College hoops Sunday: Coastal Carolina, Mercer and Wichita State lock up NCAA Tournament bids

Mercer built a 33-17 by halftime, but FGCU made a second-half rally behind -- what else -- a few thunderous dunks.

The Eagles were within three points with less than three minutes to play, but Hall had other ideas. He hit a pull-up jumper with two minutes to play to give the Bears a five-point lead that was enough buffer to earn the win.

Wichita’s win is good news for teams hoping for an at-large bid, as the Shockers will receive the MVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. No Missouri Valley team is expected to receive an at-large bid.

Virginia should not have been able to pull this off. The Cavaliers were at the foul line trailing by two with under two seconds left when Maryland batted the intentionally missed free throw out of bounds. This is the play Virginia ran successfully to send it to overtime.

Carolina finished the regular season 11-5, good enough to finish first in the South Division of the conference. The Chanticleers entered the tournament with a first-round bye, awarded to the top-two finishers in each division. The Chanticleers are expected to be part of the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament, where the field of 68 will be whittled down to 64.

The Big South Tournament comes to a close Sunday afternoon, with South Division-champion Coastal Carolina facing Winthrop. Tipoff is set for noon ET at The HTC Center in Conway, S.C. Television coverage will be available on ESPN2. Coastal Carolina is a two-point favorite.

Coastal Carolina has one factor in its favor in that the game is being played at its home arena. Winthrop won both games over Coastal Carolina during the regular season, with an overtime win over the Chanticleers at the HTC Center in January and a ten-point victory at Winthrop Coliseum.