Another 19 teams were eliminated from March Madness by 10 p.m. Saturday (see updated status of all teams here). But Yale joined Austin Peay as the first two teams officially in the tournament with their first Ivy League title since 1962 despite both Yale and Austin Peay missing a key player.
Austin Peay built on their shocker over Belmont with a win over UT Martin to improve to an 18-17 record — the first time they have had a winning season this year. While the team was not ranked in the Top 200, Chris Horton ranked as the 56th best player in the country at www.valueaddbasketball.com and scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the stunning semifinal upset of Belmont. However, the team won Saturday despite Horton going to the locker room after an injury and only playing limited minutes.
Yale won the only conference that still relies on the regular season, clinching with a win over Columbia to take the title. This year Justin Sears and Brandon Sherrod gave them two players among the top 300 out of 4000 players. A team captain, not rated in the top 1000 at Value Add, abruptly left the team and signs recently went up around campus saying “Yale Men’s Basketball, stop supporting rapists,” according to the Daily Mail. Teammates say they support the player and ripped down the defamatory posters.
The status of each team on a grade from “A” to “B” (in the tournament) to “F” to “G” (eliminated) will continue to be updated here as games are completed.