Wednesday was a bit of a lighter tournament level slate.
- Arkansas dominated Texas, Acuff is must-watch! Arkansas → 5. Texas is a 10.
- Indiana beats Minnesota by 30, Hoosiers remain right on the edge of the field.
- Miami (fl) beat SMU, moving to a 6. SMU → 11.
- Cal beat Georgia Tech to stay alive.
- Ohio State remains a 11 after a big win over Penn State.
- Wisconsin and Villanova both roll and remain on the 6/7 lines.
- Purdue survived a scare from Northwestern to win by 4. They’re a 3,
- Houston takes care of Baylor, winning by 13. They remain 6 overall.
- New Mexico
- USC
Wednesday saw some conference tournament chaos with 4 tournaments getting going!
The Horizon was relatively chalky, but NKU upset Oakland to keep it from being 1-5 advancing.
Summit league kicked off with the 1st round. Oral Roberts won.
ASUN
Play started today, with Bellarmine, FGCU, Stetson, and West Georgia winning! 3/4 of these were the home (lower seeded) team. Next up is 4 games on Friday!
Big South
Gardner-Web upset USC Upstate to kick the tournament off! Next up is the Quarterfinal slate on Friday.
NEC
The NEC Front Row app crashed because of the demand to watch this tournament (mainly Chicago State vs. LIU). LIU won 79-75. Mercyhurst beat FDU, Stonehill beat Le Moyne, and the result of the day was Wagner upsetting 2 seeded Central Connecticut! The next games are Saturday for the NEC.
OVC
Game one delivered! Eastern Illinois upset SIU Edwardsville in OT! Welcome to Match!! Lindenwood beat Little Rock by 5.
Sun Belt
The tournament continued, with Georgia Southern taking down ODU 88-84, and then JMU beating Louisiana 87-72.
Thursday brings us a couple of big matchups, and a ton of conference tournament chaos!
Games start at 4:30 ET and the final tip-off is midnight!
Michigan @ Iowa | 8:00, Peacock
The Wolverinees are favored by 8.5. They will be a 1 seed on Selection Sunday. Iowa, meanwhile is in a tricky spot. They could use a monumental win here to help solidify their spot above the bubble.
Rutgers @ Michigan State | 8:00, FS1
Michigan State should dominate in this one. The Spartans are a 2 currently and favored by 18.5.
USF @ Memphis | 9:00, ESPN2
If USF wants any hope of an at-large, they have to win this one. They’re favored by 6.5. They’re a 12 currently as an AQ.
MVC
Drake and Southern Illinois kicks off Arch Madness at 1:30 ET today! Indiana State and Valparasio will follow. Those two should be good games. The Evansville @ Northern Iowa game will likely be the least competitive as the nightcap.
MAAC
Sacred Heart faces Iona, and Manhattan faces Fairfield in the first round. These games will both be close.
Sun Belt
James Madison and Southern Mississippi face off, followed by Georgia Southern and Arkansas State tonight! Games tip at 6:00.
Summit
The Quarterfinals are today, with Oral Roberts and North Dakota State playing first, SD State and St. Thomas following that. Expect the two higher seeds to move on.
Patriot
The battle for the conference continues! All 4 games are at 7. Holy Cross is at Lehigh, Loyola Maryland is at Colgate, American is at Boston, and Bucknell is at Navy. Other than the Navy matchup, the others could go either way and I wouldn’t be surprised.
OVC
Two more matchups today! Eastern Illinois now gets to play UT Martin (7:00), and SEMO hosts Lindenwood 30 minutes later!
WCC
American (regular season)
Tulane and Temple will battle in a key matchup towards the bottom of the bracket. Tulsa and ECU face off in a game that Tulsa needs to tie with Wichita for 2nd. Memphis/USF above.
MEAC (regular season)
SC State and NC Central face off in a game that is more important for SCST than NCC. award travels to Norfolk State looking to claim the outright title. Coppin State travels to Morgan State in a game the Bears need to have any hope of keeping up with Howard. Delaware State and MD Eastern Shore will battle in a game that could push up MD Eastern to the 5 spot.
CUSA (regular season)
Middle Tennessee and FIU face off in a key battle in the bottom half of the bracket. LA Tech will try to knock off Liberty and jump up a bit. Sam Houston has secured 2nd. Can Delaware pull the upset and jump a spot? WKU will look to wrap up the 3 line with a win over Missouri State. Kennesaw State travels to UTEP looking to put pressure on WKU. Jacksonville State and NM State battle in a key game for the 9-9’s.
SWAC (regular season)
Bethune Cookman has wrapped the year up, but FL A&M is in a 5 way tie for 2nd. MVSU travels to Jackson to try and pull an upset. Jackson St looks to move to 10 wins Alabama State and Grambling are jockeying for position right now. Southern and Alabama A&M are fighting for 2nd place. Finally, Ark Pine Bluff plays Alcorn State in a key battle at the bottom of the field.
WAC (regular)
UT Arlington and Tarleton State face off, with Tarleton hoping to get off the bottom. Utah Valley travels to Southern Utah in a game they should roll in, and Abilene Christian travels to CBU in a game that shouldn’t be close.
Big West (regular)
CSUN is at Bakersfield, looking to get to 12 wins. UC Davis will look to get their 11th vs. LBSU. Cal Poly tries to pull an upset over Irvine and get their 10th win. UC San Diego and Fullerton play the game of the night in one that will have lasting implications. Finally, Riverside is at Hawaii in a game that would help Hawaii keep moving along at the top!
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