SB Nation - Army Black Knights

BtB 2009-10 Patriot League Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:14:36 -0000

Two oddly-timed coaching changes were the big offseason stories in the Patriot League since American bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round. First, Ralph Willard left his alma mater, Holy Cross, to be Rick Pitino's associate head coach at Louisville. Sean Kearney, a former assistant under Mike Brey at Notre Dame takes over in Worcester. Willard had guided the Crusaders to four NCAAs in his ten seasons at the helm, and had a great shot to make a fifth trip this season.

Meanwhile, Army made a very late change. Former Cornell assistant Zach Spiker replaced Jim Crews on October 1. Crews was about to start his eighth season at West Point and had just received a contract extension; however, athletic director Kevin Anderson felt that he had to make a change. Spiker takes over a program that could very well have its first winning season in 25. The Black Knights have never made the NCAAs. Even Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski were unable to guide the Cadets to the Big Dance.

Two-time defending champion American lost a lot of talent after last season, so the Patriot League should see a new winner in 2010. I'll go through each team's chances after the jump.

Let's first take a look at last season's Patriot League standings.

Patriot League Standings

(updated 3.19.2009 at 10:19 PM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
American U. Eagles	13	1	24	8
Holy Cross Crusaders	11	3	18	14
Navy Midshipmen	8	6	19	11
Army Black Knights	6	8	11	19
Lehigh Mountain Hawks	5	9	15	14
Colgate Red Raiders	5	9	10	20
Lafayette Leopards	4	10	8	22
Bucknell Bison	4	10	7	23

Now, here are my picks for the 2009-10 Patriot League season, presented in reverse order.

Lafayette (last NCAA: 2000) The Leopards featured seven freshmen last season, so the hope is the year of experience will serve the team well. Last season, Lafeyette's defense was dreadful, ranking 293rd in Division I, and the offense wasn't much better. Only two Leopards averaged in double figures, and leading scorer Andrew Brown (13.6 ppg) graduated. The other double figure scorer, G Jeff Kari (10.7 ppg, 2.7 apg) returns, as do three players who were close, sophomore F Ryan Willen (9.4 ppg), junior F Jared Mintz (9.2 ppg), and senior guard Michael Gruner (8.2 ppg). The sophomore class and the Leopards' quiet frontcourt will need to step up for Fran O'Hanlon's squad to escape the basement.

American (last NCAA: 2009) The Eagles acquitted themselves well in two straight NCAA appearances, but will have a hard time getting back to those heights after losing all five starters off last year's league champions. American picks up 6-10 F Vlad Moldoveanu in mid-December. He makes the short trip to DC from George Mason. Moldoveanu and 6-8 soph Stephen Lumpkins (3.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) will anchor the Eagles' frontcourt, while swimgman Nick Hendra (6.3 ppg) will have to develop into a scorer. Head coach Jeff Jones has a five-man freshman class coming to campus that may need to step up immediately to keep AU from falling too far in the standings. 6-1 frosh Daniel Munoz is expected to replace 11.7 point and 4.4 assist per game performer Derrick Mercer at the point, an unenviable position for a newcomer.

Navy (last NCAA: 1998) The Middies finished in third place last season, but they'll be hard pressed to repeat that accomplishment after losing leading scorer Kaleo Kina (18.0 ppg) and forward Adam Teague (10.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg) to graduation and active service. The good news is that second leading scorer Chris Harris, a 6-2 guard who averaged more than 15 points per contest is back. So is defensive stalwart Romeo Garcia, who missed most of last season with hamstring problems. Garcia will help bolster the defense, and if Navy can replace Kina and Teague's scoring, they can replicate their average from last season (71 ppg) and finish quite a bit higher in the standings.

Bucknell (last NCAA: 2006) The Bison weren't very good in Dave Paulsen's first season, winning only once on the road and seven times overall. They should do far better this season, as they return four starters including 6-8 big man Patrick Behan (13.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and guards Bryan Cohen (11.8 ppg) and Darryl Shazier (7.8 ppg, 4.6 apg). They also get 2007-07 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Stephen Tyree back from an ACL tear. Tyree's return and a second year in Paulsen's system should lead to a marked improvement in the Bison's fortunes this season.

Colgate (last NCAA: 1996) Like Bucknell, the Raiders also get a a key player back off a season lost to injury. 6-3 swingman Kyle Roemer, a threat for all-conference honors received a sixth year of eligibility. Roemer will return to a team that is among the most balanced in the conference, as three players, guard Mike Venezia (10.8 ppg) and forwards Yaw Gwayu (10.2 ppg) and Ben Jonson (10.4 ppg) averaged in double figures last season. Seeing as Roemer averaged over 16 points in his last season, Colgate shouldn't have much trouble scoring; however, they have had trouble with possession. The Raiders will have to follow the example of point guard Anthony Hill and take better care of the ball. They'll also have to find a way to replace Alex Woodhouse's rebounds and blocks (6.3 rpg, 1.8 bpg) to be successful.

Army (last NCAA: None) The big question for the Cadets is whether the team can adjust to Spiker's system. Jim Crews believed in distributing playing time, as 12 players saw regular action last year. This paid off as Army won six league games for the second year in a row, not bad for a team that averaged two league wins a year during the five seasons before. Despite this equity, 6-4 G/F Cleveland Richard is the arguably the Black Knights' most important player, as he averaged 12 points a game while grabbing 3 boards a contest and at least a steal per game. Marcus Nelson was the conference Defensive Player of the Year and the 5-11 guard is sure to give the opposition headaches. Army's weakness is in the frontcourt, where no pure forward averaged more than 2.9 points per contest.

Lehigh (last NCAA: 2004) The Mountain Hawks have arguably the most star power in the conference, as they feature 6-7 F Zahir Carrington, the defending Pat League rebounding champ (8.6 rpg) who can also score (14 ppg) and guard Marquis Hall (13.9 ppg, 4.1 apg). However, Carrington is foul prone, which limits his effectiveness. This could be problematic this season as C Phil Anderson graduated. Hall also attracts a lot of defensive attention because of his flexibility. Point guard Prentice Small (5.5 ppg, 3.2 apg) can take some of the pressure off Hall, as can the 2007-08 conference Newcomer of the Year, Rob Keefer (8.8 ppg). If the Mountain Hawks can find a way to take some of the spotlight away from their stars, they could soar.

Holy Cross (last NCAA: 2007) Sean Kearney has an excellent chance to make the NCAA Tournament in his first year at the helm. Last year's Patriot League Newcomer ot the Year, SG R.J. Evans (13.4 ppg) is back, anchoring a backcourt that also features 3-point specialist Andrew Beinert (8.5 ppg, shooting 45.4% from beyond the arc) and Mike Cavataio, a transfer from St. John's. 6-9 C Andrew Keister (8.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and 6-8 C/F Eric Meister (6.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg) is the best forward tandem with last names that are off by a single letter in the country. Seriously, they are one of the best forward groups in the league, though they will have to produce a little more with the graduation of Colin Cunningham, who was a versatile performer for the Crusaders last season, scoring over 8 a game while grabbing nearly 5 boards and dishing out 3.5 assists per game. If Kearney keeps the Crusaders focused on defense and rebounding (the Cross was 13th in Division I in rebounding margin last season), he'll find his team in the field of 65.

So, the Crusaders are my preseason pick for the Patriot League crown. You'll see them in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket on November 9. Now, to wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-Patriot League team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Patriot League Team

Player of the Year: R.J. Evans, 6-3 G, So. (Holy Cross)

Remainder of the Team
Zahir Harrington, 6-7 F/C, Sr. (Lehigh)
Marquis Hall, 5-11 G, Sr. (Lehigh)
Cleveland Richard, 6-4 G/F, Sr. (Army)
Kyle Roemer, 6-3 G/F, Sr. (Colgate)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Patriot League this season?

American

1 votes

Army

0 votes

Bucknell

3 votes

Colgate

2 votes

Holy Cross

19 votes

Lafayette

0 votes

Lehigh

2 votes

Navy

3 votes

30 votes | Poll has closed

The 2009-10 Coaching Carousel Recap

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Dusty Compton - AP

(Yes, it's a column about coaching changes that doesn't feature a picture of either John Calipari, Josh Pastner, or Sean Miller.) Former Florida assistant Anthony Grant left VCU during this offseason to return to the SEC, taking over at Alabama. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)

Browse more photos »

As I posted last Monday, everyone knows that John Calipari is Billy Gillispie's replacement at Kentucky, and that Josh Pastner now has to try to keep Memphis at the top of Conference USA. It's also no secret that Sean Miller left Xavier to become Lute Olson's permanent replacement at Arizona, and that the Musketeers promoted assistant Chris Mack to the head job.

But there were 24 other coaching changes in Division I after the 2008-09 season. Some of these were the result of the domino effect that happens when a school in a power conference hires someone who was successful at a lower level, a decision that often leads to multiple jobs opening up. Others were cases where athletic directors felt that they needed to make changes, but stayed within the current staff.

This year's coaching carousel was a pretty lengthy one. Proving that the pressure is getting a bit ridiculous, even at lower levels of Division I, John Cooper (No, not THAT John Cooper.) replaces Cy Alexander at Tennessee State, which is a noteworthy story because Alexander was fired back on Feburary 9. Cooper was previously Jeff Lebo's associate head coach at Auburn. The final change of the offseason (I say that now like it's a certainty.) was finalized late Thursday when Cornell assistant Zach Spiker was hired at Army to replace Jim Crews.

While that's a start, it's certainly not everything that happened in the world of coaching during the spring and summer. After the jump, I'll run through the rest of the coaching changes made this offseason.

At one point, Kevin O'Neill was the interim coach in Tucson and the replacement in waiting for Lute Olson. That obviously didn't happen, so now the former Northwestern and Tennessee head coach has replaced Tim Floyd at USC.

Alabama hired Anthony Grant to replace Mark Gottfried. VCU then followed its own playbook by replacing Grant with another Florida assistant, Shaka Smart.

Georgia hired Mark Fox to do what Dennis Felton failed to do, rebuild the program. Nevada promoted assistant David Carter to replace Fox with the hopes he'll have the Wolf Pack ready to challenge Utah State and Idaho at the top of the league this year.

Tony Bennett left Washington State to replace Dave Leitao at Virginia. Former Portland State coach Ken Bone heads to the Palouse to replace him, with Vikings assistant Tyler Geving taking over the head job there.

Buzz Peterson left his job as Director of Player Personnel with the Charlotte Bobcats to return to Appalachian State. He left the Mountaineers to take the Tulsa job in 2000, leaving there for an average four seasons at Tennessee. After being forced out in Knoxville, Peterson coached Coastal Carolina for two years before heading to Charlotte. Elon will also have a new coach. Ernie Nestor was fired, and the school looked to tap into a winning formula in hiring his replacement. The Phoenix will now be led by former Davidson assistant Matt Matheny.

Isiah Thomas will now attempt to not ruin Florida International's program like he ruined the CBA and the New York Knicks. He's off to a great start at earning friends and influencing people.

Holy Cross hired Notre Dame assistant Sean Kearney to replace Ralph Willard, who left to be an assistant for Rick Pitino at Louisville.

Ritchie McKay left Liberty to be one of Bennett's assistants. Another former Colorado State head man, Marquette assistant Dale Layer is his replacement. Former South Carolina assistant Scott Cherry is the other new hire in the Big South, he replaces the fired Bart Lundy at High Point.

Dennis Wolff couldn't bring America East glory to Boston University, so he was fired and replaced with Villanova assistant Patrick Chambers.

Tom Green (not the "funny" Canadian) had significant success at Fairleigh Dickinson, just not over the past couple of years. He was fired and the Knights will be led by his former assistant, Greg Vetrone, at least on an interim basis.

Washington assistant Cameron Dollar, a star player on UCLA's 1995 National Championship team will lead Seattle through their Division I transition period, replacing Joe Callero, who took the job at Cal Poly in the Big West. North Carolina Central is the other Independent with a new coach for 2009-10. Henry Dickerson wasn't rehired, and he will be replaced by one of his assistants, LeVelle Morton.

Kevin Nickelberry resigned at Hampton, where Edward Joyner, Jr., one of Nickelberry's assistants will lead the team on at least an interim basis.

At Grambling, a tragic incident led to the end of Rick Duckett's tenure. Henry White, a transfer from Hill (Tex.) Junior College, died after an offseason workout on a 104 degree day at the Louisiana school. The school says Duckett resigned, but the coach says he was fired via a letter from the school. Assistant Robert Washington, Jr. will be the interim coach.

Tom Schuberth was fired at Texas-Pan American, where winning will always be tough because of the slim chance at making the NCAAs (something that won't change with Great West membership). St. Edward's coach Ryan Marks is the new head man in Edinboro.

There were two other changes in the Ohio Valley this offseason besides the Tennessee State switch I mentioned before the jump. Former Arkansas State head man Dickie Nutt is back in the business, taking over a Southeast Missouri State program that spent most of last season in turmoil after the Scot Edgar regime. Bret Campbell resigned at Tennessee-Martin. His replacement is former assistant Jason James.

At the end of the season, I'll come back and look at how each of these coaches did in filling their new jobs. On Tuesday, however, I turn my attention back to the players with my first ever preseason All-America teams.

Army parts ways with Crews; Proves it has the worst sense of timing ever

aGent37 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:20:50 -0000

West Point Academy, which to sports fans is known simply as "Army" has severed ties with head men's basketball coach Jim Crews, a report it the Times Herald-Record (Middletown, N.Y.) cited.

To say that it is extremely rare for a coach to be fired only weeks before the season starts is an understatement. Crew, who owned a less then stellar 59-140 (0.296) mark at Army, had all four of his top scorers returning from last season. Coaches around the Patriot league agreed that Army finally had its first realistic shot at winning the league in decades.

Word is that Gene Marshall, Army's deputy athletic director, will serve as the interim coach. Marshall coached at Ramapo College (NJ), and was the interim head coach for Army's women's program in 2005 when they were between coaches.

As for a permanent replacement, it might be the perfect opportunity for a little-known coach by the name of Bob Knight to make a comeback at his first Division I coaching gig...

Hoosier Headlines for August 23, 2009: Knight's possible return to Indiana and more.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:35:20 -0000

IU extends olive branch to Knight (Post-Tribune)
This Mike Hutton column urges Knight to accept the olive branch extended by IU. I disagree with some of his details (such as the suggestion that recruiting was Knight's main problem in his last few years at IU), but so be it.
Knight in November? (The Indianapolis Star)
Terry Hutchens, in addition to his article in today's paper quoting various Knight-era players, has a pretty sound take on this issue. He, like me, doubts that Knight will appear at Memorial Stadium in November. I particularly like Hutch's idea of a statue. Also, I think the risk that Knight will perceive this as an effort to make money off of him is an issue as well. We shall see, and I desperately hope I'm wrong.
Ex-players unsure if Knight will return (The Indianapolis Star)
Several former players are quoted. Most are skeptical, but I thought Pat Graham's comments about Knight's unpredictability are worth a look.

Tom Crean inducted into the Marquette Golden Eagles hall of fame (ESPN)
Crean and his entire 2003 Final Four team were honored yesterday.

Mo Creek says he’s Bloomington-bound (The Hoosier Scoop)
At least everyone is acting as if Creek will be on the court for IU in 2009-10.

Hoosiers camp is serious business (The News-Sentinel)
Pete DiPrimio's account of the all-access day that Bill Lynch granted to certain members of the media.

Jammie Kirlew wants starring role in Indiana revival (chicagotribune.com)
A nice feature on the Hoosier defensive end, followed by some less-than-optimistic thoughts on the Hoosiers' upcoming season.

IU Mayberry is up to speed (The Courier-Journal)
The C-J takes a look at IU's middle linebacker Matt Mayberry.

Scarlet Bombers!?!?

ibleedscarlet — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:02:37 -0000

Rutgers might be headed to the Bronx.....

According to the Star Ledger and NJO.com (through unconfirmed sources), the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Army Black Knights will play their 2011 football game at the new Yankee Stadium.

The news is not official yet, but on Monday, Army held a press conference to announce that they will play Notre Dame next year in the Bronx, becoming the 1st football game to play at the new stadium. According to sources, another press conference has now been scheduled for Wednesday.

I have no problem with this one as long as Army is losing the home game. It will give tremendous exposure to Rutgers for NYC-area football fans who refuse to travel down to Exit 9 off the NJ Turnpike. If the game is held at the new Yankee Stadium, I assume that it will have to be held later in November or December to prevent any scheduling conflicts with the Yankees (next year's Army-ND game will be played on November 20th).

No word on whether CC Sabathia will suit up and play O-line for either team.....

Poll

Would you travel to the Bronx to watch Rutgers play Army at the New Yankee Stadium?

Yes

40 votes

No

12 votes

52 votes | Poll has closed

The Most Anticipated College Football Games of 2009: #25, Army vs Navy

anshey — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:32:58 -0000

Welcome, college football fans. This is the Protect R Turf Top 25 of 2009. This is our compiled list, complete with full scale previews of each game and the teams in each game. At the end of each entry, we'll have a recap of the games we've listed so far, going from #25 (Army vs. Navy) up until #1 (TBD). We're going to highlight one game per weekday for 5 weeks, meaning we'll be revealing our number 1 most anticipated game of 2009 on Friday, July 17th, about a month and a half before the first kickoff of 2009. Leave comments, tell your friends, and feel free to tell us which games you'd like to see on the list. Without further delay...

The Most Anticipated College Football Games of 2009: #25, Army vs Navy

Location:
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA (Neutral field)

Why to watch:
Two typically sub par college football programs who are rarely ranked, playing each other on a neutral field in the middle of December in freezing temperatures. Sounds pretty awful, right? Yet, each and every year, the Army-Navy game is one of the games that makes people love the game of college football. To see these two teams run out of the tunnels and the cadets and midshipmen cheer with every once of emotion they have in their bodies is something that gives me goosebumps every time I witness it. While I've yet to witness one of these match ups in person, the passion, camaraderie and pride just oozes out of my TV. If you take a look at the actual game as a standalone, there's no way this game makes it into our top 25. But, it's all of the other factors that I just mentioned that make this a game you must watch, in 2009 and every year following. That, and, starting in 2009, it will be the final regular season college football every year, so you better enjoy it.

via www.usna.edu

The first ever Army-Navy game, played in 1890. Navy dominated, 24-0, in West Point, NY.

More after the jump...

History:
Talk about tradition. These 2 teams have met 109 times, with Navy winning the first game (at West Point, NY in 1890) by a score of 24-0. Navy leads the all time series by 4 wins, with a record of 53-49-7 vs the cadets of Army. The midshipmen have taken the last 7 matchups.

The matchup:
Navy came into the 2008 campaign with a new head coach in Ken Niumatalolo, who replaced the departed Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech), and still finished the campaign with an 8-5 record, the same as 2007. Although they lost to Notre Dame by 6 points in '08 after notching their first victory in 45 tries in 2007, they played a solid slate and beat some great competition, including Rutgers, #16 Wake Forest and Air Force. They lose a ton of starters on the offensive side of the ball, only returning 4 starters. The good part about that is that Navy runs the triple option, meaning that they'll be able to plug in players who have been learning the system, including new starting QB Ricky Dobbs, and be able to pick up where they left off. Add to that a passing ability which Dobbs possesses and Navy has lacked in the past, and Navy might even be better on the offensive side of the ball. Especially with more than a few key offensive lineman returning. On defense, they return 7 and should be poised to be a very stout defense. I can see them winning 8-9 games this year (playing a schedule that's similar to last years schedule).

As for Army, they went 3-9 last year, but don't lose much in '09. Their starting QB and top receiver both return, as does "sackmaster" Josh McNary, who led the Black Knights with a *yawn* whopping 4.5 sacks. While I didn't see the Knights much last season, I did see them get pummeled by Navy after sporting surprise army fatigue helmets. If those sweet helmets didn't get them going, I don't know what will. Army also has a new coach in '09 in Rich Ellerson. The one chance Army might have in this game is Ellerson's pet project, 6'10 WR Ali Villanueva. A former offensive lineman, Villanueva has the size that can give any secondary fits. Jump ball, anyone? Who knows how fast he is - after all, he was an offensive lineman. But, a matchup like that is a rarity in today's game, and might give Army a fightin' chance in this classic rivalry game.

Fun Facts / Stats:
The Army-Navy game was suspended for World War I, but was in fact played during World War II.
The game has been played 81 times in Philadelphia, the most of any location by 70 games. Other unique game locations include Pasadena, California (The Rose Bowl, 1983), Chicago, Illinois (Soldier Field, 1926) and the Bronx, New York (Yankee Stadium, 1930 and 1931).

Prediction:
With Navy winning the past 7, including the last 2 in dominating fashion (combined score of 72-3), I'm taking the midshipmen to win this one 31-7. Even though the score won't indicate it, this will be one of the best games in college football in 2009; not really for the game itself, but more so for the intensity, passion and respect of the coaches, fans, and most importantly, the people that serve our country. God bless. Game #24 to come tomorrow...

Past games:
6/15/2009: #25: Army vs. Navy

Poll

Who will win, Army or Navy?

Army

25 votes

Navy

36 votes

61 votes | Poll has closed

Championship Monday Review/Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:17:51 -0000

The last Sunday of the regular season for the BCS leagues was a busy one, and thrilling conference tournament action as well. Let's get right to the recap. As always, box scores are from Basketball State.

Only one team punched their ticket on Sunday. Northern Iowa is the second straight surprise Missouri Valley champion. The Panthers defeated Illinois State, 60-57 in overtime. Ali Farokhmanesh got the better of Valley POY Osiris Eldridge in the extra stanza, as Eldridge missed time with cramping. I feel bad for the people of Richmond, who couldn't see this game. Their CBS affiliate carried Raycom's telecast of Virginia Tech at Florida State instead.

Four teams will make the field this evening.

Colonial (ESPN2, 7 EDT)- VCU and George Mason survived ODU and Towson, respectively, after another thrilling afternoon of action in Richmond. The Tigers really gave the Patriots a battle. The predominantly VCU crowd definitely tried to give them a boost, especially since I didn't need both hands to count the number of Towson fans present at the Coliseum.

Southern (ESPN, 7 EDT) - College of Charleston upset CBS darling Davidson, 59-52, meaning the chances of seeing Stephen Curry in this year's tournament are slim. Curry managed 20 points, but only on 5-18 shooting, including 2-11 from outside. The homestanding Chattanooga Mocs will be the Cougars' next opponent, as they knocked out conference newcomer Samford, 80-71.

Metro Atlantic (ESPN2, 9 EDT) - Homestanding Siena defeated Fairfield handily, 80-65. The Saints had a lot of balanced last night, with five players hitting double figures. Kenny Hasbrouck was surprisingly not one of them, as he only scored 9. Next up for Siena is a rubber match with 2 seed Niagara. The Purple Eagles needed a Tyrone Lewis three to tie it at the end of regulation, but they ended up getting past Rider, 93-89 in double OT.

West Coast (ESPN, 9 EDT) - Gonzaga had no problem with Santa Clara, winning by 25. In the other semi, Saint Mary's got Patty Mills back. The Aussie was a bit rusty (12 points on 25% shooting with 4 assists), though he did look far better in the second half. The Gaels defeated Portland for the second time this year, 71-61.

Two other conferences had their semifinals Sunday, but their championship games won't be until later in the week because of TV considerations.

America East - Binghamton will host Maryland-Baltimore County on Saturday morning. The sixth-seeded Retrievers knocked off the homestanding and seventh-seeded Albany Great Danes, 64-58. The top-seeded Bearcats are on track for their first ever NCAA appearance. They defeated fourth-seeded New Hampshire, 72-67.

Patriot - American hosts Holy Cross Friday afternoon. The Eagles had a hard time shaking Army, winning 61-60, while the Crusaders prevented a second straight AU-Colgate final, 61-44.

If that's not enough for you, the Summit League (7 EDT, Full Court) and Sun Belt (7:30 EDT, Full Court) semifinals are also on available. In the Summit, there was a big upset in the quarterfinals Saturday, as 7 seed South Dakota State knocked three-time defending champion Oral Roberts out. The Jackrabbits face 3 seed Oakland. Top seed North Dakota State looks to keep their hopes of a first-ever tournament bid (in their first year of eligibility) alive. The Bison face the 5 seed, Southern Utah. In the Sun Belt, the higher seeds were having their way in the quarterfinals, until sixth-seeded South Alabama upset the 3 seed, Troy. The Jaguars next face 2 seed Arkansas-Little Rock. Top seeded Western Kentucky takes on the 4 seed, 2007 tournament champion North Texas.

Outside of Auto-Bid Land

Virginia Tech lost to Florida State, 63-53. That means the Hokies are in the 8/9 game in the ACC tournament. Their opponent is Miami, which makes that first round tie a virtual bubble elimination game.

If Auburn has life in the SEC, Vanderbilt must as well. The Commodores made it to 8-8 in the stronger East division by (oddly enough) beating a Western opponent - Arkansas, 75-58.

UNC is in good shape for a #1 seed after beating Duke, 79-71. Michigan State continued to build their case for a 2, as they knocked off Purdue, 62-51. Wake has a case too after beating Clemson (who looks likely to be on the outside looking in when it comes to a protected seed), 96-88.

Ohio State got a big win over Northwestern, 52-47. Evan Turner had 17 for the Buckeyes, and it seemed like his sole purpose for the evening was to keep the Wildcats' dance drought going. I'm not ready to write Northwestern off yet, as they play Minnesota in the 8-9 game on Thursday in Indianapolis. If they win that, they get another shot at Michigan State Friday.

I'll be around this evening to talk about the four big championship games and whatever else you're thinking about here in the stretch run.

Championship Week, Day Two

Bill C. — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:00:15 -0000

UPDATE, 12:38pm - Can't forget the Sun Belt!

This is the second-most paltry day of 13-day spectacle known as Championship Week--only five conference tourney games. The final day--March 15--only has four games, but those games at least have the decency to be tourney finals.

We will press forward nonetheless!

Atlantic Sun Quarterfinals (in Nashville)

2 East Tennessee State vs 7 Stetson (8:30 pm, ESPN 360)

Patriot League Quarterfinals

5 Lehigh at 4 Army (6:00 pm)
6 Colgate at 3 Navy (6:00 pm)
7 Bucknell at 2 Holy Cross (6:00 pm)
8 Lafayette at 1 American (6:30 pm)

Sun Belt Round One

12 Arkansas State at 5 Middle Tennessee (7:00 pm)
13 Florida Atlantic at 4 North Texas (7:00 pm)
9 Florida International at 8 UL-Lafayette (7:30 pm)
11 New Orleans at 6 South Alabama (7:30 pm)
10 UL-Monroe at 7 Denver (8:00 pm)

Game of the Day

Lehigh at Army
Because anytime The Beef's dad's Lehigh Mountain Hawks are involved, you know it's a big game.