BSB Conf Tourney Challenge: Day 2 Preview

As the Challenge slowly ramps up to the first weekend, we had three tournaments get underway last night.  All three have the day off today, but two more get started.  The big question of the day:  Will Lohse ever get one wrong?

PATRIOT LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS:
Amidst all the hoop-la of big-time college hoops these days, with talk of NBA riches and big TV contracts and 20,000-seat arenas with million-dollar luxury suites, sometimes we forget just how pure the game can be.  Well, look no further than the Patriot League to remind yourself that these are just kids–student-athletes–playing a game, representing the school which they attend.  In the Patriot League, there are 8 teams–the same 8 teams as have been for decades.  They play a home-and-home round-robin.  There are no scholarships.  There are “travel partners.”  The games are played on Thursdays and Saturdays.  This is pure, old-school college basketball.  And, this tournament begins tonight in four separate arenas across the northeast.  Defending PL champ, Alexi, tries to defend his crown tonight.  Doogan won the PL in ’08.  Waters has finished last in this league in back-to-back season, so he will try to improve on that this year.

#8 Army (4-10) at #1 Lehigh (10-4).  Lehigh, led by C.J. McCollum, the only freshman in the country to win his conference’s player of the year honors (at least until the SEC announces John Wall as POY) opens their quest for The Dance tonight against the Army.  No one picked Army in this one, but the game is most important to both Lohses, Bry, Ina, and Stri because they all have Lehigh winning this tournament.

#7 Holy Cross (5-9) at #2 Bucknell (9-5).  The Bucknell Bison, who have been probably the most successful PL team of 00’s open postseason in the 10’s with a game against Holy Cross.  Doogan, Waters, KA, and Teddy must all be fans of the Sports Guy because they have his alma mater, HC, winning this game.  Teddy even has them going to the finals.  It is a bit surprising to see that, despite their history and their #2-seed, only Alexi and Lynch have Bucknell winning this tournament.

#6 Colgate (6-8) at #3 Lafayette (8-6).  Former Villanova star and high school classmate of my mom, Fran O’Hanlon, leads his Lafayette Leopards into postseason action tonight against Colgate.  Bry, Stri, Alexi, and KA have all picked the Colgate upset.  There is a lot at stake for J and Doogan, as they have Lafayette winning the whole thing.

#5 Navy (7-7) at #4 American (7-7).  The Naval Academy versus The American University.  Interesting.  Well, the top two seeds in last year’s PL tournament face off in the first round this year.  Navy, who had a shot at the PL regular season title, before sliding at the end, now how to play a road game against the defending champs.  J, Doogan, and Waters all have Navy in the minor upset.  Waters went even further, as he has the Midshipmen winning the whole tournament and going to The Dance.  KA is also patriotic in her pick of American winning the whole thing.

ATLANTIC SUN QUARTERFINALS:
The A-Sun had a crazy regular season, in which there was a 4-way tie for first place, and then E. Tennessee St. only one game back.  Throw in another loop to the tournament is that the 6-seed, Mercer, is hosting the tournament, so they will have, essentially, home games for as long as they last.  The way the A-Sun tourney works is that it splits up the quarterfinals, to give the top two seeds a slight advantage moving forward.  So, the top two seed play their quarterfinal matchups today, then get a day off.  #3 and #4 will play tomorrow.  This year, we may be looking at a three-peat (how much do I owe Pat Riley for that word?) in The Challenge.  J has won the A-Sun, outright, in back-to-back seasons.  In fact, he went perfect in ’08, before only missing two first-round games last year in his title defense.  His quest for three in a row begins tonight…

#8 Kennessaw St. (7-13) vs. #1 Lipscomb (14-6).  Lipscomb won the 4-way tiebreaker to get the top seed.  Kennessaw St. held off the three bottom teams in the 11-team conference to get the last seed in the A-Sun tourney.  And, despite their 7-game losing streak, four contestants (Bry, J, Lohse, and Lynch) somehow picked the heavy underdog, the team Lohse calls “the other KSU,” to win this game.  Surprisingly, KA and Lil Lohse are the only two to have the top-seed winning this tournament, so they are really rooting against the upset.

#7 N. Florida (8-10) vs. #2 Jacksonville (14-6).  Jacksonville grabbed the #2-seed, which was important because they avoided a good ETSU team and the host Mercer squad.  Their reward is a quarterfinal date with Jacksonville.  No one has N. Florida winning this game.  Bry, Ina, Alexi, Waters, Lohse, and Lynch all have Jacksonville winning this tournament, so this game is biggest for those six.