Monday didn’t have a lot of games, but it sure did have some surprises.  That being said, those surprises didn’t happen in the two conference finals.  Iona won the MAAC tournament and UNC-Greensboro took the Southern tournament.

Cleveland State continued their reign of terror in the Horizon tournament – as they entered the post-season with a 9-22 record, and in three days have won the play-in game, knocked off the #1 seed Northern Kentucky, and then hit a basket with 32 seconds and made a few defensive stops to finish off #4 seed Oakland 44-43.

Then, to end the night, BYU put together one of their best games of the season by taking down nationally ranked #20 St. Mary’s.  While BYU has had a pretty good season at 24-9 so it is hard to say that this is an amazing upset.   But it does have huge bubble implications – everyone expected the West Coast Conference final to be Gonzaga and St. Mary’s and both teams would get in.  Now, BYU can steal the bid and shrink the bubble – and St. Mary’s sadly goes on it (since their 28-5 resume looks eerily similar to other years where they got snubbed and sent to the NIT).

So – to the viewing guide.  Their are five conference finals tonight.

• 7 pm – Horizon:  #2 Wright State (24-9) vs #8 Cleveland State (12-22) – can Wright State end the Vikings Cinderella run.
• 7 pm – Colonial: #1 Charleston (25-7) vs #2 Northeastern (23-9) – regular season co-champions fight for the bid.
• 7 pm – NEC: #1 Wagner (23-8) vs #4 LIU Brooklyn (17-16) – the Northeast conference tourney reseeds each round allowing for an unusual 1 vs 4 matchup in the final.
• 9 pm – Summit: #1 South Dakota State (27-6) vs #2 South Dakota (26-7) – SD State is one of those conference champions with a high enough RPI at 53 to get a look, but with being beaten by double digits by Kansas and Wichita State, and only Quadrant 1 win being a neutral court victory over Buffalo (RPI 32), they probably need this game.  And of course, they get a talented in-state rival who is the only Summit conference team to beat them this season – should be a fun game.
• 9 pm – WCC: #1 Gonzaga vs #3 BYU – can BYU steal the bid and shrink the bubble, or will Gonzaga continue their dominance of the West Coast Conference.

Also today is the first round games of the ACC Tournament.  Notre Dame is trying to show now that Bonzie Colson is back, they are a worthy team to make the tournament despite their 8-10 conference record (where they slumped once their star was out of the lineup).  However, beating Pittsburgh today isn’t going to sway the committee – but losing certainly won’t help their cause.  You also have 8-10 Syracuse i(who has a much better RPI and is more solidly in the bubble conversation) in the same boat, as winning against Wake Forest likely doesn’t get the Orange into the dance, but losing to the Demon Deacons could end their chances for an invitation.

The Madness is beginning – should be a fun day of games!!!!