Altes Beer Scoreboard

[dennycrane]

Joe Lunardi has proven through the years to be pretty accurate and I think he is about Wright St. as a 15 seed. In fact, the Horizon has held down that seeding every year since we went in 2012, unless Valpo may have sneaked up to a 14 one year. The Commissioner might know; I don't.
In another vein, Commissioner's theory about Cleveland State, had they advanced, did have some validity. They could have possibly won a play in game against another subpar team and gone on to a second payday for the HL. Of course, their appearance in the tournament in the first place would generate loads of negative publicity for the Horizon, what with the 22 losses and all. Wright State had a fine season and deserves this reward after also winning the tournament.

[Commissioner]

Wednesday, March 7:

Titan Opponents
Notre Dame 71, Virginia Tech 65. Sunday will be nerve-wracking for Buzz's boys (21-11). Notre Dame (20-13) is awfully close to have a bid sewed up.

games around the country
#12 Carolina del Norte 78 , Syracuse 59

Bucknell 83, Colgate 54. Bucknell romps into the tournament, winning the Patriot Conference with ease.
Marquette 72, DePaul 69.
St. John's 88, Georgetown 77.
Boston College 91, NC State 87.
Louisville 82, Florida State 74. big game for both.
Oklahoma State 71, Oklahoma 60. The Sooners (18-13) keep dropping.
Colorado 97, Arizona State 85. After a great start to the season, ASU (20-11) is very much on the bubble after this 1st round PAC 12 tourney loss. Their RPI is in the mid-60s.

[upbasketballfan]

Joe Lunardi has proven through the years to be pretty accurate and I think he is about Wright St. as a 15 seed. In fact, the Horizon has held down that seeding every year since we went in 2012, unless Valpo may have sneaked up to a 14 one year. The Commissioner might know; I don't.
In another vein, Commissioner's theory about Cleveland State, had they advanced, did have some validity. They could have possibly won a play in game against another subpar team and gone on to a second payday for the HL. Of course, their appearance in the tournament in the first place would generate loads of negative publicity for the Horizon, what with the 22 losses and all. Wright State had a fine season and deserves this reward after also winning the tournament.

I was thinking the opposite. If Cleveland State was the Horizon rep. then observers might think that due to their record they made the NCAA's by luck but with Wright State representing us and being one of our better teams they might think the truth about the Horizon. That it is a really weak conference.

[uofdfan1983]

And I could care less, except to echo Commish's argument that if our representative was to win a game it would bring an infusion of much-needed cash to the Program. Our league sucks and our goal needs to be to dominate it to such a level that we can get a #10 - #12 seed and actually have a chance of winning a game or two in the NCAA tourney, and then moving to a better league after a few consecutive years of such success. I have to give just due to Wrong State for playing the "Wright" wa,y resulting in an overachieving season, but I know their game will be similar to ours was vs. Kansas -- a really tough challenge where they will have to control tempo, play out of their minds, shoot out of their minds...just to still be in the game with 5 minutes left. But kudos...you've at least earned the right to be in the Dance, which is something we aren't accomplishing.

I am more amazed at how Titan96 manages to put in a jab at our Program at any time. When he talks about "the worst blemish on Wrong State's resume is they "only" beat us by 7 points in one of their games)"....enough, already. We all know that RPI does not take point differential into consideration. Slamming for slamming's sake, I guess. It really is hard to believe you are a Titan Fan (still) and that you come to the games (still). Whoever you are, I guess I would like to have a conversation sometime. Usually I like talking with just about anybody, but not so sure in your case. I guess I could find you as you're the one dripping with sadness and sarcasm...

[Commissioner]

2012: Detroit, 15th seed
2013: Valparaiso, 14th
2014: Milwaukee, 15th
2015: Valparaiso, 13th
2016: Green Bay, 14th
2017: Northern Kentucky 15th

It doesn't help that 4 of the 6 years we haven't sent our best team, although I'll give the conference a bye for 2012. (Actually, I think we were the best team in 2012, but Valparaiso would have gotten a higher seed than we did).

[Commissioner]

Thursday, March 8:

Titan Opponents:
Our RPI rockets up as Titan non-conference opponents had a good night.
UCLA 88, Stanford 77. UCLA (21-10) is probably a win away from clinching a bid.
Toledo 71, Miami (Oh) 69. Toledo (22-10) won, but appears to have lost MAC Player of the Year Tre 'Shaun Fletcher to injury.
St. Louis 70, George Washington 63. St. Louis (17-15) roared back from an 11 point halftime deficit.
Seattle 77, UT-Rio Grande Valley 60. Seattle wins 20 games in a season for the first time since its return to D-I in 2010. The Redhawks (20-12) last won 20 as a D-I school in 1969.

Games Games Games!
Eastern Michigan 67, Akron 58. Eastern (21-11) faces Toledo on Friday in the MAC semis.
Buffalo 89, Central Michigan 74. All I gotta say is, Thank God Titans96 advised Buffalo to hire Nate Oats!

#1 Virginia, 75, Louisville 58. Tugs Bowen ain't walking through that door! Unless you got more cash!
#2 Villanova 94, Marquette 70.
#3 Xavier 88, St. John's 60.
#5 Duke 88, Notre Dame 70.
#9 Kansas 82, Oklahoma State 68.
#12 North Carolina 82, #24 Miami 65.
#14 Texas Tech 73, Texas 69. Long, nervous wait for Texas (19-14) until Sunday.
#15 Arizona 83, Colorado 67.
#16 Clemson 90, Boston College 82.
#22 Nevada 79, UNLV 74. Little Brother beats Big Brother.
#18 West Virginia 78, Baylor 65. This may finish off Baylor (18-13) as an at-large candidate.

Butler 75, Seton Hall 74. Kamar Baldwin had 32 points as Butler (20-12) advances to Big East semifinals. Tyler Wideman put back a missed layup for the winning bucket with 4 seconds left.
Kansas State 66, TCU 64. Two bubble teams, but K State (22-10) probably needed this one more.
Memphis 79, South Florida 77. For Sam.
VCU 77, Dayton 72. Dayton (14-17) has its first losing season since 2006.
Southern Mississippi 71, Middle Tennessee State 68 (OT). The Blue Raiders (24-7) are upset in the CUSA quarters, and now have to sweat it out until selection Sunday.

[Commissioner]

Friday, March 9:

Non-Conference Opponents:

Toledo 64, Eastern Michigan 63. In a see-saw battle in Cleveland, Toledo (23-10) outscored EMU (21-12) 8-2 in the game's final 1:45 to reach the MAC title game tomorrow against Buffalo. Marreon Jackson hit the game winning three pointer with 9 seconds left. Paul Jackson scored 26 for EMU, but the Eagles' big guns, Elijah Minnie and James Thompson, were limited to just 13 and 8 points, respectively, with Minnie making just 4 of 16 from the floor. Marreon Jackson had 26 for Toledo, which played most of the game without MAC POY Tre'Shaun Fletcher, who was hurt in Thursday's game.

#15 Arizona 78, UCLA 67. Arizona (26-7) held UCLA scoreless in the overtime period. UCLA (21-11) will be nervous on Sunday.

Davidson 78, St. Louis 60. The Billikens finish 17-16.

New Mexico State 84, Seattle 79. Trailing by 14, Seattle closed out the first half on a 23-3 run to lead top-seeded NMSU. The two battled through the second half with several lead changes before the Lobos (27-5) closed it out. Seattle (20-13) has its best season since its return to D-I. The Redhawks have been trying to regain some prominence, and would seem like a good candidate to host a game or two in the CIT or CBI.

St. Thomas (Fla.) 79, UM-Dearborn 77 (OT). UM-D (21-13) lost in the first round of the NAIA tournament late Wednesday.

Other Games:
#1 Virginia 64, #18 Clemson 58.
#2 Villanova 87, Butler 68. 'Nova had no trouble with Jeeves.
Providence 75, #3 Xavier 72 (OT). The Friars won in OT for the 2nd consecutive night, solidifying their spot in the NCAA field regardless of tomorrow night's Big East final against Villanova. Providence (21-12) had trailed by 17 early in the second half.

#12 North Carolina 74, #5 Duke 69.
#8 Cincinnati 61, SMU 51.
#9 Kansas 83, Kansas State 67.
#11 Wichita State 89, Temple 81.
#13 Tennessee 62, Mississippi State 59. No NCAA for Mississippi State (22-11), which played a creampuff non-conference schedule.
#18 West Virginia 66, #14 Texas Tech 63.
Alabama 81, #16 Auburn 63. Auburn's seeding takes a hit, while 'Bama's at-large hopes soar.
#21 Houston 84, Central Florida 56.
San Diego State 90, #22 Nevada 73. SD State led this one 55-25 at halftime. The Aztecs (21-10) have won 8 in a row.
Arkansas 80, #23 Florida 72. Arkansas (23-10) probably iced a bid tonight.
#25 Rhode Island 76, VCU 67.

Memphis 67, Tulsa 64. A good win for Memphis and embattled Coach Tubby Smith.
Texas Southern 88, Prairie View A&M 74; Arkansas Pine-Bluff 71, Southern 65. Texas Southern (14-19) will play Pine Bluff (14-20) for the SWAC title and an NCAA bid tomorrow.

Cornerstone 92, Southwestern (Ks.) 73. NAIA #1 Cornerstone advances to the Elite 8, where they will face #2 St. Francis of Indiana.

[NC Titan]

UNC's Luke Maye played thirty minutes against Miami the other night, shot 1-for-15, 2 points, 2 assists. He should have been benched, never allowed to play again, and his dad fired from whatever job he has. And Roy Williams fired, too. And the AD to boot! Along with the school president. They're all overpaid. UNC will never recover from this! Mark my words, they'll be playing D-III in a few seasons.

[Commissioner]

Huge day in college hoops. Not a bad day for Horizon representative Wright State, which is hoping to slide up from a 15 to a 14 seed. Upsets in the last 48 hours have helped, in the America East (would have been behind Vermont, will be ahead of UMBC), Big West (probably behind UC-Davis, probably ahead of Irvine or Fullerton), and Sunbelt (behind Louisiana, ahead of Georgia State or UTArlington). With prior upsets, WSU could sneak up to a #14 seed.

Titan Non-Conference Foes
Buffalo 76, Toledo 66. Buffalo broke a 63-all tie with a 9-0 run late, highlighted by 5 points from Nick Perkins, a guy the Titans recruited hard. The Bulls (26-8) got 26 points from Wes Clark. They've got a surprisingly high RPI of 26 and should get a decent 10 to 12 seed, from which they can do some damage. Toledo (23-11), playing without injured MAC POY Tre'Shaun Fletcher, hopes for an NIT bid.

Other Games
#1 Virginia 71, #12 North Carolina 63. Virginia will enter the tournament as a clear #1 in the country.
#2 Villanova 76, Providence 66 (OT). Providence went to OT for the 3rd night in a row, but this time came up short.
#8 Cincinnati 70, Memphis 60. Memphis led by 13 at the half, but the Bearcats limited the Tigers to just 18 points after the break. So now we will see if Memphis's 21-13 record is good enough for Tubby Smith to keep his job.

#9 Kansas 81, #18 West Virginia 70. Same old, same old. Kansas wins the Big 12.
#21 Houston 77, #11 Wichita State 74. The rubber match between Cincinnati and Wichita State ain't gonna happen, as Houston (26-6) wins behind 33 points from Rob Gray, including two free throws to clinch it in the final seconds.

#13 Tennessee 84, Arkansas 66.
#15 Arizona 75, USC 61. Arizona is PAC 12 tournament champ. Deandre Ayton had 32 points and 18 rebounds for the Wildcats.
#25 Rhode Island 90, St. Joe's 87. Rhody (25-6) escaped after trailing for the first 34 minutes of the game.

San Diego State 82, New Mexico 75. San Diego State (22-10) snags the Mountain West bid. The Aztecs are playing very well, having won 9 straight, by an average of 13 points.

New Mexico State 72, Grand Canyon 58. No surprises in the WAC tournament.
Marshall 67, Western Kentucky 66. Marshall is the surprise winner of CUSA. Down 12 with 3:30 to go, Western Kentucky scored 11 straight points to close to within 1 point with 1 minute left to play. But after getting another stop on Marshall, the Hilltoppers missed two shots to win in the final 24 seconds. This will be Marshall's first NCAA in 31 years.

UMBC 65, Vermont 62. UMBC (24-10) gets its second NCAA bid ever with an upset of Vermont. UMBC trailed for all but a few seconds in this game, and was down by 9 with about 8 minutes to play. They won it on a three pointer by Jarius Lyles with 4 seconds to play. Lyles finished with 27 points. UMBC Coach Ryan Odom is another young (early 40s) guy who should be moving up soon. He has coached UMBC to 44 wins since taking over a year ago before the 2017 season. Before Odom, UMBC had won in single digits for seven straight years. Vermont (27-7, #60 RPI) is presumably relegated to the NIT.

Cal-State Fullerton 71, Cal Irvine 55. Fullerton (20-11) wins the Big West for its 3rd ever NCAA bid.
Montana 82, Eastern Washington 65. Regular season Big Sky champ Montana (26-7) was down 11 at the half, but absolutely dominated the second period to win the conference tournament and an automatic bid.

Stephen F. Austin 59, SE Louisiana 55. SFA (28-6) claims the Southland bid. A 20-2 run gave SE Louisiana a 6 point lead with 5 minutes to play, but the Lumberjacks came back for their 4th bid in 5 years.

North Carolina Central 71, Hampton 63. The Eagles (19-15), who finished 6th in the MEAC this year, get their 3rd NCAA bid in 5 years with an upset of regular seasaon champ Hampton.

Texas Southern 84, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 69. I hate the NIT autobids, and I hate that Pine Bluff (14-21) is going to get one on the basis of a 12-6 SWAC record and winning a 3-way tie-breaker for the #1 seed in the conference tournament. No wait, the NCAA has clarified. No NIT bid for Pine Bluff. Grambling, which is ineligible for postseason play, won the SWAC regular season, and the NCAA won't treat #1 tournament seed as the champ for the NIT bid. Good. I still hate automatic bids to the NIT.

Kentucky 86, Alabama 63. Gonna be close for Alabama (19-15). Joe Lunardi has them in at the moment.
Davidson 82, St. Bonaventure 70. Davidson (20-11) will try to steal a bid tomorrow in the A10 final against Rhode Island. The Bonnies are safe, I think.

Georgia State 73, Georgia Southern 67. Ray McCallum's team reaches the Sunbelt finals tomorrow.
UT-Arlington 71, Louisiana 68. UTA (21-12) advances to the Sunbelt final with an upset of regular season champ Louisiana (27-6) (formerly SW Louisiana, then Louisiana-Lafayette, or maybe SW Louisiana-Lafayette Mercy).

St. Francis (Ind.) 90, Cornerstone 79. In the Elite 8 of the NAIA tournament, #1 seed Cornerstone fell behind by 24 at the break to #2 seed St. Francis, and couldn't come back.

Who's In (Accepted or Automatic bids only):
NCAA
Virginia (ACC): 31-2, RPI #1
Villanova (Big East): 30-4, RPI #2
Kansas (Big 12): 27-7, RPI #5
Michigan (Big 10): 28-7, RPI #11
Arizona (PAC 12): 27-7, RPI #14
Gonzaga (WCC): 30-4, RPI #21
Loyola (MIssouri Valley): 28-5, RPI #22
Buffalo (MAC): 26-8, RPI #26.
New Mexico State (WAC): 28-5, RPI #35
South Dakota State (Summit): 28-6, RPI #37
Murray State (Ohio Valley): 26-5, RPI #47
College of Charleston (CAA): 25-7, RPI #56
San Diego State (Mountain West): 22-10, RPI #60
UNC-Greensboro (Southern): 27-7, RPI #64
Montana (Big Sky): 26-7, RPI #79
Bucknell (Patriot): 25-9, PRI #80
Marshall (CUSA): 23-10, RPI #87
Wright State (Horizon): 25-9, RPI #99
Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun): 23-9, RPI #101
Stephen F. Austin (Southland): 28-6, RPI #112
Iona (MAAC: 20-13, RPI #108
UMBC (America East): 24-10, RPI #112
Cal State-Fullerton (Big West): 20-11, RPI # 126
Radford (Big South): 22-12, RPI #129
Texas Southern (SWAC): 15-19, RPI #222
Long Island (Northeast): 18-16, RPI #232
North Carolina Central (MEAC): 19-15, RPI #275

Who's In the NIT:
Middle Tennessee State (CUSA): 24-7, RPI #34
Vermont (America East): 27-7, RPI #61
Louisiana (Sunbelt): 27-6, RPI #65
Rider (MAAC): 22-9, RPI #69
UC-Davis (Big West): 22-10, RPI #102
Wagner (Northeast): 23-9, RPI #109
Northern Kentucky (Horizon): 22-9, RPI #114
UNC-Asheville (Big South): 21-12, RPI #130
SE Louisiana (Southland): 22-11, RPI #156
Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun): 23-11, RPI #172
Hampton (MEAC): 19-15, RPI # 240

CIT
Niagara (MAAC): 19-13, RPI #162
Austin Peay (OVC): 18-14, #164
Drake (MVC): 16-16, RPI #166
Central Michigan (MAC): 19-14, RPI #168
St. Francis (Pa.) (Northeast): 18-12, RPI #178
Fort Wayne (Summit): 18-14, RPI #209
Liberty (Big South): 20-14, RPI #211
North Carolina A&T: (20-14, RPI # 238
Abilene Christian (Southland): 16-15, RPI #260

CBI
Canisius (MAAC): 21-11, RPI #123
Miami (Oh.) (MAC): 16-17, RPI #161
Campbell (Big South): 16-15, RPI #267

Teams reported turning down CIT/CBI:
Old Dominion, 25-7, #78
Illinois State 18-15, #85
South Carolina 16-16, #89
East Tennessee State, 25-9, #93
Wyoming 20-13, #98
SMU, 17-16, #110
Ball State, 19-13, #125
Albany 22-10, #142
Tennessee Tech 19-14, #159
Oakland 19-14, #182
Hawaii, 17-13, #213
Mount St. Mary's, 18-14, #225
Duquesne 16-16, #259

[TitanTarHeel]

Figured I'd sneak in the boys high school state tourney into the Scoreboard thread...

As things stand, its sweet 16 time and the final 8 teams will be set in the next day or two. I'm biased and follow Class A the closest since its where my UDJ Cubs reside. They are on the cusp of their 5th state regional title when they host King at UDJ tomorrow night. Certainly a nice advantage to be playing that game in their own gym.

From the final rankings, 6 of the top 10 teams remain. Clarkston seems like the team to beat esp now that Loyer is showing no ill effects of what was feared a season ending knee injury. Clarkston has a date with #4 Flint Carman looming in the quarterfinals, certainly the toughest match up that could be for a spot in the final four in East Lansing. The winner of Clarkston/Flint Carman would likely play the winner of UDJ and DeLaSalle, who certainly know one another VERY well with how many times they've played one another the last few years (which McCabe alludes to in his article below).

In Class D -- Bryce Washington of Southfield Christian is still alive. He holds an offer from UDM.

Class A Bracket...
https://www.mhsaa.com/sports/mhsaa-tour ... nid/399145

Mick McCabe looks at the state of each class and teams remaining...
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/high ... 414713002/

[Tacitus651]

Love this article about Loyola's team chaplain.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/spor ... t-nun.html

Good lucks, Ramblers. AMDG.