As seems to happen every year, the CTC ends right when the Selection Show begins, so I obviously get carried away thinking ahead to the greatest sports event of the year, without looking back on the CTC, as a good commish should…well, I am not a good commish. But, considering the countless posts that I write during the two weeks, I might as well write one last one with all the tournaments that ended on the final weekend. So, I decided to just give quick recaps on all 31 tournaments (with the money division updated).
Big South Conference
The VMI Run to the Finals Wins the Conference for J and Lohse
The unlikely run by the Keydets was enough for J and Lohse to easily win the 2012 Big South title, scoring 104 points – 41 more than anyone else. This is the first Big South title for either of these guys, as 7 people have now won a share of the Big South over the 5 years of recordkeeping. Defending champion, Doogan, finished a distant second place.
J takes the $9 prize from the Big South.
Horizon League
Lohse Rides Detroit to Another Conference Crown
The Lohse Train was rolling, as he wins a share of the first conference and the second one outright. Only getting one first round game wrong, Lohse finished with 165 points in the Horizon. This was Lohse’s first Horizon crown. Defending champ, Bry, had won two of the last three, did finish in the top 5, but way off the pace.
Gross – who also hit Detroit – finished second place (123 points) to take the $18 bounty here.
Ohio Valley Conference
A Nearly All-Chalk OVC Tournament Gives Us a Five-Way Tie at the Top
There was only one upset (7 over 6 in the first round), so it’s no surprise that 5 people tied for this crown. The real surprise is that no one actually hit this perfectly, as Alexi, Dave, Lohse, Rikey, and Stri all missed one game, pocketing 70 points from this conference. J was not a part of the five-way tie, which is a bit surprising, considering he had won this conference two years in a row.
Dave and Rikey split this pot for $4.50 apiece.
Atlantic Sun Conference
We’ll Take Your Five-Way Tie and Raise You Three More
The A-Sun wasn’t all that chalky, but it did give us our most divided conference championship of the 2012 CTC (tied for the most in history with the 2011 Summit League crown). Gersh, Gross, Lohse, Mac, Rikey, Stri, Scoot, and Teddy all scored 48 points in the A-Sun, which was tops in the conference. Neither Dave (co-2011 champ) nor Bry (2010 champ) were a part of this 8-way tie, but even more surprising was that the tie didn’t include J, who has a share of the 2011 A-Sun crown and sole possession of the 2008 and 2009 A-Sun titles.
Gersh, Gross, and Rikey each pocket $3 from their A-Sun excellence.
West Coast Conference
Alexi Hits Near Perfection to Take Home 130 Points and a WCC Title
The WCC was almost entirely chalk. Alexi thought it would actually be all chalk, so he missed perfection by a single game (USF upsetting LMU). He took 130 points here and the title, edging defending WCC champ, Bry, by 4 points.
Bry does take the $18 pot here in the money division.
Patriot League
Mac Hits Perfection in the Patriot League
A really good PL tournament was perfectly predicted by Mac, good for 72 points. Lohse finished in second with 66, and then there was an eight-way tie for third with 54, including the defending champion, Gross.
Gross, Bry, J, and Dave were all a part of that tie, which happened to win the money division, earning them each a cool $2.25.
Missouri Valley Conference
RSmith Completes The Most Impressive Bracket of the 2012 CTC, Hitting a Tough MVC Perfectly
Perfect brackets usually come along when conference tournaments give us very few surprises. Well, that is not the case here, as RSmith hits the MVC perfectly, which included a surprising Evansville win over Missouri St. and a shocking Illinois St. win over Wichita St. RSmith’s impressive stuff netted him 244 points here. Defending champion, Alexi, finished in a respectable fifth place, but was more than 100 points off the pace.
Dave, the only other one to pick Illinois St. to reach the finals, picked up the $18 pot in the process.
Northeast Conference
Four different entries hit the NEC Perfectly
Only two minor upsets through the NEC tournament led to a four-way tie at the top, all going 7-for-7 in the NEC. Lil Lohse, Mac, Primm, and Rikey all took home 73.5 points for the perfect NEC brackets they submitted. Scoot and Stri were perfect last year, but both finished way off the pace this year. Stri had actually won 3 of the last 4 NEC titles (two perfectly).
The perfect brackets from Rikey and Primm net them each $4.50.
Colonial Athletic Conference
Gross Narrowly Edged Doogan for the CAA Title
Gross only misses two games in the CAA, to earn 175 points and the 2012 title. Doogan was right behind with 168, and the two-time defending champ, Bry, was third with 161.
Gross wins the CAA kitty of $18.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Teddy Dominates a Tough MAAC Tournament This Year
With Iona and Manhattan losing early, this MAAC tournament was tough to call, but Teddy was pretty good – only missing two games and scoring 106 points. Scoot was a distant 2nd with 88. Defending MAAC champ Primm was way off the pace with 64. Two-time champ Bry (’09 and ’10) finished in 19th place with only 20 points.
Dave, the only one in the money division to hit the Fairfield upset of Iona, takes the MAAC bounty of $9.
Southern Conference
Lil Lohse Navigates the Murky Waters of the 2012 SoCon Tournament
The very strange conference didn’t cause Lil Lohse any problems, as he took 96 points away from this tournament. Dave and RSmith finished second, while defending champ, Gross, was in the middle of the pack.
Dave takes the $9 SoCon pot.
Summit League
Gross Utterly Dominates a Tough Summit Bracket
When Oral Roberts loses in the semis, and Oakland loses in the quarters, you know that this was tough to call. Well, Gross hit both of those upsets and wins the Summit with an impressive 118 points. This is our first repeat champion of the 2012 CTC, as Gross was part of an 8-way tie for the 2011 title.
Gross also earns $9 for his efforts.
Sun Belt Conference
The Craziest Bracket of Them All Goes to Lohse, Who Was One of Only Two to Even Get One of the Finalists
Lohse and RSmith (who finished second) were the only two people to even get a single finalist right. Neither of them got the champion, and Lohse wins the tournament with 104 points. Defending champion, J, had just 28 points, but that was 28 points more than Dave, who finished with zero Sun Belt points.
Gross wins another money division title for another $9.
Big Sky Conference
Perfection for Four People in the Big Sky’s All-Chalk Finish
Bry, Lynch, Rikey, and RDoc all went 5-for-5 in the Big Sky, as they went all chalk for 72 points. This is the second straight title for Bry – and second straight perfect bracket.
Bry, Rikey, and RDoc will all take home $3 for their perfection.
Mid-American Conference
Mac Edges RDoc by Just 3 Points for the 2012 MAC Crown
The crazy new MAC format was good for Mac, who scored 195 in this conference, just 3 more than RDoc, who finished second. Doogan, the defending champ and winner of 3 of the last 4 MACs, finished in third place.
Ohio’s 1-point win over Akron in the title game gave RDoc the $18 MAC title over Bry.
Big East Conference
Louisville Wins Primm the Big East and, Essentially, the Overall Title
Primm took the Louisville Cardinals all the way to the Big East finals, giving him 295 points (135 more than anyone else in the Big East) and was crucial to his come-from-behind overall championship. Defending champion, Scoot, had just 100.
Primm won the $27 at stake here in the Big East.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Dave Cruises to a Very Impressive MEAC Title
Dave hit Hampton over #1 Savannah St. and Bethune-Cookman into the finals, giving him 81 points and a 31-point win over everyone else in the MEAC. Doogan, who finished all alone in second place, gives up his MEAC crown to Dave here.
Dave takes the $9 on the line for the MEAC.
Atlantic Ten Conference
Teddy’s UMass Upset Pick is Enough to Win a Conference Without Picking Either Finalist
Teddy hit the huge UMass upset of #1 Temple, leading him to 153 points and an A-10 title, despite getting both finalists wrong. Defending champion Waters, who has won 2 of the last 4 A-10s, finished in last place here with just 36 points.
Primm continues to clean up in the money division, taking another $18 here.
Big XII Conference
KA Dominates the Big XII, Scoring 325 Points in the Process
KA got the first Big XII game wrong (Texas A&M over Oklahoma), and then went on a 10-game Big XII winning streak, including the Baylor upset of Kansas and the Missouri championship. Defending champion, Bry, finished in second with 265 points.
Bry did earn himself $27 for his runner-up finish, though.
Pacific 12 Conference
Gross Rides Arizona and Colorado to a Pac-12 Championship
Gross had Arizona going to the finals and Colorado to the semis. That was enough to get him 225 points and the Pac-12 championship – barely edging Doogan. Lynch, who won the 2011 Pac-10 title, must have been thrown by the two extra teams, as he finished tied for last with 30 points.
Gross pockets another $27 here.
Conference USA
Lohse, Who Dominated Week One, Reminds People That He’s Still Around With an Impressive C-USA Title
If Houston had held on against UTEP in the very first C-USA tournament game (they blew a big second half lead and lost in OT), then Lohse would have put together one of the more impressive perfect brackets we have seen in a while. Either way, taking 296 points was the best performance in any tournament the whole CTC (if you discount the multipliers), including riding 6th-seeded Marshall to the title game. Defending champion, Lynch, was in the middle of the pack this year.
Gross, who was runner-up to Lohse, takes the money division for another $18.
Southland Conference
Lohse Wins Another Conference Title – Sharing This One With Scoot
Lohse is rolling again, as he wins yet another conference championship, but has to split this one with Scoot. Both guys took home 64.5 points here, barely edging KA and Doogan for this title. Defending champion, Dave, was in the middle of the pack here.
Doogan’s second-place was good enough for the $9 pot here.
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Dave, Doogan, and Stri are All Perfect in the SWAC
A couple of quarterfinal upsets didn’t bother these three, as they cruised to a perfect SWAC bracket and the 52 points to went with it. Lynch was in a group that finished just off the pace, but wasn’t enough to defend his 2011 title.
Dave and Doogan split the $9 pot, taking $4.50 each.
Mountain West Conference
RDoc Goes Perfect for a Nice Mountain West Title
216 points goes to RDoc for his impressive run to perfection in the MWest. Bry and J were both perfect last year – J had a decent 160 points this year, but Bry struggled with only 108.
RDoc’s efforts give him a quick $18 here.
Western Athletic Conference
Tied With Waters, Lohse Wins His Seventh Conference Title – Most of 2012
Lohse and Waters were the only two to hit the Hawaii upset of Idaho and pick the right champion, earning themselves 126 points and a WAC title in the process. This is the second straight WAC title for Waters.
Gross, Gersh, and RDoc all had 96 points in the WAC, adding $6 to each of their bankrolls.
Big West Conference
Bry and Mac Hit a Nice Perfect Bracket Here
There was a 7 over 2 upset in this bracket, so going perfect was no easy task, but Bry and Mac were both able to do it for 64.5 points. This is the second time Bry has hit this conference perfectly (2009). Defending champion, J, was just 6 points off the leaders, in third place.
Bry wins $9 for his efforts.
Great West
Lynch and Waters Are Impressively Perfect
This conference was not easy to predict, but Lynch and Waters both did so, which included a big NJIT upset of the top-seed, Utah Valley. Perfection got them both 22.5 points. Defending champ, J, had a mere 2 points here, finishing in last place.
Gersh’s 14 points were enough to get him a quick $8 from the Great West.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Florida St. Gives Primm the ACC and the Overall Title at the Eleventh Hour
Primm rode Bunny Colvin’s Florida State Seminoles to 275 points, an ACC Championship and a 2012 CTC Championship. Defending champ, Alexi, finished in 19th place with 110 points.
Primm takes the $27 pot here, and clinches an additional $72 for the overall title.
Big Ten Conference
Gersh and Scoot are Nearly Perfect in the Big Ten
If Indiana had beaten Wisconsin in the quarters, Gersh and Scoot would have been perfect in Indianapolis. Even so, they took home 285 points from this conference. Defending champion, Primm, had just 125.
Gersh earned himself $27 for the excellent Big Ten picks.
Southeastern Conference
Mac Sets Single-Conference Record with 405 SEC Points
The only game Mac missed was the very first one, when LSU beat Arkansas. Other than that, he was perfect, netting him 405 – a CTC record for a single conference. Rikey, who completed a perfect SEC bracket last year en route to a dramatic overall win, had just 100 points this year, good for 19th place.
Doogan and Primm had 315, which was just enough to hold off RDoc and split the pot – $13.50 each.
Money Division Recap
Primm’s Overall Title Leads the Way, While Gross and Dave Also Finish in the Black
- Primm – $102
- Gross – $32.35
- Dave – $9.75
- Bry – ($0.75)
- Gersh – ($10.50)
- RDoc – ($15.00)
- Doogan – ($24.00)
- Rikey – ($45.00)
- J – ($48.75)
