"The Stack" 3-7-17
Andrew Bogut broke his leg in the first minute of his debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. The Cavs would go on to lose the game, but the concern with losing Bogut is far greater.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Stack is back on this Tuesday and as you probably guessed, we have a lot of conference tournaments to preview today. The bigger conferences are starting their tournaments so we previews and predictions for the tournaments plus picks for championship games and more. Before we get to that though, congrats are in order to Winthrop, Wichita State, Florida Gulf Coast, UNC-Wilmington, Eastern Tennessee State and Iona (who won a thriller in overtime) who are all dancing. Also before we get going, Andrew Bogut broke his leg less than a minute into last night’s game between the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers so that is a big letdown and possibly loss for the Cavaliers. We’ll see where they go from here and how they respond. Now let’s get right to it and see what’s in “the stack” for today, Tuesday, March 7th:
ACC Tournament preview (March 7-11th, Brooklyn, New York)
The ACC is in new territory as it invades Brooklyn and the Barclays Center for their tournament which tips off today. Seems kind of odd that it is in a building that is rather a long distance away from the majority of the teams in the tournament. The tournament seems to be wide open this year. Duke can win it. Obviously UNC can win it. Florida State may have a run in them. Likewise with Louisville and even Notre Dame. The problem for Duke as the five seed is that they would have to face UNC in the semifinals. Likewise with UNC. That’s why I will go out on a limb and say that Florida State finally starts putting it all back together and wins it all…if they can get by Virginia.
Predicted winner: Florida State (eh, maybe UNC or Duke)
Big Sky Conference Tournament preview (March 7th, 9-11th, Reno, Nevada)
The Big Sky Tournament gets underway today from Reno. North Dakota could make their first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament if they win. They are the top seed and that carries with it some pressure. Montana as a five seed is a team to watch as is Weber State as a three seed and if you really want a dark horse why not go with the six seed Montana State? In the end though I will take Phil Jackson’s alma mater to win.
Predicted winner: North Dakota
SWAC Tournament preview (March 7th, 10-11th, Campus sites)
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (OK, I am going with SWAC), starts their tournament today and unlike in previous years where they were at the Toyota Center in Houston (home of the Houston Rockets), they are doing it campus style this year. Smart call by the SWAC. No need to have an entire NBA arena that is mostly empty for this tournament. Texas Southern is the top seed. They have head coach Mike Davis. I like Mike Davis as a head coach. I’ll take them to win.
Predicted winner: Texas Southern
MAC Tournament preview (March 6th, 9-11th, Cleveland, Ohio)
The Mid-American Conference actually started their tournament yesterday with four games featuring the bottom eight teams and the five, six, seven and eight seeds all played at home before the tournament heads to Cleveland for festivities on the 9th. Akron has been the best team and since Keenan from Central Michigan is out now, I’ll just have to take the Zips to win this tournament though Ohio may be able to surprise and win the tournament as a two seed.
Predicted winner: Akron
Horizon League championship game
#10 Milwaukee vs. #4 Northern Kentucky 7 PM ET ESPN
This tournament has been absolutely bananas with all of the upsets we’ve seen. The top three seeds didn’t even make it to the semifinals. Milwaukee is the lowest seed in the tournament for crying out loud. Who saw this coming? No one, but this is March and this is why we love March. Can they pull off the Cinderella story? Yes. Will they? I have my doubts.
Pick: Northern Kentucky
NEC championship game
#4 St. Francis (PA) vs. #1 Mount St. Mary’s 7 PM ET ESPN2
The Mount is the top team in the league. They’re a good team, but likely headed for a #16 seed. If St. Francis (PA) wins, they will definitely be a #16 seed. I think the Mount comes away with the victory.
Pick: Mount St. Mary’s
Summit League championship game
#4 South Dakota State vs. #3 Omaha 9 PM ET ESPN2
What a thrilling game Monday night between in-state rivals South Dakota State and South Dakota. The Jackrabbits came back from nearly 20 points down to win at the end 74-71. They led for all of 12 seconds in the game, but they made those seconds count. Their best player, Mike Daum, wasn’t at his best, but Omaha can expect him to be better tonight. Omaha can shoot lights out and they are a very fast paced team. Should be a good game.
Pick: Omaha
West Coast Conference championship game
#2 St. Mary’s vs. #1 Gonzaga 9 PM ET ESPN
Gonzaga handled both matchups very easily in the regular season, but they won’t be beating St. Mary’s by thirty tonight. St. Mary’s dismantled BYU in the semi-finals. You may recall BYU beat Gonzaga in the regular season finale. I don’t see an upset here, but I expect a closer game.
Pick: Gonzaga
Coming up Wednesday: More conference tournament previews and championship game picks
