College Basketball

Ricky Harris scored a game-high 24 points as he led the Massachusetts Minutemen to a 59-56 win over the Charlotte 49ers in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Josh White hit the go-ahead bucket with 24 seconds left and George Odufuwa came up with a key block on the ensuing series, as North Texas edged Troy, 66-63, for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship and a spot in the NCAA's "Big Dance."

Fairleigh Dickinson has removed the interim tag from Greg Vetrone and has named him the permanent men's basketball coach.

Michigan State junior guard Chris Allen has been suspended and will miss the Spartans' Big Ten Tournament opener on Friday.

Dominque Jones scored 20 points with nine rebounds as South Florida downed DePaul, 58-49, in first-round action at the Big East Tournament.

The University of Louisiana-Lafayette has decided not to retain men's basketball coach Robert Lee, whose contract expired at the conclusion of this season.

The Hawaii Warriors may have the most Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles with three, the last coming in 2002, but this year the islanders aren't even invited to the party as the 27th annual event kicks off this week at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

The 13th Annual Big Ten Conference Tournament gets underway on Thursday, March 11th from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Purdue is the defending tournament champion, having topped Ohio State in last year's title tilt, 65-61. It was the Boilermakers' first-ever Big Ten Tournament championship, leaving four teams (five if you count Michigan's vacated title in 1998) still to claim the crown.

The competition level will be through the roof in Nashville this week, as all 12 SEC teams will compete in the 51st annual conference tournament. On the line is an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and the majority of the teams in the league are well aware that their hopes of earning a ticket to the "Big Dance" depend solely on winning this event.

It is the usual suspects that are destined to do the most damage in Las Vegas this week, as the members of the Mountain West Conference descend on the Thomas & Mack Center for the 11th annual conference tournament.