CTC: Day Five

LAST UPDATE:  1:32 am
* – denotes recently posted update

Can you feel it?  It’s the first Saturday of the best three weeks in sports, and we have a TON of intrigue today.  Duke – UNC might be the “big” game for most of the country, but we here in the CTC are obviously much more excited for Tennessee Tech – Morehead State and Loyola Marymount – Santa Clara.  A lot of CTC points are going to be handed out today, so we’re in for a nice ride.

BIG SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points)
Coastal Carolina held on against VMI, while Asheville knocked off a feisty High Point team to set up the Big South title game, where the first of the 68-team field will be crowned

#1 Coastal Carolina vs. #3 UNC-Asheville
This game should be really interesting.  In a story exclusively broke by our own crack reporter, Doogan, CCU has lost its three best players, but still has a lot of remaining talent.  They will try and cut through the controversy and become the first of the 68-team field (unless, Princeton beats Harvard in Amherst today, in which case the Tigers will clinch the Ivy about an hour before this game wraps up).  But, to do that, CCU will have to deal with the red-hot Bulldogs of UNC-Asheville.  As big as this may be for the two teams involved and the Big South conference, it is probably even bigger for the CTC.  There are 16 points at stake here and we have some split opinions.  Doogan, Alexi, Waters, and Primm all have UNC-A.  Bry, J, Stri, Lynch, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Scoot, Rikey, Dave, Gross, and Mac all have CCU.  The 2011 CTC Big South title will be won by either Bry of Doogan.  A UNC-A win gives it to Doogan; a CCU win will give Bry his 2nd CTC Big South title in 3 years.

FINAL SCORE:  UNC-Asheville 60 – Coastal Carolina 47
UNC-Asheville is officially the first team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament with a 13-point win over the Chanticleers of CCU.  While, Asheville never trailed all game, it was close from the very start until about 1:30 left when they pulled away.  Coastal always seemed one play away from taking control of the game, but their 21 turnovers were just too much to overcome.  Doogan, Alexi, Waters, and Primm all nailed the Big South champion.  Doogan clinched his first ever CTC Big South championship.

ATLANTIC SUN CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points)
More craziness in the A-Sun tournament this year, but at least this time it didn’t involve the top-seed, like it has in the past.  The Belmont Bruins and their 29 wins will try and make it 30 and advance to The Dance (where I would not want to be the high seed that has to play them).  They will have to go through the Cinderella of the year, the Ospreys of N. Florida.

#1 Belmont vs. #6 N. Florida 
Bry, Waters, KA, and Scoot have all already lost this game (each with a different incorrect pick), and no one has N. Florida here.  The other 16 entries have Belmont.  J, Dan, and Dave are all tied for the A-Sun lead right now and that won’t change.  The three of them will share the title – the only question is whether or not they will do it with 42 points or 58.  J sure knows his A-Sun basketball, as this will be his 3rd A-Sun championship in the 4 years on the website (he won back-to-back titles in ’08-09).

FINAL SCORE:  Belmont 87 – N. Florida 46
Ah, a good ole fashioned ass-kicking.  Belmont outrebounded UNF 37-18 and forced 22 turnovers.  Ya, it wasn’t even a game.  The Bruins have 30 wins and are going dancing.

OHIO VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points)
In the OVC semis last night, one favorite won and one favorite was upset.  If you told me that was going to happen, I would have been pretty sure we’d be previewing a Murray State – Austin Peay OVC final.  But, no…

#2 Morehead State vs. #4 Tennessee Tech
Kenneth Faried and his regular Eagles are one step away from the Big Dance – and they don’t have to go through their nemesis, Murray State.  But, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles have been playing very good basketball lately and will not roll over.  For the CTC, J is currenly leading the OVC and has Morehead State winning the title, so an Eagles win here will give him his second consecutive CTC OVC title.  Alexi, as the only one with Tennessee Tech winning this tournament, would take the OVC crown with a Golden Eagles win.  (I should stop using the nicknames in this one, it’s confusing.)  Other than J, Doogan, Waters, KA, Teddy, and Dave would grab the 16 points from a Morehead victory.

*FINAL SCORE: Morehead St. 80 – Tennessee Tech 73
Kenneth Faried came through with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks to lead his Morehead St. team back to the tourney.  That gives the rebounding machine another opportunity to audition for NBA scouts on the national stage.  Tennessee Tech made a very late comeback, but they fell just short of the unlikely title.  As noted above, J takes the OVC for the second straight year, while Doogan, Waters, KA, Teddy, and Dave also hit this champ pick correctly.

MISSOURI VALLEY SEMIFINALS (24 points each)
The Arch Madness quarterfinals gave us some great games, with three of the four games finishing within one possession and last-second victories by the 1- and 3-seeds to stay alive and avoid elimination.  Today’s semifinal double-header should be fantastic.

#1 Missouri State vs. #5 Creighton 
Missouri State survived the early game yesterday in a 58-56 win over S. Illinois.  The Bears made a furious comeback to keep their title hopes alive.  Creighton pulled off a mild upset in knocking off 4-seeded and defending champions, N. Iowa.  Today, the Blue Jays have an even taller order against #1 MSU.  This is a pretty huge game for the CTC, actually, as the winner here will get 24 points (plus upset points if Creighton).  And, to make it more dramatic, everyone still has a horse in this race.  Lynch, KA, Teddy, Dave, Primm, and Gross all have Creighton in what would be a great upset pick.  None of them have the Blue Jays winning the title.  The other 14 entries have Missouri State here, with Waters, Lil Lohse, Scoot, Cheryl, and Dan having the Bears winning this tournament.

FINAL SCORE:  Missouri State 60 – Creighton 50
After an underwhelming quarterfinal win yesterday, and a slow first half today, the Bears finally looked like the #1 seed midway through the second half.  Down by as many as 8 points in the second half, MSU went on a 15-2 run to take a 52-44 lead with under 5 minutes left and held on.  Jermaine Mallett stepped up with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.  6 people missed the upset pick here, while 5 others kept their champion alive. 

#2 Wichita State vs. #3 Indiana State 
The Shockers had the only relatively easy quartefinal game yesterday, knocking off Bradley, 70-56.  Indiana State gave us a thriller in the nightcap, as Jake Odum hit a buzzer-beater to get ISU to the semis.  Scoot and Cheryl have already lost this game, with Evansville, but everyone else has a shot to pick up these 24 points.  16 entries have WSU in this one (13 of whom have WSU winning it all).  Only Alexi and Primm have Indiana State here – and they both have the Sycamores winning it all.

FINAL SCORE:  Indiana State 61 – Wichita State 54
After an ugly first half, Indiana State found its offense just in time and came from double-digits down to eliminate the Shockers and move on to tomorrow’s MVC title game against Missouri State.  Wichita, who swept ISU in the regular season, just couldn’t make shots down the stretch.  As good as they are, this season, that will almost assuredly end outside of the NCAA tournament, is just another example of how college basketball is won with point guard play.  Their only weakness all year was at the point where Demetric Williams, Joe Ragland, or even Toure Murry were supposed to be able to run the team and none of them really stepped up.  It is disappointing because this team has a TON of talent and should be in the field of 68.  Alexi and Primm come up huge with the upset pick here, and both keep their finalist alive.  13 entries lost their MVC champion here.

HORIZON LEAGUE SEMIFINALS (24 points each)
As much as I love Arch Madness and as great as the quarduple-header is in the CAA today, the one conference I might be most looking forward to today is the Horizon semifinal double-header.  It is fascinating, with two great mid-major teams (Butler and CSU), one very good mid-major team (Valpo), and one solid mid-major playing on their home floor (UW-Milwaukee).

#2 Butler vs. #3 Cleveland State 
Butler may or may not be a good at-large at this point, but they are hoping to make it a moot point by winning the Horizon.  CSU is almost definitely out of the at-large possibilities, so they need to win this tournament.  This is the game of the day, as far as I’m concerned, and I’m very much looking forward to the matchup between Norris Cole and whomever Butler decides to put on him – most likely Ronald Nored, but possibly Shelvin Mack, someone else, or a combination.  Lynch has Cleveland State winning this tournament, while Cheryl and Primm have them reaching the finals. 

FINAL SCORE:  Butler 76 – Cleveland State 68 
Everyone else has Butler in this one, many of whom have them winning it all.  While Norris Cole dropped 26 and the CSU defense turned Butler over 14 times, the Bulldogs just had too much firepower for the Vikings.  18 for Shawn Vanzant; 15 for Shelvin Mack; and, 14 for Matt Howard led Butler to Tuesday night’s championship game in the Horizon.  If Valpo upsets UW-Milwaukee it the late game, the final will be at Hinkle Fieldhouse.  This was a tough loss for Lynch, who lost his champion.  Cheryl and Primm both lost finalists here.

#1 UW-Milwaukee vs. #4 Valparaiso 
The argument can be made that, on the whole, UW-Milwaukee is the 5th or 6th most talented team in the Horizon this year.  But, they won enough games (including a season sweep of Butler) to earn the top-seed and the homecourt advantage for as long as they survive.  Valpo is probably the better team, but they had a tough game last night and are playing in a hostile arena, in which they lost 79-76 just two weeks ago.  This is a HUGE game for CTC implications.  19 of the 20 entries have a shot to win this game (Gross is the only one who cannot earn any CTC points here, as he had Detroit).  7 people have Valpo (J, Alexi, Waters, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Teddy, and Mac), while the other 12 have UWM.  Mac, however, has the most at stake with the Crusaders, as he has them winning this tournament.

FINAL SCORE: UW-Milwaukee 70 – Valparaiso 63
It was a single-digit lead all game, but top-seeded Milwaukee gets it done and will host Butler in the title game.  Valpo fans will wait another year for the second-coming of Bryce Drew.  That’s too bad for Mac, as his champ goes down.

COLONIAL QUARTERFINALS (12 points each)
A great quadruple-header on the Baltimore Comcast, with the familiar voice of the great Scott Graham calling the action.  Yes, I’d say there is a pretty good chance that we’ll be tuned in my house today.

#1 George Mason vs. #9 Georgia State
The top-seeded Patriots enter the CAA tournament today, and they do so as with a national ranking attached to their name.  The Patriots are starting to reap the benefits from the recruiting bump that they enjoyed from the Final Four run and beautiful brand-new building.  This program is not likely to go away any time soon.  Georgia State knocked off #8 UNC-Wilmington yesterday, 58-52, and bring a hard-nosed, defensive-oriented style to the mix today.  This Panthers style is really tricky this time of year because they are hard to score against and will knock you around physically.  The Patriots are not usually a team that can be rattled, but you never know when the bright lights of March start shining.  Georgia State has never made the CAA semis, so they will try and make history today.  No one in the CTC thinks they will, as all 20 entries have Mason here.

FINAL SCORE:  George Mason 68 – Georgia State 45
Looking at the final score, it is probably hard to believe how close this game was for most of the first half.  Georgia State was looking like they really could give the Pats trouble, but then Mason turned it on and absolutely dominated the second half, which included a 22-2 run at one point.  Everyone got this right and 13 people kept the champ alive.

#4 VCU vs. #5 Drexel
Drexel nearly laid an egg yesterday against 0-18 Towson, but they survived because the Tigers are just so adept at losing games.  But, if the Dragons play even half as poorly as they did yesterday, they could get blown out of the gym today by a very good VCU team.  The big matchup in what could be a great game is inside with Philly product Samme Givens of Drexel battling VCU’s versatile big Jamie Skeen.  Skeen, who played a year at Wake Forest before transferring, was actually a perimeter player for the Deacons and is now a dominant big in the CAA.  This game has some pretty big CTC implications.  The majority of the field (11 – J, Stri, Lynch, Lohse, Lil Lohse, KA, Cheryl, Dave, Gersh, Primm, and Mac) actually have Drexel in this one.  Teddy has already lost it (Towson), and the other 8 have VCU.  Lynch and Dave even have Drexel in the finals.  This is a major swing game in the CTC.

FINAL SCORE:  VCU 62 – Drexel 60
A great game that where no one led more than a couple points all day ended with a Jamie Skeen turnaround jumper at the buzzer to eliminate the Dragons.  Skeen had 24 & 8 for the Rams.  Sophomore Drexel star Chris Fouch, who has battled injury all year, had 20 points and 7 boards from the backcourt, including a game-tying 3-pointer with :13 seconds left that set the stage for Skeen’s heroics.  Tomorrow, VCU will get another shot at George Mason in the semis.  In a very important game for the CTC, the supporters of VCU come through, and Lynch and Dave lose a finalist. 

#2 Old Dominion vs. #7 Delaware 
With all the hoopla surrounding George Mason and their winning streak, VCU and their talent, and bit-time players like Charles Jenkins at Hofstra and Denzel Bowles at JMU, everyone seems to forget about ODU in this conference.  But, these guys are really good.  They have a ton of overall talent (pure scorers in Hassell and Bazemore, a solid big in Finney, and an excellent floor general in Darius James), but the best part is how committed they are on the defensive end.  This team is probably fine for an at-large bid, but they always want more.  It is a prideful program that had an excellent season.  The Blue Hens survived some really shaky play down the stretch last night against Northeastern and will have to step up their game quite a bit to compete with a good Monarchs team.  19 entries have ODU winning this game (including Bry, Lynch, Teddy, Dave, and Gross who have them winning it all).  The lone UD supporter is KA, who would gain 42 points on the whole rest of the field if they can pull it off.

FINAL SCORE: Old Dominion 59 – Delaware 50
A valiant effort from Jawan Carter and the Blue Hens but, in the end, too much talent on the ODU roster for them to hang.  Bry, Lynch, Teddy, Dave, and Gross all keep their CAA champ alive.

#3 Hofstra vs. #11 William & Mary 
The Tribe of W&M pulled off a big upset last night against #6 James Madison (who has a history of first-round disappoinments under coach Matt Brady) robbing us of what would have been a terrific matchup of superstars.  But, this game should be pretty good regardless as Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins can matchup with Quinn McDowell for supremacy in this one.  Stri and Teddy have a huge upset pick of W&M here (which will be worth 60 points if it comes through).  J, Doogan, Scoot, Dave, Primm, Gross, and Mac have already lost this game (JMU).  Everyone else has Hofstra.  Waters and KA have the prideful Flying Dutchmen winning this tournament.

FINAL SCORE: Hofstra 72 – William & Mary 56
It was looking like the 4th CAA game of the day might produce the first upset, as W&M took a lead into the half, but Hofstra flipped the switch in the 2nd half and advanced easily, setting up two nice games in the CAA semifinals.  Waters and KA keep their champ moving.

WCC QUARTERFINALS (8 points each)
With the opening round late last night on the Left Coast, we are now down to 6 WCC teams.  Two more enter the fray today to take on yesterday’s winners.  The two teams everyone awaits (St. Mary’s and Gonzaga) will enter the war tomorrow.

#4 Santa Clara vs. # 8 Loyola Marymount
Santa Clara had a decent season, including a nice win over Gonzaga.  They tied with Portland and own the tiebreaker to get 4th and the bye – which proved to be huge, as the Pilots went down to an upset yesterday at the hands of LMU.  Today, the Lions will try to do the same to Santa Clara, with the winner earning a date with #1 St. Mary’s in the semis.  Doogan and KA have a really nice upset pick here of LMU.  Bry, Cheryl, Dan, Gersh, and Mac all have Santa Clara.  Everyone else has already lost this game, having picked Portland.

*FINAL SCORE:  Santa Clara 76 – Loyola Marymount 68
In a game that was close pretty much the whole way, SC came through at the end and will move on to the semis, where they will face #1 St. Mary’s.  It is hard to win any game, let alone a close postseason game, when you shoot 14-for-29 from the free throw line.  Well, that is what LMU shot tonight and that is part of the reason they are going home.  Doogan and KA missed out on a good upset pick here. 

#3 San Francisco vs. #6 Pepperdine 
What a great season for the Dons, led by Michael Williams, who is probably the best player in program history…slightly better than some guy named Bill Russell.  Seriously, though, the Dons were outstanding this year under up-and-coming coach Tony Barbee (you may remember him from the great UMass teams of the past).  Pepperdine struggled but held on against a bad San Diego team last night.  The winner of this game will get Gonzaga in the semis.  Doogan, Lynch, Lohse, KA, Teddy, and Gross all have Pepperdine in this game.  Dave, Waters, and Stri all had USD winning this game, so they’ve already lost it.  Everyone else has USF.  Cheryl and Primm went with the Dons to win the whole tournament, so this is a big game for them.

*FINAL SCORE:  San Francisco 76 – Pepperdine 59
San Francisco shot 56% from the floor and held the Waves to 32% in this completely domination.  USF will advance to the semifinals against a Gonzaga team which they beat in overtime on January 22.  Cheryl and Primm keep their WCC champion alive.  6 people missed the upset pick here.

SoCON QUARTERFINALS (8 points each)
After four somewhat forgettable opening round games yesterday, the SoCon gets into full swing as the top four teams enter the tournament and it gets down to business.

#1N W. Carolina vs. #5N UNC-Greensboro
W. Carolina came out of nowhere to win the North Division.  The Catamounts have been red-hot down the stretch and now enter the tournament as, while not the favorites, a somewhat strong contender to take this crown.  UNC-Greensboro upset Davidson yesterday, which led to a ton of busted brackets in the CTC.  They will try and even the score by knocking of WCU today.  Dave is the only one with UNC-Greensboro winning again today, so if they do, he will gain 40 points on the rest of the field.  Bry, J, Stri, Alexi, Lynch, Lohse, Teddy, Scoot, Primm, and Mac have already lost this game with Davidson.  Everyone else has WCU.  Lil Lohse and Cheryl have the most at stake, as they have the Catamounts winning the SoCon.

FINAL SCORE:  W. Carolina 77 – UNC-Greesboro 66
The Catamounts pretty much had their way with UNC-Greensboro and cruise into the SoCon’s final four.  Lil Lohse and Cheryl should be pleased with this performance, as they keep their champ alive. 

#2S Wofford vs. #3N Appalachian State 
The defending champion Wofford Terriers had another excellent season, tying with College of Charleston for the South Division title.  App State was supposed to win the North Division, but struggled all year to find consistent scoring and slipped to 3rd.  They did knock off Georgia-Southern yesterday in the opening round and have a chance to save their season if they can grab three more wins.  J, Doogan, Lohse, and Cheryl have App State in this upset.  Lohse actually has them winning it all.  Everyone else has Wofford here.  Stri, Dave, Gersh, Gross, and Mac all have Wofford winning this title, so someone is going to lose a champion here, be it Lohse or those 5.

FINAL SCORE:  Wofford 69 – Appalachian State 56
Noah Dahlman (the brother of Michigan State reserve Isaiah) is one of the best players in the SoCon.  And, he showed it today, scoring 21 points for the defending SoCon champs in their quarterfinal win over App State.  A couple CTC’ers lost this upset bid, but no one lost more than Lohse, who lost his SoCon champ here.

#2N Chattanooga vs. #3S Furman 
The host Moccasins of Chattanooga take on a really good Furman team that handled Samford yesterday to get here.  Chattanooga had a decent year, but probably wouldn’t have finished in the top 4 of the South Division.  We’ll test that theory today, as the South Division’s 3rd place team battles them with a lot on the line.  J, Doogan, Dave, Gersh, and Gross all have Furman in the upset here.  Everyone else has Chattanooga.  Like the previous game, someone will lose a champion here.  KA has Chattanooga winning it all; Doogan has Furman.

FINAL SCORE:  Furman 61 – Chattanooga 52
Furman goes into Chattanooga and jumps out to a 13-0 lead and then holds on for the W.  Doogan keeps his champ alive, while J, Dave, Gersh, and Gross pick up this upset.

#1S College of Charleston vs. #4N Elon 
And the SoCon’s best team will entertain Elon in the nightcap.  Andrew Goudelock (a must-see superstar) and the top-seeded Cougars were dynamic all season, including a dominating win over Tennessee in the non-conference.  Elon took care of The Citadel last night to get a shot here.  Cheryl took a bold shot here at an Elon upset and will gain 36 on everyone if it comes through, plus it will eliminate the most popular championship pick.

*FINAL SCORE:  College of Charleston 78 – Elon 60
Goudelock dropped 25 on Elon, and the Cougars will advance to the semis to take on Furman.  This game was pretty much over from the start, as the Cougars scored the first 7 points and led 16-6 and never looked back.  Everyone except Cheryl got this one right, and a slew of entries keep their champion pick alive.

MAAC QUARTERFINALS (4 points each)
After the two opening round games last night, the MAAC is ready to welcome the full slate to Bridgeport for a quarterfinal quadruple-header today.

#4 St. Peter’s vs. #5 Loyola (MD)
The St. Peter’s Peacocks were what they were this year.  They never slipped up against teams worse than them, but they also rarely stepped up to beat a team ahead of them.  Loyola, on the other hand, was a very dangerous team to the top dogs, but was always open to the shocking loss from a bottom-feeder.  Recently, these teams have been going in slightly opposite directions.  Loyola has been playing the best basketball as of late, where it looks like the Peacocks may have peaked earlier in the season.  Most CTC’ers went with Loyola in the upset here, as only Waters, Lynch, Cheryl, Dan, Rikey, Dave, Primm, and Mac have the Peacocks.  The rest has the mild upset pick of the Greyhounds.  Primm has St. Peter’s winning the whole tournament, while Lynch has them in the finals.  J, Alexi, KA, and Gross all have Loyola in the finals, though none have them winning it.

FINAL SCORE:  St. Peter’s 70 – Loyola (MD) 60
The Peacocks held Loyola to just 33% shooting and forced 15 turnovers in a nice win for the MAAC’s 4-seed.  Up by double-figures for most of the game, St. Peter’s had to survive a furious run late in the second half, but their defense was too good for Loyola to come all the way back.  The Peacocks will move on the semis.  Primm kept his MAAC champ alive; Lynch kept alive his finalist.  A lot of entries missed this upset pick here.

#1 Fairfield vs. #9 Marist 
The top-seeded Stags of Fairfield were rather dominant in the MAAC regular season this year.  At 15-3, they won the conference by two full games.  As the #1 seed, they get the chance to battle a 5-26 Marist team in the quarters.  KA has a huge upset pick of Marist here; everyone else has FU.  Bry, Waters, Dan, and Rikey all have Fairfield winning the tournament. 

FINAL SCORE:  Fairfield 55 – Marist 31
Fairfield shows off why they’re the top seed in this tourney, forcing Marist into 29% shooting and grabbing an incredible 19 steals.  Marist oughta be banned from next year’s tournament for this display.  KA’s upset bid falls well short.

#2 Iona vs. #7 Siena 
The Iona Gaels are red-hot heading into the tournament.  They had won 4 in a row heading into the BracketBusters weekend, where they pounded a solid Liberty team.  Then they returned to MAAC play to win at St. Peter’s and beat #1 Fairfield at home.  The Gaels seem to have hit their stride at just the right time.  On the other hand, Siena is struggling and they almost capped off a terrible season with a loss in the first round to dreadful Manhattan.  They needed OT to survive an untalented Jaspers team.  This could be a huge swing game in the MAAC CTC.  Bry, Waters, Lohse, Teddy, Dan, and Dave all have the Saints pulling off the upset.  Dan even has them in the finals.  On the other side, Iona is, by far, the most popular MAAC champion pick, as J, Doogan, Lynch, Lil Lohse, KA, Scoot, Gersh, Gross, and Mac all have the Gaels cutting down the nets on Monday night.  This game has some serious implications to the CTC.

FINAL SCORE:  Iona 94 – Siena 64
Fairfield did it with defense and Iona responds with a display of offensive firepower, shooting 58% en route to a romp of the once mighty Saints.  Dan loses a finalist and nearly half the field keeps their champ alive.

#3 Rider vs. #6 Canisius
Another red-hot team is Rider.  The Broncs enter the tournament winners of 7 of their last 8 and 5 in a row.  Canisius, who had no expectations in the preseason, played really well down the stretch to earn the bye position.  Rider is a legit title contender in this league, and Alexi, Lohse, Teddy, Cheryl, and Dave all have them winning it.  J, Doogan, Lil Lohse, Primm, and Gross all have Canisius in this upset.

*FINAL SCORE:  Rider 79 – Canisius 64
In a game that was a lot closer than the final score may indicate, the Broncs of Rider move on to the semis, where they will battle Iona.  There was bad news, however, for the Broncs today, as their starting point guard, Justin Thompson, was suspended from the team for an undisclosed violation of team rules.  It will be interesting to see how this affects them against Iona tomorrow.  Without Williams tonight, the Broncs put 4 different players in double-figures.  Canisius’s season comes to a close, as do the careers of its starting five, who are all seniors.  5 people missed on the upset here, while 5 others keep alive their champion.

AMERICA EAST QUARTERFINALS (4 points each)
Binghamton’s trouncing of UMBC on Thursday night rounds out theA-East final eight, who will play down to four in a quadruple-header in Hartford today.

#4 Albany vs. #5 Stony Brook
A somewhat disappointing season for Stony Brook was supposed to end with a real shot at the conference title.  But, they finished fifth in the Am East and are stuck in the 4-5 game here in the quarters.  The Great Danes of Albany have been pretty decent in a back-and-forth Am East regular season.  After the top two, this tournament is pretty wide open, so the winner of this game may only need one big upset to win this thing.  Bry, Doogan, Alexi, Waters, Scoot, Rikey, Dave, and Primm all have the mild upset pick of SB in this one.  Dave and Doogan have them winning again in the semis.  J is the only one that has Albany going any further than this, as he has them in the finals.

FINAL SCORE:  Stony Brook 67 – Albany 61
Stony Brook led most of the way here, but the Great Danes wouldn’t go away, cutting what was as much as a 12-point lead down to with :46 seconds left, but they did not score again and the Seawolves iced the game at the free throw line.  Tim Ambrose had 24 for Albany, while SB was led by the “other” Chris Martin with 18.  8 of the 20 CTC’ers hit this mild upset pick.  J lost the most, having Albany in the finals.

#1 Vermont vs. #9 Binghamton
This was supposed to be a bit of a retooling year in Burlington, but the Catamounts pretty much dominated the Am East from start to finish.  With 13 league wins and 22 overall, it was a surprisingly great year at UVM, led by a couple of really big bodies that are very hard to match up against for a low-major conference team.  Binghamton, who may never recover from the atrocious recruiting issues stemming from that transfer-led tournament team a few years ago, salvaged a little pride by hammering UMBC in Thursday night’s pigtail game.  Everyone has Vermont winning this game.  Bry, Alexi, Lynch, Teddy, Scoot, Cheryl, Dan, Rikey, Primm, Gross, and Mac all have them winning this tournament.

FINAL SCORE:  Vermont 57 – Binghamton 46
In what was probably not the most beautiful display of the sport.  Binghamton shot a gaudy 26% from the field and 26% from 3-point land (at least they’re balanced) and now they can take the rest of the year off.  Vermont advances to tomorrow’s semis where they will get Stony Brook.  Everyone got this right, and 11 people kept their champ alive.

#2 Boston U vs. #7 New Hampshire
If there is a real serious threat to the Catamounts in this field, it is probably BU.  The Terriers, picked to win this conference in the preseason, were solid all year, led by a dynamic duo of John Holland and Daryl Partin.  The Terriers have the offense to blow anyone out – the real question is will they be able to get halfcourt stops.  UNH should not be all that much of a problem in this one, as they drew the perfect matchup.  The Wildcats are one of the worst offensive teams in all of D-1, averaging less than 59 points per game.  Gross is the lone wolf on the UNH bandwagon here.  Everyone else has BU, including 7 entries that have BU winning the whole tournament (J, Doogan, Waters, Lohse, Lil Lohse, KA, and Dave).

*FINAL SCORE:  Boston U 69 – New Hampshire 60
BU’s big two of Holland and Partin didn’t disappoint, as they combined for 30 as the Terriers hold on to beat UNH.  It didn’t look good at the start, as the Wildcats jumped out to a 12-3 lead, but BU didn’t panic and came storming back to take an 8-point lead of their own into halftime.  Out of the locker room, the Wildcats scored the first 7 points to cut the lead back to one, but BU responded and closed it out.  Gross missed a big upset pick here, while 7 people kept alive their champion.

#3 Maine vs. #6 Hartford
With BU starting slowly and a seemingly retooling Vermont, it looked like this would be the year for Maine to take control of this conference, but it just didn’t happen.  They did finish a strong 3rd, but they seemed to be a step down from the top two teams.  Hartford, the tournament hosts, were picked last in the preseason, but won enough games to finish 6th, avoiding the pigtail game and either of the top two teams in the quarters.  Only 6 entries actually had the favorite in this one (Alexi, Waters, KA, Dan, Rikey, and Gersh); everyone else has the upset pick in Hartford.  Gersh fell hard for the Black Bears, picking them to win the whole tournament. 

*FINAL SCORE:  Hartford 66 – Maine 63
In a great back-and-forth affair, the Hawks come out on top and head to the semis to face BU.  Maine led the whole first half, but only went into the locker room leading by 1.  Hartford led for the first time 4 minutes into the second half and opened it up to 7 around the 10 minute mark.  But, the Black Bears responded with 10 straight to take the lead back.  Hartford immediately answered back with 8 straight of their own and never looked back.  14 CTC’ers had this upset pick correct, while Gersh got hit the hardest by the loss, losing his champion.

SUMMIT LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS (4 points each)
I have a real affinity for the Summit League.  Not exactly the whole Summit, but the battles between its top teams.  Oakland, Oral Roberts, and IUPUI have really built a great three-team rivalry in this league, and this year was no exception, as, despite a strong start to the season by IPFW, those three perennial powers finished 1-2-3 in the league yet again.  The top two teams play their quarterfinal games tonight in Sioux Falls, with the other 2 quarterfinals tomorrow night.

#1 Oakland vs. #8 S. Utah
Oakland has been one of the dominating forces in this conference for several years now, and this may be their best team yet.  Most people probably know about their win @Tennessee, but what people may not know is that they nearly upset Michigan State and Illinois right before that win.  They also played tough @West Virginia, @Purdue, and @Michigan.  They didn’t really put up much of a fight @Ohio State, but at least they got the experience of playing maybe the best team in the country.  S. Utah, on the other hand, was pretty bad early on and then started to find a little bit of a stride.  They are not a terrible #8-seed, but should be hard-pressed to send the Golden Grizzlies to the NIT just yet.  19 of the 20 entries have Oakland winning this one.  Dave is the only one that went with S. Utah.  Most entries (everyone except Waters, KA, Dave, and Gersh) have Oakland winning this tournament.

*FINAL SCORE:  Oakland 82 – S. Utah 66
The Golden Grizzlies take care of business, shooting 53% from the floor and going 8-for-18 from behind the arc.  Dave misses out on a big upset, while the 16 people who have Oakland winning this tournament still have shot to be right.

#2 Oral Roberts vs. #7 North Dakota State
Another one of the dominating forces in this league each year is Oral Roberts, and even though this was a bit of a down year in Tulsa, the Golden Eagles still finished second in the conference and feature a talented group of athletes, led by 6’6″ junior, do-it-all forward, Dominique Morrison.  ND State had an interesting year where they seemed to beat up on the dregs of the Summit and get pummeled by the league’s elite.  The one exception – an 80-74 win over ORU on January 6.  Doogan and Primm both went for a nice upset pick here.  Gersh, Dave, and Waters all have ORU winning this tournament.

*FINAL SCORE:  Oral Roberts 72 – North Dakota State 65
 A game that was close throughout was finally put away by a couple big threes down the stretch by Warren Niles, who had 19, and the Golden Eagles move on to the Summit semis – after the day off tomorrow.  ND State ends a decent season with a loss over which they should not hang their heads.  Doogan and Primm just missed a really big upset pick.  Gersh, Dave, and Waters are fortunate that their champions are still alive.

BIG SKY QUARTERFINALS (4 points each)
The Big Sky is, a lot of the time, a forgotten tournament.  Maybe because of its smallish, 6-team field that is played right in the thick of a lot of other action around the country, or maybe because people don’t realize that there is some quality basketball played in this conference.  But, either way, it tends to get lost in the shuffle (even here in the CTC, at times).  This year, the quarterfinals will be in Flagstaff, AZ (UNA), and Ogden, UT (WSU), with the semis and finals played in Greeley, CO.  It should be interesting to see if the altitude of the Rockies affects this tournament at all, as “the other UNC” is undefeated at home this year.

#4 N. Arizona vs. #5 Montana State
These two teams are clearly moving in completely opposite directions.  NAU got off to a really slow start in league play, while the Bobcats of Montana State came out like gangbusters.  But, at some point in the middle of the season, both of their fortunes changed and now NAU is on the rise and MSU is in a free-fall.  If the season had 10 more games to it, NAU would likely win the league, while MSU might finish near or at the bottom with the likes of Sacramento State and Idaho State.  Scoot and Dan are the only two with the MSU upset pick here, while a ton of people have a lot of love for the Lumberjacks.  Alexi, Lynch, Teddy, and Mac all have NAU winning the whole thing.  Waters, Lohse, KA, Dave, Gross, and Gersh all have them going to the finals, but losing.

*FINAL SCORE:  N. Arizona 65 – Montana State 62
All night long it looked like many Big Sky brackets across the CTC were going to be busted with this one.  Montana State led pretty much the entire way and by as much as 16 points in the second half, but NAU came all the way back thanks to the red-hot second half shooting of Eric Platt.  Platt, who had 20 points for the game, hit 3 straight threes in the final 3:30, including the game-winner with under a minute left.  NAU will now play #1 N. Colorado next week in the semis.  Scoot and Dan missed upset picks, while Alexi, Lynch, Teddy, and Mac all have NAU winning the whole thing.  This must have been a great game to see in person…

#3 Weber St. vs. #6 E. Washington
Like the Lumberjacks of UNA, Weber State was expected to contend for a league title and just may have had they not lost a couple close games early in the year.  Arguably the two most talented teams in the league are the two home teams tonight, while two others (N. Colorado and Montana) await the winners here in the semis.  E. Washington made a late run just to qualify for the tournament, holding off Portland State for the final spot in the draw.  Alexi and Primm both went with the upset pick here of EW.  Alexi actually has EW in the finals.  There is, like UNA, a lot of love for Weber State here too.  Lohse, Scoot, Gross, and Gersh all have WSU winning the tournament.  Doogan, Lohse, Lil Lohse, KA, Scoot, Cheryl, and Gersh all have Weber in the finals.

*FINAL SCORE:  Weber State 79 – E. Washington 70
Two games in the Big Sky tonight, and two eerily similar results.  NAU, at home, overcame a 16-point deficit to advance to the semis next week.  Well, across the Arizona-Utah state line, Weber State did almost the exact same Houdini act.  E. Washington had them all but done, leading by 15 relatively late in the second half, but Weber came all the way back to actually win by 9.  E. Washington’s Cliff Colimon has 22 points AT HALFTIME, but only finished with 27.  Weber State draws #2 Montana in Greeley, CO, in the 2-3 semifinal matchup.  Alexi and Primm both missed a nice big upset pick here, while Lohse, Scoot, Gersh, and Gross all survived their champion.

SUN BELT OPENING ROUND (2 points each)
With the University of New Orleans dropping down to D-III, the Sun Belt tournament in Hot Springs, AR, has gone from an intriguing tournament because of its novelty of a 13-team field to just another cookie-cutter 12-team, 2-division type setup.  That certainly doesn’t take away from the intrigue that this league normally brings to March (though, one could argue that the inconsistency of some of its more prominent/touted teams this year has stripped a lot of the intrigue away).  Well, the two-site format here gives us a pair of simultaneous double-headers instead of day-long quadruple-headers.  Hey, whatever sells you the most tickets, people.  As for the CTC, this conference is nuts.  It is so wide-open and the CTC brackets show that.  They are all over the place.

#4W N. Texas vs. #5E Troy
The Mean Green of N. Texas were picked to win this conference in the preseason and had an outstanding non-conference schedule.  They entered conference play as – far and away – the favorites to win the league.  Then, they just started losing.  It was an absolute shock.  Troy, on the other hand, was picked to finish last in the league and started that way, but started playing really well towards the end.  The winner of this game will get #1 FL-Atlantic.  More than any other opening round game that I can remember in CTC history, this game could break some serious brackets.  Dave has N. Texas winning this game and upsetting FAU in the quarters.  Teddy has them beating FAU and then winning again to reach the finals.  And, Lohse and Cheryl actually have this #8-seed going all the way to the title game and winning.  Unprecedented for a #8-seed.  Bry, Alexi, Lynch, KA, Dan, and Gross all have Troy in the upset in this round.

*FINAL SCORE:  N. Texas 83 – Troy 69
It was unclear whether or not the Mean Green would circle the wagons and really show up in Hot Springs, or if they would just pack up the tents and call it a season.  Well, if tonight is any indication, this team might be the most dangerous 8-seed in the country, although they did only lead by one midway through the second half against an 8-21 team.  Either way, we will definitely find out tomorrow when N. Texas gets to face top-seeded FL-Atlantic in the quarters.  The incredible amount of love for the Mean Green in the CTC is one step closer to being rewarded.

#3E W. Kentucky vs. #6W LA-Monroe
The Hilltoppers are usually the class of this conference, but the beginning of this season, it looked like they might be the doormat.  However, they righted the ship and started to play really well down the stretch.  They take on a LA-Monroe team that was bad at the beginning of the year, the middle of the year, and the end of the year.  The winner of this game will play the other “class of the conference” team, LA-Lafayette in the quarters.  Nobody has ULM in this game, but the love for WKU is all over the map.  Waters, Lynch, KA, Scoot, Cheryl, Dan, Rikey, Primm, and Gross all have the Hilltoppers winning the next round.  Dan, Primm, and Gross have them in the finals.  Dan has them winning it all.

*FINAL SCORE:  W. Kentucky 66 – LA-Monroe 50
While struggling to find much offense at all, the Hilltoppers had nothing to worry about on this night, as LA-Monroe is just a really bad D-I team.  But, they get their arch-rival LA-Lafayette tomorrow night in the quarters and will need a better offensive effort if they are to advance.  Dan would certainly like them to advance, as he has WKU winning this thing.

#3W Denver vs. #6E FL-International
At the beginning of the season, Denver looked like they were going to be the real surprise team in the conference, but they completely fell apart down the stretch.  FIU was bad all year – maybe they need Isaiah Thompson.  The winner of this game will play #3 Middle Tennessee in the quarters.  A bunch of people went for this big upset pick – Bry, Doogan, Waters, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Dan, Gersh, Gross, and Mac.  Dan actually has them winning again in the quarters.  KA and Dave both have Denver going to the semis.

*FINAL SCORE:  FL-International 53 – Denver 49
It would be hard to even make up something interesting to say about a game with 102 total points between two really bad D-I teams, so I won’t.  What I will say is that 9 people nailed this big upset pick, and Dan is alive to maybe get another one with FIU in their quarterfinal tomorrow against Middle Tennessee

#4E S. Alabama vs. #5W AR-Little Rock
USA has fallen back, as a program, after a couple years of national prominence out of the Sun Belt.  UALR has not been relevant in a while.  Both teams struggled pretty much all season, but UALR pulled off a couple surprising performances throughout the season.  The winner of this game will get Arkansas State tomorrow night in the quarters.  Bry, Doogan, KA, Teddy, Scoot, Cheryl, and Primm all have UALR in the upset.  Gersh is the only one that has Arkansas State losing to either of these teams in the quarters – he has USA.

*FINAL SCORE:  AR-Little Rock 82 – S. Alabama 68
Solomon Bozeman exploded for 28 points for UALR, as they will move on to face in-state rival Arkansas State in the quarters tomorrow.  Gersh lost a semifinalist in this game, while 7 people hit this upset pick.

CTC SNAPSHOT – SUMMIT LEAGUE

Championship Picks

• #1 Oakland (16) – everyone else
• #2 Oral Roberts (3) – Waters, Dave, Gersh
• #3 IUPUI (0)
• #4 IPFW (1) – KA

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds:

• QF – #7 North Dakota State – Doogan, Primm
• SF – #7 North Dakota State – Doogan

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Ina/Waters (perfect)
• ’09 – Ina/Doogan/Stri
• ’10 – Ina/Bry/Alexi/Lohse

CTC SNAPSHOT – BIG SKY

Championship Picks

• #1 N. Colorado (8) – everyone else
• #2 Montana (3) – Waters, Rikey, Dave
• #3 Weber State (5) – Lohse, KA, Scoot, Gersh, Gross
• #4 N. Arizona (4) – Alexi, Lynch, Teddy, Mac

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds:

• QF – #6 E. Washington – Alexi, Primm
• SF – #6 E. Washington – Alexi

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Ina/Bry
• ’09 – J
• ’10 – Lohse

CTC SNAPSHOT – SUN BELT

Championship Picks

• #1 FL-Atlantic (6) – everyone else
• #2 Arkansas State (4) – KA, Teddy, Dave, Primm
• #3 Middle Tennessee (3) – Scoot, Gersh, Gross
• #4 LA-Lafayette (4) – Bry, Doogan, Alexi, Lil Lohse
• #5 W. Kentucky (1) – Dan
• #6 Denver (0)
• #7 S. Alabama (0)
• #8 N. Texas (2) – Lohse, Cheryl

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds:

• OR – #11 FL-International – Bry, Doogan, Waters, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Dan, Gersh, Gross, Mac
• QF – #11 FL-International – Dan
• SF – #8 N. Texas – Lohse, Teddy, Cheryl

Previous CTC Champions:

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