Morehead St

By this time next Sunday there will be more than 20 teams guaranteed inclusion in the 2011 NCAA Tournament and the first three tickets were punched on Saturday. UNC Asheville (Big South), Belmont (Atlantic Sun) and Morehead State (Ohio Valley) all won their conference tournament finals while Princeton (Ivy) missed out on a chance to join the fun with their loss at Harvard. Now the Tigers need to beat rival Penn at the Palestra to forge a tie atop the standings, forcing a one-game playoff with Harvard for the Ancient Eight's automatic bid.

With three NCAA Tournament tickets assured of being punched (that number becomes four if Princeton wins at Harvard in a crucial Ivy League tilt), it makes sense to touch on each of those games as opposed to the usual daily preview. The title game in the Atlantic Sun provides a matchup of the prohibitive favorite taking on the underdog, a storyline that usually doesn't come into play for another two weeks.

While you never want to say that a game is a "must-win", make no mistake about the importance of North Carolina getting a win over Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. While Roy Williams' team had wins over UNC Asheville and College of Charleston before losing at Illinois, UNC's play will be measured by its performance in the games against elite competition.

Does Thursday represent Conference USA's "last stand" in regards to possibly avoiding the fate of being a one-bid league? Probably not but an upset by Tulsa at Duke would go a long way in giving the conference at least two bids. The Golden Hurricane can give the Blue Devils some trouble inside due to the presence of an NBA-caliber big man in senior Jerome Jordan.

CollegeHoops.net's Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team is led by one of the few underclassmen on the list, Butler's Gordon Hayward. Hayward is joined on the First Team by teammate Matt Howard. Boston U, Butler, Cornell, Gonzaga are the only teams with multiple players.

 

Austin Peay

Eastern Kentucky

Morehead State

Murray State

Other (EIU, Tennessee-Martin, etc)

Opening Round Game Preview
Winner takes on top seed Louisville Friday

Rob Carpentier's "Seven Day Stretch" is a whirlwind tour around every corner of college basketball nation:

 

 

Morehead State Eagles

Ohio Valley (19-15, 12-6)

 

Player of the Week: Sam Young, Pittsburgh

 

The first week of March is always one of college basketball's best seven-day stretches. There is the end of the regular season in many conferences, including all the major conferences, and plenty of conference tournament action. Furthermore, five bids were handed out for the NCAA Tournament. With a week that jam-packed, there is bound to be an abundance of top-notch performances from around the country. Of course, this week certainly fit that bill.