Tuesday, March 3
Central Michigan - 85
Toledo - 77
Central Michigan claimed at least a share of the MAC West title on Tuesday by beating Toledo. Perhaps even more importantly, that means the Chippewas will have a double-bye in the MAC Tournament. The game was a battle of outside shooters for CMU and inside scoring for Toledo. The Rockets outscored Central Michigan 46-22 in the paint, but the Chippewas made 11 3-pointers, 8 of which came from John Simons who finished the game with 28 points. Toledo as a team only made 5 threes. Central Michigan finishes the regular season against Western Michigan with a chance to win the MAC West outright with a win. It's a remarkable accomplishment for a team picked to finish 11th in the pre-season MAC polls.
Tuesday, March 3
Kent St. - 81
Bowling Green - 80
While the MAC West is taking shape, the MAC East has only gotten more confusing. Bowling Green was looking like the team to beat after the won 4 straight games in early to mid February. Since then, they are just 2-3 and have fallen into a tie for first. Kent St. was that team to beat in late January, but they are just 5-5 in their last 10 games. Of course, one of those wins was on Tuesday night against the Falcons. That win puts Kent St. into the first place tie in the MAC East. The third team tied atop the standings is Buffalo, which is looking like the newest team to beat. The Bulls have won 5 in a row including wins over both Bowling Green and Kent St. in that stretch. The Falcons and Bulls meet again on Friday night.
As for this game, Bowling Green led by 5 with under 4 minutes to play, but Derek Jackson and Devareaux Manley hit back-to-back threes for Kent St. to put them up by 1 with just 46 seconds left. Bowling Green could not find the bucket and the Golden Flashes added 3 free throws to seal the victory. The Falcons added a too-little-too-late 3 as time to expired.
A-10 Out of 10
Tuesday, March 3
Dayton - 75
Rhode Island - 59
The Rams may need to resign themselves to the fact that they're going to NIT after their loss to Dayton on Tuesday night. Barring an A-10 Tournament victory, Rhode Island just does not have the resume to justify an at-large bid at this point. Dayton dominated the game from start the finish. They led by 8 at halftime and as many as 19 in the game to keep themselves in a tie for first place in the loss column in the A-10. Dayton, a bubble team themselves just a few weeks ago, seems to have all but secured a bid. They are 6-1 over their last 7 games with wins over VCU and now Rhode Island. They end the regular season with a game at LaSalle. If they win, they can do no worse than a share of the regular season championship.
Thursday, March 5
Davidson - 82
VCU - 55
If Davidson can beat Duquesne over the weekend, the Wildcats will do no worse than share the regular season A-10 Championship in their first year in the league. That is true because they dismantled VCU on Thursday night winning by 27 points, the worst defeat Shaka Smart has ever had at VCU. The Wildcats were never really threatened in the game, which brings into question just how well VCU can play without star Briante Weber. The Rams have now lost 3 straight and are just 4-6 in their last 10. They have fallen 2 back in the A-10 standings and are in danger of missing out on the double bye in the A-10 Tournament. The battle was won by Davidson in two ways: knock down threes and don't turn the ball over. Davidson made 11 three pointers to VCU's 1. And the much heralded Havoc defense didn't result in much havoc. Davidson turned the ball over just 12 times in the game. The Wildcats were led by Tyler Kalinoski's 22 points.
Orion's Sun Belt
Thursday, March 5
Georgia St. - 58
UL Monroe - 50
The regular season finale between Georgia St. and Georgia Southern will be for the regular season championship. Both teams won their games on Thursday night setting up the winner-take-all showdown on Saturday. Not that it came easily. UL Monroe led by 3 at halftime and were up by 8 with 10 minutes to play. Ryan Harrow was not going to let his team lose, though. The Senior guard scored 31 points in the game and led his team on a 16-2 run to take the lead. UL Monroe would never see that lead again. The Redhawks can still finish in a tie for second place with a win against Texas St. on Saturday, but any dream of a shared regular season title are gone.
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