Conference Hoops Tournament Update

Two days have come and gone in the D-II South Nation version of "Championship Week", and already there have been at least two huge upsets. Here's what has happened so far.

The Gulf South Conference has a blog on how the 2010 tournament has progressed so far. You can follow the action on Thursday's women's session here, as well as Friday's men's session here. Already, East No. 1 seed Valdosta State has sent West No. 4 seed Christian Brothers packing with a 64-49 win in the women's bracket in the opening game of the quarterfinal round at Southaven, Miss. Thursday.

It will be a battle of 20-game winners in the women's bracket at Aiken, S.C. this Saturday, as semifinal action in the Peach Belt Conference tournament gets underway then. Regular season champion Lander (25-2) moved on to the semis with an 89-70 rout of UNC Pembroke in quarterfinal action Tuesday. Francis Marion (25-3) also moved on to the PBC Final Four after holding off USC Aiken 75-64. The West Division's top two seeds, on the other hand, had to hold on to move on in the PBC tourney, as No. 1 seed Georgia College & State University (21-7)needed overtime to edge and eliminate Georgia Southwestern 61-60, while No. 2 seed Clayton State (22-6) escaped with a 65-64 win over Columbus State.

As mentioned at the top of this post, there was a major upset in the men's bracket at the PBC tournament Wednesday. While regular season champion and East No. 1 seed Augusta State (26-2) managed to fend off a challenge from a scrappy Armstrong Atlantic State team to win 83-80, the other No. 1 seed wasn't so fortunate, as West No. 4 seed Clayton State (16-12) shocked West No. 1 seed GC&SU (22-5) 77-66. Elsewhere, the third time proved to be the charm for West No. 2 seed Montevallo (22-6) 88-79. The Saints swept the regular season serires from the Falcons, but came up empty in the third and final meeting between these two teams. In Aiken, S.C. East No. 2 seed USC Aiken (17-10) will play at least one more game on its home floor, as the Pacers advanced to Saturday's semifinal action with an 80-59 rout of Francis Marion.

Finally, the SIAC tournament in Atlanta had its own shocker, as No. 1 seed (and top ranked team in the South Region) Fort Valley State, lost for only the second time all season, as No. 8 Stillman stunned the Wildcats, 72-68 Wednesday. The loss could prove costly for the FVSU women, as No. 2 South Region ranked Delta State could steal the top seed and host role from the Wildcats come Selection Sunday. Of course, that will depend upon how the Lady Statesmen at this weekend's Gulf South Conference tournament.