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Feel like dancin'
Furman, Troy punched their tickets to the Big Dance on Monday. Plus: the WCC may have clinched three bids, Hofstra hit a wild game-winner, we hand out postseason awards, update you on the coaching carousel, and preview four conference tournaments.
Tristan Freeman
March 10, 2026
Good morning! Hope you enjoyed a relatively quiet night. We’ve got five conference championship games tonight and four new conference tournaments starting.
Let’s get to Monday’s news.
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1. Troy, Furman join the Dance party
Georgia Southern had college basketball history in mind on Monday night. It was trying to win its sixth game in six days and claim the Sun Belt championship.
The 10-seed had beaten four of the league’s top seven teams. But 1-seed Troy had other ideas, and won 77-61.
Thomas Dowd — the only starter back from last season’s champs — scored 23 points as Troy (22-11) controlled nearly the entire game en route to the automatic bid, their second-straight out of the Sun Belt. They celebrated like it was their first, though.
After going 20-39 in his first two years with the Trojans, coach Scott Cross now has five straight years with at least 20 wins, along with back-to-back trips to the Big Dance.
Georgia Southern (21-16) joined NC State (2024), UConn (2011) and UNC (1922 and ‘25) as the only teams to win five games in five days.
The 1 seed in the Southern Conference didn’t fare as well.
6-seed Furman upended top-seed East Tennessee State in the SoCon title game, 76-61. Cooper Bowser scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Alex Wilkins, who went off for a career-high 34 in the semifinal win over UNC Greensboro, add 12.
It’s the Paladins’ eighth SoCon title in program history, and second under coach Bob Richey, who spoke with Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster about the win.
It’s a disappointing end to another strong year for ETSU (23-11), which was playing in its second SoCon title game in three seasons.
2. Monday’s conference tournament results
The WCC may have locked up three NCAA Tournament bids, while Hofstra hit the day’s biggest shot.
