Day 6 Recap: A Three-Way Tie for the Lead as Week One Ends

And thus ends Week One of the 2009 CTC and three of us have jumped out ahead of the pack, but not from each other.  Bry wins his second straight day and 3rd of the 6.  Doogan loses his 3rd fay of the 6.  BUt, all in all, it was very close today.

DAY 6:
Bry-166
J-162
Ina-160
Waters-156
Stri-152
Alexi-136
Lynch-120
Doogan-92

OVERALL (points behind leader with 542):
Ina-0
Alexi-0
Bry-0
Stri-74
J-80
Waters-94
Lynch-130
Doogan-190

MISSOURI VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIP:
In an absolutely thrilling Valley championship (that was cut off in overtime by CBS…awful), the Illinois St. Redbirds have a second straight long offseason to deal with.  Stri finishes off his first 2009 conference title, with a win in The Valley.

• #1 Northern Iowa 60 – #3 Illinois State 57 (OT).  Leading for much of the first half, N. Iowa needed a big defensive stop to send the game to OT and then another big stop to win it in the overtime session, ad they clinch their first NCAA bid since 2004.  Despite being the top seed, no one took UNI to win this tournament.

MISSOURI VALLEY FINAL SCORE:
Stri-84
Ina-78
Alexi-78
Lynch-66
Bry-54
Waters-42
J-30
Doogan-30

COLONIAL SEMIFINALS:
The hard-fought Colonial tournament ends with the top two teams still standing.  Ina, J, and Waters picked the two finalists correctly.

• #1 VCU 61 – #4 Old Dominion 53.  This game was back-and-forth throughout, but in the end only one team had Eric Maynor, and that team is still standing after the war.  ODU did look like they could have won this game, if not for an injury to their best player, Gerald Lee, and foul trouble for the second-best player, Ben Finney.  But, the Rams came through.  Alexi, Doogan, and Stri all just missed what would have been a big upset pick, with ODU.  Stri and Doogan had them winning this tournament.  Bry and Ina kept their champ alive.
• #2 George Mason 56 – #11 Towson 48.  It looked, for a while, that Towson was going to pull off another HUGE upset, but Mason was just too tough down the stretch.  Doogan, Lynch, and Bry failed to correctly predict Mason reaching the finals.  J, Alexi, and Waters kept their champ alive.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS:
Well, it looks like we got what we wanted in the WCC, as the top two seeds are going to the finals. Everyone correctly predicted this finals matchup. Ina remains perfect in the WCC.

• #1 Gonzaga 94 – #4 Santa Clara 59.  The top-seed flexed their muscles and hammered Santa Clara to advance to the finals on Monday night.  Everyone had Gonzaga.  Only Bry does not have them winning the tournament.
• #2 St. Mary’s 71 – #3 Portland 61.  Patty Mills is back, playing 35 minutes off the bench.  He only shot 3-12 from the floor for 12 points, but his presence is clearly important to the Gaels.  Everyone had this correct.  Bry kept his title team alive.

AMERICA EAST SEMIFINALS:
The top-seed was in action and then there was the other semifinal, where either the #6 or #7 team was going to advance to the finals.  Bry and Lynch both correctly predicted the finals matchup, even though it is an unexpected result.

• #1 Binghamton 72 – #4 New Hampshire 67.  In a game that was closer than it was expected to be, the top seeded Binghamton team moved on to host the title game, with a big win in Albany.  Doogan missed–barely–on this big upset pick.  J got this wrong, having picked Stony Brook to be here.  The other 6 got this right.  Bry and Ina kept their champs alive.
• #6 UMBC 64 – #7 Albany 58.  What a weekend for Bry’s alma maters.  Franklin & Marshall won two NCAA D-III tournament games to advance to the Sweet 16, and UMBC won two A-East tournament games, to advance to the conference tournament championship.  Lynch and Bry both had the Retrievers in the finals.  Lynch has them winning it all.

SoCON SEMIFINALS:
The biggest shock of the CTC so far definitely happened in the SoCon yesterday.  In fact, this whole tournament has been shocking–if you judge by the success of the CTC contestants.  We, as a group, were only 3-for-16 in semifinal predictions in the SoCon.  No one got both right.

• #3S College of Charleston 59 – #1S Davidson 52.  And, thus ends the junior season for Stephen Curry (except for the NIT), as CofC knocks off the kings of the SoCon.  Stri actually CALLED this, with the best pick of the CTC so far.  Everyone else had Davidson.
• #1N Chattanooga 81 – #3N Samford 70.  Chattanooga, playing in their hometown, advances to the finals to take on CofC on Monday night.  Lynch and Waters both correctly predicted this result, and Lynch (because of the losses by Davidson and The Citadel) is the only one with a champion pick remaining in this tournament.

MAAC SEMIFINALS:
The top two seeds advance to the MAAC final–which should be really, really good, actually.  We, as a group, went 15-for-16 in picking semifinal games in the MAAC.  Only Alexi got one wrong, in picking against #2 Niagara.

• #1 Siena 80 – #5 Fairfield 65.  Another impressive preformance by #1 Siena, as they took out FU.  Everyone had Siena winning this game.  4 of us (Bry, Waters, Alexi, and J) kept their champion alive.
• #2 Niagara 93 – #3 Rider 89 (2 OTs).  Absolute, complete MADNESS!  Rider had this game apparently won in regulation, but Niagara came back, got within three, when Tyrone Lewis banked in a 30-footer with :01.7 seconds left to tie the game.  MADNESS!  Then, Niagara took this momentum into the first OT and opened up a 6-point lead with 1:10 to go, Rider came storming back, including a Ryan Thompson lay-up to tie the game and send it to a second OT. MADNESS!!  Finally, Bilal Benn, of Niagara, hit a shot to put them up two in the waning seconds of the 2nd OT, then stole the ball with :02 seconds left, in Rider’s possession, attempting to send it to a third OT.  MADNESS!!!  Everyone had Niagara, except Alex, who just missed a valuable upset.  Ina, Lynch, Stri, and Doogan all kept their champ alive…barely.

PATRIOT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS:
Another conference tournament that took a circuitous path to get to the expected result in the finals.  Bry, Ina, and Alexi correctly predicted the PL final.

• #1 American 61 – #4 Army 60.  Army almost pulled off a HUGE upset.  But Brian Gilmore hit one of two free throws to break a 60-60 tie with :03.6 seconds left…madness!  An Army half-court shot fell just short, and the Eagles move on to host the finals next week.  Waters just missed a big upset pick.  Everyone else got AU correct, and kept their title pick alive.
• #2 Holy Cross 61 – #6 Colgate.  The biggest upset of the quarterfinals was Colgate over #3 Navy in OT, but they could not do anything against #2 Holy Cross.  No one had Colgate in the finals, but only Bry, Ina, Alexi, and Waters had Holy Cross there.  Waters has Holy Cross winning it all–the only non-American pick in this conference.

NEC SEMIFINALS:
Another tournament where the top two seeds won semifinal games, setting up a nice championship game.  Bry, J, Stri, and Alexi correctly predicted the title game in the NEC.

• #1 Robert Morris 75 – #5 Quinnipiac 48.  RMC smashed 5th-seeded Quinnipiac on Sunday and advanced to host the NEC finals on Wednesday.  Waters and Lynch both had Q; everyone else had RMC–and all of whom, but Alexi, had RMC winning this tournament.
• #2 Mount St. Mary’s 68 – #3 Sacred Heart 63.  In a back-and-forth tilt, MSM moves on to face RMC in the finals of the NEC.  Ina and Doogan missed the SH upset pick; everyone else had MSM in the finals.

SUN BELT QUARTERFINALS:
A quadruple-header in the Sun Belt sets up a nice Final Four in Hot Springs, AR.  J nailed all four of the semifinalists.  Lynch only got one.

• #1 Western Kentucky 66 – #9 Florida-International 48.  An easy opening win for the Hilltoppers over FIU.  Everyone had WKU winning this game.  Ina, Doogan, and Lynch kept their champion alive.
• #2 Arkansas-Little Rock 58 – #7 Denver 55.  Denver was up as many as 14 points in the second half and up 55-52 with two minutes left in the game.  But, John Fowler hit back-to-back threes to win it for UALR, saving Bry and J’s Sun Belt champ.  Lynch lost the most here, as he predicted the Denver upset, which would have given him 10 upset points.
• #6 South Alabama 78 – #3 Troy 75.  In one of the more important upsets to the CTC, the USA Jaguars knocked off #3 Troy and advance to the semis to take on UALR.  Everyone had Troy in this game except Bry and J, who both hit this upset.  Stri, Alexi, and Waters all lost their Sun Belt champion.  Lynch, Ina, and Doogan lost a finalist.
• #4 North Texas 88 – #5 Middle Tennessee State 79.  The Mean Green gets a nice quarterfinal victory to advance to the semis on Tuesday against W. Kentucky.  Bry missed the MTSU pick, while Lynch, Doogan, and Waters all failed to score points here with picks that have already been eliminated.  This win for the Mean Green keeps a pretty big upset pick of Stri’s to come through.

SUMMIT LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS:
The second half of the quarters concluded Sunday night in the Summit League.  Coming off the upset of #2 Oral Roberts, the bottom of the Summit League is wide open.  There were 32 quarterfinal predictions in the CTC and not one of them was an upset pick.  Everyone had the top 4 seeds in the semis, so everyone went 2-for-2 in the quarters.  There are plenty of differences in the later rounds, though.

• #3 Oakland 75 – #6 IPFW 62.  A popular pick in the Summit League, Oakland moves on to the semis, and with ORU out, it’s wide open for Oakland to score big points for a couple CTC contestants.  Everyone had this pick correct, and everyone except Bry and Waters have Oakland in the finals.  Alexi and J have them winning this tournamet.
• #5 Southern Utah 53 – #4 IUPUI.  The great Ron Hunter is one-and-done in this year’s postseason, as SUU takes out the most famous Samaritan’s Feet advocate in the quarters on Sunday.  Everyone missed this pick, but Lynch lost the most, as he had IUPUI winning this whole tournament.