Wednesday and Thurday of Championship Week are about as good as it gets in this sport. So, buckle your seatbelts, put in your vacation requests, and turn on the TV, as there is wall-to-wall basketball for the next 72+ hours.
NEC CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points):
The NEC conference had center stage with the quarters last Thursday and the semis on Sunday, but now with the big conferences stepping up, their championship game is put down a rung. Either way, this should be a great game between the conference’s two best teams. Bry, Doogan, and Stri all have a shot at a perfect NEC bracket needing top-seeded Quinnipiac to come through tonight. If not, Lil Lohse will sneak in and take the 2010 NEC title.
#2 Robert Morris vs. #1 Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac has won two tough games to get here, while Robert Morris just pounded Mt. St. Mary’s in the semis. But, this one in on the home floor of QU, where they are 14-0 this season. Bry, Ina, Doogan, Stri, and KA all have Quinnipiac. Lil Lohse is the only one with Robert Morris and will take the NEC title if they win.
BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP (16 points):
The Big Sky championship is set, and it hasn’t struck midnight yet on the Grizzlies. Tonight is the biggest test they will face, however. Lohse, the current leader in the Big Sky standings, is the only one with Montana winning this tournament, so if they do, he will finish a Big Sky domination. If not, Bry, Ina, and Lil Lohse will share the 2010 Big Sky crown.
#4 Montana at #1 Weber St. Weber St., on the heels of their regular season title, gets to play the semis and finals of the conferent tournament on their home floor. Montana, who hammered N. Arizona, at home, in the quarterfinals, and then knocked off #2 N. Colorado in the semis last night. Tonight, they get a shot at #1 Weber St. Lohse has Montana. Lil Lohse, Waters, Alexi, Stri, J, Ina, and Bry all have Weber St.
BIG EAST SECOND ROUND (10 points each):
After the first of three straight MSG quadruple-headers yesterday, the second one takes place today. The four winners from yesterday are all back today to take on the #5- through 8-seeds, who enter the tournament today.
#9 S. Florida vs. #8 Georgetown (10-8). USF, after a closer-than-should-have-been first round game with DePaul now get to take on one of the best #8-seeds you will ever see in the Georgetown Hoyas, with the winner taking on Syracuse tomorrow in the quarters. Doogan, Lynch, and KA all have USF in the upset. Everyone else has G’town. No one has either of these teams beating the ‘Cuse next round.
#13 St. John’s vs. #5 Marquette (11-7). In the most unexpected result of the Big East first round, St. John’s hammered UConn, setting up a second-round matchup with Marquette. For those of you who know a guy named Kaplan, he promised that if St. John’s wins this tournament, he will wax his entire body and grow a comb-over in time for his wedding on Labor Day. So, everyone root like hell for the Johnnies…PLEASE. Anyway, the winner of this game will take on Villanova tomorrow in the quarters. Since KA was the only one that correctly had SJU winning the first round, no one has SJU winning this one. However, Bry, Alexi, J, and Waters all have UConn winning here, so they have already lost this game. Everyone else has Marquette. Doogan and Lil Lohse have the most at stake with Marquette, as they both have them in the semis.
#10 Seton Hall vs. #7 Notre Dame (10-8). In a thriller last night, Seton Hall nearly blew a THIRTY-point lead, but hung on to knock off Providence, 109-106. Their reward is a second round date today with Notre Dame. The winner of this game will play Pitt tomorrow. Waters, Lil Lohse, and KA all have Seton Hall in this upset. Everyone else has Notre Dame. This is a big game for J, Lynch, Lohse, and Teddy, who all have ND in the semis. Lohse has them all going all the way to the finals.
#11 Cincinnati vs. #6 Louisville (11-7). Cincinnati, despite atrocious free throw shooting down the stretch, did get one FT to fall when it mattered most and knocked off Rutgers in the nightcap last night. They will cap off tonight with a date with Louisville for the right to face West Virginia in the quarters. J, Alexi, and Teddy all have the Bearcats in a nice upset pick. Everyone else has Louisville, except Waters, who had Rutgers winning here. Lohse and KA both have Louisville going to the semis.
BIG XII OPENING ROUND (10 points each):
2009-10 may be the best year in the history of the great conference known as the Big XII. And, the conference tournament should be amazing to go along with this historic year for the conference. They probably have 6 NCAA tournament bids locked up, with the 7th just about locked up. So, as far as qualification for the Big Dance goes, the drama is over here, but there are some incredible matchups that will take place over the next couple of days in Kansas City, starting tonight. Lynch is the defending Big XII champ, while Bry won in ’08 with a near-perfect bracket (only missing on opening round game).
#9 Texas Tech (4-12) vs. #8 Colorado (6-10). The Buffs have started to put the pieces together down the stretch, while the Red Raiders have been pretty terrible all season long. The winner of this game gets a shot at #1-seed (and #1 ranked, nationally) Kansas. Ina, J, Alexi, and Waters all went with the minor upset of Texas Tech. No one has either of these teams beating Kansas in the next round.
#12 Nebraska (2-14) vs. #5 Missouri (10-6). The Missouri Tigers have made a nice follow-up year to a great season last year, even though they lost a ton of talent. Nebraska has become the doormat of this league, winning only 2 conference games all season. The winner of this game will get the 4-seeded Texas A&M Aggies. No one has Nebraska winning this game. Doogan, Lynch, and Lil Lohse all have Mizzou going to the semifinals.
#10 Oklahoma (4-12) vs. #7 Oklahoma St. (9-7). The battle of the Sooner State has gone against the Sooners twice already this year, as they try to avoid what would be a rough 3-game sweep at the hands of their in-state rivals. The Cowboys are probably in, regardless, but should sew up an at-large bid with a win tonight. The winner of this game will get #2 Kansas St. tomorrow. J is the only one who has the Sooners pulling off the upset here. In fact, the CTC’ers tend to have a LOT of faith in the Cowboys. Seven entries (Bry, Doogan, Waters, Lynch, both Lohses, and Teddy) have OSU beating K-State in the quarters. Three of them (Waters, Lynch, and Lohse) have them going to the finals.
#11 Iowa St. (4-12) vs. #6 Texas (9-7). It has hard to say what has happened in Amex this year. The Cyclones have a load of talent, but they have just had a terrible season. But, March brings redemption chances and theirs begins tonight against the Longhorns, with the winner advancing to the quarters to play #3 Baylor. Texas has had a well-documented rollercoaster of a season thus far. Well, not exactly a roller coaster, as it hasn’t kept going up and down, up and down. It is more like a mountain–both sides–as it started going straight up, reached the ultimate pinnacle (#1 in the country) and has been steadily falling ever since (possibly becoming the first team ever to be #1 that late in the season and then finish the season unranked). It should be interesting what they do here in the Big XII tournament going into the NCAA tournament. Bry, Stri, and Lohse all have Iowa St. in the upset. KA, Waters, and J all have Texas winning two games in this tournament.
PAC-10 OPENING ROUND (10 points):
The worst regular season in the history of the Pac-10 has ended, and it’s time to crown a champion of all unranked teams. Defending champion USC (thanks to O.J. Mayo) is on probation and will not be competing. Alexi is the defending Pac-10 champ. Doogan won it back in ’08.
#9 Washington St. (6-12) vs. #8 Oregon (7-11). The only game of the night is a battle between the bottom two teams in the conference. The winner of this game will play #1 Cal in the quarters tomorrow. Bry, Ina, Doogan, and Alexi have the minor upset with Wazzu in this one. Waters has Oregon going to the semis.
MOUNTAIN WEST OPENING ROUND (8 points):
The Mountain West, maybe the most top-heavy league in the country, has its one opening round game tonight between its two worst teams. Lynch took the Mountain West title last year; J won it in ’08. Doogan has finished last in the M-West in back-to-back seasons, so he’s trying to turn it around.
#9 Air Force (1-15) vs. #8 Wyoming (3-13). The two worst teams in the M-West tip-off its conference tournament in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, with the winner taking on #1 New Mexico tomorrow in the quarters. KA, Waters, Ina, and Bry all have the Air Force in the mild upset. No one has either team beating New Mexico tomorrow.
CONFERENCE USA OPENING ROUND (6 points each):
The conference formerly known as The Memphis Conference tips off tonight for the first time in recent memory without Memphis being the overwhelming favorite to take the title. Then again, the Tigers are the #2 seed and have a great shot at continuing their dominance of this tournament here in Tulsa. After Ina took the 2008 C-USA title, Bry took it away last year with 204 points in a near perfect bracket.
#10 E. Carolina (4-12) vs. #7 Houston (7-9). The opening game of the tournament is ECU vs. the Houston Cougars, with the winner getting Memphis tomorrow afternoon. Even though it is only a 7-10 matchup, no one took the underdog Pirates. Lohse, Lynch, and J all have enough faith in Houston to have them beating Memphis tomorrow as well as ECU today.
#11 Tulane (3-13) vs. #6 S. Mississippi (8-8). The Green Wave of Tulane have a struggling program, as they finish another poor year in C-USA. They open their postseason against S. Miss, with the winner to face #3 UAB. Stri, Waters, and KA all have Tulane beating S. Miss here. Doogan and Lohse both have S. Miss going to the semis; Lohse has them winning again and reaching the C-USA finals.
#12 Rice (1-15) vs. #5 Tulsa (10-6). The Golden Hurricane of Tulsa get (a) to play the tournament in their home city and (b) to get to play the hapless Rice Owls in the first round. The winner of this game will play the upstart Marshall Thundering Herd. KA has the big upset pick of Rice in this one. Teddy, Lil Lohse, Alexi, Stri, Doogan, Ina, and Bry all have Tulsa going to the semis.
#9 C. Florida (6-10) vs. #8 SMU (7-9). A very disappointing season for the SMU Mustangs, as they were supposed to have a very talented squad this year, yet they finished in the middle of a mediocre conference. UCF has also taken a downturn after it looked like they might establish themselves as a serious program. The winner of this game will get the C-USA’s top-seed, UTEP, in the quarters. Teddy, KA, Alexi, and J all have UCF winning this game. No one has either of these teams knocking off UTEP in the quarters.
SOUTHLAND QUARTERFINALS (4 points each):
The Southland Conference (who I have no idea why they don’t play their tournament a week earlier) opens their tournament today with a quadruple-header in Katy, TX, today. Waters is the defending Southland champion. Bry won the conference title in ’08 with a whole 11 points, and exactly zero correct picks after the first round.
#7 UT-Arlington (8-8) vs. #2 Stephen F. Austin (11-5). The Lumberjacks of SFA take on the Mavericks of UTA in the opening game of the Southland Conference. All 12 CTC’ers picked the Lumberjacks in this one (probably because of the amazing nickname). Waters has the most at stake here, as he has SFA winning this tournament.
#6 Texas St. (9-7) vs. #3 SE Louisiana (10-6). In the second game of the day, SE La will play Texas St. These two teams were only separated by one game in the standings, so it should be a good game. (Can you tell that I have absolutely NOTHING to say about this one?) Less than half the field (Teddy, KA, Lohse, Lynch, and Waters) have the favored SE Louisiana in this one. But, two of those five (Lohse and KA) believe enough in the Lions to have them winning the entire tournament. J has Texas St. in the finals.
#8 Nicholls St. (7-9) vs. #1 Sam Houston St. (14-2). The first game of the night portion of the double-header features the regular-season champ, Sam Houston St. taking on Nicholls St. who barely even qualified for the SL tournament. KA is the only one who took Nicholls St. in this nice upset pick. Most of the CTC has SHSU winning this whole tournament.
#5 UT-San Antonio (9-7) vs. #4 Texas A&M – Corpus Christie (10-6). Just when you thought that the Lumberjacks was the best nickname in the conference, you are introduced to the Roadrunners of UT-San Antonio. They take on Texas A&M – CC tonight in the nightcap of the MUCH-anticipated Southland quadruple-header. Only KA, Waters, Alexi, and Stri have the favorites in this one. Obviously, they didn’t know the nickname. KA has Texas A&M – CC in the finals.
SWAC QUARTERFINALS (4 points each):
And another conference where I have no idea why they don’t play last week, but, well, they don’t. And, they split up their quarters, with the top two seeds playing the first night and the 3- and 4-seeds playing tomorrow. Waters won the SWAC in ’08, but then Ina went perfect last year.
#7 Mississippi Valley St. (8-10) vs. #2 Arkansas-Pine Bluff (14-4). The first game of the night is AR-Pine Bluff versus the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley St. I’m already sick of typing Mississippi Valley St., so I hope they lose. Doogan and Stri have MVSU not only winning this game, but going to the finals. Everyone else has UAPB in this one.
#8 Grambling St. (4-14) vs. #1 Jackson St. (17-1). JSU dominated the SWAC this year and they open the tournament tonight against Grambling. All 12 CTC’ers have Jackson St. taking care of business tonight. Bry, Ina, Doogan, Stri, Alexi, Lynch, and Waters all have JSU winning the SWAC.
GREAT WEST QUARTERFINALS (4 points each):
In the first ever Great West tournament, the top seed gets a bye to the semis, while the other six battle it out in the quarters. This conference does not provide an automatic bid to the tournament, but they might play hard anyway. Since this is the inaugural year of the GW, there is no defending champ. Don’t expect much analysis from me on this conference. Sorry all you Great West fans.
#5 Texas-Pan American (4-8) vs. #4 Utah Valley (5-7). In a conference that spreads from Texas to North Dakota and Utah to New Jersey, the Utah Valley Wolverines get to play the conference tournament in their home state. They open the tournament tonight against TX-Pan American, with the winner having to face #1 South Dakota. J, Doogan, Lynch, KA, and Teddy all have Texas-Pan American in this mild upset. Teddy and KA both have UTPA going to the finals.
#7 Chicago St. (4-8) vs. #2 Houston Baptist (9-3). In the second game, the only above-.500 team in the conference playing tonight, Houston Baptist, takes on the bottom seed, Chicago St. Alexi and J both have Chicago St. in a nice upset pick. KA has Houston Baptist winning this tournament.
#6 N.J. Tech (4-8) vs. #3 North Dakota (5-7). NJIT has had quite the road schedule this year playing in a conference called “the Great West.” They come all the way across the country again for the tournament and they give them the latest game on the schedule, facing North Dakota. J, Doogan, Alexi, Waters, and Lohse all have NJIT in this upset. J, Waters, and Alexi even have them going to the finals.
MEAC OPENING ROUND/QUARTERFINALS (2 points each/4 points each):
In the strangest scheduled tournament of the bunch, the MEAC plays one opening round game and two quarterfinals tonight.
#11 Coppin St. (3-13) vs. #6 MD-Eastern Shore (8-8). In the holdover opening round game, Coppin St. (who went 3-13 this year despite building a huge new arena–good job, guys) takes on MD-Eastern Shore, who didn’t finish last in the MEAC for the first time in the history of the CTC. Bry, Stri, Alexi, Waters, and Lil Lohse all have the Coppin St. upset pick here. Stri and Waters took it even further with Coppin St. going to the semis.
#7 Bethune-Cookman vs. #2 Delaware St. (11-5). Bethune-Cookman, who won an opening round game last night takes on the #2-seeded Delaware St. squad. No one has Bethune-Cookman in this one, but Teddy and J have already lost it, having picked FAMU to win this one. Lynch and Waters have the most at stake here with DSU, as they have them winning the title.
#9 N.C. A&T vs. #1 Morgan St. (15-1). N.C. A&T, the other opening round winner last night, gets rewarded with the MEAC juggernaut, Morgan St. Everyone has Morgan in this one. More than half of the field has Morgan St. winning this tournament.
BIG WEST OPENING ROUND (2 points each):
The Big West opens their pointless second week tournament tonight. Sorry, it’s not pointless, but it should not be played in the second week. Bry is coming off a perfect Big West bracket. Doogan dominated (almost perfect) the Big West in ’08.
#8 CS-Northridge (6-10) vs. #5 CS-Fullerton (8-8). The Matadors versus the Titans in a great clash tonight in Anaheim. Less than half of the field (KA, Waters, Alexi, Stri, and Ina) actually took the favorite here. J, Doogan, and Teddy all have Northridge going to the finals. Waters and KA both have Fullerton winning this whole tournament.
#7 UC-Irvine (6-10) vs. #6 Cal Poly (7-9). And, finally it’s Cal Poly versus the Anteaters of UC-Irvine. Stri, Lynch and Teddy are the only three with Cal Poly in this one. Stri has them going to the finals. Both Lohses have the Anteaters making the finals.
