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You might be suffering from a basketball hangover, and we'd be the last to blame you for wanting to take a day off. Still, other folks want MOAR, and we're more than happy to give the people what they want. March Madness proper is on abeyance until Thursday, but there's action in every other Division I tournament tonight, including the 2014 CBI's television debut. Also of note, although you've got to pay to watch: the NAIA Division I semifinals are tonight, featuring The Last Kansas Basketball Team Standing: Olathe's MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers.
NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | |||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
Florida State Bracket | |||||||
2 | 6:00pm | (4) Georgetown | vs | (1) Florida State |
Tallahassee FL | ESPN | PBP: Mike Patrick Color: Cory Alexander |
Southern Methodist Bracket | |||||||
2 | 8:00pm | (5) Louisiana State | vs | (1) Southern Methodist | University Park TX | ESPN | PBP: John Saunders Color: Miles Simon |
2 | 9:00pm | (3) Arkansas | vs | (2) California | Berkeley CA | ESPN2 | PBP: Roxy Bernstein Color: Bill Walton |
The final three games of the NIT second round are tonight, and they're pretty much going to be the television highlight this evening unless you're not averse to watching women's basketball. Of direct interest to Wildcat fans, Nick Russell and the SMU Mustangs host Louisiana State.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL | |||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
QF | 6:00pm | (W3) Radford | vs | (W1) Old Dominion | Norfolk VA | Monarch Media ($) | n/a |
QF | 6:00pm | (E2) Penn State |
vs | (E1) Siena |
Albany NY | CBSSN | PBP: Scott Graham Color: Bob Wenzel |
QF | 8:00pm | (M2) Texas A&M | vs | (M1) Illinois State | Normal IL | CBSSN | PBP: Dave Armstrong Color: John Griffin |
QF | 9:00pm | (S4) Princeton | vs | (S3) Fresno State | Fresno CA | MW Network (free!) | PBP: Paul Loeffler Color: Randy Rosenbloom |
Finally finding some room on the television schedule tonight is the College Basketball Invitational, with half the quarterfinal slate airing on CBS Sports Network.
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT | |||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
2 | 7:00pm | Nebraska-Omaha | vs | Murray State | Murray KY | * | n/a |
CIT games are available through CollegeInsider, but require paid subscription. |
The second round of the CIT comes to a close as Nebraska's Last (men's) Team Standing takes to the hardwood to try and continue their run in the only tournament they're eligible for until 2017.
NAIA DIVISION I MEN'S TOURNAMENT | |||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
SF | 6:00pm | Saint Gregory's (OK) | vs | (6) Vanguard (CA) | Kansas City MO | NAIA ($) | n/a |
SF | 8:00pm* | (8) Emmanuel (GA) | vs | MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) | Kansas City MO | NAIA ($) | n/a |
* - time approximate; 30 min. after previous game |
Obviously, not too many people without an investment are going to pony up to watch the NAIA semifinals, but if you're in Kansas City there's tickets to be had. Saint Gregory's and MidAmerica Nazarene come into the semifinals as unseeded combatants; Saint Gregory's is theoretically the 18th seed, while MANC is the 20th. For NCAA equivalency purposes, this is like a final four featuring five-vs-two matchups in both semifinals.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT | |||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
NOTRE DAME REGION | |||||||
2 | 5:30pm | (9) Arizona State | vs | (1) Notre Dame | Toledo OH | ESPN2 | PBP: Beth Mowins Color: Stephanie White |
2 | 5:30pm | (6) Syracuse | vs | (3) Kentucky | Lexington KY | ESPN2 | PBP: Marc Kestecher Color: Brooke Weisbrod |
2 | 8:00pm | (7) California | vs | (2) Baylor | Waco TX | ESPN2 | PBP: Pam Ward Color: Carolyn Peck |
2 | 8:00pm | (5) Oklahoma State | vs | (4) Purdue | West Lafayette IN | ESPN2 | PBP: Melissa Lee Color: Jimmy Dykes |
STANFORD REGION | |||||||
2 | 5:30pm | (10) Florida State | vs | (2) Stanford | Ames IA | ESPN2 | PBP: Clay Matvick Color: Fran Fraschilla |
LINCOLN REGION | |||||||
2 | 5:30pm | (7) DePaul | vs | (2) Duke | Durham NC | ESPN2 | PBP: Mark Jones Color: LaChina Robinson |
2 | 8:00pm | (12) Brigham Young | vs | (4) Nebraska | Los Angeles CA | ESPN2 | PBP: Dave Pasch Color: Doris Burke |
LOUISVILLE REGION | |||||||
2 | 8:00pm | (8) Saint John's | vs | (1) Tennessee | Knoxville TN | ESPN2 | PBP: Joe Davis Color: Maria Taylor |
There's not much in the way of overly-compelling matchups in tonight's second round, although there are two Big 12 teams in action and we've got a shot at a double-digit seed sneaking into the Sweet Sixteen. Most amusing fixture: Blue Demons vs Blue Devils. Finally, we can resolve a long-simmering debate over which is more evil.
WOMEN'S NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | |||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
2 | 6:00pm | Harvard | vs | Rutgers | Piscataway NJ | RVision (free!) | n/a |
2 | 6:00pm | Old Dominion | vs | Auburn | Auburn AL | none | n/a |
2 | 6:00pm | Duquesne | vs | Michigan | Ann Arbor MI | Big Ten Digital ($) | n/a |
2 | 6:00pm | Saint Bonaventure | vs | Bowling Green | Bowling Green OH | BCSN (free!) | PBP: Brad Woznicki Color: Gretchen Brown |
2 | 7:00pm | Southern Mississippi | vs | Mississippi State | Starkville MS | ($) | n/a |
2 | 8:00pm | San Diego | vs | Montana | Missoula MT | Big Sky (free!) | n/a |
2 | 8:00pm | Saint Mary's (CA) | vs | Texas-El Paso | El Paso TX | Miner TV ($) | n/a |
2 | 9:00pm | Washington | vs | Oregon | Eugene OR | Pac-12 Portal (free!) | n/a |
The Pac-12 has the misfortune to have two of its teams meeting in the second round, and to top it off they're hated rivals. Good times.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL | |||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
QF | 6:00pm | (E4) Illinois-Chicago | vs | (E1) Eastern Michigan | Ypsilanti MI | Horizon League (free!) | n/a |
This is the final quarterfinal game in the WBI, the winner taking on Fairfield for a ticket to the final.
NAIA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT | |||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
SF | 6:00pm | (5) John Brown (AR) | vs | (2) Oklahoma City | Frankfort KY | NAIA ($) | n/a |
SF | 8:00pm | (3) Wiley (TX) | vs | (1) Freed-Hardeman (TN) | Frankfort KY | NAIA ($) | n/a |
* - time approximate; 30 min. after previous game |
The women do things a bit differently than the men, actually seeding four brackets from 1-8. As a result, those seed indications are exactly as familiar to you as you expect. Freed-Hardeman entered the event as the top overall seed, and they're looking to do something relatively rare in NAIA Tournament history: actually hold up their end of that bargain. John Brown, out of Siloam Springs, has the distinction of being the closest team geographically, via roads, to BotC HQ still playing basketball, beating out the Razorbacks by mere miles.