Patrick Stevens

Tony Skinn calls timeout in part to complain about a no-call, and the "Hey Ref Guy" sees his opening.

"Hey ref! Hey ref! HEY REF! You're calling a bad game, ref! ... HEY REF! HEY REF! Get in the game."

Mincy looks more comfortable. Could be there's less pain in his hand/wrist. Could be he's figured out how to be effective through trial and error.

And, obviously, the boost from getting Avila in foul trouble and discombobulating the Billikens has something to do with it.

Under-4. George Mason 37-27.

Nick Ellington with a big-time half for the Patriots. He has eight points and six rebounds and has taken advantage of Avila's foul issues.

A real opportunity for Mason to create some more cushion in the last 3:11 this half. Patriots on a 17-4 run.

"Hey Ref" guy in Fairfax is absolutely peaking at the right time. He's at his best now that it's March.

"The two sweetest words in the English language."

Under-8 via a Saint Louis timeout. George Mason 29-23.

A 9-0 run for the Patriots has led to their largest lead of the afternoon.

NCAA Bubble Watch March 7 | Ovies & Giglio NCAA bubble watch March 7 featuring Last Four In, First Four Out and full bracket impact analysis ahead of March Madness.

From the at-large board at OviesAndGiglio.com @joeovies.bsky.social @giglioog.bsky.social

Today's winners: TCU (29th entering the day)

Today's losers: N.C. State (30), Mizzou (31), SMU (33), Va. Tech (38), Cincinnati (42), Oklahoma State (43)

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Under-12. George Mason 20-19.

Riley Allenspach with eight points for the Patriots, including a go-ahead 3 a moment ago.

Robbie Avila had one rebound, no points and no field goals attempted in five minutes before collecting his third foul.

They've gone from avian (Blackbirds) to aquatic (Sharks) since then, too.

Three fouls on Avila, less than eight minutes in.

A friendly reminder --- the first of many times thus will be invoked in the next nine days --- that somebody has to fill those 37 at-large slots.

The last team in the field doesn't have to be the beau ideal of a punishing contender. They just have to be better than the 38th-best available at-large.

The first team into the NCAA tournament field is Long Island, the only postseason-eligible team to advance to the NEC final.

The Sharks (23-10) will make their eighth NCAA tournament trip and first since 2018. Coached by Rod Strickland, LIU faces Mercyhurst in Tuesday's final.

Likely 16 seed.

Under-16. Saint Louis and George Mason tied at 10.

Robbie Avila picked up two quick fouls for the Billikens, and Mason is on a 7-0 run since then.

Dion Brown has seven points for Saint Louis. Masai Troutman with five points for the Patriots.

Atlantic 10 seeding:

1. Saint Louis 15-2 (swept VCU)
2. VCU 15-3
3. Saint Joseph's 13-5
4. Dayton 12-6
5. Mason 10-7 (beat Davidson)
6. Davidson 10-8
7. Duquesne 9-9
8. Fordham 8-10 (HTH)
9. GW 8-10
10. URI 7-11
11. Richmond 5-13 (HTH)
12. La Salle 5-13
13. St. Bona's 4-14 (HTH)
14. Loyola 4-14

George Mason starters: Long, Mincy, Troutman, Allenspach, Ellington

Saint Louis starters: Jones, Green, Brown, McCottry, Avila

Officials: Rob Riley, Mike Palau, Connor Mooney

Greetings from Braddock Road, where George Mason (22-8, 10-7 Atlantic 10) is locked into the No. 5 seed in next week's conference tournament and Saint Louis (27-3, 15-2) has already locked up the No. 1 seed.

They'll close out the regular season at 4 p.m. here in Fairfax.

The NEC semifinal steals tonight's Ohio Valley title game's thunder as the first game to award an automatic bid this season.

FINAL: (9) Campbell 96, (8) Stony Brook 89.

Jeremiah Johnson had 20 points for the Camels (14-17), who advance to play top-seeded UNC Wilmington tomorrow at noon.

Andrej Shoshkikj finished with 35 points for the Seawolves (17-15).

Even if Stony Brook can't complete this comeback, Rob Brown III will leave here with at least 22 points and a wicked one-handed slam in the final minutes of this game.

Virginia Tech falls 76-72 at Virginia.

Hokies only have so much going for them (home win vs. UVa, road win at Clemson) and have a lot of work in front of them at the ACC tournament to make an at-large case.

A win on #TuesdayInCharlotte isn't going to help. A Wednesday victory might not, either.

Andrej Shoshkikj has 27 points for the Seawolves and is 5/7 from 3.

Five in double figures for Campbell, led by Muneer Newton's 15 points.

Under-4. Campbell 79-73.

This matches as close as it's been in the second half. Stony Brook has scrapped its way back into it with a 14-4 run.

Under-12. Campbell 65-51.

Camels are *still* shooting 63 percent from the floor, and this thing would be close to over if Campbell was having a great foul shooting day rather than a middling one (16/27).

Every one of Campbell's 17 made 2-pointers have come in the paint.

HALFTIME: (9) Campbell 48, (8) Stony Brook 40.

Muneer Newton with 12 points for the Camels, who shot 63 percent for the first 20 minutes.

Andrej Shoshkikj has 15 points for the Seawolves, who trail by eight despite managing 1.38 points per trip.

Stopped by the CAA tournament on the way to Saint Louis-George Mason later this afternoon.

Campbell ... pretty fun team! Camels down 17-15 to Stony Brook at the (late-arriving) under-16.

VCU (37th at-large team) Record: 24-7 (15-3 Atlantic 10) Next: Atlantic 10 quarterfinals (Friday) The Rams earned their 13th victory in 14 outings by spoiling Dayton’s regular-season home finale, and they’ll head to the A-10 tournament in Pittsburgh with exactly one loss to a team not in at-large contention (Jan. 10 at George Mason) and exactly one victory over a team with even a remote shot at an at-large (Virginia Tech). VCU’s metrics are fine if not eye-catching, just one more piece of a perfectly cromulent resume that is neither overwhelmingly impressive nor offensive. The Rams are 2-5 in Quad 1 games, and they won’t add to that haul unless it beats Saint Louis in the A-10 final --- at which point bickering over VCU’s at-large worthiness will be moot. (March 7)

VCU remains the projected final at-large after winning at Dayton last night (a victory that is barely Quad 1 since the Flyers fell from 69th to 75th in the NET).

Also, bless the Rams for providing an excuse to use "cromulent" in a bracket breakdown.

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College Hoops Bracket Predictions | Ovies & Giglio Get expert College Hoops bracket predictions. Data-driven insights, sleeper teams, and matchup breakdowns all in one place.

Bracket, edge of the field breakdown and today's highlights are all updated over at OviesAndGiglio.com.

Some tinkering on the 8 and 9 lines, as well as on the 12 and 13 lines thanks to Belmont's Arch Madness loss.

@joeovies.bsky.social @giglioog.bsky.social

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Saturday's D-I MBB conference tournaments ...

* Ohio Valley final: Tennessee State vs. Morehead State

* A-Sun, Big South, Arch Madness, NEC, Summit League semis

* MAAC (x2), SoCon (x4) quarters

* Sun Belt: Day V

* WCC: Day III

* CAA Day II

* America East, Starch Madness get underway

March 7 Coastal second round: Campbell vs. Stony Brook in Washington, noon Virginia Tech at Virginia, noon (CW) America East quarterfinal: New Hampshire at UMBC, 1 Richmond at Duquesne, 2 Sam Houston at Liberty, 2 George Washington at Loyola Chicago, 2 (USA) Coastal second round: Northeastern vs. Drexel in Washington, approx. 2:30 Saint Louis at George Mason, 4 (USA) Coastal second round: Hampton vs. Towson in Washington, 6 Providence at Georgetown, 8 (truTV) Metro Atlantic quarterfinal: Mount St. Mary’s vs. Siena in Atlantic City, N.J., approx. 8:30 Coastal second round: Elon vs. William & Mary in Washington, approx. 8:30

Saturday's D.C./Maryland/Virginia D-I men's basketball schedule ...

FINAL: (13) Northeastern 88, (12) North Carolina A&T 72.

Mike Loughnane with 18 points for the Huskies (7-23), who snap a 12-game skid and advance to face fifth-seeded Drexel tomorrow.

Lewis Walker finished with 17 points for the Aggies (11-19), who are 0-3 all-time in the CAA tournament.