College Basketball Knowledge
Colonial Tournament
Road team won both VCU-Old Dominion games this year, with Rams scoring 59 points both games; these teams won last two CAA tourneys, beating each other in semis both years. VCU entered tourney losing four of last five games; they've outscored opponents 45-15 on foul line last two days. Old Dominion won last eight games (7-1 vs spread), with nine points closest win. Higher seed (ODU) is 8-0 in last eight CAA finals.
MAAC Tournament
Iona beat St Peter's handily twice this season, 70-52 at home (-11.5) Jan 7, then 73-59 (-3) on road 10 days ago. Gaels won their last nine games, covering five of last six. Peacocks are 5-2 vs spread last six games as an underdog. Higher-seeded team (Iona) won last eight MAAC finals, with three of last four decided by 7 or less points. St Peter's played almost a perfect half Sunday, leading #1 seed Fairfield 40-15 on its home court.
Southern Conference Tournament
Charleston beat Wofford twice this season, 77-73 on road Jan 8, 79-54 at home Feb 3; Cougars won eight of last ten games- they're 7-3-1 in last 11 games as favorite. Terriers won last seven games, covering five of last six. Charleston hasn't won this tourney in last eight years, losing final in '07/'09. Terriers won this tournament LY. Wofford is 4-5 vs spread as an underdog this year, 1-1 in SoCon games.
WCC Tournament
Gonzaga is 5-3 in WCC final last eight years, losing to St Mary's here in LY's game. Road team won both series games this year, with two games decided by total of 6 points. Gaels' guards played 39-40 minutes in last night's win, as Bennett played only six guys 10+ minutes. Zags won last eight games, covering five of last seven lined games. Loser here is going to be squarely on the bubble, so this will be fiercely competitive game.
Sun Belt Tournament
North Texas (+2.5) lost 87-76 at Western Kentucky Feb 12, game that started Hilltoppers on current 6-2 run after starting season 10-13. WKU played two guys 40 minutes last night; all five starters played at least 31 minutes, but in their two tourney games so far, they're +15/+8 in second halves. North Texas had a 34-14 edge from foul line in Sunday's upset of top-seeded FAU, Mean Green's fourth straight win.
Ark-Little Rock is playing third straight night, Middle Tennessee had a bye Saturday; Blue Raiders (+1.5) lost 62-58 in Little Rock Feb 19, with Trojans' bench outscoring MTSU's 24-3. UALR entered tourney on 1-4 skid, but allowed only 60 ppg in winning last two nights. Raiders won their last two games, allowing 39-38 points- they crushed FIU last nite, should be well-rested here. Kid on Middle Tennessee is boyfriend of the young woman who was murdered last week; not sure if it matters here.
Gonzaga, St. Mary's battle for WCC title
By: Willie Bee
It's only natural to be a little nervous attending a college reunion. The extra pounds you've added, the gray if not missing hair, the fear that nobody is going to remember you, or worse, never forget your public intoxication arrest.
None of those issues really apply to either Mark Few and Randy Bennett, yet each is nervous about their reunion tonight. For the third straight year, Few's Gonzaga Bulldogs and Bennett's Saint Mary's Gaels are getting together at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas to play for the West Coast Conference Championship.
If neither coach is nervous before the game, at least one will be afterwards. The loser will spend the next six days worrying whether or not his kids put in all their hard work for nothing should the NCAA Tournament selection committee pass on extending an at-large bid.
Playing in the conference championship is nothing new for Few and the Zags. The Bulldogs are looking for their 11th WCC crown since 1995 and 13th consecutive March Madness trip. Gonzaga closed the campaign strong after a bad stretch in late-January, early-February when Few's bunch dropped four of six that included a hard-fought loss at home to St. Mary's as four-point chalk.
Gonzaga slipped past San Francisco in Sunday's semifinal, 71-67, to earn an eighth-straight win but never came close to cashing those 13½-point tickets as the favorite. The Dons never were able to make up for the 12-0 run the Bulldogs made about midway through the first half. Despite an off-night scoring and shooting, Gonzaga was excellent at the free-throw line (24-of-29) and limited their mistakes to eight turnovers while San Fran committed 16.
Bennett and the Gaels were also held below their season average in a 73-64 win over Santa Clara in their semifinals matchup. Still, St. Mary's shot well overall from the field as well as the charity stripe in taking down a tough and determined Broncos squad. The final score 'pushed' the nine-point line the Gaels carried on Sunday.
St. Mary's had been idle since beating Portland at home to end the regular season, 83-69. The victory stopped a late three-game slide both straight up and against the spread for the Gaels who closed the regular season dropping seven of their last nine on the NCAA odds board. One of the SU and ATS losses was an 89-85 overtime defeat at home to Gonzaga as four-point favorites.
Randy Bennett's squad also exited the regular season on a five-game 'over' streak, 8-1 to the high side the last nine before the 'under' 143½ Sunday evening.
The Gaels waltzed to last season's WCC flag with an 81-62 thrashing of the Bulldogs. Gonzaga was the five-point favorite in the game but never really showed up as the 14th-ranked team in the country. St. Mary's enjoyed a fine performance from Mickey McConnell who scored 26 and paced the Gaels with four of their 10 three-pointers.
Gonzaga can't afford a repeat performance of last year's title game showing. The Bulldogs are a definite bubble team right now, and even a well-played loss would leave them at the mercy of the selection committee. St. Mary's will also feel uneasy if they fall tonight, though it's far less a must-win for the Gaels.
The game should be a virtual pick 'em contest at the window, the extra attention from John Q. Public likely opening Gonzaga a point favorite. ESPN's broadcast of the event begins at 6 p.m. (PT) and follows their telecast of the CAA Championship between Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion.