Dance Floor: March 2nd

The Dance Floor will be the daily recap and preview of conference tournaments and later on the NCAA Tournament. The Dance Floor is empty right now, much like a middle school dance, waiting for someone to get the nerve to break the ice. Tipping off on Tuesday night are the Horizon League, the Ohio Valley Conference and the Big South. We will take a look at each conference tournament, giving predcitions, insight and keys to the right team finding the right dancing shoes.

Big South
Quarters: Tuesday March 3 (campus sites)
Semis: Thursday March 5 (regular season champ Radford)
Finals: Saturday March 7 (ESPN2, 4 p.m., higher seed)

- The Big South is one of my favorite conference tournaments because it is played like a high school district tournament. For the most part, all games are at higher seeds, and there are no byes, no protection for the top teams which is a great and terrible thing. Great because anything can happen, the true epitomy of March Madness. Terrible because of that same reason; the Big South really does not want seventh place Coastal Carolina winning the tournament. It has been an intriguing league all season with Radford running things from wire to wire, but VMI making some noise out of conference, beating both BCS schools Virginia and Kentucky on the road. Radford won the league by two games in the regular season (15-3, 18-11) and winning 14 of their last 16. Liberty beat Radford at Radford on the last day of the regular season. Radford was hideous in the non-con, going only 3-8 with no wins over top 200 RPI teams.

Team to Watch: Liberty
- The Flames have probably the best coach in the league in former New Mexico head man Ritchie McKay and they have the best player in the league in freshman Seth Curry. Yes, brother of Stephen; maybe he has some March magic in his back pocket. Liberty won at Virginia in November, beat George Mason at home and gave Clemson all they could handle in Littlejohn in December losing 80-75. They have won five of seven and have the potential to be the thorn in the side of Radford.

Game to Watch: Liberty/VMI potential semi
- Each team won during the regular season on the road, VMI by 37 a Liberty, and Liberty by 11 at VMI. The third meeting would be very entertaining because when Liberty opens it up they normally can score right with VMI. The question will be can VMI lock up on defense as they did in the last meeting.

Cinderella: Winthrop
- Never, ever discount history. Winthrop won this league tournament for four consecutive seasons and although they are nowhere near as talented or experienced as those seasons, here is an interesting fact. Winthrop played two non conference home games all season. Two. They played six road games, five of which against BCS talent-worthy schools (Davison, Akron, South Carolina, N.C. State, Old DOminion and Florida). Those games get you prepared and better, and that is why if there is any team to make some noise in the tourney, it will be Winthrop. They have also won their last five to close out the regular season. They will open with a winnable game at UNC-Asheville and then a possible date at Radford.

Predicted winner: Liberty
- Radford has alot of trouble quelling guard play and both VMI and Liberty feature quality guards. The Radford home court has proved beatable, they dropped home league games to Gardner-Webb, Liberty and VMI. VMI is not committed enough to play defense for 40 minutes, something Ritchie McKay will make his squad do, especially in a win or go home situation. I'll take Liberty with the tourney win here, just because of coaching and they have one guy that is able to take them to the promised land in Curry. Although just a freshman, big bro Stephen did the same in 2007.

Horizon League
First Round: Tuesday March 3 (campus sites)
Quarters: Friday March 6 (@ Butler)
Semis: Saturday March 7 (ESPNU 7 & 9, @ Butler)
Finals: Tuesday March 10 (ESPN, 9 p.m.)

- The Horizon features the exact opposite of the Big South. They protect the top two seeds in the bracket by providing them with a double-bye into the semifinals; making second place an extreme advantage. This year's tournament is at Butler, really the only place it should ever be as the Bulldogs are the top seed yet again, defying the logic they would relinquish the throne in '08-'09. Wisc. Green Bay nipped both Cleveland State and Wright State for the second spot, allowing Green Bay to only need one win for a spot in the title, where all the others will need three wins to get there. Butler was clearly the best team in the league and freshman swingman Gordon Hayward has filled the void left by Butler seniors from last season. Butler's RPI is out of this world for a mid-major as they feature quality wins against Northwestern, @ Xavier, UAB, @ Davidson and Bradley all on their resume.

Team to Watch: Cleveland State
- I am not giving up on the Vikings just yet. They went out this season and scheduled some big time teams in order to position themselves for a possible at large selection. That quickly went out the window when the only win they got was at Syracuse. Although still a major victory, the Vikings have not taken the big step up they were expected to with everyone returning. This is exactly the reason they have to be on the radar. J'Nathan Bullock was preseason player of the year and has still played well, averaging 15 and seven. They were in both games with Butler, dropping both by two points, including a contest on the last day of the regular season in which they led deep into the second half. If the Vikings can get to the title game it will be their fourth game in a week, a difficult task. But if so, it will provide the most entertaining final.

Matchup to Watch: Cleveland State/Wis. Green Bay (potential semi)
- It will be on Butler's home court, just minutes after Butler's semifinal game. This will be the most intriguing matchup of the tournament because they split their reular season meetings, each winning handedly at home. Green Bay won three out of the last four games to earn the bye into the semis over Cleveland and Wright State, who beat the Phoenix on the last day of the year. Green Bay has been the surprise of the season, as Cleveland, Butler and Wright were figured to be head and shoulders above the rest. Green Bay got down big early to Cleveland in their last meeting and could not stop guard Cedric Jackson who was two assists away from a triple double.

Potential Cinderella: Illinois-Chicago
- UIC has not exactly lit the world on fire during the Horizon season, but the Flames (7-11, 15-14) were in almost every game against the upper eschalant teams in the conference. The Flames have won five of their last six including four in a row to end the season and really struggled in the end of January during a four game road swing. They lost to Butler by seven at home and Green bay by 11 and seven. They beat Wright State at home and also caputred a BracketBuster win against Southern Illinois. They open up home versus Youngstown State, where they dropped both during the season. They would then face Wright State with a possible matchup with Butler down the road.

Predicted Champion: Cleveland State
- Giving the Vikings a chance to reconcile what they missed out on during the season. They have already dropped two to Butler and need to beat Wis. Green Bay to even get to a possible matchup. I think playing more games will keep Cleveland State on guard and should not face a real test until the semifinals on Saturday. As a result, they will be ready to take on Butler again at Hinkle, where they near;y pulled off the upset on Feb. 28. This time the Vikings get it done, and head to the dance, stealing a bid from a BCS school somewhere.

OHIO VALLEY
First Round: Tuesday March 3 (campus sites)
Semis: Friday March 6 (Nashville, ESPNU 7 & 9)
Finals: Saturday March 7 (ESPN2, 8 p.m.)

- One of the best players in the country lies in the OVC, Tenn-Martin guard Lester Hudson. Hudson is in the top ten in the country in scoring at 27.4 and he also averages 7.4 boards per game for the Skyhawks. He is a solid NBA prospect and you will know this guy's name this time next year. Whether that is for the NCAA tournament or the NBA Draft is the real question. Tenn. Martin was the best team in the league all year long, even though they took it on the chin in the non-con because they went out and played people. They have won 13 of 15 and only got beat on the road in conference. Right behind the Skyhawks, Murray State and Austin Peay finished tied for second place, both teams beating Martin at home.

Team to Watch: Murray State
- The Racers dominated the league in the '90s and have had nothing to speak of all decade. This season Murray regained respectability and are playing their best ball right now. They have won seven out of eight, the only loss coming in the BracketBuster to La. Tech. Murray is interesting; they have a balanced attack with seven guys averaging over 20 minutes per game and five guys averaging over eight points per game. The exact opposite of Tenn. Martin; Murray does not have the firepower but has a consistent outlook that could give some teams without alot of depth some trouble.

Matchup to Watch: Final
- Obviously the biggest game of the tournament, but it will certainly be the best matchup. Tenn. Martin versus whoever will raise interest and get a national audience to see Hudson, something NBA scouts need to see. Hudson faltered on the big stage, caving in during road games at Tennessee and USC. The key will be how Martin handles a deep Murray team or a rock hard Austin Peay team that went to the NCAAs last season.

Potential Cinderella: Tennessee State (12-17)
- Yes the Tigers got killed by Murray State and Tenn Martin at home in back-to-back games. Yes they dropped eight of nine in January. But they are playing real good basketball having won six straight, three of which on the road. The Tigers had a seven game road trip in December where they played Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia Tech. Sure they got killed, but they gained comfort on the road. Nothing they will see will shock them, and I think they may be ready to take a big step here. They avoid juggernaut Tenn Martin in the upper half of the bracket and get Austin Peay in the first round.

Predicted Champ: Tennessee-Martin
- Lester Hudson will not let this team lose. Period.