Day 3 Recap: Bry’s Big Day Puts the Top Spot Up for Grabs

A 52-point day yesterday for Bry (12 more than anyone else) took him to within 2 points of overall leader, Ina.  Alexi and J (30 each) and Lynch (28) struggled a bit.  Plus, the first conference 0-‘fer was completed.

DAY 3:
Bry-52
Ina-40
Stri-38
Doogan-36
Waters-32
J-30
Alexi-30
Lynch-28

OVERALL:
Ina-120
Bry-118
Alexi-104
J-96
Waters-96
Stri-82
Doogan-78
Lynch-66

BIG SOUTH SEMIFINALS:
After an all-chalk quarterfinal round, the Big South semis were no different, but despite all the chalk (no upsets yet in the 6 games), only J and correctly predicted the final between #1 Radford and #2 VMI.  Bry is now the only one that can steal this year’s CTC Big South crown from J.

• #1 Radford 94 – #4 UNC-Asheville 86.  Kenny Thomas (not the former Sixer and Rocket) scored 35 points last night to help the Highlanders stave off a very game UNC-Asheville squad in Radford, VA, last night.  It was only a 3-point game with under a minute to go, but then Radford scored six straight to put the game away.  Everyone except Lynch (who had Winthrop) and Waters had Radford winning this game, but an Asheville win probably would have been welcome for everyone other than Bry and Stri, as they are the only two with them winning it all.
• # 2 VMI 78 – #3 Liberty 58.  People who said that VMI cannot win in the postseason because of their defense:  take note.  VMI held a good Liberty team to 58 points on 38% shooting and only 5-22 (22%) from 3-point land last night.  It was a blow-out early and they are looking good to maybe steal a bid from #1 Radford on Saturday night.  Most of us had Liberty winning this game (Lynch had Coastal Carolina), so the two that picked it correctly (J and Waters) came up big last night.  They each have VMI going on to win this thing.  Alexi, Doogan, and Ina all lost their Big South champ last night with Liberty going down.  Bry, against his better judgment, went with Liberty, lost it, and cost himself an otherwise-perfect day.

MISSOURI VALLEY OPENING ROUND:
“Arch Madness,” one of the more interesting and exciting conference tournaments every year kicked off last night in St. Louis.  “The Valley,” usually the class of the mid-majors had a bit of a down year, but there should still be some excitement in this tournament–as always.  Bry was the only one to get both of these games.  Everyone else got one or the other.  There were a couple semifinalists lost, though, and even a finalist.

• #7 Wichita State 59 – #10 Missouri State 46.  Wichita St. won their fifth in the last seven with a win over Missouri St. last night.  The Shockers held Missouri St. to 29% shooting last night.  Only Stri lost this game, and no one has Wichita St. going any further than this.
• #9 Indiana State 62 – #8 Drake 55.  In a mild upset, the Sycamores took out the defending Missouri Valley champs last night, holding off a furious late comeback.  Getting this pick right was good for Bry and Stri, but it was the negative that came from getting it wrong that is going to linger from this game.  J, Doogan, and Waters all lost a semifinalist in Drake last night, with Doogan even losing a finalist.  That is going to be a hard thing from which to recover.

ATLANTIC SUN QUARTERFINALS:
After watching E. Tennessee St. win the night before, the other 4 quarterfinalists in the A-Sun took the court last night in Nashville.  And, there was even our first dose of pure MADNESS.  Bry, Ina, and Lynch completed a 3-for-3 quarterfinal round in the A-Sun.  Stri lost all 3 games and has no one left, so he is done in the A-Sun with 0 points.

• #3 Belmont 65 – #6 Mercer 64.  Belmont, the three-time defending A-Sun champs were trailing Mercer 64-63 with the seconds winding down in the second half, without their best player on the court and no way to get him in.  Senior Andy Wicke put up a shot with :04 seconds to play and found…nothing.  An air-ball, but somehow, a freshman forward Mick Hedgepeth (who averaged only 8.6 minutes per game this year), grabbed the air ball and got a shot up and in with :00.2 second left, winning the game for the Bruins.  J and Stri came so close to a 6-point upset pick.  Bry, Alexi, and Waters kept their champion pick alive…barely.
• #4 Lipscomb 82 – #5 Campbell 52.  On their home-court, Lipscomb absolutely hammered the 5th-seeded Campbell.  It was the 9th straight win for the Bisons (yes, apparently that is the new plural of Bison), as they move on to face top-seeded Jacksonville in the semis tonight.  J, Stri, and Waters all missed this pick.  Stri actually had Campbell winning the whole thing.

NEC QUARTERFINALS:
A relatively exciting quarterfinal round in the Northeast Conference was completed last night.  There was some real MADNESS on Long Island, as well.  All in all, though, there were no big surprises, and we are set up for pretty exciting semifinal and final rounds.  It was a rather succesful night for the CTC contestants.  Bry, Ina and Stri all went 4-for-4 in the NEC.  J was the only one to lose two games, and no one lost even a semifinalist.

• #1 Robert Morris 73 – #8 St. Francis (NY) 60. A 14-point halftime deficit, on the road, was just too much for St. Francis to overcome in their quarterfinal match against the conference’s best team.  The Colonials held St. Francis to 34% from the field and will resume the tournament, at home, on Sunday.  Only Waters took a shot at St. Francis, but Alexi and Lynch would not have minded if the Terriers did pull off the upset, as the other 5 all have RMC winning the tournament.
• #2 Mount St. Mary’s 73 – #7 Wagner 62.  Wagner, a solid 7-seed, did give the #2-seed and defending champ Mt. St. Mary’s a run for their money last night.  Leading at halftime and tied with less than 7 minutes to go, the Seahawks could not seal the deal and their season ended last night.  Mt. St. Mary’s moves on and hosts the semifinal game on Sunday.  Though someone was bold enough to take the #8 over the #1, no one was bold enough to take #7 over #2.  Everyone got MSM last night.  It was especially good for Waters and Alexi, as they have the Mountaineers winning this tournament.
• #3 Sacred Heart 76 – #6 Central Connecticut State 64.  Sacred Heart never trailed all game, and defeated CCSU rather handily last night in a quarterfinal matchup.  The Pioneers will now travel to Mt. St. Mary’s for a big semifinal matchup on Sunday.  J and Lynch both missed on the CCSU pick, but neither had them going any further.  Doogan and Ina both kept a finalist with Sacred Heart.
• #5 Quinnipiac 86 – #4 Long Island 78 (OT).  An overtime thriller on the Island, as Quinnipiac pulled off the mild quarterfinal upset and will move on to face #1 Robert Morris in the semis on Sunday.  This game was pure madness.  LIU freshman forward Julian Boyd hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer of regulation to send it to OT, but the Bobcats dominated the overtime period, ending an otherwise nice season for the Blackbirds.  Only J and Alexi missed this upset pick, but the big winner was Lynch, who has Quinnipiac winning this whole tournament.  Waters also gained from this, as he has the Bobcats reaching the finals.