With the departure of Boston U. to the Patriot League next year, they are excluded from the AmEast tournament festivities this year, leaving us a standard 8-team tournament without a pigtail game. Depending on how you look at it, that is either good news or bad news for Binghamton. It is good news because the 3-26 Bearcats aren’t stuck in the pigtail game and only have to win 3 games to qualify for the Big Dance. But, it’s also bad news because – as we saw last year – that pigtail game against the second-worst team in the league is probably their only realistic chance to win an AmEast tournament game against this year. They will open with a Stony Brook team that is not just “low-major” good, but they are really, really good. 
Don’t believe me? Just ask power conference teams UConn, Maryland, and Seton Hall, who all were pretty fortunate to survive at home against the Seawolves. Or, ask good mid-major teams like Rider, Sacred Heart, Manhattan, or Marist, who were not fortunate enough to survive at home against Stony Brook. This is a legit team, but not unbeatable because it has been a decent year at the top of the AmEast, particularly for Vermont and tournament host, Albany. Hartford came out of nowhere to win 10 league games and grab the 3-seed, while Maine underperformed to the tune of 6-10 in the league. UMBC – typically a Binghamton-like doormat in recent years – showed signs of life with 5 league wins.
CHAMPIONSHIP (March 16th – 18 points)
#2 Vermont vs #4 Albany
UVM has caught some serious breaks throughout this AmEast bracket. They hammered a bad New Hampshire team in the quarters, then took care of #6 UMBC (who upset #3 Hartford) in the semis. Now, because Albany – on their home court – upset top-seeded Stony Brook, Vermont gets to host the championship instead of going to Stony Brook for the finals. But, the Great Danes are no walkovers, as they have been good all year long.
No one has Albany winning this tournament. Eight people (Cheryl, Dave, Doogan, Primm, RDoc, Scoot, Stumpf, and Teddy) have UVM winning here. No matter what happens here, Dave will take home the 2013 CTC America East crown.
SEMIFINALS (March 10th – 12 points each)
#1 Stony Brook vs #4 Albany
Stony Brook looked every bit the #1-seed in the quarters on Saturday – or Binghamton looked every bit the #8-seed – winning by 23, and it wasn’t even that close. Albany squeaked by the Black Bears of Maine, 50-49. Now, the Seawolves of SB, who have won 3 of the last 4 regular season titles, will try to take one more step towards their first NCAA Tournament berth.
Dave, Doogan, RDoc, and Teddy have a big upset pick here with Albany. The other 20 all have SB, including 15 people who took them to win this tournament.
#2 Vermont vs #6 UMBC
The Catamounts of Vermont had no trouble with #7 New Hampshire and now will get a break, as they will get the 6th-seeded Retrievers of UMBC after their upset of #3 Hartford.
GrossSr and PapaCim are the only two with UMBC in this big upset pick. PapaCim has the Retrievers winning this tournament. Caleb, GrossJr, Lohse, and Lynch have already lost this game with Hartford. Eight people (Cheryl, Dave, Doogan, Primm, RDoc, Scoot, Stumpf, and Teddy) have UVM winning this tournament.
QUARTERFINALS (March 9th – 6 points each)
#2 Vermont vs #7 New Hampshire
Vermont looked like a possible challenger to Stony Brook after their 8-point win over the Seawolves on January 8th. But, a 17-point loss in the return game, coupled with head-scratching losses at Maine and at home against Hartford actually left them barely within shouting distance of the top dogs. UNH was mired near the bottom of the league standings pretty much from start to finish, though they did start playing a lot better towards the end of the year. The AmEast is a top-heavy league, so an upset like this would be a big shakeup.
All 24 entries took Vermont in this one, so Caleb, GrossJr, GrossSr, Lohse, Lynch, and PapaCim (the only ones not to have the Catamounts in the finals) should be rooting for UNH here. Eight people (Cheryl, Dave, Doogan, Primm, RDoc, Scoot, Stumpf, and Teddy) have UVM winning this tournament.
#3 Hartford vs #6 UMBC
UMBC looked better – by recent UMBC standards – but they still were not noticeably awful on the defensive end at times. Hartford looked a lot better by recent Hartford standards, but struggled mightily to score at times. So, something’s gotta give here in this surprising 3/6 matchup. Judginging by Hartford’s 3-game winning streak that included a 68-56 win over the Retrievers last Thursday, it will probably not be the Hartford defense.
Nine people took UMBC here in the quarterfinal upset. GrossSr and PapaCim took them to reach the finals, with PapaCim as the true “Retriever Believer” and picking Yours Truly’s alma mater to win this tournament. Caleb, GrossJr, Lohse, and Lynch all have Hartford reaching the finals.
#1 Stony Brook vs #8 Binghamton
This might be the biggest mismatch in the entire two weeks of conference tournament action, as Stony Brook is a legit top-60 team in the country, while Binghamton is easily one of the worst 4 or 5.
Everyone has SB in this one, so Dave, Doogan, RDoc, and Teddy (those that have the Seawolves losing in the semis) will be rooting for the most unlikely of quarterfinal upsets here. Most of the field has SB winning this tournament.
#4 Albany vs #5 Maine
For a while, the Great Danes of Albany were the talk of the conference, as they went 11-3 in the non-conference part of the season (against an okay schedule) and opened 5-1 in conference play. But, they came back to earth when the conference schedule got tougher and settled probably even a spot lower than their talent would suggest. But, they do get the conference tournament on their own home floor and the Black Bears of Maine are not nearly as good as your typical 5-seed. If Albany can get through Maine, it would most likely set up a really good semifinal at home against #1 Stony Brook.
Only Gersh, GrossSr, J, Lazarow, and PapaCim have the Black Bears eliminating the tournament hosts in the quarters. Dave, Doogan, RDoc, and Teddy have the Great Danes beating Stony Brook in the semis, so they need them to win here to get that chance.
CTC UPDATE
Championship Picks
- #1 Stony Brook (15)
- #2 Vermont (8)
- #3 Hartford (-)
- #4 Albany (-)
- #5 Maine (-)
- #6 UMBC (1)
Biggest Upsets
- QF – #6 UMBC (many)
- SF – #6 UMBC (GrossSr & PapaCim)
- Champ – #6 UMBC (PapaCim)
Previous CTC Champions
- 2008 – Alexi
- 2009 – Bry
- 2010 – Lynch & Stri
- 2011 – Doogan (perfect)
- 2012 – Scoot & Waters
2013 Scores
