Tulsa Wins Missouri Valley Title

Tulsa ended a decade of frustration in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament Monday night in St. Louis, getting 18 points from Cordell Love in a 60-46 victory over top-seeded Bradley.

Tulsa (22-7), the No. 3-seeded team, is moving to the WAC next season. Before departing, the Golden Hurricane got the Missouri Valley’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament with their first title since 1986.

This was the fourth time in the 1990s that Tulsa made it to the championship game. Bradley (22-7), which could get an at-large bid, had a six-game winning streak ended.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Colonial Athletic Assn.--Virginia Commonwealth secured an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament with a 46-43 victory over North Carolina Wilmington at Richmond, Va. The Rams (24-8) also won the CAA regular season title with a 14-2 record in their first year in the league.

Metro Atlantic Athletic--Tournament MVP Micheal Meeks scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as undermanned Canisius (19-10) beat Fairfield, 52-46, at Albany, N.Y., for the MAAC championship and its first NCAA tournament berth since 1957.

Mid-Continent--Valparaiso (20-12) advanced to the championship game with a 78-65 victory over Eastern Illinois at Moline, Ill. Western Illinois slipped past Central Connecticut State, 68-66, in the other semifinal.

Northeast--Charles Smith scored 27 points as Rider (19-10) upset top-seeded Mount Saint Mary’s, 74-70, in a semifinal at Emmitsburg, Md. In the other semifinal, a three-point shot and ensuing free throw by Mustafa Barksdale helped Monmouth score a 57-56 upset victory over Marist at Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

West Coast--Portland (19-10) advanced to the NCAA tournament with a 76-68 victory over Gonzaga (21-8) at Santa Clara.

NON-TOURNAMENT

Freshman Laron Profit scored 22 points to lead Maryland to an 88-78 victory over Florida State in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at College Park, Md.

Keith Booth barely missed a third consecutive double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds for Maryland (16-11, 8-8), which plays Duke on Friday in the ACC tournament. James Collins had 17 for Florida State (13-13, 5-11).

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College Basketball Notes

Kentucky was one vote shy of being a unanimous No. 1 selection in the season’s next-to-last poll. The Wildcats (26-1) received all but one of 66 first-place votes and 1,649 points, 73 more than Massachusetts (28-1). Connecticut moved up to third, Purdue was up one spot to fourth. Arizona was 11th and UCLA 17th.

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They’re In

Schools that have received automatic bids to the NCAA basketball tournament. All bids are by virtue of conference tournament championships with the exception of Big Ten, Ivy League and Pacific 10 conferences, which do not conduct postseason tournaments. The American West and Conference USA do not receive automatic bids.

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Austin Peay, Ohio Valley Conf.

Canisius, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conf.

Central Florida, Trans America Athletic Conf.

North Carolina Greensboro, Big South Conf.

Portland, West Coast Conf.

Purdue, Big Ten Conf.

South Carolina St., Mid-Eastern Athletic Conf.

Tulsa, Missouri Valley Conf.

Virginia Commonwealth, Colonial Athletic Assn.

Western Carolina, Southern Conf.