Dave Preston is an AP Top 25 voter. View his latest ballot here.
March comes at you fast.
None faster than Sunday in Annapolis, where Patriot League regular season champion Navy — after taking a 72-70 lead on an Austin Benigni bucket with 3.6 seconds left — fell to Boston University on a 3-pointer by Chance Gladden at the buzzer.
Gladden is making his March even more memorable as he hit the game-winning basket in the Patriot League quarterfinals against American.
Meanwhile, the best Navy (26-7) team of this century experiences the same March every team since 1998 has endured: falling short of the NCAA Tournament.
The Mids weren’t the only regular season champion to get bounced before their tournament championship game. Belmont lost by 21 to Drake in the Missouri Valley Tournament, while UNCW was shocked by Campbell in the CAA quarterfinals.
The CAA also saw Towson (19-14) blast the No. 2 seed College of Charleston 81-56 after blowing the game wide-open with an 18-2 run to start the second half.
“We knew we were playing obviously an elite program in Charleston,” head coach Pat Skerry said. “We did three things really well: we guarded, we rebounded it and we took care of the basketball. When we’ve done two of those three, it’s a winning formula. Tonight we did all three on a really high level.”
Back-to back-wins places the Tigers in the semifinals for the fifth straight year, with a chance to reach the CAA finals for the first time since joining the conference in 2001.
“We’ve talked a lot this week that we have an opportunity to either prove people right or prove them wrong. Two good days, and we’re going to try to put a good game plan together tomorrow night [for the semifinals].”
They’ll face Hofstra, who beat William & Mary in the final game of Sunday’s quadruple-header at CareFirst Arena in Southeast D.C.
Bids Awarded
The Ohio Valley Conference was the first league to hold its championship game, with Tennessee State under first-year coach Nolan Smith (yes, the former Duke player) torching Morehead State 93-67 Saturday night to secure its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1994. The Tigers were a No. 14 seed that year.
But it was the NEC who handed out its automatic bid first, as Mercyhurst advanced to Tuesday’s championship game but is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. Therefore, Long Island University punches its ticket with a 64-56 semifinal win over Wagner. The Sharks last made the tournament in 2018, where they lost in the First Four.
Sunday’s championship games saw High Point beat Winthrop 91-76 to take the Big South (High Point lost in the first round last year as a No. 13 seed).
Northern Iowa emerges from an upset-riddled Missouri Valley to prevail in “Arch Madness,” topping UIC 84-69 and securing the Panthers’ first trip to the field of 68 since 2016 (UNI, a No. 11 seed, topped Texas before falling to Texas A&M in second round).
Queens beats Central Arkansas 98-93 to win the Atlantic Sun and send the Royals to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the school joined Division I four years ago. North Dakota State beats North Dakota 70-62 to win the Summit League as the Bison make their first appearance since 2019, when they were a No. 16 seed.
Monday’s Bids
SoCon: East Tennessee State (23-10) vs. Furman (21-12), 7 p.m., ESPN. The regular-season champion Buccaneers swept the regular-season series from the Paladins.
Sun Belt: Troy (21-11) vs. Georgia Southern (21-15), 7 p.m., ESPN2. The regular-season champion Trojans face an Eagles team that has had to win five games in five nights to reach the final.
Tournament trails for the locals
Big East: Georgetown plays in the first round for the 11th straight March, taking on DePaul at 9 p.m. Wednesday. They split the regular-season series, with each team winning at home.
ACC: Virginia Tech draws Wake Forest in Tuesday’s first round at 7 p.m. The Hokies lost the Jan. 3 meeting in Winston-Salem 81-78 while taking the Feb. 21 game in Blacksburg 82-63. Virginia has a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed and will face NC State, Stanford, or Pitt at noon.
Atlantic 10: Richmond faces Loyola-Chicago Wednesday in the first round at 2 p.m. George Washington faces Fordham Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the second round, while George Mason plays the winner of La Salle-St. Bonaventure at 2 p.m. Thursday. VCU has the vaunted double bye into Friday’s quarterfinal and plays the winner of Rhode Island and Duquesne at 5 p.m.
MEAC: Howard has the No. 1 seed and awaits the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between South Carolina State and Norfolk State. The Bison will have more than a week off when they tip off Friday at 6 p.m.
Big Ten: Maryland plays Oregon in Tuesday’s infamous first round at 5 p.m., not to be confused with Wednesday’s dreaded second round.
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