And, now we’re really moving, as most conferences are getting set up for the second best weekend in sports (not coincidentally a week before the BEST weekend in sports). There are quadruple-headers all over the country, many of which are with the nation’s best teams. Let’s get right to it.
NEC CHAMPIONSHIP:
In a tournament that started with the quarterfinals last Thursday and then continued with the semifinals on Sunday, the finals are Wednesday night on the campus of Robert Morris College. Stri and Bry are going for the perfect bracket tonight.
- #2 Mount St. Mary’s at #1 Robert Morris. In a conference that has seen the top two teams make it to the finals, all on their home courts, they have done so in much different ways. Robert Morris has cruised to the finals, making it look easy, including a 27-point thrashing of Quinnipiac on Sunday in the semis. While, on the other hand, MSM won a comeback win over Wagner in the quarters, and then a hard-fought back-and-forth win over Sacred Heart in the semis. But, regardless, they are both here and both have a shot to go to the Dance. Alexi and Waters both have MSM winning the title. Bry, Ina, Doogan, J, and Stri all have RMC. If the Colonials win, Bry and Stri have completed perfect brackets and will win this conference. If MSM wins, then Alexi will have this crown by himself.
BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP:
After last night’s surprising semifinal double-header, the Big Sky is thrown for a loop. The leader, right now, has TWELVE points, and there is a chance that that is the winning score here.
- #2 Portland State vs. #6 Montana State. Montana St., who is destined for the play-in game in Dayton if they win tonight, has pulled off back-to-back upsets after sneaking into the tournament. If they win tonight, Bry and J will share the Big Sky crown with 12 points. If Portland St. wins, J (the only one with PSU to win this tourney) will take the crown.
BIG EAST SECOND ROUND:
After a historic first round in the Big East, we have the “second round,” and this is the only time we refer to a second round because all other second rounds are either quarterfinals or semifinals. The next four Big East teams (seeds 5-8) take the court on Wednesday.
- #5 Marquette (12-6) vs. #13 St. John’s. We will see what Marquette can do without James. Bry and Alexi have already lost this game, having taken Georgetown to win here. Everyone else has Marquette. Stri, Lynch, and J all have ‘Quette going to the semis.
- #6 Syracuse (11-7) vs. #11 Seton Hall. Seton Hall knocked off USF last night to advance to the second round against the ‘Cuse. Everyone has Syracuse winning this game, except Waters, who has The Hall. Ina, Doogan, and Lynch have Syracuse in the semis.
- #7 West Virginia (10-8) vs. #10 Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s opening round win over Rutgers pits them against WVU in the second round. Bry and Lynch both have Notre Dame winning this game, in the upset. No one has either of these teams in the semis.
- #8 Providence (10-8) vs. #16 DePaul. After a big upset last night over Cincinnati, the Blue Demons now get a chance to do the same to Providence. No one, obviously, has DePaul winning this game, but J and Alexi have already lost this game, with Cincinnati.
PAC-10 OPENING ROUND:
Coming off the season they had last year, it is hard to think that the Pac-10 could improve, or even stay as good–and they didn’t. But, this is still one of the best conferences in the country, probably only behind the Big East and the ACC. They do not have a clear title contender, but I am on the record as picking my dark horse Final Four team out of the Pac-10. Aside from UNC, Oklahoma, and Louisville, I picked Arizona St. as a Final Four participant when I did a professional presentation on March Madness this week. Doogan will try and repeat as the CTC Pac-10 champ (270 points). J will try and improve upon his 180-point last place finish, though within 90 of the winner means that it was a very close race top to bottom.
- #7 Washington State (8-10) vs. #10 Oregon (2-16). A very disappointing season for the Ducks might end tonight against a hot Wazzu team. No one has Oregon in this game, and no one has WSU going any further than this game, so it is almost meaningless for the CTC.
- #8 Oregon State (7-11) vs. #9 Stanford (6-12). A nice turnaround season for the president’s brother-in-law and his OSU Beavers, whereas the seasons of Stanford and LSU show you just how good of a coach Trent Johnson is. Only Stri, Doogan, and Lynch took the favored Beavers in this one. No one has either team beating Washington in the quarters.
BIG XII OPENING ROUND:
Usually, the Big XII plays on Thursday – Sunday, but I guess they got tired of their champions not getting rewarded in the seedings because their finals went too late, so they moved it up this year to Wednesday, and the final will be on Saturday. This year in the Big XII, it was certainly a three-team race, with Kansas, Oklahoma, and Mizzou. All three should get high seeds in the big tourney, but this tournament will go a long way to see just how high. Also, a lot of eyes will be on bubble teams like Texas, Kansas St., and Texas A&M to see if they can get off the bubble and into the tournament. Last year, Bry won this conference pretty convincingly, with 320 points. Ina and Stri had nice efforts with 270. J really struggled, with 90 points–110 fewer than the next lowest.
- #5 Texas (9-7) vs. #12 Colorado (1-15). Texas is squarely on the bubble. An opening round loss to Colorado would end it for them. Everyone has Texas in this game, and everyone except Ina and Stri have them winning next round against K-State.
- #6 Texas A&M (9-7) vs. #11 Texas Tech (3-13). The red-hot Aggies may actually be 4th in line for a bid from this conference, but they have to show something in the conference tournament, which starts with Texas Tech in the opening round. A&M is also a popular team in the CTC. Everyone has them winning today, and half of us (Ina, J, Doogan, and Alexi) have them beating Missouri in the quarters.
- #7 Oklahoma State (9-7) vs. #10 Iowa State (4-12). OK State opens with Iowa St. and then, if they win, will get a shot at their in-state rivals, the Sooners in the quarters. Everyone except Waters has OSU in this game–Waters went with ISU in the upset pick. No one has either of these teams beating Oklahoma in the quarters.
- #8 Nebraska (8-8) vs. #9 Baylor (5-11). Bry, Ina, J, and Lynch all have Baylor in the mild upset. And, watch out for the Bears in this tournament.
ATLANTIC TEN OPENING ROUND:
Another good year in the A-10 ends this weekend with the conference tournament. Xavier is certainly the team to beat, but there is also the defending champion Temple Owls, plus a very strong Dayton team, a surprising, red-hot Rhode Island team, and the always feisty St. Joe’s Hawks. Waters is trying to defend his A-10 title (310 points last year), while the non-Philadelphians, Alexi (40) and Stri (80) will try and improve upon last year’s bottom two finishes in the Philly-centric conference. The opening round gets going on Wednesday, with the top four seeds (Xavier, Rhode Island, Dayton, and Temple) getting a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinals. Bry took all four underdogs in this round.
- #5 St. Joseph’s (9-7) vs. #12 Charlotte (5-11). The Hawks of St. Joe’s open with #12 Charlotte and with a win would get to face arch-rival Temple in the quarters. Bry and Doogan are the only two that went for the 14 (5x) upset points that are up for grabs here. Stri has St. Joe’s going to the semis.
- #6 Richmond (9-7) vs. #11 St. Bonaventure (6-10). The fiesty Bonnies are usually only good at home, so we will see what they can do in Atlantic City, as they open against the Richmond Spiders. This was a popular upset pick, as only Ina, Alexi, and Waters took Richmond. Ina and Waters actually both have the Spiders going all the way to the finals. No one has SBU in the quarters.
- #7 Duquesne (9-7) vs. #10 Massachusetts (7-9). Another popular upset pick is the Minutemen of UMass over Duquesne. Only Stri, Alexi, and Doogan have the favored Dukes. Stri actually has Duquesne going to the semis.
- #8 LaSalle (9-7) vs. #9 St. Louis (8-8). A great season for the Explorers (18 wins) takes them to the #8 seed and opening tonight against Rick Majerus and the Billikens. Alexi, Bry, and Ina all went with the upset pick of St. Louis in this game. No one has either of these teams upsetting #1 Xavier in the quarters.
CONFERENCE USA OPENING ROUND:
No team has dominated their conference quite like the Memphis Tigers over the past three years. They have won 57 straight conference games and they will try and stretch it to 60 and another C-USA title this weekend. But, before we get to see C-USA’s best team, we have an opening round quadruple-header to take care of, setting us up for the quarterfinals on Thursday. Last year, Ina dominated the C-USA with 162 points. J lost this conference last year, with 84.
- #5 Houston (10-6) vs. #12 SMU (3-13). Another longshot bubble team, Houston, opens today against #12 SMU. Only Waters took the major upset in SMU. Lynch, Alexi, Stri, and Ina all have Houston in the semis.
- #6 Central Florida (7-9) vs. #11 Southern Mississippi (4-12). UCF finished a distant 6th in C-USA, but won the three-way tiebreaker to get to play #11 S.Miss in the opening round. Bry, J, and Doogan all took S.Miss in the upset pick. No one has either of these teams making the semis.
- #7 Marshall (7-9) vs. #10 Rice (4-12). Ben Braun can flat-out coach and he is going to turn this Rice program around, but it will have to be done slowly. He had a decent start this year, but he needs his own players. They open with Marshall tonight in the C-USA opening round. Bry, Ina, Waters, and Lynch all believe in Braun and picked Rice to upset Marshall here. That result would be bad for Stri, who has Marshall in the semis.
- #8 Tulane (7-9) vs. #9 East Carolina (5-11). The Green Wave and Pirates will battle to see who gets the privilege to get destroyed by Memphis in the quarters. J and Stri have ECU; everyone else has Tulane. Obviously, no one has either beating Memphis next round.
BIG WEST OPENING ROUND:
The Big West gets going tonight with the opening round. The top two seeds get double-byes. The next two seeds get single-byes.
- #5 UC-Irvine (8-8) vs. #8 UC-Davis (7-9). Even though UC-Davis is the bottom seed in the Big West tournament, they have somehow engendered some faith in the CTC contestants. Everyone except Alexi and Waters have them winning this game over the Anteaters. Stri even has them winning again in the quarters.
- #6 CS-Riverside (8-8) vs. #7 CS-Fullerton (7-9). The toss-up 6-7 game tonight was also heavy on the upset picks. Only Ina and Lynch like Riverside. J and Waters actually have Fullerton in the semis. Waters even has them going to the finals.
MEAC OPENING ROUND & QUARTERFINALS:
The strange MEAC setup has an opening round game and two quarterfinals on the same night.
- #6 Bethune-Cookman (9-7) vs. #11 Maryland-Eastern Shore (3-13). The worst team in the MEAC takes the floor in tonight’s only opening round game against the alma mater of the great John Chaney. Waters, Lynch, and Stri all went for the big upset with UMES. Stri even has them in the finals. Alexi, Doogan, J, Bry, and Ina all have Bethune-Cookman going to the semis. J even has them in the finals.
- #1 Morgan State (13-3) vs. #8 Florida A&M. FAMU had a nice win over Howard last night and now they get #1 Morgan St. Everyone has Morgan in this one, and only Waters (Norfolk St.) and Doogan (N.C. A&T) have them not winning the whole thing.
- # 2 South Carolina State (10-6) vs. #7 Hampton. Hampton, who held Delaware St. to 32 points in an opening round victory on Tuesday now takes on S.C. State in the quarters. J and Alexi have Hampton winning this game. Alexi even had them in the finals. Ina, Doogan, and Bry all have S.C. State in the finals.
