We have some games for you from the NIT and CIT that could be springboards for a few of our Canadian kids for the rest of March ...
Here is where the men are playing today ...
NCAA
9:10pm South Florida vs. California
NIT
7:00pm Minnesota @ La Salle
7:15pm UCF @ Drexel
9:00pm Bucknell @ Arizona - Bucknell was on a roll in the Patriot League all season before dropping three of their last seven games, including their only game in the conference tournament. That doesn't bode well heading into Tucson tonight where Arizona will be more than formidable than the Bison's last opponent Lehigh. Starting off the year roughly, Bryson Johnson has settled into a sixth man role and has been playing better. His shooting is down overall but he's shooting more consistently. He's hit for 28 threes since the start of February and his team will need him to make those to keep the middle open for Mike Muscala and to keep them in the game.
CIT
8:00pm Rice @ Louisiana-Lafayette - Rice is poised to make a move in the CIT Tournament tonight against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Owls and Ragin' Cajuns are about equal record wise and balance out on paper but it may come down to Dylan Ennis in this one. He's the team's leading assists man who tied a season high 11 dimes in his last game and he's also the team's second leading rebounder. If he has a good game, I would think that the Owls get the W.
8:00pm North Dakota @ Drake - Drake's Kurt Alexander has snuck in to be the team's third leading scorer late in the season and has put up impressive numbers of late. Look for him to be an X-factor for Drake tonight. North Dakota's Lenny Antwi has also provided production, when given time that is. If he gets minutes, he could be an X-factor also.
10:00pm UC Santa Barbara @ Idaho - I've always like Djim Bandoumel since I met him two summers ago at a National Team camp and I'm sticking with him being the guy that can decide this game for Idaho. He doesn't score a whole lot but he defends the middle, blocks shots, gets rebounds and always for Ken Barone to roam. In the Vandals' 72-70 loss to Hawaii in the WAC Conference Tournament, Djim grabbed 16 boards and blocked 3 shots. He's averaging 6.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in his last five.
And here is where the women are playing today ...
WNIT
9:00pm Northern Colorado @ Colorado