CTC: Day Four

You know that “storm” that has been brewing?  Well, it has officially started.  The rain is coming down and the winds are starting to howl.  22 games today, including a noon start time in the east should bring a lot of movement in the CTC standings.

MISSOURI VALLEY QUARTERFINALS (12 points each)
“Arch Madness” gets into full swing today with a quarterfinal quadruple-header starting at 1:00 eastern.  S. Illinois avoided the upset last night, beating Illinois State, but Drake could not, as 10-seed Bradley got through to play again today.

*CTC UPDATE:  Primm is the only one to nail all four quarterfinal matchups in The Valley today, but after missing both opening round games, he still trails Doogan and Gross, who lead the MVC.

#1 Missouri State vs. #8 S. Illinois 
The top-seeded Bears of Missouri State open their postseason today in the early game against the Salukis who, just 15 hours prior to tip time finished off a 3-point win over Illinois State.  Missouri State did have some bubble aspirations for much of the season, but a BracketBusters loss to Valparaiso might have popped their bubble.  That being said, with all the rich conference bubble teams losing, they may be right back on it – but anything less than an MVC tournament finals appearance and it’s probably an NIT season for Cuonzo Martin’s crew.  All 20 entries have Missouri State winning this game.  Waters, Lil Lohse, Scoot, Cheryl, and Dan, though, are the only ones with the Bears winning it all. 

IN-GAME UPDATE:  Upset Alert –> S. Illinois leads Missouri State 32 – 24 at halftime
IN-GAME UPDATE:  S. Illinois continues to MSU, 46-37, with 10 minutes left to play.  Could be disastrous for a couple CTC brackets and Missouri State’s already slim at-large chances.

FINAL SCORE:  Missouri State 58 – S. Illinois 56
MADNESS!!!  Missouri State comes all the way back for assured elimination to win it on a buzzer-beater by Kyle Weems from just inside the three-point line.  Weems and Adam Leonard combine for 34 of the Bears 58 points and the top seed survives a terrifyingly close quarterfinal here in Arch Madness.  For MSU championship supporters – Waters, Lil Lohse, Scoot, Cheryl, and Dan – this one was a little close for comfort, but a win is a win.

#4 N. Iowa vs. #5 Creighton
I have to say that the graduation of Ali Farukmanesh from N. Iowa last year made writing these CTC posts a lot easier.  But, aside from that, the loss of Faruk and Adam Koch hit the Panthers pretty hard (more Koch than Faruk, who only really made a name for himself with his onions in the tournament), which was not unexpected.  That being said, the momentum of a Sweet 16 run and the coaching acumen of Ben Jacobson has probably brought UNI into perpetual upper-division status here in The Valley.  This quarterfinal is fantastic, as Creighton has some talent as well, albeit a bit underachieving this year.   This game, aside from being great on the hardwood, is going to be great in the brackets, as well.  The CTC is very split on this game and it could go a long way to crowning this year’s CTC MVC champion.  The majority, actually, seems to prefer the Blue Jays of Creighton – only 9 entries (Bry, J, Alexi, Waters, Cheryl, Dan, Rikey, Gersh, and Mac) have the favored UNI.  And, not only does the majority of entries have Creighton winning this game, but a lot of those that like the Blue Jays really like them.  Lynch, KA, Teddy, Dave, Primm, and Gross all have Creighton in the finals, though no one has them winning the title.  On the other side, none of the 9 entries that have UNI in the semis have them beating Missouri State. 

*FINAL SCORE:  Creighton 60 – N. Iowa 57
The Blue Jays held UNI to just 17 points in the first half – leading by 8 at the break – and held on down the stretch to eliminate the Panthers and move on to face Missouri State in the semis tomorrow.  They got 18 points off the bench from a guy who only averaged 8 per game in the regular season, Kenny Lawson.  This is the last MVC game for Kwadzo Ahelegbe – one of the best players to go through the UNI system – who missed some crucial shots down the stretch.  Lynch, KA, Teddy, Dave, Primm, and Gross are the happiest with this result, as they keep a finalist alive.

#2 Wichita State vs. #10 Bradley 
The other team that played last night, Bradley, at least gets the whole day to recover before taking on the #2-seeded Shockers of Wichita State.  The Shockers have had a good year, but a rather inconsistent one.  This inconsistency, while rewarded in the rich conferences (see:  Missouri, Michigan State, Texas A&M, Florida State, and on and on) is punished in the mid-majors.  All year, these are their 7 losses:  UConn (neutral court) by 4, @San Diego State by 14, Missouri State by 3, N. Iowa by 3, S. Illinois by 3, VCU by 1, @Missouri State by 5.  You mean to tell me a 21-win team in a good conference with only 1 bad loss (and only one loss by double-digits) will not, should they lost to MSU in the finals, be one of the best 35 at-large candidates?  Who is better?  Memphis?  Minnesota?  Colorado?  Really?  Not in my book.  J.T. Durley and Toure Murry and big-time college players, and they have a ton of depth – going 10 deep of all guys who would get quality minutes on just about any team in America.  Sorry for the rant, I just think that this team is absolutely a tournament team.  In case you couldn’t tell, the author of this post has Wichita State winning this tournament.  He is joined by 12 other people (J, Doogan, Stri, Lynch, Lohse, KA, Teddy, Rikey, Dave, Gersh, Gross, and Mac).  No one has them losing this game.

*FINAL SCORE:  Wichita State 70 – Bradley 56
The deepest mid-major team in the country got 36 of their 70 points from their bench, including 16 from their “big ugly,” Garrett Stutz.  13 CTC’ers have WSU winning this tournament, so they were happy to see a relatively breezy quarterfinal.

#3 Indiana State vs. #6 Evansville
The two most surprising teams in the MVC this year match up in the nightcap of the quartefinal quadruple-header.  Picked in the preseason to finish last and second-to-last in The Valley, respectively, Indiana State and Evansville surprised everyone by finishing in the top 6 and avoiding the first round of the tournament.  The Sycamores even knocked off Missouri State, Creighton, and N. Iowa along the way.  Evansville, aside from a decent conference season, got a big win over Butler in the non-conference.  This is a very popular upset pick in the CTC, as only Alexi, Dan, Rikey, Primm, and Mac have them winning this game.  Primm and Alexi have them winning the whole tournament, actually.  No one else has them in the finals.

*FINAL SCORE:  Indiana State 52 – Evansville 50
Resilient.  That is the perfect word for the Sycamores this season, as they keep overcoming adversity.  Picked to finish last in the conference, they managed to beat most of the top teams and finish third.  Then, getting little respect heading into the conference tournament, they trailed Evansville pretty much all game, before coming back at the end and winning on a 17-footer from Jake Odum at the buzzer.  The Sycamores will have to bring back up their emotion tomorrow in the semis, as they face #2 Wichita State.  A bunch of people missed an upset pick here, while Primm and Alexi keep their champions alive. 

HORIZON LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS (12 points each)
After a two day respite to rest and relocate, the Horizon League continues with its two quarterfinal games.  The next two rounds will be hosted by regular season champion, UW-Milwaukee, though the hosts and the defending champs (Butler) get a night off tonight, as they await their semifinals opponents.  All four of the teams tonight took care of business on their home floors Tuesday to get themselves here.  As for the CTC, we had 8 perfect opening round entries, so we are still looking for a favorite to take the 2011 CTC Horizon League belt.

*CTC UPDATE:  A slew of people got both quarterfinals right here in the Horizon, including Bry, Alexi, Teddy, and Mac, who all remain perfect in this bracket.

#3 Cleveland State vs. #6 Wright State
The Vikings were not incredibly inspiring in their 12-point win over lowly UIC on Tuesday night, but the theme of this time of the year is survive and advance, and that is what they did.  Wright State also survived and advanced against a much tougher opponent, Green Bay.  This is a war.  I know that the Horizon League does not get much attention, but I would put this matchup up there against any quarterfinal matchup anywhere, including “star power,” as Norris Cole and Vaughn Duggins may not be household names, but they can flat-out play.  This should be a good one with the winner moving on to a semifinal date with Butler tomorrow night.  Everyone has a horse in the race here, except Dan, who had Green Bay winning this game and going to the semis.  Waters and Stri have Wright State here, while the other 17 all have CSU.  A loss by the Vikings would hurt the bracket of Lynch the most, as he has them winning this tournament, but it would also be a blow to Cheryl and Primm, who have them beating Butler.

*FINAL SCORE:  Cleveland State 73 – Wright State 59
Norris Cole “only” had 15 for the Vikings, but he scored 13 of them in a 9-minute span in the second half that blew this game wide open.  Regardless of your CC affiliations, you have to be somewhat happy to see this result, setting up a great Butler-CSU semifinal tomorrow night in Milwaukee.  A pretty good season for Wright State comes to an end; a great career for Vaughn Duggins does, as well.  Lynch keeps his finalist alive, while Stri and Waters both miss out on this upset.

#4 Valparaiso vs. #5 Detroit
Detroit hammered Loyola (IL) on Tuesday night, while Valpo survived a bad Youngstown State team.  This, the nightcap, should be every bit as good as the first game with the winner moving on to play the hosts, UW-Milwaukee tomorrow night.  Two entries already have L’s here (KA and Lynch) with the pick of previously eliminated Loyola.  Of the 18 remaining entries alive in this game, only 5 have Detroit (Doogan, Cheryl, Rikey, Primm, and Gross).  The other 13 have Valpo.  Gross has the most to lose with Detroit, as he has them in the finals.  On the other side, Mac is the biggest Crusader fan of the bunch, as he has them cutting down the nets in the Horizon.

*FINAL SCORE:  Valparaiso 88 – Detroit 78
When the going get tough, good teams have guys they can turn to to come through.  Valpo has that guy, and his name is Brandon Wood.  Wood dropped 30 on the Titans tonight, including seven 7-pointers in the second half alone, as the Crusaders win to advance to play #1 UW-Milwaukee tomorrow night in the Horizon semis.  Doogan, Cheryl, Rikey, Primm, and Gross missed their upset pick here.  Mac keeps his Horizon champ alive.

OHIO VALLEY SEMIFINALS (8 points each)
Two nights of play; four teams eliminated; and, the OVC welcomes its top two teams to the mix for the semis tonight and the championship tomorrow.  Gersh is still perfect in the OVC, so we’ll see if he can finish this thing off.

*CTC UPDATE:  Gersh lost both, so his dream of perfection is over.  J is now in the lead for this year’s OVC title.

#1 Murray State vs. #4 Tennessee Tech 
Tennessee Tech cruised past UT-Martin last night to earn themselves a date with the top-seeded Racers.  Murray State, always one of the darlings of the mid-major circuit, had another stellar year and notched another OVC title on their headboard.  The OVC this year had three very good teams and, as a reward for winning the regular season, Murray State gets to go through the bracket opposite the other two.  J and Alexi both have Tennessee Tech in a nice upset pick here.  Alexi has them winning this tournament.

*FINAL SCORE:  Tennessee Tech 64 – Murray State 59
Tennessee Tech jumped out to a big lead, as Murray State stuggled to hit shots all night.  The Racers – normally a great offensive team – was shooting less 35% from the floor and less than 20% from 3-point line in the first half.  But, they started making shots midway through the second and made a furious comeback, turning a 12-point deficit into a 2-point lead with less than 2 minutes left.  But, TT made the big shots down the stretch, including a huge 3-pointer by Zac Swansey to ice it.  The Racers great guard attack was almost completely neutralized, including an uncharacteristically terrible shooting night from their star, B.J. Jenkins.  J and Alexi were the only two to get this game right – Alexi has Tennessee Tech winning this, which would be a fantastic call if it comes through.  A ton of people lost their champion in this one.

#2 Morehead State vs. #3 Austin Peay 
The other late arrival to the OVC dance is the Morehead State Eagles and some guy named Kenneth Faried.  If you haven’t seen Faried play, you are truly missing out.  Maybe it’s the dreads, but he appears to be everywhere on the court.  He plays with an unbelievable energy level and crashes the boards like a madman.  He is an absolute force and should give the Governors (who lack some inside strength) all they can handle all night.  This is one of the biggest CTC games of the night, as the field was quite torn on this game (understandably, as it is a great game).  9 entries had Austin Peay in the upset here (Stri, Lynch, Lil Lohse, Scoot, Cheryl, Gersh, Primm, Gross, and Mac), with 5 of those having the Governors winning the whole thing (Stri, Scoot, Gersh, Gross, and Mac).  On the other side, of the 11 who picked Morehead in this one, 6 of them have the Eagles winning the tournament (J, Doogan, Waters, KA, Teddy, and Dave).

*FINAL SCORE:  Morehead State 68 – Austin Peay 49
If you are going to set a record – a pretty major one – you might as well do it in style.  With his 3rd rebound of the night, Kenneth Faried passed Tim Duncan as the all-time NCAA D-I rebounder.  Only needing 3, the record was pretty assured, but Faried decided to extend his lead a little bit, so he added EIGHTEEN more to finish with 21 boards in leading his Morehead State team into the OVC finals to take on Tennessee Tech tomorrow night.  It was a comfortable lead for most of the game, but it wasn’t a blowout until Austin Peay just stopped playing with about 6 minutes left.  Morehead took a 10-point lead and just walked away with it.  J, Doogan, Waters, KA, Teddy, and Dave are the happiest with this win because they have Morehead winning this tournament.  Stri, Scoot, Gersh, Gross, and Mac took the biggest blow, as they had Austin Peay winning it.

ATLANTIC SUN SEMIFINALS (8 points each)
After four quarterfinal games over two days, the A-Sun will crown its champion in tomorrow night.  To get to that point, we have to resolve the semifinal contests tonight in Macon.  Bry, Doogan, and Waters all submitted perfect A-Sun quarterfinal picks, so they will be going for perfection this weekend.

*CTC UPDATE:  J, Dan, and Dave all hit both semifinals in the A-Sun, and are all tied for the A-Sun lead.  And, with no one picking N. Florida to win the title, and all three of them having Belmont, they will all tie for the 2011 A-Sun title.

#1 Belmont vs. #5 Mercer 
Mercer upset Belmont’s arch-rival, Lipscomb, last night to get a shot at the top-seeded Bruins, who survived against #8 Kennesaw State on Wednesday night.  Waters is the only one with the upset call of Mercer here.  KA is already out, having gone with Lipscomb here, and everyone else has Belmont (including most people who have them winning it all).

*FINAL SCORE:  Belmont 80 – Mercer 72
Belmont is officially the first team in the country to reach the 29-win mark, as they win a pretty tight game against the tournament hosts, Mercer.  The Bruins – who lead the country in bench scoring – got 48 points off the pine tonight and will advance to tomorrow night’s championship.  Waters missed a big upset pick here and lost a finalist in the process.

#2 E. Tennessee State vs. #6 N. Florida 
ETSU survived a real scare on Wednesday night, inching past #7 Campbell and now they get #6 N. Florida, who pulled off the upset of #3 Jacksonville last night.  Three entries (Alexi, Scoot, and Primm) have already lost this game, having picked Jacksonville.  J, Waters, Dan, and Dave all would have a really nice upset here if UNF can come through.   Everyone else has ETSU.  Bry has the Bucs winning this tournament.

*FINAL SCORE:  N. Florida 59 – E. Tennessee State 55
Well, we have a winner of the annual “first team to be called Cinderella,” and it is N. Florida.  The Ospreys are one win away from the First Four.  And, they did it in style, beating ETSU for the first time in their school’s history.  Mike Smith, the A-Sun Player of the Year, did score 20 in defeat, but ETSU’s destiny is probably the CBI, at this point.  N. Florida’s destiny is yet to be defined, as they have a shot to write it tomorrow against Belmont.  J, Waters, Dan, and Dave all hit this upset – which is very impressive to nail a 6-seed in the finals.  Bry loses his champion here.

COLONIAL OPENING ROUND (6 points each)
I mentioned yesterday how the “Arch Madness” of the MVC is my second favorite conference tournament of the entire two weeks.  Well, the suspense is over – the Colonial is my absolute favorite.  Maybe because, living in the deep south of Baltimore, I get a ton of Colonial games or maybe because I just love Bruiser Flint.  Maybe it is because the divergent styles of the best teams make for fascinatingly intriguing matchups on a nightly basis, but, honestly, I think it’s just because the quality of basketball is so vastly underrated by the general public that I feel a bit of a kinship with CAA fans and their teams.  It is like a hipster and their obscure band.  Hopefully, this conference doesn’t “sell out” and sign with a major record label or I may go into a deep depression pining for the days when they were “pure” and struggled to sell out 250-seat holes in the wall and I could wait in line for 2 hours for tickets instead of having to sit in my living room with that bastard of convenience called TicketMaster and everything was great because they were “mine.”  (and, yet, we digress…)  So, yes, I love the CAA simply because very few other people realize how great it is.  I am a little ashamed to admit that that is the reason, but that’s me.

*CTC UPDATE:  Stri and KA were the only two to hit all four opening round games in the CAA.  Dave and Gross only hit 1 of 4.

#8 UNC-Wilmington vs. #9 Georgia State
Georgia State started the conference season like gangbusters, beating two of the preseason favorites, James Madison and VCU, to start conference play.  Led by a great defense, they actually led the CAA as late as mid-January.  But, it started to unravel for the Panthers and they stumbled to 3-11 record down the stretch and a 9th place finish.  UNC-Wilmington was pretty consistent all season, beating the teams they should and rarely beating those they shouldn’t.  The winner of this opening round noon game with another noontime affair tomorrow against #1 George Mason.  The field is pretty split on this game, as 9 of the 20 picked Georgia State in the minor upset (Primm, Cheryl, Teddy, KA, Lohse, Stri, Doogan, J, and Bry).  What the field is not split on is that no matter who wins this game will go down tomorrow to #1 George Mason.

FINAL SCORE:  Georgia State 58 – UNC-Wilmington 52
A close game throughout, Georgia State, who was led by the defense all year, got the big stops down the stretch to move on in the first CAA tournament game of 2011.  The Panthers got 37 of their 58 points from their bench and will now move on play #1 George Mason in the opener of tomorrow’s quarterfinal quadruple-header.  9 CTC’ers picked up 12 points for this upset pick.  KA, Primm, and Cheryl all pass Dave, who falls to the cellar overall.  Bry gains no ground on either of the 2 closest chasing him (Doogan and J), but does pick up ground on Lil Lohse, who is passed by his big bro into 4th.

#5 Drexel vs. #12 Towson
I have to say that of all 6 Philly school, Bruiser Flint’s coaching performance at Drexel this year may have been the best.  He came in with a team picked towards the bottom of the conference and, on top of that, battled several injuries along the way.  But, he rallied the team to pretty good heights all year, none higher than a win at the Yum! Center in Louisville.  They suffered a couple close losses in conference play (including a heartbreaker at VCU) and just didn’t have the horses to compete with the top 4 in the conference and finished just outside of bye position here in the 5-12 game.  Fortunately, they earned a “virtual” bye by drawing Towson in the first round.  Pat’s Cats, as they called down here, failed to win a conference game in 18 tries this year.  That being said, there are still three people (all of whom live in the general Towson vicinity, including this author) have the Cats in the upset here – Bry, Teddy, and Gross.  Teddy even has them winning again tomorrow.  Drexel is a popular pick to win their quarterfinal game, as J, Stri, Lynch, Lohse, Lil Lohse, KA, Cheryl, Dave, Gersh, Primm, and Mac all have them beating VCU in the quarters.  Lynch and Dave even have them making the finals.

FINAL SCORE:  Drexel 75 – Towson 69
It wasn’t pretty, but the Dragons move on to face VCU tomorrow afternoon.  Tied at the half, Drexel extended their lead to as many as 13 before Towson came storming back to draw with 3 point, with possession, with :33 seconds left.  But, a missed layup by the Tigers’ leading scorer, Josh Brown gave the ball back to Drexel, who salted it away at the free throw line.  The Dragons were led by 6’5″ junior from Academy of the New Church High in Philly, Samme Givens, who had a monster game of 22 points and 14 boards.  The Dragons outrebounded Towson 41-24, which was pretty much the difference in this one.  Bry, Teddy, and Gross all missed their longshot upset pick.  Teddy lost a semifinalist here.  KA remains perfect on the day; Gross is struggling today.  Bry’s overall lead is cut to 18 by Doogan here.

#7 Delaware vs. #10 Northeastern
The Fightin’ Blue Hens of UD have one of the greatest nicknames in all of sports.  However, their basketball history is not quite as amazing.  They did have a decent season this year, led by two guys I watched play in high school – D.J. Boney and Jawan Carter – but they really just don’t have the talent to compete with the big boys in the CAA.  Northeastern is rebuilding after a solid run over the past couple of years and struggled to find the right mix throughout this season.  But, they have been playing better as of late.  The winner of this game will get Old Dominion tomorrow in the quarters.  This is another popular upset pick as 8 entries have Northeastern in this one (Bry, J, Doogan, Teddy, Scoot, Cheryl, Dave, and Primm).  Everyone except KA (who has Delaware upsetting ODU tomorrow) has their winning pick here losing in the quarters to Old Dominion.

*FINAL SCORE:  Delaware 60 – Northeastern 58
The Fightin’ Blue Hens and the most overrated high school player I’ve ever seen (Jawan Carter) did everything they could to give this game away down the stretch – a ton of missed free throws, bad turnovers, and stupid fouls – but Northeastern just couldn’t get enough shots to fall to take advantage.  The Blue Hens survive to fight another day and will get ODU tomorrow in the quarters.  8 CTC’ers missed an upset chance here, while KA keeps a semifinalist alive.

#6 James Madison vs. #11 William & Mary
Who is the best player that you have never heard of?  Many people would say Norris Cole at Cleveland State, and while he is a truly fantastic player, his 41-point, 20-rebound, 9-assist game a couple weeks ago probably put him into the level of “heard of.”  Mickey McConnell at St. Mary’s is a great player that very few people know, but the Gaels have been ranked most of the season, so hoops fans should know their best player.  My vote for this distinction is Denzel Bowles at James Madison.  The dude is a flat-out stud, but because the Dukes have been a bit disappointing this year, he is really not getting any ink.  But, trust me, their Dukes struggles have very little, if anything, to do with Bowles.  If you are around a TV and this game is on late tomorrow night, tune in for Bowles alone.  He is worth the effort.  On the other side, you will see a William & Mary team that, well, isn’t very good.  After heartbreaking near-misses the last couple of years to break the streak of never making the NCAA tournament, this year won’t be as heartbreaking when it finally ends.  The winner here will move on to the nightcap of tomorrow’s quarterfinal quadruple-header against Hofstra (who sports another unknown player that should not really be unknown – 23-point per game Charles Jenkins).  A few people went for the William & Mary upset here (Teddy, KA, Stri, Waters, and Bry).  Stri and Teddy actually have the Tribe going to the semis.  JMU, on the other hand, is a popular pick to pull of the upset next round, so J, Doogan, Scoot, Dave, Primm, Gross, and Mac are all hoping they survive this round to give themselves a shot at the upset tomorrow.

*FINAL SCORE:  William & Mary 72 – James Madison 68
If you told me that one team’s star would take over this game, while the other’s would be rendered essentially inconsequential, I definitely would have predicted which one was which in the CAA nightcap.  Denzel Bowles, whom I rapped poetic about in the preview for this game, scored a whopping 5 points in a foul-plagued 24 minutes for the Dukes, while the most nondescript 1,200-point junior you will see, Quinn McDowell, lit it up for 35.  McDowell, who is not that quick, not that athletic, not that big is just a flat-out gamer, and he put the Tribe on his back tonight and carried them into the quarters, where his team will get to try and matchup with Charles Jenkins and the Hofstra Flying Dutchmen (they will never be the “Pride” to me).  Teddy, KA, Stri, Waters, and Bry all nailed a pretty nice upset here.  Stri and Teddy are still alive to hit the Tribe as a semifinalist.

SoCON OPENING ROUND (4 points each)
The Southern Conference gets its tournament underway today with a quarterfinal quadruple-header in Chattanooga.  While Steph Curry is gone, there are still some great individual players with guys like Donald Sims at App State, Emu Saaka at Furman, and Andrew Dahlman at Wofford.  But, none are better than the future pro from College of Charleston, Andrew Goudelock.

*CTC UPDATE:  The great decathletes, Dan and Dave, were the only two to hit all 4 SoCon games in the opening round.  Bry, Waters, and Primm only got 1.

#4S Davidson vs. #5N UNC-Greensboro
Steph Curry is not walking through that door.  But, Davidson is still a quality team with a very strong coach in Bob McKillop.  UNC-Greensboro, after an 0-11 non-conference slate, somehow managed to win 6 SoCon games this year and not finish last in the North Division.  The winner of this game will get the North Division champion W. Carolina tomorrow in the quarters.  KA, Dan, and Dave went for a nice upset pick here with Greensboro.  Everyone else went with Davidson – but it doesn’t stop there.  You ready?  Bry, J, Stri, Alexi, Lynch, Lohse, Teddy, Scoot, Primm, and Mac all have Davidson making the semis.  J, Alexi, Lynch, and Teddy all have them making the finals.  And, Lynch and Teddy went all the way and picked them to win the SoCon tournament.  So, a Greensboro upset here could be a real “bracket buster.”  It would also be great news for Dave, who has the Spartans beating W. Carolina tomorrow as well.

IN-GAME UPDATE:  UPSET ALERT –> Greensboro up on Davidson, 30-22, with 4 minutes left in the first half.
IN-GAME UPDATE:  Greensboro leads Davidson 32-24 at the half.

FINAL SCORE:  UNC-Greensboro 71 – Davidson 64
A devastatingly bad way to end the season for Bob McKillop’s Davidson team.  Trailing pretty much the whole way, they are eliminated by 6-23 UNC-Greensboro.  It was also devastating for a ton of CTC’ers.  Lynch and Teddy got hit the hardest, as they had Davidson winning the whole thing.  You know who was not devastated?  KA, Dan, and Dave, who picked up a cool 16 points for this upset pick.

#3N Appalachian State vs. #6S Georgia-Southern
The second game of the day has App State – probably the most disappointing team in the SoCon this year, all things considered – against Georgia-Southern – the worst team in the SoCon this year, all things considered.  GA-Southern won one conference game (home against The Citadel) and were not really competitive in many others.  App State – who was the preseason pick to win the North – was seriously up and down, seemingly able to beat or lose to just about anybody.  Defending SoCon champ, Wofford, awaits the winner of this game in tomorrow’s quarterfinal.  Primm was the only one bold enough to go for the big upset pick of GA-Southern here.  J, Doogan, Lohse, and Cheryl all have App State in the semis.  Lohse actually has them winning it all.

*FINAL SCORE:  Appalachian State 65 – Georgia-Southern 57
In a game that App State probably didn’t want to be as close as it was, they do survive and advance.  This game was tied as late as the 10-minute mark in the second half, but the Mountaineers, led by one of the best players in the SoCon, Donald Sims and his 20 points, made enough plays down the stretch to get the W.  They get a big matchup with Wofford in the quarters tomorrow.  Primm missed a real nice upset pick here; Lohse kept his longshot champion pick alive.

#3S Furman vs. #6N Samford
A hell of a year for the Furman Paladins, winning 20 games and 12 conference games.  But, because they are stuck in the far superior South Division of the SoCon, they are stuck playing in the first round.  Samford was not very good this year, finishing last in the inferior North.  The winner tonight will earn themselves a showdown with the tournament hosts, Chattanooga.  Bry, Waters, and KA all took a shot at the big upset here and went with Samford.  Furman is the darling of Doogan’s bracket, as he is hoping to ride them all the way to a SoCon championship.  Dave has the Paladins in the finals, but not winning it.  J, Gersh, and Gross have them in the semis.

*FINAL SCORE:  Furman 61 – Samford 48
In a game that must have been incredibly exciting to watch, the Paladins smother Samford to move on to the SoCon quarters against Chattanooga tomorrow.  Bry, Waters, and KA missed a large upset pick here, while Doogan keeps alive his champion.

#4N Elon vs. #5S The Citadel
Elon started slowly, but started to play better down the stretch, finishing in 4th in the North.  The Citadel had a bit of a disappointing season, but still managed a 6-12 conference record in the tougher South Division.  The two teams will play in the nightcap in Chattanooga with the winner earning a shot at South Division regular season champ, College of Charleston, in tomorrow night quarterfinal nightcap.  8 people like The Citadel in the mild upset – Bry, J, Doogan, Stri, Waters, Teddy, Gersh, and Primm.  No one has either of these teams beating C of C tomorrow night.

WCC OPENING ROUND (4 points each)
For the first time in a very long time, Gonzaga did not win the West Coast Conference.  The Australian National Team, sorry, I mean the St. Mary’s Gaels took the regular season title and the subsequent #1 in this year’s WCC tournament.  Along with a top-2 seed, the Gaels (and Zags) get a double-bye and aren’t slated to play until the semifinals on Sunday.  The opening round between the league’s bottom four teams gets underway in Sin City tonight.

#5 Portland vs. #8 Loyola Marymount
Portland is a very good team that somehow finds themselves in the WCC first round because they just didn’t quite win enough games.  LMU was supposed to be a very good team that finds themselves in the first round because, well, they didn’t really win any games.  The winner tonight will play #4 Santa Clara in the quarters tomorrow.  Bry, Doogan, and KA all went with the underdog here.  Doogan and KA actually have LMU reaching the semis.  13 entries – J, Stri, Alexi, Waters, Lynch, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Scoot, Rikey, Dave, Primm, and Gross – have Portland upsetting Santa Clara next round, though only 1 (Gross) have the Pilots going to the finals.

*FINAL SCORE:  Loyola Marymount 72 – Portland 68
The Pilots, one of the dark horses in this tournament, just couldn’t stop Drew Viney and are eliminated from the tournament almost as soon as it starts.  LMU will advance to face #4 Santa Clara tomorrow in the quarters.  Gross got hit the hardest here, as he lost a finalist.  Bry, Doogan, and KA picked up a pretty big upset pick here.  Doogan and KA now have a shot for another one, as they have LMU winning again tomorrow.

#6 Pepperdine vs. #7 San Diego
Why would either of these teams even care about basketball?  One side lives in the San Diego and the other in Malibu.  Well, apparently, neither did care all that much this year, as both teams were pretty bad.  The survivor of this sure-to-be-thrilling game gets to play San Francisco in the quarters.  Stri, Alexi, Waters, Dan, Dave, and Mac all have San Diego in the minor upset.  Stri, Waters, and Dave all has USD beating USF next round, too.  Doogan, Lynch, Lohse, KA, Teddy, and Gross all have Pepperdine beating the Dons tomorrow.

*FINAL SCORE:  Pepperdine 84 – San Diego 81
Leading by double-digits most of the game, the Waves held off a late comeback attempt by USD to advance to Saturday’s quarters to take on San Francisco.  This loss ends a very forgettable season for the Torreros and also puts a bit of a hurt on the WCC brackets of Stri, Waters, and Dave.

MAAC OPENING ROUND (2 points each)
Without a completely dominating Siena team, life in the MAAC is a lot more interesting.  And, as it would have it, life in the MAAC tournament should be a lot more interesting this year, too, as it moves out of Siena’s gym.  The only catch?  It has been moved to the gym of maybe the new dominant team – Fairfield.

#8 Niagara vs. #9 Marist
It was not that long ago when Niagara was the one real threat to Siena in the MAAC.  Those days seem distant because the Tides were rather dreadful this year.  Fortunately for Niagara fans, their opening round opponent, the Red Foxes of Marist, may have been one of the few teams even more dreadful.  The winner here will get the chance to take a shot at #1 Fairfield.  KA, Scoot, Dan, Dave, and Primm all have Marist in the mild upset.  KA actually has a real nice upset pick with Marist going to the semis.  No one has Niagara any further than this.

*FINAL SCORE:  Marist 73 – Niagara 61
A pretty terrible season for the Waves ends with a 32% shooting night and a 12-point loss to a really bad Marist team.  The Red Foxes advance to the quarters tomorrow, where they might just be cannon fodder for #1 Fairfield.  KA, Scoot, Dan, Dave, and Primm all hit this mild upset.  KA keeps alive what would be an epic semifinal prediction. 

#7 Siena vs. #10 Manhattan
My how the mighty have fallen.  I guess that Philly guy, Fran McCaffrey is a pretty good coach, huh?  With McCaffrey gone for the riches of the Big Ten, the Saints are left to pick up the pieces and they fell from the perennial #1 spot all the way to #7 this year and into the opening round.  They did catch a break, though, as they get a pretty terrible Manhattan team today before, if they hang on, gearing up for #2 Iona tomorrow.  Lynch and Gross took a shot at Manhattan in the upset here, while Bry, Waters, Lohse, Teddy, Dan, and Dave all need Siena to win here to keep alive their shot at correctly predicting a semifinals appearance for the Saints.  Dan really needs them to survive here, as he has them going all the way to the finals.

*FINAL SCORE:  Siena 68 – Manhattan 66 (OT)
A huge three by Owen Wignot in overtime lifted Siena into the quarterfinals over a very poor Manhattan team.  The Saints will now get #2 Iona in the quarters.  Ryan Rossiter (yes, he’s still there) had 17 points, 14 rebounds and huge block to help seal the win.  Lynch and Gross came awfully close to a nice upset here.  A lot of people can breathe a sigh of relief with the Siena survival, but none more than Dan, who has them in the finals.

CTC SNAPSHOT – COLONIAL

Championship Picks:

• #1 George Mason (13) – everyone else
• #2 Old Dominion (5) – Bry, Lynch, Teddy, Dave, Gross
• #3 Hofstra (2) – Waters, KA

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds:

• OR – #12 Towson – Bry, Teddy, Gross
• QF – #12 Towson – Teddy
• SF – #5 Drexel – Lynch, Dave

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Alexi
• ’09 – Ina
• ’10 – Bry

CTC SNAPSHOT – SoCON

Championship Picks:

• #1 College of Charleston (8) – everyone else
• #2 W. Carolina (2) – Lil Lohse, Cheryl
• #3 Wofford (5) – Stri, Dave, Gersh, Gross, Mac
• #4 Chattanooga (1) – KA
• #5 Furman (1) – Doogan
• #6 Appalachian State (1) – Lohse
• #7 Davidson (2) – Lynch, Teddy

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds:

• OR – #12 Samford – Waters, KA
• QF – #11 UNC-Greensboro – Dave
• SF – #7 Davidson – J, Alexi, Lynch, Teddy

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Ina
• ’09 – Lynch
• ’10 – Stri

CTC SNAPSHOT – WCC

Championship Picks:

• #1 St. Mary’s (6) – Stri, Alexi, Waters, Teddy, Gersh, Mac
• #2 Gonzaga (12) – everyone else
• #3 San Francisco (2) – Cheryl, Primm

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds:

• OR – #8 Loyola Marymount – Bry, Doogan, KA
• QF – #8 Loyola Marymount – Doogan, KA
• SF – #5 Portland – Gross

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Waters
• ’09 – Ina (perfect)
• ’10 – Lynch

CTC SNAPSHOT – MAAC

Championship Picks:

• #1 Fairfield (4) – Bry, Alexi, Dan, Rikey
• #2 Iona (10) – everyone else
• #3 Rider (5) – Alexi, Lohse, Teddy, Cheryl, Dave
• #4 St. Peter’s (1) – Primm

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds:

• OR – #10 Manhattan – Lynch, Gross
• QF – #9 Marist – KA
• SF – #5 Loyola (MD) – J, Alexi, KA, Gross

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – J
• ’09 – Bry
• ’10 – Bry (perfect)