Good morning. Welcome to March…
As much as bubble talk and seedlines and bracketology and upcoming conference tournaments dominate discussion of college basketball this time of year, the zest often provided by the end of the conference season often slips through the cracks.
For our money, regular season conference championships, in double round-robin schedules especially but even in leagues with unbalanced schedules, are tremendously underrated achievements that deserve much more notice than they typically receive in this sport. Fans viewing through a national lens may not take much notice, but it means a great deal to teams to be able to come out on top of their conference loop. Several teams wrapped up at least shares of league titles on Thursday, and the accomplishments are worth celebrating for a job well done, and not just because they’ve set a team up well for their league tourney.
Conference USA is only halfway through the bonus round in its new scheduling format, but already the league’s regular season title has been decided. Old Dominion wrapped up the outright title with a hard-earned 65-64 win at Texas-San Antonio, putting the Monarchs three games clear of the field with two to play, really a remarkable achievement in a league that was so closely bunched much of the season and also under the new format that provides a guaranteed tough finish for the top squads.
Old Dominion has proven to be one of the most resilient teams of this season-see its rally from a good-sized deficit at Syracuse-and in this one it avenged a one-point loss to UTSA at this same site just over a month earlier, a game in which the Roadrunners incredibly came back from 18 points down in the final three minutes to win.
The Monarchs might’ve had a feeling of it being Groundhog Day all over again when Giovanni De Nicolao hit a shot from three-quarter court at the first half buzzer to give the hosts a two-point lead. ODU didn’t wilt, though, and controlled the final 15 minutes, holding a slim lead much of the way and responding every time the Roadrunners drew even down the stretch. This is one tough team, one that isn’t going to wow the analytics crowd but that defends and rebounds and finds ways to win.
Old Dominion’s old conference foe Hofstra also claimed at least a share of the Colonial Athletic Association championship as well as the top seed in its conference tournament. The Pride held off Drexel 80-77 for the road win, as scoring machine Justin Wright-Foreman lit it up for 32 and his team stayed a game ahead of Northeastern with one game to play.
Hofstra hit a few stumbling blocks of late, making it easy to forget just what a special season it has had. A team picked to finish third in the conference’s preseason poll is 24-6 overall and now sets its sights on its first NCAA Tournament trip in 18 years.
St. Francis (Pa.) didn’t quite wrap up the top seed in its league tourney yet, but it did clinch at least a share of the Northeast Conference title on Thursday, winning at Wagner 83-72. The Red Flash calmly handled a difficult road trip, taking over in the final seven minutes, and can claim the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage as long as they’re alive in the NEC tourney with a win Saturday at Sacred Heart.
Remarkably, this is just the second regular season title for St. Francis in school history, and the first since 1990-91, the Mike Iuzzolino-led team that made the Red Flash’s lone NCAA Tournament appearance. St. Francis was a heavy favorite in the NEC entering the season but played a monster of a non-conference schedule, and it was a team struggling for consistency up until now winning nine of 10 heading into March.
UC Irvine also assured itself at least a share of the Big West title and the top seed in its tournament with a decisive 64-48 win at UC Davis. The Anteaters have been sensational of late, now with 10 straight wins. The same can be said for New Mexico State, which also clinched the outright Western Athletics Conference crown with a 75-55 win at Missouri-Kansas City.
UC Irvine continues to be the most consistent program in the Big West-really one of the most underrated in the country-and this is its fourth regular season title in the last six years under Russell Turner. New Mexico State also has won four of the last five WAC regular season crowns, including back-to-back years now under Chris Jans. Irvine and New Mexico State almost seem like first cousins, as both are ultra-deep teams with good size that feature defense and rebounding, can run hot-and-cold on offense but have any number of players who can heat up. Both have had terrific seasons, and should be recognized for that before postseason play even begins.
Side Dishes:
- One terrific league race that wasn’t decided on Thursday and will come down to its final day is in the Ohio Valley. Belmont and Murray State both held serve, with the Bruins crushing Tennessee-Martin 112-65 and Murray posting a 71-52 win at Morehead State that wasn’t as close as the final score. Both teams’ stars were fantastic again-the Bruins’ Dylan Windler had 21 points and 10 rebounds at halftime (he finished with 32 and 12), while the Racers’ Ja Morant put up his third triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It’s a shame the Racers’ schedule isn’t grading out better, because this is a team people should want to see in March. Also, it’s time to make the call: Belmont deserves an NCAA Tournament at-large berth, regardless of its OVC tourney outcome. The Bruins have won 12 in a row and are now 24-4 overall. Jacksonville State also is still alive for a share of the title too after a great escape at Eastern Illinois. The Gamecocks rallied from nine down with less than four minutes left and finally pulled through in double overtime for an 89-84 win. Austin Peay also entered Thursday with a chance at the OVC title, but the Governors lost at Eastern Kentucky 82-80 in a game that had a whale of an individual duel. Austin Peay’s Terry Taylor finishing with 37 points and 15 rebounds while EKU’s Nick Mayo scored 31 with nine boards and hit the winning free throws with 5.7 seconds left.
- Ranked teams rolling Thursday: Gonzaga cruised past Pacific 86-66, while Michigan jumped on Nebraska from the start and cruised to an 82-53 win. Complete domination by the Wolverines inside and out, and on both ends. Also, Wofford played for the first time as a ranked team and continued to mow down Southern Conference competition, winning at Tennessee-Chattanooga 80-54. Rugged Cameron Jackson posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and the beauty of the Terriers is Fletcher Magee can attempt a relatively low total of 10 shots and Wofford still is humming.
- And then there was Washington. The Huskies have been the clear top team in an otherwise homely Pac-12 and snuck back into the rankings this week. They responded by losing to previously 5-22 California 76-73. What a great win for the Golden Bears, who have not quit in the midst of a trying season. For the Pac-12…this conference just cannot stop outdoing itself, in bad ways. In true Pac-12 2018-19 fashion, the Huskies did clinch the league title and the top seed in the conference tournament by virtue of another result in the conference involving the league’s other alleged at-large candidate.
- Xavier is a perennial NCAA Tournament team (five straight appearances and 14 of the last 16 years), so it shouldn’t be much surprise that even in a very down season the Musketeers are making a late run to get back to the tourney yet. X won at St. John’s 84-73, and that’s now five straight for a team that was 11-13 overall not long ago. Naji Marshall has been on a tear of late and had his biggest game yet-31 points. It’s not impossible at all for the Musketeers to get back to the NCAAs yet.
- Minnesota got a much-needed win at Northwestern, or maybe one could say Amir Coffey got a much-needed win. The Golden Gophers prevailed 62-50, and Coffey made like Danny Manning 1988 and put his team on the back, scoring half of his team’s points (31) and adding 12 rebounds. In this year’s NCAA Tournament picture, the Gophers are probably still safe for now.
- For all that the Pac-12 has served as a punching bag this season, the league did furnish two dandies Thursday night. Arizona nipped Oregon State 74-72 on a putback by Devonaire Doutrive (what a name) at the buzzer. In the same time slot, UCLA and USC played even longer, going to overtime before the Bruins won 93-88. The Trojans attempted 50 three-pointers (making 19) and also were 1-for-7 from the foul line.
- And then there was Arizona State. The Sun Devils have been positioned as a possible second and last at-large hope for the Pac-12, recently topped Washington and had won three straight after a midseason slump. ASU began a three-game closing stretch on the road with a 79-51 blowout loss at Oregon, again looking nothing like a team that belongs in as much as the NIT. So many of this team’s marquee wins keep getting cancelled out by flat-out awful losses.
- The Sun Belt race is still a good one. Texas State stayed a game clear of the field with a 58-44 win at Troy, with Danny Kaspar’s always-excellent defense holding the Trojans to 30% shooting. Georgia Southern and Georgia State are still right behind, though, as the former topped Arkansas-Little Rock 81-66 and State topped Arkansas State 76-60.
Tonight’s Menu:
- Get an early start to the night in the Ivy League. Brown has made a charge into a tie for the fourth and final spot in the league tournament, and the Bears host Columbia (5 p.m. Eastern, ESPNU). That is followed by another in the Ancient Eight, where defending champion Pennsylvania is still outside the top four and now goes to co-leader Harvard (7 p.m., ESPNU) for a huge game.
- The night also includes a MAC TV doubleheader. Kent State is at Bowling Green (6 p.m., CBSSN), which has suddenly lost two straight and could still have a fight on its hands to retain second in the East Division if it loses this one. That’s followed by Buffalo at Miami (Ohio), a solid team which has been competitive in most of its losses but fell to the Bulls by 24 in their first matchup (8 p.m., CBSSN).
- One game in the Atlantic 10 has Rhode Island at Dayton, which tries to move into second in the conference (7 p.m., ESPN2). Flyers freshman Obi Toppin is worth watching-he has been excellent over the last month and has quietly become one of the better freshmen in the country.
- The Atlantic Sun closes out its regular season, the first conference in the country to do so. Co-leaders Liberty and Lipscomb are both on the road, including the Flames with a tough one at NJIT while Lipscomb’s Bisons are at North Alabama.
- A massive night in the MAAC could provide clarity or opportunity at the top. Iona can clinch at least a share of the title and eliminate one of its competitors if it can win at Rider. Also trying to stay in the race are both Siena and Canisius (9 p.m., ESPNU), and Quinnipiac is still in contention and is at St. Peter’s.
Have an excellent Friday and a great weekend.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
