As conference tournaments continue and the regular season winds down to an end, we have a great weekend of College basketball. Check back here often for updates throughout the weekend for the latest in March Madness.

To find out who will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament CLICK HERE

UPDATE: NORTHERN IOWA HAS WON THE MISSOURI VALLEY TOURNAMENT AND ARE HEADING TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

Missouri Valley Another ticket was punched as Top Seeded Northern Iows defeated Wichita State, 67-52 and are going dancing. Will both of these teams make the tournament despite the outcome of this game? Remains to be seen.

America East Boston University advanced, defeating Stony Brook by a score of 70-63. Vermont opened up a close game in the second half and defeated New Hampshire, 57-38. They will face Boston University in the Championship game on March 13.

Colonial Athletic A pair of Semifinals on tap for today, featuring four teams with 20 or more wins. Should be great tournament action. In a back and forth game, Old Dominion fought back and won in overtime against Virginia Commonwealth, 73-69. Ben Finney caught fire in the overtime session hitting a key three pointer to help send the Monarch's to victory. William and Mary held on to edge Northeastern by a score of 47-45.

MAAC Siena, the top seed, defeated Rider in the first semifinal game. The final score was 72-62. Fairfield toppled Niagara, 69-63 to advance to the Finals against Siena.

Mid American The four quarterfinal games are now into the second half and Ball State and Ohio was a barnburner which went to Overtime, Ohio prevailed 85-77. Western Michigan has advanced after a tight one against Bowling Green. The Broncos held on to win, 75-73. Meanwhile, in a seesaw game, Eastern Michigan edged Northern Illinois, 65-59 to advance. Lastly, Buffalo cruised into the next round defeating Toledo, 72-54.

Northeast Two semifinals were played today: Quinnipiac appears to be finishing off LIU-Brooklyn, 77-70 with 25 seconds left. Robert Morris has defeated Mount St. Mary's, 80-62 to advance to the Finals.

Patriot Lafayette held on to a 3 point victory over Holy Cross to advance to the Finals, 66-63. In the second semifinal, Lehigh has defeated American by a score of 79-57 and will take on Lafayette in the Championship game on March 12.

Southern The semifinals move to Time Warner Cable Arena in uptown Charlotte, home of the Charlotte Bobcats. It features two very competitive games. Wofford moved on with an impressive 77-58 win over Western Carolina. College of Charleston had no answer for Appalachian State in the second semifnal. The Mountaineers cruised to the Finals with a 77-54 victory over College of Charleston. The Mountaineers will be a tough out if they are able to make it to the NCAA Tournament but will first have to get by a very good Wofford team on Monday night.

Summit Two more quarterfinals to be played today: IPFW has sewn it up against South Dakota State to advance in a tight one, 71-66. Another tournament game went to overtime as Oral Roberts and North Dakota State dueled in a barnburner. Oral Roberts held on to win the game by a score of 65-64 to move to the semifinals of the tournament.

Sun Belt Quarterfinals are played today: Western Kentucky edged Arkansas State by a score of 65-64 to move to the semifinals. Troy has moved on after their win against South Alabama, 67-55. Top seeded Troy will face Western Kentucky in what promises to be a good basketball game on Monday. Louisiana-Monroe and North Texas turned into a good ballgame with North Texas holding on to a 69-66 win in their quarterfinal game. The Mean Green overcame an early defecit to advance on to the semifinals. Denver has closed out Middle Tennessee. The final score was 73-58, so the Pioneers advance to the semifinals.

West Coast Two Semifinals are in store for tonight. The first game is a final as #14 Gonzaga defeated Loyola-Marymount, 77-62. LMU, made a run to close the gap and made the game interesting but Gonzaga was able to get things back under control to advance. St. Mary's kept Portland at arm's length and advanced with a 69-55 victory and will face top seeded, Gonzaga in the Championship on Monday. The Gaels are trying to play themselves off the bubble despite an impressive record. They are in the same exact position as last season, a season in which they missed the big dance.

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As conference tournaments continue and the regular season winds down to an end, we have a great weekend of College basketball. Check back here often for updates throughout the weekend for the latest in March Madness.

To find out who will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament CLICK HERE

UPDATE..WINTHROP, EAST TENNESSEE STATE, MURRAY STATE AND CORNELL HAVE ADVANCED TO THE BIG DANCE.THERE WILL LIKELY BE A NEW NUMBER ONE TEAM IN THE NATION AS LOUISVILLE DEFEATED TOP RANKED SYRACUSE IN THE LAST GAME TO BE PLAYED AT FREEDOM HALL, 78-68!

America East Top seeded Stony Brook defeated Albany 68-59 in the first quarterfinal from Hartford, Ct. In the second game, Boston University had no problems with Hartford, winning by a score of 87-46 to move to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Vermont defeated Maryland-Baltimore County with ease. New Hampshire has defeated Maine, 70-55 to advance to the semifinals.

Atlantic Sun Either E. Tennessee State punched their ticket to the big dance by defeating Mercer by a score of 72-66 in a tightly contested game.

Big South Winthrop defeated Coastal Carolina 64-53, to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Winthrop was a regular in the big dance under Gregg Marshall. He took them to the tourney 7 out of his 9 seasons as head coach. Now Winthrop return again, this time under Randy Peele.

Colonial Athletic Old Dominion rolled over Towson in the first quarterfinal of this tournament. ODU, the top seed is the prohibitive favorite to win this tournament and head to the NCAA Tournament. The seoond matchup saw a second half surge by Virginia Commonwealth to power them to a 75-40 win against George Mason. Northeastern held off Hofstra 74-71 and William & Mary rallied to defeat James Madison 70-65 to advance to the semi's

MAAC Rider played a solid ball game to defeat #4 St. Peter's 69-57. That game was followed by top seeded Siena, who could be dangerous in the NCAA Tournament if they make it. Tonight, they took care of Manhatten by a score of 78-61. Fairfield and Canisius have completed play with Fairfield advancing behind a 67-57 victory.

Missouri Valley Top seed, Northern Iowa advanced with no problems 57-40 over Bradley. NIU is one of those teams to watch when you start filling out your brackets in a week. In the second game Wichita State, coached by Gregg Marshall who has a lot of experience getting to the big dance with a mid-major while at Winthrop, defeated Illinois State 65-61. The Shockers are playing well and have a great chance to upset top seed Northern Iowa, in tomorrow's Championship game.

Ohio Valley Murray State has advanced to the NCAA Tournament after a 62-51 victory over Morehead State in the Ohio Valley Tournament in Nashville.

Southern In a very competitive Southern Conference tournament, Western Carolina has moved on defeating Elon, a team who took down Davidson College in their own backyard on Friday 68-57. 3 other quarters are to come today from Charlotte. Wofford defeated NC-Greensboro by 12, 59-47. Appalachian State has defeated The Citadel 71-61 to advance. College of Charleston has put up points by the buckets and rolled to a 96-60 win over Chattanooga and look poised to make it to the Championship game in the tournament.

Summit League The Summit League tournament is underway with top seeded Oakland defeating UMKC in the first quarterfinal by a score of 85-70. In the nightcap, IUPUI pulled away at the end to defeat Western Illinois by a 77-68 score. Oakland is the top seed with only one conference loss out of 18 games and are the big favorites to gain a birth to the NCAA Tournament.

Sun Belt The Sun Belt quarterfinals are underway South Alabama edging out Florida Atlantic on a game winning shot by Bryan Sherrer, who scored with 4 seconds to go to move the Jaguars on to the semifinals. In action now, Arkansas State has advanced after an 89-82 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock. Western Kentucky disposed of New Orleans by a score of 83-58 to advance. Two other quarterfinal games were played Saturday evening. Louisiana-Monroe won on a buzzer beater by Tony Hooper who knocked down a three pointer with 1 second left to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette, 76-75, while Denver and Florida International battled it out in the late game. Denver came away with the win, 71-64.

West Coast Loyola-Marymount tangled with San Francisco and came away with an 84-76 victory in the first quarterfinal while Portland pulled away from San Diego and cruised to a 72-57 win to move to the semifinals. Top Seeded Gonzaga has the bye to the semifinals in this tournament.

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March Madness has started with early round conference tournament action underway in conference's such as the Southern, Colonial Athletic, MAAC and others. Keep it here for the latest in conference tournament action as the automatic bids are awarded, Selection Sunday and the eventual crowning of the 2010 National Champion in Indianapolis. The Smoking Pen is your source for everything involving March Madness. Check back often for updates.

Colonial Athletic Conference UNC-Wilmington is the first North Carolina team to be eliminated in post season play losing in the CAA Tournament first round to Towson 91-74. The Seahawks finish the season at 9-22. Towson goes on to face top seeded Old Dominion on Saturday. Virginia Commonwealth had little problem advancing by the Delaware Blue Hens and will face George Mason tomorrow. In late play, Hofstra held off Georgia State 68-67 and will take on #2 Northeastern at 6pm on Saturday, in the quarterfinals. The other late game in the tournament was a mild upset as James Madison took care of Drexel, 77-65, to advance.

Southern Conference The Davidson Wildcats, playing in their back yard in Charlote, fell to Elon by a score of 66-59 in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament. Davidson was one of the schools who had a legitimate chance to win this tightly contested tournament. But that will end today at the hands of a team who had only won 9 ball games this season. The post-Stephen Curry era has started at Davidson but the Wildcats recruit well and are well coached and as the second half of this season showed, the Wildcats will be back sooner rather than later. Another team from the State of North Carolina advanced this afternoon. NC-Greensboro edged Furman 66-65. The win was only the eighth for the Spartans who move on to play Wofford on Saturday. In late play, The Citadel and Chattanooga cruised to the next round.

Missouri Valley Conference Top-seeded Northern Iowa rallied from behind to defeat Drake 55-40 in the MVC quarterfinals. UNI will face #5 Bradley on Saturday. Bradley took care of Creighton by a score of 81-62 on Friday. Missouri State and Wichita State battled in the evening session and it was Wichita State coming out ahead in that one, 73-63. Two good teams played in the late game in what is a good conference who could get a few teams into the field of 65. It was Illinois State defeating Indiana State, 69-65 in a game that was tight throughout.

Horizon League In the first quarterfinal game, Detroit took care of Green Bay 62-53. No, this is not an NFL game but a game between two solid teams with 20 wins. Detroit will take on #2 Wright State in Saturday's first Semifinal game. In the second game, Wisconsin-Milwaukee defeated Cleveland State by 7 to move on.

MAAC In the #8-9 game, Manhatten rolled over Loyola-Maryland, 94-79 and Canisius had little problem taking care of Marist in the nightcap.

Ohio Valley Conference Murray State edged Eastern Illinois by four in the first game of the session, while Morehead State who now has 23 wins, rolled over Tennesse Tech in the late game.

Atlantic Sun East Tennessee State took care of Kennesaw State and Mercer upset Jacksonville in Friday action.

West Coast Conference Loyola-Marymount disposed of a struggling Pepperdine in the opening game by 3. San Diego edged out Santa Clara by two in an evenly matched game in the nightcap.

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It is now March and the madness will soon be ensuing. North Carolina has always advertised itself as basketball Country. There are a handful of states who make the same claim (Indiana and Kentucky are two who come to mind). Having said that, here is a look at the Division I schools in the State of North Carolina and their prospects for post-season play:

Duke University The Blue Devils are clearly the best team in the State of North Carolina this season. They are the only school in the state who really has a legitimate chance at a National Championship. I believe a few things will prevent them from accomplishing this. One, is they are still relatively weak in the interior. To their credit, they have become stronger in the paint of late. Maybe a bigger concern would be their lack of a true point guard and the Devils have been susceptible to poor shooting on the road. They will go as far as their three headed monster of Smith, Scheyer and Singler takes them. A Final Four would be a huge accomplishment for this team.

Coach K leads Duke into March Madness

North Carolina Barring a strong finish and a run in the ACC Tournament, North Carolina will likely be headed to the NIT Tournament. The Heels have struggled with chemistry issues, injuries and a youth movement. Roy Williams has tried all season long to mold this team but with little success. The Heels may have had their most impressive win on Saturday on the road at Wake Forest. But it looks to be a little to late for this team to get into the Big Dance.

N.C. State The Wolfpack are currently tied with UNC in the cellar of the ACC and may have an opportunity to play in the NIT Tournament. They are currently at 16-13 overall with games left against Virginia Tech and Boston College. The Pack finished close to where they were predicted in the conference but have been left with a disappointed fan base. The question will be whether Sidney Lowe will be given one more season to try and right the ship. I think you have to give him another season.

Wake Forest The Demon Deacons slide of late have put them on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. I believe they are in. They have a winning record in the conference and are 18-8 overall. The Deacs have Florida State and Clemson remaining, two other teams who need a win to guarantee an at large bid. But Wake's wins against Richmond, Xavier, and on the road at Gonzaga make their resume solid for a bid.

Campbell University The Camels have an excellent shot to win the Atlantic Sun tournament and receive their automatic bid. They are 19-10 overall and are tied for second currently in the conference. They will be fighting it out with Jacksonville, Lipscomb, Belmont and East Tennessee State for the bid. Johnathan Rodriguez leads Campbell with a 17.3 scoring average. They have a chance at the NIT Tournament as well.

Charlotte The 49er's looked to be firmly in the NCAA Tournament a few weeks ago but a late season skid does not bode well for them. The Niners have lost 4 out of their last 5 games after a 7 game winning streak which included a win at Richmond. Charlotte still has games left with Rhode Island and Richmond before heading to the Atlantic 10 tournament. They still have some work to do despite a resume which includes a win against Louisville. They currently sit at 9-5 in the conference and 19-9 overall. They need to finish strong as the committee often considers the finish of the season as a factor for inclusion into the tournament. I believe the Atlantic 10 will receive at least 4 bids, possibly 5, which places the 49er's squarely on the bubble. If they don't make the big dance, the NIT likely awaits.

Bobby Lutz hopes to direct his slumping
Niners back on the right path in March

UNC-Asheville, High Point, Gardner-Webb Only one bid will come from the Big South conference. The favorite to win it would likely be Coastal Carolina who is in firm control of the conference and at 26-5 overall. Despite the gaudy numbers, the Chanticleers do not have a strong enough out of conference schedule to allow them an at-large bid. The only way for UNC-A, High Point or Gardner-Webb to make the dance would be to win the Big South tournament. The most likely out of this group to do so would be High Point, in my opinion. They are one of the five teams who have defeated Coastal Carolina and are playing good ball the last week. Gardner-Webb is near the bottom of the conference and would be a cinderella story advancing to the Big Dance.

UNC-Wilmington The Seahawks are 9-21 and near the bottom of Colonial Athletic Conference. It would take a conference tournament win for the Seahawks. They have lost 4 out of their last 5 games, so it looks fairly unlikely that post-season play is in their future.

East Carolina The Pirates have suffered through a tough season with a record of 9-19 and 3-11 in Conference USA play. ECU has showed little hope that they could put together a 4 or 5 game run in their tournament which would be the only way they can make post-season play. The Pirates have lost their last two in a row with two games left.

N.C. Central The Eagles are not in a conference and could only get a bid to the Big Dance as an at-large team. Unfortunately, their 7-22 record is not going to get them into the post season.

Winston-Salem State, N. C. A&T These two schools would have to win the MEAC Tournament to make the big dance. It is not unheard of but unlikely given that Morgan State has dominated the conference this season. They are 15-1 in the conference and will go into their tournament as a prohibitive favorites to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Both of these schools have losing records and are in the middle of the pack in their conference. And neither team has played very well lately. It would take a big upset for either to make post-season play.

Appalachian State The Mountaineers are trying to prove that they are not just a football school. They won the North Division of the Southern Conference by two games and are 20-11 overall. Unfortunately, there are not any notable out of conference wins that would secure them as an at-large bid. Could the Southern Conference get two teams into the big dance? I don't believe so. Therefore, Appalachian would have to win the conference tournament and I believe the Southern Conference Tournament will be a good one. A lot of good teams competing. The Mountaineers have a solid shot to win it. They have a good chance at the NIT Tournament or CBI.

(photo courtesy of ASU)
Donald Sims leads the Southern Conference
in scoring and looks to lead App State to the
Big Danc

Western Carolina The Catamounts have 21 wins but much like Appalachian State, will need to win the Southern Conference tournament. They do have one signature win (against Louisville) but that is not enough to get them into the big dance as an at-large. They have a great shot to win their conference tournament, as well. The NIT or CBI may be in their future if they fail to do so.

Davidson College This is not the Stephen Curry Wildcats and would need to win the Southern Conference tournament to advance to the Big Dance. The good news is they have played much better and have a chance to do just that. They are 16-14 overall and played Gonzaga tough in out of conference play. They are well coached and are always a threat to win their tournament. The Wildcats finished the season winning 8 out of their last 11 games and with the Southern Conference tournament played in their back yard, they will have to be taken seriously.

UNC-Greensboro, Elon Both of these schools have struggled this season and would have to win the Southern Conference tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament. It is very unlikely that that will happen. They have only won 14 games combined and neither is playing with any momentum at this time. Post-season play looks highly unlikely for both.

As we enter March, here is how I rank the Division I schools in the State of North Carolina.

1. Duke
2. Wake Forest
3. Charlotte
4. North Carolina
5. N.C. State
6. Appalachian State
7. Western Carolina
8. Campbell
9. Davidson
10. UNC-Asheville
11. High Point
12. East Carolina
13. UNC-Wilmington
14. Winston-Salem State
15. N.C. A&T
16. N.C. Central
17. Gardner-Webb
18. Elon
19. UNC-Greensboro

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Tiger Woods finally ended his silence and made a statement on Friday, apologizing for his actions that have surfaced the last few months. So now it is official. Tiger Woods made huge mistakes, seeked help and has apologized for his actions. Now it is time to leave it alone and move on.

Woods refused to elaborate on the details of his incidents and all that occurred that early November morning. I have no problem with that, the public knows all they need to. Anything more is just water cooler fodder which is only relevant to Tiger and his family. Woods claims he is intent on working out the problems with his wife and firmly stated that there has never been domestic violence in his relationship. In the background, his mother looked extremely disappointed in her Son.

Will Tiger return to Golf in 2010?

Some say that Tiger didn't need to make this public apology. Maybe not, but I take a different view. I think he did. Mainly because he should value his fans. After all, those fans have helped line his pockets with dollars from advertisements, merchandising and keeping the Tiger brand hot. That leads to more sponsors which directly lead to money in his bank account. Just as the Banks should have apologized to the public they shafted with mismanagement of funds, so should have Tiger for taking his fans, who have spent money on all things Tiger, for granted. And now he has.

I, for one, was disappointed in the Golfer. I did not see this coming. I was a Tiger fan and sadly, I will not look at him in the same way anytime soon. I should know better, I have been around sports long enough to have seen athlete after athlete let their fans down with their actions away from the fields and courts. Tiger Woods' actions should firmly underscore where role models should really be, in the home. Mothers, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters. I look at all the kids in this Country who would have never given Golf a second glance, who took up the Sport only because of Tiger. Woods may have had the biggest impact on the growth of his sport more so than any athlete in any sport in history. He popularized the sport and opened the door to a whole new demographic at a whole new level.

And as many of his fans just want to see Tiger Woods back on the golf course and out of the tabloids, he gave no indication as to when he will return. He touched on it stating that he was not ruling out this year. It is inevitable, he will return and eventually the focus will return to what Woods does best, hit the golf ball. No matter how people feel about Woods from this point forward, he is still the greatest golfer in history. But this Chapter in the Woods story is certainly a black eye to the image of what will be a legendary figure in sports.

(Thanks to ITN News via Youtube, the Tiger Woods apology)

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