Doug Whitfield Sports Account

Doug Whitfield Sports Account at

FCSS: Conference Tournament Roundup

March Madness has oficially begun. As of right now, there are 12 teams that punched their tickets. With over 10 more being punched today (including ACC and Big 12).
Automatic Bids
Belmont Bruins
Conference: Ohio Valley
Record: 22-10
Ticket-clincher: Belmont 88, Murray State 87
Leading scorer: Craig Bradshaw (18.1 PPG)
Tournament appearance: seventh (first since 2013)
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Conference: Big South
Record: 24-9
Ticket-clincher: Coastal Carolina 81, Winthrop 70
Leading scorer: Josh Cameron (12.9 PPG)
Tournament appearance: fourth (first since 2014)
Gonzaga Bulldogs
Conference: West Coast
Record: 32-2
Ticket-clincher: Gonzaga 91, BYU 75
Leading scorer: Kyle Wiltjer (16.6 PPG)
Tournament appearance: 18th (first since 2014)
Lafayette Leopards
Conference: Patriot League
Record: 20-12
Ticket-clincher: Lafayette 65, American 63
Leading scorer: Dan Trist (17.6 PPG)
Tournament appearance: fourth (first since 2000)
Manhattan Jaspers
Conference: Metro Atlantic
Record: 19-13
Ticket-clincher: Manhattan 79, Iona 69
Leading scorer: Emmy Andujar (16.5 PPG)
Tournament appearance: eighth (first since 2014)
Northeastern Huskies
Conference: Colonial
Record: 23-11
Ticket-clincher: Northeastern 72, William & Mary 61
Leading scorer: Scott Eatherton (14.6 PPG)
Tournament appearance: eighth (first since 1991)
Northern Iowa Panthers
Conference: Missouri Valley
Record: 30-3
Ticket-clincher: Northern Iowa 69, Illinois State 60
Leading scorer: Seth Tuttle (15.3 PPG)
Tournament appearance: seventh (first since 2010) When they knocked off Kansas.
North Dakota State Bison
Conference: Summit
Record: 23-9
Ticket-clincher: North Dakota State 57, South Dakota State 56
Leading scorer: Lawrence Alexander (18.7 PPG)
Tournament appearance: third (first since 2014)
North Florida Ospreys
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Record: 23-11
Ticket-clincher: North Florida 63, South Carolina Upstate 57
Leading scorer: Dallas Moore (15.9 PPG)
Tournament appearance: first
Robert Morris Colonials
Conference: Northeast
Record: 19-14
Ticket-clincher: Robert Morris 66, St. Francis (Brooklyn) 63
Leading scorer: Rodney Pryor (15.2 PPG)
Tournament appearance: eighth (first since 2010)
Valparaiso Crusaders
Conference: Horizon
Record: 28-5
Ticket-clincher: Valparaiso 54, Green Bay 44
Leading scorer: Alec Peters (17.0 PPG)
Tournament appearance: ninth (first since 2013)
Wofford Terriers
Conference: Southern
Record: 28-6
Ticket-clincher: Wofford 67, Furman 64
Leading scorer: Karl Cochran (14.8 PPG)
Tournament appearance: fourth (first since 2014)
Last week, we may have put a curse on a few teams. Local Gardner-Webb lost to Coastal Carolina in the Big South Semis, and Murray State lost to Belmont in the Ohio Valley Finals.
Lots of basketball commentators and analysts say that Murray State still deserves to get into the Big Dance, but with a strength of schedule below 200, it is going to be hard to make a strong case for them.  The Committee has done some crazy things before, so our fingers are still crossed.
Meanwhile, Kentucky continued its winning ways. Still undefeated.  Honestly, I don’t think there is a team that can beat Kentucky as long as they stay healthy.  Virginia and Duke just lost, which lowers my belief that they can beat Kentucky.  Only a hot, hot, hot team (shoot wise) is going to have a chance.
Speaking of Virgina’s and Duke’s losses.  Who are the #1 seeds? Kentucky is a lock. If Arizona and Wisconsin win their tournaments are they going to be a #1? I still believe Virginia and Duke deserve it over the long run of the season, but I could see Arizona sneaking in over one of the two (as long as they beat Oregon tonight). Villanova will win their conference title today, and they should be the fourth #1.
Bubble Watch:
ACC Final – UNC v. Notre Dame
SEC Semi-Finals:  Kentucky v. Auburn and Georgia v. Arkansas
Big 12 Final:  Kansas v. Iowa State
Big 10 Semis:  Wisconsin v. Purdue and Mich St. v. Maryland all the teams are solidly in except for Purdue, who needs a win against Wisconsin to solidify their position
Pac 12 Final:  Oregon vs. Arizona both teams are in
A10:  VCU v. Davidson (both in) and Rhode Island vs. Dayton (Dayton in)
Selection Sunday is tomorrow.  Next week, at this time, it will be time to start the round of 32. I’m already excited.
Thanks for joining us, this has been the Free Culture Sports Show.

On top of the "coffee" button, you can also donate through Amazon, Flattr, and Patreon.

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" target="paypal"><input name="cmd" type="hidden" value="_xclick" /><input name="business" type="hidden" value="douglasawh@gmail.com" /><input name="return" type="hidden" value="This is a test." /><input name="item_name" type="hidden" value="Buy us a coffee for FCSS: Conference Tournament Roundup" /><input name="currency_code" type="hidden" value="" /><input name="amount" type="hidden" value="" /><input align="left" alt="" hspace="3" src="http://sportazine.com/wp-content/plugins/buy-me-beer/icon_cafe.gif" title="" type="image" /></form><a href="http://redirectingat.com?id=20383X936783&xs=1&url=https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=douglasawh@gmail.com&currency_code=&amount=&return=This+is+a+test.&item_name=Buy+us+a+coffee+for+FCSS:++Conference+Tournament+Roundup&sref=rss" target="paypal">Buy us a drink!

http://sportazine.com/podcasts-2/fcss-conference-tournament-roundup/