CTC Day 7 Preview

The calm after AND before the storm, as there are only a couple of games tonight.  So, take a breath, think about the first week and get ready for a big second week, starting tomorrow with the unprecedented Tuesday quadruple-header in the Big East, among others.  But, there are a couple important games tonight.

COLONIAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
A great tournament with upsets and surprises, but it ends with the top two seeds in the title game.

• #1 VCU vs. #2 George Mason.  A game to which I am very much looking forward, pitting two of the better mid-major teams with all on the line.  This is basically a well-warranted round of 128 NCAA tournament game.  Bry and Ina have VCU.  Waters, Alexi, and J have George Mason.  Doogan, Stri, and Lynch have either ODU or UDel, who didn’t make it.  If Mason wins tonight, Alexi defends his Colonial title.  If VCU wins, Ina will take the crown away.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
In the much-anticipated championship of the WCC tonight, we got what we all wanted (and predicted), as #1 Gonzaga takes on #2 St. Mary’s.

• #1 Gonzaga vs. #2 St. Mary’s.  All 8 of us picked Gonzaga to face St. Mary’s, while 7 of us picked the ‘Zags to win it.  The only dissenting opinion comes from Bry, who believes in Patty Mills and the Gaels need for the auto bid, in taking SMC to win.  If Gonzaga wins tonight, Ina takes the WCC title.  If St. Mary’s wins, obviously, Bry would win, as the only one to have taken them.

MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP:
Another interesting tournament that ended with the top two seeds.  But, this one is less surprising, as we, as a group, got 15 of our 16 semifinal picks correct.  If you like mid-major basketball, you’ve got to be drooling over this one.  Ina is going for a perfect MAAC bracket.

• #1 Siena vs. #2 Niagara.  The best two teams all year in the MAAC are meeting for “all the marbles.”  And, there are pretty major CTC implications tonight, as all 8 of us have a horse in this race–4 of us with Siena (Bry, Waters, Alexi, and J) and 4 of us with Niagara (Ina, Doogan, Lynch, and Stri).  If Siena wins, Bry takes the 2009 CTC MAAC title.  If Niagara wins, Ina completes a perfect MAAC bracket and, obviously, wins the title.

SoCON CHAMPIONSHIP:
Somehow, Team Davidson did not make the finals in the Davidson Conference.  I guess maybe we should start calling it the SoCon again, as we have a couple surprises here in the finals.

• #3S College of Charleston at #1N Chattanooga.  Bobby Cremins might be returning to the tournament with College of Charleston.  That is great news if you were a fan of the Ramblin’ Wreck in the mid-90s.  That is bad news if you are Lynch and have a shot at picking up 16 points on the entire field with a Chattanooga win tonight.  No one had C of Charleston winning the tournament, but Lynch had Chattanooga.  Lynch will also pick up his first CTC conference title if Chattanooga wins tonight.  If not, Waters and Stri will share the 2009 SoCon crown.

SUN BELT SEMIFINALS:
An interesting Final Four in the Sun Belt (all correctly predicted by J) gets going tonight with a semifinal double-header.

• #1 Western Kentucky vs. #4 North Texas.  The top-seeded Hilltoppers continue tonight against N. Texas.  7 of us have WKU winning tonight and making the finals.  Stri has N. Texas in what would be a real quality upset pick.  Ina, Doogan, and Lynch have WKU winning this whole tournament.
• #2 Arkansas-Little Rock vs. #6 South Alabama.  The biggest surprise participant of the Final Four, USA, takes on #2 AR-Little Rock tonight.  No one has USA winning this game.  Bry and J are the only two with UALR tonight.  Both of them actually have them winning this tournament.  The other 6 of us all had Troy winning this game, so they will be rooting for USA, so that no one gains any points on them.

SUMMIT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS:
After a two-day quarterfinal round, the Summit League is ready for its semifinal double-header in Sioux City tonight.

• #1 North Dakota State vs. #5 Southern Utah.  ND State is two wins away from capping a great season with an NCAA tournament berth.  And, they get tonight’s game on an extra day’s rest, whereas S. Utah has to come back from a win last night to play again tonight.  Everyone has ND State, except Lynch, who had IUPUI, who lost to SUU last night.
• #3 Oakland vs. #7 South Dakota State.  The surprise of the Summit League and one of the bigger surprises of the CTC so far was SD State’s upset win over Oral Roberts on Saturday night.  Now, they actually gained the extra day advantage as they play an Oakland team that had to win the nightcap last night against IPFW.  Everyone except Bry and Waters have Oakland winning this game (which would count as a mild upset).  Bry and Waters both had ORU winning this tournament.