers with 22 points.

Conference Tournament Scoreboard (updated as results arrive)

Date/Conference	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
Metro Atlantic
Southern
March 10
Horizon
Northeast
Summit League
West Coast
March 11
Patriot League
March 14
America East
ACC
Big 12
Big East
Big Sky
Big West
Conference USA
Ivy*
Mid-American
Mid-Eastern
Mountain West
PAC-12
Southland
Southwest Athletic
Western Athletic
March 15
American
Atlantic 10
Big Ten
SEC
Sun Belt

* No tourney, Playoff game: Harvard v. Yale, March 14

Craig Bradshaw's 25 Points Propels Belmont to Ohio Valley Tourney Victory, Advance to the Dance; Yale Falls Short in Ivy

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 7, 2015

What a weekend of college hoops!

Only one of two potential dance tickets were punched on Saturday, and the fancy stepping will be done by the Belmont Bruins, who shocked the Murray State Racers in a shoot-out for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament title with an 88-87 thriller, earning themselves a trip to the NCAA championship tournament.

Craig Bradshaw led the Bruins with 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting, including five threes.

The game saw multiple ties and lead changes and a plethora of big plays and three pointers. The top two scoring teams in the conference combined for 26 bombs from beyond the arc.

It was the second time in three seasons that Belmont has knocked off the Racers in the conference tourney final.

Murray State went 16-0 through the regular season Ohio Valley schedule, but were tripped up by a perennial tournament-tested team.

It will be up to the selection committee to determine whether the Racers' record of 27-5 - and, prior to Saturday's defeat, a string of 25 straight wins - is worthy enough for inclusion into the NCAA tournament field. Selection Sunday is March 15.

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After winning at Harvard, 62-52, Friday night, all the Yale Bulldogs had to do was win at Dartmouth and a ticket to the NCAA tournament would be in their hands.

Despite shooting 62 percent in the first half against the Big Green, the Bulldogs turned the ball over 11 times and could only claim a one-point lead, at the break, 30-29. Their struggles continued in the second half, unable to pull away, and eventually losing on a last-second layup by Gabas Maldunas, resulting in a 59-58 Dartmouth, which forces a playoff game between the two top teams in the conference, Harvard and Yale.

Harvard ran their record to 11-3 in the conference with a 72-62 win over Brown

The playoff game will be played on Saturday, March 14 at Penn, a neutral site in Philadelphia. The winner gets the automatic bid. Harvard has won or tied for the Ivy League title five years running.

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Saturday Hoops Highlights:

Kentucky completed a perfect regular season with a routine, 67-50, victory over an out-gunned Florida Gators team. The win was the 31st straight for the Wildcats and completed an 18-0 mark in the SEC. Next up for the Wildcats is the SEC Tournament which begins Wednesday, March 11, in Nshville, TN.

#16 Louisville topped #2 Virginia, 59-57, handing the Cavaliers just their second loss of the season. Both teams are looking forward to the ACC tournament, starting on Tuesday, March 10, at Greensboro, NC.

Led by Tyus Jones' 25 points and eight assists, Duke dominated the second half - scoring 53 points - to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels for the second time this season, 84-77.

Eighth-ranked Wichita State was unceremoniously bounced from the Missouri Valley conference tournament in a 65-62 win by Illinois State, leaving the tourney title wide open for Northern Iowa, an easy, 63-49 victor over Loyola (IL). The Redbirds (21-11, 11-7 MVC) could steal a bid with a win over Northern Iowa in the final, slated for Sunday at 2:05 pm ET.

With one conference tourney complete (Ohio Valley) and the Ivy to be determined by a playoff game next Saturday, that leaves 30 conference tournaments to be decided over the next eight days and nights, resulting in a total of 32 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. College Basketball Daily will feature expanded coverage as the hoops bonanza goes ballistic.