3/6 Conference Tournament Daily Breakdown
Big South Tournament: 4 Games
(1) Charleston Southern vs. (9) Longwood
TV: 12 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: The HTC Center, Conway, South Carolina
Line: CSU (-10)
My Pick: CSU by low-mid double digits
(4) Radford vs. (5) Winthrop
TV: 2 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: The HTC Center, Conway, South Carolina
Line: Winthrop (-1)
My Pick: Radford by mid-single digits
(2) High Point vs. (7) Gardner-Webb
TV: 6 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: The HTC Center, Conway, South Carolina
Line: HP (-3.5)
My Pick: Gardner-Webb by low single digits
(3) Coastal Carolina vs. (6) UNC Asheville
TV: 8 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: The HTC Center, Conway, South Carolina
Line: CCAR (-9)
My Pick: Coastal by mid-high single digits
Missouri Valley Conference Championship: 4 Games
(1) Wichita State vs. (9) Southern Illinois
TV: 1 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: Scottstrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Line: Unreleased
My Pick: Wichita State by low double digits
(4) Illinois State vs. (5) Evansville
TV: 3:30 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: Scottstrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Line: ILST (-4.5)
My Pick: Illinois State by high single digits
(2) UNI vs. (10) Bradley
TV: 7:05 PM ET, ESPN3,
Location: Scottstrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Line: Unreleased
My Pick: Northern Iowa by 15+
(3) Indiana State vs. (6) Loyola IL
TV: 9:30 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: Scottstrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Line: Indiana State (-2.5)
My Pick: Loyola by mid-high single digits
Southern Conference Tournament: 2 Games
(8) UNC Greensboro vs. (9) Samford
TV: 6 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: US Cellular Center, Asheville, North Carolina
Line: UNCG (-1)
My Pick: Greensboro by low double digits
(7) Citadel vs. (10) Furman
TV: 8:30 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: US Cellular Center, Asheville, North Carolina
Line: Furman (-1.5)
My Pick: Furman by mid-single digits
CAA Tournament: 2 Games
(8) Elon vs. (9) Towson
TV: 6 PM ET, CAA.TV
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Line: Towson (-1.5)
My Pick: Elon by low single digits
(7) Drexel vs. (10) Charleston
TV: 8:30 PM ET, CAA.TV
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Line: Charleston (-1)
My Pick: Drexel by mid-single digits
Horizon League Tournament: 2 Games
(3) Oakland vs. (6) UIC
TV: 7 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: Athletics-Recreation Center, Valparaiso, Indiana
Line: Oakland (-7.5)
My Pick: Oakland by 15+
(4) Cleveland State vs. (5) Detroit
TV: 9:30 PM ET, ESPN3
Location: Athletics-Recreation Center, Valparaiso, Indiana
Line: Cleveland State (-5)
My Pick: Cleveland State by mid-single digits
Ohio Valley Conference Championship: 2 Games
(1) Murray State vs. (5) Morehead State
TV: 7:30 PM ET, ESPNU
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Line: Murray State (-6.5)
My Pick: Murray State by low double digits
(2) Eastern Kentucky vs. (3) Belmont
TV: 9:30 PM ET, ESPNU
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Line: EKU (-1.5)
My Pick: Belmont by low single digits
WCC Championship: 2 Games
(8) San Francisco vs. (9) Pacific
TV: 9 PM ET, BYUtv.org
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Line: SF (-4.5)
My Pick: San Francisco by high single digits
(7) Santa Clara vs. (10) Loyola Marymount
TV: 11 PM ET, BYUtv.org
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Line: SCU (-4)
My Pick: SCU by high single digits
Team with the Biggest Chance of Pulling an Upset: (6) Loyola IL over (3) Indiana State - Indiana State should be very, very worried about this tough first round matchup with a supremely underrated Ramblers squad of Loyola Chicago. This team, although boasting a better overall record then their Sycamore opponents, are only 6th in the MVC because of a disappointing regular season (8-10). Don't be mistaken though, when this team is healthy, they are very dangerous. Just ask the teams they played in the preseason. With wins over Texas Tech (Big 12), Kent State (road), and Boise State (Mountain West), they showed they can do some real damage against some very good opponents. Why didn't they do more damage in the MVC? Milton Doyle's injury is the simple answer. Doyle, one of the most unselfish and talented young guards in the nation, is a difference maker when he's on the court. Just look at the numbers: when Doyle was healthy, the Ramblers were 14-5 on the year. With Doyle hurt? The Ramblers were just 4-7. Pretty big difference. The reason he is such a difference maker is his great feel for the point guard position as a sophomore. Also, he is deadly behind the three point line (45%), an area the Ramblers really pride themselves in (39%). As for Indiana State, this is not a bad basketball team at all. They sleepwalked through the preseason, but really turned it up for MVC regular season play, picking up big wins against clubs such as Illinois State (twice) and Evansville. Needless to say, when this team is clicking, they can do some damage. However, they are very one dimensional. For example, this team very rarely feeds the ball down low, as their tallest starter is Jake Kitchell (6-10). Other then Kitchell, this team plays almost 100% on the perimeter, and take a lot of threes (36.2%). They also don't shoot a great field goal percentage as a team (42%), and aren't outstanding on the defensive end (67.3 points allowed per game). Basically, this team is very beatable, especially on a neutral floor. The upset's not a shoe-in, per say, but I'd put my money on the Ramblers to win this one.
Biggest Chance of a Blowout: (2) Northern Iowa over (10) Bradley - If you're planning on watching a close game today, don't tune into this one. Bradley played a great game last night against an underrated Drake Bulldogs squad (won in OT), but that OT win might come back to bite them. Why? UNI plays an intense style of defense that causes you to constantly be moving if you hope to do anything against it. Intense D+ overtime game? Not good for the Braves. Also, UNI has one of the toughest and most talented bigs in the nation in Seth Tuttle. Tuttle, a candidate for the National Player of the Year, is putting up incredible numbers as a senior. He's averaging 15.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.3, apg, and 1.1 bpg, all while shooting over 60% from the field. Plus, he's brilliant with the basketball in his hands, and doesn't turn it over very often (2.8 times per game). For a team that doesn't shoot the three ball particularly well (30.1%), the Braves have close to a 0% chance to pull out this victory. If you haven't seen the Panthers play so far this year, and want to see an intense, impressive, well-operated style of play, then tune into this game. If you do not fit into the description above, and aren't a Panthers fan, definitely stay away from this beating. Another game that shouldn't be very close is the 3 seed Oakland over the 6 seed UIC Flames over in the Horizon League. On a day that boasts so many interesting tournament games, don't waste your time with these two.
Game of the Day: (2) Eastern Kentucky vs. (3) Belmont- This one's easy. The other semifinal game could be pretty intense too (Murray State vs. Morehead State), but it's nowhere near as intense as this rivalry game. These two extremely talented and tournament-worthy teams have played two excellent games so far this year. EKU took the first one at home, beating the Bruins by 12. Big man Eric Stutz played out of his mind in that one, putting up a season high 27 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 10-11 shooting from the field and 3 steals. Corey Walden also chipped in 15 points and 8 assists. For the Bruins, they hit shots (52.3% fgp) but couldn't buy a stop on the defensive end. Evan Bradds had a double-double (11 points, 12 boards) in the loss. In the second meeting, this time at Belmont, the Bruins were able to hold on for a five point win (66-61) in front of a rowdy fan base. Eric Stutz once again played a great game (12 points, 5 boards, 3 assists) but the Colonels just didn't have the firepower to match the Bruins. For Belmont, it was Craig Bradshaw's night. The junior went off for 25 points, 10 rebounds, 3 made threes, and a couple steals. The team also hit 11 threes on 31 attempts, a pretty mind boggling number. For the Bruins, it's simple: Hit threes, and their near unbeatable (on an Ohio Valley scale of course). When they can't hit threes, however, this team becomes very mediocre. Their reliance on the three ball scares me. Every time I choose these guys to win a game, I know it could come back and explode in my face. However, this is a well-coached, smart team that can score in other ways when necessary. The problem is their poor defense (70.4 points allowed per game). That's what could be the difference maker in this semifinal game. EKU is not as talented as the Bruins on the offensive end, but they do play much better team defense (63.3 points allowed per game). This one's a toss up for me. I'm going with the Bruins because of their big play potential, but EKU is probably the safer pick overall. Overall, if you want an intense, heated, epic game to watch tonight, this is the one. Plus, it's nationally televised, airing on ESPNU at 9:30 ET.
Picks from Yesterday: 8/13
Overall Picks for Championship Week: 27/33 (81%)
