The grizzled CTC fans know that the Patriot League tournament is like a three-course meal, as opposed to the all-you-can-eat buffets of most of the conference tournaments that often give you 8 games in 36 hours and things like that. The 4-part appetizer round is tonight. We will get a semifinal double-header on Saturday as the entree, followed by the championship dessert a week from today. The week-long tournament is always a nice break from the intensity of some of these big ones.
Championship Picks
7 for #1 Bucknell (Doogan, Gersh, Lil Lohse, Primm, Rikey, RDoc, RSmith)
10 for #2 Lehigh
1 for #3 American (Scoot)
Biggest Upsets
QF – #8 Navy (Waters)
SF – #4 Holy Cross (Alexi, Bry, Dave, Gross, J, Lynch, Teddy, Waters)
Previous CTC Champs
2011 – Gross*
2010 – Teddy
2009 – Alexi
2008 – Doogan
#1 Bucknell vs. #8 Navy
The Bison win another PL title, but it wasn’t easy, as they struggled down the stretch a little bit. But, a title is a title and they have to be considered the favorites coming into the tournament, which is why it is a bit surprising that only 7 of the 18 people picked the Bison to take the title (only 9 even have them reaching the finals). Waters even went for the huge upset pick by taking winless Navy to win this game tonight.
#2 Lehigh vs. #7 Colgate
If you’ve never heard of C.J. McCollum, well, find a way to see him play. He has has already become the all-time leading scorer in Lehigh history and he’s only a junior. He has major-conference talent and a low-minor personality of hustle and humility. The guy is worth finding a Lehigh game on your 900 cable channels and watching. Anyway, the Mountain Hawks take on a bad Colgate team that only won two PL games all year – both against Navy. No one took the bait on Colgate tonight, as everyone has Lehigh. In fact, 10 of the 18 people have the Mountain Hawks (the #2-seed) winning this tournament.
#3 American vs. #6 Army
American has contended all year, but their youth has really held them back in some big spots. They take on a feisty Army team that beat Holy Cross and took Lehigh to overtime this year. Surprisingly, only one person (Waters – the true “Patriot,” with his picks of Army and Navy) went with Army in what could be a tempting upset pick. This game is biggest for Scoot, who has American winning this tournament.
#4 Holy Cross vs. #5 Lafayette
Holy Cross, the hottest team in the PL entering the tournament, did itself no favors with a very slow start to conference play and couldn’t finish higher than 4th place. They take on an up-and-down Lafayette team in the quarters tonight, with a likely shot at #1 Bucknell awaiting the winner in the semis. 16 people like the 4-seed over the 5-seed in this one, as only Mac and Primm took a shot at a mild upset. Neither of them have Lafayette beating Bucknell in the semis. However, Holy Cross would be a huge loss for the EIGHT people (Alexi, Bry, Dave, Gross, J, Lynch, Teddy, Waters) who have them reaching the finals. Though, interestingly, all eight have them losing to Lehigh when they get there.
Lafayette!