15 Mar30 - KAT's 'Cats

Volume XIX, No. 21 - 15 Mar30

KAT's 'Cats

Cinderella had by and large left the building by the time the Sweet 16 games came around. With the exception of UCLA and North Carolina State, these were all teams who had made a real impression before the NCAA tournament even began.
     [M1]@Kentucky was at its devastaing best in crushing [M5]West Virginia (@78-39) in Cleveland -- forcing the tempo with all-court pressure is exactly the wrong way to go in combating the Wildcats (as Arkansas learned in SEC play).
     The outside shots weren't falling for either [S2]Gonzaga or [S11]UCLA in RELIANT Stadium in Houston (6-for-32 on three-pointers combined) so both had to go inside -- for the Bulldogs, it was point-blank by fPrzemek Karnowski(18p9r;2 behind-the-back bounce passes for dunks to fDomantas Sabonis) for a 74-62 win. For all of its consistent excellence in conference play for the past 15 years, this was the first trip to the Elite 8 for Gonzaga since it debuted on the national scene back in 1999 (and it's the first time ever for coach Mark Few, who took over in 2000 when Dan Monson "moved up" to take the Minnesota job).
     [W4]North Carolina's best shot was to blow past [W1]Wisconsin and leave it in the dust; as it was, the fast pace did give the Tar heels a narrow margin, but once the Badgers were able to go on a 9-0 run to grab back the lead at 65-60 with 5 minutes to go, Wisc's edge in the halfcourt gave UNC virtually no shot to win the endplay -- UW 79-72.
     [S5]Utah shut down fJahlil Okafor(6p8r), but cJustise Winslow(21p10r) stepped up and gTyus Jones(15p) chipped in for [S1]Duke -- (freshmen all, mind you). The Utes' bDelon Wright(10p6r) was saddled with foul trouble and bBrandon Taylor(15p5r) wasn't enough of a substitute in the Blue Devils' 63-57 win.
     [W6]Xavier did well to hang with [W2]Arizona thanks to cMatt Stainbrook(17p10r)'s savvy post play, but 3-for-17 on three-pointers wasn't going to get it done. For all of the size in the frontcourt, what kills you against the Wildcats is the guards' scoring -- pT.J. McConnell(17p5a7r) burned yet another opponent in AZ's 68-60 win.
     [M3]Notre Dame just had too many weapons -- Demetrius Jackson(20p), xPat Connaughton(16p10r) and gSteve Vasturia(15p) all orchestrated by pJerian Grant(9p11a); only bFred Van Vleet(25p6r) and fDarius Carter(22p8r) were able to get going for [M7]Wichita State as bRon Baker only had 9p6r in the 81-70 Irish win.
     [E7]Michigan State (and Tom Izzo)'s advantage in postseason experience was just enough of an edge as Travis Trice(24p), bDenzel Valentine(18p7r) et al. had a little more "want to" than bBuddy Hield(21p6r) and fTyShawn Thomas(16p7r) et al. for [E3]Oklahoma (and Lon Kruger) in the Spartans' 62-58 upset.
     In an ACC knockout game, [E4]Louisville turned the tables on the regular season result as its deliberate pace kept the game with conferencemate [E8]N.C. State close until a key 9-0 run provided a 10-point lead with one minute to go and a 75-65 Cardinals win. fMontrezl Harrell(24p7r) and, especially, xTerry Rozier(17p14r4a) led the way for Lville; bTrevor Lacey(18p5r) couldn't do it all by himself for NCSt.
     Five of the Hard Eight did live up to their seeding, leaving us two highly anticipated juggernaut matchups in the Regional Finals. The Mega-ACC pushed three teams into the Elite 8; the BIG 10 managed two teams while the highly rated BIG 12 and BIG EAST both came up empty.

Although it wasn't quite the quality of last year's all-time classic between undefeated Wichita State and Kentucky, this year's [M1]@Kentucky-[M3]Notre Dame MIDWEST Final in Cleveland was plenty compelling. As well as the Irish played offensively, coach Mike Brey's "let cKarl-Anthony Towns get his" defensive strategy was fine for 36 minutes; but you've got to make a stop no matter who it is once you reach the endplay. Give the Wildcats credit not only for their talent but also for being the more poised team down the stretch -- ND went 2-for-5 on free throws in the closing momemts and committed a costly shot-clock violation on its final possession thanks to excellent UK D. Yet another huge three-pointer from gAaron Harrison to add to his legend in a thrilling @68-66 win. It wasn't quite a One-Man-Show for fKarl-Anthony Towns(25p5r;10/13fg) but it was close; fZach Auguste(20p9r;10/13fg) was surprisingly effective inside for ND while gSteve Vasturia(16p) and pJerian Grant(15p6a) were good but not great.
     In the SOUTH Final in Houston, for all of the great skill this year's [S2]Gonzaga squad certainly had, [S1]Duke's edge in athleticism was key -- fJahlil Okafor(9p8r) got fPrzemek Karnowski(4p5r) in foul trouble; bJustise Winslow(16p5r) and tKyle Wiltjer(16p5r) were a push exploiting their mismatches; pTyus Jones(15p6a) got the better of gKevin Pangos(4p0a); Domantas Sabonis(9p4r) was a decent substitute for fKarnowski as a banger inside, but he's nowhere near the same passer -- bByron Wesley(10p5r) got off to a great start cutting and receiving fKarnowski's passes but that went away when the big man sat down; bit-player Matt Jones(16p) was the surprise, supplying some key three-pointers moreso than bQuinn Cook(10p5r) in the 66-52 Blue Devil win.
     In the first half of the WEST Final in Los Angeles, [W1]Wisconsin's fFrank Kaminsky(29p6r;10/12ft) nearly fouled out the entire [W2]Arizona front line with crafy post moves and then bSam Dekker(27p5r;5/6 3s) kept hitting big threes in the second half. The Wildcats kept it close by getting to the free-throw line (28/30FT), led by fRondae Hollis-Jefferson(17p8r), Brandon Ashley(17p) and pT.J. McConnell(14p5a) in the 85-78 Badger win.
     In the decided undercard that was the EAST Final in Syracuse, [E4]Louisville led [E7]Michigan State 40-32 at the half behind solid play by fMontrezl Harrell(16p9r) and gWayne Blackshear(28p;12/12ft); but fHarrell was woeful in the second half and tTerry Rozier(13p8r;6/23 fg) shot terribly all game long. pTravis Trice(17p5a) and pDenzel Valentine(15p6a7r) led the way on offense for the Spartans, but this game was won on their collective effort defensively as MichSt prevailed 76-70(OT).

Who'd have figured it'd be the BIG 10 to place two teams in the Final Four? BIG 12, BIG EAST, Mega-ACC -- Wherefore art thou? That's 12 Final Fours now for coach Mike Krzyzewski, tying UCLA's John Wooden for the all-time mark.

In the NIT quarters, home teams [m1]Old Dominion held off [m3]Murray State @72-69, [e1]Temple crushed [e3]Louisiana Tech @77-59 and [w2]Stanford held off [w5]Vanderbilt @78-75 while only [s2]Miami(Florida) was able to come through on the road to edge host [s1]Richmond 63-@61.
     In the CBI semis, the home teams ruled as [mA1]Loyola(Illinois) rolled [wA1]Seattle @63-48 and [sB1]Louisiana-Monroe held off [eA2]Vermont @71-65.
     The CIT is down to the semis as slumming MM Evansville won at Louisiana (89-@82) and Tennessee-Martin beat host OVC conferencemate Eastern Kentucky (70-@59) both on the road while Northern Arizona (@74-73 over Kent State) and INDEPENDENT New Jersey Tech (@78-73 over Canisius) were both winners at home.

The BIG 10's 4-0 weekend pushed its postseason record to 11-6 (with two Final Four participants). A 5-4 weekend left the Mega-ACC at 18-6 overall (with a Final Four team and an NIT semifinalist still alive). Only the 10-3 MISSOURI VALLEY also still has two teams alive (both favorites in the CBI and CIT). The 13-6 PAC-12 has the NIT favorite in its corner. The 6-2 SUN BELT (still in CBI) and 8-4 OHIO VALLEY (still in CIT) have had the best possteasons among the 1BCs. And give some love to the lone INDEPENDENT, New Jersey Tech -- 3-0 in the postseason and through to the semifinals of the CIT.

- -

For all of the bellyaching from the Gonzaga faithful that they're "not a Mid-Major", there's no question that Mark Few's gaudy won-loss record has been padded by playing in the WEST COAST conference -- an Anti-Spoiler/1BC league more often than a Mid-Major (or B-Major this year). Even in this post-Golden Child Era (since the 2006-07 season), Butler has made 2 Final Fours (2010, 2011 -- both as Runner-Up) from the 1BC HORIZON LEAGUE, Wichita State has 1 Final Four (2013) and an undefeated regular season (2014) from the MM/1BC MISSOURI VALLEY and VCU made the Final Four (2011) from the MM COLONIAL. "Overrated" is a bit harsh and this was a tough year to field his best-ever team when the Hard Eight were all Final Four-calibre squads, but it's a fair criticism generally to point out the past underperforming of the 'Zags in the NCAAs.
     With [M1]@Kentucky's surviving the nervous trap game that the Regional Final always is, the 40-0 perfect season seems practically inevitable. The Wildcats are too deep for everyone on the roster to get tight in a close game, so I think even a 1991 Duke/UNLV scenario is now out -- that UNLV team was practically an Iron Five who, once any one of them felt the nerves from Duke's staying close, they all did. This UK team (as we saw against [M8]Cincinnati and [M3]Notre Dame) always has someone to step in and make his mark in limited minutes to save the day with a key 10-point performannce. So we're now down to just a 1985 Villanova/Georgetown near-perfect game's being the only way someone can stop these 'Cats. [W1]Wisconsin has the discipline to play that kind of game -- and it'll get its chance after all in a rematch from last year's Final Four -- I don't think anyone else remaining in the field does.
     The NIT semifinalists are pretty evenly matched, but [w2]Stanford has the best player in bChasson Randle. MM Loyola(Illinois) is the CBI favorite even with two possible road games against Louisiana-Monroe. Slumming MM Evansville is the class of the CIT semifinalists.

Can you imagine the ratings bonanza an unbeaten-Kentucky vs Duke national championship game would bring?

-- Ron

Key games this week:

NCAA

Thursday:

COLLEGE 3-POINT/SLAM DUNK CONTEST @IndianapolisIN/HINKLE/BUTLER/
• {College 3-Point/Slam Dunk Contest}
  

Friday:

FINAL FOUR @IndianapolisIN/LUCAS/
• {Open Team Practices} - FREE
  
• {College All-Star Game} - FREE
  

Saturday:

FINAL FOUR @IndianapolisIN/LUCAS/
• [M1]@Kentucky v [W1]Wisconsin
  
• [S1]Duke v [E7]Michigan St
  

- - - - - -

Monday week:

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP @IndianapolisIN/LUCAS/
• {[M1]@Kentucky/[W1]Wisconsin} v {[S1]Duke/[E7]MichiganSt}
  

NIT

Tuesday:

Semis @NewYorkNY/MSG/
• [e1]Temple v [s2]Miami-FL
  
• [m1]Old Dominion v [w2]Stanford
  

Thursday:

Final @NewYorkNY/MSG/
• {[e1]Temple/[s2]MiamiFL} v {[m1]OldDominion/[w2]Stanford}
  

CBI (COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL)
Finals (Best of 3) on-campus

Monday:

• @ [mA1]Loyola-IL v [sB1]LA-Monroe
  

Wednesday:

• @ [sB1]LA-Monroe v [mA1]Loyola-IL
  

(Friday, if necessary):

• @ [sB1]LA-Monroe v [mA1]Loyola-IL
  

CIT (COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT)

Tuesday:

Semis on-campus
• @ Evansville v TN-Martin
  
• @ No Arizona v NJIT
  

Thursday:

Final on-campus
• {Evansville/TNMartin} v {NoArizona/NJIT}
  

15 Mar24 - ACCentuate The Positive

Volume XIX, No. 20 - 15 Mar24

ACCentuate The Positive

After the preseason, the BIG 12 had a healthy lead in the ratings over all other conferences -- 8 of its 10 teams were ranked at some point (including 5 in the final Top 25 ballot) -- but seven NCAA teams only went 3-4 in the Round of 64, just two teams made it out of the first weekend and the two biggest upsets/worst losses both belonged to this league. Lowly [S14]UAB -- only in the NCAAs because the CONFERENCE USA tournament was held in its own gym -- just outhustled lauded [S3]Iowa State: 52-37 edge on the boards (including 19 offensive rebounds). bGeorges Niang(11p7r;4/16fg) was terrible all game long and his distressed attitude set the tone for the entire squad that played not to lose ... until it did, anyway, 59-60. With one star (pRyan Harrow) sidelined with injury and the other (tR.J. Hunter) held in check (2pts in the first half), [W14]Georgia State looked well down and out trailing [W3]Baylor 44-56 with under three minutes to go, but a miraculous 13-0 close (including 12 points by tHunter) ended with a deep game-winning three-pointer for a stunning 57-56 upset.) The league's bright spots came from [M5]West Virginia, which closed 6-0 to beat [M12]Buffalo (68-62) and used 23 turnovers on 15 steals to beat [M4]Maryland (69-59), and [E3]Oklahoma, whose toughest task was overcoming the crowd support in Columbus for upstart [E11b]@Dayton (72-@66).
     The BIG EAST started the preseason like gang-busters -- 26-1 at the very beginning; 7 of its 10 teams were ranked at some point (including 3 teams in the final rankings) -- although six NCAA teams went 4-2 in the Round of 64, only one ([W6]Xavier) made it out of the first weekend (and that was in part due to a hole left by BIG 12/[W3]Baylor). [E6]Providence got a bad break having to face [E11b]@Dayton in front of a cushy "home" Pod crowd in Columbus, but the crowd didn't shut down pKris Dunn(11p0a7to), the Flyers' defense did in a @66-53 upset. After looking as good as anyone winning the BIG EAST tourney and dominating [E16]Lafayette @93-@52 in its first game, [E1]@Villanova struggled to shoot well (31 percent from the floor) and looked confused and panicked against [E8]N.C. State. gDarrun Hilliard II(27p;6/10 3s) didn't get much help while bTrevor Lacey(17p4a6r) led a balanced attack in a 71-@68 Wolfpack win in Pittsburgh.
     Meanwhile, the top-heavy ACC figured to do well ... and it certainly did, going 11-1 in the NCAAs, sending 5 teams into the Sweet 16 (the most ever in its history). [S1]@Duke cruised through in Charlotte -- (don't get me started) -- (including @68-49 over [S8]San Diego State behind 26p6r from freshman fJahlil Okafor). [M3]Notre Dame won two squeakers (69-65 past [M14]Northeastern behind 25p5r from fZach Auguste, and 67-64[OT] past state-rival [M6]Butler). [W4]North Caroilna escaped past [W13]Harvard (67-65 despite 26p5a from pWesley Saunders) and forced 21 turnovers in outrunning [W5]Arkansas (87-78 as neither bMarcus Paige[22p6r5s] nor xMichael Qualls[27p10r;10/11ft] and cBobby Portis[18p14r5s] disappointed). [E4]Louisville had a tougher time against [E13]UC-Irvine (57-55) than it did against talented [E5]Northern Iowa (66-53 as pTerry Rozier[25p7a5r] stepped up). Only undermanned [E2]Virginia underperformed, losing 54-60 to [E10]Michigan State.
     Thanks in large part to The Team That Shouldn't Be Here, the PAC-12 was a strong 7-1 in the NCAAs, pushing three teams through to the Sweet 16. [S11]UCLA played with a chip on its shoulder and seemed well in control before a 19-0 run by [S6]SMU seemed to give the Mustangs the lead in the Round of 64; but the Bruins were credited with a game-winning three-pointer on a dubious-at-best goaltending call in the closing seconds to claim the upset, 60-59. Then, with its path cleared for it, [S11]UCLA routed fellow upsetter [S14]UAB (92-75 as cTony Parker[28p12r] dominated in the paint). [W2]Arizona cruised twice (including 73-58 over [W10]Ohio State as pT.J. McConnell[19p6a6r5s] starred). [S5]Utah didn't have the trouble many expected with [S12]Stephen F. Austin (57-50) and pulled away comfortably in "upsetting" [S4]Georgetown (75-64). gJoseph Young(29p4a average) was one of the biggest stars of the first weekend as [W8]Oregon beat [W9]Oklahoma State (79-73) but fell to balanced [W1]Wisconsin (65-72).

gFred Van Vleet(27p4a) led the way for [M7]Wichita State past [M10]Indiana (81-76) to set up a long-awaited grudge match with [M2]Kansas. Much like used to be the case with Kentucky-Louisville (and still is for Ohio State-Cincinnati, Missouri-St. Louis, Alabama-UAB and I'd even include Maryland-Georgetown), there's a "'Big Brother' State School refuses to play 'Little Brother' City School" vibe going on between Kans-WichSt as these two haven't met in over 20 years. KU coach Bill Self has openly admitted there's nothing in it for him to schedule the game -- he'd likely lose in-state recruits by elevating the status of WichSt as an equal rival. (With some of the other cases, there has historically been a racial angle behind the refusal to play what should be natural rivalries.) When it came to fruition, it was great to see the Governor of Kansas show up for this game (and put on a gold-and-black "Kings Of Kansas" shirt in the WichSt locker room afterwards) as "Little Brother" prevailed 78-65.
     The BIG 10 (7-5 in the NCAAs) did get two Sweet 16 teams: one expected in [W1]Wisconsin and one not in [E7]Michigan State. [W10]Ohio State did have a solid moment in its first game as freshman pD'Angelo Russell(28p6r;10/20fg)'s One-Man-Show was (barely) enough to survive past [W7]VCU, 75-72(OT). [S7]Iowa (and fAaron White[26p6r;11/14fg) looked good blowing out [S10]Davidson 83-52 with surprising ease (before being clocked by [S2]@Gonzaga).
     As expected, top-seeded [M1]@Kentucky had little trouble getting through to the Sweet 16 even while putting up with the "Jordan Rules" tactics of [M8]Cincinnati (especially by fOctavius Ellis) in its second game -- a @64-51 win in Louisville. tKyle Wiltjer(24p8r average) led the way for [S2]@Gonzaga in a nervous win over [S15]North Dakota State (@86-76) in its first game and a free-flowing rout of [S7]Iowa (@87-68) in its second.

B-Major teams claimed 15 of the Sweet 16 spots (and you could argue that underseeded [M7]Wichita State should have made it 16-for-16). Only two 1BCs were able to pull off even Round of 64 wins -- [S14]Georgia State's miracle close over [S3]Baylor and [S14]UAB's shocker over too-nervous [S3]Iowa State (and the strong showing of both Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion -- both still alive in the NIT -- calls C-USA's 1BC status into question, anyway). But it was a strong year for the 1BCs in terms of TiTo champs making the tourney (13 out of 22). It's just that it was a very solid year at the top of college basketball. Five of the Hard Eight made the Sweet 16 and only two unranked teams made it through ([E8]N.C. State and [[S11]UCLA).
     Many of the best individual outputs came in losing efforts. [W11b]BYU pTyler Haws put up 33p5a5r in a 90-94 loss to [W11a]Mississippi; [S16a]North Florida's gBeau Beech had 28p7r5to;6/10 3s in a 77-81 loss to [S16b]Robert Morris -- both in FIRST FOUR games. [S12]Eastern Washington's gTyler Harvey(27p0a;6/12 3s) in a 74-84 loss was matched by [S5]Georgetown's tD'Vauntes Smith-Rivera's 25p8. [E15]Belmont's tCraig Bradshaw's 25p9r;10/19fg,5/9 3s effort wasn't enough in a 67-79 loss to [E2]Virginia.

In the NIT, experimental rules (30-second shot clock and 4-foot no-charge circle) are aimed at increasing scoring -- with a slightly "improved" result. Both [e3]Louisiana Tech (including an 84-@72 road win at [e2]Texas A&M) and [m1]Old Dominion (behind two home wins) made the quarterfinals, making the case (along with [S14]UAB's NCAA upset) that CONFERENCE USA shouldn't have been just a 1BC league. [m3]Murray State made its own case that it should have received an at-large NCAA bid by winning twice (including an 83-@62 road rout at [m2]Tulsa). [w8]South Dakota State's road win at [w1]Colorado State (86-@76) validated the NCAA's snub of the Rams.
     In the CBI, WAC/[wA1]Seattle knocked off both slumming B-Majors at home -- @62-45 over [wA2]WCC/Pepperdine and @72-65 over [wB1]PAC12/Colorado.
     In the CIT, slumming B-Major WCC/Portland lost at home to SKY/Sacramento State (@66-73). Four teams won twice on the road: MAC/Kent State (68-@56 at CUSA/Middle Tennessee and 69-@65 at SLAND/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), SUNB/Louisiana (83-@68 at SLAND/{Incarnate Word} and 71-@70 at SLAND/Sam Houston State), OVC/Tennessee-Martin (104-@79 at SLAND/Northwestern State and 60-@49 at ASUN/S.C. Upstate) and SKY/Northern Arizona (75-@70 at WAC/{Grand Canyon} and 78-@73 at conferencemate SKY/Sacramento State).

The MISSOURI VALLEY was 8-2 overall thanks to NCAA/[M7]Wichita State, CBI/[mA1]Loyola(Illinois) and CIT/Evansville -- all still alive. NCAA/[W14]Georgia State's upset headlined the 5-1 SUN BELT (with CBI/[sB1]Louisiana-Monroe and CIT/Louisiana both still alive). NIT/[m3]Murray State as well as CIT/Tennessee-Martin and CIT/Eastern Kentucky are all still alive for the 7-2 OHIO VALLEY.
     On the flip side, the COLONIAL (which rated well among 1BCs in the preseason), went 0-5 in the postseason as all four quad-title champs plus Hofstra came up empty.

- -

Nobody has looked better than [S2]Gonzaga through the first weekend (but [S1]Duke is a close second). [W1]Wisconsin and [W2]Arizona appear headed for a rematch of last year's Regional Final -- expect another down-to-the-wire game (with the same result -- a Badger win). [M1]@Kentucky shouldn't be bothered by Bluegrass rival [m3]Notre Dame in the Midwest final. Tournament-ready [E7]Michigan State is as good a pick as anyone in the busted bracket of the East Regional.
     [M3]Murray State and [s2]Miami(Florida) look strong enough advance on the road as home-standing @[e1]Temple and @[w2]Stanford figure to join them in New York for the NIT semfinals. MM[mA1]Loyola(Illinois) and [sB1]Louisiana-Monroe should advance at home to the CBI final series. MMEvansville has a tough road game at Louisiana, but is otherwise the class of the CIT quarterfinalists.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

NCAA

Thursday, Saturday:

MIDWEST REGIONAL Semis @ClevelandOH/QUICKEN/

• [M1]@Kentucky v [M5]W Virginia
  
• [M3]Notre Dame v [M7]Wichita St
  

WEST REGIONAL Semis @LosAngelesCA/STAPLES/

• [W1]Wisconsin v [W4]N Carolina
  
• [W2]Arizona v [W6]Xavier
  

Friday, Sunday:

EAST REGIONAL Semis @SyracuseNY/CARRIER/

• [E3]Oklahoma v [E7]Michigan St
  
• [E4]Louisville v [E8]NC State
  

SOUTH REGIONAL Semis @HoustonTX/RELIANT/

• [S1]Duke v [S5]Utah
  
• [S2]Gonzaga v [S11]UCLA
  

Sat 4 Apr, Mon 6 Apr:

FINAL FOUR,NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP @IndianapolisIN/LUCAS/

• {[1/MIDWEST]} v {[4/WEST]}
  
• {[2/EAST]} v {[3/SOUTH]}
  

NIT

Tuesday:

Qtrs on-campus

• @ [s1]Richmond v [s2]Miami-FL
  
• @ [w2]Stanford v [w5]Vanderbilt
  

Wednesday:

Qtrs on-campus

• @ [m1]Old Dominion v [m3]Murray St
  
• @ [e1]Temple v [e3]Louisiana Tech
  

Tuesday week, Thursday week:

Semis, Finals @NewYorkNY/MSG/

• {[m]/Old Dominion} v {[w]/Stanford}
  
• {[e]/Temple} v {[s]/Richmond}
  

CBI

Wednesday:

Semis on-campus (re-seeded)

• @ [mA1]Loyola-IL v [wA1]Seattle
  
• @ [sB1]LA-Monroe v [eA2]Vermont
  

Monday week, Wednesday week, (if necessary: Friday week):

Finals on-campus (Best of 3)

CIT

Wednesday:

Qtrs on-campus (re-seeded)

• @ Ea Kentucky v TN-Martin
  

Thursday:

Qtrs on-campus (re-seeded)

• @ Louisiana v Evansville
  

Friday:

Qtrs on-campus (re-seeded

• @ No Arizona v Kent St
  

Saturday:

Qtrs on-campus (re-seeded)

• @ NJIT v Canisius
  

Tuesday week:

Semis on-campus (re-seeded)

Thursday week:

Final on-campus