March Madness: Conference tournament Saturday recap
Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is tomorrow, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday. Here's a recap of Saturday's action.
The Upsets, the Madness
Virginia Tech def. Duke 82-67, ACC Final
Hunter Cattoor put on a clinic, hitting 11 of 16 from the field for
31 points. The teams were neck and neck in the first half, as the
Hokies took a three point lead into the break. They would slowly
extend that lead during the remainder of the contest, when a Justyn
Mutts dunk gave them an advantage of 12 points with 2:28 left, all
but sealing the deal. Virginia Tech enters the NCAA Tournament red
hot. Tough night for Duke.
Memphis def. SMU 70-63 - AAC Semifinal
You do not want to play the Tigers right now. They have been red
hot over the last few weeks and will take great momentum into the
American Championship game. They had three players in
double-figures in this one, along with strong outings from Earl
Timberlake and Tyler Harris off the bench. Watch out.
Texas A&M def. Arkansas 82-64 - SEC
Semifinal
Even after strong performances this week, the Aggies were given
only a 31% chance of winning today, but they put on a clinic. They
held a 12 point lead at the break and never let off the gas.
Quenton Jackson poured in 20 points in a great showing, and now the
Aggies look forward to playing for the SEC Championship.
Tennessee def. Kentucky 69-62 - SEC
Semifinal
The Volunteers took a 7-4 lead 3 minutes into the game and never
gave it back. TyTy Washington was able to cut that lead to 3 points
with 1:31 to play, but Zakai Zeigler hit clutch free throws to ice
it. Kennedy Chandler, Santiago Vescovi and co. move on to the SEC
Championship game.
Richmond def. Dayton 68-64 - Atlantic 10
Semifinal
Dayton had an eight point lead at the break and a 14 point
advantage with 13 minutes to play, but simply couldn’t hold on.
Grant Golden, Tyler Burton and co. stormed back to steal the four
point win. The Spiders move into the A10 Championship game and will
look to steal an auto-bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Best Games of the Day
Iowa def. Indiana 80-77, Big Ten Semifinal
The Hoosiers led by nine with 5:31 to play, but Keegan Murray did
what he usually does — turned on the jets late. Jordan Bohannon
banked in a last-second three which sent the fans into a frenzy,
propelling the Hawkeyes into the Big Ten title game. This ends a
great run from Indiana — now they await their fate on Selection
Sunday.
Boise State def. San Diego State 53-52 - Mountain West
Final
The biggest lead in this one was three points. However, once the
Broncos took a 48-47 lead with 6:41 to play, they never gave it
back. Degenhart led them in scoring with 13 points, and now they
look ahead to the Big Dance.
Headed to the Big Dance, Tickets Punched
Kansas def. Texas Tech 74-55, wins Big 12 Championship
Arizona def. UCLA , wins Pac 12 Championship
Virginia Tech def. Duke 82-67, wins ACC Championship
Villanova def. Creighton 54-38, wins Big East Championship
Boise State def. San Diego State 53-52, wins Mountain West Championship
Akron def. Kent State 75-55, wins MAC Championship
UAB def. Louisiana Tech 82-73, wins C-USA Championship
Texas Southern def. Alcorn State 87-62, wins SWAC Championship
Vermont def. UMBC 82-43, wins America East Championship
Norfolk State def. Coppin State 72-57, wins MEAC Championship
Saint Peter’s def. Monmouth 60-54, wins MAAC Championship
Montana State def. Northern Colorado 87-66, wins Big Sky Championship
Texas A&M-CC def. SE Louisiana 73-65, wins Southland Championship
New Mexico State def. Abilene Christian 66-52, wins WAC Championship
CSU Fullerton def. Long Beach State 72-71, wins Big West Championship
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