Tournament Capsules: Conference Tournaments for 3/9/10

Wright State Raiders (20-11)

Butler Bulldogs (27-4)

What They’re Playing For: The Horizon League will hand out its top honors and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night when the Butler Bulldogs face the Wright State Raiders
How They Got Here: Wright State defeated Detroit 69-50. Butler defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 68-59.
Who to Watch: Even though the Raiders pride themselves on defense, their offense isn’t without weapons either. G Todd Brown is the second leading scorer on this team, and he does just a little bit of everything on a regular basis. Against Detroit, Brown scored ten points, brought in seven boards, and dished out six assists. Butler will be banking on F Gordon Hayward to carry the load. The super sophomore leads the team in both scoring (15.7 PPG) and rebounding (8.6 RPG).
Previous Meetings: January 8th – Butler 77 – Wright State 65, February 6th – Butler 74 – Wright State 62
What to Expect: After St. Mary’s shrunk the bubble by just a tad last night in the WCC final, bubble teams don’t want to see Butler lose and give the Horizon League two bids. The Bulldogs won’t let that happen though, as they simply outclass Wright State, which will struggle to find enough offense to keep up with the nation’s longest winning streak.

North Texas Mean Green (23-8)

Troy Trojans (20-11)

What They’re Playing For: The winner of the Sun Belt Championship Game between the Troy Trojans and North Texas Mean Green will earn the right to play in the NCAA Tournament next week, while the loser is most likely bound for the NIT.
How They Got Here: North Texas defeated Louisiana-Monroe 69-66 & Denver 63-56. Troy defeated South Alabama 67-55 & Western Kentucky 54-48.
Who to Watch: North Texas has gotten some big minutes out of G Tristan Thompson of late. He dropped 19 on Denver and 16 on LA-Monroe in his first two conference tournament games and will need to be a catalyst to spark the Mean Green to the dance. The Trojans won the East half of the Sun Belt on the back of G Brandon Hazzard, who led the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game. He has scored at least 15 in five straight.
Previous Meetings: January 14th – North Texas 75 – Troy 72
What to Expect: This could be one of those games that really comes down to the wire. Both of these teams have some solid talent on both sides of the court, and they were hard to separate in their only regular season meeting. Give the slight nod to North Texas though, as the Mean Green haven’t been beaten since losing at MTSU on January 30th.

IUPUI Jaguars (24-9)

Oakland Golden Grizzlies (25-8)

What They’re Playing For: The best two teams from the Summit League all season long will finally meet in the conference final to determine which one will earn the right to play in the NCAA Tournament.
How They Got Here: IUPUI defeated Western Illinois 77-68 & Oral Roberts 69-65. Oakland defeated UMKC 85-70 & IUPU-Ft Wayne 71-58.
Who to Watch: You don’t have the #2 ranked offense in the country in terms of field goal percentage without having a superstar on your roster. The Jags have F Robert Glenn to turn to. Glenn averaged a shade under 20 points per game in the regular season, and he already has a 30-point game to his credit in this tournament. The Golden Grizzlies have a top star on their team as well in the form of F Keith Benson, who is one of the few players in the country averaging a double-double (17.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG).
Previous Meetings: January 28th – IUPUI 78 – Oakland 54
What to Expect: Expect to see a level of payback issued in this one. The loss to the Jaguars was the only one that Oakland has suffered since a January 22nd visit to the Carrier Dome to play the Orange. Don’t kid yourself. The Grizzles can play some ball, and as long as Benson doesn’t get into foul trouble, they should be dusting off their dancing shoes for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament by night’s end.

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