Welcome to “The Daily Scoop”, an article to bring you up to date with the latest news from college basketball and a preview of the day ahead.

Daily Headlines

Xavier Brown’s hot night leads James Madison to Sun Belt title

James Madison has now won a nation-leading 31 games in 2023-24, winning their 31st in blowout fashion in the Sun Belt Conference championship game. The Dukes matched up with the Arkansas State Red Wolves, who had completed an upset over the Sun Belt’s top-seeded Appalachian State on Sunday afternoon. The first 12 minutes of Monday night’s championship matchup was back-and-forth, before a James Madison surge to finish the half leading by 10. The Dukes would control the second half, extending the lead to 29 before finishing with a 91-71 title-claiming victory. Sophomore guard Xavier Brown averages just 6.1 ppg this season but exploded for 21 points on 8-11 shooting with five three-pointers to lead JMU to the win. An 11 or 12 seed likely awaits the Dukes, who are more than capable of winning a game in the tournament, proving that on opening night of the season, when they took down Michigan State at the Breslin Center.

Samford claims SoCon title behind Achor Achor’s big night

The second of two conference championship games on Monday night transpired in Asheville, North Carolina, between the Samford Bulldogs and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the SoCon. Samford’s key to victory was its ability to get to the free throw line, as the Bulldogs’ top two scorers, Achor Achor and Jermaine Marshall, combined for 19 points at the free throw line as the team finished 25-37 from the stripe. Achor finished the game with 25 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, as Marshall finished with 23 points and eight rebounds. The Bulldogs will likely be around the 12-13 seed range, and their extremely fast pace of play could cause an upset if given the right matchup as they play in their first NCAA Tournament game since 2000.

#21 Saint Mary’s cruises past Santa Clara to claim spot in Tuesday’s WCC Championship game

In their first game since their regular season finale loss to Gonzaga, the Saint Mary’s Gaels got back to winning ways, taking care of Santa Clara in the WCC semifinals. The Gaels were led in scoring by Alex Ducas, who scored 21 points off of 7-11 shooting, with every shot taken being a three-pointer. Carlos Marshall Jr. did all he could in the loss for the Broncos, finishing with 26 points on 11-20 shooting. The win was the 25th of the season for the Gaels, and they’ll look to make it 26 when they face Gonzaga for the third time this season in Tuesday’s WCC Championship game (9:00 ET, ESPN).

Other Things to Note:

• #17 Gonzaga uses dominant second half performance to get past San Francisco in WCC semifinals
• Montana State upsets Weber State to advance to Big Sky semifinals
• Nicholls and Lamar dominate in Southland 2nd round action
• ACC, Big 12, and Atlantic 10 tournaments tip off on Tuesday Afternoon (ACCN, ESPN+, ESPN+)
• Top-seeded Charleston meets 7th seeded Stony Brook in CAA championship game (7:00 ET, CBSSN)
• 6th seeded Milwaukee faces top-seeded Oakland in Horizon League title game (7:00 ET, ESPN)
• Merrimack hosts Wagner in NEC title game (7:00 ET, ESPN2)
• Denver matches up with South Dakota State in Summit League championship game (8:30 ET, CBSSN)