CTC: Day Eight

Last Update: 10:18 AM
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And, so it begins!  As “mad” as the first 7 days have been, the true Madness is about to start.  Today is somewhat mad, but tomorrow and Thursday are certifiably insane.  Not sure much intro is needed here.  Let’s just play ball.

HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP (48 points)
So, after three days off to possibly relocate (which wasn’t necessary), the Horizon is ready to declare a champion.  While both teams are currently in Joe Lunardi’s most recent bracket, UW-Milwaukee is only there because they are leading the Horizon (they are a 15-seed in his bracket) and Butler is barely hanging on with a 12-seed.  So, Milwaukee absolutely must have this game, and Butler could really, really use it.  A Butler win would complete a perfect Horizon bracket for Bry, while a Milwaukee win would complete nearly perfect brackets for Gersh and Primm (they only missed on opening round game).

#1 UW-Milwaukee vs. #2 Butler
The old adage goes (which I think it pretty dumb), “it’s hard to beat a team three times in one year.”  Well, UW-Milwaukee will try and do just that tonight against Butler, having swept the season series from the defending Final Four team.  The Panthers, on their home floor, took care of a good Valpo team by shooting the lights out in an 88-78 win on Saturday night.  In the early game Saturday, Butler knocked off a really good Cleveland State team in impressive fashion, giving the Bulldogs a shot to avenge the season sweep they suffered at the hands of Milwaukee.  Only Lynch (Cleveland State) and Mac (Valparaiso) do not have a shot at the 48 points up for grabs tonight in Milwaukee.  Doogan, Stri, Cheryl, Dave, Gersh, and Primm have Milwaukee.  The other 12 entries have Butler.

*FINAL SCORE:  Butler 59 – UW-Milwaukee 44
One of the most impressive things that happened during Championship Week took place just seconds after the final whistle in the Horizon League championship.  The Bulldogs acted as if they had just won a regular season game.  There wasn’t the jubilant celebration; there wasn’t the leaping and yelling usually associated with the clinching of an automatic bid.  Butler acted as if they expected to win and that this was just another step.  While they are very excited to return and try and defend their Final Four trip, but it was very workmanlike.  Matt Howard was a beat, scoring 18, but it was the Butler defense tonight, who gave up 86 and 76 in two regular season losses to the Panthers, but today it looked like a whole new team.  A dozen CTC’ers had Butler winning this tournament, including Bry, who completes a perfect Horizon bracket to win his second CTC HL title in the last three years.  Defending CTC HL champ, Teddy, only missed one game.

SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points)
Instead of 18 regular season games and a 3-round tournament, why didn’t we just have a best of 21 between Oakland and Oral Roberts?  Far and away the two best teams for 3 months now and they will now play 40 minutes for all the marbles.  A whole slew of entries have hit this tournament exactly right so far, but only two of them (Waters and Gersh) would finish off perfection with an ORU win here.  If Oakland wins, this conference title will be shared a nine-way tie, including Bry and Lohse, who would each pick up a second straight Summit title.

#1 Oakland vs. #2 Oral Roberts
Oakland dropped 110 points on South Dakota State last night, while ORU took care of business against a good IUPUI team, setting up the league’s dream final.  KA is the only one that doesn’t have either of these two teams winning this tournament (IPFW).  Of the other 19, only 3 have ORU – Waters, Dave, and Gersh.

*FINAL SCORE:  Oakland 90 – Oral Roberts 76
The Golden Grizzlies completed a year-long domination of the Summit League with an impressive 14-point win in the championship game.  Keith Benson (a big-time college player in a small-time program) scored 28, while his sidekick Reggie Hamilton added 26.  This is one of the most potent offenses in any conference and will give some #4-seed next week some headaches in preparation.  16 entries had Oakland winning this tournament, including nine who completed a perfect Summit bracket and will share the 2011 CTC title 9 ways (Mac, Gross, Cheryl, Teddy, Lil Lohse, Lohse, Lynch, Stri, and Bry).

SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points)
a I bet if you asked 20 educated basketball fans to come up with the two Sun Belt finalists this year, you’d only get about four people to even get ONE of them.  At least, that is what my research tells me.  This conference has completely blown up and we are left with the 8-seed versus the 10-seed in the championship game.  J, who does have N. Texas winning this tournament, has already locked up the 2011 Sun Belt title, since no one has UALR.

#4W N. Texas vs. #5W AR-Little Rock
The crazy, unexpected final is here.  The Mean Green versus the Trojans – set your DVRs!  N. Texas has rolled through this tournament like they were expected to do in the regular season, winning last night by 19 over WKU.  UALR has mainly been a one-man show all year – Solomon Bozeman – and that one man has been good enough this week to get them three wins and reach the finals.  It should be interesting to see how the 4 games in 4 nights affects either of these teams.  You might think that N. Texas (the deeper team) would have the edge, but when you have a guy like Bozeman guarded by tired legs, you never know what he can do.  Clearly no one has UALR here (no one had them even getting out of the quarters), but J, Lohse, and Cheryl do all have N. Texas winning this thing.  What an amazing pick that will turn out to be if it comes through.

FINAL SCORE: AR-Little Rock 64 – N. Texas 63
An absolutely wild Sun Belt tournament comes to a fitting finish, with the most thrilling title game we’ve had yet this year.  This game was nip and tuck the whole way, until N. Texas opened up a 7 point lead with 1:30 to play.  But the Trojans scored 6 quick points.  Fast forward to 7 seconds remaining, and N. Texas going to the free throw line with a 1 point lead.  They make 1 of 2, then the Little Rock gets the ball down the floor and to the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Solomon Bozeman, who hits a 3 at the buzzer to give the Trojans the game, the conference title, and a trip to the First Four in Dayton next week.  Wow.  Nobody picked them to win here, and J, Lohse, and Cheryl see their excellent N. Texas pick doomed at the last second.

ATLANTIC 10 OPENING ROUND (10 points each)
On the first day of the 5x tournaments, the A-10 gives us 4 opening round games at various sites around the league before the scene shifts to America’s Playground for the rest of the tournament Thursday through Sunday.  It was another interesting year in the A-10, but, for once, I’m not sure that this league in underrated this year.  I think Temple and Xavier have gotten their just due, and though I believe Richmond to be highly underrated, I also think that Duquesne was highly overrated for most of the season, so I guess it all evens out.

#7 St. Bonaventure vs. #10 LaSalle
A decent season for one of these teams will end in Olean, NY, tonight.  St. Bonaventure’s season was a little more “decent” than LaSalle’s.  While, they didn’t really beat any of the best teams in the conference, and didn’t beat anyone any good outside of Olean, they did finish at .500 in the conference and knocked off St. John’s in the non-conference.  This is another step forward from a program that not too long ago faced questions about its future in D-I.  LaSalle, who simply cannot seem to put it all together in any one season, had another up-and-down season that was not supposed to end in double-digit conference losses after a decent non-conference.  The Bonnies are awfully tough at home, so it’s a tall order for LaSalle here.  The winner will get #2 Temple in the quarters.  J and Rikey are the only two with the Explorers in the upset pick, and no one has either of these teams upsetting the Owls in the quarters.

FINAL SCORE: La Salle 75 – St. Bonaventure 73 (2OT)
La Salle goes into Olean, NY and comes back from an 11-point halftime deficit to send the game to OT and eventually edge the Bonnies.  The Explorers will now face Big 5 rival Temple when they get to Atlantic City.  J and Rikey hit this upset pick.

#5 George Washington vs. #12 St. Joe’s
The real surprise team of the year in the A-10 was GW, and they did it with a very young team, and, even more impressively, with their one elite player (sophomore star Lasan Kromah) missing the whole season with an injury.  As overdue as I believe Karl Hobbs from needing a new job to be, I think he may have been the coach of the year in the conference this year.  On the other side of this matchup is the St. Joe’s Hawks.  My mother said that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything, so I will not comment on their arrogant, highly overrated, obnoxious coach.  I am a St. Joe’s fan, but until they go in a new direction on the sidelines, I cannot support them.  That being said, I was very pleased with how this season played out because, well, they stink, and it is all because that guy is just not a very good coach – he just got lucky that no one else wanted some guy named Jameer Nelson.  The winner of this game will play the upstart Duquesne Dukes in the quarters.  Bry, Waters, Cheryl, Rikey, and Dave all have the Hawks in a pretty big upset here.  And, on the other side, 6 people (Lynch, Lil Lohse, KA, Teddy, Dan, and Gersh) have GW upsetting Duquesne next round.  Lynch even has the Colonials going to the finals.

FINAL SCORE: St. Joe’s 71 – George Washington 59 (OT)
On a night when Nova goes down, St. Joe’s and La Salle pick up conference tourney wins.  It’s Bizarro Big 5.  After blowing a big 2nd half lead, the Hawks showed a lot of heart by outscoring GW 22-10 in the overtime for the win.  Bry, Waters, Cheryl, Rikey, and Dave hit this big upset pick.

#6 Rhode Island vs. #11 St. Louis
a The A-10 is a good league with several good (possibly elite) teams.  Rhode Island wasn’t one of them.  They were okay, but not great, by any means.  The A-10 named its first-team all-conference team the other day and it did not include any Rams.  However, I am wiling to go out on a limb and say that the best NBA player currently on an A-10 roster will be URI’s Delroy James.  If he gets his head on straight and commits himself on the defensive end, this guy has all the tools to be a productive NBA player.  And, tonight, James leads his 6th-seeded Rams up against Rick Majerus’s St. Louis Bilikens.  It has been a really disappointing season for the hefty former Utah coach, as he has everyone back from a year ago and yet, they seemed to take a step backwards.  We wil see if they can get it together at the right time.  The winner of this game will go to AC to battle Richmond in the quarters.  The Bilikens were a popular upset pick here in the first round.  Bry, J, Doogan, Waters, Lynch, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Cheryl, Dave, Primm, and Gross all have StL in this one.  Dave even has them again next round over Richmond.  KA (a proud URI alum) has the Rams going to the semis.

FINAL SCORE:  Rhode Island 70 – St. Louis 61
I can second Bry’s assertion that Delroy James is an NBA player, and he stuffed the stat sheet tonight with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers, helping the Rams to a pretty easy home win over the underachieving Billikens.  Most of the field mistakenly went for the upset.

#8 Massachusetts vs. #9 Dayton
Chris Wright is a mystery to me.  This guy should be so good by now, his senior year, and he is just kind of okay – just like his Dayton team.  Chris Johnson is a nice player, and I LOVE their freshman point guard, Jawan Staten, but this team grossly underachieved again this year.  It is coach Gregory?  On the other side, the year started off pretty well for the Minutemen, but in the end, they dissolved back into what they really are these days – a middle-of-the-road A-10 team that is good at home and not so good on the road.  The winner of this game will get #1 Xavier on Thursday in Jersey.  It is not surprising that Dayton is a popular upset pick here, but this is pretty ridiculous.  Only KA, Dave, and Gersh have UMass winning here even in Amherst.  Gross has Dayton beating Xavier in the quarters.

*FINAL SCORE:  Dayton 78 – Massachusetts 50
One of the most talented #9-seeds you will see in any conference in America shed off the season-long underrated play – at least for one night – in absolutely pummelling UMass on their home floor.  17 entries hit this mild upset, and Gross keeps alive his longshot prediction of Dayton knocking off Xavier in the quarters.

BIG EAST FIRST ROUND (5 points each)
The only conference tournament that goes 5 rounds is the Big East and, as much as I love to pile on the Big East for their arrogance and, most of all, for their incredible annual overratedness, I actually love the Big East tournament.  As you can probably tell from all of these write-ups, I love mid-major basketball and always go to bat for those that deserve more respect.  And, because of that, I tend to rip on the Big East and ACC a little more than they deserve.  This might come as a surprise (it surprises me), but I don’t think there is any question that this conference deserves 11 bids next Sunday.  And, with 11 deserving tournament teams in one tournament, it should be fascinatingly interesting, even today, when some of the worst rich conference teams take the floor at MSG.  However, for the record, just because I think they will get 11 teams in doesn’t mean I think they are a great conference.  I think they have 1 legit championship contender (Pitt), whereas at least 4 other conferences have 2.  I think they have some pretty bad bottom-feeders – way worse than teams like Iowa State, Indiana, or Arizona State.  And, I think a lot of these “tournament” teams are vastly overrated (UConn, Villanova, Cincinnati, even St. John’s).  So, yes, this conference is deserving of 11 teams, but is still vastly overrated.

#9 Connecticut vs. #16 DePaul
DePaul is terrible.  The fact that the conference generally considered as the best in the country has a team that is so bad almost offends me.  But, at least, they are penciled in for the noontime opening round game every year in the tournament, and, by 2:00 on Tuesday, before we even know what’s happening, we can forget they even played in the Big East this year.  UConn, though they drew DePaul, really got punished for their troubles down the stretch, as they now have to win 5 games in 5 nights to be crowned Big East champion.  For all the crap I talk about the Big East, for teams like UConn, Villanova, and Marquette to not even finish in the top eight is a pretty impressive feather in a conference’s cap.  UConn might make some noise in this tournament because MSG usually brings out the best in individual players, and UConn’s Kemba Walker is one of the best there is.  Plus, the winner of this game gets a beat up G’town team in the second round before a possible date with #1 Pitt.  And, crazy things happen in the Garden in March.  Depite everything that he said about them in this previous paragraph, Bry is taking the longshot of DePaul to beat UConn here – ya, it’s no surprise that he’s the only one.  In fact, UConn is getting a lot of love after this game, as only Bry, J, Waters, Cheryl, Dave, and Gross do NOT have them winning again in Round 2.  No one has them beating Pitt in the quarters, though.

FINAL SCORE:  Connecticut 97 – DePaul 71
This game actually got a little bit tight in the 2nd half, but Kemba Walker scores 26 points, Alex Oriakhi grabs 19 rebounds, and the Huskies dispatch lowly DePaul with relative ease to kickoff the Big East tourney.  Bry, with memories of an 0-18 DePaul picking up a win in this tourney a year or two ago, swung for the big upset but missed.

#12 Seton Hall vs. #13 Rutgers
a The cut line for good teams versus not very good teams is pretty distinct in the Big East this year, and it is drawn just above these two teams.  So, the “best of the worst” in the conference will face off in a 12/13 game for the right to play the two most heavily supported teams in the Garden – #5 St. John’s next round and #4 Syracuse in the quarters.  But, this is a different Seton Hall team now with a healthy Jeremy Hazell, so we’ll see what they have here in NYC.  Bry, J, KA, Cheryl, Dave, Gross, and Mac all have Rutgers in a mild upset pick here.  KA has Rutgers reaching the quarters.  Scoot has The Hall in the quarters.

FINAL SCORE: Rutgers 76 – Seton Hall 70 (OT)
A really uninteresting game to anyone outside northern New Jersey at least provided some excitement.  It was a battle of the two star players: Jonathan Mitchell for Rutgers and Jeremy Hazell for the Hall.  Mitchell hit a 3 in the final minute to put Rutgers in the lead, but Hazell, who finished with 27 points, hit a 3 of his own with 4 seconds left to tie it.  In the OT, Mitchell scored 8 of the team’s 12 points and Hazell scored none, and that was the difference.  7 entries hit the upset pick here.

#10 Villanova vs. #15 S. Florida
Everyone is talking about the complete free fall that has stricken a once-elite Villanova team this year.  On February 9, when Villanova led Rutgers by 3 in the waning seconds of a game in East Rutherford, the ‘Cats were on the verge of improving to 8-2 in the league and 20-6 overall.  They were in the top 10 in the country and comfortably in position for one of those double-byes in the Big East tournament.  Then, they gave up a ridiculous 4-point play at the buzzer, lost to Rutgers, and started their apparent tailspin.  They lost three days later to Pitt, then barely beat two Big East bottom feeders, including DePaul in OT, and then lost four straight to close out the season as the #10-seed.  But, as far as “free falls” go, this one is not nearly as scary as most.  Every one of these four straight losses came to ranked teams, including the last two @Pitt and @ND – not exactly killer losses.  All that being said, though, I think it’s how they are playing that is worrying people the most.  They just don’t look good.  Where is Corey Fisher?  I thought he was a superstar?  No?  Anyway, the ‘Cats open their Big East tournament with a bad USF team and then would get a beatable Cincinnati team, so they may just end up in that quarterfinal round after all – they will just have 80 extra minutes of basketball in their legs.  No one was tempted with the USF upset pick here over ‘Nova.  In fact, most people have ‘Nova doing pretty well.  Everyone except Doogan, Alexi, Dan, and Gersh have them beating Cincy next round.  KA, Teddy, Cheryl, and Dave have them then beating Notre Dame in the quarters.  And, Teddy and Cheryl even have them going all the way to the finals.

FINAL SCORE:  South Florida 70 – Villanova 69
An absolute stunner here on Day 1 of the Big East tourney, as Nova’s late season collapse hits its worst point yet, with a loss to lowly S. Florida.  Mouphtaou Yarou left the game in the 1st half with an injury, but that doesn’t come close to explaining this loss.  Could the Wildcats actually miss the NCAA tournament?  That would be an amazing turn of events.  S. Florida PG Anthony Crater only scored 6 points all game, but his two late layups delivered the win.  Condolences to all you Nova fans out there after this one.  Brutal loss.

#11 Marquette vs. #14 Providence
Hands-down, the best 11th-place basketball team I have ever seen.  I know it’s a ridiculous statement because half the conferences in the country don’t even have 11 teams, let alone a ridiculous 16, but this ‘Quette team is real good.  Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom are legit stars and they can run a couple of talented bigs at you.  This is going to be a good sleeper team in that other tournament next week.  But, for now, they have to deal with a pesky Providence team that made most of their bones in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center this year, but is always a tough out in MSG.  The winner here will get West Virginia tomorrow and is lined up with Louisville in the quarters.  Bry, Waters, KA, and Gross have Providence in the upset here, which would be bad news for a lot of the rest of the field, as ‘Quette is another popular pick to move on.  Scoot, Cheryl, Dan, Dave, Primm, Gersh, and Mac all have Marquette beating WVU next round.  Cheryl and Gersh have them in the semis.  Gersh has them reaching the championship.

*FINAL SCORE:  Marquette 87 – Providence 66
The Golden Eagles have probably cemented their at-large bid by getting fat on a team that really plays terrible defense.  The stars were shining for Marquette, as Darius Johnson-Odom had 23, and Jimmy Butler nearly messed around a got a triple-double (19 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists).  4 people missed this upset, including KA, who loses a quarterfinalist.  A bunch of people kept alive a Marquette team they have a lot of faith in, including Gersh, who has them in the finals.

BIG SKY SEMIFINALS (8 points each)
Well, it’s now been three days since the Big Sky’s thrilling quarterfinal round when the two favorites both erased 15+ point second-half deficits to advance to this round in Greeley, CO, where we will welcome the top two seeds to the tournament.  As for the CTC, everyone except Alexi has a chance to correctly pick the final matchup, but as for the predictions, they are absolutely all over the map between these four teams, so these games could go a long way in the CTC.

#3 Weber State vs. #2 Montana
a Weber State erased a 15-point second-half deficit against E. Washington in the quarters to advance to the semis.  The defending champion Montana Grizzlies enter the tournament after a solid season.  The Grizz had a shot at the #1-seed and the ability to host this tournament, but they fell to E. Washington in OT on the last day of the regular season.  So, now they have to play in Greeley in a neutral site here in the semis.  The Grizzlies are led by a couple of really skilled 7-footers in Brian Qvale and Derek Selvig.  Qvale is the real star, but Selvig has just enough athleticism to go along with his 84 inches of height to, at times, dominate a conference like the Big Sky.  But, Weber State – the preseason pick to win the conference – is no slouch.  This should be an excellent semifinal.  As well an a great basketball game, this will have a big impact on the CTC.  Alexi has already lost this game (EWU), but the other 19 all have one of these two in the finals.  9 people (J, Doogan, Lohse, Lil Lohse, KA, Scoot, Cheryl, Gersh, and Gross) have Weber State.  The other 10 have Montana.  J, Lohse, KA, Scoot, Gersh, and Gross all have Weber State winning this tournament.  Stri, Waters, Rikey, and Dave all have Montana winning it all.

FINAL SCORE: Montana 57 – Weber St. 40
Definitely a tale of two halves here, as Montana scores just 12 points in the 1st (and trailed by 10) and then 45 points after the break to win going away.  Brian Qvale picks up 16 points/17 boards and Weber St. shoots a ridiculous 21% from the field.  Montana moves on to the championship, where Stri, Waters, Rikey, and Dave will root ’em in.

#1 N. Colorado vs. #4 N. Arizona
a N. Arizona, like Weber, stared elimination right in the face and lived to tell about it.  They were down 16 points to a decent Montana State team in the second half before a furious comeback ended with the Lumberjacks moving on to the semis and a shot at #1 N. Colorado.  The Bears of the “other UNC” had one of the more surprising seasons in the country, coming from nowhere to win the Big Sky’s regular season title, mostly as a result of going 12-0 at home all year.  Because of their regular season title, that is where they will get to play their most important games of the year, starting tonight against N. Arizona.  This is another crazy game for CTC implications.  Everyone has one of these two teams in the final.  12 have the upset with NAU (J, Alexi, Waters, Lynch, Lohse, KA, Teddy, Dave, Gersh, Primm, Gross, and Mac).  9 have N. Colorado.  How does that work?  Well, Primm has both because of reseeding, so he’s guaranteed to get one right and one wrong.  The 8 not listed as picking NAU plus Primm have UNC.

*FINAL SCORE:  N. Colorado 73 – N. Arizona 70
A pretty awesome Big Sky tournament has another thriller in the nightcap, as the “other UNC” erases an 8-point second half deficit to beat NAU and move to the finals Wednesday night against Montana.  Cameron Jones had a good look at a three to tie at the buzzer, but it didn’t fall, and NAU will go home.  12 people miss this nice upset pick, and 6 people (Bry, Doogan, Lil Lohse, Cheryl, Dan, and Primm) keep their champ alive.

MAC OPENING ROUND (4 points each)
I have the say that the MAC might be the worst conference to try and follow if you are not a hard-core fan because all these directional Michigans are impossible to keep straight.  In recent years, it has not been that bad because they’ve all been pretty decent, but this year, I pretty much gave up on the MAC because one of them (Western) was good, one was okay (Central), and one was really bad (Eastern).  But, how is the casual fan going to remember that when the scores come along the bottom line or you see a game on TV?  By the way, if you are a gambling man, let me know and I will send you Teddy’s MAC picks.  Based on his performance last year, he has some sort of connection with this conference.  See the link in the snapshot below, if you want to get a sense of the epic performance from last year.

#5 Ohio vs. #12 Toledo
a The Bobcats came out of absolutely nowhere last year to win the MAC title and then knock of Georgetown in the first round of the NCAAs.  So, with nearly their whole team coming back, naturally, big things were expected of them this year.  But, it just never materialized.  They seemed unfocused and undisciplined, averaging more than 14 turnovers a game and playing lackluster defense.  But, the talent is there, and they started to find it down the stretch, winning 5 in a row before losing at Miami (OH) to end the regular season.  Toledo, on the other hand, wasn’t good all year, at any point.  The winner of this game will get 4th-seeded Ball State in the quarters on Thursday.  This team is bad.  No one picked Toledo in the upset here.  Bry, Doogan, Alexi, Lil Lohse, KA, Scoot, Dan, Dave, Gross, and Mac all have Ohio winning again in the quarters.  Scoot and Dave have them going to the finals.

FINAL SCORE: Ohio 74 – Toledo 57
Despite getting just 4 points from star guard D.J. Cooper, Ohio rolls over a really terrible Toledo team.  Good job by the CTC’ers of putting absolutely no faith in the Rockets of Toledo.

#6 Akron vs. #11 E. Michigan
a The Zips are another team that had expectations derailed this year because of a slow start.  But, like Ohio, they seem to be putting it together at just the right time.  And, also like Ohio, they get to open their conference tournament against a really bad team.  E. Michigan wasn’t supposed to be this bad, but they were.  A 6-21 record and an embarrassing 328 RPI has the Eagles at the bottom of the MAC this year.  The winner of this game will move on to the quarters to face #3 Miami (OH).  2 people (Lynch and Lil Lohse) went for the E. Michigan upset pick.  But, other then them, there was a lot of love for Akron.  Bry, J, Doogan, Alexi, Teddy, Dave, Primm, and Gross all have them winning again in the quarters.  J, Doogan, Alexi, Teddy, and Gross all actually have the Zips in the finals, though no one has them winning it.

FINAL SCORE:  Akron 67 – E. Michigan 53
Doesn’t look like any thing worth noting happened here, so we’ll move along.  Lynch and Lil Lohse see their upset pick fall short.

#7 Bowling Green vs. #10 N. Illinois
These two teams have pretty much the opposite story of Ohio and Akron.  They had little to no expectations this year at the start, but both got off to fast starts in the league and looked like they might surprise some people.  But, as the season progresses, they both fell back into who they are – which is mediocre, at best, MAC teams.  The winner here will go to Cleveland for the quarters and a date with W. Michigan.  Lynch, Lohse, Teddy, Scoot, Cheryl, Dan, Dave, Primm, and Gross all have NIU in a pretty popular upset pick.  J is the only one that has either of these teams winning next round, as he has Bowling Green in the semis.

FINAL SCORE: Bowling Green 74 – Northern Illinois 54
A close game for a while, but Bowling Green eventually pulls away and blows out N. Illinois.  A’uston Calhoun leads the way with 25 points/9 boards for the Falcons.  9 entries (including Teddy) miss on this upset pick.

#8 Buffalo vs. #9 C. Michigan
The Buffalo Bulls came out of the gates like gangbusters in the MAC season this year.  After losing in double-OT to Bowling Green and then by 3 @Miami (OH), the Bulls reeled off six straight wins during the most difficult part of their schedule.  These wins including a 25-point beatdown of the league’s best team, Kent State, and then road wins against two of the other legit contenders (WMU and Akron).  It looked like we had a real dark horse in the MAC this year.  But, they slipped back to reality with a couple tough losses and are now sitting as the #8-seed.  Their opponent tonight is C. Michigan, how had an up-and-down season after coming in as the preseason favorite to win the Western Division.  The Chippewas just couldn’t find any offense whatsoever, and are relegated to an opening round road game at Buffalo just to survive to Cleveland and take on #1 Kent State.  Alexi, Waters, Scoot, and Cheryl went for the mild upset pick of the Chippewas here.  Only one person has either of these teams doing anything in the next round – but that person is a believer.  Teddy (the king of the MAC) actually has Buffalo winning this tournament.  I’m calling my bookie right now…

FINAL SCORE: Buffalo 64 – C. Michigan 50
So far, so good for Teddy in the MAC.  His pick to win this tournament starts off well with an easy win at home over the Chippewas.  Star C. Michigan freshman Trey Zeigler may be regretting his decision to play for his dad’s team after this season.  Buffalo’s leading scorer, Zach Filzen, delivers with 21 points.

MEAC OPENING ROUND (2 points each)
The dumbest (i.e. most confusing) conference tournament, for a format-perspective, kicks off today in the MEAC.  I am (obviously) a junkie for these conference tournaments, and I have trouble figuring out who is playing when or even what round it is during this clusterF of a tournament.  Even ESPN is confused, as their “schedule” page lists a game today at TBD time between Hampton and Howard (two teams that couldn’t possibly meet until the finals).  Anyway, I think I might have it, sort of, figured out this year, but no guarantees.  I think they start with two of the three opening round games today.  Then, tomorrow, there is the third opening round game and two quartefinals.  Then, on Thursday will be the other two quarterfinals, before a typical Friday-Saturday semis and finals.  It seems to be an attempt to give the top two seeds some scheduling advantage, but who knows?  Fortunately, they are set to add a 12th team (N.C. Central) to the conference shortly, so maybe they’ll have a somewhat normal format.

#7 Florida A&M vs. #10 MD-Eastern Shore
a This was supposed to be the year for UMES.  This team has been the doormat of the MEAC since its entrance into the league.  But, last year, they finished 8-8 in league play and sixth place (out of last-place for the first time ever).  They even won their first-round MEAC tournament game over Coppin State before bowing, by three, to eventual finalists South Carolina State.  So, with a lot of that team back this year, they set their sights on possibly even competing for a MEAC title.  But, it went very wrong, as their bad non-conference turned into a bad conference season.  They did avoid an ignominious return to the cellar, but only on a tiebreaker with Howard.  FAMU, who was picked to finish in last in the league, was actually a bit of a pleasant surprise this year towards the end of the year.  They had a dreadful non-conference and a pretty bad start to conference play, but really had a nice second-half in conference, highlighted by a solid four-game winning streak that included Morgan, Coppin, and Delaware St.  They also pulled off an impressive season sweep of one of the league’s best teams – Hampton.  They will get a shot to do it a third time if they win tonight, as the winner gets Hampton in the quarters tomorrow.  UMES is a relatively popular upset pick, as Bry, J, Doogan, Alexi, Lynch, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Dave, and Gross all went with the Hawks over the Hornets here.  Stri and Scoot are the only two with either of these teams in the semis, as they has FAMU beating Hampton in the quarters.  Stri even has the Rattlers in the finals.

*FINAL SCORE:  MD-Eastern Shore 87 – Florida A&M 85 (2 OTs)
A thrilling way to kick off the 2011 MEAC tournament, as UMES knocks off FAMU in double-OT.  Avery Moore for FAMU tied the game in regulation, and Hillary Haley hit a three late in the first OT to keep UMES alive and send the game to double-OT, where the Hawks jumped out to a 5-point lead and held on at the free throw line.  A good number of people hit this upset, and Stri saw his bracket busted, as he had FAMU going to the finals. 

#8 Delaware State vs. #9 South Carolina State
While UMES was probably the most disappointing team in the MEAC this year, the two teams in the 8/9 game tonight were right behind.  DSU made a step up to the upper division last year and expected to stay there for at least another year.  And, in the beginning of the year, it certainly looked like they would.  After their expected struggles through a very ramped-up non-conference schedule, they seemed ready for the MEAC, starting 4-1 in conference, including a win over perennial top dog, Morgan St.  But, then the bottom fell out.  They lost 4 straight, by a combined 14 points, including 2 OT games and suddently they found themselves at 4-5.  They beat Norfolk State to even their record at 5-5, but then proceeded to drop 6 in a row and enter the tournament playing their worst ball of the season.  S.C. State has been very disappointing, but heading in a different direction.  Picked to finish 3rd in the preseason, the Bulldogs lost 10 of their first 12 conference games and were in dead last for most of the season.  They finished on an uptick, winning 3 of their last 4, but it is still not the season they expected.  The winner here will take on top-seeded Bethune-Cookman in the quarters tomorrow.  Only 6 CTC’ers went with the favorite, Delaware State, here – Alexi, KA, Scoot, Cheryl, Gersh, and Mac.  Teddy is the only one with either of these teams doing anything after this round, as he has SC State beating BC in the quarters.

*FINAL SCORE:  South Carolina State 64 – Delaware State 59
The collapse of the Hornets is complete, as they lose their first round game to S.C. State.  A close game for most of the way just went to the better basketball team, and S.C. State will now get top-seeded Bethune-Cookman in the quarters.

CTC SNAPSHOT – ATLANTIC 10

Championship Picks

• #1 Xavier (10) – everyone else
• #2 Temple (8) – Bry, J, Lynch, Lohse, KA, Teddy, Dan, and Gross
• #3 Richmond (1) – Waters
• #4 Duquesne (1) – Dave

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds

• OR – #12 St. Joe’s – Bry, Stri, Waters, Cheryl, Rikey, Dave
• QF – #11 St. Louis – Teddy, Dave
• SF – #5 George Washington – Lynch

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Waters
• ’09 – Bry
• ’10 – Doogan/Bry

CTC SNAPSHOT – BIG EAST

Championship Picks

• #1 Pittsburgh (7) – everyone else
• #2 Notre Dame (4) – Bry, Dan, Gross, Mac
• #3 Louisville (1) – Stri
• #4 Syracuse (4) –  J, Lohse, Teddy, Primm
• #5 St. John’s (4) – Waters, Lynch, Cheryl, Dave

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds

• R1 – #16 DePaul – Bry
• R2 – #14 Providence – KA
• QF – #11 Marquette – Cheryl, Gersh
• SF – #11 Marquette – Gersh

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Doogan
• ’09 – Doogan
• ’10 – Teddy

CTC SNAPSHOT – MAC

Championship Picks

• #1 Kent State (12) – everyone else
• #2 W. Michigan (4) – Lohse, Lil Lohse, Scoot, Dave
• #3 Miami OH (3) – Lynch, KA, Cheryl
• #4 Ball State (0)
• #5 Ohio (0)
• #6 Akron (0)
• #7 Bowling Green (0)
• #8 Buffalo (1) – Teddy

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds

• OR – #11 E. Michigan – Lynch, Lil Lohse
• QF – #8 Buffalo – Lohse, Teddy
• SF – #8 Buffalo – Teddy

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Doogan
• ’09 – Ina/Doogan
• ’10 – Teddy (legendarily perfect – look at this bracket…)

CTC SNAPSHOT – MEAC

Championship Picks

• #1 Bethune-Cookman (5) – Stri, Lil Lohse, KA, Gross, Mac
• #2 Hampton (8) – everyone else
• #3 Coppin State (3) – Lohse, Scoot, Dave
• #4 Morgan State (3) – Alexi, Waters, Lynch
• #5 N.C A&T (1) – Cheryl

Lowest Seed Picked to Win Earlier Rounds

• OR – #11 Howard – Bry, J, Waters, Lynch
• QF – #9 S.C. State – Teddy
• SF – #7 Florida A&M – Stri

Previous CTC Champions:

• ’08 – Alexi
• ’09 – Lynch
• ’10 – Ina/Bry