After 30 games last night, there are 44 more today. Is this heaven?
BIG EAST QUARTERFINALS ROUND (20 points each):
The third consecutive day with a Big East quadruple-header in Madison Square Garden is today. The first two days were fantastic and produced four survivors. Add those four to the top four seeds in the conference, and you have yourself an incredible quarterfinal day in NYC.
#8 Georgetown vs. #1 Syracuse (15-3). In a game that is more qualified for a Sweet 16 game in the NCAA tournament is the 1-8 game in the Big East tournament. Has there ever been a better 1-8 matchup in a conference tournament? You’ve got a dark horse Final Four contender against a legit top three team in the country. Wow. Everyone has Syracuse winning this game. Though they have them in this game, Teddy, KA, Alexi, and Bry may be rooting against the ‘Cuse because they are the only four that don’t have them winning the tournament.
#5 Marquette vs. #4 Villanova (13-5). The second game of the day is another fantastic matchup with top 20 teams. The ‘Cats of Villanova start their postseason against a Marquette team that barely survived a St. John’s scare yesterday. Doogan and Lil Lohse are the only two with Marquette in this one. J has already lost it (UConn). The game is biggest for Teddy, Alexi, and KA, who all have ‘Nova winning the tournament.
#7 Notre Dame vs. #2 Pittsburgh (13-5). The first game of the night session introduces us to the unlikeliest of #2-seeds in the best conference in the country, the Pitt Panthers. Despite losing a TON of talent, Jamie Dixon shows the world that college hoops is all about the coach, and he is one of the best. They take on Notre Dame, who should have wrapped up an at-large bid with a win over Seton Hall yesterday. J, Lynch, Lohse, and Teddy all have Notre Dame in this big upset. Lohse has them going to the finals. Waters and KA are the only two that have Pitt reaching the finals; neither of them have them winning.
#11 Cincinnati vs. #3 West Virginia (13-5). Cincinnati has had a couple of firsts in the last two nights. Tuesday, they held on to beat Rutgers to secure their first ever Big East tournament win. Then, last night, they became the first team in this new format to win a game in the first round and then another in the second round. Under this format, the one-bye teams had been 7-0 in their first games until the late game last night, when Cincinnati knocked off Louisville. Now, they will try and make the semis by beating a coach that they know well–Bobby Huggins. No one has Cincinnati winning this game, but Lohse and KA both have Louisville, so they will be rooting for WV to zero this game out. Bry is the biggest WV fan in this field, as he is the only one with them taking the Big East title.
BIG XII QUARTERFINALS (20 points each):
After an interesting opening round in the Big XII, the big boys have arrived in Kansas City to join the party.
#9 Texas Tech vs. #1 Kansas (15-1). In the first game, the #1 team in the country begins its postseason with a game against Pat Knight’s Texas Tech Red Raiders. All 12 entries have KU winning this game. Only KA and Doogan have someone other than Kansas winning this tournament.
#12 Nebraska vs. #4 Texas A&M (11-5). The shocker of the day yesterday was Nebraska not only beating Mizzou, but beating them badly. Now, they get to try and do the same to Texas A&M in the quarters. Doogan, Lynch, and Lil Lohse have already lost this game with Missouri. Everyone else has Texas A&M. No one has A&M going to the finals.
#7 Oklahoma St. vs. #2 Kansas St. (11-5). The Cowboys hammered their in-state rivals, Oklahoma, yesterday and now get to take on K-State. A shocking number of entries have OSU in the upset here. In fact, only J, Stri, Alexi, KA, and Ina have the #2 seed in this game. The other seven entries all have Oklahoma St. in the upset. KA has K-State winning the tournament. Lohse, Lynch, and Waters all have Ok State going to the finals.
#6 Texas vs. #3 Baylor (11-5). Has Texas righted the ship? It’s hard to say simply after a win against Iowa St., but we might know late Wednesday night after they take on a very good Baylor team in the quarters. J, Waters, and KA all have Texas in this upset, though none of them have the ‘Horns in the finals. Doogan has the most faith in his Baylor Bears, as he has them winning this tournament.
PAC-10 QUARTERFINALS (20 points each):
After an OT-thriller late last night (more on that later because one of my pet peeves was very much in display in that one), the Pac-10 is ready to get going with their quarterfinals in LA. Down year or no down year, you can expect really good basketball in the Staples Center this week because this conference, regardless of how much talent they’ve lost to The Association, they still have one of the best collection of head coaches in America. Any time you have Ben Howland, Mike Montgomery, and Herb Sendak, you’ve got yourself some really good basketball.
#5 UCLA (8-10) vs. #4 Arizona (10-8). In a game that is supposed to be the Pac-10 final every year is just a simple 4-5 quarterfinal between two middling teams who need the auto-bid to make The Dance. But, don’t ever count out ben Howland–one of the best coaches in America, hands down. Teddy, J, Stri, and Alexi all have the mild upset of UCLA in this one. Everyone else has ‘Zona. No one has either of these teams reaching the finals.
#8 Oregon vs. #1 California (13-5). The Ducks managed to hold on in OT last night, thanks to some questionable coaching decisions on the other bench. But, either way, Tajuan Porter and the rest of the Ducks get to take on top-seeded Cal today. The Bears won their first Pac-10 title in two generations thanks to yet another amazing coaching job by Mike Montgomery (whom I have said many times, is easily one of the best 5 college coaches I have seen in my lifetime). Waters has the big upset pick with Oregon today. Everyone else has Cal. Bry, Ina, Doogan, and Alexi have Cal winning this tournament.
#7 Stanford (7-11) vs. #2 Arizona St. (12-6). One of the two players that taught me the art of playing the point is now the head coach at Stanford. Johnny Dawkins (along with Temple’s Howie Evans) showed me, in my “formative” basketball-learning years, what being a point guard was all about. He’s had a pretty good season in his coaching debut. Dawkins and his Cardinal were probably the biggest beneficiaries of the USC debacle, as they went from the 8-seed and playing a play-in game for the right ot play Cal to a 7-seed with a bye to the quarters and a date with Arizona St. Another amazing coach, Herb Sendak, has brought ASU back to national prominence and has a good shot to go back to the tournament, despite losing a lottery pick, another draft pick, and a solid senior leader at the point. No one has Stanford winning this game. But, only J, Waters, and KA have the Sun Devils in the finals. All three of them have ASU winning this tournament.
#6 Oregon St. (8-10) vs. #3 Washington (11-7). This was supposed to be the year for the Beavers, and they did have a nice season, but I’m guessing that Coach Robinson isn’t looking for an 8-10 conference record to be his “up-year.” Likewise, I would think that UW is probably a bit disappointed by their season, even though they have a good chance to make the tourney again, despite losing Jon Brockman. But, they have enough talent to have won this conference and not have to worry about the committee. Either way, it looks like whichever teams reaches the finals from the bottom of this bracket (be it UW or ASU), should get in. But, it starts today. KA is the only one to take Oregon St. in the upset. But, a lot of people have a lot at stake in the Huskies, as they were the most popular Pac-1o title choice, as Stri, Lynch, both Lohses, and Teddy all have UW winning this tournament.
ACC OPENING ROUND (10 points each):
I hate the ACC. Just like I hate the Big East. I hate that they just hand-pick their recruits from anywhere in the country. I hate their five or six automatic bids to the tournament every year. I hate their over-exposure-creating TV alliances. I hate their entitled fans and their privileged coaches. But, I only hate these things because I’m jealous. And, when it comes to conference tournament time, I “profess” my hatred for them, all the while giddy with excitement for the potential matchups all week. So, because of the ACC and the Big East, I am leaving work today at 11:30. I am sitting on my couch with channel 4 (Big XII), channel 5 (ACC), channel 6 (Big East), channel 200-something (Pac-10), and even channel 700-something (MAC). And, yes, I hate it, but I am incredibly excited. Doogan is the defending ACC champ; Bry won in ’08.
#9 Virginia (5-11) vs. #8 Boston College (6-10). UVa got off to an incredible start, and there were even some quiet (very quiet) whispers about potential ACC title contention. But, then the wheels fell off and they stumbled to another lower-division finish. But, all in all, you have to hand it to another great coach, Tony Bennett, and his success and possiblity of future success at UVa. BC, on the other hand, is too talented to finish in 8th place of any conference that is having a “down year.” But, if they can beat UVa today, they get a shot to put themselves more on the map with a shot at #1 Duke. Ina, J, Stri, and Teddy all have the mild upset in UVa. No one has either of these teams beating Duke in the quarters.
#12 Miami (FL) (4-12) vs. #5 Wake Forest (9-7). The Demon Deacons may be looking at the soft bubble thinking that they are safe. And, they might be. But, if you’re asking me, they might want to avoid a loss to Miami today in the opening round, so that the Committee doesn’t have a reason to leave them out. The winner of this game gets Virginia Tech, so they would get a shot at another good win to secure their spot. Bry, Ina, Doogan, Stri, Lohse, and Teddy all have Miami in this upset. J and Waters have Wake in the semis. KA has them in the finals.
#10 North Carolina (5-11) vs. #7 Georgia Tech (7-9). Is that a zero next to the 1 in the seed of UNC? Really?!? Well, unless they win four games in the four nights, the Tar Heels are NIT-bound. Georgia Tech thinks they’re safe. I don’t. They should probably try and avoid a loss here. The winner gets Maryland tomorrow night. Bry, Ina, Stri, Waters, Lil Lohse, and KA all have UNC in the upset. KA has them in the semis. Lohse is the only one that has Georgia Tech over Maryland in the quarters, so he’s hoping they come through today to give him a shot at that upset.
#11 N.C. State (5-11) vs. #6 Clemson (9-7). The Wolfpack fans ran out Herb Sendak and now they can watch ASU make the tournament every year, as their team hasn’t made it since. Clemson is about as good of a 6-seed as you will find anywhere, in any year. That just goes to show you how unimpressive their conference season was. But, the slate is clean here. The winner of this game gets Florida St. in the quarters. KA has N.C. State in this upset. Stri has N.C. State not only winning this one, but also has them beating Florida St. for some huge upset potential. Clemson, on the other hand, is a very popular CTC pick. Eight entries have Clemson beating FSU and going to the semis. Lohse and Teddy even have them in the finals, so there would be a lot of points lost if they were to fall tonight against N.C. State.
SEC OPENING ROUND (10 points each):
The SEC opens today with their opening round quadruple-header in Nashville. The eastern division was much better than the western division this year, so there are two solid teams (Tennessee and Florida) that probably would have won the west, that have to play the opening round because of divisional alignment. The two Mississippi schools get the benefits, as they finished 1-2 in the West and got the byes. Alexi is the defending SEC champ, while Waters won back in ’08. Bry has finished last in the SEC in back-to-back seasons, so he will try and figure something out in this conference.
#5E South Carolina (6-10) vs. #4W Alabama (6-10). S. Carolina has had some big wins, but has not had a great season. Alabama just has not broken out to be the program that they believe they can be. The winner of this game will get a shot at Kentucky. Lil Lohse, Bry, J, Doogan, Ina, and Waters all have S. Carolina in this upset. KA is the only one with either of these teams in the semis, as she has Alabama knocking off Kentucky in the quarters.
#6W LSU (2-14) vs. #3E Tennessee (11-5). What another incredibly coaching job by Bruce Pearl. In my mind, he is the national coach of the year (with all respect to Steve Alford). The Vols open the SEC tournament with a bad LSU team, who has actually won back-to-back conference games after losing their first 14 straight. The winner of this game will get Ole Miss in the quarters. Waters is the only one that took the bait on the huge upset point associated with an LSU pick. Everyone who picked Tennessee here, except KA, has Tennessee also beating Ole Miss in the next round. Doogan and Lohse all have them in the finals. Lynch has them winning the whole thing.
#5W Auburn (6-10) vs. #4E Florida (9-7). The Gators might be on the bubble, so they better avoid a loss to Auburn in the opening round here. The winner of this game will get western division champion, Mississippi St., in the quarters tomorrow. KA is the only one to pick Auburn in this one. Florida is a very popular pick to advance deep in this tournament. Of the 11 that picked Florida in the first round, only Doogan and Alexi do not have them moving to the semis. Waters and Teddy even have them going to the title game.
#6E Georgia (5-11) vs. #3W Arkansas (7-9). The Dawgs of Georgia have had a very up and down year, but it’s nothing compared to the roller-coaster that has been Arkansas’s season. Late tonight, they will play for the right to meet Vanderbilt in the quarters tomorrow night. Only Waters, Lynch, and the two Lohses have the favored Razorbacks in this one. Everyone else has UGa. Teddy has UGa reaching the semis. Waters has the most faith in Arkansas, as he has them in the semis.
BIG TEN OPENING ROUND (10 points each):
The Big Ten conference runs about six deep this year, so the real games won’t start until tomorrow, but there is still some jockeying for position with the bottom six teams that play today. Bry is the two-time defending champion in the Big Ten, so he will try and make it a three-peat this year.
#10 Indiana (4-14) vs. #7 Northwestern (7-11). Just when it looked like Northwestern would finally make the tournament (they are the only team in a power conference to have never made the tourney), they lose two games to last-place Penn St., all but destroying their at-large hopes. It’s not over, as they can stil win the tournament and get in, but it’s a long road now. They open with Indiana and their great coach, Tom Creen. The young Hoosiers are playing a lot better lately, but they are still reeling, as a program, from the whole Kelvin Sampson debacle. The winner of this game will play #2 Purdue. The popular pick in this game is the underdog Hoosiers, as only the two Lohses, J, and Doogan have Northwestern in this one. No one has either of these teams beating Purdue in the quarters.
#11 Penn St. (3-15) vs. #6 Minnesota (9-9). Penn St. has Taylor Battle back on a team that won the NIT, but they have just not put it together this year, losing a lot of close games. Tubby Smith’s Gophers have had a controversial year off the court, but on the court they are really starting to play well at the right time. Don’t count them out from winning this tournament and stealing a bubble spot. It’ll be a tough road, though, as the winner of this game has to turn around about play Michigan St. tomorrow in the quarters. J, Doogan, Waters, Lohse, and Teddy all have Penn St. in the big upset. No one has either of these teams beating MSU.
#9 Iowa (4-14) vs. #8 Michigan (7-11). What is wrong with Michigan? Don’t they have talent? I really don’t get it because they just stink this year. Well, they don’t stink as bad as the Iowa Hawkeyes, but they are so much more talented. Either way, the winner of this game will take on Ohio St. in the quarters. KA and Stri are the only two that have the mild upset of Iowa in this game. No one has either of these teams to beat Ohio St. next round.
MOUNTAIN WEST QUARTERFINALS (16 points):
After a brutal 59-40 game between the conference’s worst two teams, the Mountain West fans can rejoice the start of the real tournament. This is a very underrated, albeit top-heavy, conference this year, which should have a great tournament out in Sin City.
#9 Air Force vs. #1 New Mexico (14-2). What a coaching effort by Steve Alford, as he has the New Mexico Lobos in the top 10 and with an outside shot at a #2 seed. But, they have their work cut out for them before even thinking about NCAA seedings. Well, the work probably won’t really start today, as they get a bad AFA squad. Stri has already lost this game, with Wyoming, but everyone else has New Mexico. Half of the field has New Mexico winning this tournament.
#5 Colorado St. (7-9) vs. #4 San Diego St. (11-5). This has been a pretty good year for the Colorado St. program that is making real strides. But, San Diego St. is one of the best #4 seeds in any conference tournament not named Villanova. That shows you how good this tournament might get if the favorites all win today. Only Waters has CSU in this one. SDSU is a popular pick in the M-West. Doogan and Lohse have them going to the finals. Lynch and KA have them winning the title.
#7 TCU (5-11) vs. #2 BYU (13-3). Free tip for next week’s bracket picks: pay attention to BYU and their matchups. They could be a dark-horse final four contender, but they would have to be in a region with a team like Kentucky or Kansas or even be able to avoid a team like Florida St. or Vanderbilt or someone like that. But, if you can draw a path for BYU to the Final Four without them having to face a team with a dominant front line, don’t be afraid to take a chance. You heard it here first…don’t bring it up if they lose to Virginia Tech in the first round. But, the Cougars are focused now on the task at hand and the Horned Frogs in the opening round. No one has TCU in this game, but only Bry, Stri, and the two Lohses have BYU reaching the finals. And, only Lohse has BYU winning it.
#6 Utah (7-9) vs. #3 UNLV (11-5). What a disappointing season for the Utes, and now to boot, they have to face UNLV in the quarters. The Rebels are so tough in this tournament, which is held in the Thomas & Mack Center on their campus. The Rebels should be okay for an at-large, but a win here wouldn’t hurt. The two Lohses, Lynch, and KA all have Utah in this nice upset. Lynch and KA have them in the finals. Doogan and Teddy believe in the Vegas magic, as they both have UNLV winning this tournament.
CONFERENCE USA QUARTERFINALS (12 points each):
In the conference formerly known as The Memphis Conference, it’s a new era and the top four teams in the C-USA join the fray with a wide open field.
#7 Houston vs. #2 Memphis (13-3). Memphis is about as bubbilicious as it gets right now, so a loss here would be absolutely devastating. Houston dropped 93 on ECU yesterday, so their offense is rolling. J, Lynch, and Lohse all have the Houston upset here. Everyone else has Memphis. Teddy, KA, and Stri have Memphis winning this tournament.
#6 S. Mississippi vs. #3 UAB (11-5). S. Miss struggled to beat a bad Tulane team yesterday, but a win is a win and they moved on to get UAB today in the quarters. But, they are going to need a better performance today, as UAB is looking to get into the bubble discussion. Doogan and Lohse both have S. Miss upsetting UAB in this one. Lohse has them going to the title game. Lynch is the biggest UAB fan in the field, as he has them winning the title.
#5 Tulsa vs. #4 Marshall (11-5). Tulsa may have looked past #12 Rice yesterday, as they struggled to beat the last-place Owls. Well, they can’t look past Marshall today, as the Thundering Herd has had one of the better seasons in program history. Tulsa is the popular pick here, as only J, Waters, Lohse, and KA have Marshall in this game. Waters has them going to the finals, obviously in honor of Matthew McConaghy.
#9 C. Florida vs. #1 UTEP (15-1). UCF ended SMU’s season yesterday with a 16-point opening round win. Now, they get UTEP in the quarters. When you ask what is the best team in the country that no one is talking about, the answer might just be UTEP. Led by rising star in the former UMass swingman, Tony Barbee, on the sidelines, and controversial former Louisville big man (and, I do mean ‘big’), Derrick Caracter. Everyone has UTEP in this game. Half the field has UTEP winning this tournament.
MAC QUARTERFINALS (12 points each):
After the opening round taking place on campus sites, the MAC tournament shift to Quicken Arena in Cleveland for the quarterfinals.
#7 W. Michigan vs. #2 C. Michigan (9-7). W. Michigan survived at home against Bowling Green to get themselves to Cleveland for the quarters against in-state rival C. Michigan. J has already lost this game with Bowling Green, but the rest of the field is involved in a pretty big swing game, actually. Teddy, Lil Lohse, Ina, Doogan, and Alexi all have W. Michigan in the upset. The other six have Central. No one has either of these teams making the finals, as every single entry had Akron in the finals from the bottom half of the bracket.
#6 E. Michigan vs. #3 Akron (12-4). The Akron Zips lost the regular season title on the last day of the season and fell to the #3 seed because the MAC guarantees the top two seeds to the two division winners. Either way, the Zips are still in the bottom of the bracket. E. Michigan survived at home against a game N. Illinois team to get here to Cleveland. Everyone has Akron winning this game and the next to get to the finals. Half the field (J, Waters, Lynch, Lohse, KA, and Teddy) has Akron winning the title.
#9 Ohio vs. #1 Kent St. (13-3). Kent was the team that beat Akron on the last day of the season to take the MAC regular season title and the #1 seed. Ohio had a nice OT win at Ball St. on Sunday to get a shot at #1 Kent. Lohse and Teddy have huge upset potentials here, as they have Ohio winning this game. Teddy even has them making the finals. An upset here wouldn’t be that bad for J, Lynch, and KA either because they all have Kent losing in the semis. The half of the field that does not have Akron winning the MAC title (Bry, Ina, Doogan, Stri, Alexi, and Lil Lohse) have Kent St. winning it.
#5 Buffalo vs. #4 Miami (OH) (9-7). Buffalo hammered a bad Toledo team on Sunday as a tune-up for the tournament in Cleveland. They now get Miami (OH) in the quarters. This is a bit of a swing game, as four entries have one of these teams playing in the finals. J, Lynch, and Lohse have Buffalo in the finals. KA has Miami (OH) in the finals. Doogan, Stri, Waters, KA, and Teddy all have Miami in this game. The other 7 have Buffalo in a mild upset.
SOUTHLAND SEMIFINALS (8 points each):
Well, I have to apologize to all the CTC’ers. The bracket in the Southland was wrong, in that I had the SE La – Texas St. game as the 3-6 game and the Tx A&M CC – UTSA game as the 4-5 game, when that was backwards. After all these years of doing this, this is the first time I’ve messed up a bracket and it happened several times. My bad. Fortunately, it all completely works out because no one has a final that cannot happen. We’ll just keep the upset points as they should have been and pretend nothing happened. Either way, we had some close games in the quarters last night, so we can expect a decent semifinal round today.
#4 SE Louisiana vs. #1 Sam Houston St. Sam Houston St. held on last night against Nicholls St. SE Louisiana needed OT to beat Texas St. by a single point. Now, they face each other for a chance to play inthe Southland title game. KA and Lohse both have SE Louisiana in the upset here, as they both have SE La winning this whole tournament. Most of the field has SHSU winning this tournament.
#3 Texas A&M – CC vs. #2 Stephen F. Austin. Corpus Christie took care of the Roadrunners of UTSA by 12. The #2-seeded Lumberjacks of SFA took care of UT-Arlington by 23. They face in the nightcap in the Southland. KA is the only one with Corpus Christie in this one. Lohse has already lost this game with UTSA. Everyone else has Stephen F. Austin. Defending Southland champion, Waters, is the only one to pick SFA to win this tournament.
WAC QUARTERFINALS (8 points each):
The midnight snack in the WAC gets underway today with their quarterfinal round. In 2008, Alexi only missed the 8-9 play-in game en route to a WAC title. Then, last year, Bry took a perfect bracket into the final, but lost it, though he still took the title. We’ll see what happens this year, as they have eliminated the play-in game (presumably because they didn’t want to always make Hawaii fly in for one game). The tournament is held in Reno–the home of the University of Nevada.
#8 Boise St. (5-11) vs. #1 Utah St. (14-2). The first game of the day is the WAC’s dominant program, Utah St. against Boise St. Everyone had USU in this one. Only Waters, Lynch, and KA do not have Utah St. winning this whole tournament.
#5 Fresno St. (7-9) vs. #4 Louisiana Tech (9-7). The second game pits a solid La Tech against Fresno. Lohse and KA were the only two that took Fresno in this one. KA has Fresno going to the finals. Lynch has La Tech in the finals.
#7 Idaho (6-10) vs. #2 Nevada (11-5). The hosts, Nevada will play the first game of the night session against #7 Idaho. Teddy is the only one to take a shot with the Idaho big upset. Waters, Lynch, and KA have Nevada winning the whole tournament.
#6 San Jose St. (6-10) vs. #3 New Mexico St. (11-5). New Mexico St. will open their postseason with San Jose St. in the nightcap. KA and Lynch both have the San Jose St. upset. Teddy and Ina are the only ones that have NM State in the finals.
BIG WEST QUARTERFINALS (4 points each):
Out in Anaheim, the Big West tournament continues after a double-header last night, they have another double-header tonight, as the 3- and 4-seeds play the winners from last night. The two winners tonight will play the top two seeds tomorrow in a semifinal double-header.
#5 CS-Fullerton vs. #4 UC-Davis (8-8). Last night, the Titans of Fullerton knocked off CS-Northridge to advance to the quarters tonight. Their opponent is UC-Davis, who had one of the best seasons in program history. Bry, Stri, Alexi, and Lynch have UC-Davis in this one. Waters and KA have CS-Fullerton in this game and the next.
#6 Cal Poly vs. #3 Long Beach St. (8-8). Cal Poly edged the Anteaters of UC-Irvine last night to advance to this quarterfinal matchup with LBSU. Dan Monson’s 49ers finished a disappointing third in the conference, but have a shot at redemption starting late tonight. Bry, Alexi, Waters, Lil Lohse, KA, and Teddy all have LBSU in this one. Lynch and Stri both have Cal Poly. No one has either team reaching the finals.
MEAC QUARTERFINALS (4 points each):
After two nights in Winston-Salem, the MEAC is down to six teams left. The final four will be decided tonight.
#6 MD-Eastern Shore vs. #3 S.C. State (10-6). MD-Eastern Shore took out Coppin St. yesterday afternoon and now they get S.C. State. Doogan has the MD-ES upset pick. Waters and Stri had Coppin St. Everyone else has S.C. State here. KA has S.C. State winning this tournament.
#5 Hampton (8-8) vs. #4 Norfolk St. (9-7). In a very big swing game in the CTC, Hampton meets Norfolk St. in the 4-5 game. Neither of these teams played on either of the first two nights of the tourney, so this is their postseason debut. Doogan, Alexi, Waters, and KA all have the Hampton upset pick. Waters has Hampton reaching the finals. The other eight entries have Norfolk St. winning here, but some are more invested than others. Stri, Lynch, and Teddy have Norfolk St. going to the finals, with Stri and Teddy both having them win it.
SWAC QUARTERFINALS (4 points each):
The night after… Last night in Shreveport, the big favorites to win this whole thing, Jackson St., went down to the #8 seed, Grambling St. Now the field is wide open, so these games are even bigger.
#5 Texas-Southern (11-7) vs. #4 Prairie View A&M (11-7). With Jackson St. removed from the top of the bracket, this game becomes gigantic, as two 11-7 teams battle to be the favorite to go to the finals of the SWAC tourney. KA and Lynch are the only two that have Prairie View winning this game. But, this game is really biggest for Lohse, as he is the only one that didn’t have Jackson St. in the finals. He has Texas-Southern making the finals, so if they can come through tonight, they have a good shot to pull off a Montana for him.
#6 Alabama A&M (8-10) vs. #3 Alabama St. (12-6). The two Alabama schools will play each other in the quarters for the chance to play Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the semis tomorrow night. J and KA both have Alabama A&M in the upset. Everyone else has Alabama St. This is biggest for the Lohse family, as they both have Alabama St. winning this whole thing.
Two good ones in the early session at MSG today, especially the Nova-Marquette game. Guess its a pretty good conference when two teams that were ranked in the top 5 for most of the year can’t even make it past the quarterfinals of their conference tourney.