3-7-21 Sunday Mid-Major Tournament Slate

[Hey Adrien!]

Lots of good P5 games today, but I wanted to focus on the mid-major tournament games day as there is quite a selection of championship games and semis. Man, do I love the first three weeks of March!

Championship games:

12 PM Big South - ESPN:

• Campbell vs Winthrop. The 22-1 Winthrop Eagles are the (-11.5) favorites and will be a heck of a team to play against in the tournament. Their rotation plays eleven players and their leader is 6'7 senior Chandler Vaudrin (12.3p, 7r, 7a). Between being a top-15 rebounding, 25th in causing turnovers, 63rd at getting to the line and 71st in fg%, Winthrop has quite a resume going into March.

2 PM Missouri Valley - CBS:

• Drake vs Loyola-Chicago. On paper, this looks like an incredible game but unfortunately Drake's top two players are out with injury. Still, Drake has been 5-1 with both Hemphill and Penn out, so this could still be interesting. With the #1 ranked defense in the nation, I'm real interested to see Loyola-Chicago's draw in March Madness. A Loyola-Chicago win increases the odds that Xavier and Seton Hall get in to March Madness, so I'll be rooting for the Ramblers.

2 PM Atlantic Sun - ESPN:

• North Alabama vs Liberty. Unfortunately, North Alabama (new to D1) cannot make it into March Madness, so a win would be solely for the conference crown. Liberty wants to keep the mojo going. I find them to be a great tournament pick: old, slow and Darius McGhee is their bucket getter. 4th best shooting team int eh nation, 22nd best at preventing offensive turnovers, 14th best at defensive rebounding, 60th best at defensive fg%...lots to like about this team in the tournament.

Semifinal games:

5 PM and 7:30 PM - SoCon - ESPNU: Ah, entering this season, the SoCon was the mid-major conference I was most excited to watch this year and it's been a very competitive league. The 2nd-4th seeds have been eliminated (Wofford, Furman, Chattanooga), so out of the top seeds only UNC-Greensboro remains.

• East Tennessee State vs UNC Greensboro. We're used to seeing ETSU in the SoCon semis, but after Steve Forbes left for Wake Forest, a rebuilding year was expected for Jason Shay. Not so fast. A great haul of transfers and a surprisingly good freshman haul has sustained ETSU's success. The team is led by junior forward Ledarrius Brewer (16.4 ppg) and his brother Ty (8.3 ppg) transferred in as well. P5 transfers include former Kansas State PG David Sloan and Maryland wing Serrel Smith. The biggest surprise is redshirt freshman Damari Monsanto, a 6'6 225 matchup nightmare (11.9p, 7.5r, 35.5 3p%) who spurred offers from Texas Tech, Kansas State, Memphis and others to sign with ETSU. UNC Greensboro is the favored team thanks to stud senior point guard Isaiah Miller (19p, 6.7r, 3.9a, 2.6a).
• Mercer vs VMI. This is the surprise semi matchup, the #7 vs #6. Mercer has five players who average in double-digits with Fairfield transfer Neftali Alvarez their starting PG (13.1p, 4.3a). VMI is led by senior Greg Parham (18.7p, 3.9r, 4a), the younger brother of VMI stud (and current Georgia Tech guard) Bubba.

6:30 PM and 9 PM - Sun Belt - ESPN+: Another mid-major conference I thought would be a very competitive this year was more of a let down. Both Little Rock underwhelmed, as did the hyped South Alabama. However, unlike the SoCon, the Sun Belt has gone 3/4ths to chalk, with both #2 seeds and one #1 seed still remain.

• Georgia State vs Louisiana. Winners of seven straight, Georgia State rosters five double-digit scorers led by senior guard Corey Allen (15p, 41.3 3p%). Louisiana counters with four double-digit scorers, led by senior guard Cedric Russell (17p, 40.7 3p%).
• Appalachian State vs Coastal Carolina. After two straight top-100 recruiting hauls, Appalachian State has been on my radar. With five double-digit scorers, they've surprised in the Sun Belt. Coastal Carolina is coached by the venerable Cliff Ellis who's just two wins away from 800. Hats off to the 76 year old who is now in his 14th year in Myrtle Beach. The Chanticleers roster four double-digit scorers and are led by junior Devante' Jones, who averages 20.2p, 7.1r, 3.1a and a whopping 3.0 steals per game (3rd in the nation).

Other tournaments today: CAA quarterfinals, Summit quarterfinals.