Arch Madness

Let's not waste anytime, the Madness is in full swing let's get to it:

• Upset special: Appalachian St. 74, Georgia Southern 61. Georgia Southern was the top seed in the Southern Conference Tournament, but it didn't matter. Appalachian St. will now face UT-Chattanooga in one SoCon semifinal, a mild upset winner over the College of Charleston. The other semifinal will pit Elon vs. Davidson.
• Winthrop will host Coastal Carolina in the Big South championship tomorrow. Winthrop is the Big South stalwart; Coastal Carolina are now coached by former Tar Heel Buzz Peterson.
• Another conference tournament to watch is the Colonial, who have 3 legitimate at-large contenders (UNC Wilmington, Hofstra, and George Mason). And that's not including Old Dominion, winners of the Colonial last year and preseason favorites to win it all at the beginning of the year. Their tournament got underway tonight with Georgia St. beating Towson as the only upset (10 beating 7). Georgia St. is now 7-21.
• The top 2 seeds have survived in the Atlantic Sun tournament. Tomorrow's championship will be Belmont vs. Lipscomb. I believe (and I could be wrong) that neither team has ever made it to the NCAAs. That's what March Madness is all about, seeing these smaller schools accomplish their goal and seeing how happy they are just to be in the field of 65.
• The same held true in the Ohio Valley Conference where Samford will take on Murray St. in tomorrow's champioinship.
• Penn 57, Yale 55. Penn clinches the Ivy League title and the automatic NCAA bid. They're looking at a 15 seed in the Dance.
• Seton Hall 65, Pittsburgh 61. A huuuuge win for the Hall. This gets them to 9-7 in the Big East, and with a 1st round Big East tourney win, they are probably in. This is turning into a very interesting bubble because teams aren't limping in, they're winning big games down the stretch. Indiana, Florida St., Texas A&M, and now Seton Hall. Advice to those teams and the others on the bubble: keep winning because there will be no sneaking in this year.
• And in the Valley, where they call their conference tourney Arch Madness since it's held in St. Louis, the quarterfinals have lived up to their billing for the most part. In game 1, Wichita St. broke it open against Indiana St. in the last 5 minutes, going onto win 81-63. The Shockers will go as far as their guards take them. Paul Miller and Kyle Wilson give WSU two inside threats, and Wilson can even take you outside and hit the perimeter shot. But if the WSU guards aren't hitting 3s, they have trouble scoring.
• In game 2, Bradley continued its hot streak beating Creighton 54-47 in a game where both teams shot below 32% from the floor. Creighton, I think you're out with this one. You won at George Mason, but the rest of your quality wins are in conference, which I don't think will be enough to get you in unless you get help. Losing 4 of your last 6 doesn't help, and your losses to UT-Chattanooga and Illinois St. aren't good either. Meanwhile, Bradley is on the verge of getting in. Winners of 8 of their last 10, including wins over DePaul, Western Kentucky, and a sweep of Northern Iowa, the Braves are 19-9. A win over Wichita St. tomorrow might get you in Bradley if you happen to lose Sunday.
• Game 3 was a must for Southern Illinois, and they got it done 71-55 over Evansville. The Salukis now have 20 wins, but are only 5-5 in their last 10 and their best non-conference win is over Kent St. They lost to Alaska-Anchorage in the Great Alaska shootout along with Monmouth. I think you need one more win SIU. SIU's calling card is their defense. They possess great athleticism at every position. They have good guards in Jamaal Tatum (slasher) and Tony Young (all-around threat) and a capable big man in Randall Falker. They rely on their defense to generate a good percentage of their offense since they're not a great shooting team.
• And in the nightcap, Northern Iowa righted their ship with an impressive 2nd half vs. Missouri St. No matter what happens tomorrow, I think UNI is in at 21 wins. I think they are the best team in the Valley, and they seemed to regain their confidence tonight that they had for most of the year. Missouri St. finishes at 20-8, 8-2 in their last 10, and didn't lose to anyone outside of the RPI top 50. Their best non-conference win was at UW-Milwaukee in their Bracket Buster game. They split with Creighton during the year. I don't know Missouri St., you have a long wait ahead of you. I would be rooting for Gonzaga, Bucknell, and George Mason and the other favorites to win their respective conference tourneys because your margin of error is basically zero.

And if the basketball wasn't enough, Tiger and Phil are tied for the lead at Doral along with Scott Verplank and Camilo Villegas. Tiger and Phil are paired together for tomorrow. I can't wait.

Tomorrow is full of big-time hoops, including the 3 conference tournament championships:

• Illinois at Michigan St. A Big 10 tournament championship for the Illini, along with a win tomorrow would give them a 2 seed in the Dance. Michigan St. is still searching for their mojo and their toughness.
• West Virginia at Cincinnati. UC must win to keep their NCAA hopes alive. A loss puts them in big trouble, forcing them to get to the Big East finals to even have a chance.
• Texas A&M at Texas Tech. A win for A&M puts them on the verge of getting in.
• Indiana at Michigan. A win for Indiana puts them on the verge of getting in. A Michigan win would allow them to breathe a lot easier.
• Washington at Arizona. If this one's half as good as their double overtime thriller on New Year's, it'll be a great game. Arizona is firmly in with a win.
• USC at California. Cal must win to stay safe. A loss, well don't even think about it Cal.
• North Carolina at Duke. The main event. I just don't see Duke losing on Senior Night.

Enjoy the Madness, it is underway.