The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

WITH the regular season done, Bahamian NCAA Division I basketball players are vying for their conference tournament titles with their respective programmes and, in some cases, hoping to earn a bid in the main NCAA Tournament.

The list of conference title hopefuls is headed by Michael Carey Jr and his Wagner University Seahawks who will contend the Northeast Conference championship game 7pm tomorrow night against Farleigh Dickinson.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and ESPN3 from the Spiro Sports Centre in Staten Island, New York.

Carey scored a career high 28 points in the semi-final to lead the Seahawks to a come from behind win over LIU Brooklyn on Saturday.

The All-Northeast Conference second team selection added 10 rebounds to finish with his 14th double double of the season.

The Seahawks advance to its fourth NEC Championship game and the first since 2005.

The top seeded team in the tournament, Wagner dispatched of No.8 seed Robert Morris in the quarter-final. The Seahawks are currently 22-9 on the season and with a win, will advance to the NCAA Tourmanent with an automatic bid.

Carey, a two time NEC Player of the Week honouree this season, has averaged 12.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this season.

In the Big 12, both Shaquille Cleare and the Texas Longhorns and Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners are all but assured at-large bids into the tournament, but are both looking to gain momentum with a run at the conference championship.

The Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament will take place March 9-12 at the Sprint Centre in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Longhorns, nationally ranked at No.23 (20-11, 11-7 in the Big 12) and seeded No.4 in the conference tournament, will open in the quarter-finals against No. 5 seeded Baylor Bears on Thursday, March 10 at 12:30pm local time. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.

Cleare, the junior forward and Andros native, has averaged 3.5 points and three rebounds per game.

In his debut season with the Longhorns, Cleare has appeared with the Longhorns to play at home in the Battle 4 Atlantis and set a new career high with 14 points against Baylor last month.

Also on Thursday, March 10, the Sooners - nationally ranked at No.6 and seeded third in the conference tournament - will face the No. 21 ranked Iowa State Cyclones at 9pm.

The Sooners finished the regular season 24-6, 12-6 in the Big 12.

“Our confidence heading into the postseason is high,” Hield said.

“Each game, we have to be prepared to go out and fight for each other.But most importantly, we have to have fun. When it’s all said and done, we can’t have regrets. It’s win or go home, so we have to have the mentality of refusing to lose.”

The teams split the regular season meetings.

“I have no doubt our team can win it all,” said Hield. “Feel like we’ve got a good coach, good players and we have all the pieces to win it all.”

The nation’s No.2 ranked team, Lourawls Nairn and the Michigan State Spartans are also assured an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament and expect to be a top contenders for the Big 10 title this week.

The tournament will be hosted at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Spartans will have an opening round bye as the second seeded team in the tournament and will await their opponents for the Friday, March 11 matchup at 6:30pm.

Nairn has battled plantar fasciitis for much of the season, but outlined the contribution he expects to make for the rest of the year in a limited role.

“If I’m 30 (per cent), 50, 100, I’m going to play. That’s just me,” Nairn said to Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal. “That’s just me understanding I don’t get another chance to play with (seniors) Matt (Costello) and Zel and Bryn (Forbes) and Colby (Wollenman) after this. That’s what’s really bugging me more than missing the seven games.

“God is going to take care of me. I’ve got to make sure I take care of my team. He’s going to take care of me. I’m able to fight through anything.”

In the American Athletic Conference, Danrad Knowles and the Houston Cougars will begin their run at the conference title.

The Cougars earned a first round bye and will open tournament play 7pm Friday, March 11 inside the Amway Center in Orlando.

Houston has a 22-8 record overall and finished the regular season with a 12-6 record in AAC play.