CTC Day 4 Recap: Bry Wins Second Straight, Takes Overall Lead; Alexi, KA, and Ina All Move Up As Well

The storm is here.  Friday is great; Saturday will be better.  The big story, big-picture-wise, is that after three days in the lead, Lohse has given up the lead to Bry.  Lohse has actually slipped down to a tie for 4th, as there were some really nice days for Alexi, KA, and Ina, as well.  But, for all of you who have been through this competition before, you know full well that we are not even close to having anything figured out yet.  We’re probably not even close to the “quarter-pole” of this competition.  Remember, the majority of the points doled out are going to be next week when the major tournaments (worth 5x more than the minor tournaments) get going.  Last year’s winner had well over 2000 points, so we’re probably about 1/8th of the way there.  There is still SOOO much room for movement.

DAY 4 SCORES (days won):
146 – Bry (2)
142 – KA
140 – Alexi
136 – Ina
116 – Lynch (1)
110 – Stri
104 – Teddy
102 – Lohse (2)
98 – Waters
90 – Doogan
90 – J
64 – Lil Lohse

OVERALL STANDINGS:
272 – Bry
248 – Alexi
242 – KA
238 – Ina
238 – Lohse
226 – Lynch
218 – Teddy
212 – Doogan
196 – Stri
184 – J
178 – Waters
144 – Lil Lohse

MISSOURI VALLEY QUARTERFINALS (12 points each):
In, by far, the biggest point “purse” of the CTC so far, there is a quadruple-header of quarterfinal games in a 3x conference on Friday.  A LOT of points were handed out in St. Louis on Friday.  Three MVC entries remain perfect (Alexi, KA, and Lynch), while Teddy has struggled and is now eliminated from any points left to give out in the final two rounds of the MVC.

#1 N. Iowa 55 – #8 Drake 40.  The Panthers of N. Iowa struggled a bit in the first half, but flexed their muscles in the second half to show The Valley who the team to beat is, beating Drake by 15.  Everyone except Teddy had N. Iowa winning this game.  Bry, Doogan, Stri, and Lil Lohse keep their Valley champion alive.

#5 Bradley 81 – #4 Creighton 62.  A close one-point game at the half turned ugly in the second half as the Braves crushed the Blue Jays in the second half (not the ’92 World Series).  Bradley will now move to to face the top-seed N. Iowa in Saturday’s semifinal.  KA, Lynch, Alexi, J, Ina, and Bry all got the Bradley upset.  Alexi and Lynch now have a shot at correctly picking Bradley to go to the finals.

#2 Wichita St. 73 – #7 Missouri St. 63.  After about 35 minutes of back and forth, Wichita St. finally pulled away and ended Missouri St.’s season with a 73-63 win Friday night in St. Louis.  Teddy, Doogan, and Bry all had Missouri St. in this one, and Lohse had Evansville.  The other eight entries had it right.  Teddy lost his MVC champion in this one.  Ina, J, Alexi, Waters, Lynch, and KA all keep their champion alive in this one.

#3 Illinois St. 69 – #6 Indiana St. 65.  In a nip and tuck game all the way through, the Redbirds of Illinois St. hold off the Sycamores by 4, setting up a semifinal date for them with Wichita St. on Saturday.  Only Ina and J got this one wrong, and neither of them had Indiana St. going any further.  Lohse is the most happy with this win, as he has Illinois St. winning this whole tournament.  Bry, Doogan, and Lil Lohse are also happy because they have Illinois St. in the finals.

MISSOURI VALLEY STANDINGS (prior MVC titles; *perfect bracket):
*66 – Alexi
*66 – KA
*66 – Lynch
54 -Ina (’08)
48 – Bry
48 – J
48 – Waters
42 – Stri (’09)
36 – Doogan
36 – Lil Lohse
24 – Lohse
18 – Teddy

ATLANTIC SUN SEMIFINALS (8 points each):
After a wild quarterfinal round in the A-Sun, it will be interesting to see if the clock strikes midnight on a couple of Cinderellas tonight.  It was a pair of great games in Macon, GA, Friday night and the A-Sun final pairing is set. 

#5 E. Tennessee St. 69 – #8 Kennessaw St. 64.  Midnight did come for “the other KSU,” but not without giving another top-division team a scare.  KSU had the ball, down 3, with :08 seconds to go, but a three from Markeith Cummings missed, and ETSU held on to set a date with the ESPN cameras in the A-Sun final on Saturday.  Bry, Ina, Stri, Alexi, Waters, Lynch, and Teddy all have the Bucs in the finals, but no one has them winning it.

#6 Mercer 66 – #2 Jacksonville 63.  Another thrilling game, but this time the Cinderella story is going to continue, as the home Mercer squad knocked off Jacksonville to advance to tomorrow’s final against E. Tennessee St.  No one had Mercer going this far, so one night after they dealt a huge blow to everyone who had Belmont going far in this tournament, they now competely bail them out.  No one has either ETSU or Mercer winning this tournament, but half the field had Jacksonville, so the scoring in the A-Sun is completely finished.

ATLANTIC SUN STANDINGS (prior A-Sun champs):
54 – Bry
44 – Lynch
32 – Lohse
26 – Alexi
26 – Ina
26 – Stri
26 – Teddy
26 – Waters
22 – J (’08, ’09)
10 – Doogan
10 – Lil Lohse
4 – KA

OHIO VALLEY SEMIFINALS (8 points each):
A semifinal double-header in Nashville took place Friday night to decide the 2010 OVC finalists.  With the top two seeds advancing, nine out of the twelve all nailed this finals matchup.  KA is the only that did not get either one.  Lohse is one game away from a perfect OVC bracket.

#1 Murray St. 55 – #4 E. Illinois 51.  The Racers are now just one win away from topping off their fantastic regular season with 30 wins and a spot in the Big Dance.  It wasn’t easy, but they held off a game E. Illinois squad for a date with the ESPN crew.  Only KA missed this game.  Most of the field has Murray St. winning this tournament.

#2 Morehead St. 76 – #6 Tennessee Tech 47.  Just when Murray St. was feeling good about themselves, the defending champs went out and gave them something to think about while the try and sleep the night before playing for the OVC title.  Led by the leading rebounder in the nation, Kenneth Faried, Morehead blew the doors off of Tennessee Tech to advance to Saturday’s final.  Everyone except KA, Lil Lohse, and Lynch had Morehead in the finals.  Lohse and Stri have Morehead beating Murray in the finals, so this win is especially good for those two.

OHIO VALLEY STANDINGS (prior OVC titles; *perfect bracket):
*38 – Lohse
34 – J
28 – Teddy
26 – Lynch
24 – Alexi (’09)
24 – Bry (’08)
24 – Doogan
24 – Ina
24 – Stri
24 – Waters
12 – Lil Lohse
0 – KA

HORIZON LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS (8 points each):
Just a two-game quarterfinal round in the Horizon League, since the top two seeds get byes all the way to the semis, but it wasn’t devoid of intrigue.  Doogan, Lohse, and Teddy all nailed both of these picks, and all three remain perfect in the Horizon.

#7 Detroit 62 – #3 Green Bay 53.  The madness continues here in the Horizon, as the Titans of Detroit pulled off their second straight upset here in the Horizon League tournament, this time knocking off Green Bay 62-53.  The Titans now move on to Saturday’s semifinal against #2 Wright St.  Surprisingly, four contestants (Doogan, Alexi, Teddy, and Lohse) actually had Detroit pulling off back-to-back upsets.  Lohse actually has them pulling off one more and going to the finals.  Ina lost a finalist in Green Bay; KA lost her champion.

#4 Milwaukee 82 – #5 Cleveland St. 75.  In a well-played, hotly-contested nightcap, UW-Milwaukee held on to beat defending champion Cleveland St. and advance to the semis on Saturday against #1 Butler.  Ina, J, Doogan, Waters, Lohse, KA, and Teddy all got this one right.  KA has Milwaukee in the finals, so this was a nice win for her.  The big blow from this one was felt by Lynch, who had Cleveland St. repeating as Horizon champs.

HORIZON LEAGUE STANDINGS (prior champs; *perfect bracket):
*52 – Doogan
*52 – Lohse
*52 – Teddy
44 – Alexi
32 – Ina (’08t)
24 – KA
20 – J
16 – Bry (’09)
16 – Waters
12 – Lynch
8 – Lil Lohse
8 – Stri

COLONIAL OPENING ROUND (6 points each):
The best tournament of the first week kicked off Friday with a quadruple-header in Richmond.  KA was the only one to nail all four picks.  J lost a finalist in the carnage of the opening round.

#8 Towson 91 – #9 UNC-Wilmington 74.  Pat’s Cats continue their hot streak and knock off UNC-Wilmington in the opening round, earning themselves a date with Old Dominion in the quarters on Saturday.  Towson was never threatened all day, shooting over 50% from the floor and dropping 91 on the Seahawks.  Ina, Alexi, Waters, Lohse, and KA all got this right.  KA was the big winner because she has Towson in the finals.  No one had UNC-Wilmington going any further than this one.

#5 VCU 66 – #12 Delaware 49.  Mercifully, the 2009-2010 season comes to an end for the Fightin’ Blue Hens of Delaware.  An extremely disappointing season ends at the hands of the VCU Rams on Friday afternoon.  VCU moves on to a must-see quarterfinal matchup with George Mason on Saturday (fortunately, it is on TV in the Baltimore area tomorrow around 2:30).  Only Waters had Delaware pulling off the upset, and he didn’t have them going any further.  The VCU win was most important for Lohse and Teddy, who both have the Rams winning this whole tournament.

#7 Hofstra 68 – # 10 Georgia St. 67.  If Greg Washington doesn’t hit a running jumper with :16 seconds left, many CTC’ers would be up in arms.  But Washington did hit the runner, and Hofstra did hold on to win by a single point.  The team formerly known as the Flying Dutchmen now move on to the quarterfinals and a date with #2 Northeastern.  No one had Georgia St. in this one, and nine of the twelve contestants have Hofstra over Northeastern in the next round.  Fortunately for those nine, there are no style points awarded in the CTC.  It’s all about the W’s.

#11 James Madison 77 – #6 Drexel 65.  In the exact same position last year, the Drexel Dragons had a great regular season only to drop a couple close games late, fall to 6th, play James Madison in the 6-11 game on opening night, and just like last year, they lose.  JMU now advances to Saturday night’s nightcap against #3 William & Mary.  Bry and KA are the only two that had JMU in this one.  Neither of them had them going any further.  J had Drexel in the finals, so this one hurt.

COLONIAL STANDINGS (prior CAA titles; *perfect bracket):
*54 – KA
48 – Bry
18 – Alexi (’08)
18 – Ina (’09)
18 – Lohse
12 – Doogan
12 – J
12 – Lil Lohse
12 – Lynch
12 – Stri
12 – Teddy
12 – Waters

WEST COAST OPENING ROUND (4 points each):
The opening round of the WCC took place late Friday night in Sin City, as the 5- through 8-seeds took part in a double-header.  Five CTC’ers (Ina, Stri, Alexi, Lohse, and Teddy) got both games correct.  Only Bry missed them both.

#5 Loyola Marymount 87 – #8 Pepperdine 84.  Vernon Teel and Ashley Hamilton played the roles of Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble, as they dropped 27 and 23, respectively, and LMU held off a game Pepperdine team.  Marymount now advances to the semifinals, where they will play San Francisco for the right to take on #1 Gonzaga in the semis.  Bry, Waters, and KA got this one wrong.  Waters paid the biggest price, as he had Pepperdine in the semis.  Alexi, Stri, and Ina all keep LMU alive, which they have in the semis.

#6 San Diego 61 – #7 Santa Clara 59.  Santa Clara’s Robert Smith (a frequent contributor to this blog…wait, there’s another Rob Smith?) had 16 points for the Broncos, but missed a shot at the buzzer that would have forced overtime, so San Diego gets to move on and play Portland in the quarters on Saturday.  Bry, J, Doogan, Lynch, and Lil Lohse all missed on this upset pick.  None of them had Santa Clara going any further.  KA held onto her San Diego pick, as she has them going all the way to the finals.

WEST COAST STANDINGS (prior WCC titles; *perfect bracket):
*8 – Alexi
*8 – Ina (’09*)
*8 – Lohse
*8 – Stri
*8 – Teddy
4 – Doogan
4 – J
4 – KA
4- Lil Lohse
4 – Lynch
4 – Waters (’08)
0 – Bry

SoCON OPENING ROUND (2 points each):
The SoCon kicked off its 12-team tournament today with an opening round quadruple-header in Charlotte.  It was an interesting day of north vs. south matchups, in which the seemingly inferior northern division actually took three of four from their southern division foes.  Ina and Stri each went 4-for-4 in the SoCon.  Doogan took the collar with an 0-for-4 performance.

#6N Elon 66 – #3S Davison 59.  No Stephen Curry?  No postseason success for Davidson as the Wildcats fall in a tough one to a team that only won 5 conference games all year.  Elon, with the big upset, will advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup with Western Carolina.  Five contestants  (KA, Lynch, Stri, Ina, and Bry) nailed this pretty major upset pick.  None of them, though, have them going any further.

#4N UNC-Greensboro 66 – #5S Furman 65.  Now, I don’t know much about sports and scoring and whatnot, but does this make sense?  So, Amu Saaka hits a three-pointer for Furman with :13 seconds left to cut the Greensboro lead to 65-63.  The Paladins quickly foul, hoping for a missed free throw.  They get it, as the Greensboro shooter hits one of two.  So, Furman comes down the floor and with :03 seconds left, Saaka pump-fakes a three, drives past his defender for a dunk…with :00.8 seconds left.  Did he forget that dunks were only worth two points?  Either way, UNC-Greensboro holds on to beat Furman 66-65.  They will advance to the quarters on Saturday to play top-seeded Wofford.  The field was just about split on this game, but the one who lost the most was KA, who had Furman beating Wofford and moving to the semis.  Waters has the potential to gain the most from this game because he has Greensboro beating Wofford in a big upset.

#4S The Citadel 55 – #5N Samford 43.  A pretty routine 12-point win for a solid Citadel team, which advances them to Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup with Northern Division champion, Appalachian St.  Doogan was the only one who took the upset point bait and went for Samford on this one.  KA, J, and Bry all have The Citadel in the semis, so this win is good for them.  It’s even better for Lynch, who has them in the finals.

#3N Chattanooga 82 – #6S Georgia-Southern 62.  And the nightcap in the SoCon’s opening day turns out not to be much of a contest, as the Mocs roll over GA-Southern, setting up a quarterfinal tussel with the College of Charleston.  Bry, Doogan, Alexi, and both Lohses all went for GA-Southern in this one.  No one, no matter who they picked winning this game, has College of Charleston losing in the second round, so this was merely a one-round pick.

SoCON STANDINGS (prior SoCon titles; *perfect bracket)
*22 – Ina (’08)
*22 – Stri
20 – KA
20 – Lynch (’09)
18 – Bry
6 – J
6 – Teddy
6 – Waters
2 – Alexi
2 – Lil Lohse
2 – Lohse
0 – Doogan

MAAC OPENING ROUND (2 points each):
The mostly inconsequential opening round in the MAAC took place in Albany on Friday night with a pair of games between the bottom four teams in the conference.  Bry was the only one to hit both of these.  Stri and Waters ended up missing both.

#9 Manhattan 94 – #8 Loyola (MD) 79.  Manhattan, after a pretty terrible regular season, salvages a little pride by winning their opening round game against Loyola on Friday night.  Their reward?  A matchup with the MAAC powerhouse, Siena, on Saturday.  Bry was the only one in the CTC to pick Manhattan in this one.  No one had either of these teams beating Siena in the quarters.

#7 Canisius 72 – #10 Marist 54.  It’s official, the Red Foxes of Marist are a 1-win team in 2009-10.  They lost by 18 to Canisius on Friday, mercifully ending their season at an atrocious 1-29.  Canisius will move on to the quarters, where they will face #2 Fairfield on Saturday.  Stri and Waters both had Marist.  In fact, they both had Marist winning two games in the tournament.  The Canisius win was biggest for Teddy, KA, and Lynch, as they all have Canisius in the semis.

MAAC STANDINGS (prior MAAC titles; *perfect bracket):
*6 – Bry (’09*)
2 – Alexi
2 – Doogan
2 – Ina
2 – J (’08)
2 – LA
2 – Lil Lohse
2 – Lohse
2 – Lynch
2 – Teddy
0 – Stri
0 – Waters