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Welcome to the eye of the storm, my friends. Day Seven of the CTC is much like the middle Sunday at Wimbledon. There is some jockeying for about a week, then everything goes quiet for a day, and then it all picks up with increased intensity as everyone sprints for the finish. Well, this is that day. There are eight games, including four championships and four semifinal matchups, but compared to the weekend we just had and, especially, the week we are about to begin, it is all quiet. So get some sleep and prep your body for a long, exhausting week of amazing basketball.
COLONIAL CHAMPIONSHIP (48 points)
It’s always a sad day for me when the CAA tournament ends, but at least we get a phenomenal game to close it out. VCU looked really good yesterday in beating the top seed, George Mason, and ODU looked just as impressive in a win over Hofstra. Bry has the overall lead here in the CAA and has ODU winning it. Since no one has VCU, Bry will take the CTC CAA crown in 2011, the only question is by how much.
#2 Old Dominion vs. #4 VCU
With the great games by Jamie Skeen and Brandon Burgess, the VCU offense seems to be running on all cylinders. ODU, who prides itself on great defense, showed some offensive firepower of its own. This game may come down to the play at the point with Joey Rodriguez for VCU and Darius James for ODU. No one has VCU winning this game, so the 48 points are only available to the 5 guys who picked the Monarchs – Bry, Lynch, Teddy, Dave, and Gross.
FINAL SCORE: Old Dominion 70 – VCU 65
This one looked like it might be a blowout, with ODU leading by as many as 18 in the 2nd half, but VCU wouldn’t go away. It looks like VCU may have found another good young coach in Shaka Smart, but they came up just short here. Skeen and Burgess accounted for 21 of VCU’s final 23 points, but Frank Hassell and the Monarchs were too good. Bry, Lynch, Teddy, Dave, and Gross pick up a nice 48 points.
WCC CHAMPIONSHIP (32 points)
Here we go, folks. The matchup every WCC fan wanted just one more time, and we’ve got it. The rubber match between the two powers of the conference takes place in Vegas tonight. Both teams are trying to get back to The Dance, but with much different histories. If St. Mary’s wins, it will assure itself of being the first Gaels team to make back-to-back NCAA tournaments. Whereas if Gonzaga wins, it will be 11 straight years for the in The Dance. It is hard to say which team has a better bubble profile in case they need the at-large spot, but I would say that both teams deserve inclusion unless there is a flurry of bid stealing that goes on in the major conferences. In the CTC, Bry is going for a perfect WCC bracket and will get and the 2011 conference title win with a Gonzaga win tonight. If St. Mary’s wins, Gersh will take the 2011 CTC WCC title.
#1 St. Mary’s vs. #2 Gonzaga
St. Mary’s handled Santa Clara last night in the early game, while Gonzaga survived San Fran in the late game. The two teams split in the regular season and now get to play for it all on a neutral court. The matchups to watch are whether or not SMC’s bigs can handle Sacre nad Harris inside and whether or not Gonzaga’s guards can check McConnell and Dellavadova on the outside. It is an interesting contrast of styles and should be great basketball. And, even more important that any bubble ramifications are the CTC ramifications associated with this game. Cheryl and Primm are the only two without a horse in this race, as they lost their champion with San Fran. Of the other 18 entries, 12 have Gonzaga and 6 have St. Mary’s (Stri, Alexi, Waters, Teddy, Gersh, and Mac).
*FINAL SCORE: Gonzaga 75 – St. Mary’s 63
It looked all season like St. Mary’s was building on their Sweet 16 run of last season and had wrested control of this conference from the Zags but, in the end, Gonzaga tied for the regular season title and wins the conference tourney in pretty impressive fashion. The faith of the CTC’ers in the Gonzaga program is rewarded, as 12 entries correctly pick the #2 seed.
SoCON CHAMPIONSHIP (32 points)
A long SoCon regular season wasn’t enough to distinguish which of the two Southern Division teams was superior (CofC won the tiebreaker for the top seed). But, now we will get to decide it on the court in Chattanooga after College of Charleston and Wofford both took care of business in their respective semifinals. Dan is the current SoCon leader and has CofC winning the title, so a Charleston championship will mean a Dan championship here. Gross has the second-best SoCon score and has Wofford winning, so he will take the 2011 SoCon title with a Wofford win.
#1S College of Charleston vs. #2S Wofford
If you like games where individual stars will go at each other, you may love this game. Both teams have stars who, despite playing different positions, have spent the last four years battling each other. Andrew Goudelock for Bobby Cremins’ team is the all-time leading scorer at Charleston and has the second most 3’s in the history of the SoCon behind some guy named Steph Curry. Noah Dahlman has done nothing but win since he arrived at Wofford and would like nothing more than to complete a great career with another SoCon title. These were the two most popular title picks in the SoCon this year, so there are a lot of points up for grabs here. Bry, J, Alexi, Waters, Scoot, Dan, Rikey, and Primm all have CofC winning the title. Stri, Dave, Gersh, Gross, and Mac have Wofford.
*FINAL SCORE: Wofford 77 – Charleston 67
Andrew Goudelock had another big night for Charleston (25 points), but Wofford’s three-headed monster of Dahlman, Rundles, and Diggs combine for 58 of the team’s 77 points as the Terriers comeback from a 4-point halftime deficit to take the SoCon title for the second straight year. Stri, Dave, Gersh, Gross, and Mac hit this pick.
MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points)
A bit of a surprise final in the MAAC, simply because it does not involve the regular season champion and tournament hosts, Fairfield. The Stags were knocked off by an upstart St. Peter’s, who will now try and do the same to #2 Iona. Primm is currently the MAAC leader and he has St. Peter’s winning this tournament, so if the Peacocks go to The Dance, they will also bring Primm a 2011 CTC MAAC title. Lynch has the most points of all the entries with Iona winning the title, so he will grab his first conference crown of 2011 with an Iona win.
#2 Iona vs. #4 St. Peter’s
The way Iona is playing, it would have been great to see them go up against an excellent Fairfield team in Bridgeport for the MAAC title. But, because of a huge St. Peter’s upset win last night against the tournament hosts, the Peacocks have crashed the party. Iona has looked unbeatable in its first two tournament games, so they have to enter this game as a pretty heavy favorite, but the Peacocks have battled all year long and have quite a bit of talent. Primm is going for the gusto here, as he is the only one with St. Peter’s winning this tournament. A Peacocks win here would give Primm a 22-point gain on the whole rest of the field. Doogan, J, Lynch, Lil Lohse, KA, Scoot, Gersh, Gross, and Mac all have Iona winning here and are looking for the 18 points that come along with that.
FINAL SCORE: St. Peter’s 62 – Iona 57
St. Peter’s, welcome to the First Four. I’m sure you’re very glad to be here. Facing an Iona team coming off two straight blowout wins, the Peacocks were able to make it an ugly game and hold the Gaels to 32% shooting. St. Peter’s managed just 4th place in the weak MAAC, but they’re going dancing. Primm makes a great call here as the only competitor who went with the Peacocks.
SUMMIT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS (8 points)
It’s always a good Summit semifinal double-header if we get the league’s “Big Three” involved, which we do this year. Oakland, on the strength of their regular-season title, gets the odd-team out, SD State here, while Oral Roberts and IUPUI will battle it out in the nightcap.
#1 Oakland vs. #5 South Dakota State
Both teams had relatively easy quarterfinal victories, as Oakland dispatched of S. Utah, while SD State upset 4th-seeded IPFW. But, that upset would be nothing compared to this one should they pull it off. Dave is sure rooting for it, as the only one with SD State here. KA has IPFW, so she can’t win this game. The other 18 entries have the Golden Grizzlies, with 16 of whom picking Oakland to win the title.
FINAL SCORE: Oakland 110 – S. Dakota St. 90
Oakland was second in the nation in scoring this year, and they put up their highest point total of the season here as they continue to roll through the Summit tournament. It will definitely be a suprise if they don’t take this tourney.
#2 Oral Roberts vs. #3 IUPUI
ORU had a closer-than-expected quarterfinal game with ND State on Saturday, while IUPUI absolutely hammered UMKC last night. Now, these two perennial Summit powers will take to the hardwood tonight in Sioux Falls for the right to play for the championship tomorrow night. Only J and Doogan are out of this matchup (picking UMKC and ND State, respectively, here). 4 entries have IUPUI (Alexi, KA, Dan, and Primm), while the other 14 have ORU. No one has IUPUI winning this tournament, and 3 have ORU (Waters, Dave, and Gersh).
*FINAL SCORE: Oral Roberts 83 – IUPUI 77
ORU gets 26 points from their star forward, Dominique Morrison, and move on to a title game that will match the Summit’s top two teams. Good news for Waters, Dave, and Gersh, who will be rooting in the Golden Eagles against the juggernaut Oakland squad.
SUN BELT SEMIFINALS (8 points)
There is always one. One conference tournament that is just absolutely ridiculous. This year that one is the Sun Belt, which has played down to one of the more surprising final fours to anyone who followed the league all year. That being said, if you just looked at talent, not regular season results, this tournament may actually be a better barometer than the regular season, if that makes any sense. The argument can be made that, despite their disappointing regular seasons, these four teams may actually be the best four teams in the conference. A stretch, I know, but it’s possible. Either way, the tournament has been blowed up, and we are left to pick up the pieces tonight in Hot Springs, with a strange semifinal double-header.
#3E W. Kentucky vs. #4W N. Texas
Coming into the season, if you said that these two teams would be playing in the conference tournament, you would probably think that it was a final pitting the two top seeds against one another for Sun Belt supremacy. If I told you towards the end of the conference season that they were playing, you probably would have told me that it was a first-round matchup that was going to eliminate one of the two most disappointing Sun Belt teams. But, it’s neither. It’s a semifinal matchup between two teams that are trying to erase disappointing regular seasons with an unlikely tournament championship. One of them will get the chance tomorrow night. N. Texas beat Troy and the the conference’s best team, FAU to get here. WKU beat LA-Monroe and then the conference’s hottest team, LA-Lafayette, to join them. This should actually be a very good game, and I am going to try and find it somewhere in my 3,000 cable channels. Though these two teams are low seeds, this game actually pits four CTC champion picks – J, Lohse, and Cheryl have N. Texas; Dan has WKU. Teddy also has NT winning this one. Primm and Gross have WKU here. Everyone else has lost it already.
FINAL SCORE: N. Texas 81 – W. Kentucky 62
It looks like N. Texas has put things together just in time. After a very surprising stretch of 6 losses in 7 games in January and February, they’ve now won five straight and head into the Sun Belt final with plenty of momentum. J, Lohse, and Cheryl keep their Cinderella going for another night.
#2E Middle Tennessee vs. #5W AR-Little Rock
a And, with all that was said above about N. Texas and WKU, neither is even the most unlikely semifinalist. That award goes to AR-Little Rock, who had to pull off a pair of pretty good upsets to get here – S. Alabama in the first round and Arkansas State last night. Middle Tennessee, the only team that not playing its third game in three nights, got a bye through the first round and then pummelled FIU last night in the quarters. No one even had UALR in this round, let along winning it, but a decent number have Mid Tenn winning here (Bry, Stri, Alexi, Waters, Lohse, Scoot, Gersh, Gross, and Mac).
*FINAL SCORE: AR-Little Rock 65 – Middle Tennessee 56
The madness in this Sun Belt tournament continues, as the Trojans of AR-Little Rock upset Middle Tennessee and move to the title game. Sometimes it pays to have the best player on the floor, and the Trojans have the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Solomon Bozeman, who scores 25 points in this one. The winner of Tuesday’s title game will surely be ticketed for the First Four next week. This result is good news for 11 of the 20 entries, because they had already lost this game, but 9 others had Middle Tennessee.
