Butler

College Basketball Top 50: Duke New #1 While Butler Soars

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 21:20:07 -0500

Collegehoops.net's Top 50 Power Ranking is your weekly dive into the national college basketball scene. The CHN Top 50 is brought to you before all the other polls late Sunday night. Arrows represent notable moves. (Also: Check out the weekly Non-BCS Top 25 Ranking.)

Top 50 Ranking: December 16th

by Shawn Siegel: Collegehoops.net Editor

	Team	Record	Last
1	Duke	9-0	3
2	Michigan	11-0	2
3	Indiana	9-1*	1
4	Syracuse	9-0	5
5	Florida	7-1	4
6	Louisville	9-1	6
7	Ohio State	8-1	7
8	Arizona	8-0	8
9	Kansas	8-1	9
10	Missouri	8-1	10
11	Cincinnati	10-0	11
12	Illinois	12-0	12
13	New Mexico	11-0	13
14	Minnesota	11-1	14
15	Gonzaga	10-1	15
16	Creighton	10-1	16
17	Michigan State	9-2	17
18	San Diego St	8-1	18
19	Butler	8-2	42
20	North Carolina	8-2	19
21	UNLV	8-1	20
22	Oklahoma St	8-1	21
23	Notre Dame	9-1	23
24	Pittsburgh	10-1	24
25	Georgetown	9-1	25
26	NC State	7-2	26
27	Kentucky	7-3	27
28	Baylor	6-3	28
29	Wichita St	9-1*	22
30	Murray St	8-1	29
31	Oregon	9-1	31
32	Colorado	8-2	33
33	UCONN	7-2	34
34	Kansas St	7-2*	30
35	Wyoming	10-0	35
36	Bucknell	9-1	36
37	Temple	7-1	37
38	Maryland	9-1	39
39	VCU	7-3	41
40	Memphis	6-3*	32
41	Xavier	7-2	43
42	Marquette	7-2	44
43	Miami	6-1	45
44	Wisconsin	7-4	49
45	Ole Miss	7-1	NA(+5)
46	Colorado St	6-2	50
47	St. Mary's	7-2	NA(+5)
48	Alabama	6-3*	38
49	Virginia	8-2	NA
50	Belmont	7-3*	47

* = losses this week

last = last week's ranking

Next Five: Boise St (7-2), Iowa (9-2), Virginia Tech (8-2*), UIC (9-1), Texas A&M (7-2)

Top 50 Drop Outs

			Week
	Virginia Tech		5
	St. Joseph's		5
	Ohio		5
	California		4
	Boise St		4
	Santa Clara		3
	Tennessee		3
	Northwestern		3
	UCLA		3
	Florida State		3
	Saint Louis		3
	St. Mary's		2
	Texas		2
	Northern Iowa		2
	Iowa St		2
	South Alabama		2

week = week dropped out of Top 50

During the season, don't forget to check out the CHN Top 50 Power Ranking every Sunday night!

For more depth, check out the weekly the Non-BCS Top 25 ranking.

You can also revisit the Top 50 archive and view this week's AP Top 25.

College Basketball Top 50: Butler & Miami Enter

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 21:39:13 -0500

Top 50 Ranking: December 9th

by Shawn Siegel: Collegehoops.net Editor

	Team	Record	Last
1	Indiana	9-0	1
2	Michigan	9-0	2
3	Duke	9-0	3
4	Florida	7-0	4
5	Syracuse	8-0	5
6	Louisville	8-1	6
7	Ohio State	6-1	7
8	Arizona	7-0	9
9	Kansas	7-1	10
10	Missouri	8-1	11
11	Cincinnati	9-0	12
12	Illinois	10-0	15
13	New Mexico	10-0	14
14	Minnesota	10-1	16
15	Gonzaga	9-1*	8
16	Creighton	9-1	13
17	Michigan State	8-2	17
18	San Diego St	7-1	18
19	North Carolina	7-2	19
20	UNLV	7-1	21
21	Oklahoma St	7-1	22
22	Wichita St	9-0	23
23	Notre Dame	8-1	24
24	Pittsburgh	9-1	26
25	Georgetown	7-1	30
26	NC State	6-2	29
27	Kentucky	6-3	28
28	Baylor	5-3*	27
29	Murray St	7-1	31
30	Kansas St	7-1	32
31	Oregon	8-1	34
32	Memphis	6-2	36
33	Colorado	7-2*	20
34	UCONN	7-2*	25
35	Wyoming	10-0	39
36	Bucknell	8-1	41
37	Temple	6-1*	37
38	Alabama	6-2*	33
39	Maryland	8-1	47
40	St. Joseph's	5-2	43
41	VCU	6-3	44
42	Butler	7-2	NA(+5)
43	Xavier	7-2*	40
44	Marquette	6-2	49
45	Miami	5-1	NA(+5)
46	Virginia Tech	7-1*	46
47	Belmont	6-2	50
48	Ohio	7-2*	38
49	Wisconsin	6-4*	42
50	Colorado St	6-2**	35

* = losses this week

last = last week's ranking

Next Five: Arizona St (8-1), Saint Mary's (6-2), Ole Miss (6-1*), Boise St (6-2*), California (6-2*)

Top 50 Drop Outs

			Week
	California		4
	Boise St		4
	Santa Clara		3
	Tennessee		3
	Northwestern		3
	UCLA		3
	Florida State		3
	Saint Louis		3
	St. Mary's		2
	Texas		2
	Northern Iowa		2
	Iowa St		2
	South Alabama		2

week = week dropped out of Top 50

During the season, don't forget to check out the CHN Top 50 Power Ranking every Sunday night!

For more depth, check out the weekly the Non-BCS Top 25 ranking.

You can also revisit the Top 50 archive and view this week's AP Top 25.

Early 2012-13 Ranking: Teams 46 to 60

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:05:09 -0400

Continuing with the Early 2012-13 Ranking, here are teams 46 to 60.

Its worth repeating that I had to make many assumptions about the NBA Draft in compiling the following list, and I've noted which assumptions I've made. This ranking will be updated later in the summer once players have made their official draft decisions. Also uncertain is where some remaining unsigned recruits will end up, and how the coaching carousel will take form. I purposely made no assumptions about where unsigned prospects will end up. (All prospect rankings are according to the Rivals 150 ranking.)

Early 2012-13 Ranking: Teams 45-60

46 Miami Another year under Jim Larranaga should find the Hurricanes on the inside of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Malcolm Grant departs but he did not have a terribly good season anyways.

47 Butler After a down year, Butler should once again be the class of the Horizon League. Transfer Rotnei Clarke gives them a scoring-punch that was severely lacking this year. Three solid guards enter as freshmen, who should help with depth.

48 Colorado Carlon Brown and Austin Dufault are not small loses, but the hope is that Andre Roberson blossoms into a Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate. The Buffs recruiting haul is easily their best of the last decade.

49 BYU The Cougars lose veterans Hartsock and Abouo but should still settle into their usual bubble-bound slot. Another year of improvement from Matt Carlino should help.

50 Pittsburgh Coming off of a disastrous season, Pittsburgh has no where to go but up. Although Gibbs and Robinson depart, the Panthers welcome 4th ranked recruit Steven Adams, one of their best-ever recruits. A healthy Tray Woodall would certainly help as well.

51 UCF After being a fringe-bubble team that last two years, UCF will once again be hoping to make the tourney. Although PG AJ Rompza graduates, the team returns solid All-CUSA caliber players in Keith Clanton, Marcus Jordan, and Isaiah Sykes.

52 Temple The Owls should take a step back with key senior losses, including leader Ramone Moore, but expect them to still be competitive in the A10. Khalif Wyatt could score 20 ppg now that the team is fully in his hands. The recruiting haul might be Temple's best since 2007.

53 Xavier Besides leader Tu Holloway, they also loses Kenny Frease and Andre Walker. Role players like Travis Taylor and Jeff Robinson will really need to step it up if Xavier wants to makes its 8th tourney in a row. 4-star recruit Semaj Christon is capable of contributing at PG from day one.

54 UCONN Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond will presumably go pro, and the roster looks pretty thin without them. Last year's shock tourney run covers up what has been 3 years in a row of .500 or worse basketball in Big East play. Add in the potential sanctions and Calhoun's health, and you have yourself a lot of questions.

55 Belmont Seniors Drew Hanlen, Mick Hedgepeth, and Scott Saunders depart, but Kerron Johnson and Ian Clark are still two of the A-Sun's top players. Incoming PG Craig Bradshaw is one of Belmont's better pickups and should fit right into the program.

56 South Florida Three seniors that played over 25 minutes per game depart, but South Florida shouldn't expect too much of a drop-off. USF's 4-person recruiting class is solid for their standards, but still mediocre as far as the Big East goes.

57 Mississippi St With Dee Bost a senior and Arnett Moultrie presumably going pro, Mississippi St loses its leading scorer, passer, rebounder, and defender. Although an underrated 5-person recruiting class was set to come in, Rick Stanbury's retirement does open some questions.

58 West Virginia For a team that often struggled to score the ball, it will be interesting to see how they'll manage without Kevin Jones and Darryl Bryant. Those two scored almost 50% of the Mountaineers points. Aaric Murray and Juwan Staten are solid transfers who will help.

59 Southern Miss USM was never as good as their gaudy RPI suggested.. Graduations will put a major dent into their major strength, which was depth, but their top two scorers do return.

60 Iowa St The key for Iowa St is whether Royce White decides to go pro. I'm assuming here that he does, which would mean the Cyclones lose their 3 leading scorers. A pair of solid transfers enter the mix, as well as their best recruiting class in a few years.

Also Under Consideration (alphabetical order)

Akron

California

Harvard

Illinois St

Minnesota

Nevada

Ole Miss

Oregon

Providence

Vanderbilt

Virginia

<< Return to 2012-13 Ranking: Teams 1 to 45

Four Factors to NCAA Tournament Success

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:52:12 -0400

As every basketball junkie knows, KenPom.com is a treasure trove of college basketball information. I pored through the data to find four key factors that propelled recent Final Four teams to success, and teams that excel at those factors this year:

Interior Defense

Lst year's winner, UCONN, was very strong on defense, particularly in the paint. UCONN was 7th in the country in opponents 2-point fg%. This year, the following teams excel at interior defense:

#1 Kentucky

#2 Kansas

#3 UCONN

#4 Louisville

#5 Wisconsin

#8 Memphis

#12 Florida St

#13 Michigan St

These 8 teams are extremely hard to score against on the inside. With Anthony Davis and Thomas Robinson manning the paint, Kentucky and Kansas in particular will be tough to score against. Teams that play good interior defense have what it takes to go all the way, as they'll only lose when opponents have fluke success on the outside.

Non-Conference Strength of Schedule

Last year's runner up Butler played an extremely tough schedule, the 7th hardest in the country. Overall records can be skewed by soft schedules and an inordinate amount of home games. The following teams are well prepped after playing brutal schedules:

#2 Mississippi Valley St

#3 Long Beach St

#14 Duke

#18 UNC Asheville

#20 Temple

#25 Memphis

Long Beach St, a 12 seed, played an extremely challenging schedule and came close to knocking off top 10 teams. They know what its like to play on the road and could be a team to watch.

Offensive Rebounding

In 2010, Duke went on to win it all thanks to an extremely efficient offense, #1 in the country. Duke wasn't even an amazing shooting team that year, but they were efficient because they limited turnovers and attacked the offensive glass. Here are some teams that will consistently get extra points off the boards this year:

#4 New Mexico St

#7 West Virginia

#8 Kansas St

#9 North Carolina

#14 Loyola (MD)

#16 Texas

#18 Kentucky

Led by Wendell McKines, New Mexico St is tough in the paint, which makes them dangerous against 4-seed Indiana. The only two teams on this list that combine offensive rebounding prowess with an ability to take care of the ball are North Carolina and Kentucky. They have to be considered serious National Champion contenders.

Defensive Pressure

VCU made a surprise run to the Final Four last year as an 11 seed. They were not particularly amazing at offense, but they did play great defense that forced a ton of turnovers. Here are teams that force the highest % of steals:

#1 VCU

#3 Syracuse

#4 Ohio

#6 Louisville

#14 Cincinnati

#15 Marquette

#16 Mississippi Valley St

#18 Missouri

VCU is even better at forcing steals this year than they were last year. Ohio is another low seed (a 13) that plays pressure defense. They could cause all kinds of trouble for opponent Michigan. You'll notice a lot of Big East teams on this list, perhaps why many of the league's games were low scoring this year.

North Carolina Wins ACC Title: Saturday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 09:09:51 -0500

Three teams (Belmont, Murray State and UNC Asheville) punched their tickets to the NCAA tournament on Saturday.

1. North Carolina jumps out to a big lead at Cameron, spoling Duke's Senior Day and winning the ACC regular season title.
Pouring salt in the wound of another isn't ever a good idea, and apparently the showing of a montage of big plays late in Duke's comeback win in Chapel Hill fired up UNC point guard Kendall Marshall. Marshall, and by extension his teammates, felt disrespected and as a result the Tar Heels had a little extra motivation to go along with the desire to beat their rival and win the ACC regular season crown. UNC jumped out to a 22-5 lead, withstood a Blue Devil rally in the second half and went on to win 88-70. Marshall led the way with 20 points and ten assists, knocking down seven of his fifteen shots from the field to make a defense that allowed him to shoot pay. In fact, Marshall was one of three starters to post a double-double, as Tyler Zeller (19 points, ten rebounds) and John Henson (13 points, ten rebounds) also had good nights.

All five starters finished in double figures for the Tar Heels, who also bludgeoned Duke on the glass 45-28 with 14 offensive rebounds. Mason (17 points, four rebounds) and Miles (16 points, 11 rebounds) Plumlee led the Blue Devils but the slow start landed them in a hole too deep to crawl out of. North Carolina did a better job of defending the three, and part of the battle was to make sure the Blue Devils didn't get the chance to attempt 36 as they did in Chapel Hill. Duke finished 6-for-21 from beyond the arc, and when combined with their 47.6% shooting inside of the arc that wasn't enough to withstand UNC shooting 60.3% from two and 54.5% overall. With both teams still in the fight for a one-seed in the NCAA tournament splitting the regular season series was key for North Carolina. One would think that an ACC tournament crown would be the "tiebreaker".

2. BYU gets outclassed by Gonzaga and now has to sweat out a week of action.
For the sake of the Cougars it may be a good thing if the selection committee got in some rest before they begin their week-long process of filling the 68-team field, because they did not look good in their WCC semifinal matchup with Gonzaga. The Bulldogs showed no ill effects of playing their first game of the tournament, coming out firing and jumping to a 12-4 lead by the first media timeout and leading by as many as 18 in the first half. BYU was able to close the margin to 12 at the half (38-26), but they were no match for Kevin Pangos and the Bulldogs in the second half as Gonzaga rolled to the 77-58 win. Pangos scored 30 points and dished out four assists, advancing the Bulldogs to the title game where they will play nemesis Saint Mary's, and the Zags limited BYU to 37.7% shooting on the night.

The question for BYU is how much damage does this defeat do to their NCAA tournament hopes. According to realtimerpi.com the Cougars entered Saturday with an RPI of 47, but their strength of schedule number (108) has to be a bit of a concern at this point. BYU does have three RPI Top 50 wins at this point, as they've beaten Oregon and Weber State in addition to Gonzaga, but two of those wins came at home and the Oregon win came in Salt Lake City. Saturday night notwithstanding BYU has the look of a tournament team, with Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock inside leading the way. But does the resume match up? That's a question that many will ponder over the next week.

3. Illinois State upsets Wichita State in the Missouri Valley semis, setting up a date with Creighton.
It was the situation that many bubble teams fear annually: a team not expected to go to the NCAA tournament makes a run in their conference tournament to possibly take an available bid off the board. Illinois State is 40 minutes away from doing just that as they beat top-seed Wichita State 65-64 in St. Louis. Tyler Brown led the way with 25 points and six rebounds, and his two free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining gave the Redbirds a 65-64 lead they would not relinquish. Garrett Stutz had a good look at the basket just before time expired but his shot fell short, eliminating the possibility of a third meeting between the Shockers and Creighton. But neither that nor the fate of bubble teams is (or should be) of concern to Illinois State, and Tim Jankovich also has Jackie Carmichael to call on inside. If the Redbirds get better on the boards (Wichita State grabbed 17 offensive rebounds) they'll have every chance of beating the Bluejays and winning the MVC tournament title.

4. Chalk rules in the CAA semis, setting up a massive battle between George Mason and VCU.
Many have joined the "two bids for the CAA" campaig, citing the gaudy records of Drexel, VCU and George Mason as one reason why. All three needed to reach the semis to make that goal a possibility, and along with four-seed Old Dominion they all took care of business on Saturday. George Mason needed a Bryon Allen reverse in the final seconds to beat Georgia State 54-52 while Drexel and VCU would both pull away in their wins over UNCW and Northeastern. That sets up a critical battle between VCU and George Mason on Sunday afternoon, with the winner likely having the best case for an at-large bid, and Drexel takes on ODU in what should be a slugfest. Getting two bids may be tough given strength of schedule numbers but with numerous bubble teams stumbling down the stretch the door remains open, and that's the least the CAA can ask for at this point.

5. Seton Hall wraps up an 0-2 finish against teams they were expected to beat, casting doubt on their NCAA tournament hopes.
One of those stumbling bubble teams is Seton Hall, and all the Pirates had to do was beat Rutgers and DePaul in their last two games heading into the Big East Championship. Last Saturday they fell to Rutgers at home in overtime, and things got even worse a week later as the Pirates were blown out by the Blue Demons 86-58. Kevin Willard's team just never seemed ready to go, trailing by 13 at the half and things would only get worse from there. Jamee Crockett led four DePaul players in double figures with 21 points and as a team the Blue Demons put on a clinic offensively, assisting on 23 of their 29 made baskets and shooting 53.7% from the field. Now Seton Hall has to get things going in New York, beginning with a first round matchup with a Providence team capable of beating just about anyone (they beat Louisville by 33 earlier this season) despite their lack of depth. Seton Hall has the opportunity to leave a better impression, but after Saturday's debacle there may be doubt as to whether or not the Pirates can take advantage.

Quick Hitters

1. Two teams to watch in next week's Pac-12 tournament are Oregon and UCLA as both enter the event playing well. The Ducks embarrassed Utah 92-46 in their regular season finale, jumping out to a 32-2 lead and never looking back. As for UCLA, they came back to beat Washington 75-69 to cap a 2-0 week that was kickstarted by a negative story in Sports Illustrated. Given the wide-open nature of the league it wouldn't be a shock if either of these teams put together a run. Oh, that loss didn't help the Huskies one bit from a bubble standpoint.

2. Butler won't have the opportunity to make another trip to the NCAA tournament this season, as they fell 65-46 at top-seed Valparaiso in the Horizon League semifinals. Horizon League Player of the Year Ryan Broekhoff led the Crusaders with 19 points and 16 rebounds as VU jumped out early and never looked back. This ends an impressive run for Brad Stevens' program, but the combination of a strong recruiting class and Arkansas transfer Rotnei Clark will give the Bulldogs a nice boost next season.

3. Higher-seeded teams advanced in three of the four quarterfinals in the Metro Atlantic with the lone exception being six-seed Siena, who beat three-seed Manhattan 84-82 in an overtime thriller. Owen Wignot's three with eight seconds remaining sent the game into overtime, and the Saints navigated a five minutes that would have wilted most teams that lack depth as they do. Mitch Buonaguro's team takes on Loyola (MD) in one semi while Fairfield and Iona meet on the other side of the bracket.

4. Memphis went on the road and beat Tulsa 78-66 to clinch the outright Conference USA title, and don't be surprised if Josh Pastner's team ends up in the Sweet 16 either. Will Barton scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the way but a key factor in their recent success has been the play of Chris Crawford. His steadying influence (seven assists, zero turnovers on Saturday) has allowed Joe Jackson to simply go out and make plays, and while the turnovers for Jackson are still an issue (six against Tulsa) the emergence of Crawford has helped buffer the impact.

5. In a matchup of two teams perceived to be on the bubble, West Virginia beat USF 50-44 in Tampa to pick up a much-needed road victory. Neither team shot well (WVU shot 28.8%, USF 39.5%) but the Mountaineers were able to grab 12 offensive boards and Kevin Jones posted another double-double with 18 points and 11 boards. USF's the six-seed in the Big East Championship next week, and they're going to have some work to do at MSG.

6. Speaking of the Big East, Jim Calhoun made his return to the sidelines and provided a spark to his team as UConn beat Pittsburgh 74-65. Roscoe Smith made some huge plays late to help the Huskies hold off the Panthers and Shabazz Napier finished with 23 points, six rebounds and four steals. UConn begins their Big East Championship with a game against DePaul, but unlike last year's team there's no Kemba walking through that door. But at least they have their coach back.

7. Iowa State scored 50 second half points, erasing a seven-point halftime deficit to beat Baylor 80-72 and grab the three-seed in next week's Big 12 tournament. Scott Christopherson led the Cyclones with 23 points and six assists, and while Bill Self will most likely win Big 12 Coach of the Year (and rightfully so) an argument can be made for Fred Hoiberg as well.

8. The top two seeds in the Patriot League will meet on Wednesday night as both Bucknell and Lehigh won their semifinal matchups by wide margins. C.J. McCollum put up 27, ten and six assists in Lehigh's 85-66 win over American, and Bucknell beat Lafayette 79-52 thanks in part to 18 points apiece from Mike Muscala and Joe Willman. The two teams split their two regular season meetings with the road team winning both, and it was a McCollum dagger in the final seconds that made the difference in Lewisburg.

9. The North Division of the Southern Conference didn't have the best-looking records at the end of the regular season but three teams from that division make up the final four in that tournament. The lone exception is overall champion Davidson, who beat Furman 73-54. UNCG and Western Carolina meet in one semi while the Wildcats will take on Elon, who beat Georgia Southern in the nightcap 65-58.

10. Jamaal Franklin was outstanding for San Diego State on Saturday, accounting for 35 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the Aztecs handed TCU their first home conference loss this season in overtime (98-92). The win, combined with New Mexico's 78-61 win over Boise State, means a shared conference title and it's anyone guess who will grab the automatic bid. One would think that the Mountain West is in line to receive four bids come Selection Sunday.

11. Harvard wrapped up a share of the Ivy League title as they beat Cornell 67-63. Penn remained tied in the loss column with their 68-47 win over Yale, and all that stands between the Quakers and a one-game playoff is bitter rival Princeton. That won't be a walk in the park for Zack Rosen and company to say the least.

12. One of the biggest questions going into the SEC tournament is whether or not Tennessee can make a run at an at-large bid. To think that this would have been a topic for discussion back in December would have been borderline absurd, but Cuonzo Martin's team is a different one since the addition of Jarnell Stokes. The Vols beat Vanderbilt 68-61, led by Cameron Tautm's 18 points and Trae Golden's 17, five rebounds and four assists.

13. Northwestern avoided what would have been a damaging blow to their NCAA tournament hopes as they beat Iowa 70-66 in Iowa City. The Wildcats did what they needed to do (at minimum) in their final three games, which was beat Penn State and Iowa (their loss was to Ohio State at home), and that keeps them alive heading into the Big Ten tournament.

14. There's just one undefeated (in conference play) team remaining in college basketball as Long Beach State, Ut-Arlington and Utah Valley all dropped their first conference games on Saturday. This comes just days after Mississippi Valley State lost their SWAC finale, leaving Kentucky as the lone undefeated. The Wildcats take on Florida Sunday afternoon in Gainesville.

15. Dominique Morrison shot just 2-for-11 from the field but thanks to Michael Craion and company Oral Roberts was able to withstand an IPFW challenge, winning 71-67 in a Summit League quarterfinal. Craion scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Warren Niles scored a team-high 17 as the Golden Eagles escaped.

Semifinals Predictions: Horion, MVC, Patriot, WCC

Greg Mengelt — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:15:43 -0500

Our g ame prediction guru Greg Mengelt has been on fire this year. He'll be picking every conference tournament game over the next 2 weeks. Read more about Championship Week at CollegeHoops.net.

HORIZON LEAGUE SEMIFINALS: AT VALPARAISO, IND.

(2) Cleveland State (22-9, 12-6) vs. (3) Detroit (20-13, 11-7)

Tipoff: 6 p.m. TV: ESPN3. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 3 – Cleveland State 66-61*; Feb. 23 – Cleveland State 77-64. RPI: Cleveland State 82, Detroit 157. Analysis: With D’Aundray Brown expected to make his return tonight, stay away from this one. He may light up the Titans and he may cause a rift in chemistry – as newly returning players often do for a game or two. Line: Cleveland State -1. Pick: Cleveland State 64, Detroit 62.

(1) Valparaiso (21-10, 14-4) vs. (5) Butler (20-13, 11-7)

Tipoff: 8:30 p.m. TV: ESPNU. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 3 – Valparaiso 77-71 (OT)*; Feb. 24 – Valparaiso 71-59. RPI: Valparaiso 95, 112. Analysis: Oh-oh! Butler’s getting hot again at the right time. The Bulldogs haven’t lost a game in March since 2009. Still, tough to take them in Valpo. Line: Even. Pick: Valparaiso 60, Butler 52.

MISSOURI VALLEY SEMIFINALS: AT ST. LOUIS

(1) Wichita State (27-4, 16-2) vs. (4) Illinois State (19-12, 9-9)

Tipoff: 2:30 p.m. TV: Fox Sports Midwest/MVC TV. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 10 – Wichita State 65-62; Feb. 22 – Wichita State 68-55*. RPI: Wichita State 12, Illinois State 124. Analysis: Illinois State wins with toughness, rebounding and defense. Guess what. The Shockers are tough, they rebound and play defense – and much, much more. Line: Wichita State -12. Pick: Wichita State 68, Illinois State 52.

(2) Creighton (26-5, 14-4) vs. (3) Evansville (16-14, 9-9)

Tipoff: 5 p.m. TV: Fox Sports Midwest/MVC TV. Regular-season meetings: Feb. 7 – Evansville 65-57; Feb. 21 – Creighton 93-92 (OT). RPI: Creighton 25, Evansville 135. Analysis: Creighton will use a little better shot selection than Missouri State did against the Aces and pull away in the second half. Line: Creighton -6. Pick: Creighton 80, Evansville 71.

PATRIOT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS: AT CAMPUS SITES

(3) American (20-10, 10-4) at (2) Lehigh (24-7, 11-3)

Tipoff: 2 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 11 – Lehigh 71-60; Feb. 9 – American 71-62. RPI: Lehigh 117, American 150. Analysis: It is games like this in which Hawk star C.J. McCollum takes over, but the line seems way too high. Line: Lehigh -9½. Pick: Lehigh 64, American 58.

(5) Lafayette (13-17, 7-7) at (1) Bucknell (23-8, 12-2)

Tipoff: 4:30 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 14 – Bucknell 79-65*; Feb. 11 – Bucknell 90-78. RPI: Bucknell 92, Lafayette 199. Analysis: Bucknell’s Mike Muscala has scored 51 points against the Leopards in two outings. He’ll do it again on Saturday. Line: Bucknell -11½. Pick: Bucknell 83, Lafayette 65.

WCC SEMIFINALS: AT LAS VEGAS

(1) Saint Mary’s (25-5, 14-2) vs. (5) San Francisco (20-12, 8-8)

Tipoff: 9 p.m. TV: ESPNU. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 9 – Saint Mary’s 87-72; Feb. 25 – Saint Mary’s 67-60*. RPI: Saint Mary’s 37, San Francisco 142. Analysis: The Dons are playing well, including a 7-point loss at Saint Mary’s just a week ago. And the Gaels are still a little banged up, so USF should keep it close. Line: Saint Mary’s -7½. Pick: Saint Mary’s 71, San Francisco 66.

(2) Gonzaga (24-5, 13-3) vs. (3) BYU (24-7, 12-4)

Tipoff: 11 p.m. TV: ESPNU. Regular-season meetings: Feb. 2 – BYU 83-78; Feb. 23 – Gonzaga 74-63. RPI: Gonzaga 24, BYU 52. Analysis: Interesting matchup featuring strong front lines and good shooters, but the Bulldogs have the better overall talent. Line: Gonzaga -1½. Pick: Gonzaga 69, BYU 62.

Greg Against the Spread This Season: 100-69-2

BYU Avoids a Crippling Defeat: Friday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 08:29:49 -0500

1. BYU survived a pesky San Diego squad to advance to the WCC semifinals.
A win over San Diego wasn't going to do a whole lot for BYU from a resume standpoint. Sure the Cougars would pick up a 25th win on the season, but a loss would have had a much larger impact on their NCAA tournament hopes than a win. That's what made the return of Noah Hartsock so important, given how much the Cougars struggled with the pesky Toreros.

Hartsock, who played just seven minutes at Gonzaga and sat out the Portland game with a knee injury, returned to give BYU 19 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes of action as the Cougars beat San Diego 73-68 in a WCC quarterfinal. The win moves BYU to 25-7 and sets up a third meeting with Gonzaga, but most importantly the Cougars avoid a damaging loss and likely avoid any of the selection committee hijinks that could have sprung up with a loss.

"I knew my knee wouldn't be 100 percent, but the trainers did a great job of helping me rehab and get stronger," said Hartsock. "I was able to come out tonight and really produce. It started to feel, as the game went on, that the adrenaline and blood started pumping."

San Diego's small, quick guards gave the Cougars fits for much of the night, especially point guard Matt Carlino. Carlino, who knocked down two important three-pointers in the second half, had his hands full with Christopher Anderson all night long. Carlino finished with eight points and seven assist but he also turned the ball over nine times. Anderson finished with 14 points and six assists while Dennis Kramer led the Toreros with 17 points and nine rebounds, but unfortunately for them Johnny Dee made just three of his eleven shots after scoring 30 on Thursday night.

BYU gets another shot at Gonzaga, who beat the Cougars by eleven last Thursday, and having a relatively healthy Hartsock is a dimension they were missing in Spokane. The senior went off for 24 points and 14 rebounds in BYU's 83-73 win over Gonzaga in Provo, and there's no doubt that his presence alongside Brandon Davies (16 points, five rebounds against USD) is a key factor in BYU's success. BYU isn't a "bubble" team but a loss to the Toreros could have added some doubt to the situation. Thanks to Hartsock that won't be an issue.

2. The top two seeds advance in the OVC while FGCU upsets host Mercer in the A-Sun semis.
The semifinals of the OVC tournament went according to form on Friday night as the top two seeds, Murray State and Tennessee State, advanced to Saturday's title game. Kevin Murphy scored 31 points to lead Tennessee Tech but with Jud Dillard (3-9 FG, eight points) struggling offensively the Golden Eagles were unable to keep up with the Racers, who went on to win

78-58. Donte Poole scored 25 points and grabbed seven boards and Isaiah Canaan added 18 to set up a rubber match with Tennessee State, who beat Morehead State 59-52. Robert Covington scored 14 points for the Tigers, who also received 13 points apiece from Patrick Miller and reserve Jordan Cyphers. The road team won both regular season meetings between the Racers and Tigers, which should make for an interesting tiebreaker in Nashville.

As for the Atlantic Sun semifinals, for the second straight season a team in its first year of eligibility for an NCAA bid advanced to the title game. Sherwood Brown scored 14 points and Christophe Varidel added 13 off the bench to help lead Florida Gulf Coast past two-seed (and host) Mercer 62-58 in the second semifinal of the night. Jakob Gollon scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Langston Hall added 16 to lead the Bears but they went cold at the wrong time, failing to score a field goal over the final 6:18 of the game.

The opponent for the Eagles in Saturday's title game will be top-seed Belmont, who blew out upstart North Florida in last season's title game. The Bruins beat ETSU 69-61 thanks in part to 19 points, four rebounds and four assists from Ian Clark, who made five of their twelve three-pointers. The 24-point disparity in points from beyond the arc made up for Belmont's poor free throw shooting, as they finished the night 13-for-25 from the charity stripe.

3. Butler dominates the second half to advance to the Horizon League semifinals.
Regardless of what happens in the regular season games that lead into March, Brad Stevens' Bulldogs have been a very tough team to beat in the month of March. Khyle Marshall and Roosevelt Jones scored 17 points apiece (Marshall also grabbed ten rebounds) to help lead Butler past Milwaukee 71-49 to set up a semifinal meeting with top-seed Valparaiso on Saturday.

Beginning with a Marshall dunk with 48 seconds remaining in the first half Butler went on an 11-0 run to push their lead out to 31-18, and another Marshall bucket (with 7:15 remaining) started a 25-5 run that put the Panthers away. Butler was efficient offensively as they shot 50% from the field but they were even better on the other end of the floor. Milwaukee shot just 31% from the field, which included a cold 6-for-23 night from three, and Butler out-rebounded the Panthers 42-23.

Also advancing to the semifinals was Detroit, who shot 60% from the field and had five players score 11 points or more in their 93-76 win over Youngstown State. Ray McCallum Jr. scored 22 points to lead the Titans, who will take on two-seed Cleveland State in the other semifinal on Saturday. Youngstown State did manage to shoot 55% from the field but there were just 6-for-20 from three, and for a team that relies so much on the shot that didn't bode well for the Penguins.

Quick Hitters

1. The higher seeded teams held serve for the second straight day at Arch Madness, which featured Wichita State's dominant performance against Indiana State. The Sycamores weren't helped by the fact that point guard Jake Odum was dealing with plantar fasciitis and a stress fracture in his foot, but to be honest that didn't have much of an impact in the Shockers' 72-48 win. Toure' Murry and Joe Ragland led a balanced attack with 14 points apiece, and the Shockers will take on four-seed Illinois State on Saturday.

2. In the night session Creighton made the plays they needed to make late in order to survive Drake, beating the Bulldogs 68-61. Doug McDermott, who won the Larry Bird Trophy as MVC Player of the Year, scored 26 points and grabbed ten rebounds to lead the Bluejays, who also received valuable contributions from Antoine Young (16 points) and Gregory Echenique (ten points, five rebounds). Next up for Creighton is three-seed Evansville, who received 20 points and eight rebounds from Kenneth Harris to go along with 19 from Colt Ryan.

3. BYU may have avoided a loss to a lower seeded team in Las Vegas but the same can't be said for Loyola Marymount, who dropped a 67-60 decision to San Francisco. The game changed for LMU when point guard Anthony Ireland injured his groin on a collision with the basket support in the second half, but to be fair the Lions were having trouble guarding the Dons for much of the night. Michael Williams scored 19 points and Cody Doolin 16 to lead San Francisco, who gets another shot at regular season champ Saint Mary's in Saturday's semifinals.

4. It was a good day for the five seeds in the Southern Conference tournament as both Appalachian State and Furman advanced to the quarterfinals. The Mountaineers shot 53% from both the field and from three in their 93-81 win over College of Charleston, with Mike Neal leading five starters in double figures with 21 points. As for the Paladins, Bobby Austin and Charlie Reddick scored 15 points apiece to lead them to a 75-66 win over Samford.

5. Three of the four games at the CAA tournament in Richmond went according to form, with the lone exception being UNC Wilmington's 70-59 win over James Madison in the 8/9 game. The Seahawks, who were led by Cedrick Williams' 22 points and eight rebounds, shot just 39.6% from the field but unlike the Dukes (13-23 FT) Buzz Peterson's team took advantage of the foul line (26-32).

6. #19 Notre Dame attempted just ten three-pointers in their 75-69 win over Providence to lock up a double-bye in next week's Big East Championship, and Jack Cooley's play was a big reason why. Cooley scored 27 points and grabbed 17 boards for the Irish, who attempted fifteen more free throws (26-11) than the Friars while also having five players reach double figures.

7. Kyle Casey scored 19 points to lead Harvard past Columbia 77-70 in overtime on Friday night, keeping the Crimson a half-game ahead of Penn in the Ivy League race. Harvard closes their regular season with a game at Cornell on Saturday night while the Quakers, who beat Brown 54-43 on Friday, closes out with games against Yale and rival Princeton. Should the two teams finish tied atop the standings there will be a one-game playoff.

8. One day after their season ended with a loss to Indiana State in the first round of the MVC tournament Southern Illinois decided to fire head coach Chris Lowery. Lowery, who led the Salukis to three NCAA appearances in his eight seasons in Carbondale, struggled the last couple of years culminating in an 8-23 mark this season. Some have already suggested that SIU may be interested in talking to Bruce Weber, who was the head coach at SIU before moving on to Illinois.

9. No surprises in the first round of the MAAC tournament on Friday night as Marist and Niagara advanced to the quarterfinals with two of the conference's best freshmen playing well. Chavaughn Lewis led the Red Foxes to a 64-57 win over Saint Peter's with 17 points and seven rebounds, and MAAC Rookie of the Year Juan'ya Green scored a team-high 20 in the Purple Eagles' 80-70 win over rival Canisius.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Jack Cooley (Notre Dame)
27 points and 17 rebounds in the Fighting Irish's 75-69 win over Providence.

2. G Eric Ferguson (Georgia Southern)
26 points, eight rebounds and three steals in the Eagles' 76-70 win over Chattanooga.

3. G Donte Poole (Murray State)
25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the Racers' 78-58 win over Tennessee Tech.

Friday Tournament Predictions: Horizon, OVC, MVC, WCC

Greg Mengelt — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:54:50 -0500

Our g ame prediction guru Greg Mengelt has been on fire this year. He'll be picking every conference tournament game over the next 2 weeks. Read more about Championship Week at CollegeHoops.net.

ATLANTIC SUN SEMIFINALS: AT MACON, GA.

Belmont (25-7, 16-2) vs. East Tennessee State (17-13, 10-8)

Tipoff: 6 p.m. TV: Comcast Sports. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 23 – Belmont 82-70; Feb. 18 – Belmont 80-58. RPI: Belmont 63, East Tennessee State 180. Analysis: Belmont beat the Buccaneers by a combined 34 points in two meetings this year. Can’t find a reason why the Bruins won’t blow them out again. Line: Belmont -12. Pick: Belmont 88, East Tennessee State 66.

Mercer (22-10, 13-5) vs. Florida Gulf Coast (14-16, 8-10)

Tipoff: Approx. 8:30 p.m. TV: Comcast Sports. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 2 – Mercer 76-54; Feb. 20 – Mercer 75-66. RPI: Mercer 126, Florida Gulf Coast 238. Analysis: Mercer looked better in its win over Lipscomb, but the Bears probably aren’t playing well enough yet to take them against the spread. Line: Mercer -9.5. Pick: Mercer 71, Florida Gulf Coast 67.

HORIZON LEAGUE QUARETRFINALS: AT VALPARAISO, IND.

(3) Detroit (19-13, 11-7) vs. (6) Youngstown State (16-14, 10-8)

Tipoff: 6 p.m. TV: Horizon League Network/ESPN3. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 1 – Youngstown 64-61*; Feb. 25 – Detroit 76-74*. RPI: Detroit 158, Youngstown State 166. Analysis: Detroit’s underachieving roller coaster season comes to an end. Line: Detroit -6. Pick: Youngstown State 68, Detroit 65.

(4) Milwaukee (20-12, 11-7) vs. (5) Butler (19-13, 11-7)

Tipoff: Approx. 8:30 p.m. TV: Horizon League Network/ESPN3. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 31 – Butler 54-50; Jan. 26 – Milwaukee 53-42. RPI: Milwaukee 124, Butler 112. Analysis: The Butler magic lives on – for one more day. Line: Butler -1. Pick: Butler 66, Milwaukee 61.

MISSOURI VALLEY QUARTERFINALS: AT ST. LOUIS

(1) Wichita State (26-4, 16-2) vs. (8) Indiana State (17-13, 8-10)

Tipoff: 1 p.m. TV: MVC TV. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 15 – Wichita State 75-65*; Feb. 4 – Wichita State 71-66. RPI: Wichita State 12, Indiana State 130. Analysis: This isn’t a typical 1/8 matchup with the Sycamores finishing a game behind third place. Indiana State is closer to the team that won last year’s tournament than to the one that struggled during the middle of this season. Line: Wichita St -10. Pick: Wichita State 70, Indiana State 62.

(4) Illinois State (18-12, 9-9) vs. (5) Northern Iowa (19-12, 9-9)

Tipoff: Approx. 3:30 p.m. TV: MVC TV. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 29 – Illinois State 65-61; Feb. 11 – Northern Iowa 78-63. RPI: Illinois State 125, Northern Iowa 62. Analysis: This game could go either way, so take the team with more post-season experience. Line: Northern Iowa -2. Line: Northern Iowa -2. Pick: Northern Iowa 70, Illinois State 67.

(2) Creighton (25-5, 14-4) vs. (7) Drake (16-14, 9-9)

Tipoff: 7 p.m. TV: MVC TV. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 3 – Creighton 76-59; Jan. 25 – Creighton 77-69. RPI: Creighton 25, Drake 127. Analysis: Except for a late push against Long Beach State, the Blue Jays just aren’t playing as well as they were earlier this season. It would be tough to take them by more than a handful of points. Line: Creighton -8. Pick: Creighton 69, Drake 65.

(3) Evansville (15-14, 9-9) vs. (6) Missouri State (16-15, 9-9)

Tipoff: Approx. 9:30 p.m. TV: MVC TV. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 15 – Evansville 87-82 (OT)*; Feb. 25 – Evansville 75-70 (OT). RPI: Evansville 138, Missouri State 108. Analysis: Missouri State senior Kyle Weems will find a way to shine in his final week, and the Bear defense will clamp down on Ace star Colt Ryan. Line: Missouri State -2. Pick: Missouri State 77, Evansville 70.

OHIO VALLEY SEMIFINALS: AT NASHVILLE

(1) Murray State (28-1, 15-1) vs. (4) Tennessee Tech (19-12, 9-7)

Tipoff: 6 p.m. TV: ESPNU. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 14 – Murray State 82-74; Feb. 25 – Murray State 69-64*. RPI: Murray State 31, Tennessee Tech 151. Analysis: Tennessee Tech found a way to keep both regular-season meetings close, and Kevin Murphy and the Eagles will push the Racers again. Line: Murray St -8. Pick: Murray State 70, Tennessee Tech 64.

(2) Tennessee State (19-11, 11-5) vs. (3) Morehead State (18-14, 10-6)

Tipoff: Approx. 8 p.m. TV: ESPN3. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 11 – Tennessee State 77-72. RPI: Tennessee State 131, Morehead State 173. Analysis: With an extra day of rest, Tennessee State will pull away from the Eagles early in the second half. Line: Tennessee St -4. Pick: Tennessee State 81, Morehead State 69.

WCC QUARTERFINALS: AT LAS VEGAS

(4) Loyola Marymount (19-11, 11-5) vs. (5) San Francisco (19-12, 8-8)

Tipoff: 9 p.m. TV: ESPNU. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 31 – Loyola Marymount 77-76 (OT)*; Feb. 4 – Loyola Marymount 90-88. RPI: Loyola Marymount 119, San Francisco 147. Analysis: Vegas is begging you to take LMU, don't fall for it. Line: San Francisco -1.5. Pick: Loyola Marymount 78, San Francisco 75.

(3) BYU (24-7, 12-4) vs. (6) San Diego (12-17, 9-7)

Tipoff: Approx. 11 p.m. TV: ESPNU. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 31 – BYU 88-52; Jan. 16 – BYU 82-63*. RPI: BYU 50, San Diego 193. Analysis: BYU will control the boards and its defensive end en route to an easy win. Line: BYU -13. Pick: BYU 78, San Diego 55.

*Road win

Greg Against the Spread This Season: 95-62-2

Horizon League First Round: Predictions & Poll

Greg Mengelt — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:37:22 -0500

The higher seed hosts Horizon League first round games. The top 2 seeds (Cleveland St & Valpo) have a bye.

#8 Wright State (13-18, 7-11) at #5 Butler (18-13, 11-7)

7 p.m. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 6 – Butler 63-62*; Feb. 2 – Butler 64-53. RPI: Butler 117; Wright State 212. Analysis: The Horizon doesn’t want to see Butler start rolling. Line: Butler -11. Pick: Butler 68, Wright State 49.

#10 Loyola (7-22, 1-17) at #3 Detroit (18-13, 11-7)

7 p.m. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 31 – Detroit 65-54*; Jan. 25 – Detroit 67-52. RPI: Detroit 148; Loyola 306. Analysis: The Titans have as much talent as anyone in the Horizon. They’ll play like it, at least for one round. Line: Detroit -14. Pick: Detroit 78, Loyola 53.

#7 Green Bay (15-14, 10-8) at #6 Youngstown State (15-10, 10-8)

7:05 p.m. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 22 – Youngstown 77-47; Feb. 14 – Green Bay 71-65. RPI: Youngstown 173, Green Bay 143. Analysis: The two teams have identical records, but the Penguins have the better team. Line: Youngstown State -2. Pick: Youngstown State 72, Green Bay 57.

#9 Illinois-Chicago (7-22, 1-17) at #4 Milwaukee (19-12, 11-7)

8 p.m. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 3 – Milwaukee 73-71 (OT); Feb. 23 – Milwaukee 72-61*. RPI: Milwaukee 119, Illinois-Chicago 296. Analysis: After losing 4 of 5 from Jan. 28-Feb. 12, the Panthers are rolling again with four straight wins. Line: Milwaukee -14. Pick: Milwaukee 75, Illinois-Chicago 54.

*Road win

Horizon League First Round Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 03:13:00 -0500

Play in the Horizon League tournament begins on Tuesday night with four games hosted by the higher-seeded team, including 5-seed Butler hosting 8-seed Wright State. While there are many who believe that the Bulldogs could once again make a run as they did last season, it's important to point out that last year's NCAA finalists found a way to earn a bye to the semifinals in the conference tournament. No such luck this time around as the Bulldogs host the Raiders, a team they swept during the regular season. Butler won the meeting at Hinkle 64-53 on February 7th, shooting 18-for-23 from the foul line and forcing 17 WSU turnovers.

Wright State has been one of the worst offensive teams in the Horizon, entering postseason play with the league's worst adjusted offensive efficiency according to Ken Pomeroy's numbers and also shooting 39.9% from the field. Julius Mays leads the Raiders with an average of 14.2 points per game but he was limited to just eight points while turning the ball over six times at Hinkle. Clearly Wright State will need more from him in addition to Armand Battle (18 points in the second meeting) if they're to successfully navigate a Bulldog defense that limits teams to 41.2% shooting.

Andrew Smith leads Butler in scoring with an average of 10.6 points per game and four other players average at least 7.8 points per contest, which makes sense given the absence of a go-to guy along the lines of a Shelvin Mack or Matt Howard. The key for Wright State is to keep Butler out of the lane, as the Bulldogs shoot 28.1% from three, the lowest number in the Horizon League. If Wright State can force Butler to rely on perimeter shots too score they've got a chance to leave Indianapolis with a win few expect them to get. However this has been the time of the season when Butler has found a way to play their best basketball, so that will be easier said than done for Wright State.

#10 Loyola (IL) at #3 Detroit (7 PM)
From a talent standpoint Ray McCallum Sr.'s Titans could be the best choice outside of the top two to win the Horizon League. But it's just as much about making sound decisions as it is raw skill this time of the year, and that's something that has been an issue for Detroit at times this season. The Titans did sweep the regular season series with the last-place Ramblers, winning both games by double digits. Loyola shot just 37% from the field in the meeting at Calihan Hall just over a month ago, relying on a balanced scoring attack in addition to grabbing sixteen offensive rebounds. Ray McCallum Jr., Eli Holman and the rest of the Titans are definitely talented enough to go on a run. The question now is whether or not they can go out and make good on their potential.

#7 Green Bay at #6 Youngstown State (7:05 PM)
Brian Wardle's Phoenix are playing well of late as they enter the conference tournament on a five-game win streak. That's good news as they visit the site of their worst defeat of the season, as YSU whipped Green Bay 77-47 back on January 22nd. Anything that could have gone wrong at the Beeghly Center on that Sunday afternoon did, as Green Bay shot 39.2% from the field while watching the Penguins shoot 12-for-24 from beyond the arc. Simply put the Phoenix have to defend the three-point line, as Blake Allen, Kendrick Perry and company can light it up if left alone. If Alec Brown and Brennan Cougill can control the play inside that would bode well for Green Bay.

#9 UIC at #4 Milwaukee (8 PM)
Rob Jeter's Panthers have been one of the better teams in the Horizon League when it comes to defensive efficiency and they host a UIC team that's struggled offensively with both field goal percentage (39.7%) and turnovers. If Howard Moore's Flames can't take care of the basketball or find quality shots it could be a long night for the visitors, although they were competitive in both meetings despite being swept. Milwaukee won the first meeting (at home) by two points and the second by 11 on Thursday night. UIC shot 32.3% from the field and was out-rebounded by ten in the second half of that defeat, and while Marc Brown led four Flames in double figures with 17 points they didn't get much of anything from their reserves. It's going to take more than that to knock off a Milwaukee team led by Kaylon Williams and Tony Meier.