San Diego St

Tennessee vs San Diego St: Odds & Prediction

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:32:50 -0400

Start: Mar 18 2010 - 9:55pm

Team Previews: #6 Tennessee -- #11 San Diego St

Vegas Odds: Tennessee -3.5

Why San Diego St. will win: The Aztec frontcourt will outperform Tennessee’s big men. Malcolm Thomas and Billy White will control the boards as well as combine for at least twenty points while freshman Kawhi Leonard will also produce. And point guard D.J. Gay will navigate Tennessee’s defense without turning the ball over.

Aztec to Watch: G D.J. Gay - 10 ppg, 3 rpg, 2 apg

Tennessee can still slap a good full-court press on you, making Gay’s job as the point guard extremely important in regards to the Aztecs’ chances of winning. If he can distribute as well as put up some points himself this becomes a game that SDSU is more than capable of winning.

Why Tennessee will win: Wayne Chism and Scotty Hopson will take over the game offensively and J.P. Prince will make smart decisions on that end of the floor. The Volunteers will force turnovers and control the boards against a San Diego State squad that doesn’t lack for size.

Volunteer to Watch: C Wayne Chism - 13 ppg, 7 rpg, 1 apg

The senior needs to play well against a solid San Diego State frontcourt if the Volunteers are to win. Does he have to score 20+ points? No, but he will need to defend and rebound against the likes of Thomas, White and even Brian Carlwell.

How it will go down: Expect late-game dramatics from one of these teams in picking up the win. The pick here is San Diego State with the freshman Leonard having the last word. Aztecs by a basket.

Betting Pick: San Diego St. +3.5

Real Pick: San Diego St.

Midwest Region Preview & Predictions

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:58:56 -0400

It’s come to be expected that when a team is named the top overall seed for the NCAA Tournament they’ll receive a favorable draw in regards to the other seeds in their region. No such luck for the Big 12 Champion Kansas Jayhawks, who will begin their run at a second national title in three years against Lehigh. At least Bill Self’s team was taken care of in regards to travel; should open in Oklahoma City, and would head to St Louis should they reach the Sweet Sixteen.

But due to seeding issues the S-curve wasn’t truly followed, meaning that next in the Midwest are the Big Ten champion (Ohio St) and the Big East Tournament runner-up (Georgetown) that boasts a Top 10 RPI and one of the nation’s best schedules in regards to strength. Both teams have significant question marks going into the Tournament; the Buckeyes go no more than six players deep in their rotation, meaning that early foul trouble or an injury could be a concern. But they do feature super-star Evan Turne, named CollegeHoops.net's National Player of the Year. As for Georgetown, their concern will be having a consistent scorer to supplement the trio of Greg Monroe, Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. Jason Clark could have a lot to say about their tourney hopes, as he did in their conference tournament run.

The region also includes a pair of conference tournament champions who needed the automatic bids in order to get in, and they’ve both got the ability to wreak havoc now that they’re in the Field of 65. New Mexico St has been working towards the WAC Tournament since they regained the services of Troy Gillenwater in early February; the ability to bring a player of his caliber and size off the bench (14 ppg & 6 rpg) is something that many teams can’t match. They face perennial power Michigan St in the 5-12 game, a team that's reached the Sweet Sixteen 8 times in the last 12 years.

And San Diego St, who would have been a close shave to say the least without the Mountain West’s automatic bid, has a talented nucleus that will test Tennessee in the first round. D.J. Gay at the point can more than hold his own with Bobby Maze (if not win that individual battle) and the frontcourt is stocked with the likes of Billy White, Malcolm Thomas and freshman Kawhi Leonard just to name three contributors.

This is a very good region and don’t be surprised if there are a few “upsets” in regards to seeding. Houston, led by scoring-machine Aubrey Coleman could be a tough out for Greivis Vasquez and 4th seed Maryland. Other potential seed upsets could include the aforementioned Aztecs of SDSU and ACC finalist Georgia Tech playing against Oklahoma St. That game features multiple NBA prospects including Big 12 Player of the Year James Anderson and Tech's Gani Lawal & Derrick Favors.

Kansas will be the prohibitive favorite to get to Indianapolis (they're also CollegeHoops.net's official National Champion pick) but they certainly aren’t going to simply roll through the region.

Predictions

Midwest Region Champ: Kansas

Sweet 16: Michigan State, Georgetown and Ohio State

Best 1st Round Game: #9 Northern Iowa vs. #8 UNLV

1st Round Upset Possibility: #11 San Diego State vs. #6 Tennessee

Scary Underachiever: #10 Georgia Tech

Sweet 16 “Crasher”: Georgia Tech

Players who can shoot their team to an upset:

G Aubrey Coleman (Houston), G Armon Bassett (Ohio), G Kwadzo Ahelegbe (Northern Iowa), G Tre’Von Willis (UNLV)

All-Midwest “Team”:

G Sherron Collins (Kansas), G Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), G/F Evan Turner (Ohio State), F Wayne Chism (Tennessee), C Greg Monroe (Georgetown)

Poll: Most Likely 11 vs 6 upset?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:58:27 -0400

San Diego St 2010 NCAA Tournament Capsule

Joel Welser — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:02:01 -0400

San Diego State Aztecs

Mountain West Conference (25-8, 11-5)

Big Wins: 1/5 New Mexico (74-64), 3/12 vs New Mexico (72-69), 3/13 at UNLV (55-45)

Bad Losses: 11/25 at Pacific (63-71), 12/19 at Arizona State (52-55), 1/9 at Wyoming (83-85)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2006, First Round loss to Indiana

Coach: Steve Fisher (20-8 in 9 NCAA appearances)

Why They Can Surprise:

San Diego State is very forward heavy this year. As a result they are a great rebounding team and a solid defensive team since they have plenty of size to clog the paint. Malcolm Thomas epitomizes the 2009-2010 Aztecs. He is a quality interior scorer who averages 11.0 points per game. Thomas is also a great rebounder and grabs 7.8 boards per contest. Yet, Thomas is also a horrible free-throw shooter, but a decent passer.

Kawhi Leonard, a 6-7 freshman, is Coach Steve Fisher’s leading scorer and rebounder with 12.8 and 9.9, respectively. Leonard has lived up to the hype coming out of high school and has the potential to put up 20 or more points on any given night. At 6-8 and 235 pounds, Billy White is the biggest of the regular starters. White is not as effective on the glass as Leonard or Thomas, but he is a versatile scorer who can consistently hit the mid-range jumper. Brian Carlwell, who spent some time at Illinois, is a very experienced player to have available off the bench and he is a big body who can at least eat up some fouls and play tough defense against dominating big men.

Why They Can Disappoint:

The overall field-goal percentage is not bad since most of the Aztecs shots come from close to the basket from the big guys, but this is not a good shooting team. They hit just 60.8 percent of their free-throw attempts and 31.8 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc. Those are some really bad numbers. The outside shooting woes can be blamed on a lot of people and so can the turnovers, but the starting backcourt duo need to take control. D.J. Gay is an experienced player who does a fine job running the point. He is a good scorer, but obviously not a great shooter. He has enough of an outside shot to keep the opposition honest, but he lacks consistency…as does freshman Chase Tapley. Tapley cracked the starting lineup due to his ballhandling abilities and he is also a decent long range shooter.

Who To Watch:

Tyrone Shelley and Kelvin Davis are the backup guards and both have started a few games this season. However, both are also shooting under 30 percent from beyond the arc. Shelley will attack the basket a little more often than Davis and can provide a spark off the bench even if his shot is not falling. But San Diego State needs to find a consistent shooter especially since the opposition will give them open looks while concentrating on defending the scorers in the paint. It does not matter who does it, but somebody needs to hit some three-pointers to open up the offense.

Probable Starters:

D.J. Gay, Junior, Guard, 10.3 ppg, 3.2 apg

Kelvin Davis, Senior, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 1.1 apg

Kawhi Leonard, Freshman, Forward, 12.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg

Billy White, Junior, Forward, 11.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Malcolm Thomas, Junior, Forward, 11.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Brian Carlwell, Junior, Center, 4.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Tyrone Shelley, Sophomore, Guard, 6.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg

Chase Tapley, Freshman, Guard, 7.8 ppg, 2.2 apg

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 71.0 (117^th in nation, 5^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 61.8 (38, 1)

Field-Goal Percentage: 47.6 (23, 2)

Field-Goal Defense: 40.3 (47, 3)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.4 (255, 8)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.8 (240, 7)

Free-Throw Percentage: 60.8 (330, 9)

Rebound Margin: 7.0 (10, 1)

Assists Per Game: 13.6 (132, 5)

Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 (150, 5)

Follow Joel Welser's Postseason Capsules & College Basketball Previews on Twitter @Joel_Welser and on his Facebook page. Joel will be back in June for his annual Top 144 Teams in 144 Days preview on CollegeHoops.net

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Bracketology: UW and SDSU In, Memphis and ASU Out

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:58:15 -0500

The Bracketology field is based on how the tourney looks "as of today." The field below is not based on who I think deserves to be in, but a prediction of what the committee would do as things stand. The next Bracketology update will be on Saturday. Look below for commentary on today's changes.

Why should you care what I have to say? In 2007 & 2008, I was considered to have one of the Top 2 or 3 brackets amongst 53 national experts including Joe Lunardi, Gary Parrish and the like. (Admittedly my 2009 final bracket was rather weak.. not sure what happened. Can't win 'em all.)

Notes:

Arrows ( ) indicate movement by seed. Green font indicates new to the field this week. Conference champions are not my end of season predictions, but current leaders. Ties atop conference standings go to the higher RPI team. Check-mark () indicates automatic bid.

ONE

Kansas**

Kentucky**

Duke**

Syracuse**

TWO

West Virginia

Ohio St

Purdue**

New Mexico**

THREE

Kansas State

Villanova

Baylor

Michigan State

FOUR

Wisconsin

Pittsburgh

Maryland

Georgetown

FIVE

Temple**

Vanderbilt

Tennessee

Butler

SIX

BYU

Texas A&M

Xavier

Richmond

SEVEN

Northern Iowa

UTEP**

Texas

Oklahoma St

EIGHT

Gonzaga

Florida State

Marquette

California**

NINE

UNLV

Louisville

Notre Dame

Clemson

TEN

Missouri

Old Dominion

St. Mary's

Utah St**

ELEVEN

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Cornell

Georgia Tech

TWELVE

Siena

Florida

Ole Miss

Washington

THIRTEEN

Illinois

San Diego St

Murray State

Oakland

FOURTEEN

Wofford

Akron**

Sam Houston St**

Montana

FIFTEEN

North Texas

UCSB**

Morgan St**

ETSU

SIXTEEN + ONE

Vermont**

Winthrop

Robert Morris

Lehigh** / UAPB**

** = Automatic Bid

League Leaders/Winners (31)

- Leaders throughout the season are merely the first place team in the standings as of the update, and not projected winners. Ties go to the higher RPI team. New teams this week in green.

America East - Vermont

A-10 - Temple

ACC - Duke

Atlantic Sun - ETSU

Big 12 - Kansas

Big East - Syracuse

Big Sky - Montana

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Purdue

Big West - UCSB

CAA - Old Dominion

Conference USA - UTEP

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Cornell

MAAC - Siena

MAC - Akron

MEAC - Morgan St

MVC - Northern Iowa

MWC - New Mexico

Northeast - Robert Morris

Ohio Valley - Murray St

Pac-10 - California

Patriot - Lehigh

SEC - Kentucky

Southern - Wofford

Southland - Sam Houston St

SWAC - UAPB

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - North Texas

WAC - Utah St

WCC - St. Mary's

*** = Locked Up Automatic Bid

Last In: San Diego St, Washington, Ole Miss, Illinois

Last Out: Rhode Island, Memphis, Minnesota, Arizona St,

Further Four: Seton Hall, Mississippi St, Dayton, South Florida

Dropped Out Of Field (at-large): Arizona St, Memphis

Poll: Who Will Win the MWC Tournament?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:31:46 -0500

BubbleBoard 3/1: Ranking the Bubble Teams

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:01:12 -0500
RPI #'s updated as of 3/01/10, 4:00 pm.

The BubbleBoard returns again in 2010. CHN ranks at-large contenders using a variety of standard resume components. The BubbleBoard ranking is a modified RPI, that gives extra credit for success against Top 50 teams & games away from home. The purpose of the BubbleBoard is to weed out those teams that may have a high RPI due to playing a seemingly challenging schedule, but either a) lost almost all their challenging games, or b) have won a few challenging games at home but have been sub-par away from home. Ultimately the tourney should feature teams with a track-record of beating good teams on neutral courts. Note: The BubbleBoard is not a prediction of what the committee will do, but a ranking based on previous results.. which is arguably a suggestion for what the committee should do.

The BubbleBoard will be updated again on Thursday.



Top 5 Rising teams*: Notre Dame, Maryland, Northeastern, Xavier, Louisville

Top 5 Falling teams: UCONN, Old Dominion, VCU, Cincinnati, Memphis

*Based on difference between last week's BubbleBoard

Top 5 Faker teams*: California, UCONN, Wichita St, Memphis, Arizona St

Top 5 Dangerous teams: Richmond, Baylor, UNLV, St Mary's, Maryland

*Faker teams are those that have struggled most away from home & against Top 50 teams as compared to their RPI.

Today's BubbleBoard Additions/Subtractions:

Louisiana Tech & Tulsa no longer tracked.

Into/Out of Projected At-Large Bid:

In: Louisville

Out: UCONN

Today's BubbleBoard Thoughts:

Amazing what one week can do. UCONN went from being firmly in the bubble to almost 10 spots out after a disappointing home loss to Louisville. Maryland, Xavier, Baylor, and Clemson move into virtual "lock" status at this point, along with Richmond. I've left those teams on for reference at this point, as all would certainly make the tournament at this point. The same can be said for Oklahoma St. It will be extremely interesting to see what the committee does with projected league champions such as Utah St, Old Dominion, UTEP, and Cal. Except for Cal, the BubbleBoard thinks the prior 3 are tournament worthy and that Cal is firmly on the bubble. Would the committee take Utah St or Old Dominion as at-large teams if they lose their tournaments? We can only speculate.

Last week, Notre Dame was 20 spots out of the field, but the addition of two Top 50 teams puts them in much better position. If UCONN adds 1 more Top 50 win this week and moves up 8 spots in the RPI, they'd be in. In general, the BubbleBoard is not particularly impressed with the Big East bubble teams, with the exception of Louisville. UCONN, Marquette, Notre Dame, and Seton Hall are a combined 12-28 against Top 50 teams, and 16-29 away from home. The BubbleBoard sees those 12 Top 50 wins as being a matter of simply getting so many bites of the apple at home, that eventually they've each pulled off some big wins. The BubbleBoard also disrespects Mississippi St, who is in many "Bracketology" fields. MSU has only 1 Top 50 win, yet they have 4 losses to teams below 100th.. a ratio that is far from tournament worthy.



How The Yellow At-Large Field Is Projected:

The yellow shading represents teams who would fit into an approximate bubble. There are 25 "lock" teams (listed below), as well as 16 one-bid league champs not listed, and 3-4 probable league champs included in the BubbleBoard. This leaves about 21 teams with room to make the tournament. Teams with 10+ points are approaching "lock" status to make the tourney as of now. Teams with -10 or below still have work to do. (The 2 semi-shaded boxes represent the extended bubble if you consider that the committee almost certainly will not take VCU and William & Mary, despite what the computers say about them).

Team RPI SOS NCSOS Computer T50 W T50 L R/N W R/N L L100 L Bonus = Total = Was Dif

# Kansas 1 19 41 3 8 2 9 2 0 92 89 97 -8

1 Richmond 28 73 72 22 5 2 9 6 0 53 32 35 -3

2 Baylor 11 28 129 12 5 4 8 5 2 32 20 5 15

3 Xavier** 12 24 17 9 5 7 7 7 0 19 10 -11 21

4 Maryland 25 23 159 20 4 5 6 6 0 19 -2 -25 23

5 Clemson 27 30 162 22 4 5 7 6 1 16 -6 -20 14

6 Oklahoma St 26 18 124 19 4 5 6 7 1 12 -8 -14 6

7 UAB 35 111 88 28 1 2 11 3 1 17 -12 -1 -11

8 UNLV 43 96 207 36 4 4 10 4 3 23 -13 -10 -3

9 Saint Mary's 45 142 73 35 2 3 10 3 1 19 -16 -12 -4

10 Rhode Island 37 68 27 25 2 4 9 5 1 8 -18 -5 -13

11 Utah St** 34 92 81 27 1 1 8 5 2 6 -21 -13 -8

12 William & Mary 60 107 23 40 3 3 9 6 2 17 -23 -14 -9

13 Louisville 32 5 19 19 3 6 5 6 1 -5 -23 -41 18

14 UTEP** 50 151 194 42 1 1 9 3 1 17 -25 -29 4

15 Georgia Tech 33 20 131 24 4 6 5 8 2 -3 -27 -19 -8

16 Missouri 36 49 195 29 4 6 5 7 2 -1 -30 -24 -6

17 Florida   48 59 130 34 3 6 7 6 1 0 -34 -33 -1

18 Dayton 41 37 22 25 3 6 5 8 1 -8 -34 -28 -6

19 Florida St 42 50 220 33 3 7 8 5 1 -1 -34 -29 -5

20 Old Dominion** 38 77 9 25 1 4 8 8 1 -11 -37 -18 -19

21 San Diego St 39 56 125 29 2 5 7 7 2 -12 -40 -34 -6

22 VCU 66 145 113 48 3 1 5 7 4 6 -42 -25 -17

23 Cincinnati 58 17 45 34 4 8 4 9 0 -8 -43 -29 -14

24 Virginia Tech 52 156 343 49 2 4 7 6 0 6 -43 -32 -11

25 South Florida 67 64 239 48 3 5 7 7 1 4 -44 -43 -1

26 California** 21 4 1 12 0 4 5 8 2 -34 -46 -42 -4

27 Charlotte 62 112 167 46 3 7 9 6 1 0 -46 -35 -11

28 Northeastern 72 82 10 44 3 3 10 7 6 -3 -47 -69 22

29 Marquette 49 67 202 37 3 7 7 6 2 -10 -48 -62 14

30 Illinois 73 64 118 48 4 6 6 8 2 0 -48 -44 -4

31 Ole Miss 55 65 150 39 2 7 8 5 1 -12 -50 -61 11

32 Washington 53 58 44 34 2 2 2 7 4 -18 -52 -47 -5

33 UCONN 44 2 6 25 3 8 3 8 2 -30 -54 -31 -23

34 Notre Dame 68 60 213 48 3 4 3 8 2 -7 -55 -86 31

35 Arizona St 54 74 77 36 1 5 6 6 2 -23 -59 -51 -8

36 St Louis 87 137 223 63 3 2 4 7 3 3 -60 -52 -8

37 Minnesota 70 38 74 43 3 6 4 8 3 -21 -64 -60 -4

38 Seton Hall 63 16 170 41 3 9 3 7 0 -23 -64 -57 -7

39 Mississippi St 56 128 235 46 1 4 9 6 4 -20 -66 -72 6

40 Memphis 64 98 66 43 1 5 6 5 3 -26 -69 -56 -13

41 Wichita St 51 138 301 46 1 3 6 8 4 -26 -71 -64 -7

*Teams leading their leagues

Yellow = Approximate bubble cut-off

NC-SOS = Non-conference strength of schedule

Computer = Modified RPI taking into account SOS/NCSOS a bit more

Bonus = Modifications due to Top 50 & R/N success

R/N = Road/neutral

L100L = Lower than 100 losses

Lock Teams: Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Villanova, Duke, Purdue, Georgetown, Michigan St, West Virginia, Kansas St, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ohio St, Temple, BYU, Gonzaga, Northern Iowa, Butler, Siena, Cornell, Wake Forest, Texas, Texas A&M

As teams move in and out of bubble consideration, the teams tracked will change in future weeks.

College Hoops Wednesday Recap: Purdue Wins Yet Loses?

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:10:20 -0500

The first significant happening on The Road to the Final Four may have taken place in Minneapolis on Wednesday night depending upon the results of an MRI on Thursday. Purdue forward Robbie Hummel went down with a knee injury in the first half and was unable to return to action. Seemingly in control of the game at that point, the Boilermakers fell victim to a Golden Gopher run to take the lead and Minnesota led by as many as nine in the second half. But that's when the Boilers made their charge, eventually taking the lead for good on a Keaton Grant jumper from the top of the key with eight seconds remaining. A Devoe Joseph jumper missed long, giving Purdue a 65-64 win that could ultimately prove to be costly.

"Obviously, we missed him, because we had a good start to the game," said Purdue head coach Matt Painter on Hummel. "He gives us a balance to the game. He can go inside or outside, and he's a good passer. When we lost him, it hurt us a little bit (quote courtesy of the University of Minnesota)." It's one thing to lose a guy in the middle of a game and have to adjust as the game wears on. But to lose a player the caliber of Hummel for an extended period time would be a major blow. His versatility and ability to contribute offensively from either the perimeter or inside with his shooting and scoring gives Purdue an option few teams have an answer for.

What did Hummel's absence mean at Minnesota? It meant more minutes for JaJuan Johnson (14 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk, 40 min) and added offensive responsibility for Grant, who finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. "Obviously, Keaton Grant made a big shot," said Painter. "He's been very valuable to our team, especially the last three games." Grant would have needed to step up regardless of the circumstances going into March. But the possible loss of Hummel adds urgency to the situation, and Grant answered the call on Wednesday night.

Three Key Happenings

1. Notre Dame picks up a big win over Pittsburgh in South Bend. No Luke Harangody once again for Mike Brey's squad, but unlike their prior contests without the All-American Notre Dame rose to the challenge in knocking off Pittsburgh 68-53. Instead of their usual offense-first style that breeds a faster tempo, the Irish slowed the game down and knocked down perimeter shots (10-18 3PT) in ending the Panthers five-game win streak while also breathing some life back into their fleeting NCAA Tournament hopes. Tim Abromaitis led the way with 17 points while Ben Hansbrough and Tory Jackson added fifteen and fourteen points respectively, and Pitt made just four of eighteen shots from behind the arc.

Also of note are the rebounding numbers; Notre Dame was a plus-9 in rebounding margin, grabbing eleven offensive boards on the night. It was almost as if every three that Notre Dame missed ended up back in their hands, allowing them to run more time off the clock. "He said that we had to make sure that they didn't get the rebound when they missed one, but they did," said Pitt guard Jermaine Dixon. "They just outplayed us and wanted it more than we did. There's not much else I can say about it (quote courtesy of the University of Notre Dame)." And with their backs to the wall Notre Dame knows that they can't afford to be outworked, and their reward on Wednesday was a win that keeps them alive.

2. San Diego State and Dayton blow opportunities to pick up signature road victories. The Aztecs and Flyers had good opportunities to make definitive statements to the selection committee on the road. But neither took advantage of the opportunity, and both are now in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament. SDSU fell victim to the perimeter shooting of BYU and an under-the-weather Kawhi Leonard, who managed just three points in their 82-68 loss in Provo. Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery combined to score 43 points and the Cougars were a plus-16 in free throw attempts for the game. D.J. Gay led the way for the visitors with fifteen points but they nullified seventeen assists with sixteen turnovers, many of which were converted into points on the other end. And as a result, Steve Fisher's team needs to win their last two plus go on a run at the Mountain West Tournament.

Dayton's going to need a run in Atlantic City due to their recent struggles, the most recent being a 49-41 loss at Temple in what may best be described as a rock fight. While the Owls shot just 32.1% from the field that could be described as scalding in some some circles when compared to Dayton shooting 26.3%. Chris Wright led the visitors, who dropped to 7-6 in conference play and 18-9 overall, with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Ramone Moore scored 13 to lead Temple. The difference in Philadelphia: Temple got to the foul line. The Owls finished 13-21 from the charity stripe while Dayton made just six of nine. Not the best shooting team to begin with, Brian Gregory's team must attack the rim in their remaining games if they're to play at their best. Their NCAA Tournament hopes rest on it.

3. From rags to riches: Stony Brook clinches the America East title. Just last season the Seawolves managed to finish outside of the opening round game for the first time in their history as a member of America East. Considering that bit of history makes their rise to regular season champions of the conference all the more improbable, and given their struggles through the years it's fitting that they had to hold off Vermont in winning 82-78. The first thirty-two minutes or so played out like a coronation, with Muhammad El-Amin, Bryan Dougher, Dallis Joyner and the rest of the rotation doing whatever they wanted in building up a 20-point lead.

But the Catamounts would not go quietly, cutting the lead all the way down to two before a Chris Martin free throw with 1.8 seconds remaining sealed the game. Now winners of ten straight, Steve Pikiell's team will now have to handle the role of favorite in next weekend's conference tournament at the University of Hartford. But while there's still more work to be done the significance of this title can't be ignored when considering where the program was when Coach Pikiell took over.

Top Three Games

1. Marquette 63, St. John's 61 (OT) Jimmy Butler recovered a loose ball in the corner and knocked down an off-balance shot as time expired to give the Golden Eagles the win at Carnesecca Arena. Lazar Hayward led all scorers with 22 and Butler added 18 points while D.J. Kennedy led the Red Storm with 20.

2. Cal-State Fullerton 70, Cal Poly 68 Jacques Streeter banked in a 15-foot runner as time expired to give the Titans the win in San Luis Obispo. Streeter led all scorers with 21 points while Shawn Lewis led the Mustangs with 19.

3. Ohio 70, Miami (Ohio) 68 Tommy Freeman knocked down a three pointer with six tenths of a second remaining to give the Bobcats the win in Athens. DeVaughn Washington led all scorers with 25 points while Kenny Hayes led the RedHawks with 20.

Three Notable Performances

1. G/F Aubrey Coleman (Houston) Add Memphis to the list of Coleman's victims as he scored 34 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Cougars' 92-75 victory.

2. F Evan Turner (Ohio State) The National Player of the Year candidate posted a stat line of 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks.

3. F Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) Varnado scored 17 points while also grabbing ten rebounds and blocking eight shots, with the final number making him the NCAA career blocks leader. And not to be left out, Varnado's close friend Barry Stewart broke the school's career record for made three pointers in the 74-66 win over Alabama.

	Team	RPI	SOS	NCSOS	Computer	T50 W	T50 L	R/N W	R/N L	L100 L	Bonus =	Total =	Was	Dif
#	Kansas	1	19	41	3	8	2	9	2	0	92	89	97	-8
1	Richmond	28	73	72	22	5	2	9	6	0	53	32	35	-3
2	Baylor	11	28	129	12	5	4	8	5	2	32	20	5	15
3	Xavier**	12	24	17	9	5	7	7	7	0	19	10	-11	21
4	Maryland	25	23	159	20	4	5	6	6	0	19	-2	-25	23
5	Clemson	27	30	162	22	4	5	7	6	1	16	-6	-20	14
6	Oklahoma St	26	18	124	19	4	5	6	7	1	12	-8	-14	6
7	UAB	35	111	88	28	1	2	11	3	1	17	-12	-1	-11
8	UNLV	43	96	207	36	4	4	10	4	3	23	-13	-10	-3
9	Saint Mary's	45	142	73	35	2	3	10	3	1	19	-16	-12	-4
10	Rhode Island	37	68	27	25	2	4	9	5	1	8	-18	-5	-13
11	Utah St**	34	92	81	27	1	1	8	5	2	6	-21	-13	-8
12	William & Mary	60	107	23	40	3	3	9	6	2	17	-23	-14	-9
13	Louisville	32	5	19	19	3	6	5	6	1	-5	-23	-41	18
14	UTEP**	50	151	194	42	1	1	9	3	1	17	-25	-29	4
15	Georgia Tech	33	20	131	24	4	6	5	8	2	-3	-27	-19	-8
16	Missouri	36	49	195	29	4	6	5	7	2	-1	-30	-24	-6
17	Florida	48	59	130	34	3	6	7	6	1	0	-34	-33	-1
18	Dayton	41	37	22	25	3	6	5	8	1	-8	-34	-28	-6
19	Florida St	42	50	220	33	3	7	8	5	1	-1	-34	-29	-5
20	Old Dominion**	38	77	9	25	1	4	8	8	1	-11	-37	-18	-19
21	San Diego St	39	56	125	29	2	5	7	7	2	-12	-40	-34	-6
22	VCU	66	145	113	48	3	1	5	7	4	6	-42	-25	-17
23	Cincinnati	58	17	45	34	4	8	4	9	0	-8	-43	-29	-14
24	Virginia Tech	52	156	343	49	2	4	7	6	0	6	-43	-32	-11
25	South Florida	67	64	239	48	3	5	7	7	1	4	-44	-43	-1
26	California**	21	4	1	12	0	4	5	8	2	-34	-46	-42	-4
27	Charlotte	62	112	167	46	3	7	9	6	1	0	-46	-35	-11
28	Northeastern	72	82	10	44	3	3	10	7	6	-3	-47	-69	22
29	Marquette	49	67	202	37	3	7	7	6	2	-10	-48	-62	14
30	Illinois	73	64	118	48	4	6	6	8	2	0	-48	-44	-4
31	Ole Miss	55	65	150	39	2	7	8	5	1	-12	-50	-61	11
32	Washington	53	58	44	34	2	2	2	7	4	-18	-52	-47	-5
33	UCONN	44	2	6	25	3	8	3	8	2	-30	-54	-31	-23
34	Notre Dame	68	60	213	48	3	4	3	8	2	-7	-55	-86	31
35	Arizona St	54	74	77	36	1	5	6	6	2	-23	-59	-51	-8
36	St Louis	87	137	223	63	3	2	4	7	3	3	-60	-52	-8
37	Minnesota	70	38	74	43	3	6	4	8	3	-21	-64	-60	-4
38	Seton Hall	63	16	170	41	3	9	3	7	0	-23	-64	-57	-7
39	Mississippi St	56	128	235	46	1	4	9	6	4	-20	-66	-72	6
40	Memphis	64	98	66	43	1	5	6	5	3	-26	-69	-56	-13
41	Wichita St	51	138	301	46	1	3	6	8	4	-26	-71	-64	-7