Mid-majors open conference tourneys
By: Willie Bee
The big boys are still slugging it out and bringing their regular season schedules to a close. Mid-majors, meanwhile, will begin conference tournaments this week with many of the winners ultimately the only schools from their leagues getting a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Here's a quick look at five middies, including the Ivy League which still has some regular season left.
Colonial Athletic Association - Richmond, VA
Action begins Friday, March 4, with the top-4 teams from the regular season getting a bye in the opening round. That quartet is made up of George Mason, the top seed in the tourney with a 16-2 CAA mark, Old Dominion, Hofstra and Virginia Commonwealth.
George Mason and Old Dominion, ranked 1-2 in the recent mid-majors top 25, are expected to meet in the CAA Championship which will be played Monday, March 7.
The Patriots (25-5 straight up, 21-7 against the spread) captured the hearts of bettors early this season but will enter the conference tourney off consecutive losses at the window. George Mason had a 14-game run covering the number before falling short as chalk to Northeastern and Georgia State to close the regular season schedule.
A 15-game win streak on the floor is intact entering the tournament, the Patriots' last loss a 69-65 decision at Old Dominion (24-6 SU, 13-13 ATS) on Jan. 8 as six-point underdogs. That game ironically started the 14-game run against the NCAA odds.
Horizon League - Milwaukee
What a mess! After looking like they were going to take the regular season title going away, the Cleveland State Vikings dropped four of their final seven games to leave the league standings in a three-way tie heading to the postseason tournament.
Milwaukee earned the tiebreaker over Butler and Cleveland State to sit as the Horizon's No. 1 seed. Not only does that mean byes in the first two rounds of the affair, the Panthers also get to host the tournament's quarterfinal, semifinal and championship rounds. Butler is seeded second, getting byes until the semis along with Milwaukee.
Cleveland State will host its first-round game versus No. 10 seed Illinois-Chicago with the winner going on to Milwaukee for the quarterfinals. The other three first round matchups are No. 7 Green Bay at No. 6 Wright State, No. 9 Youngstown State at No. 4 Valparaiso and No. 8 Loyola at No. 5 Detroit. All of those games will be played Tuesday, March 1.
The quarters and semis are set for US Cellular Arena on Friday and Saturday with the championship game on the same floor next Tuesday, March 8.
Ivy League
There's no postseason tourney for Conference Brainiac, but that doesn't mean there's not a default conference championship tilt on the slate. Saturday's Princeton, Harvard matchup (March 5) in Boston is a big one for determining whether the Ivy League gets one or two teams into the NCAA Tournament.
Princeton (22-5 SU, 12-11 ATS) can claim the league crown with a road win. Make that a road win after another road win. The Tigers are in Hanover, NH, the night before to take on Dartmouth.
Harvard (21-5 SU, 9-10 ATS) has Penn at home in Lavietes Pavilion the night before its battle with Princeton, so the Crimson also can't afford to look too far ahead to the Tigers on Saturday.
The Tigers will also have one more game after their battle at Harvard, a trip to Penn; Princeton was taken to overtime at home by the Quakers on Feb. 8. A loss by the Tigers at both Harvard and Penn could give the eventual automatic bid to the Crimson.
Princeton picked up a 65-61 win at home when it met Harvard on Feb. 4. Oddsmakers chalked the Tigers 2½ in that one, and it was a near dead-even match statistically, the bottom line being six fewer turnovers for Princeton.
Missouri Valley Conference - St. Louis
It's 'Arch Madness' at Scottrade Center beginning this Thursday (March 3) when the MVC begins its postseason tourney. The Missouri State Bears earned top seed honors by virtue of their 69-64 home win over Wichita State last Saturday, with the Shockers seeded second. Both teams ended the season with 23-7 overall records straight up. The Bears, 15-3 in conference action, finished 14-13-2 against the spread with Wichita State 14-4 on the MVC slate and 13-12 ATS.
The top six teams in the conference get a first round bye. Southern Illinois and Illinois State will play Thursday to see who draws top-seed Missouri State on Friday. Drake and Bradley are also in action on Thursday, the winner taking on Wichita State the following day.
The rest of Friday's action has No. 5 Creighton against No. 4 Northern Iowa and No. 3 Indiana State taking on No. 6 Evansville.
Semifinal action will begin at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with the MVC Championship set for 11 a.m. Sunday, CBS providing the telecast.
West Coast Conference - Las Vegas
A rubber match looms between St. Mary's and Gonzaga in this year's WCC Tournament at Sin City's Orleans Arena. Both teams will have byes into the semifinals, with the Gaels seeded first and the Bulldogs second.
Play gets underway Friday with No. 5 Portland meeting No. 8 Loyola Marymount. That game is followed by No. 6 Pepperdine versus No. 7 San Diego. San Francisco and Santa Clara will be in action as the 3-4 seeds respectively the following day. The Dons get the winner of the 6/7 game with the Broncos taking on the 5/8 victors.
Assuming all goes according to plan, St. Mary's and Gonzaga would tip at 6 p.m. (PT) on Monday, March 7, with ESPN broadcasting. The two rivals split their regular season meetings, each recording underdog upsets on each other's home floor. Gonzaga is seeking a 13th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament while St. Mary's is looking to return following last year's loss to Baylor in the Sweet 16 round.