March 25 NCAA Sweet Sixteen open thread, CIT, NCAAW, WNIT schedules, andThursday's results

Another not-close game was #2 Augustana taking down Western Oregon in the NCAA Division II Final Four, waltzing to a 19-point win. But top-seeded Lincoln Memorial had a huge fight on their hands and an unanswerable problem to deal with. West Liberty senior Seger Bonifant exploded for 44 points, the highest scoring output in a D-II semifinal since 1971, and LMU had to fight all the way to the buzzer to send West Liberty home. The game was tied at 93 with a couple of minutes left when Bonifant put the Hilltoppers up by a pair. Gerel Simmons, who led LMU with 35, answered with a three; Bonifant made a pair from the stripe to regain the lead again. Then Simmons answered again -- twice, with a two-pointer and then a three to put the Railsplitters up by four. They held on as the rest of the game was decided at the line.

So someone is winning their first-ever NCAA Division II men's basketball title, as neither LMU nor Augie has even so much as reached the title game before. They're off tonight; the championship game is on CBS Saturday afternoon prior to Elite Eight action.

The CIT semifinals are now set as NJIT won a close one against UT-Arlington. The Highlanders, those lovable vagabonds who until this season were Division I's only remaining independent, now become the first team ever to reach the CIT semifinals in back-to-back seasons. Sunday, they'll make the grueling trek across the Hudson River to take on Columbia; after that, Cal-Irvine visits Coastal Carolina. Both games will be on CBSSN, and it's a shame they'll be up against the second half of the Elite Eight because that's actually one hell of a nifty four-team mid-major tournament there.

Today's Men's Schedule

The second half of the Sweet Sixteen is unopposed, at least by any other men's action. Iowa State will attempt to become the third Big 12 team in the Elite Eight and, in the process, extend the ACC's sudden losing streak to four. That streak could stretch all the way to seven by the end of the night if disaster strikes, as each game on tonight's schedule features an ACC squad. By seed they're favored in all four games, but only barely in two of them. In a late game, Gonzaga will try to extend their not-really-Cinderella run to yet another Elite Eight.

Thursday's Women's Results

Only three games last night, all in the WNIT, but as a result we now know everything about the WNIT quarterfinals except for South Dakota's opponent, which will be determined tonight (see below). That game will be at South Dakota on Sunday regardless of the winner. The Coyotes survived a serious scare against Northern Iowa, which held the Yotes to almost exactly half of their scoring output from their second-round tilt with Minnesota.

The other three quarterfinals are all slated for Monday; Hofstra travels to Dunk City, Temple visits Michigan, and UTEP hosts Oregon.

Today's Women's Schedule

In addition to the aforementioned final game of the WNIT's third round, the NCAA women begin their Sweet Sixteen. The marquee matchup, and it's not even a close decision, is Notre Dame-Stanford.

Programming note: There will be a separate Slate this morning, in about an hour or so.