In what may have been the worst season in Big South history, the conference races were still heated…but mainly because everyone was so bad.  “Parity” is what you can call it, I guess, but with the best programs all rebuilding and the “up-and-coming” programs late in arriving, it was just overall bad basketball throughout the league.  But, this bad basketball is so consistent that it makes for a wide open tournament.

And, wide open tournaments are what the CTC was made for! There are 6 different champion picks, including 3 people going with the 8th-seeded Winthrop to win the whole thing.  3rd-seeded VMI is actually the most popular championship pick with 10 people taking the Keydets.  The shocking thing is that only ONE person took top-seeded High Point.  10th-seeded Charleston-Southern has 5 people picking them to pull off two upsets to reach the semis.  J has won the Big South CTC title in back-to-back years and is going for three straight this year.

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 9th – 18 points each)

#2 Coastal Carolina vs #8 Winthrop
If you bought tickets to the Big South tournament and travelled to Myrtle Beach to watch it, I am guessing you aren’t regretting it.  This has been an incredibly exciting (albeit poorly played) tournament from start to finish.  And, a lot of the excitement has surrounded the Winthrop Golden Eagles, who have now enjoyed back-to-back thrilling last-second victories to get themselves to the championship.  Coastal Carolina had the “easy” road of a hard-fought 4-point win over VMI in the semis, which was on the heels of a brutal, double-OT win over Charleston-Southern in the quarters.  These two teams have been through the ringer this week, but Coastal is at home and has had to play one game fewer, so they might have the edge here.  But, is anyone willing to pick against the charmed Winthrop team right now.

Mac, PapaCim, and Primm all have WINthrop taking this whole tournament, which would be monumental.  I don’t think there has ever been a correctly predicted 8th-seeded champion in CTC history.  7 people (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf) have the Chanticleers taking this title.  A CCU win would give Stri his first Big South title since winning in 2008.  A Winthrop win would give Mac his first Big South title ever.

Coastal Carolina 76 – Winthrop 61
After a pretty tight first half, Coastal pulled away in the second half to send them Dancing.  Not sure if the 4 games in 5 days was a detriment to the Golden Eagles, but I guess maybe they should have won another game in the regular season.  Anyway, does it surprise anyone else that this is Coastal’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993?  What?!?!?  I feel like they have dominated this conference for a decade now, but I guess they never came through in the tournament.

7 people (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf) correctly nailed the Big South champion.  Mac, PapaCim, and Primm’s Cinderella run with Winthrop fell a game short.  Congrats to Stri for winning Big South titles 6 years apart.

SEMIFINALS (March 8th – 12 points each)

#4 UNC-Asheville vs #8 Winthrop
Asheville, coming off a nice fast-paced win over Radford on Friday will not have to face top-seeded High Point because they were upset by some Madness and the 8th-seeded Winthrop Eagles.  Now, these two teams – both 10-6 out of the superior South Division – will square off for the right to play on ESPN.

Usually when 8-seeds get this far, no one has them advancing, but Mac, PapaCim, Primm, and Stri can all pull off yet another huge upset here if Winthrop can bring back some magic.  In fact, Mac, PapaCim, and Primm can ride these upset points all the way to Big South championship if Winthrop can take them there.  7 people (Bry, Caleb, Doogan, GrossSr, Lohse, Teddy, WaTers) can all pick up some solid points (including upset points because it was supposed to be the 1-seed here) with UNCA.  WaTers has the Bulldogs as his Big South champ.

Winthrop 80 – UNC-Asheville 79
Big South MADNESS yet again!  Jaron Lane missed a point-blank shot at the buzzer that would have won it for Asheville, and Winthrop survives a thriller AGAIN.  The future is bright for Asheville though, as their “big three” (Lane, D.J. Cunningham, and Andrew Rowsey) are all back next year.  Rowsey – the Big South Freshman of the Year – is going to be a star.  But, this was all about Winthrop, who will be trying to win their 4th game in 4 days on Sunday to get themselves back to the Dance.  Hey, maybe the Committee will be devious, as usual, and give them the 16-seed opposite Wichita, so that Greg Marshall can coach against the program he put on the map.

Mac, PapaCim, Primm. and Stri got another huge upset with Winthrop here, with the former 3 all still having a shot at yet another one in the finals.  The 7 people with Asheville all missed a golden opportunity here, including WaTers, who lost his champ.

#2 Coastal Carolina vs #3 VMI
Coastal Carolina – the tournament hosts – survived a double-OT thriller against Charleston-Southern on Friday and now have to regroup and face a VMI that loves to run and ran Gardner-Webb off the floor Friday night.

This game is gigantic for CTC ramifications.  24 people have one of these two teams here with a somewhat even split.  And, depending on who wins, either 7 or 10 people will lose their Big South champion.  So, 17 people have a champion at stake here.  Gersh is the only one in the field with nothing to win here, as he had Gardner-Webb reaching the finals from this spot.  11 people (Alexi, Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, Mac, Primm, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf, WaTers) have the slight favorites in CCU.  The other 13 all have VMI, including 10 (Chris, Colton, Dave, GrossJr, GrossSr, J, Lazarow, Lohse, Scoot, Teddy), who have the Keydets winning this tournament.  7 people (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf) have CCU winning it all.

Coastal Carolina 66 – VMI 62
In a game that was close throughout, Coastal Carolina pulled it out in the end in front of their home crown.  Coming off of a double-OT war the night before, the Chanticleers seemed a bit fatigued, but came through in the end and will get solace in the fact that their championship opponent has had games that were just as tough and actually played one extra one.  It was another near-miss for VMI, who is still building towards championship-caliber here in the Big South.

11 people got this right, including 7 with a shot to get the Big South title winner correct.  10 people lost their champion in this big CTC swing game.

QUARTERFINALS (March 7th – 6 points each)

#1 High Point vs #8 Winthrop
Part of the disappointment (and excitement) of the Big South this year was the total lack of a “good” team.  High Point had the best league record at 11-5 (out of a far inferior division), but they do enter the tournament playing their best ball of the year – winners of 6 in a row – and they came into the season as a legit title contender.  So, I guess you could say that it is actually set up well for the 1-seed here.  The first problem, though, is their quarterfinal opponent.  8th-seeded Winthrop was 10-6 in the much better division of the Big South, so the argument can be made that they had a better conference season, despite being 7 seeds lower.  The regular season matchup was a thrilling 1-point High Point win at Winthrop.  This feels a lot more like a semifinal than a quarterfinal and should be a great opener to a pretty interesting quarterfinal quadrupleheader.

This is a HUGE CTC game – with some shocking picks associated with it.  Only 10 people (Becks, Caleb, Chris, Colton, Doogan, Lazarow, Scoot, Stritts, Stumpf, WaTers) took High Point here, even though they are the #1 seed and had a bye to get here.  7 of them (everyone except Caleb, Doogan, and WaTers) have High Point going to the finals, but only ONE PERSON – Stritts – has the #1-seed winning this tournament.  As for Winthrop, you would think that they were the #1-seed.  Other than the 15 people that have them winning this game (a huge upset, by the way), 3 people (Mac, PapaCim, Primm) have them WINNING THIS TOURNAMENT.  Stri also has them reaching the finals.  WOW!  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this kind of a thing in the CTC.

Winthrop 62 – High Point 60
MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This was almost the worst thing that ever happened to me.  I’m back at work today and decided to watch the last 5 minutes of this game on my phone.  When Andre Smith hit an INCREDIBLE three to win it for Winthrop, I let out an audible “woot,” and the woman next to me asked me if I was okay.  I told her that I must have turned weird and had a shooting pain through my neck, but that I am better now.  I was almost outed…  Anyway, what an incredible game.  Neither team ever had more than a 5-point lead, though Winthrop did seem to have a one-possession lead most of the way.  But, after a missed front-end FT (I hate missed free throws with a passion), HP’s Adam Weary hit a runner in the lane with :05 seconds left to give High Point a 60-59 lead, only to see Andre Smith take the inbounds pass dribble to just past halfcourt and throw up a line drive that hit nothing but net…WOW!!!  Yet another lesson to coaches everywhere – DON’T CALL A TIMEOUT IN THAT SITUATION.  Most coaches in America would have called a timeout after the High Point basket, but Pat Kelsey didn’t (he may not have had any, to be honest), and the defense couldn’t set up and Smith got off the shot heard ’round the CTC world.  What a great start to a great weekend.

The only thing bigger than that shot is what it just did to the CTC.  15 people pulled off a HUGE upset here.  Mac, PapaCim, and Primm all kept alive their Big South champion.  Stritts lost his champion here without them winning a single game.  7 more lost a finalist here.  High Point is also the first #1-seed to lose a conference tournament game in 2014.  Wow…

#4 UNC-Asheville vs #5 Radford
Radford squeaked by a bad Presbyterian team on Wednesday to set up this quarterfinal date with 4th-seeded UNC-Asheville.  Asheville is rebuilding from a long run at the top of the Big South, and though they showed the inconsistency of youth this year, they also showed some real promise.  This team might be another year away, but they do have the pieces right now to make a run at this title.

This is another HUGE CTC game.  Only 11 people (Bry, Caleb, Chris, Colton, Doogan, GrossSr, Lohse, Stri, Stritts, Teddy, WaTers) have the favored (and on a bye) Asheville team winning here.  The other 14 all have Radford in an upset.  Furthermore, this game will have HUGE down-the-road ramifications as well.  7 people (Bry, Caleb, Doogan, GrossSr, Lohse, Teddy, WaTers) have Asheville going to the finals, though only WaTers has them winning it.  7 other people (Alexi, Dave, Gersh, GrossJr, J, Lynch, RDoc) actually have Radford going to the finals, and 3 of them (Alexi, Gersh, Lynch) have the Highlanders WINNING IT ALL!  This is one of the more important 4/5 quarterfinals I have ever seen in the CTC.

UNC-Asheville 96 – Radford 87
Asheville dominated the first half and then survived a furious second-half comeback attempt by the Highlanders to advance to the conference semis on Saturday.  Again, it was Asheville’s big three that led the way, as Jeron Lane had 29, Andrew Rowsey had 27, and D.J. Cunningham grabbed an incredible 19 rebounds.  Asheville will face 8th-seeded Winthrop in the semis after the Golden Eagles shocked top-seeded High Point in the first game.

WaTers keeps alive his champion, while Alexi, Gersh, and Lynch all lose theirs.  4 others lost a finalist here, while 6 others kept theirs alive with UNCA.  This was a big CTC game that went in favor of the 4th-seeded Bulldogs.

#2 Coastal Carolina vs #10 Charleston-Southern
Charleston-Southern came out really flat on Wednesday against 7th-seeded Campbell, but recovered to come up with a big second half to keep their season alive.  But, their reward is a prime time date on Friday night with the conference hosts and possibly the best team in the league regardless of venue, Coastal Carolina.  The Chanticleers won the superior Southern Division and have been playing their best ball down the stretch.  They have an inside track to this tournament title – on their home floor – but this isn’t just any 10-seed that they are facing here in the quarters.  This should be yet another very interesting and good quarterfinal in Conway.

This nightime double-header seems tame – from a CTC perspective – as compared to the daytime matchups.  But, they are not.  5 (Chris, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Teddy) people have the 10th-seeded CSU team winning here in a gigantic upset, though no one has them in the finals.  The other 20 people all have CCU here, with 7 of them (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf) picking the Chanticleers to win the whole thing, and 4 more (Alexi, Mac, Primm, WaTers) having them go to the finals and losing.  Another huge CTC game.

Coastal Carolina 73 – Charleston-Southern 68 (2 OT)
Coastal came out really flat in their Big South tournament opener on their home floor, but kept it together on the defensive end and outlasted a solid CSU team in double-OT.  The Chanticleers only shot 28% from the floor, but outrebounded CSU 59-41, including 28 offensive rebounds.  Wow.  A disappointing season for CSU – who was picked by many to win this league – comes to a close here in devastating fashion, as they did have a shot to win this tournament.

7 people keep alive their champion here, while 5 people JUST MISS a huge upset.  20 people got this one right.

#3 VMI vs #6 Gardner-Webb
Finally, the nightcap to what should be a great day of hoops in the Big South pits a VMI team that was oh so close to winning this auto-bid last year against a Gardner-Webb team that dismissed Longwood on Wednesday night.  VMI still plays a very fast pace, but they have come off their ridiculous D’Antoni on crack style that they had just a couple of years ago, and they are much better for it.  VMI is yet another serious contender in this wide open field.

And, just as if the CTC wasn’t crazy enough with this quadruple-header in the Big South, we’ve got the nightcap that features the most popular Big South champion pick, VMI.  10 people (Chris, Colton, Dave, GrossJr, GrossSr, J, Lazarow, Lohse, Scoot, Teddy) have the Keydets winning this tournament.  Lynch, PapaCim, and Stritts also have them going to the finals and losing.  GW was actually not very popular with the CTC crowd this year.  Gersh is the only one that has them even reaching the finals.  Bry, Doogan, Primm, and Stumpf do have them winning this game tonight, though.

VMI 90 – Gardner-Webb 77
VMI looked solid and got the only relatively comfortable win of the day in the nightcap of the Big South quarterfinal quadruple-header.  The Keydets, led by the star D.J. Covington, jumped out to an early lead and kept GW at arm’s length the entire game.  They are now the only North Division team left and will take on the tournament hosts, CCU, in the semis on Saturday.

4 people missed the upset pick here, while 10 people kept alive their Big South champion pick.

OPENING ROUND (March 5th – 3 points each)

#8 Winthrop vs #9 Liberty
The defending Big South tournament champs at Liberty didn’t have much of a regular season last year either, but they ran through four straight to take the auto-bid to the tournament.  The Flames went 5-11 and lost 20 games overall, finishing 5th in the weaker North Division.  They get a Winthrop team that was actually pretty decent this year, despite finishing in 4th-place in the South.  They also enter the tournament playing some of their best ball of the year.  I might go out on a limb and say that this could be the best chance for an 8-seed to win any tournament across the country.  The winner of this game will play top-seeded High Point on Friday.

The 8/9 game is usually a pretty prime upset spot, but only 4 people (Caleb, Chris, Colton, Stumpf) went with the mild Liberty upset, despite their run to last year’s title.  None of them have the Flames beating High Point.  Winthrop has a TON of supporters, including Mac, PapaCim, and Primm, who all have them winning this whole tournament.  Stri also has them reaching the finals.  An amazing FIFTEEN people all have Winthrop winning today AND then taking out top-seeded High Point in the quarters…wow!  The other 10 people are probably best served rooting for Liberty here whether they picked them or not.

Winthrop 77 – Liberty 65
For a while, it looked like 2013 all over again when a bad Liberty team rolled through the Big South tournament with upset after upset to earn a trip to the First Four.  The Flames were up 17-5 early, but Winthrop final woke up took a 6-point lead into the halftime locker room and never looked back.  The Eagles finished the game the way you’re supposed to, as they went 21-for-21 from the FT line in the game.  #1 High Point awaits at noon on Friday.

This could have busted a ton of brackets, but Winthrop survives and keeps alive the chances for the 15 people who have them beating top-seeded High Point.  Caleb, Chris, Colton, and Stumpf missed a minor upset here.

#5 Radford vs #12 Presbyterian
The Highlanders of Radford are not exactly a storied program, so a 20-win season is something to talk about.  Three of those wins were against NAIA schools, but two of them were against Chattanooga and Florida Gulf Coast, who were #2 and #1 in their respective leagues.  Now, they reap the rewards of a 10-win conference season by getting a first-round date with a very poor Presbyterian team, who still hasn’t rebounded from the paperwork fiasco that cost them D-1 qualification in a year that they had a very good team.  They are still building…slowly.  The winner of this game will get #4 UNC-Asheville in the quarters.

Bry and Doogan are swinging for the fences here with the longshot Presby upset.  If that happens, the biggest losses would go to Alexi, Gersh, and Lynch, who all have the Highlanders cutting down the nets here.  Dave, GrossJr, J, and RDoc all have Radford reaching the finals.  Becks, Lazarow, Mac, PapaCim, Primm, Scoot, and Stumpf all have Radford beating UNC-Asheville.

Radford 78 – Presbyterian 73
And…exhale, Radford fans.  A back-and-forth game that really could have gone either way ended with the Highlanders on top and heading on to the quarterfinals to take on UNC-Asheville on Friday.  A tough first half saw Radford up 6, but the Blue Hose scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a 37-33 lead.  Radford responded with a run of its own, only to see Presby make a crazy comeback that fell just short.  The Blue Hose go home, and Radford moves on to the quarters to face UNCA.

Bry and Doogan just missed a humongous upset pick here, while Alexi, Gersh, and Lynch dodged a major bullet and keep alive their champion.  4 more nearly lost a finalist, but survive and advance.

#7 Campbell vs #10 Charleston-Southern
The Fightin’ Camels of Campbell had a DREADFUL non-conference season, but started out conference play on fire.  They fell apart down the stretch and lost any chance at a bye, but it’s hard to know what Campbell team is real.  My guess?  The bad one that started and ended the season.  As for Charleston-Southern, they might be the most disappointing team in maybe the most disappointing league in the country.  But, CSU still has talent, so they get a second chance that starts tonight against a very beatable Campbell team.  The problem is that the tournament hosts, Coastal Carolina, await in the quarters for this game’s winner.

The majority of the field actually has CSU in an upset here.  Only 9 people (Alexi, Becks, Caleb, Mac, Primm, Scott, Stri, Stumpf, WaTers) have the Fightin’ Camels here.  Scoot is the only one that has Campbell reaching the semis.  As for CSU, 5 people (Chris, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Teddy) have them beating CCU in the quarters, so this is a big game for them.

Charleston-Southern 81 – Campbell 71
CSU, picked to win the league yet stuck as the 10-seed, looked like they were content with the end to a terribly disappointing season to come here in Conway in the opening round.  Campbell jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half, but CSU came out and dominated the second half and actually won somewhat comfortably.  Now, they get to take on the tournament hosts, Coastal Carolina.

16 people hit this solid upset pick, including 5 people that have CSU going to the semis.

#6 Gardner-Webb vs #11 Longwood
When GW beat CSU on Wednesday, they were in a position to win the Southern Division, but a loss on Saturday to UNC-Asheville sent them4  to 3rd place and, thus, a first round game against an under-talented, but feisty Longwood team.  The Lancers – still relatively new to D-1 – are not very good.  But, somehow, this not-very-good team won at TCU in the non-con, and then won road games at Charleston-Southern and Campbell in conference play – the latter by a shocking 23 points.  Gardner-Webb should move on here to face 3rd-seeded VMI in the quarters.

Colton, GrossSr, Lazarow, Scoot, and WaTers all went for a really nice big-time upset pick here with Longwood.  Gersh has the most at stake with GW here, as he has them reaching the finals.  Bry, Doogan, Primm, and Stumpf all have the Bulldogs reaching the semis, so they are hoping to avoid the upset here.  Also, the 9 people that have VMI winning this tournament should probably be rooting for Longwood here, too, so that the Keydets have a far easier quarterfinal match.

Gardner-Webb 81 – Longwood 65
Longwood looked like a live ‘dog here, as they had knocked off some of the top teams in the league this year, but GW had no real problems in the nightcap of the Big South Opening Round quadruple-header.  Up next is #3 VMI in the quarters on Friday.

5 people missed a big upset pick here, while Gersh keeps alive a finalist.  4 more keep alive a semifinalist.

CTC UPDATE

Championship Picks

• #1 High Point (1) – Stritts
• #2 Coastal Carolina (7) – Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf
• #3 VMI (10) – Chris, Colton, Dave, GrossJr, GrossSr, J, Lazarow, Lohse, Scoot, Teddy
• #4 UNC-Asheville (1) – Waters
• #5 Radford (3) – Alexi, Gersh, Lynch
• #6 Gardner-Webb (0)
• #7 Campbell (0)
• #8 Winthrop (3) – Mac, PapaCim, Primm

Biggest Upsets

• R1 – #12 Presbyterian (Bry, Doogan)
• QF – #10 Charleston-Southern (Chris, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Teddy)
• SF – #8 Winthrop (Mac, PapaCim, Primm, Stri)

Previous CTC Champions

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

Final 2014 Scores

1. Stri – 134 (’14)
2. Mac – 104
3. PapaCim – 98
4. Primm – 98
5. RDoc – 96
6. Bry – 93
7. Doogan – 66
8. GrossSr – 63
9. Alexi – 60
10. Caleb – 60
11. Dave – 60
12. GrossJr – 60
13. J – 60
14. Lohse – 60
15. Teddy – 60
16. Becks – 57
17. Gersh – 54
18. Lynch – 54
19. Stumpf – 48
20. Stritts – 39
21. WaTers – 36
22. Colton – 33
23. Chris – 33
24. Lazarow – 33
25. Scoot – 12