Another great year in the Big West sets up a very interesting 8-team tournament.  With typical doormat, UC-Davis sitting it out, the quarterfinals will start Thursday and then reseed for Friday (which could create some quick turnarounds to play the next day).  It was a great battle for the top spot between UC-Irvine and UCSB, which was won by the Anteaters.  Hawaii and Long Beach are both potent teams that can win three straight here in Anaheim.  Cal Poly was picked 2nd in the preseason, but slipped to 7th, and Fullerton is always dangerous.  And, with this conference ranking #1 among all 32 D-I conference in “close game.”  More than 30% of all Big West games were decided by less than 4 points or in overtime.

There is no majority in championship pick here, but 11 people did take the top-seeded Anteaters.  9 others took #2 UCSB, while 4 pegged Long Beach, and 1 person took Hawaii.  Cal Poly and CS-Fullerton were picked out as potential sleepers by a couple people.  Alexi is coming off perfection in 2013.  Bry has been perfect twice in the Big West and is the only one to win this conference multiple times.

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 15th – 30 points)

#5 CS-Northridge vs #7 Cal Poly
Just when it looked like there wasn’t going to be one, we get the Big West.  Every year, there is a conference (usually a low-major one) whose bracket just completely BLOWS UP. But, there hadn’t been one…until now.  And, we can blame Cal Poly, mostly, whose slow-down, muck-it-up style took out the 2-seed UCSB in the quarters and the 1-seed UC-Irvine in the semis.  CSN, who also pulled off a pair of upsets to get here (#4 Hawaii in the quarters and #3 Long Beach in the semis), may not have even brought their white jerseys to Anaheim, but they’ll be wearing them Saturday.  The winner here can probably just stay packed and book a flight to Dayton, OH.  (By the way, having followed the Big West a little bit all year, I can say it’s kind of disappointing that the conference title will be decided with a game between these two.  CSN was totally nondescript, and Cal Poly was tantalizingly talented, but just so bad offensively all year.  But, I guess that’s how it always is in these one-bid league that have tournament upsets.)

As for the CTC, only 8 people even had CSN winning in the quarters, let alone the finals.  And, there were only 2 people who even took Cal Poly ONCE in this tournament.  So, clearly, no one had either of these teams winning this tournament.  Bry, who is the current leader, has clinched the 2014 Big West title.

SEMIFINALS (March 14th – 20 points each)

#3 Long Beach State vs #5 CS-Northridge
Because of the reseeding of an every-day tournament, CS-Northridge has to turn around and play the early game after an overtime game took them late in to the Orange County nighttime.  They did hold on to beat a good Hawaii team, so that should give them some confidence as they take on a Long Beach team that handled a solid CS-Fullerton team without much trouble.

Caleb is the only one with CS-Northridge taking this one.  7 people (Bry, Colton, GrossSr, Lazarow, Lynch, PapaCim, Scoot) have Long Beach making the finals, with GrossSr, Lynch, PapaCim, and Scoot taking the 49ers to win it all.

CS-Northridge 82 – Long Beach State 77

#1 UC-Irvine vs #7 Cal Poly
Is Cal Poly finally living up to their potential?  It only took them, well, all season.  They held one of the tournament favorites, UCSB, to 38 points in an impressive 31-point dismantling on Thursday.  Now, they get the actual tournament favorite, UCI, how hammered Riverside in the quarters.

22 people have UC-Irvine going to the finals, including 11 (Bry, Chris, Colton, Dave, Doogan, Gersh, GrossJr, Lazarow, Primm, Stri, Stritts) who have the Anteaters winning this tournament.  The only 3 that don’t have UCI are Caleb, GrossSr, and WaTers.

Cal Poly 61 – UC-Irvine 58

QUARTERFINALS (March 13th – 10 points each)

#2 UC-Santa Barbara vs #7 Cal Poly
If you have never seen a Big West game, do yourself a favor and watch one that has UCSB.  There is a guy named Alan Williams, who is absolutely worth the price of that extra cable package.  UCSB is definitely on par with top-seeded Irvine, but this opening round opponent is dangerous.  Cal Poly, who was picked 2nd in the preseason, faded down the stretch and slipped to 7th, but they are not the team UCSB wanted to see.

Bry and Lazarow are the only two that took a nice shot at Cal Poly here.  9 people (Alexi, Caleb, J, Lohse, Mac, RDoc, Stumpf, Teddy, WaTers) risk their champion in this game with the Gouchos.

Cal Poly 69 – UC-Santa Barbara 38

#3 Long Beach State vs #6 CS-Fullerton
God, I miss Casper Ware.  If you weren’t with us in the CTC a couple years ago, I was completely smitten with that Long Beach team with Ware, Larry Anderson, and T.J. Robinson that dominated the Big West and built for four years to finally make the tournament, they got a 12-seed and then Anderson broke his leg and they lost to New Mexico.  This Long Beach team isn’t nearly as talented, but they bring just about everyone back, including Mike Caffey, so next year they should be the favorite to win next year’s Big West.  As for now, the 49ers have this year to worry about, and CS-Fullerton is dangerous.

7 people (Becks, Dave, Doogan, J, Lohse, Teddy, WaTers) went with the decent upset pick of Fullerton here.  Teddy and WaTers have the Titans going to the finals.  GrossSr, Lynch, PapaCim, and Scoot all have the 49ers cutting down the nets on Saturday.

Long Beach State 66 – CS-Fullerton 56

#1 UC-Irvine vs #8 UC-Riverside
The Anteaters of UC-Irvine were set up for this season, but unlike so many others that build towards a season, they actually followed through and are the best team in a good league.  They won a tough league with solid, consistent play from a team that is pretty deep and gigantic (3rd biggest effective height in the nation, which is helped slightly by their 7’6″ freshman).  They open with UC-Riverside, who isn’t very good.

All 25 people took the Anteaters in this one, including 20 of them that have them winning again in the semis.  11 people picked UCI as their champions here.

UC-Irvine 63 – UC-Riverside 43

#4 Hawaii vs #5 CS-Northridge
It is always tough for the Rainbows when they come to the mainland, but this Hawaii team is really solid (and beloved by the tempo-free people).  Northridge had a surprising year, including a season-ending win at Long Beach, and the Matadors do have a shot to make some noise here.

7 people (Caleb, Colton, PapaCim, RDoc, Scoot, Stritts, Stumpf) took the Matadors in the mild upset here, including Caleb, who has them going to the finals.  Becks has the most to lose in this game, as he has Hawaii winning this tournament.  Dave and GrossSr also have the Rainbows in the finals.

CS-Northridge 87 – Hawaii 84 (OT)

CTC UPDATE

Championship Picks

• #1 UC-Irvine (11)
• #2 UC-Santa Barbara (9) – Alexi, Caleb, J, Lohse, Mac, RDoc, Stumpf, Teddy, WaTers
• #3 Long Beach State (4) – GrossSr, Lynch, PapaCim, Scoot
• #4 Hawaii (1) – Becks

Biggest Upsets

• QF – #7 Cal Poly (Bry, Lazarow)
• SF – #6 CS-Fullerton (Teddy, WaTers)

Previous CTC Champions

• 2008 – Doogan
• 2009 – Bry (perfect)
• 2010 – Stri
• 2011 – J
• 2012 – Bry, Mac (perfect)
• 2013 – Alexi (perfect)

2014 Scores