The 2010 BSB Conf Tourney Challenge is officially off and running, and Day One belonged to a couple of newcomers. Most of all, it belonged to Lohse, who went an astonishing 12-for-12 on a day that did not feature a ton of upsets, but enough to make 12-for-12 a pretty amazing Challenge debut for Mr. Lohse. Teddy, another newcomer, went 11-for-12 and is sitting in second place after Day One of the competition. Lil Lohse did not fare as well as his big bro, as he joins Waters and Stri 30 points behind the leader. But, needless to say, in a competition that will most likely be won with over 2000 points, a 30-point deficit is not going to be tough to overcome.
DAY 1 SCORES (days won):
58 – Lohse (1)
48 – Teddy
44 – Alexi
44 – Doogan
44 – Ina
40 – Bry
36 – J
36 – Lynch
32 – KA
28 – Lil Lohse
28 – Stri
28 – Waters
BIG SOUTH QUARTERFINALS:
The first round of the Big South tournament is in the books, and the home teams (and favorites) all prevailed. Eight of the twelve contestants nailed all four games in the Big South on Tuesday. J and Lynch did struggle, only going 2-for-4, but no one lost any team that they had going any further than tonight.
#1 Coastal Carolina 82 – #8 VMI 73. Defense prevailed, as the Chanticleers hung on to knock off VMI to avoid the ignominy of having the semifinal double-header played in their own gym without them. Only Waters got this game wrong, but he didn’t have VMI going any further, so it might not be a huge loss for him.
#4 UNC-Asheville 84 – #5 High Point 73. Asheville (who does not have Kenny George, unfortunately) looked like they might give away a lead late in this game, but they held on and hit their free throws to end up winning by 11. They now move on to play host Coastal Carolina in the semis on Thursday night. Lynch and J both missed on this upset pick.
#2 Radford 64 -#7 Charleston-Southern 61 (OT). In avoiding what would have been our first MAJOR upset of the conference tournament season, the Radford Highlanders held on to knock of Charleston-Southern in OT. Though he doesn’t actually get the points for it, Stri looks good as the only one to pick this major upset that almost came to fruition. Ina can breathe a sigh of relief, as she has Radford winning this tournament.
#3 Winthrop 80 – #6 Liberty 72. Winthrop hangs on to beat Liberty and advance to the semifinals, where they will face Radford. J and Lynch both missed on this upset pick. KA, Lil Lohse, and Alexi all keep their Big South champion alive.
BIG SOUTH STANDINGS (prior Big South titles):
16 – Alexi
16 – Bry (’09)
16 – Doogan
16 – Ina
16 – KA
16 – Lil Lohse
16 – Lohse
16 – Teddy
12 – Stri (’08)
12 – Waters
8 – J
8 – Lynch
OHIO VALLEY QUARTERFINALS:
The OVC kicked off with their quarterfinals at campus sites on Tuesday night, as well. There was a little bit more drama, as it wasn’t completely chalk, like the Big South, though the big guns of this conference did flex their muscles on Day One. Lohse was the only one to nail all four of these games, though Lynch and J both got three of the four, including the big upset. KA went for some big splashes, but fell short, going 0-for-4.
#1 Murray St. 84 – # 8 Tennessee St. 51. Murray showed the conference that they are for real, hammering Tennessee St by 33 at home. Everyone except KA got this one right. In fact, KA is the only one that doesn’t have the Racers winning next round also.
#4 E. Illinois 68 – #5 E. Kentucky 61. The most popular upset pick of Day One of the Challenge falls short, as EIU knocks off E. Kentucky at home to advance to the semis in Nashville on Thursday, where they will take on the top seed, Murray St. Only Teddy and Lohse picked the home team here; neither has EIU going any further.
#2 Morehead St. 87 – #7 Jacksonville St. 54. As impressive as Murray St. was in their opener, Morehead was just as good, as they destroyed JSU by 33. KA and Lil Lohse both had JSU in the upset here. Morehead’s impressive performance give Stri and Lohse some hope that they can go all the way and win this thing.
#6 Tennessee Tech 68 – #3 Austin Peay 65. The biggest upset of the first night of the conference tournaments happens in Clarksville, TN, as the Governors get beat by the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech. J, Lynch, and Lohse all had this great upset pick. Lynch even has Tech beating Morehead St. in the semis and going all the way to the finals, so this was a big result for his OVC bracket.
OHIO VALLEY STANDINGS (prior OVC titles):
22 – Lohse
18 – J
18 – Lynch
12 – Teddy
8 – Alexi (’09)
8 – Bry (’08)
8 – Doogan
8 – Ina
8 – Stri
8 – Waters
4 – Lil Lohse
0 – KA
HORIZON LEAGUE OPENING ROUND:
The Horizon League had their opening round on Tuesday night at various campus sites, and though there were some scares, there was only one minor upset. Five of the twelve contestants nailed all four Horizon games Tuesday night.
#4 Milwaukee 73 – #9 Illinois-Chicago 67. In a game that was tied with less than a minute to go, the UW-Milwaukee Panthers, behind their home fans, hit a couple big baskets and a couple free throws to ice the Flames of UIC. Bry was the only one that paid for this one, as he was the only one to pick UIC in what would have a been a very big upset pick. KA can breathe a sign of relief, as she has Milwaukee in the finals.
#5 Cleveland St. 80 – #8 Loyola (IL) 66. Cleveland St. wins at home and will be Milwaukee’s opponent in the quarters on Friday on the campus of #1-seed Butler. The game was closer than it probably should have been, but the Vikings held on, much to the relief of Lynch, who has them winning this whole tournament. KA missed on a nice upset pick here with Loyola.
#3 Green Bay 81 – #10 Youngstown St. 67. Another game that went to the home, favored team, but was much closer than it should have been all game long. Youngstown St., who only won two conference games all year, hung with the #3-seeded Phoenix, but didn’t have enough at the end. Green Bay moves on to the quarters. KA has Green Bay winning this tournament, so this is a big win for her.
#7 Detroit 89 – #6 Valparaiso 82. The red-hot Titans of Detroit University went into Valparaiso and came away with a nice upset. They now move on to the quarters on Friday, where they will play #3-seeded Green Bay. This game had, by far, the greatest ramifications on The Challenge of any of the 12 games contested Tuesday night. A good number of contestants nailed this upset pick (Teddy, KA, Lohse, Alexi, Doogan, Ina, and Bry). Some (Doogan, Alexi, and Teddy) have Detroit winning again in the quarters. And, Lohse even has Detroit going all the way to the Horizon League championship game. While on the other side, J and Lil Lohse both lost a semifinalist in Valparaiso; Stri and Waters both lost a finalist.
HORIZON LEAGUE STANDINGS (prior Horizon champs):
20 – Alexi
20 – Doogan
20 – Ina (’08t)
20 – Lohse
20 – Teddy
16 – Bry (’09)
16 – KA
12 – J
12 – Lynch
8 – Lil Lohse
8 – Stri
8 – Waters (’08t)
