March 11, 2022

Daily Briefing — March 11, 2022: KNIGHTED — UCF usurps South Florida for AAC title

Everything has a time and a place, and now so too does the 2022 WNBA Draft

UCF players celebrate their championship on the podium, holding a large "ticket punched" sign as confetti falls around them

UCF secured its first conference-tournament title in 12 years on Thursday. (Photo credit: UCF Athletics)

Happy Friday! Welcome to The Next’s Daily Briefing, featuring the W Roundup, daily Watch List and Yesterday’s Recap! Day 121 of college basketball is here, following UCF capturing its first conference title in 12 years. The Knights were close last year, splitting the season series with South Florida but losing in the championship game. And they avenged that this year.

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Elsewhere, the seventh-seeded Bryant Bulldogs are absolute giant-killers in the NEC.

W Roundup

We have a time and place for the draft! April 11th, 7 p.m. on ESPN, in Tribeca, Manhattan!

Free agency

Kristine Anigwe: Signed a training-camp deal with Phoenix.

Visit our offseason trackers page to see all the other free agent moves and how they affect team’s caps, other front-office changes, and more — in neat, colorful fashion!

Watch List, Friday, March 11

(All times in Eastern)

Must-watch

None

Good games

#21 Oklahoma v. Kansas, Noon, ESPNU — Big 12 quarterfinal

Also watchable

#24 Princeton v. Harvard, 4:30 p.m., ESPN+

#7 Texas v. Kansas State, 8:30 p.m., ESPN+

Thursday, March 10 recap

(All rankings below reflect tournament seeding)

Big 12 tournament, first round

#7 West Virginia beat #10 TCU, 73-58. The Mountaineers won the first half 34-11. Point guard Madisen Smith led with 19 points on 7-for-14 from the field and 4-for-7 from three, three rebounds, five assists, and three turnovers.

The Horned Frogs’ season is over.

#9 Oklahoma State beat #8 Texas Tech, 73-58. Combo guard Lauren Fields led with 22 points on 7-for-12 from the field and 5-for-7 from three, four rebounds, three assists, and four steals against two turnovers and four fouls in 32 minutes; big Taylen Collins recorded a 14-point, 12-rebounded double-double on 7-for-17 FG with three assists and three blocks.

The Raiders’ season is over.

AAC tournament, championship

#1 UCF beat #2 USF, 63-53, for its first conference-tournament title since 2011. The lead changed hands seven times, and the Bulls once led by as many as six. South Florida actually shot better from both the field and three, but were out-rebounded by six and committed five more turnovers. Point guard Diamond Battles led the Knights with 17 points on 4-for-16 from the field (2-5 3pt.) and 7-for-8 from the line, two rebounds, and two assists without sitting.

15 automatic qualifiers down!

MAC tournament, quarterfinal

#2 Buffalo beat #7 Western Michigan, 63-49.

#3 Akron beat #6 Bowling Green, 81-67.

MVC tournament

#7 Drake beat #10 Bradley, 71-56.

#8 Indiana State beat #9 Evansville, 89-75.

NEC tournament, semifinals

#7 Bryant beat #1 Fairleigh-Dickinson, 44-38. The Bulldogs have done it again, and have now upset both of the top seeds in the NEC tournament.

Written by Emily Adler

Emily Adler (she/her) covers the WNBA at large and college basketball for The Next, with a focus on player development and the game behind the game.