Conference Tournament Previews II (Horizon, Colonial, America East)

America East

Team to beat: Vermont — Mike Longergan has the Catamounts on top of the league in just his second season after taking over for Tom Brennan. Chris Holm is the best big man in the conference, Mike Trimboli is the best guard in the league and Joe Trapani might have won freshman of the year honors if he didn't go down with an injury midway through the season. Mike Trimboli may be the best player you haven’t heard of.
Sleeper: Boston University — Dennis Wolff's club is young, but he's got terrific guards in Tyler Morris and Corey Lowe. The key will be whether the Terriers can get consistent play up front. As guards usually rule in March, Boston U can be dangerous.
Prediction: Vermont — Lonergan's team just has TOO MUCH talent, especially with Trapani back on the court.
Schedule
at Agganis Arena, Boston, Mass.
Friday March 2, First Round
No. 8 Hartford vs. No. 9 Stony Brook, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 3, Quarterfinals
Hartford/Stony Brook winner vs. No. 1 Vermont, noon ET

No. 5 UMBC vs. No. 4 Maine, 2:30 p.m. ET
No. 7 New Hampshire vs. No. 2 Albany, 6 p.m. ET
No. 6 Binghamton vs. No. 3 Boston University, 8:30 p.m. ET
Sunday March 4 — Semifinals:
1st game: Noon ET
2nd game: 2:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 10 — Championship (at the site of the higher seed):
Start time: Noon ET

Geek's all-conference picks
Player of the Year: Mike Trimboli, 6-1, 180, PG, Soph., Vermont
Rookie of the Year: Tyler Morris, 6-1, 180, G, Fr., Boston University
Coach of the Year: Mike Lonergan, Vermont
All-America East team
Mike Trimboli, 6-1, 180, PG, Soph., Vermont — 16 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.5 rpg
Jamar Wilson, 6-1, 185, G, Sr., Albany — 18.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.9 apg
Chris Holm , 6-11, 270, C, Sr., Vermont — 10.4 ppg, 12.2 rpg
Bo Taylor, 6-5, 215, F, Sr., Hartford — 14.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Blagoj Janev, 6-8, 220, F, Sr., New Hampshire — 13.6 ppg, 5 rpg

Colonial Athletic Association

Team to beat: VCU — Anthony Grant has a terrific guard trio that includes Eric Maynor, B.A. Walker and Jesse Pellot-Rosa. The Rams won the regular-season title and clinched the top seed for the CAA tournament — which takes place in Richmond. Again, its March, and guards rule in March. So watch for VCU with the home court and the guards to take the Colonial.

Sleeper: Drexel — It's probably not fair (or PC) to call Bruiser Flint's team a sleeper, but Drexel goes in as a No. 4 seed (so it goes with the territory here in March). The Dragons finished the season 22-7 and 13-5 in conference play with wins over Villanova and Syracuse.
Prediction: VCU — Guard play is unmatched and might be the best in the country… PERIOD. The Rams just need to make sure they get some decent production up front from Wil Fameni. If they do, they could become this year’s George Mason.
Schedule
March 2-5 at Richmond, Va.
First round, Friday March 2:
Game 1: No. 8 William & Mary vs. No. 9 Georgia State, Noon ET
Game 2: No 5 Northeastern vs. No. 12 Delaware, 2:30 p.m. ET
Game 3: No. 7 Towson vs. No. 10 UNC Wilmington, 6:00 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 6 George Mason vs. No. 11 James Madison, 8:30 p.m. ET
Quarterfinals, Saturday March 3:
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. No. VCU, Noon ET
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. No. 4 Drexel, 2:30 p.m. ET
Game 7: No. 2 Old Dominion vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m. ET
Game 8: No. 3 Hofstra vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m. ET
Semifinals, Sunday March 4:
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 3 p.m. ET
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 5:30 p.m. ET
Finals, Monday March 5:
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. ET
Geek's all-conference picks
Player of the Year: Loren Stokes, 6-3, 175, G, Soph., Hofstra
Rookie of the Year: Matt Janning, 6-4, 165, G, Fr., Northeastern
Coach of the Year: Anthony Grant, VCU
All-Colonial team
Eric Maynor, 6-2, 165, G, Soph., VCU — 13.8 ppg, 6.4 apg, 4.3 rpg
Loren Stokes, 6-3, 175, G, Sr., Hofstra — 21 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3 apg
Gary Neal, 6-4, 210, Sr., G, Towson — 25.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.6 apg
Valdas Vasylius, 6-7, 210, F, Sr., Old Dominion — 16 ppg, 6.3 rpg
B.A. Walker, 6-2, 160, G, Sr., VCU — 15.3 ppg, 3 rpg, 2 apg

Horizon League

Team to beat: This is where the geek is scratching his head. So, lets make all three of the top 3 teams Happy… First, Butler — Todd Lickliter's team has knocked off the likes of Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga, but that seems like an eternity ago. The Bulldogs have slipped up lately, losing three of their last six games, but are still the favorites to win the league.

Sleeper: Loyola — The Ramblers have the league's best all-around player in Blake Schilb and also won at Butler late in the season, so you never know what they could do this week.

Prediction: Wright State — Brad Brownell was successful while at UNC-Wilmington and has wasted little time enjoying success in Dayton at Wright State. I have to go with Brownell and the league's best player, DaShaun Wood, to knock off Butler in the title game. And the tournament will be in Dayton all weekend if they keep winning… and they are tough at the Nutter Butter Center (OK its just Nutter Center but doesn’t Nutter Butter just roll off of your tongue).

Schedule
Tuesday, Feb. 27 — First round
Game 1: No. 6 UIC hosts No. 7 UW-Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 UW-Green Bay hosts No. 9 Cleveland State, 8 p.m.
Game 3: No. 5 Youngstown State hosts No. 8 Detroit, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 2 — Second round (at Ervin J. Nutter Center — Dayton, Ohio)
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. No. 3 Loyola, 6 p.m.
Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 3 — Semifinals (at Ervin J. Nutter Center — Dayton, Ohio)
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. No. 2 Butler, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. No. 1 Wright State, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 6 — Championship (at home of higher remaining seed)
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. No. 7 Loyola, 9 p.m.

Geek's all-conference picks
Player of the Year: DaShaun Wood, 5-11, 180, G, Sr., Wright State
Rookie of the Year: Todd Brown, 6-5, 190, G, Fr., Wright State
Coach of the Year: Todd Lickliter, Butler
All-Horizon team
DaShaun Wood, 5-11, 180, G, Sr., Wright State — 19.4 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.8 apg
A.J. Graves, 6-1, 155, G, Jr., Butler — 17.3 ppg, 95% FT
Blake Schilb, 6-7, 220, G, Sr., Loyola — 16.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.2 apg
Quin Humphrey, 6-4, 205, G, Sr., Youngstown State — 19.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg
Mike Schachtner, 6-9, 215, F, Soph., UW-Green Bay — 15.2 ppg