In the quiet day that is the middle Monday, there were only 8 games played. But, there were still a lot of points to be won. The day actually finished with a four-way tie for first, including yesterday’s winner and the top two overall leaders. Alexi had a rough day with a slew of costly near-misses, so he put himself back behind the 8-ball heading into the big tournaments.
DAY 7 SCORES (days won):
88 – Bry (3)
88 – Ina (1)
88 – Lil Lohse (2)
88 – Stri (1)
80 – J
68 – Lynch
56 – Doogan
48 – Waters
40 – Lohse
40 – Teddy
24 – KA
8 – Alexi
OVERALL STANDINGS (conference titles; *perfect bracket):
782 – Bry (3 – A-Sun, CAA, MAAC*)
704 – Ina
698 – Doogan
666 – Lil Lohse (1 – Big South*)
644 – Stri (2 – MVC, SoCon)
620 – J (1 – OVC)
618 – Alexi (1 – Big South*)
594 – Lohse
590 – Lynch (1 – WCC)
568 – Teddy
510 – Waters
492 – KA (1 – Big South*)
COLONIAL CHAMPIONSHIP (48 points):
The last game of the 2010 CAA season was yet another good one. Old Dominion won the auto-bid (all bubble teams rejoice), and Bry won the CAA CTC title.
#1 Old Dominion 60 – #3 William & Mary 53. William & Mary falls short again. They have still never made the NCAA tournament, but they should not hold their heads down, as they did have a fantastic year. They are on their way to the tournament in the near future. But, for now, it’s ODU. They won’t have to wait for the Selection Committee to screw them over because they’re not in a Big Resource conference. They did it the old-fashioned way…they earned it. Lil Lohse, Stri, J, Ina, and Bry all got ODU winning this. Doogan, Alexi, Lynch, and KA missed the W&M title. Bry’s win gave him the CAA title, which would have gone to Alexi if W&M had won.
FINAL COLONIAL STANDINGS (prior CAA titles):
192 – Bry
162 – Ina (’09)
138 – Lil Lohse
126 – Alexi (’08)
120 – Stri
114 – J
96 – KA
96 – Teddy
90 – Lohse
84 – Doogan
84 – Lynch
66 – Waters
WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP (32 points):
The bubble teams took a blow last night, as St. Mary’s pounded Gonzaga in the WCC title game. Could this St. Mary’s team actually be better than last year’s, even though they lost the two best individual players in the school’s history? Maybe. The biggest news from the night, though, was the ramifications of the St. Mary’s win on the CTC. A free 34 points for Lynch catapulted him from worst to first, winning the 2010 WCC title.
#2 St. Mary’s 82 – #1 Gonzaga 61. A shocking second-half, to say the least. A very physical, hard-fought first half gave way to an utter domination by the Gaels in the second half. They do not have to wait for the selection committee now, as they’re in. But, this loss may have dropped Gonzaga from a 4-5 seed to a 7-8 seed. Lynch was the only one to have St. Mary’s winning this game. Everyone else had Gonzaga. It’s nice to grab a free 34 points over the other 11 contestants.
FINAL WEST COAST STANDINGS (prior WCC titles; *perfect bracket):
64 – Lynch
48 – Lohse
48 – Teddy
44 – Alexi
44 – Doogan
44 – Ina (’09*)
44 – J
44 – Lil Lohse
44 – Stri
44 – Waters (’08)
40 – Bry
20 – KA
SoCON CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points):
The Wofford Terriers have clinched their first ever trip to the Big Dance, and along with it clinch the second conference title of the 2010 CTC for Stri.
#1S Wofford 56 – #1N Appalachian St. 51. In what looked like it was going to be a complete blowout, App St. made a spirited comeback run in the second half that fell just short. The Terriers now move on to the tournament for the first time in school history. Teddy, both Lohses, Stri, Doogan, Ina, and Bry all had Wofford winning this tournament. No one had App St., so the others were only hoping for zeros.
FINAL SoCON STANDINGS (prior SoCon titles):
62 – Stri
58 – Ina (’08)
54 – Bry
50 – Lil Lohse
44 – Doogan
42 – Teddy
38 – Lohse
32 – Lynch (’09)
26 – J
24 – KA
22 – Alexi
18 – Waters
MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points):
It wasn’t pretty all tournament, but the Siena Saints win their third consecutive MAAC tournament championship. Watch out in the NCAA’s, as they have won first round games in back-to-back seasons. Bry completed a perfect MAAC bracket for the title.
#1 Siena 72 – #2 Fairfield 65 (OT). In the quarters, Siena trailed by 12 against Manhattan and won by 17. Then in the semis, they trailed by 8 against Rider, and won by 15. Here in the finals, they were down FIFTEEN, and came back to win, in OT. They played with fire and lived to tell about it and will now be a tough out in the next tournament as well. Everyone except Alexi (who had Niagara) got Siena right in winning this tournament.
FINAL MAAC STANDINGS (prior MAAC titles; *perfect bracket):
*62 – Bry
50 – Lohse
46 – KA
44 – Doogan
40 – Ina
40 – J
40 – Lil Lohse
36 – Teddy
34 – Alexi
34 – Stri
30 – Lynch
28 – Waters
SUN BELT SEMIFINALS (8 points each):
The Sun Belt is down to its final pairing, as the top two seeds advance to the championship on Tuesday night in Hot Springs. Waters was the only contestant to hit both finalists, and is one of only 3 that still have their champion alive, even though it is the top two seeds still playing. Bry, Ina, Alexi, Teddy, and the two Lohses all got shut out of the title game.
#1 Troy 54 – #4 W. Kentucky 48. In the first semifinal, the top-seeded Trojans knocked off everyone’s favorite W. Kentucky. It looked like it was going to be a colossal collapse for the Trojans, as they blew a 16-point second half lead and trailed by one with less than 2 minutes left after a three-pointer by WKU’s A.J. Slaughter. But, they fought back and ended up finishing it off. They move on to the Sun Belt championship game on Tuesday night. Waters is the only one to have Troy in this one. KA had New Orleans, and everyone else had WKU. Waters has Troy winning this tournament. Bry, J, Lynch, and Teddy all lost their Sun Belt champions.
#2 N. Texas 63 – #6 Denver 56. And, Denver’s run it cut two wins shy of their goal, as the Mean Green of N. Texas move into Tuesday’s championship to take on #1 Troy. No one had Denver winning this game, so no one lost a good opportunity, but there were some winners in this. KA, Lynch, Waters, Stri, Doogan, and J all nailed this finalist. Doogan and Stri keep their Sun Belt champs alive.
SUMMIT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS (8 points each):
The top two seeds in the Summit League will battle for the auto-bid in Sioux Falls on Tuesday night, as they both survived semifinals on Monday. Two of the twelve contestants correctly predicted this matchup–Doogan and Waters. In fact, Doogan remains perfect in the Summit League.
#1 Oakland 71 – #5 IPFW 58. Top-seeded Oakland held off a game IPFW squad and will advance to the Summit League championship on Tuesday night. Lohse and Teddy missed on this nice upset pick. KA and Stri had already lost it. Everyone else had Oakland in this one. Lil Lohse, Alexi, J, Ina, and Bry all keep their Summit League champ alive. Lohse lost his champ.
#2 IUPUI 69 – #3 Oral Roberts 65. IUPUI holds on to win a hard-fought game against #3 Oral Roberts. They shot 56% from the floor, but almost blew a double-digit second-half lead after a furious comeback by the Golden Eagles. Either way, the Jags will move on to face Oakland in Sioux Falls on Tuesday night for a shot in The Dance. Even though I had Oral Roberts in this one and Oakland winning this tournament, it’s hard not to root for Ron Hunter and his work with Samaritan’s Feet. Doogan, Stri, Waters, Lohse, and Teddy all nailed the IUPUI win. The other 8 entries all had ORU, so this was a big win for the IUPUI supporters. Doogan, Stri, Waters, and Teddy all have the Jags winning this tournament. Lynch and KA both lost their Summit League champs in this one.
SUMMIT LEAGUE STANDINGS (prior SL titles; *perfect bracket):
*34 – Doogan (’09t)
28 – Waters
26 – Alexi
26 – Bry
26 – Ina (’08*, ’09t)
26 – Lil Lohse
26 – Lohse
26 – Lynch
26 – Teddy
20 – J
12 – KA
12 – Stri (’09t)
