Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Thursday night produced a few interesting results across the nation. It may not be March yet, but things are certainly heating up especially away from the power conferences.
Xavier 57, Temple 52 — The Atlantic-10 is going to produce loads of interesting results this season because of how deep it is. This isn’t the best Musketeer team they’ve fielded the past couple of years, but they extended Temple’s misery at the Cintas Center. Khalif Wyatt had a poor shooting night explaining why the Owls lost. They need more from Scootie Randall or else the NIT will be calling their name.
Wagner 86, Long Island 75 — There were such high expectations for the Blackbirds this season, but preseason trouble wrecked the team and now they are on a six game losing streak. Wagner is coached by Bashir Mason and the road win tonight will help them take over where LIU should be.
George Mason 71, Old Dominion 46 — The Patriots have bounced back nicely since the home loss against Northeastern. ODU, on the other hand, is plain awful. The Monarchs have a win over Virginia, but may find it hard to add too many more to their current total of two. GMU may not have much of a threat in the CAA as Drexel and Delaware aren’t performing up to their lofty expectations.
Detroit 101, Youngstown State 60 — A 41-point win is often notable, especially when it’s by a team like Detroit. The Titans are going to be a threat if they make the NCAA tournament. Jason Calliste and Ray McCallum Jr. combined for 46 points. The Penguins have some talent so the margin of victory is a big surprise.
Samford 62, Charleston 57 — This is the second head scratching loss of the season for the Cougars. They lost to Anderson College by 16 points earlier in the season. It’s a headscratcher for a team with so much potential and a player as good as Andrew Lawrence. I won’t count them out though because the conference isn’t deep behind Davidson.
Belmont 107, SE Missouri State 72 — The Bruins have laid claim to this conference in their first season. Their games with the Racers will be big especially since Murray State probably won’t be getting an at-large bid this season. SEMO, meanwhile, was playing well this season, but was put in their place on Thursday night
South Dakota State 81, Oakland 74 — These are two cinderella candidates although the Grizzlies haven’t picked up victories in their games against BCS schools. They are still capable of running thru the Summit conference tournament and causing issues. Nate Wolters had 16 points in this one, but was the third highest scorer. The Jackrabbits are 12-6 and are a real threat come tournament time.
