CTC Day 7 Preview

This day is kind of like the middle-Sunday in Wimbledon (yes, only true sports fans get tennis references), as we wind down from week one and enter the extravaganza that is week two of the BSB Conference Tournament Challenge.  So, you can call this day the calm before and after the storm.  And this second storm is, well, about 5 times bigger than the first.  But, let us not ignore the four champions that will be crowned tonight and then the four more semifinal games in interesting conferences.

COLONIAL CHAMPIONSHIP (48 points):
The great CAA tournament is set to close down with a phenomenal championship matchup.  Nine of the twelve CTC entries have their champion still alive, so with 48 points on the line, this could be a pretty big swing game.  And, the CTC MVC title is still in doubt.  An ODU win tonight gives Bry his first CAA title (in the modern era–since ’08, when we started saving the records), while a win by William & Mary gives Alexi his second CAA title in three years.

#1 Old Dominion vs. #3 William & Mary.  Probably the two most impressive regular seasons of anyone in this conference were by these two, even though W&M was technically the third seed, so it is fitting that the auto-bid comes down to these two.  Five entries (Bry, Ina, J, Stri, and Lil Lohse) have Old Dominion for 48 tonight.  Four entries (Doogan, Alexi, Lynch, and KA) have William & Mary for 52 tonight.

WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP (32 points):
All bubble teams will be watching intently tonight rooting hard for Gonzaga to knock off St. Mary’s in the WCC final.  St. Mary’s could possibly get in as an at-large, but it’s far from certain, while there is no chance the Zags are left out of the field of 65.  Despite his 11th place standing in the WCC right now, Lynch is the only one with St. Mary’s winning this game, so if he’s right, he will vault over everyone else and win this conference.  If not, Lohse and Teddy will share the 2010 WCC honors.

#1 Gonzaga vs. #2 St. Mary’s.  The big game for fans of St. Mary’s is an even bigger game for fans of Lynch.  He is the only one with St. Mary’s.  Everyone else has Gonzaga in this one.

SoCON CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points):
The most unlikely top-two seeds to meet in the title game are probably the two meeting in tonight’s SoCon championship.  But, it’s the case, as App St. justified their division title and will play for the auto bid tonight in Charlotte.  With no one having App St. to win this game, Stri has locked up the 2010 SoCon title.  The only question is how many points will he have.

#1S Wofford vs. #1N Appalachian St.  Wofford has dominated the SoCon all year long and now they get to make it all worthwhile.  App St. has looked very impressive throughout this tournament and is only one win away from dancing.  Bry, Ina, Doogan, Stri, both Lohses, and Teddy all have Wofford winning tonight.  No one has App St, though J, Alexi, Waters, Lynch, and KA will all be rooting for them to zero out this final.

MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points):
The Siena Conference has one more chance to make that term a falsehood, as Fairfield (the best MAAC team not named “Siena”) goes to shock Upstate New York tonight in Albany.  Bry is going to win the 2010 MAAC title, but he is one win away from perfection, so the game still means something.

#1 Siena vs. #2 Fairfield.  Can FU do it?  We will see tonight in Albany.  Everyone in the CTC, except Alexi, has Siena winning this title.  Alexi had Niagara, but will be rooting for FU to pull an FU on the rest of the MAAC and CTC fields tonight.

SUN BELT SEMIFINALS (8 points each):
Four teams remain in the craziness that is taking place in Hot Springs this week.  Tonight, the semifinals.  Tomorrow, the finals.

#1 Troy vs. #4 W. Kentucky.  Top-seeded Troy ousted S. Alabama last night, but gets a bigger test today with W. Kentucky.  The Hilltoppers got a game-winner from A.J. Slaughter to beat Arkansas St. yesterday.  They routinely dominate this tournament and will try and do it again this year, though they will need four wins in four nights.  Bry, J, Lynch, and Teddy hope they can, as they all have WKU winning this tournament.  Ina, Doogan, both Lohses, and Stri are all hoping for three wins in three nights and then a loss, as they have WKU winning tonight and going to the finals.  Waters is the only one out of 12 contestants to have #1 Troy winning this game.  He has them winning the tournament.

#2 N. Texas vs. #6 Denver.  The surprise of the Sun Belt this year is Denver, who handily knocked off #3 Middle Tennessee last night.  Now, they get another big test as N. Texas is the foe.  The Mean Green struggled, but took care of business against a feist LA-Monroe squad last night.  No one has Denver winning this game.  J, Doogan, Stri, Waters, Lynch, and KA all have N. Texas winning this game.  Doogan and Stri have them winning it all.

SUMMIT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS (8 points each):
And, after a two-night quarterfinal round, the Summit League is ready for its semifinals.  The top three seeds all advanced (as expected–and predicted by every CTC’er) plus the Cinderella #5 IPFW.  With everyone having the top three in the final four, the rest of the games in this conference are going to produce big swings in points, as everyone diverges from here.

#1 Oakland vs. #5 IPFW.  The first big game is #1 Oakland–who handled UMKC on Saturday–facing IPFW, who upset SD State yesterday.  Lohse and Teddy both have IPFW winning this game.  Lohse has them winning it all.  Stri and KA have already lost this game (SD State).  The other 8 entries have Oakland in the finals.  Bry, Ina, J, Alexi, and Lil Lohse have Oakland winning it all.

#2 IUPUI vs. #3 Oral Roberts.  Oral Roberts barely escaped a big upset yesterday with a one-point, overtime win over North Dakota St.  IUPUI took care of W. Illinois on Saturday rather easily.  This game is huge in the Summit League and the CTC.  Five people (Doogan, Stri, Waters, Lohse, and Teddy) have IUPUI in this game.  The other seven have Oral Roberts.  Doogan, Stri, Waters, and Teddy have IUPUI winning the tournament.  Lynch and KA have Oral Roberts winning the whole thing.