Wednesday College Basketball Review

Big East

(8) Syracuse 63 – (9) Villanova 82

(12) Providence 53 – (5) West Virginia 58

(10) Cincinnati 64 – (7) Pittsburgh 70

(11) Seton Hall 54 – (6) Marquette 67

The Pitt and Marquette wins were certainly not surprising. I have to agree with Bob Knight’s assessment of the West Virginia game when he said it was more that Providence lost the game than West Virginia winning. Speaking of losing games, Syracuse managed to easily blow a first half double-digit lead. In fairness to the Orange, Villanova actually was good in the second half so it wasn’t just Syracuse losing the game. That should send Syracuse to the NIT and Villanova stays alive although they may need to beat Georgetown.

Atlantic 10

(9) Saint Louis 62 – (8) Dayton 63

(12) Fordham 62 – (5) St. Joseph’s 80

(10) Duquesne 79 – (7) La Salle 82

(11) Rhode Island 73 – (6) Charlotte 75

What a fall for Rhode Island. Honestly it wasn’t that long ago that I was thinking they were likely a NCAA tournament team. Now I wonder if they’re even an NIT team. Dayton (barely) and St. Joseph’s (easily) have stayed alive in their hopes for an at large bid. I would argue that Dayton should get in if they beat Xavier although they may need another win on top of that. St. Joseph’s likely needs two more wins.

Mid-American

(10) Ball State 55 – (7) Eastern Michigan 59

(11) Northern Illinois 71 – (6) Central Michigan 83

(9) Bowling Green 48 – (8) Toledo 52

(12) Buffalo 68 – (5) Miami 69

There were no surprises here. I’d like to know what it’s like to be a Miami fan. They seem to be involved in a disproportionately large number of tight games.

Conference USA

(10) East Carolina 49 – (7) Tulsa 66

(11) SMU 49 – (6) UTEP 71

(9) Tulane 48 – (8) Marshall 47

(12) Rice 50 – (5) Southern Miss 59

Nothing here was too noteworthy although the real teams don’t get started until tomorrow.

Mountain West

(9) Colorado State 68 – (8) Wyoming 63

Hey, that’s conference win number 1 for Colorado State! How many people think they’ll be beating BYU?

Mid-Eastern

(11) MD Eastern Shore 61 – (6) Florida A&M 70

(8) South Carolina State 68 – (1) Morgan State 77

(7) Coppin State 75 – (2) Hampton 74

Perhaps I should have seen the Coppin State upset coming. After starting the year 2-19 Coppin state had won 9 of 10 going into tonight. Still, overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit to beat the second seeded team in the conference was impressive. There were no surprises in the other games.

Southwestern Athletic

(7) Grambling State 73 – (2) Mississippi Valley State 79

(8) Texas Southern 49 – (1) Alabama State 67

As expected the top two SWAC teams. We’ll see tomorrow who they’ll face in the semifinals Friday.

Northeast

(4) Mount St. Mary’s 68 – (3) Sacred Heart 55

It was a bit surprising to see Mount St. Mary’s win his one on the road by double digits. They are a strong play-in game candidate.

Big Sky

(2) Northern Arizona 51 – (1) Portland State 67

That was a pretty convincing win for Portland State and they’re really not that bad. If they play well (and get matched up well) they could put a scare into some 2 seed.

Big West

(8) Long Beach State 63 – (5) UC Irvine 77

(7) UC Riverside 62 – (6) Cal Poly 54

There was a clear division in the Big West between the top four seeds and everyone else. Seeds 3 and 4 get going tomorrow but the top 2 seeds don’t get going until Friday. Today was just a warm-up.

Pac 10

(9) California 84 – (8) Washington 81

(10) Oregon State 56 – (7) Arizona 87

Well, Oregon State proved for the final time this year that they are horrible. Cal might be able to give UCLA a battle (if the Pac 10 refs allow it).