Dayton, OH - The 2014 NCAA Tournament tips off tonight at the University of Dayton Arena, as No. 16 seeds the Albany Great Danes and the Mount St. Marys Mountaineers face off in South Regions first round, with the winner advancing to play No. 1 seed Florida on Thursday. In the Midwest Region of the bracket, the ACCs NC State Wolfpack and Big Easts Xavier Musketeers will battle it out for the vacant position at UD Arena in Dayton. The winner advances through the first round and will clash with the fifth- seeded Saint Louis Billikens. You can watch live streaming coverage of both games tonight beginning at 6:40pm et/3:40pm pt, exclusively on TSN GO. Albany finished the regular season in fourth place in the American East Conference, but it blazed through the conference tournament with three straight wins, beating both top-seeded Vermont (67-58 in the semifinals) and second-seeded Stony Brook (69-60 in the championship) en route to the automatic bid. The Great Danes have played in the NCAA Tournament three previous times (2006, 2007, 2013) but have yet to earn a win. Mount Saint Marys also played the spoiler in its conference tournament. After entering the Northeast Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed at just 13-16 overall, it pieced together three straight wins over St. Francis-Brooklyn (72-71), Wagner (77-72) and Robert Morris (88-71). The Mountaineers have also qualified for the Big Dance on three other occasions, having previously defeated Coppin State in the 2008 play-in game (69-60) before losing to top- seeded North Carolina (113-74). This marks the first-ever meeting between Albany and Mount St. Marys on the hardwood. The Great Danes lost control of a halftime lead in the America East Tournament title game but finished the game on a 23-8 run over the final 6:47 to punch their ticket. Sam Rowley led the way with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. DJ Evans and Peter Hooley netted 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Gary Johnson tallied eight points and 10 rebounds. Scoring points hasnt been Albanys speciality this season, as it scores a mere 66.0 ppg on less than 44 percent shooting from the field, but it has excelled on the defensive end of the floor in yielding just 63.8 ppg on 41.9 percent shooting. Hooley pours in a team-best 15.7 ppg on 69-of-172 shooting from beyond the arc (.401). Rowley (11.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg) is a mainstay in the paint, while Evans (11.2 ppg) and Johnson (10.9 ppg) have also been solid. The Mountaineers made easy work of Robert Morris in the NEC championship bout, running out to a commanding 16-point lead at intermission before cruising to the easy double-digit victory. They shot a blistering 60.4 percent from the field in the triumph and had five players register in double figures, paced by Rashad Whacks 20 points. Julian Norfleet had 17 points, Taylor Danaher and Sam Prescott netted 15 apiece and Will Miller scored 11 off the bench. Mount St. Marys plays an opposite style of basketball as Albany, as it rarely has trouble filling up the scoreboard (76.2 ppg) yet leaves itself vulnerable on the defensive end of the court (78.0 ppg). The squad has a dynamic scoring duo in Whack (17.7 ppg) and Norfleet (17.5 ppg), with Norfleet also finding time to dish out 5.4 apg. Prescott rounds out the double-digit scorers by putting up 11.0 ppg. NC State made some waves in the ACC Tournament over the weekend by defeating Miami-Florida and then Syracuse to advance to the conferences semifinal round. The Wolfpack were taken down by Duke, 75-67, and were considered one of the most on-the-fence teams when it came to the tournaments selection. Xavier narrowly edged out Marquette in the Big East Tournaments quarterfinal round, but lost to Creighton, 86-78, in the semifinals. The Musketeers will need to prove their way into the field of 64. This will be the first-ever meeting between NC State and Xavier. Each team has a deep history in the NCAA Tournament, however. The Wolfpack own a 34-21 all-time record in the tournament, and were present in last seasons round of 64. Xavier comes in at 21-23 all-time, and made it to the Sweet 16 back in 2012. NC State and Duke had quite the battle going in Saturdays ACC Tournament semifinal, as the Blue Devils had just a one-point lead over the Wolfpack at the end of the first half. But Dukes defense stepped it up in the second frame by holding the Wolfpack to 35.5 percent shooting from the floor as the Blue Devils ended NC States quest for a conference title. T.J. Warren has been spectacular this season, and is now the programs all-time leader in a single season with 29 20-plus point contests. He had 21 with eight rebounds to lead the Wolfpack against Duke (his 17th consecutive 20-point game), while Lennard Freeman chipped in 13 points with nine boards and Anthony Barber scored 12 in the loss. N.C. State couldnt keep Duke from netting 57.1 percent of the teams shot attempts in the game. Warrens beastly season has led to much acclaim as he could very well enter the NBA after this season, earning ACC Player of the Year. The athletic forward is averaging an astounding 24.8 ppg for the Wolfpack, proving to be the go-to scorer when a basket is needed. He also leads the team with a 7.2 rpg average, and adds 57 steals to his season resume. Ralston Turner is the only other player on the Wolfpack roster to average a double-digit point total, netting 10.2 ppg. Barber tops the squad with 124 assists, and BeeJay Anya leads with 40 blocked shots. NC State averages 70.8 ppg through 33 games played, and gives up 69.5 ppg to opponents. Things looked bad for Xavier early on against Creighton in the Big East Tournament semifinals, as the Bluejays took a 45-33 lead into the intermission. But the Musketeers formed a comeback attempt in the second period, and started to cut into the lead as time went on. However, Creighton, behind the nations leading scorer Doug McDermott and his 32-point effort, was able to fend off Xavier down the stretch. Forward Isaiah Philmore scored a career-high 23 points for Xavier, while Semaj Christon chipped in 18 points with six assists in the loss. Justin Martin added 12 points before he fouled out of the contest. Christon, who has had his name mentioned in NBA talks as well, leads the Musketeers in scoring on the season with a 17.1 ppg average, netting 47.7 percent of his shots from the floor. He adds 138 assists on the year (second to Dee Daviss 147), and leads the team with 44 steals. Martin contributes 11.8 ppg for the Musketeers, and center Matt Stainbrook, who missed some time at the beginning of the conference tournament with a strained calf, adds 10.4 ppg with a team-leading 7.3 rpg mark. Xavier averages 72.2 ppg and allows 67.9 ppg to opponents Richard Rodgers Jersey .The rookie goalie made 36 saves to help the Calgary Flames blank their Pacific Division rivals 1-0 on Saturday following a 48-hour ordeal that included lost baggage, a cancelled flight and a new pair of contact lenses. Dallas Goedert Eagles Jersey . - The Green Bay Packers got back to work on Friday without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. http://www.theeaglesfootballauthentic.co...black-jersey/.C. -- Theyll remember the OT from the first Syracuse-Duke game -- and the Ts that decided Round 2. Haloti Ngata Eagles Jersey . -- The court fight over NFL concussions should heat up soon as a judge in Philadelphia weighs the fairness of the proposed $765 million settlement. Josh Sweat Eagles Jersey . The post-season, Pierce said repeatedly, is no time to panic. And the Heat, apparently, are nothing to fear.The New York Islanders signed a goaltender to a long-term deal, signifying their expectation that they will be better next season. Numbers Game looks at the Islanders securing the services of Jaroslav Halak. The Islanders Get: G Jaroslav Halak. Halak, 29, was going to be one of the best free agent goaltenders available this summer when the Islanders made a pre-emptive move to acquire him from Washington. While there are ups-and-down in Halaks game from year to year, over the past five years, he has the third-best save percentage among goaltenders with at least 200 games played. Over the same time period, Halak has a .927 save percentage during 5-on-5 play, which puts him in pretty good company. As noted, there have been ups and downs in Halaks performance, with the worst of the downs his 2012-2013 season -- an injury-plagued season in which he finished with an .899 save percentage in 16 games. In every other season, since 2008-2009, Halaks save percentage has ranged from .910 to .926, so there is a good chance that he can provide above-average goaltending for the Islanders and that would represent a significant upgrade. Using Hockey References Goals Saved Above Average, for example, Halak has saved approximately 42 goals above average over the past five years and will effectively be replacing Evgeni Nabokov, who is 11.51 goals above average over those same five years (one of which was spent in Russia), so just on average over those seasons, Halak would provide a five-to-six goal difference and factoring in that Nabokov is 38 and Halak is 29, its clear that Halak is likely to have superior numbers over the next four seasons. Halak signed for four years and $18-million, which is entirely reasonable for a starting goaltender. His cap hit of $4.5-million ranks 15th among goaltenders already signed for next season. The decision to sign Halak and, on the same day, announce that they would be keeping this years first-round pick (meanning that the Islanders 2015 first-round pick goes to Buffalo) is a clear indication that the Islanders expect to rebound from this down season and, believe it or not, thats a perfectly reasonable decision.dddddddddddd They finished 19th in Fenwick Close (unblocked 5-on-5 shot attempts, within one goal in first two periods, tied in third), which is a good measure for puck possession and did so with several notable injuries and players departing via trade, so its fair to think that the Islanders can be a middle of the pack club, with goaltending offering the chance to be a bit above average or, if it goes wrong again, below average. Those expectations will put Halak in the spotlight, but his track record is strong enough to justify the Islanders investment. The Capitals Get: A fourth-round pick. While Halak played well for Washington, after coming over in trade from St. Louis, posting a .930 save percentage in a dozen games, its also not a surprise that Washington might not be inclined to keep him long-term. After all, the Capitals already have Braden Holtby, who has a .919 save percentage in 105 career games, as well as prospect Philip Grubauer (.924 SV% in 19 GP with Capitals) waiting in the wings, so there wasnt a lot of upside to spending on Halak. Of course, this decision cant entirely ignore the fact that the Capitals dont have a general manager since firing George McPhee. Brian MacLellan made out quite well in the interim, however, securing a fourth-round pick in exchange for negotiatiing rights to an asset that the Capitals apparently didnt intend to keep. There isnt a lot of value to a fourth-round pick, maybe a 15% chance that it turns into an NHL player, but for a player that could provide zero value to Washington next season, thats well-played. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping NFL Jerseys From China China Jerseys Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys From China China NFL Gear Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '