CTC Day 12 Recap: Bry Wins Big at the Right Time, Clinches Second Straight Overall Title

A shocking day all around the country, particularly in the three conference semifinals that took place today, the CTC was decided because there are very few points left on the board for Sunday.  Bry has a huge day, fueled by Temple, Purdue, Duke, and Utah, to clinch his second straight CTC overall title.  Ina, despite a rough day, will finish in second for the second straight year.

DAY 12 SCORES:
Bry-384
J-320
Doogan-238
Lynch-158
Ina-136
Waters-136
Stri-120
Alexi-104

OVERALL STANDINGS (points behind leader with 2119):
Bry-0
Ina-107
J-231
Doogan-270
Alexi-313
Waters-314
Lynch-317
Stri-426

ATLANTIC TEN CHAMPIONSHIP:
A great tournament in Atlantic City concluded Saturday with a familiar result. 

• #4 Temple 69 – #7 Duquesne 64.  The defending champs do it again.  The Owls took the decision out of the committee’s hands (which, for the second straight year is probably a very good thing because they had next to no at-large chances) and won the A-10 tournament.  This time they disposed of a tough, experienced Duquesne team.  The Owls are dancing!  Only Bry and J picked Temple to win it.  Bry takes the 2009 CTC A-10 title.

FINAL A-10 STANDINGS:
Bry-260
J-190
Stri-130
Alexi-110
Ina-80
Doogan-70
Lynch-70
Waters-60 (defending champ)

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP:
A thrilling, lived-up-to-the-hype tournament finished up at MSG Saturday night.  The last half of basketball was a bit anti-climatic, but there are no complaints at all about this tournament.

• #1 Louisville 76 – #6 Syracuse 66.  When we look back at the 2009 Big East tournament, I don’t think anyone will remember–correctly–who won it.  The only thing people will remember is the incredible run by Syracuse, and they might not even remember that they didn’t end up winning this tournament.  Everyone talked about the ‘Cuse being “tired” in the second half.  I don’t know if that’s totally true–this Louisville team is very, very good.  Doogan, as the only one that picked Louisville to win this tournament, ended up dominating the 2009 CTC Big East this year, successfully defending his 2008 Big East title.

FINAL BIG EAST STANDINGS:
Doogan-275 (defending champ)
Ina-180
Stri-125
Lynch-120
Alexi-110
Bry-105
J-100
Waters-75

PAC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP:
Another bid thief–this one comes from the Pac 10.

• #6 USC 66 – #4 Arizona State 63.  Pop goes yet another bubble, as USC grabs the auto bid from the Pac-10.  The Trojans would not have received an at-large.  It will be interesting to see what this does to ASU’s seeding.  Watch out for USC in the tournament, depending on their matchup.  They are good.  No one had USC winning this tournament.  Waters missed out on the big win, having ASU in this one.  Alexi, therefore, holds on to win the 2009 Pac 10 title.

FINAL PAC 10 STANDINGS:
Alexi-210
Waters-160
J-140
Doogan-120 (defending champ)
Stri-100
Ina-90
Bry-80
Lynch-50

BIG XII CHAMPIONSHIP:
Yet another possible bid thief, but this one it snuffed out by a very good Mizzou team.

• #3 Missouri 73 – #9 Baylor 60.  The Missouri Tigers saved someone’s season by preventing Baylor from stealing yet another bid.  The Big XII still looks good for 6 bids, though.  Mizzou is going to be a tough out in the Big Dance.  No one had Missouri or Baylor winning this tournament.  Lynch hangs on to grab the 2009 Big XII title.

FINAL BIG XII STANDINGS:
Lynch-140
Waters-120
Bry-80 (defending champ)
J-60
Doogan-50
Alexi-50
Ina-40
Stri-20

ACC SEMIFINALS:
An exciting day in Atlanta that couldn’t go any worse for fans of the Powder Blue.  Only Doogan, Bry, and Stri even got one of these right.  There are no points left to be earned in the ACC, so this year’s title is going to go to Doogan.

• #4 Florida State 73 – #1 North Carolina 70.  Another Goliath goes down in the conference tournament.  It has been a rash of pretty major upsets in this second week.  FSU was just too big, and Toney Douglas was just too good for a Lawson-less Carolina team.  They move on to Sunday’s championship.  Doogan nails this upset pick.  Everyone else had UNC.  Bry, Ina, J, Stri, Waters, and Lynch all lost their champion.
• #3 Duke 67 – #7 Maryland 61.  The Terps will now have an anxious wait on Sunday to see if they get in.  The Dukies are playing some good ball at the right time.  Even though it wasn’t a major upset for Duke to reach the finals, only Bry and Stri had it.  Waters missed out on a BIG upset pick, as he had Maryland winning this game.

BIG TEN SEMIFINALS:
Another unpredictable finals matchup was cemented on Saturday in Indianapolis.  Bry and J were the only two to even get one finalist here in the Big Ten, as the CTC contestants go a combined 2-for-16 in semifinal picks.  There are no champion picks left here, either, so Bry can start thinking of where to put the 2009 CTC Big Ten trophy.

• #5 Ohio State 82 – #1 Michigan State 70.  And…again!  Another top team goes down.  Does anyone want a #1 seed?  If they weren’t in already, the Buckeyes just stamped their ticket to The Dance, regardless of whether they can complete the Big Ten conference tournament championship.  No one had OSU winning this game.  Stri has to be the happiest about this result, as he was the only one to not have Michigan St., so his Wisconsin pick didn’t cost him.
• #3 Purdue 66 – #2 Illinois 56.  The Boilermakers look really good right now.  They beat up an undermanned Illini team and move on to the finals to face Ohio St.  Only J and Bry picked Purdue to make the finals.  Alexi had Penn St. and everyone else had Illinois, so they all missed out on this one.

SEC SEMIFINALS:
Three conference played semifinals on Saturday and all three lost their top seeds, as another unlikely finalist is set up for tomorrow.  Only Stri missed both of these picks; everyone else got one.

• #3W Mississippi State 67 – #1W LSU 57.  Another top team goes down, as MSU is one game away from being another bid thief.  These tournaments are just not going well for bubble teams.  What will this do to LSU’s seeding?  No one had MSU going this far, but Bry, Doogan, and Waters are glad they did, as they were the only ones to not have LSU here.  Ina, J, and Waters all lost their champion here.
• #1E Tennessee 94 – #2W Auburn 85.  The Vols may be finally playing up to their potential, though they are still not playing ANY defense.  Auburn will have a long day on Sunday, wondering if they’ve done enough (23 wins, 10 in the SEC) to warrant an at-large.  Everyone except Stri has this one right.  Stri missed out on a nice upset pick in Auburn.  Lynch, Alexi, Doogan, and Bry all kept their champion alive.

AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP:
In a game that started at 11:00–so that the country could watch–another ticket was punched in the A-East.

• #1 Binghamton 61 – #6 UMBC 51.  The Retrievers fall just short in Binghamton, and Jay Greene’s great career comes to a close for UMBC.  Binghamton is making their first trip to the tournament–much to the delight of famous alum, Tony Kornheiser.  Lynch missed out on a big upset pick here, as he had UMBC.  Even though the Bearcats were the #1 seed, only Bry and Ina picked them to win this tournament.  That, coupled with his belief in UMBC, led Bry to the 2009 CTC America East title.

FINAL AMERICA EAST STANDINGS:
Bry-68
Lynch-42
Ina-32
Alexi-22 (defending champ)
Stri-16
Waters-16
Doogan-12
J-4

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP:
Conference Memphis gave us no surprises yet again.

• #1 Memphis 64 – #2 Tulsa 39.  The domination seems to never end in C-USA for the Tigers, as they roll through yet another conference tournament.  The best defensive team in the country held Tulsa to 39 points on Saturday, ending the tournament hopes for the Golden Hurricane and saving another bubble from popping.  Everyone got this right.  Bry takes the 2009 CTC C-USA crown, only missing one game all tournament.

FINAL CONFERENCE USA STANDINGS:
Bry-204
Doogan-198
Ina-186 (defending champ)
Lynch-162
J-150
Alexi-138
Waters-138
Stri-120

MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP:
The underrated conference is complete, and it may have shot itself in the foot and may only get two bids.

• #2 Utah 52 – #4 San Diego State 50.  SDSU is now squarely on the bubble and might miss out because of these other tournament results.  Utah takes the auto bid from the M-West and should have a pretty decent seeding, entering the tournament.  Luke Neville is a beast.  Bry, J, and Lynch correctly predicted a Runnin’ Utes title in the M-West.  Waters just missed a big upset pick with SDSU winning the title.  Lynch gets to hang the 2009 CTC Mountain West championship banner.

FINAL MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS:
Lynch-132
Waters-114
Bry-102
J-102 (defending champ)
Ina-78
Alexi-78
Waters-42
J-30
Doogan-30

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP:
A great MAC tournament ended on Saturday.  Those who attended this tournament in Cleveland were not left disappointed.

• #5 Akron 65 – #3 Buffalo 53.  If this were a major conference, no one would be able to stop talking about the amazing run by the Akron Zips through the MAC tournament.  But, it is not a major tournament, so I guess it’s only me talking about it.  But, it was amazing.  They were totally dead on Wednesday night, in an opening round game against #12 seed Toledo, but they rallied and won at the buzzer in OT.  Then, they came from behind to beat #4 Miami (OH) in the quarters.  Then they came from behind to beat #1 Bowling Green in the semis.  Now, on Saturday, they came from behind yet again to knock off #3 Buffalo and gain the MAC’s auto bid to The Dance.  MADNESS!  No one had either of these teams in the final, so Doogan will have to share his title defense with Ina this year.

FINAL MAC STANDINGS:
Ina-90
Doogan-90 (defending champ)
J-78
Lynch-60
Waters-60
Stri-60
Bry-60
Alexi-42

MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP:
As one of the three 1x tournaments that take place on the second week, the MEAC often gets lost in the shuffle.  That doesn’t take anything away from a deserving champion.

• #1 Morgan State 83 – #3 Norfolk State 69.  Finally, Morgan St. completes their dominant regular season with a dominant conference tournament.  Todd Bozeman returns to The Dance after major controversy at Cal, including admitting to paying a player’s parents $30,000 and being charged with sexual harrassment against a Cal student.  But, Bozeman can flat-out coach and has proven it again here at Morgan.  Everyone except Doogan and Waters got this one right.  Lynch claims the 2009 CTC MEAC title.

FINAL MEAC STANDINGS:
Lynch-52
Stri-46
Ina-44
Bry-42
J-40
Alexi-38
Waters-36
Doogan-10

SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP:
The two dominant SWAC teams got to face off for “all the marbles” on Saturday.

• #1 Alabama State 65 – #2 Jackson State 58.  Alabama St. completed a dominant SWAC season with a return to the NCAA tournament, after beating Jackson St. by 7 on Saturday.  Ina, Stri, and Waters all took ASU to win this tournament.  Everyone else except Lynch had Jackson St.  Ina brings home the 2009 CTC SWAC title.

FINAL SWAC STANDINGS:
Ina-48
Waters-40 (defending champ)
Stri-36
J-32
Alexi-32
Bry-28
Doogan-28
Lynch-16