After and extensive and exhausting season, here are my humble conference awards. I don’t claim to have all the answers, and this is just one man’s (educated) opinion, but I have seen every team close to a half dozen times live this year, and been to over 70 America East games, so here it goes:
But Wait - There's More!
Ohio Valley: OVC favorites take care of business
All four Ohio Valley Conference favorites won their quarterfinal match ups Tuesday night, with three of the four top seeds winning by double digits. No. 2 Austin Peay needed late free throws to squeak past Eastern Illinois.
Huskies Enter CAA Tournament Hopeful
Northeastern will be the No. 3 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, which means they have a bye. Although they didn’t have a good month of February, they are hopeful of coming home with the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid in nearly two decades.
Wright State Uses Early Run to Hold Off Valparaiso
A good early start, along with Wright State’s stellar defense and Scott Grote’s career high at Wright State, helped the Raiders move on in the Horizon League Tournament.
UNH’s Gibbs Not to Be Denied on Senior Day
Tyrese Gibbs struggled for much of the game on Senior Day. It wasn’t the kind of game one would hope for in such a setting, especially with a lot on the line. But he was not to be denied in the end.
Young Monarchs Grow Up With Tournament Looming
Old Dominion has a team without much experience, and the growing pains showed early on. But the Monarchs closed out non-conference play with a lot of wins, and did the same in conference play, showing they have grown up during the season.
Horizon Notebook: Regular Season Ends In Style
The regular season ended with some close contests. Jay looks back at some of them, then looks ahead to the league tournament and also looks at the postseason awards.
Huskies’ Alvarez Closes Long Stint Away From Home
Northeastern senior Chris Alvarez can win anyone over with his personality, and has done so during his life. Much of that life in recent years has been away from home, but he’s reached his goal of a college education with a Division I scholarship.
Dierkers Shows He’s a Quiet Player With a Loud Shot
Tyler Dierkers’ numbers won’t jump out at you. What will is the timing of when he scores. In the meantime, he’s busy doing things that help a team win games but that the average observer doesn’t notice.
Smith’s Basketball Life Comes to a Close at Northeastern
If you only knew a few basic facts, Matt Smith might seem an unlikely candidate to be a Division I basketball player, let alone a key player for a contending team at that level. In fact, his time at Northeastern is really the culmination of what has been a basketball life in a basketball family.
