Wednesday saw the start of two conference tournaments and our first couple of upsets.
Patriot League
It was quarterfinal night in the Patriot League, and three of the top four seeds moved on. And to add some intrigue, the two semifinal round games will be hosted by eternal rivals.
After a close first half, regular season champion Lehigh advanced to Sunday's semifinals with a 64-45 victory over eighth-seeded Army. The Mountain Hawks will host fourth-seeded American next. The Eagles snuck past Navy, 62-60, in a local battle in D.C.
No. 3 Lafayette will host a semifinal, as they defeated sixth-seeded Colgate, 73-65, and No. 7 Holy Cross, winners of eight of their last 10, upset second-seeded Bucknell, 67-64.
Atlantic Sun
We had our first upset of Championship Week as eighth-seeded Kennesaw State knocked off No. 1 Lipscomb, 72-69. That relegates the Bisons to the NIT, knocking some other team down to the CBI or CIT.
Second-seeded Jacksonville had no such problems, as they knocked off crosstown rival and No. 7 seed North Florida, 76-69.
The other two quarterfinals are today.
No. 5 East Tennessee State vs. No. 4 Campbell
No. 6 Mercer vs. No. 3 Belmont
After the jump, I'll take a quick look at Thursday's conference tournament action.
Big South
The Big South moves to its semifinal round this evening with the top four still alive for the auto bid.
No. 3 Winthrop vs. No. 2 Radford at Coastal Carolina
No. 4 UNC Asheville at No. 1 Coastal Carolina
Missouri Valley
It's the opening round of Arch Madness. Remember when Missouri State started well? They've fallen all the way down to the Opening Round, where perennial power Southern Illinois joins them.
No. 9 Southern Illinois vs. No. 8 Drake
No. 10 Evansville vs. No. 7 Missouri State
Northeast
The Northeast Conference Tournament opens with campus-site quarterfinals. Watch out for Mount St. Mary's in this one, as they've won 10 straight, including home wins over the 1 and 2 seeds.
No. 8 Monmouth at No. 1 Quinnipiac
No. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson at No. 4 Long Island
No. 6 St. Francis (PA) at No. 3 Mount St. Mary's
No. 7 Central Connecticut State at No. 2 Robert Morris