We all know my love for Arch Madness, but it is probably my second-favorite conference tournament every year, behind the CAA. It’s hard to say why, but the Colonial tournament is easily the one I most look forward to every year. And, it kicks off today with an Opening Round quadruple-header.
Championship Picks
9 for #1 Drexel
6 for #2 VCU (Bry, Dave, Doogan, Gross, J, Lohse)
3 for #3 George Mason (Gersh, Primm, RSmith)
1 for #4 Old Dominion (Teddy)
Biggest Upsets
R1 – #11 Hofstra (Bry, KA, Lynch, Mac, RSmith, Scoot)
QF – #6 Georgia St. (Alexi, Dave, Doogan, J, Lohse, RDoc, Teddy)
SF – #6 Georia St. (Alexi, Teddy)
Previous CTC Champions
2011 – Bry
2010 – Bry
2009 – Ina
2008 – Alexi
#5 Delaware vs. #12 Towson
I live 10 minutes from the Towson campus, so trust me when I say this…this team is really, really bad. As for the Blue Hens, they have actually had a really nice season this year and could be a real sleeper in this year’s CAA tournament. #4 ODU awaits the winner of this game, so for a night, the Monarchs may be huge Towson fans. No one has Towson here. 7 people have Delaware beating ODU in the quarters (Gross, J, KA, Lil Lohse, Lynch, RDoc, RSmith), though none of them have the Blue Hens reaching the final.
#6 Georgia St. vs. #11 Hofstra
The Panthers of Georgia St. are the classic senior-laden college team that no one expected much from, but easily outperformed any expectations. I’m not sure why these teams surprise us every year. Having a senior-laden team doesn’t necessarily mean you will “win big” anymore in college hoops, but it certainly almost always means that you won’t “lose big.” You would be hard-pressed to find a team of mostly upperclassmen that finish near the bottom of a league, so having the Panthers in contention all year, despite being picked 11th in the conference in the preseason just means that the prediction was lazy. This team is very solid. Hofstra is the complete opposite – they are a very inexperienced team, who actually weren’t supposed to be that bad, but were. However, they have been starting to put it together as of late (there is talent here), so this could be a dangerous spot for a GSU team that really wants to make one last run. The winner here gets a shot at #3 George Mason in the quarters. This is about as HUGE as an opening round game can be, as far as CTC implications go. 6 people have Hofstra in a pretty big upset (Bry, KA, Lynch, Mac, RSmith, Scoot). 7 others (Alexi, Dave, Doogan, J, Lohse, RDoc, Teddy) went the total opposite direction and have Georgia State not only winning this game, but the next one too. Alexi and Teddy even have the Panthers reaching the finals. This one First Round CAA game could have a pretty huge impact on the CTC.
#7 Northeastern vs. #10 William & Mary
Forget this talk about the droughts of Northwestern and Harvard, what about William & Mary. The oldest university in North America (I’m too lazy to look up how long they’ve had a basketball team) and they have NEVER made the NCAA tournament. Well, this is probably not going to be the year for them, as they are, well, not very good. But, you never know, they have been playing better down the stretch, winning 2 of their last 4, with both losses being by 4 or less to top-tier teams (Drexel and GSU) and one of the wins being a 25-point beatdown of the very team they draw in Round One. Northeastern has been a bit of an enigma this year – sometimes they look really good and other times they, well, lost by 25 to W&M. #2 VCU awaits the winner here in the quarters. 7 people took W&M in the solid upset pick (Bry, Dave, Doogan, J, Lohse, Stri, Teddy). Teddy even has the Tribe beating VCU next round. No one has Northeastern making the semis.
#8 James Madison vs. #9 UNC-Wilmington
It is probably unfair to do this, but the Wilmington season will probably be summarized in four words: “They lost to Towson.” But, in reality, the Seahawks weren’t absolutely terrible this year and were actually in contention for a little while in the CAA (due mostly to a very back-loaded schedule). JMU, on the other hand, was supposed to be a real contender this year yet finished 5-13 in the conference. White-hot and #1 Drexel awaits the winner of this one in the quarters. Alexi, Bry, and RDoc are the only three people that like the Seahawks in this one. Everyone else has JMU. No one has either team beating Drexel in the quarters.
