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Championship Week Day 3 Recap: FGCU falls, Arch Madness begins, and VCU is falling apart
- Updated: March 6, 2015
USC-Upstate ended FGCU’s dream of a return trip to the Dance on Thursday night. (Photo: USC Upstate Athletics)
Championship Week Recap: Day 3
Florida Gulf Coast‘s bid at reaching another NCAA Tournament fell flat in the Atlantic Sun semis, as upstart South Carolina-Upstate upstaged the Eagles, 63-62, in Fort Myers on Thursday.
FGCU had gone 22-10, and 11-3 in the A-Sun, but once again were felled in their own conference tournament. The Eagles haven’t been back to the Big Dance since captivating the nation and embarking on an unprecedented run to the Sweet 16 in 2013. A-Sun Player of the Year Ty Greene led the Spartans with 20 points.
Upstate, which became a D-1 program in 2007, will be playing for its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history on Saturday when they take on top-seeded North Florida, which knocked out Lipscomb, 71-57, in its semifinal game on Thursday night. The Opsreys went D-1 in 2006, and will also be playing for their first-ever trip to the Big Dance. In other news, Northwestern has still never made it.
Arch Madness, a.k.a. the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, got underway on Thursday, as the league’s four worst teams duked it out to see which would have the right to play on one of college basketball’s most fun non-NCAA Tournament days. The Valley tournament is always one of the most dramatic, entertaining tournaments to watch every March, and it’s not just because every basket seems like it’s worth 10 points.
No league plays defense like the Valley, and that’s one of the main reasons why its teams have been so successful in the NCAA’s. The tourney has it all: drama, parity, incredible fan support, an awesome venue, and a top-notch television broadcast. Even if some of the unpredictability has been taken out of it with Wichita State reaching another level nationally, it’s still a whole lot of fun to watch.
Case in point: Thursday night, as Southern Illinois ousted Missouri State in game 1 and Bradley took out Drake in overtime in game 2.
VCU continues to free-fall, as the Rams were smacked around by Davidson, 82-55 on Thursday. The Commonwealth has now lost three straight, and may be in danger of slipping out of NCAA Tournament position if they continue to falter down the stretch. A Saturday win over rival George Mason is now a must, as is (probably) a first-round win in the A-10 tournament. Davidson, on the other hand, is looking solid at 22-6, 13-4 in the league. The Wildcats should be in the field.
UConn continues to disappoint its fans, as the Huskies lost on Senior Night at home to Memphis, which tried to give the game away as a parting gift to Ryan Boatright in the second half. There hasn’t been much to cheer about this year in Storrs, but even in its bright spots, like after a home win over SMU, UConn always seems to drop the curtain. There won’t be a trip to the NCAAs for the defending champs.
The MAAC Tournament also began on Thursday, and 6-seed Quinnipiac was unceremoniously dismissed by 6-24 Marist. The Bobcats were the most disappointing team in the conference this season. QU had plenty of talent, including two guys Kels Dayton himself selected on his all-district ballot (Zaid Hearst and Ousmane Drame), but for some reason, they couldn’t pull it all together. Head coach Tom Moore’s seat probably isn’t hot right now, but it’s at least getting a little bit warm.
