NCAA Tournament

With March Madness officially underway, many of the programs that failed to make the big dance this season are searching for new head coaches who they hope will lead them back to the tournament in the near future. The University of Arkansas Little Rock is among this group after they fired longtime head coach Darrell Walker following a disappointing 12-20 campaign. Darell had been the head man for the Trojans for 8 seasons, but the team never reached the NCAA Tournament during his tenure.

The first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament came a little bit early. Long Island University claimed the Northeast Conference's berth by beating Wagner in the semifinals of that league tournament Saturday. The Sharks will play in the NEC men's title game Tuesday night, but their opponent (Mercyhurst) is ineligible for the NCAAs because it is still a reclassifying Division I institution. When Mercyhurst topped Stonehill to advance to the championship game, that meant the other semifinal between LIU and Wagner -- Brooklyn vs. Staten Island -- would determine who reached the NCAA field of 68.