Yesterday saw championship week kick off across the country. It was a relatively slow day in comparison to what’s to come across the college basketball landscape. The Atlantic Sun was the only tournament with significant action.
The first round went pretty much to form with all the higher seeds winning, with one exception.
The 5th seeded Lipscomb Bisons took down the 4th seeded Northern Kentucky Norse (yes, they are the Norse. What an epic name) in an instant classic. In a typical game of runs, the Norse had the biggest lead of the game at eight points in the first half. With Lipscomb leading by three Nathan Moran, a 76 percent free throw shooter, stepped to the line and missed two free throws with 14 seconds left. The Norse went the floor and Tyler White hit a game-tying 3 in front of the home crowd to send it into OT where the Bisons ultimately prevailed.
In their semifinal matchup, the 5th seed Bisons will take on the top seeded North Florida Ospreys.
The Ospreys, yes the Ospreys (a type of bird, pictured below, and another great nickname) defeated the pesky Stetson Hatters, though the game was never really in doubt. Look out for Stetson in years to come as they have a pair of outstanding freshman, Divine Miles and Grant Lozoya.
The other semifinal matchup is between the 3rd seed USC Upstate Spartans and 2 seed Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.
USC Upstate was never in any trouble as they dismantled Kennesaw State 90-54. Ty Greene, a senior and the Spartans Mr. Everything, scored 21 points -- right on pace with his season average of 20.3 ppg.
FGCU is the same team that a magical run and captivated the country for a few weeks after upsetting a powerful Georgetown team in 2013 and became Dunk City. They face a tough challenge in their semifinal matchup. Their first round matchup against Jacksonville saw the pesky Dolphins hang around and keep it close for most of the game before the Eagle pulled away for an 18 point win.
Tune in tomorrow at 7 p.m. for both games. You better believe I'll be watching.