Wright State, two others secure berths to NCAA Tournament

Mar 7, 2007 - 6:32 AM By PA SportsTicker

Wright State got the best of No. 17 Butler once again, this time under much more significant circumstances.

In a matchup of the top teams in the Horizon League, the Raiders secured their first NCAA Tournament bid in 14 years with a 60-55 victory over Butler in the Horizon League Tournament championship game on Tuesday.

There were two other conference title games decided on Tuesday, with Oral Roberts (23-10) capturing the Mid-Continent title game with a 71-67 victory over Oakland (19-14), and North Texas (23-10) topping Arkansas State, 83-75, in the Sun Belt championship.

However, the marquee game among the trio was the matchup between Wright State and Butler, who split their two meetings in the regular season.

The Raiders (23-9) snapped the deadlock as they booked just their second trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since 1984.

"Nobody believed we could do this, so we have to keep going and make things happen in the (NCAA) Tournament," said Wright State guard DaShaun Wood, who was named the tournament's MVP. "We'll see where we go on Selection Sunday."

"We're not worried about the NCAAs for at least another 48 hours," Raiders coach Brad Brownell said. "(Right now) we're going to enjoy this with our fans."

While the Bulldogs won the Preseason NIT to garner more of the national attention, it was the Raiders that were the top seed and played on their home court in Dayton, Ohio.

Wright State and Butler (27-6) both finished 13-3 in league play, but the Raiders won the regular-season title and the tournament's top seed via a tiebreaker.

The teams split their regular-season meetings, each winning on its home court. Following a 77-65 home triumph on February 10, the Raiders continued the trend as Wood came up with key plays on both sides of the court inside the closing 1 1/2 minutes.

With both teams alternating baskets for much of the final six minutes, Wood prevented Butler from snapping a 52-52 tie with 1:25 remaining when he blocked a uncontested layup by A.J. Graves from behind.

Just 20 seconds later, the 5-11 guard knocked down his sixth 3-pointer of the game to give Wright State a lead it would not relinquish.

"DaShaun is such a great player," Raiders forward Drew Burleson said. "He makes things happen. He's hit them all year."

The Bulldogs closed with 56-55 on a free throw by Brandon Crone with 11 seconds left, but Raiders guard Will Graham converted four straight from the stripe down the stretch.

For Butler, the loss was its third in the conference championship game over the past five years.

"This was not neutral," Bulldogs coach Todd Lickliter said. "This is something that was a good environment for now. For our guys to maintain their poise for most of the time (was all right) but you have to do it all the time to win."

Even with its fourth loss in the last eight games, Butler is all but assured of making the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid.

Making its third straight appearance in the conference championship game, Oral Roberts took advantage of the comforts of home in Tulsa, Oklahoma to notch back-to-back berths in the "Big Dance."

After battling back from an 11-point deficit at the half, the top-seeded Golden Eagles took the decisive lead when second-leading scorer Ken Tutt hit a bank shot with 31 seconds remaining for a 69-67 edge.

Tutt, who recorded his 2,000 career point on that play, finished with 20 points. Leading scorer Caleb Green had 28 points.

After Erik Kangas had a potential seventh 3-pointer spin out for Oakland, Adam Liberty converted two free throws with 11 seconds left to seal the win for Oral Roberts, which is coached by Scott Sutton - the son of legendary coach Eddie Sutton.

Prior to the 2005-06 season, the Golden Eagles had not been in the NCAA Tournament since 1984. Last year, Oral Roberts absorbed a 94-78 loss to No. 1 seed Memphis in the opening round.

There was no home-court advantage in the Sun Belt as fifth-seeded North Texas claimed an 83-75 victory over second-seeded Arkansas State (18-15) on a neutral floor in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Although Arkansas State won both regular-season meetings, North Texas collected its first bid in the NCAAs in 19 years behind 24 points and six 3-pointers from Calvin Watson.

Watson, who entered the game going 4-of-23 from the arc in his previous four games, was named the tournament's MVP.

After holding a 37-36 lead at the half, the Mean Green, who saw their lead cut to 72-70 on a 3-pointer by Isaac Wells before closing out the contest with an 11-5 run.

So far, 12 automatic bids have been awarded. Two more will be up for grabs in the Big Sky and Northeast conferences on Wednesday.

The entire 65-team field will be announced by the NCAA Selection Committee on Sunday.