3.7.15 Championship "Week" Update

Murray State avoided a fate worse than death last night when they escaped their semifinal game against Morehead State with a 3 point win after trailing by double digits late.  The Racers have now won 25 straight, and they could pick up an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament if they beat Belmont today.  Meanwhile, the Big South went completely bananas yesterday, as both #1 seed Charleston Southern and #2 Seed High Point both lost, leaving #3 seed and host Coastal Carolina the best team remaining in the field.

The Ivy League could hand out their automatic bid today.  The Ivy doesn't have a tournament, of course, so their regular season champion will get the nod.  However, it has to be a clean champion and not decided on a tiebreaker.  Yale defeated Harvard last night to take a 1 game lead over the Crimson in the standings.  Obviously, a Yale loss and Harvard win today sends them back to a tie, and if that happens, they will have to have a playoff game at The Palestra next week.  Personally, I'm hoping for the playoff game.

We've got 10 conferences in action today, including the debut of the Summit League.  Here's the full list for the day, and of course, all times are Central.

BIG SOUTH SEMIFINALS (ESPN3)

11am: #5 Winthrop (18-12) vs #9 Longwood (11-22)
1:30pm: #7 Gardner-Webb (20-13) at #3 Coastal Carolina (22-9)

CAA QUARTERFINALS (CAA.tv)

11am: #1 William & Mary (18-11) vs #8 Elon (15-17)
1:30pm: #4 James Madison (19-12) vs #5 Hofstra (19-12)
5pm: #2 UNC Wilmington (17-12) vs #10 College of Charleston (9-23)
7:30pm: #3 Northeastern (20-11) vs #6 Delaware (10-19)

HORIZON LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

6pm: #6 UIC (10-23) vs #2 UW-Green Bay (23-7) (ESPN3)
8:30pm: #4 Cleveland State (18-13) at #1 Valparaiso (26-5) (ESPNU)

IVY LEAGUE

5pm: Brown at Harvard (CBS Sports Network)
6pm: Yale at Dartmouth (Ivy League Digital Network)

MAAC QUARTERFINALS (ESPN3)

11am: #1 Iona (24-7) vs #8 Siena (11-19)
1:30pm: #4 Monmouth (17-14) vs #5 Canisius (16-13)
4:30pm: #2 Rider (21-10) vs #7 St. Peter's (15-17)
7pm: #3 Manhattan (16-13) vs #11 Marist (7-24)

MISSOURI VALLEY SEMIFINALS (ESPN3)

1:30pm: #1 Wichita State (28-3) vs #4 Illinois State (20-11)
4pm: #2 Northern Iowa (28-3) vs #6 Loyola-Chicago (19-12)

NEC SEMIFINALS (NEC Front Row)

11am: #3 Bryant (16-14) at #2 Robert Morris (17-14)
1pm: #5 St. Francis (PA) (16-14) at #1 St. Francis (Brooklyn) (22-10)

OHIO VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN2)

6pm: #1 Murray State (27-4) vs #3 Belmont (21-10)

SOUTHERN QUARTERFINALS (ESPN3)

11am: #1 Wofford (25-6) vs #8 UNC Greensboro (11-21)
1:30pm: #4 Western Carolina (14-16) vs #5 East Tennessee State (16-13)
5pm: #2 Chattanooga (22-9) vs #10 Furman (9-21)
7:30pm: #1 Mercer (17-14) vs #6 VMI (11-18)

SUMMIT LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS (ESPN3)

6pm: #1 South Dakota State (21-9) vs #8 Western Illinois (8-19)
8:30pm: #2 North Dakota State (20-9) vs #7 Denver (12-17)

WEST COAST QUARTERFINALS

2pm: #3 Saint Mary's (21-8) vs #6 Portland (16-14) (TheW.tv)
4:30pm: #4 Pepperdine (17-12) vs #5 San Diego (15-15) (TheW.tv)
8pm: #1 Gonzaga (29-2) vs #8 San Francisco (14-17) (ESPN2)
10:30pm: #2 BYU (23-8) vs #7 Santa Clara (14-17) (ESPN2)