Friday Recap

By Ali Karimi - March 08, 2008

No. 21 Drake 68, Indiana State 46
Drake rolls into the semis of the Valley with a tournament quarterfinal victory over Indiana State. Drake tied a school record for victories and ended an eight-game quarterfinal losing streak in the process. The Bulldogs are looking at a five seed. Led by Adam Emmenecker, the Valley player of the year, Drake is seeking its first NCAA tournament berth since 1971.

Valparaiso 72, Wright St. 67
Valpo is on fire right now. The Crusaders will face Cleveland State in Saturday's semifinals. The Horizon could be a two-bid league if the winner of Saturdays semis can land the upset of Butler.

Austin Peay 78, Tenn.-Martin 77
The Governors need free throws with 2.2 seconds to get past Skyhawks. One more win gets them dancing, only Tennessee State stands in their way.

Illinois St. 63, Missouri St. 58
The Redbirds are now a lock to go dancing even if they don't win the Valley.

Cornell 94, Penn 92
The Big Red is already in the field of 65, anything else is just gravy. A perfect Ivy record is nothing to scoff at. A very dangerous 13 seed.

N. Iowa 54, S. Illinois 49
I was never under the impression the Salukis were at large material but I did believe they could win the Valley tournament. The NIT awaits.

Belmont 69, ETSU 65
The Belmont marches onto the finals on the Atlantic Sun, albeit not without controversy. The Bruins (24-8) will face Jacksonville on Saturday night in the championship game with an automatic NCAA tournament bid on the line.