CTC Day 7 Recap: Huge Day for Ina Puts Her Back in the Lead By Her Lonesome

On a relatively quiet day, Ina still gained at least 30 point of everyone else.  Alexi beat Bry by 10, putting him into second by himself.  Stri loses a day for the first time this year.  Seven days through and J has neither won a day or lost one.  And, as Stri said the other day, this is the closest CTC–from top to bottom–that we have had in a long time.  And, now that the big tourneys start, things should juggle, considering getting the champ of a major conference is 90 points plus 5x upset points.

DAY 7 SCORES:
Ina-120
Alexi-90
J-90
Lynch-84
Bry-80
Waters-80
Doogan-74
Stri-66

OVERALL (points behind leader, with 662):
Ina-0
Alexi-30
Bry-40
J-110
Stri-128
Waters-138
Lynch-166

COLONIAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
One of the better tournaments ended Monday night with the re-emergence of a great player.  Ina takes her first 2009 CTC conference title with a win.  Lynch loses his 3rd, though I have respect for sticking with his alma mater.

• #1 VCU 71 – #2 George Mason 50.  In a disappiontingly lopsided final, VCU’s star Eric Maynor is back on the big scene.  Bry and Ina both correctly got the champ here.  Waters, Alexi, and J missed out on their champ here.

FINAL COLONIAL SCORES:
Ina-150
Bry-126
Alexi-114 (defending champ)
J-84
Waters-84
Stri-72
Doogan-48
Lynch-18

WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
A great matchup in the WCC between one lock in the tournament and one bubble team.  With the win Monday night, Ina clinches a PERFECT WCC bracket, winning her second conference of the year.  Bry went for the gusto and lost his second conference of the year.

• #1 Gonzaga 83 – #2 St. Mary’s 58.  A very, very disappointing performance for the Gaels and now they will have a long wait on Selection Sunday.  Maybe they shouldn’t have DUNKED IN WARMUPS, costing them a technical foul before the opening tip.  It also didn’t help that Patty Mills went 2-16 from the floor, scoring only 5 points.  The ‘Zags now have made 11 straight NCAA tournaments.  Bry was the only one that missed this.

FINAL WCC SCORES:
Ina-132
Alexi-120
Lynch-120
Waters-120 (defending champ)
J-114
Stri-114
Doogan-108
Bry-66

MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP:
The top two teams in the MAAC met in the finals last night, and this one, unlike the WCC and the Colonial, lived up to the hype and was a great game.  In fell short in what would have been a third conference title in one night, as Bry stole this crown–his second conference of the year.  Lynch loses his 4th conference of the year.

• #1 Siena 77 – #2 Niagara 70.  A very good game was won by a very good team.  Don’t be surprised if you hear about Niagara “on the bubble.”  Though, I do not think they’ll get in, they ought to be in the conversation.  Bry, J, Alexi, and Waters all got this right.  Lynch, Doogan, Stri, and Ina all missed the upset pick.

FINAL MAAC SCORES:
Bry-56
Waters-52
Ina-44
J-44 (defending champ)
Alexi-42
Stri-40
Doogan-32
Lynch-30

SoCON CHAMPIONSHIP:
Where’s Steph?  Davidson lost in the semis to the College of Charleston, taking some intrigue out of the SoCon title game.  But, this was still, to me, a very interesting matchup.  Lynch, in his debut season, claims his second CTC conference banner, with a fantastic bracket.  Bry, Doogan, and Alexi share the last-place honors.

• #1N Chattanooga 80 – #3S College of Charleston 69.  A really impressive second half for the Moccassins push them into the NCAA tournament.  Lynch completed his bracket with a correct championship pick.  Everyone else got this wrong.

FINAL SoCON SCORES:
Lynch-44
Stri-36
Waters-36
Ina-20 (defending champ)
Bry-14
Doogan-14
Alexi-14

SUN BELT SEMIFINALS:
A semifinal double-header on Monday sets up the final or Tuesday.  No one got both finalists; Stri got neither.

• #1 Western Kentucky 77 – #4 North Texas 70.  It looked like the Mean Green were going to pull off the big upset for Stri, but the Hilltoppers dominated the final 8 minutes, sending them to the Sun Belt finals on Tuesday.  Everyone except Stri had WKU here.  Ina, Doogan, and Lynch kept their champ alive.
• #6 South Alabama 54 – #2 Arkansas-Little Rock 44.  A big upset in an ugly, ugly game sends the Jaguars to the Sun Belt final against WKU.  No one had this pick, but the loss was huge for Bry and J, as they had UALR winning this tournament.  In fact, this USA win eases most of the pain felt by Waters, Alexi, and Stri, who put all their stock in Troy.

SUMMIT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS:
A pair of semifinal games in the SL last night set up a oft-predicted final matchup.  Ina, J, Doogan, Stri, and Alexi all correctly predicted this finals matchup in the Summit.

• #1 North Dakota State 79 – #5 Southern Utah 67.  The top seed advanced again to the finals in a win that was closer than the final score might indicate.  Everyone except Lynch (who had IUPUI here) got this game correct.  Stri, Doogan, and Ina kept their champ alive.
• #3 Oakland 74 – #7 South Dakota State 56.  Oakland caught a huge break here, not having to face Oral Roberts, and they took advantage with an easy win over S.D. State, cruising into the finals against N.D. State.  Ina, J, Doogan, Stri, and Lynch all correctly predicted that Oakland would be in the finals.  J and Alexi kept their champ alive.