Tournament Capsules: Conference Championship for 3/6/10
 Winthrop Eagles (18-3) |
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 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (28-5) |
What They’re Playing For: The Big South Tournament wraps up on Saturday afternoon with a clash between the Winthrop Eagles and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
How They Got Here: Winthrop defeated Liberty 80-72 & Radford 61-46. Coastal Carolina defeated VMI 82-73 & UNC-Ashville 92-73
Who to Watch: Winthrop’s G Reggie Middleton is the team’s best outside threat, and he’s also the only real pure scorer that the team has. If he doesn’t go off for at least 15 points, the Eagles are going to have a hard time keeping up with the Chants. For Coastal Carolina, watch F Joseph Harris. Not only is he the team’s leading scorer at 14.8 points per game, but he’s also the best defender on the squad as well, averaging 9.9 rebounds to go with 60 steals and 26 blocks in 33 games.
Previous Meetings: January 2nd – Coastal Carolina 57 – Winthrop 47, January 30th – Winthrop 67 – Coastal Carolina 64
What to Expect: The Chanticleers have been the best team in the Big South all season, and especially on their home court, it’s hard to imagine how they could possibly slip up in this one. Look for Coastal Carolina to break its 17-year drought without a March Madness appearance by clinching its automatic bid to the dance.
 Mercer Bears (16-16) |
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 East Tennessee State Buccaneers (19-14) |
What They’re Playing For: The upstart Mercer Bears entered the Atlantic Sun Tournament at two games under .500, but they’ve kicked off the madness of March and advanced to the A-Sun final, where it will either be them or the East Tennessee State Buccaneers capturing the automatic ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
How They Got Here: Mercer defeated Belmont 87-71 & Jacksonville 66-63. East Tennessee State defeated Campbell 72-64 & Kennesaw State 69-64.
Who to Watch: Mercer’s G James Florence does a little bit of everything. The Bears’ leading scorer is averaging 18.4 points per game, but he is also leading the team in assists at 4.7 per contest. G Micah Williams has been on fire for the Bucs in this tournament, scoring a total of 52 points in two games after scoring the second most points on the team this year (12.5).
Previous Meetings: January 9th – Mercer 83 – East Tennessee State 78, February 14th – Mercer 82 – East Tennessee State 77
What to Expect: They say in the NFL that beating the same team three times in the same season is as hard of a task as you could possibly have. That’s what Mercer is faced with on Saturday night after knocking off the Buccaneers twice already this year. Even though ETSU may have the superior team, the Bears have the home court advantage on their side. Cinderella rolls into the NCAA Tournament at just 17-16, which will most likely leave the Mercer playing in the play-in game on Tuesday night.
 Murray State Racers (29-4) |
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 Morehead State Eagles (23-9) |
What They’re Playing For: The good news for both of these teams is that neither one’s season should end tonight. The NIT will almost certainly take the loser of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament between the Morehead State Eagles and the Murray State Racers. Should the Racers lose by a small margin, they may be hanging on to a fringe shot of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but they shouldn’t count on that happening.
How They Got Here: Murray State defeated Tennessee State 84-51 & Eastern Illinois 55-51. Morehead State defeated Jacksonville State 87-54 & Tennessee Tech 76-47.
Who to Watch: F Kenneth Faried is coming off of a rare game in which he didn’t log a double-double. The man in the paint for Morehead State is averaging 17.0 points and 13.2 rebounds per game this year, and he’ll be looking for his 23rd double-double of the season and his third against Murray State on Saturday night. F Tony Easley is the third leading scorer (10.5 points per game), the best rebounder (5.7 boards per game), and best shot blocker (92 total in 33 games) that the Racers have to offer. He’s also going to be the man responsible for stopping Faried in the post.
Previous Meetings: December 5th – Murray State 86 – Morehead State 56, February 25th – Morehead State 70 – Murray State 65
What to Expect: Morehead State might’ve been the wakeup call that the Racers needed. Murray State should come out and roll the Eagles in emphatic fashion with a well-balanced effort from its top six scorers, all of which can go for 15+ points on any given night. Look for the best team in the OVC all season long to be the dominant force at the end of the day.
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