CTC Day 10 Preview

By far, the busiest and, consequently, the best day of the CTC.  So many games, so many great teams, so much at stake.  Awesome!  This day will also include four games between hated arch-rivals (Oklahoma-Oklahoma St., Arizona-Arizona St., Pittsburgh-West Virginia, and Temple-St. Joe’s)

ATLANTIC TEN QUARTERFINALS:
The opening round in the A-10 went without any big surprises, setting up a foursome of good games today in the quarters.

• #1 Xavier (12-4) vs. #9 St. Louis.  After a thrilling overtime win last night against LaSalle, St. Louis get rewarded with a rested #1 Xavier team.  Everyone has XU winning this game, and everyone except Bry, J, and Lynch have X winning the whole tournament.
• #2 Rhode Island (11-5) vs. #7 Duquesne.  The Dukes had a hard-fought win over UMass on Wednesday night and now they get the biggest surprise of the A-10 regular season, the Rhode Island Rams.  Stri has the big upset pick of Duquesne in this one; everyone else has URI.  Doogan and Alexi both have URI in the finals.
• #3 Dayton (11-5) vs. #6 Richmond.  The Spiders hammered St. Bonaventure last night and now get the Flyers in the quarters.  Dayton, who should be in the tournament, could use another victory to make it certain.  Ina and Waters have Richmond in this upset and then in another upset again next round, so this could be big.  Lynch has Dayton winning this whole tournament.  Stri, J, and Bry all have them in the finals.
• #4 Temple (11-5) vs. #5 St. Joseph’s.  St. Joe’s had a nice comeback win last night, setting up the arch-rivals meeting in the quarters.  Temple swept SJU in the regular season, and though, I think it’s totally overstated about that whole “beating a team 3 times is difficult,” I do think that there is something to be said about that in major rivalry games.  Only Stri has the St. Joe’s upset in this game.  Bry and J both have Temple winning the whole tournament.

BIG EAST QUARTERFINALS:
A second straight quadruple-header took place last night in MSG, setting up a third-straight quadruple-header tonight.

• #1 Louisville (16-2) vs. #8 Providence.  Louisville has now sat through two Big East quadruple-headers, before getting to participate in one of their own.  They open their defense of the regular season crown with a quarterfinal matchup against a very solid #8 Providence squad.  Everyone has Louisville winning this game, but only Doogan has the top-seed winning this whole tournament.
• #2 Pittsburgh (15-3) vs. #7 West Virginia.  “The Backyard Brawl.”  These two teams just hate each other.  West Virginia set up this war with a win over Notre Dame on Wednesday night.  All 8 of us have Pitt winning this game.  In fact, only Bry, Doogan, and Stri do not have Pitt winning this whole thing.
• #3 Connecticut (15-3) vs. #6 Syracuse.  The Orange played a great final 10 minutes in the nightcap last night to beat The Hall and move into a great quarterfinal matchup with UConn tonight.  Ina, Doogan, and Lynch all have Syracuse winning this game.  Bry and Stri both have UConn winning this whole tournament.
• #4 Villanova (13-5) vs. #5 Marquette.  The Wildcats snuck into the double-bye spot after Marquette lost their last four conference games, slipping to #5.  The Golden Eagles absolutely hammered St. John’s in the second round to get a shot at ‘Nova here in the quarters.  J, Stri, and Lynch have Marquette in this mild upset.  Lynch has them going all the way to the finals.

PAC-10 QUARTERFINALS:
Always one of the more exciting conference tournaments, the Pac-10 gets going in earnest with its quarterfinals on Thursday.

• #1 Washington (14-4) vs. #9 Stanford.  The Cardinal eliminated OSU last night and now gets rewarded with #1 Washington.  Everyone has UW winning this one.  Ina, Stri, and Lynch all have the Huskies winning this tournament.
• #2 UCLA (13-5) vs. #7 Washington State.  Wazzu beat a bad Oregon team last night and now gets UCLA in the quarters.  Everyone has UCLA in this game.  Bry, J, Doogan, and Alexi all have UCLA winning this tournament.
• #3 California (11-7) vs. #6 USC (9-9).  The Cal Bears had a nice season and should be relatively safe come Selection Sunday.  However, they are not quite a “lock,” so to be safe, they should take care of USC in the quarters.  J, Doogan, Stri, and Alexi all feel that they will do so and, therefore, have picked this upset.  Everyone has #2 UCLA reaching the finals from the bottom of the bracket, so no one has either of these teams going any further.
• #4 Arizona State (11-7) vs. #5 Arizona (9-9).  In a jam-packed day, there are not many games that are much better than this one.  A heated rivarly between a bubblicious Arizona team and my Final Four sleeper, Arizona St.  Stri and Lynch are the only two that picked Arizona.  Waters and Alexi have ASU going to the finals.  Waters has them winning the whole thing.

BIG XII QUARTERFINALS:
A thrilling Big XII opening round sets up a great quarterfinal day.

• #1 Kansas (14-2) vs. #9 Baylor.  The disappointing Baylor Bears only have one shot left at the postseason, and that is to win four straight in the Big XII.  Step one is complete, but it just gets harder, now facing #1 Kansas.  Everyone has KU winning this game, but only Lynch has them winning this tournament.
• #2 Oklahoma (13-3) vs.  #7 Oklahoma State.  OSU came from behind to beat #10 Iowa St. last night, to set up Bedlam III.  Two more teams that flat-out hate each other. 
• #3 Missouri (12-4) vs. #11 Texas Tech.  I can’t wait to watch this game because I just can’t get enough of Mike Singletary.  That performance last night still has me in awe–18 hours later.  No one has Tech even here, so no one has them winning here.  Bry, Waters, and Lynch all have Missouri winning this game (Lynch has them in the finals).  Everyone else had Texas A&M, who is out.
• #4 Kansas State (9-7) vs. #5 Texas.  In a bubble-game, UT gets K-State.  Only Stri and Ina have K-State winning this game.  Alexi actually has Texas going to the finals.  Ina has K-State going to the finals.

ACC OPENING ROUND:
Always one of the better tournaments, the ACC, kicks off today in Atlanta.  Bry will try and defend his CTC ACC title (280 points), while Waters tried to improve upon last year’s performance (150).

• #5 Clemson (9-7) vs. #12 Georgia Tech (2-14).  Clemson, one of the country’s best teams all year, plays in a conference that is good enough for them to finish 5th and not get a bye.  They play a scrappy tough G. Tech team.  Doogan and Lynch went for the big upset.  Bry, J, and Alexi all have Clemson in the semis.
• #6 Boston College (9-7) vs. #11 Virginia (4-12).  A surprisingly good season for the Eagles of BC will probably end with an NCAA tournament berth, but right now they’re only thinking about the ACC tournament.  They are taking on a disappointing UVa team, with the winner to get Duke.  Bry and J both went for the upset pick with the Cavs.  Lynch has BC going to the semis. 
• #7 Maryland (7-9) vs. #10 N.C. State (6-10).  Can Maryland get in?  One of the higher-profile bubble teams, the Terps must defeat the Wolfpack on Thursday and maybe even Wake on Friday.  Lynch, Alexi, Doogan, J, and Bry all have N.C. State pulling off the upset.  Waters has Maryland in the finals.
• #8 Virginia Tech (7-9) vs. #9 Miami (FL) (7-9).  Usually you see the ACC 8-9 game as a bubblicious game, and this year is no different, though Miami might be off the bubble right now–but it’s nothing two wins in this tournament can’t fix.  Bry, Stri, and Alexi all have Miami pulling off the upset.

BIG TEN OPENING ROUND:
A rennaissance year for the Big Ten has ended and now it is conference tournament time.  The bottom 6 seeds open today with shots at the quarterfinals on the line.  Bry dominated the Big Ten last year (230 points–100 more than anyone else) and will try and repeat that this year.  Waters only had 20 points in the Big Ten last year.

• #6 Penn State (10-8) vs. #11 Indiana (1-17).  A great season for the Nittany Lions will only end in the NCAA tournament if they beat lowly Indiana on Thursday.  Everyone has PSU in this one.  Lynch, Waters, Alexi, and Doogan have them in the semis.  Alexi even has them in the finals.
• #7 Michigan (9-9) vs. #10 Iowa (5-13).  The Wolverines are also squarely on the bubble, which makes this game huge for them as well.  Only Stri took Iowa in the upset.  J has Michigan in the semis.
• #8 Minnesota (9-9) vs. #9 Northwestern (8-10).  And, yet another bubbly team taking the floor on Thursday in the Big Ten tournament.  Northwestern has had a great year and there was tournament talk all year, but it would take a lot to get back in that conversation now.  Bry, Doogan, and Alexi all have Northwestern in the upset.

SEC OPENING ROUND:
Well, the SEC joins the ACC, the Big Ten, and the SOuthland as the only conferences that have not started until today.  A real down year for the SEC concludes this weekend with their conference tourney.  They only have two teams that should feel secure about their tournament status, and will be lucky to get 4 bids this year.  Regardless, this tournament is always fun to watch.  Last year, because of that crazy, crazy tournament last year, won by Georgia, the scoring was very low in the SEC.  That doesn’t, however, take away from the CTC SEC championship that Waters earned with 130 points.  Doogan and Stri will try and improve upon their 50-point perfomance from a year ago.

• #3W Mississippi State (9-7) vs. #6E Georgia (3-13).  The Bulldogs of Mississippi St. had a great start to conference play, but struggled towards the end and slipped into the first round.  They open with UGa, with the winner getting S. Carolina in the quarters.  Bry, J, Doogan, and Waters all went for the big upset pick.  Stri and Alexi both have MSU in the semis.
• #3E Florida (9-7) vs. #6W Arkansas (2-14).  Florida is struggling and might not make the Big Dance.  They have a must win in the opening round of the SEC tournament against Arkansas.  The winner of this game will get Auburn in the quarters.  Everyone has Florida in this game.  Doogan, J, Bry, Waters, and Alexi all have Florida in the semis.
• #4W Alabama (7-9) vs. #5E Vanderbilt (8-8).  ‘Bama and Vandy are two of the more disappointing aspects of the disappointing SEC.  The winner will move on to face Tennessee in the quarters.  Bry, J, Doogan, and Lynch all have Vandy in the upset pick.  No one has either team going to the semis.
• #4E Kentucky (8-8) vs. #5W Ole Miss (7-9).  How can a team with Meeks and Patterson not be good?  It’s really hard to imagine, but it’s true and UK’s 18-year streak of NCAA tournament appearances will probably end this year.  Stri is the only one that has Ole Miss in this game.  Bry has Kentucky going to the semis.

MOUNTAIN WEST QUARTERFINALS:
What kind of odds would I have been given at the beginning of any season that the Mountain West would receive more NCAA tournament bids than the SEC?  Well, there is an outside shot that that might happen this year, as there are five potential tournament teams in this bracket–and they all take the court today, including two of them playing each other.

• #1 BYU (12-4) vs. #9 Air Force.  The Academy picked a good time for their first conference win of the year in the opening round over Colorado St.  Now, they go for their second against #1 BYU in the quarters.  Everyone has BYU in this game, but everyone will probably be rooting against them, as Ina, the overall leader, is the only one who took BYU to win this tournament.
• #2 Utah (12-4) vs. #7 TCU (5-11).  The Utes are the two-seed in this conference, after qualifying second of the three teams that split the regular season title.  They open with the Horned Frogs in the quarters tonight.  Everyone has Utah to win this game.  Bry, J, and Lynch all have them winning the whole thing.
• #3 New Mexico (12-4) vs. Wyoming (7-9).  New Mexico is the forgotten team in the Mountain West, but they shared the regular season title with the two Utah schools.  Lynch is the only one to take the Cowboys of Wyoming in this upset.  Stri and Alexi both have New Mexico winning this tournament.
• #4 San Diego State (11-5) at #5 UNLV (9-7).  And, one of the better games of the day may be one of the two biggest CTC games of the day.  It pits San Diego St. against the host, UNLV.  This game was split right down the middle with 4 of us taking SDSU (Ina, Alexi, Stri, and Waters) and the other 4 of us taking UNLV.  Plus, one of us is going to lose a champion here in the quarters, as Waters has SDSU winning the tournament and Doogan has UNLV winning it.

CONFERENCE USA QUARTERFINALS:
Two big upsets in the afternoon yesterday, followed by two favorites winning at night, sets up an interesting Conf USA quarterfinal day on Thursday.

• #1 Memphis (16-0) vs. #8 Tulane.  Tulane get the treat of getting hammered by Memphis.  Everyone has Memphis winning the whole tournament, so this has basically no effect on the CTC.
• #2 Tulsa (12-4) vs. #10 Rice.  Ben Braun and the Rice Owls pulled off a last-second upset of Marshall last night, setting them up against #2 Tulsa here in the quarters.  Everyone has Tulsa in this game, except Stri, who has already lost with Marshall.  Doogan, Ina, and Bry all have Tulsa in the finals.
• #3 UAB (11-5) vs. #11 Southern Mississippi.  S. Miss crushed UCF last night, pulling of a nice upset.  Now, they get UAB in the quarters.  Everyone has UAB in this game, and everyone except Doogan, Ina, and Bry have UAB in the finals.
• #4 UTEP (10-6) vs. #5 Houston.  One of the games that everyone is waiting for in this tournament is going to happen, after Houston beat SMU last night.  Waters, Bry, and J are the only ones that took the favored Miners of UTEP.

MAC QUARTERFINALS:
After a night off after the opening round, the MAC continues with the quarters tonight.  This conference could be a real difference-maker in the final CTC standings, as there are a lot of discrepancies between the picks.

• #1 Bowling Green (11-5) vs. #9 Ohio.  The University of Ohio pulled off a nice little upset on Tuesday over W. Michigan, and now they get the top seed, Bowling Green.  J is the one that would score big with the upset, as he picked Ohio to win this game.  Bry, Ina, and Doogan all have Bowling Green winning this tournament.
• #2 Ball State (7-9) vs. #7 Central Michigan.  Ball St., because of their winning their division in the MAC were guaranteed a top-2 seed, despite being only 7-9 in-conference.  They did get the bye and now get CMU in the quarters.  Bry, Ina, and Stri all have CMU winning this game.  Lynch, Waters, and J all have Ball St.  Alexi and Doogan had EMU, who is out.  Waters and Lynch both have Ball St. in the finals.
• #3 Buffalo (11-5) vs. #6 Kent State.  This game is going to have major CTC implications–major!  Probably the most important quarterfinal game of the entire CTC.  3 of us (Bry, Alexi, and Stri) have Kent St. winning here, in the upset.  And, it doesn’t stop there.  Bry has Kent St. going to the finals.  Alexi and Stri?  Well, they have them winning the whole shooting match.  Ina, J, and Doogan all have Buffalo in the finals.  This game is huge for the CTC.
• #4 Miami (OH) (10-6) vs. #5 Akron.  Akron needed a last-second game-winning shot in OT to beat the bottom seed, Toledo, on Tuesday night, but they survived.  Now, they get Miami (OH) in the quarters.  This quarterfinal, while not quite as dramatic as the Buffalo-Kent St. game, will also change a lot of CTC destinies.  Only J, Waters, and Lynch have Miami (OH) winning this game.  Everyone else has the underdog.  J and Lynch actually both have Miami (OH) winning this entire tournament.

WAC QUARTERFINALS:
Well, after the play-in game last night in the WAC, we now have 8 teams for the quarterfinals that get going on Wednesday night.

• #1 Utah State (14-2) vs. #9 Fresno State.  After Fresno’s 6-point win over Hawaii last night, they get the top-seeded Utah State squad.  Everyone has USU in this game.  But, only J and Waters have them winning this whole tournament, so an upset here would be probably be welcomed by the other six of us.
• #2 Nevada (11-5) vs. #7 San Jose State (6-10).  The #2 team in the WAC–and the most popular among CTC contestants–gets it going on Wednesday in the quarters against San Jose St.  Everyone has Nevada in this game, and Bry, Ina, Lynch, Alexi, and Doogan all have the Wolfpack winning this tournament.
• #3 Idaho (9-7) vs. #6 Louisiana Tech (6-10).  The Vandals of Idaho snuck in to the #3 seed down the stretch, giving them the chance to take on La Tech instead of either Boise St. or New Mexico St.  Bry, Ina, and Lynch all took La Tech in the upset.  None of them had them going any further.
• #4 Boise State (9-7) vs. #5 New Mexico State (9-7).  In a really good first-round matchup, two rivals go at it, with the chance to play (probably) the top seed, Utah St., in the semis.  But, despite the closeness in the teams and the seedings, Bry is the only one that took New Mexico St.  Lynch, Alexi, and Doogan all have Boise St. going to the finals.

BIG WEST QUARTERFINALS:
Two opening round games in the Big West last night–two upsets.  Now, the #3 and #4 seeds enter the fray today for the quarters.

• #3 Pacific (10-6) vs. #7 CS-Fullerton.  After Fullerton’s upset of Riverside last night, they now get #3 Pacific.  J and Waters actually have Fullerton winning this game in another upset.  Lynch and Stri both have Pacific winning this tournament.  Bry and Ina both have them reaching the finals.
• #4 UC-Santa Barbara (8-8) vs. #8 UC-Davis.  UC-Davis pulled off the big one-point upset over the Anteaters of UC-Irvine and now they get UCSB.  Stri has UC-Davis again in this one.  Everyone else has UCSB.

SOUTHLAND QUARTERFINALS:
I don’t know who the Southland Conference thinks it is, but every year it is one of the last conferences to have their tournament, and it always has its championship on Selection Sunday.  That is ridiculous, if you ask me.  Then again, it doesn’t really affect my life–it’s just one less Southland game that I will watch.  No one in all of last year’s CTC picked even one finalist correctly last year in the Southland, as #5 Northwestern St. took on #7 UT-Arlington.  We were a combined 0-for-14 in the semis.  Even still, Bry took the CTC Southland title (despite his views on their scheduling decisions) with 44 points.  It is hard to blame them because of all the upsets, but Ina and Waters will still try and build on their 8-point performance.

• #1 Stephen F. Austin (13-3) vs. #8 Southeastern Louisiana (7-9).  The best team in this conference opens against SE Louisiana.  Everyone has SFA in this one. 
• #2 Nicholls State (12-4) vs. Texas State (7-9).  One of the two big competitors to SFA opens against Texas St.  Bry, Doogan, and Waters all like Texas St. in the upset pick.
• #3 Sam Houston State (12-4) vs. Texas-San Antonio (8-8).  A popular CTC pick, Sam Houston St. opens with UTSA in the quarters.  Lynch and Doogan both have SMHS winning the whole tournament.
• #4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christie (11-5) vs. Texas-Arlington (9-7).   A unanimous 4-5 game is rare, but we have it here, as everyone went with #4 Texas A&M-CC in this one.  J even has the Aggies winning this tournament.

MEAC QUARTERFINALS:
The second-half of the MEAC quarters take place on Thursday night, with the 3- and 4-seeds in action.

• #3 Norfolk State (9-7) vs. #6 Bethune-Cookman.  BC knocked off MD-Eastern Shore on Wednesday, and now they get #3 Norfolk St. in the quarters.  Surprisingly, only Waters and Lynch have Norfolk St. winning this game, even though they are the #3 seed and got a bye to get here.  Stri has already lost this game with UMES; the other 5 of us have the underdog, Bethune-Cookman.  J has BC in the finals.  Waters and Lynch both have Norfolk St. in the finals, with Waters taking them to win it.
• #4 North Carolina A&T (9-7) vs. #5 Coppin State (9-7).  In the one quarterfinal that didn’t need an opening round game for the setup, as both of these teams got byes to be here.  Despite being favored, only Doogan believes in N.C. A&T–and he really believes in them, as he picked them to win this whole tournament.  Everyone else has Coppin St. in the mild upset.

SWAC QUARTERFINALS:
The second-half of the SWAC quarters take place on Thursday night, as the #3 and #4 seeds take the court.  Waters is the defending CTC champ in the SWAC, scoring 52 points last year.  Stri only had 4 points in this conference last year; Alexi only had 8; and, Doogan only had 12.

• #3 Prairie View A&M (12-6) vs. Mississippi Valley State (7-11).  The forgotten team in the SWAC, Prairie View, takes on MVSU in the quarters tonight.  Only Waters and Lynch took MVSU in the upset.  Stri is the only one who has PVAM even going to the semis.
• #4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11-7) vs. #5 Southern (8-10).  Bry, Doogan, Stri, Waters, and Lynch all have Southern in the mild upset.  Lynch has Southern winning this whole thing.