Another HUGE day, with fewer games, but games that have more value than yesterday. This is probably going to be the day that decides the 2009 CTC overall champion and, unlike any other year, it’s pretty much anyone’s game. Ina has a nice lead, but there are a lot of points left to be awarded–and everyone else is so tightly packed.
PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP:
In a tournament that started on Day 2 of the CTC (last Wednesday), it will finally end Friday night in our nation’s capital, as the top two seeds compete for the Dancing Ticket.
- #1 American vs. #2 Holy Cross. American is the favorite, the regular season champion, and the home team. But, Holy Cross looked better in the semifinal round. It should be good. Only Waters has Holy Cross in this game, and if the Crusaders win, he will take the 2009 CTC PL crown. If American wins, Alexi will have a well-earned PL title.
ATLANTIC TEN SEMIFINALS:
Fight, fight, fight for the Cherry and the White, for the Cherry and the White we’ll fight, fight, fight. The A-10 Final Four and a HUGE game for the Temple Owls. It’s showtime…
- #1 Xavier vs. #4 Temple. The season on the line. The Temple Owls MUST defeat Xavier on Friday or they will have to settle for the NIT. Bry and J both have Temple winning this game and the tournament. Everyone else has Xavier in this game, with all but Lynch having them winning the title.
- #3 Dayton vs. #7 Duquesne. The Flyers get a break by not having to face the red-hot Rhode Island Rams. But, then again, Duquesne is no walk in the park. Bry, J, Stri, and Lynch all have Dayton winning this game. Lynch has them winning it all. No one else can score from this game.
BIG EAST SEMIFINALS:
Does Syracuse have anything left in the tank? Can Louisville secure a #1 seed? A bunch of questions might be answered at The Garden tonight in the Big East’s Final Four.
- #1 Louisville vs. #4 Villanova. After a clutch win in the quarters, ‘Nova gets Louisville in the semis. Waters has Villanova winning this game in the upset. Lynch had Marquette winning this game. Everyone else has Louisville, but only Doogan has them winning the title.
- #6 Syracuse vs. #7 West Virginia. Everyone had either Pitt or UConn winning this game, so there are no real CTC implications. Either way, it should be a great game.
PAC 10 SEMIFINALS:
The Final Four out west is also all set and ready to go tonight. Three of the four should already be in the tournament, and USC probably needs to win the whole thing.
- #1 Washington State vs. #4 Arizona State. In a game that is good enough to be a Sweet 16 matchup, WSU will battle ASU in the Staples Center. Alexi and Waters both have the Sun Devils pulling off the upset, with Waters having them going on to win the tournament. Everyone else has UW.
- #2 UCLA vs. #6 USC. The cross-town rivals continue their rivalry tonight in a big spot. Everyone has UCLA winning this game. Alexi, Doogan, J, and Bry all have UCLA winning this tournament.
BIG XII SEMIFINALS:
What can possibly be done to top yesterday? All the mighty have fallen, except Mizzou, so I guess they will probably lose tonight. The very unpredictable Final Four of the Big XII will whittle it down to an unpredictable championship matchup on Saturday.
- #3 Missouri vs. #7 Oklahoma State. The Missouri Tigers were the only top-4 seed in the Big XII to avoid a big upset in the quarters. They now should be big favorites in the crazy Big XII tourney. But, they get the red-hot OSU Cowboys in the semis on Friday. Lynch is the only one that can score points here, as he has Mizzou in the finals.
- #5 Texas vs. #9 Baylor. Another surprising semifinal matchup pits UT against the Baylor Bears. Only Alexi has Texas making the finals, so everyone else will be rooting for Baylor.
ACC QUARTERFINALS:
The ACC continues today and tonight with a quarterfinal quadruple-header, as the top 4 seeds, including UNC, Duke, and Wake Forest, take the floor today.
- #1 North Carolina (13-3) vs. #8 Virginia Tech. The best team in the country has to wait until Friday to start their postseason, and they get a motivated, talented Va Tech team. Everyone has UNC winning this game, and everyone except Doogan and Alexi have them winning the whole tournament.
- #2 Wake Forest (11-5) vs. #7 Maryland. Maryland stays alive with a win Thursday night against N.C. State and now they get #2 Wake in the quarters. Waters has the Maryland upset in this round. Alexi and Doogan have Wake winning this whole tournament.
- #3 Duke (11-5) vs. #6 Boston College. The Blue Devils get the start their postseason against a tough BC team that is assured of a bid. Only Lynch went with the BC upset. Bry and Stri have Duke going to the finals.
- #4 Florida State (10-6) vs. #12 Georgia Tech. The big surprise of the tournament, Georgia Tech, now moves on to face #4 Florida St. No one has Ga Tech winning this game. Bry, J, and Alexi have already lost this game, having picked Clemson to win it. No one has FSU going further than the semis.
BIG TEN QUARTERFINALS:
Bubbles GALORE in the Big Ten quarters today. If you ever cared about the bubble, you should go get a seat at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy for the quadruple-header today.
- #1 Michigan State (15-3) vs. #8 Minnesota. Personally, I don’t understand why Michigan St. isn’t being talked about as a #1 seed, but with all the upsets, maybe that will start happening. Tubby Smith’s team might need another win to feel safe, so they’ll have to do it against MSU on Friday. Everyone has MSU winning this game. In fact, everyone except Stri has them winning this whole tournament.
- #2 Illinois (11-7) vs. #7 Michigan. The Illini open their postseason against a tough Michigan team that hammered Iowa on Thursday. Bry and J both have Michigan in the upset.
- #3 Purdue (11-7) vs. #6 Penn State. Penn St. probably needs another win to get in to the tournament, with an RPI in the mid-60’s. If they win Friday, though, I think they have to be included. Well, if the CTC knows anything, they should be okay, as only Stri, J, and Bry have Purdue.
- #4 Wisconsin (10-8) vs. #5 Ohio State (10-8). And the two teams that play a game on equal rest is the 4-5 game between two interesting teams, Wisconsin and OSU. Only Bry and Waters have Ohio St. Stri has Wisconsin winning the whole tournament.
SEC QUARTERFINALS:
The SEC continues today with four more games. Big spots for UK, USC, Florida, and Auburn as they all try and stake their claims to at-large bids.
- #1W LSU (13-3) vs. #4E Kentucky. It’s put up or shut up time for Kentucky, as they take on clearly the best SEC team this year, LSU. Only Bry has Kentucky in the big upset. Only J has LSU winning this tournament.
- #1E Tennessee (10-6) vs. #4W Alabama. The Vols have had a very disappointing season, but they put enough wins together to ensure them a spot in The Dance. But, they probably want more. Everyone has UT in this one. Bry, Doogan, Alexi, and Lynch all have Tennessee winning this tournament.
- #2W Auburn (10-6) vs. #3E Florida. A HUGE bubble game going on in the SEC. This may even be a “Round of 128” game. Everyone has Florida except Lynch and Stri. Stri has Auburn going to the finals.
- #2E South Carolina (10-6) vs. #3W Mississippi State. A real tough Mississippi St. team will get a surprisingly good S. Carolina team in the quarters on Friday. Only Alexi and Stri have MSU in the mild upset. Bry, Doogan, and Waters all have USC in the finals. Waters has them winning it.
CONF USA SEMIFINALS:
So, now it’s Houston’s turn to get beat by the dominant Tigers. Oh yeah, there’s another game–and it’s actually a pretty good one.
- #1 Memphis vs. #5 Houston. Next up: Houston. Memphis will try to continue their incredible run through the C-USA. Everyone has Memphis winning this tournament, so this game doesn’t really affect the CTC.
- #2 Tulsa vs. #3 UAB. The game of the tournament in both the basketball and the CTC sense. The winner of this CTC crown will be determined by this game. Bry, Ina, and Doogan have #2 Tulsa; everyone else has #3 UAB.
MAC SEMIFINALS:
The Final Four in the MAC is not unexpected, seed-wise, but is rather shocking, if you look at the CTC picks. We’ll see who can pull out this crazy tournament title.
- #1 Bowling Green vs. #5 Akron. Akron’s come-from-behind win over Miami (OH) sets up a semifinal with Bowling Green. No one has Akron winning this game. Lynch and J both had Miami (OH), who is already out. Doogan, Bry, and Ina all have BG winning this tourney.
- #2 Ball State vs. #3 Buffalo. The second semi in the MAC is Ball St. versus Buffalo. Ina, J, and Doogan have Buffalo winning this game. Waters and Lynch have Ball St. Bry, Alexi, and Stri all had Kent St., who is out. Waters has Ball St. winning the whole tournament.
MOUNTAIN WEST SEMIFINALS:
The Final Four in a very underrated conference was going to be a great double-header with four top-50 RPI teams, but Wyoming decided late last night that they were going to crash tonight’s party.
- #1 BYU vs. #4 San Diego State. The Aztecs can seal their tournament bid with a win over BYU on Friday night. Alexi and Waters can both get a big upset with San Diego St. in this one. Doogan is out of this game, having taken UNLV. Everyone else has BYU. Ina is the only one that has the Cougars winning this tournament. Waters has San Diego St. winning the tourney.
- #2 Utah vs. #6 Wyoming. New Mexico was supposed to be here for a great matchup against Utah, but that’s not how these conference tourneys work. Lynch, Waters, J, and Bry all have Utah going to the finals, with Bry, J, and Lynch all having them winning this tournament.
WAC SEMIFINALS:
The interesting WAC continues tonight with the last 4 standing.
- #1 Utah State vs. #5 New Mexico State. A big game for Utah St., who believes (incorrectly) that they should be in the at-large consideration. But, let me give them a word of advice: win the auto bid. Trust me. Bry, Ina, J, and Waters all have Utah St. in this game. Everyone else had Boise St. and, therefore, cannot score here.
- #2 Nevada vs. #6 Louisiana Tech. The Wolfpack of Nevada escaped having to play Idaho and, instead, gets La Tech. Everyone has Nevada winning this game. Everyone except Waters and J have them winning the whole thing.
BIG WEST SEMIFINALS:
The top 2 seeds finally get to play in the Big West tournament tonight. The 3 and 4 seeds survived the quarters to now get the semis tonight.
- #1 Cal State-Northridge (11-5) vs. #4 UC-Santa Barbara. J and Alexi both have the Gouchos of UCSB in the upset here. Everyone else has CS-Northridge. Bry, Ina, Doogan, and Waters have CSN winning this tournament. Alexi has the Gouchos winning this whole tourney.
- #2 Long Beach State (10-6) vs. #3 Pacific. In an interesting semifinal matchup in the Big West, a lot is on the line in the CTC. Bry, Ina, Stri, and Lynch all have Pacific. J, Doogan, and Alexi have Long Beach St.
MEAC SEMIFINALS:
A not unsurprising Final Four in the MEAC takes place tonight in Winston-Salem.
- #1 Morgan State vs. #5 Coppin State. Top-seeded Morgan St. will take on defending champ Coppin St. in the semis on Friday. No one has Coppin St. in this one. Everyone except Doogan (who had N.C. A&T) has Morgan St. going to the finals. Everyone but Doogan and Waters have them winning it all.
- #2 South Carolina State vs. #3 Norfolk State. The other semi pits the #2 and #3 seeds. Bry, Ina, and Doogan have S.C. State. Waters and Lynch have Norfolk St. Waters has them winning it all.
SOUTHLAND SEMIFINALS:
UT-San Antonio crashed the semifinal party in the Southland. Other than that, it’s all chalk.
- #1 Stephen F. Austin vs. #4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christie. Top-seed SFA now gets a tough Texas A&M-CC team. J has the A&M upset pick, as he has them going all the way to the title.
- #2 Nicholls State vs. #6 Texas-San Antonio. No one expected UTSA to be here, so obviously no one has them winning this game. Ina and Stri are the only ones with Nicholls St. Everyone else had Sam Houston St., who is out.
SWAC SEMIFINALS:
The top 4 seeds in the SWAC take the floor tonight in the league’s Final Four.
- #1 Alabama State vs. #4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Top-seeded Alabama St. tries to reach the finals on Friday against UAPB. Everyone has Alabama St. winning this game, except Lynch who had Southern (who is out).
- #2 Jackson State vs. #3 Prairie View A&M. The other dominant team in the SWAC, Jackson St., tries to set up the big matchup in the finals. Only Stri has the Prairie View upset pick.
