CTC: Day Eleven

LAST UPDATE:  10:49 am
* – denotes recently posted update

I have said many times that the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament are the four greatest days in the sports calendar.  And, I believe the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs is a close 5 & 6.  But, there is no doubt in my mind that the most underrated days on the sporting calendar are the Thursday and Friday of Championship Week, and probably could give any of those top picks a run for their money, in my book.  50 games yesterday and 39 more today are absolutely phenomenal.  Add the massive CTC implications, and you have yourself an amazing day.  Today’s games will go a long way to determining everything in the CTC standings, as there are hundreds and hundreds of points at stake here.  Just sit back and enjoy it…

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points)
Back on Day Two of the CTC we all only had about 20 points.  Perry Jones, Jim Tressel, Brandon Davies, and Charlie Sheen were seen as upstanding citizens.  No one had ever heard of Solomon Bozeman or the other Tristan Thompson.  And, the Patriot League tournament was just beginning.  Now, 10 days later, we are ready to crown a champion.   With Gross leading the PL, and no one picking Lafayette to win, the only question is will Gross get the perfect bracket to go alon with his 2011 CTC PL title belt?  If Bucknell wins, he will do just that.  If not, he’ll just get a “regular” belt. 

#1 Bucknell vs. #6 Lafayette
After dismantling Army in the quarters, Bucknell needed every bucket to knock off Lehigh in the semis, 66-64.  And, speaking of needing every bucket, Lafayette had a thriller in the semis, as they went into DC and beat American in double-OT.  The Leopards will have to win their third straight road game in this tournament if they are going to win it.  Interesting fact:  Bucknell’s win on Sunday marked the 20th time in 20 PL tournaments that the #1 seed advanced to the championship game.  And, they have won 15 of the 19 tournaments, so the smart money is on the Bison.  The CTC’ers seem aware of that, as 17 entries have Bucknell winning this game.  Only Waters, Dan, and Scoot – who have already lost this game – do not have Bucknell.

*FINAL SCORE:  Bucknell 72 – Lafayette 57
The #1 seed wins again in the Patriot, as Bucknell advances to the NCAA tournament.  The Bison should probably get a 14-seed or so and could be tough for someone.  17 people got this champion correct, but Gross comes up huge completing a pretty impressive perfect PL bracket.

BIG EAST SEMIFINALS (40 points each)
And the 12 games in 3 days are in the books, and the deepest conference in the country has its final four.  With all the talk about the disadvantage of the double-bye in the first two years of this format, the double-bye teams did alright for themselves yesterday, even though it didn’t begin all that well. 

#4 Syracuse vs. #9 Connecticut
The Orange survived a grueling game with St. John’s, while the UConn Kembas eliminated the top seed in the tournament on some last-second heroics.  The question here will be just how much the Huskies have left in the tank.  They are not exactly the deepest team, and this is their fourth game in four nights.  A lot of times fatigue will affect the jumpers, and against the Syracuse zone, those jumpers better not be short all night.  No one in the CTC even had UConn getting this far, let alone winning this game.  J, Lohse, Teddy, and Primm all have Syracuse winning this game and the title game tomorrow, so the other 16 contestants are now UConn fans.

*FINAL SCORE:  Connecticut 76 – Syracuse 71 (OT)
Two years after that incredible six-overtime game is a relatively short, routine, single-OT affair.  UConn seemed to have the game in hand in regulation, up by 6 with :20 seconds left, but Scoop Jardine (who I still think stinks) banked in a ridiculous three, then Shabazz Napier missed the front-end of a one-and-one, allowing Jardine to hit another and send it to OT.  Jardine tried again in OT to tie it with a stupid shot, but he missed, and UConn was able to ice it at the line.  The Huskies become the first team in college basketball history to win four straight conference tournament games without winning the title…yet.  Kemba Walker put together an UNBELIEVABLE line:  31 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 steals.  And, watching the game, he was even better than those numbers might indicate.  J, Lohse, Teddy, and Primm miss out on what would have been a huge CTC scoring opportunity here, and all lost their champ here as well.

#2 Notre Dame vs. #3 Louisville 
How good did both of these teams look last night?  Real good.  The Irish utterly dismantled Cincinnati, while Louisville beat down Marquette, setting up a really good nightcap in the Big East semis.   It should be interesting to see how the Irish – who I still don’t believe have a true ballhandling point guard – can handle the Louisville pressure.  If they can limit turnovers and easy buckets, I think ND will win this game due to their superior talent.  Also, watch for patented Pitino halftime adjustments if they are down at the break.  Mike Brey doesn’t exactly have the same track record, though I think he’s underrated as an in-game tactician.  J, Alexi, Teddy, Gersh and Cheryl have all lost this game already with either WVU, Marquette, or ‘Nova.  Of the remaining 15, 10 have ND and 5 have the ‘Ville (Doogan, Stri, KA, Scoot, and Dave).

*FINAL SCORE:  Louisville 83 – Notre Dame 77 (OT)
How great is the Big East tournament?  Two more semis, two more OT games.  Louisville erases a 16-point deficit (with some great halftime adjustments) to tie the game and win it in OT.  Preston Knowles played the last 15 minutes of the game with 4 fouls, completely dominating the Irish.  Big East POY, Ben Hansbrough, was really bad on this night, including an ill-advised shot late in the OT.  Purdue transfer Scott Martin was the best player for ND tonight with 21 and 8.  This was a big game for the CTC, as Bry loses his Big East champ in OT just hours after J lost his in OT.  Along with Bry, Dan, Gross, and Mac also lost their champs.  Stri is the only one with the Ville winning this tournament.

BIG XII SEMIFINALS (40 points each)
Three favorites and an upstart Colorado team won yesterday in the quarters, setting up a very interesting semifinal double-header today in Kansas City.

#1 Kansas vs. #5 Colorado
The Jayhawks didn’t look like the country’s second-best team yesterday, though I do believe they are.  Ok State is just really good this time of year.  Colorado, who probably did what they needed to get their name called next week by beating K-State, will try and cement an at-large with a win today.  Look for how Self decides to defend the great Alec Burks.  Ty Thomas is probably his best perimeter defender (though, I still think he sucks), but he may not have the size to match up with the bigger Burks.  Cheryl is the only one with the big upset pick here of Colorado.  A slew of people had K-State (Doogan, J, Waters, Lynch, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Scoot, Primm, and Gross).  The remaining 10 entries all have KU here, and all but Dave and Gersh have KU winning it all.

FINAL SCORE:  Kansas 90 – Colorado 83
The Morris Family had 40 points, 21 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks today, as KU overcomes a big early deficit to eliminate Colorado.  The Buffs, led by 23 from Alec Burks, put up a nice fight pretty much all day, but the Jayhawks were just too talented for Colorado in their third game in three nights.

#2 Texas vs. #3 Texas A&M
A midseason swoon has seemed to cause America to forget about Texas A&M, but this was a top 10 team in the nation at one point.  And, they do it the old-fashioned way – with defense – though they didn’t last night in dropping 86 on Mizzou.  Texas, who pounded Oklahoma yesterday, is trying to erase the memories of last year’s late-season collapse that ruined the season of a team that spent some time at #1 in the country.  Alexi, Scoot, Cheryl, and Dan all have lost this game already with Mizzou.  KA and Dave are the only two with A&M here (Dave has them winning it all).  Everyone else has UT, including 4 people who have the ‘Horns cutting down the nets (Doogan, J, Gersh, and Gross). 

*FINAL SCORE:  Texas 70 – Texas A&M 58
The Aggies gave the ‘Horns a run for their money, but, in the end, the talent of Texas was too much, particularly the effort and athleticism of J’Covan Brown (another great name).  Texas will battle Kansas in a great Big XII title game on Saturday.  4 people, including overall leader, J, keep alive their champ.  Dave loses his champ.

PAC 10 SEMIFINALS (40 points each)
The big upset of UCLA last night opened up the bottom of the bracket for UW, but USC and Oregon are still scaring potential bubble teams around the country.

#1 Arizona vs. #4 USC
Arizona didn’t crush Oregon State the way many thought they should have, but the got the W and are two wins away from a Pac-1o tournament title to go alongside their regular season version.  USC, who is playing some of the best basketball in the league right now, beat up on Cal yesterday.  If you think ‘Zona is a heavy favorite – or a favorite at all – think again.  Vegas has the Trojans as a 1-point favorite in this one.  Lynch and Dan have the seed-based upset picks of USC here.  Cheryl, Dave, and Gross all have already lost with Cal.  The other 15 all have ‘Zona here, including 11 of them who have the ‘Cats winning it all.

FINAL SCORE: Arizona 67 – USC 62
Derrick Williams shoots 7-10 from the field, for 20 points, and leads the Cats to the win.  Maybe this guy should take more shots, huh?  Lynch and Dan miss their upset shot.

#3 Washington vs. #7 Oregon 
Probably the biggest upset of the day yesterday saw the Ducks take out UCLA.  UW survived in-state rival Wazzu and Klay Thompson’s 43 record-setting 43-point night last night.  Now, these two will get a shot to play for a spot in the Pac-10 finals.  Bubble teams around the country are big yoo-dub fans tonight.  Lynch, Lohse, Gersh, and Gross are the only ones with UW in this one – Lynch and Gross have the Huskies winning it.  No one has Oregon.

*FINAL SCORE:  Washington 69 – Oregon 51
It took the Huskies a while to shake a pesky Oregon team, but they finally did and ended up winning by a pretty big margin.  An atypical defensive day for the Huskies (or a game against an inferior opponent), as they held the Ducks to 51 points on 32% shooting.  Lynch and Gross keep alive their Pac-10 champion.

ATLANTIC 10 QUARTERFINALS (20 points each)
Three days ago, four teams booked their tickets to Atlantic City for a weekend of…basketball.  The top four teams, including the great Temple Owls take the floor today for the first time in Championship Week.

#1 Xavier vs. #9 Dayton
The Musketeers were the best team in the A-10 all year, led by the conference’s best player – Tu (formerly Terrell) Holloway.  Dayton, who hammered UMass in Amherst on Wednesday, have the talent to win this tournament, so who knows…  There is one bold upset pick of Dayton here, and that is Gross.  The other 19 have the X, with many of them having Xavier go all the way.

FINAL SCORE:  Dayton 68 – Xavier 67
Three noontime games, three #1-seeds, three games that went to the final whistle…  Tu Holloway converted a traditional three-point play to give the Musketeers a 67-66 lead with :25 seconds left, and then the X defense made the stop, but Luke Fabrizius was fouled corralling the offensive board and hit both free throws with :06 seconds left.  Holloway’s long game-winning attempt went off iron and, just like that, the A-10’s #1-seed is gone.  As is the champion pick of Doogan, Stri, Alexi, Lil Lohse, Scoot, Cheryl, Rikey, Gersh, Primm, and Mac.  A HUGE upset pick by Gross here picks him up some major points.

#4 Duquesne vs. #12 St. Joe’s
The Duquesne Dukes looked, for a while, like they were going to break a very long NCAA tournament drought.  They won the first ever A-10 automatic bid and haven’t even been there since.  But, really it was just a result (as many people realized) of a soft early schedule.  It was great for them because they were in a position to get to where they wanted to be, but they still needed to get a couple nice wins before they were legit contenders.  St. Joe’s had an abysmal year (with their incredibly overrated coach), but they are young and are getting better.  They barely qualified for the A-10 tournament and then made the best of their qualification by going into GW and knocking off a decent Colonials team.  Now, they take a shot at the Dukes in AC.  No has St. Joe’s here to pull another upset, but a few (Lynch, Lil Lohse, KA, Teddy, Dan, and Gersh) have already lost this game by picking GW here.  The rest of the field has the Dukes.  Dave has the most on the line here, as he has Duquesne winning it all.  Lohse and Gross both have the Dukes in the finals.

FINAL SCORE:  St. Joe’s 93 – Duquesne 90
More absolute Madness in the A-10.  The St. Joe’s Hawks, who were lucky to even make this tournament are two wins away from winning it.  Carl Jones had 28-7-7 for the Hawks, but fouled out in the last two minutes of regulation, when it looked like St. Joes’ season was going to end.  But, a late rally, capped by the game-tying dunk by Ronald Roberts (9-for-11 from the floor) sent the game to OT, where they took control.  St. Joe’s, who averaged only 63 points per game this season, was not expecting to win a game in the 90’s.  No one got this crazy upset pick.  Dave lost the most here – losing his champion.  Lohse and Gross both lost Duquesne, who they had as a finalist (which looked like a great pick when Xavier lost). 

#2 Temple vs. #10 LaSalle
It is hard to sum up my feelings about this year’s Temple team because I am so emotionally invested in this team.  First of all, there is Lavoy Allen, who, when it’s all said and done, will go down as having one of the best careers of any Temple player of my generation.  They also have Juan Fernandez, who, while he had some shooting issues this year, is one of the better guards to go through the program.  Plus the development of guys like Ramone Moore, Michael Eric, and Scootie Randall has been incredible to watch.  This Dunphy guy really can coach, huh?  But, speaking of Eric and Randall, their injuries (Eric is out and Randall is questionable) could be the ultimate key to this team’s postseason success.  They start their postseason run tonight against Big Five rival – and pretty talented squad – LaSalle, who went into Olean, NY, and beat a tough Bonnies team on Wednesday night.  All 20 entries have the Owls in this one, with a lot of them picking Temple to win the tournament.

FINAL SCORE:  Temple 96 – LaSalle 76
The Owls, after dropping 90 on the Explorers last week, even topped that in the quarters in the A-10 tonight to avoid the upset bug plaguing the A-10 tonight.  LaSalle turned the ball over 22 times (15 in the first half), and the Owls went 10-19 from the three-point line against the phantom defense played by Dr. Gianinni’s team.  Everyone got this one right.

#3 Richmond vs. #6 Rhode Island
Probably the most important game for the A-10, as a conference, is the nightcap quarterfinal tonight.  Richmond is squarely on the bubble, and they probably cannot afford a loss here or they’re probably NIT-bound.  And, it is not going to be easy because Delroy James and the Rams are tough.  URI is coming off a 9-point win at home against St. Louis in the opening round on Wednesday.  KA has a great upset pick here of URI and Dave has already lost with St. Louis.  The other 18 have the Spiders here.  Waters has the most at stake, as Richmond is his A-10 champion.  A bunch of entries have the Spiders in the finals (Doogan, Alexi, Waters, Scoot, and Rikey).

FINAL SCORE: Richmond 55 – Rhode Island 45
Kevin Anderson scores 21 and the Spiders win to set up an excellent semifinal with Temple tomorrow.  With Dayton and St. Joe’s on the other side of the bracket, Temple-Richmond will probably go down as the marquee matchup of this tournament.  KA’s alma mater exits toward the NIT.

ACC QUARTERFINALS (20 points each)
Enter UNC and Duke, stage right.  The top 4 ACC teams join the 4 winners from yesterday for a weekend of ACC basketball.

#1 North Carolina vs. #9 Miami (FL)
Roy Williams is probably a very smart man, but how could it possibly take him so long to realize that Larry Drew wasn’t very good?  Now, he is getting all this praise for replacing him in the starting lineup, when I think we should be asking: “what took you so long?”  But, regardless, they are running on all cylinders right now, and are legit Final Four contenders.  They have a TON of talent, led by Harrison Barnes, who people completely wrote off after a slow start and have forgotten why there was so much hype around him to begin with.  The guy is AWESOME.  Miami had a miracle win over UVA yesterday just to keep their season alive.  18 entries have UNC winning this game, but 2 (Teddy and Dave) were bold enough to take Miami in what could be a legendary upset pick.  Expectedly, a lot of the field has UNC winning the tournament.

FINAL SCORE:  North Carolina 61 – Miami (FL) 59
UNC led at exactly one point all day – at the final whistle.  Miami led all day, including 53-37 late in the second half, completely imploded down the stretch and fell victim to great playmaking drive by Kendall Marshall, who dished to Zeller for the game-winner.  Teddy and Dave were completely robbed here with a HUGE upset pick.  A lot of the field, barely, held on to their ACC champion here.

#4 Clemson vs. #5 Boston College
The winner of this game is going to the tournament.  It’s still unclear as to whether the loser will also go, but they should consider this an elimination game.  BC handled a terrible Wake Forest team yesterday to get here.  Clemson has had a bit of an under-the-radar solid season this year, but they could use another quality victory on their resume.  Demontez Stitt has never really reached the level that many predicted when he arrived on campus as a heralded freshman four years ago, but he is still a pretty solid player, and you can do a lot worse than him as a go-to guy.  This is a bit of a swing game here in the ACC, at least for this round alone.  Only 8 entries (Bry, Stri, Lohse, Scoot, Cheryl, Rikey, Gersh, and Primm) have the Tigers.  The other 12 all have BC here.  Lohse has the most faith in Clemson, pegging them as a finalist, while Teddy and Dave both have BC going to the finals.

FINAL SCORE:  Clemson 70 – Boston College 47
Demontez Stitt did lead the Tigers with 20 points in an easy quarterfinal win over BC.  Clemson has probably now secured an at-large bid, but they will get a shot to cement it against UNC in the semis.  BC is gonna sweat on Sunday, as Stitt (a great defender) shut down Reggie Jackson.  Teddy and Dave lost a finalist here.  Lohse kept a finalist alive.

#2 Duke vs. #7 Maryland
 Without Kyrie Irving, people just wrote this Duke team off as a possible dominant team.  And, honestly, while I thought it was absolutely crazy at the time, they really aren’t the same team – and I don’t understand that at all.  They are loaded!  When Kyle Singler is not the best player on your team, you KNOW you have a great team.  That being said, there are flaws.  This is not the Duke type defensive team that Coach K is used to.  The Plumlees are really just guys out there, instead of the studs that people thought they would be.  Duke is, in many ways, like the Yankees and their “prospects” are given much more credence just because they’re Duke.  Gary Williams, love him or hate him (and I’m more the latter than the former), is a great game-day coach and always find that extra gear against the Devils, so watch out.  Even the die-hard Terp fans in the CTC didn’t pick Maryland here.  Everyone has Duke, including 11 who have the Blue Devils as ACC champs.

FINAL SCORE:  Duke 87 – Maryland 71
Would you believe that this was a very close game for about 36 minutes?  Maryland even had a lead midway through the second half.  But, the Devils turned it on and ended up winning by 16.  But, the win is NOT the story of this game.  Nolan Smith – a national POY candidate – left this game with an apparent ankle or knee injury.  Stay tuned.  Everyone got this one right.

#3 Florida State vs. #6 Virginia Tech
Not many teams are, but FSU is definitely not good enough to really deal with the loss of their best player – and future pro – Chris Singleton.  They will try and get by with their solid, athletic frontcourt, but they might be over their heads both this week and next if Singleton can’t play – or isn’t 100%.  Va Tech hammered Georgia Tech yesterday to set up this important quarterfinal matchup.  If you ask me, they are in regardless, but knowing their past history, they are pretty well aware of what can happen on Selection Sunday even if you think you’ve done enough.  Va Tech was a pretty popular upset pick in this round (even though Vegas has them as a 4-point favorite), as J, Alexi, Lynch, Teddy, Cheryl, and Dan all have the Hokies going to the semis.  The rest of the field have FSU.  Waters, Primm, and Gross all have FSU going to the finals.  Cheryl has VT going to the finals; Lynch has them winning it.

*FINAL SCORE:  Virginia Tech 52 – Florida State 51
While the officials’ overturning of Derwin Kitchen’s apparent game-winner for FSU was pretty big for Va Tech and FSU in their quests for an ACC title and NCAA tournament berth, it was nothing compared to J and Bry’s quest for a CTC overall title.  When Kitchen hit what looked like a game-winner, it looked like Bry would extend his overall lead heading into the second-to-last day.  But, when the refs determined, correctly (on the closest call of this kind that I have ever seen), that when time expired, the ball was still touching the very fingertip of Kitchen’s middle finger, it gave J (and 5 others) the upset pick and the overall lead by himself.  Lynch is happy with this result, as he has Va Tech as his ACC champ.

BIG TEN QUARTERFINALS (20 points each)
In Chicago, the best top three in a conference are ready to start their postseason runs, including the best team in the country at noon.

#1 Ohio State vs. #8 Northwestern
There is no doubt in my mind that OSU is the best team in the country.  In fact, I don’t like that everyone keeps saying that this year doesn’t have a “great” team.  This team is definitely great.  It has it all – from a stud big man to the senior leaders to dead-eye outside shooting to hard-core effort on the defensive end and the boards.  I will be picking the Buckeyes to win the NCAA tournament in any bracket I complete.  In fact, this team is so good, people completely forget about Buford, who may be some NBA team’s first-round draft pick this year.  Their one potential weakness is depth, which could come into play this weekend, but isn’t usually a big issue in next week’s tournament.  On the other side, people seem to forget that this NW team has a ton of talent and probably should have been a tournament team.  John Shurna is really good, and Juice Thompson (who had 35 yesterday), is a solid senior lead guard.  This won’t be a runaway for the country’s top team.  Not surprisingly, everyone went with OSU here, and most people went with the Buckeyes all tournament.

FINAL SCORE:  Ohio State 67 – Northwestern 61 (OT)
An incredible shooting display by John Shurna is not enough, as OSU comes all the way back to send the game to OT and then dominate the extra session.  Jared Sullinger was not very good in his first postseason game, but was a force when they needed him most.  Unfortunately, despite another solid game by Juice Thompson, I still can’t convince the wife to start referring to me as “Juice.”  The Big Ten’s most popular champion pick stays alive – barely.

#4 Michigan vs. #5 Illinois
Probably the last ever Big Ten quarterfinal game between two teams that got byes will be today in the mid-afternoon.  Illinois should have been great this year, but, well, maybe Demitri McCamey just isn’t that good.  Yes, it is really hard for me to believe that I’m even writing that because I thought he was in the conversation for best point guard in America, but I was dead-wrong.  I do like some of the athleticism that Illinois has, but they lack any toughness whatsoever.  Michigan, on the other hand, may have gotten a double dose of toughness, and just didn’t get the talent.  But, when you have John Beilein as your coach (another incredibly underrated guy), you always have a chance, and, to everyone’s surprise, it looks like this team is going dancing.  More people believe in Illinois here than Michigan, as only 9 people took the Wolverines – Alexi, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Cheryl, Dan, Dave, and Gersh.  One entry (Dave) took Michigan to reach the finals, and one entry (Lynch) took Illinois to reach the finals.  Both had their pick losing to Purdue.

FINAL SCORE:  Michigan 60 – Illinois 55
The Illini led most of the way, but flat-out gave this one away at the end with very sloppy play on both ends of the floor, marking only the 2nd time in 14 years that Illinois didn’t make the Big Ten semis (an amazing statistic, actually).  Gotta give credit to the Wolverines, though, as they have been one of the hottest teams in the land for about a month now and are now almost assured of selection in the Dance on Sunday night.  Love to see a guy named Tim Hardaway hitting big threes…ah, memories.  Dave kept alive his wildcard finalist, while Lynch lost his. 

#2 Purdue vs. #7 Michigan State
The game of the day – bar none – is a quarterfinal game.  Even with some big conferences (Big East and Big XII, among others) playing semifinals rounds, this quarterfinal game between the Big Ten’s 2- and 7-seeds could be phenomenal.  Here is one request I have about Purdue from here on out:  Can we please have a moratorium on “How good would they be with Robbie Hummel?” comments?  Please?!?  Why don’t we just say:  “Wow, this team is really, reall good.”  Period.  E’twuan Moore and JuJuan Johnson are as good an inside-outside combination as you will find anywhere in the country.  In fact, I think they are the best inside-outside duo anywhere.  Throw in dead-eye shooters like Ryne Smith and D.J. Byrd and a quintessential college point guard in Lewis Jackson, and this is a great team with or without that Hummel guy.  But, how tough did this tournament bracket break for them?  Because Michigan State was a complete train wreck for a lot of the season, this team with Final Four talent and an all-time great head coach is a 7-seed.  But, they can put it together.  And, it could be at any time.  This is going to be good.  And, aside from it being a fantastic game, from a basketball perspective (who cares about that?), this game, maybe as much as any other single game, is a HUGE game from a CTC perspective.  J, Alexi, Dan, Primm, and Gross all have MSU winning this game.  J and Primm have Sparty in the finals.  On the other side, Doogan, Lynch, Lohse, KA, Teddy, Cheryl, and Dave all have the Boilermakers winning this whole tournament.

FINAL SCORE:  Michigan State 74 – Purdue 56
MSU had a huge first half and was able to stave off a furious Purdue comeback, as Sparty is going back to The Dance – definitely.  We saw Kalin Lucas, vintage 2009, tonight, as he dropped 30 and was easily the best player on the floor all night.  If he can return to his Big Ten POY level, this team could be rather dangerous.  This was a HUGE game for the 5 that hit this game, especially J and Primm, who have them in the finals.  When the CTC is all said and done, if J is the champion (which is a distinct possibility, at this point), we may look back at right now as the turning point, as J hit his upset pick with MSU, and Bry missed his with Tennessee.

#3 Wisconsin vs. #6 Penn State
We seem to say it every year:  “Bo Ryan [another Philly product at head coach] may have done his best job yet.”  But, if we say it every year, can’t we just say that this guy is one of the absolute best?  Yes, yes, we can say that.  I know that Jordan Taylor and John Leuer have immense talent, but looking at this roster, is this really a Top 10-caliber roster?  Not without Ryan.  The one reason for hesitation is that the Badgers were much better at home, and their games at Kohl are over.  I still think they have Final Four potential, but we shall see.  This pesky, senior-laden PSU team sees their collegiate mortality here, as they definitely need at least one more win for at-large consideration (and that still might not be enough, though a win over Wis would be nice).  They took care of Indiana in unimpressive fashion, but they’re here, and that’s all that matters.  Waters, Scoot, Dave, and Primm all have PSU in the upset here; everyone else has Wisconsin.  Gross has the most at stake, with Wisconsin as his champion.

FINAL SCORE: Penn St. 36 – Wisconsin 33
Nope, that score is not a typo.  Big Ten Basketball, everybody!  I saw that score come across the ticker and thought it was the halftime score.  The Nittany Lions had nobody in double-figures and got zero points from their bench, and they win.  Wisconsin shoots 2-21 from 3.  It’s hard to understand why Wisconsin is such a different team home and away.  Waters, Scoot, Dave, and Primm hit the nice upset, while Gross loses his champ.

SEC QUARTERFINALS (20 points each)
Three East Division teams win yesterday, as the difference in the quality of the divisions continue to be spotlighted.  We will see how the top two Western teams do as they enter the tourney today.

#1W Alabama vs. #4E Georgia
UGA knocked off Auburn yesterday with expected ease.  Now, they get an upstart Alabama team that, if they had actually played anyone in the non-conference would be a solid bubble team.  Anthony Grant (former VCU head man) is a GREAT coach and is going to turn this Tide program around and rather quickly.  Bama is in the bubble mix, but needs AT LEAST a win here.  The Dawgs are a rather popular upset pick here.  Bry, Doogan, J, Scoot, Primm, Gross, and Mac all have UGA here.  Teddy has already lost this game (Auburn), and everyone else has ‘Bama.  No one has Georgia past the semis, but KA does have Alabama going to the finals and winning it.

FINAL SCORE:  Alabama 65 – Georgia 59 (OT)
If Georgia misses the NCAA tournament, they might subpoena my email and sue me for damages, as I sent an email to Gross with about 6 minutes left (when UGA had a 14-point lead), saying that we were about to hit a big email.  Alabama outscored Georgia 19-5 after that to send the game to OT and then rode that momentum to a win in the extra session.  JaMychal Green (another incredible name) stuffed the stat sheet for the Tide with 20 points, 13 boards, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 5 blocks.  Bama definitely boosted their at-large resume, but probably still need another win to feel even remotely safe.  7 entries are snakebitten by missing this seemed-to-be-in-the-bag upset pick.  KA miraculously saves her champion pick.

#2E Kentucky vs. #3W Ole Miss
I wonder how long Calipari can keep this up.  It seems like his stategy of complete turnover of a roster and then poor in-game coaching is only one semi-failed recruiting class (or one more recruiting allegation) away from mediocrity.  But, for now, he’s got yet another college team loaded with professional-caliber personnel.  Ole Miss and Chris Warren (who is 22 points away from becoming the 4th ever 2000-point, 400-assist in SEC history) knocked off South Carolina yesterday to set up their shot at the ‘Cats today.  It’s a bit surprising, but this game is unanimous – everyone has UK.  The Wildcats are also the most popular champion pick in the SEC, by a pretty wide margin.

FINAL SCORE:  Kentucky 75 – Ole Miss 66
The ‘Cats did not look all that good in a game that was a lot closer than the 9-point final spread may indicate.  The Rebels were in it until the end, when UK cemented the game with free throws.  A rough days for Knight and Jones were made up for by Lamb and Miller, who were both solid.  Chris Warren fell 2 points shy of the 2,000-point mark and now will hope that Ole Miss gets a shot in a postseason tournament.  The 12 entries with UK as their champion cannot be overly encouraged by this game, but, as we’ll keep saying all month, a win is a win, no matter how ugly here in March.

#1E Florida vs. #5E Tennessee
I have been in love with this Florida team from the very beginning.  Chandler Parsons, while not a household name, is a star.  Erving Walker has been off-the-charts surprising, and the bigs of Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin are VASTLY underrated.  Macklin’s hook shot is almost unstoppable when it’s on, and Tyus is very vulnerable at the 4.  And, the best part is that they have sort of realized how to best utilize Kenny Boynton.  He’s not going to win you games by taking 20 shots, but if you can get him 8 to 10 good ones, he can be very dangerous.  Tennessee, who beat Arkansas last night and is capable of beating anyone on any given night, are a brutal team for any top seed to have to play in the quarters.  Bry, Alexi, Lynch, Teddy, Primm, and Gross all went for a gigantic upset pick here with Tennessee.  Alexi even has them going to the finals.  Top-seeded Florida is only the champion pick of Stri, Waters, Cheryl, and Mac.

FINAL SCORE:  Florida 85 – Tennessee 74
Tennessee led for most of the first half and some of the second, but Bruce Pearl was called for a technical foul with his team down 1, which fueled a furious Florida spurt and the Gators never looked back.  A balanced scoring attack for Florida saw all five starters in double-figures and were led by Boynton with 22.  UT’s big two, Hopson and Harris, combined for 44, but it wasn’t enough.  A lot of people missed this upset pick, including Alexi, who lost a finalist.  Stri, Waters, Cheryl, and Mac are happy, as they are the only 4 with this top-seed winning this tournament.

#2W Mississippi State vs. #3E Vanderbilt
Mississippi State stinks.  But, their coach is incredible.  As long as Rick Stansbury is still on the sidelines, this Bulldogs team will have at least a modicum of success.  In fact, this is a battle between the two coaches who I think might be the most overlooked great coaches in America, as Kevin Stallings leads Vandy in to play the ‘Dogs.  This is a huge swing game in the SEC because of the belief in the long-term ability of these two teams.  While MSU is the favorite here, only 6 people picked them to win this game – Waters, Lynch, Lil Lohse, Dan, Dave, and Primm.  Primm and Lil Lohse both have them reaching the finals and losing.  Lynch has them reaching the finals and winning.  Bry, Doogan, J, Lohse, Teddy, Gersh, and Gross all have the Commodores going to the finals.  Doogan and J have them winning it.

*FINAL SCORE:  Vanderbilt 87 – Mississippi State 81
John Jenkins, who didn’t play in Vandy’s opening round win against LSU, came back with a vengeance, dropping 29 on the Bulldogs to end a forgettable season in Starkville.  The Commodores will now get top-seeded Florida in the semis.  Doogan and J keep alive their SEC champ.  Lynch loses his.

MOUNTAIN WEST SEMIFINALS (32 points each)
BYU survived a scare on the scoreboard, SDSU survived a scare on the injury table, but both are now in the semis tonight in tough games.

#1 BYU vs. #5 New Mexico
BYU survived to beat a bad TCU team yesterday, while New Mexico beat a really good Colorado State team.  And, remember, New Mexico gave BYU 2/3 of their season’s losses this year.  Lil Lohse, Scoot, Rikey, and Mac all took New Mexico with this upset pick, though none of them have the Lobos winning it all.  Everyone else has BYU, with Stri, Lohse, Teddy, Dan, and Gersh picking the Cougars to win this tournament. 

IN-GAME UPDATE:  Jimmer Fredette has 33 points, and it’s NOT EVEN HALFTIME.  Honestly, it looks like he’s playing NBA Jam and he’s on fire.  I’ve seen a lot of basketball in my days, and I’ve never really seen anything like this.

*FINAL SCORE:  BYU 87 – New Mexico 76
Even though The Jimmer was inhuman all night, this was a close game for about 35 minutes.  But, when New Mexico lost their two best players – Dariese Gary to injury and Drew Gordon to foul trouble – they just didn’t have the horses to handle a white-hot Fredette.  Jimmer hoisted up 37 shots – which I would harshly criticize, if he didn’t make 22 of them – en route to 51 points from the field (and 1 from the line).  It was absolutely unbelievable to watch.  Simply unforgettable.  I wonder what he has for an encore on Saturday.

#2 San Diego State vs. #3 UNLV 
What a game here!  SDSU – basically on the road – takes on UNLV.  The Rebels are probably in, but can’t be certain, while I really think that (especially with the Pitt loss), the Aztecs have a really strong argument for a #1-seed if they win this tournament.  And, that is big for a program that has never lost a tournament game, considering a 1-seed has never lost in the tournament.  Everyone has a horse in this race, and most people’s is the same horse.  Only Lohse, KA, and Gross have UNLV, with the latter two picking the Rebels to win it all.

*FINAL SCORE:  San Diego State 74 – UNLV 72
Mister Clutch strikes again, as D.J. Gay hit a buzzer-beater to break the hearts of the home crown in Vegas.  This was a phenomenal game of back-and-forth action that was, for most of the second half, a man’s war between Kawhi Leonard and Tre’Von Willis.  It was fantastic M-West basketball that ended with a big shot by the most underrated point guard in the nation.  KA and Gross lost their champ here, while a bunch of entries kept theirs alive.

CONFERENCE USA SEMIFINALS (24 points each)
With #1 UAB going out in the quarters, this conference now has three good teams and one Cinderella in the semis tonight.

#4 Memphis vs. #8 E. Carolina
Memphis won a hard-fought war with Southern Miss yesterday and benefit from not having to play the #1-seed UAB because of the ECU upset.  The Pirates are playing very well right now, though, so this is no walkover for the Tigers.  With the elimination of the top-seed, UAB, and a popular 5-seed, S. Miss, there are not a whole lot of people with a team left to root for in this game.  No one has ECU, and only 4 people (J, Waters, Lynch, and Lil Lohse) have Memphis.  Every one of the four except Lil Lohse has Memphis cutting down the nets.

FINAL SCORE:  Memphis 76 – E. Carolina 56
Joe Jackson had 24 off the bench for the Tigers, as they cruise past ECU into the finals.  J, Waters, and Lynch all keep their champ alive.

#2 Tulsa vs. #3 UTEP
UTEP knocked off Marshall yesterday on their home floor, while Tulsa survived a pesky Rice team.  They meet now in a good semifinal, with a trip to the C-USA championship on the line.  Neither team has a very strong at-large profile, so a loss here would pretty much eliminate either of them.  J, Teddy, and Dan have already lost this game with Marshall.  Stri, Waters, Scoot, and Gersh have Tulsa.  The other 13 all have UTEP.  Stri and Scoot have Tulsa winning it all.  Six entries (Bry, Doogan, Lil Lohse, Cheryl, Dave, and Gross) have UTEP winning it all.

FINAL SCORE:  UTEP 66 – Tulsa 54
The Miners got 26 from their star, Randy Culpepper and knocked off Tulsa to move on to the finals against Memphis tomorrow.  The 6 entries with UTEP winning this tournament are happy.

MAC SEMIFINALS (16 points each)
A wild quarterfinal quadruple-header that went into the early morning hours in Cleveland sets up a good semifinal double-header.  It should be interesting to see how tired legs perform for the two teams that had to play extra time yesterday.

#2 W. Michigan vs. #6 Akron
Thanks to 6 straight missed free throws by the best FT-shooting team in the MAC, Akron survived in double-OT against Miami (OH) yesterday, even after blowing a 12-point second-half lead.  W. Michigan won a relatively close game against Bowling Green.  This is a bit of a swing game in the CTC.  5 people have already lost this with Miami (OH), but the other 15 are relatively split.  Doogan, J, Alexi, Teddy, and Gross have a nice upset pick of Akron here.  Bry, Stri, Waters, both Lohses, Scoot, Rikey, Gersh, and Primm all have WMU here.  Scoot, Dave, and both Lohses have W. Mich winning this tournament.

FINAL SCORE:  Akron 79 – W. Michigan 68
Akron advances to their fourth straight MAC final – pretty impressive – as they beat WMU almost wire-to-wire, though they did almost blow a huge lead until a really bad tech by WMU’s Mike Douglas gave Akron a ton of free throws to put it away.  5 people hit a nice upset here; 4 lost a champion.

#1 Kent State vs. #4 Ball State 
Ball State came back from 9 points down with under two minutes left to shock Ohio in OT yesterday.  Ohio even had the ole intentionally missed free throw for an offensive rebound and a really good look to tie in OT, but it didn’t fall, and the Cardinals advance to the semis against KSU.  Teddy has lost this game with Buffalo; Scoot and Dave have lost this game with Ohio.  Of the remaining 17, 16 have Kent State.  Cheryl is the lone dissenting opinion with Ball State.  A boatload of entries have KSU winning it all in the MAC.

*FINAL SCORE:  Kent State 79 – Ball State 68
Kent State led this game pretty much the whole way, but it didn’t ever seem like they had control, as Ball State hung around all game.  Justin Greene’s 20 points were finally just too much for the Cardinals, and the MAC’s best team advances to the finals to take on Akron.  A lot of CTC’ers keep their champ alive here.

WAC SEMIFINALS (16 points each)
With the top two teams getting byes to the semis, we now have a final four ready to tipoff in Vegas, with all trying to knock off the top-dogs.

#1 Utah State vs. #8 San Jose State
Utah State dominated this conference all year long and with the only team that beat them (Idaho) out of the tournament, they should be able to finish the job and take the decision out of the hands of the committee.  SJSU is coming off back-to-back upsets to get here is playing with nothing lose and their young team could be dangerous.  Everyone except KA (Hawaii) has USU winning this game and the WAC title.

*FINAL SCORE:  Utah State 58 – San Jose State 54
You have to hand it to a very young SJSU team that finished 8th in the WAC, but were a couple plays away from upsetting the heavy favorites and playing for the WAC title.  This is a team to watch going forward.  But, this year is about USU, who survived a SJSU three-point attempt that probably would have own the game to move on to the finals.  19 people have USU winning this tournament.

#2 Boise State vs. #3 New Mexico State
Boise State, somehow, got the 2-seed and the double-bye in this tournament.  They will take on NMSU, who was supposed to be the only team with the talent to contend with USU in this conference this year.  The Aggies knocked off Nevada yesterday to get here.  6 people have NMSU in this one (J, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Dan, Rikey, and Primm); 5 have already lost it with either Nevada or Fresno (Alexi, KA, Gersh, Gross, and Mac); the other 9 have Boise.

*FINAL SCORE:  Boise State 81 – New Mexico State 63
Boise hammers NMSU to advance to the WAC final to try and steal a bubble team’s bid against USU.  9 people got this one right.

BIG WEST SEMIFINALS (8 points each)
The 1-seed survived yesterday, and the 2-seed did not, as the Big West moves to the semifinal round.

#1 Long Beach State vs. #7 UC-Riverside
LBSU and that great trio of juniors took care of business (a little sloppily) last night against UC-Irvine.  Tonight, they get UCR, who pulled off a big upset of Cal Poly.  Since everyone picked LBSU to win this tournament, it would stand to reason that everyone has them winning their semifinal, as well.

*FINAL SCORE:  Long Beach State 74 – UC-Riverside 63
LBSU, who everyone has winning this tournament, allowed UCR to hang around, but, in the end, Casper Ware and company were just too much.

#3 CS-Northridge vs. #5 UC-Santa Barbara
The Matadors were picked to finish last in the Big West.  The Gouchos were picked to finish first in the Big West.  But, CSN had a better year than UCSB and get to wear home white tonight in their semifinal.  CSN knocked off Fullerton last night easily, while UCSB eliminated a disappointing Pacific team.  With most people having Cal Poly here, this is a good shot for those with a team left here to gain some points on most of the field.  Alexi, Scoot, Dan, Dave, and Gross all have CS-Northridge.  No one has UCSB.

*FINAL SCORE:  UC-Santa Barbara 83 – CS-Northridge 63
The Gouchos hammered Northridge to advance to the Big West championship game – which should be a good one – against LBSU. 

MEAC SEMIFINALS (8 points each)
A crazily scheduled tournament is now down to a standard 4-team, 2-day tournament.  Three of the top four teams are joined by party-crashers Norfolk State tonight.

#2 Hampton vs. #6 Norfolk State
Hampton has been one of the dominant teams in the MEAC all year, and they caught a bit of a break, as they faced #10 UMES in the quarters and now #6 Norfolk in the semis.  Norfolk probably played as well as they could in beating Coppin last night, so we’ll see if they can get it going agains tonight.  No one has Norfolk State winning this game.  Stri, Alexi, Waters, Lohse, Dave, and Gross have all lost this game already with either Coppin or FAMU.  Everyone else has Hampton.  Bry, Doogan, J, Teddy, Dan, Rikey, Gersh, and Primm all have Hampton winning this tournament.

*FINAL SCORE:  Hampton 85 – Norfolk State 61
Hampton made a statement with a pummelling of Norfolk in the semis, setting up a great MEAC final with Morgan State.  A lot of people keep alive their champ.

#1 Bethune-Cookman vs. #4 Morgan State
One of the best BC teams in a long time has its biggest test of the year tonight.  Two-time defending champion Morgan State has the talent and experience to win this tournament, but they will have to go through #1 tonight.  5 people had N.C. A&T (J, Lohse, Teddy, Cheryl, and Dave) and have already lost it.  5 more have Morgan State (Bry, Doogan, Alexi, Waters, Lynch).  The other 10 all have BC.  Alexi and Waters have Morgan winning the whole thing.  Stri, Lil Lohse, KA, Gross, and Mac all have BC winning it.

FINAL SCORE:  Morgan State 61 – Bethune-Cookman 48
John Chaney’s alma mater will not be in the NCAA tournament this year, as Morgan handles the MEAC’s top-seeded team rather easily.  Kevin Thompson had 22 and the Bears move to the finals where they will try and win their 3rd straight MEAC title.  Alexi and Waters keep alive their champ.  5 others lose theirs.

SWAC SEMIFINALS (8 points each)
The SWAC’s top two teams are still on a collision course for the finals, but have to get through the semis tonight.

#2 Jackson State vs. #6 Grambling State
Jackson State – probably the most talented team in the SWAC – held Prairie View to 38 points in their quarterfinal two nights ago.  Grambling pulled off a nice upset of Mississippi Valley State yesterday to set up this semifinal matchup.  KA, Teddy, and Dave all have a nice upset pick of Grambling here.  Doogan, Scoot, Primm, and Gross have already lost this game with either Mississippi Valley State or Prairie View A&M.  The other 13 have JSU in this one.  Waters, Lil Lohse, Gersh, and Mac have JSU winning this tournament.

FINAL SCORE:  Grambling 81 – Jackson State 75 (OT)
Donald Qualls, who averages 10 points per game, dropped 35 on Jackson State, as Grambling comes from 11 down in the final 6 minutes to send the game to overtime and win it.  KA, Teddy, and Dave hit a nice upset here.  4 people lose their champ.

#1 TX-Southern vs. #4 Alabama State
TX-Southern, who ran away with the SWAC this year, only scored 50 points in their Friday night quarterfinal win over AR-Pine Bluff, but their defense carried the day.  They will now get a decent Alabama State team, who beat up on Alabama A&M last night in the quarters.  Waters, Lynch, and Lil Lohse have the nice upset pick of Bama State.  KA and Gross have already lost the game with Bama A&M.  The other 15 have top-seeded TX-Southern, with most of them having TSU going the distance.

*FINAL SCORE:  Alabama State 73 – TX-Southern 66
The second straight SWAC semifinal upset results in an unlikely final, as TX-Southern goes down.  Waters, Lynch, and Lohse hit big with this upset.

GREAT WEST SEMIFINALS (8 points each)
The Strange West conference has its semis tonight, as the top-seed and host, Utah Valley, enters the tournament for the first time.

#3 North Dakota vs. #7 Houston Baptist
Houston Baptist – the worst team in the country – beat NJIT last night and now get ND.  The Fighting Sioux took care of another awful team, TX-Pan American, last night.  No one even had HB reaching this game, let alone winning it.  Doogan, J, Alexi, Lil Lohse, KA, Teddy, Scoot, Dan, Dave, Gersh, Primm, and Mac all have North Dakota here.  The other 8 had N.J.I.T., so they’ve already lost it.  J, Lohse, KA, Scoot, Dan, Gersh, and Mac all have ND winning this tournament. 

FINAL SCORE:  North Dakota 65 – Houston Baptist 63
I’m considering going to the Great West tournament next year, as this is the 4 straight game in this tournament that went down to the last possession.  But, then again, it didn’t sound like it was “good basketball,” even though it sounded quite clutch.  Andrew Gonzalez hit three free throws with :05 seconds left to tie it for HB, and then Patrick Mitchell hit two free throws with :02 seconds left to win it for North Dakota.  How there were 5 free throws in a close game in the final :05 seconds, I have no idea…  7 people keep alive their champ.

#1 Utah Valley vs. #4 South Dakota
UVU is the host and the best team in this conference.  They also received the only bye of this tournament, so they play their first postseason game of the year.  SD needed OT to beat a bad Chicago State team last night.  It is Lohse versus the world here, as he has South Dakota and the other 19 have UVU.  In fact, Lohse has SD winning this tournament.  Bry, Doogan, Stri, Alexi, Lynch, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Rikey, Dave, Primm, and Gross all have UVU winning it.

*FINAL SCORE:  South Dakota 72 – Utah Valley 70
There have been 5 games in the Great West tournament, and they have been decided by a combined 10 points.  South Dakota upset the top-seed and tournament hosts, UVU, to advance to the title game on Saturday against North Dakota.  Lohse won big here, as the only one with SD and the only one with them winning it all.