Broad Street Believers

It only took a week and a half, but the top two teams in, essentially, a two-team conference will finally enter the fray here in the Big Sky tonight for the semifinal round.

#1 Montana vs. #4 Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington came from behind to knock off Idaho St. on Saturday, setting up a meeting with the top-seeded Grizzlies in Missoula.  Montana split with Weber St. and won their other 14 conference games to secure the all-important #1-seed and homecourt advantage.  Now, they just have to protect the house tonight and tomorrow night and they’re going dancing.  19 people have Montana winning this game, with KA the lone dissenting opinion, but she’s already lost it with Idaho St. here.  13 people have Montana winning this tournament.

#2 Weber St. vs. #3 Portland St.
Not only did the #1-seed get the Grizzlies homecourt advantage, but it also got them to avoid Portland St. in the semis.  Not that the Pilots really have much of a shot at slowing down Damian Lillard and the Wildcats, but they might, at least, give them a run.  Dave, Primm, and RSmith have the nice upset pick here of PSU.  6 people (Gersh, Gross, Lohse, Scoot, Stri, Waters) have Weber winning this tournament.

The great Atlantic Ten has its tournament in America’s Favorite Playground – Atlantic City.  But, you have to get there.  Two teams (Rhode Island and Fordham) are eliminated by the regular season.  Four more won’t make it after the First Round is completed on various conference campuses tonight.  The Temple Owls won the outright A-10 regular season title this year.  Not a big deal, right?  I mean it seems like they win this conference just about every year.  Ya, I thought so, too.  The Owls haven’t won an outright regular season A-10 title since…get this…1989-90.  Wow!

Championship Picks
14 for #1 Temple
2 for #2 St. Louis (Gersh, Teddy)
2 for #3 Xavier (Dave, KA)
0 for #4 St. Bonaventure
0 for #5 St. Joe’s
1 for #6 Dayton (Lynch)

Biggest Upsets
R1 – #12 Charlotte (Bry, Gross)
QF – #10 Richmond (Waters)
SF – #10 Richmond (Waters)

Previous CTC Champions
2011 – Waters
2010 – Doogan
2009 – Ina
2008 – Waters

#5 St. Joe’s vs. #12 Charlotte
The Most Overrated Coach in College Basketball had his team in great position to earn a bye to Atlantic City, but gave it away down the stretch and now has to play an Opening Round game tonight against an undermanned, but feisty Charlotte team.  The winner of this game will have to deal with the future NBA draft pick Andrew Nicholson and the Bonnies in AC.  Bry and Gross went for the big upset points here with Charlotte on the road (both have them losing to St. Bon next round).  A shocking number of entries (15) have St. Joe’s beating St. Bonaventure next round.  Teddy even has the Hawks making the finals (maybe he’s as high on Phil Martelli as Phil is on himself…if that’s possible).  Primm and Mac are the only two that have St. Joe’s winning tonight, but losing to the Bonnies.

#6 Dayton vs. #11 George Washington
The one thing that people don’t realize about the A-10 is just how tough some of these homecourt advantages are in this conference.  Dayton is one of them.  Those fans always show up and they are great.  Well, GW has to face Dayton’s 6th man tonight in the Opening Round.  The enigmatic Xavier team awaits the winner of this game, which would be great if it turns out to be X’s cross-state rival, Dayton.  KA and Waters are the only two with GW winning here, and neither of them have the Colonials beating X.  7 people have Dayton going to the semis (Doogan, Gersh, Gross, Lil Lohse, Lynch, RDoc, Scoot).  Gross and Scoot have them in the finals; Lynch has them winning it all.

#7 LaSalle vs. #10 Richmond
This is a very deep A-10 this year, as LaSalle was a title contender for pretty much the entire season, yet ended up in 7th place, which gets them an Opening Round game with the Spiders.  The winner of this game will take on Rick Majerus’s 2nd-seeded St. Louis Bilikens.  5 people have the Spiders in an upset here (Dave, J, Primm, RSmith, Waters).  Waters is the only one that has them beating St. Louis…he has them going to the finals.  Surprisingly, no one took the 20-win Explorers to reach the semis.

#8 Massachusetts vs. #9 Duquesne
Another example of that depth is the Minutemen.  UMass was in first or second place for almost the entire season, before losing a couple games down the stretch, relegating them to 8th place and a date with a tough Duquesne team.  The winner of this will get those Temple Owls on Thursday.  J and RDoc are the only two that went with the minor upset of Duquesne here.  Teddy is the only one that has either of these teams going any further, as he has UMass in the semis.

After two days off, we are ready to revisit the Horizon title game.  The layoff might favor the home team of Valpo, as it might work to slow the momentum of the red-hot Detroit Titans, who won three straight to get here.

Waters is one Valpo win away from an impressive perfect Horizon bracket.  But, he’s also one Detroit win away from seeing his almost perfect bracket being run over by the Lohse Train, who will win the Horizon should Detroit win the title.

#1 Valparaiso vs. #3 Detroit
Valpo looked really good on Saturday in hammering Butler, while Detroit edged Cleveland St. to complete their three-game run to the finals.  9 people have Valpo winning this one (Alexi, Bry, Doogan, Mac, Rikey, RDoc, Scoot, Stri, Waters).  Dave, Gross, and Lohse would pick up a huge win if Detroit can win it.

Okay, the preseason is over, and it’s time to separate the men from the boys.  The Big East is the first of the 5x conferences, and if you’re not ready now, then you might as well starting preparing for 2013.  The Big East, as a conference, was, as usual, vastly, vastly overrated.  Yes, Syracuse is elite, and I really like this Marquette team.  I also think Georgetown is pretty decent, but are either of those teams really contenders?  Other than the ‘Cuse, I’m not sure I would confidently say that ANY Big East team is a safe bet to even make the Sweet 16.  And, yes, I’m going to get my shots in this year because it looks like Temple might be in the Big East next year, so I’ll have to start defending this overrated crap.  But, this overrated crap is amazing at this time of the year because they have three straight quadruple-headers…in Madison Square Garden…amazing!

Championship Picks
12 for #1 Syracuse
4 for #2 Marquette (Doogan, Gross, RSmith, Teddy)
1 for #3 Notre Dame (KA)
0 for #4 Cincinnati
2 for #5 Georgetown (J, Lynch)

Biggest Upsets
R1 – #16 DePaul (Bry)
R2 – #14 Villanova (Primm)
QF – #8 West Virginia (Gross)
SF – #7 Louisville (Primm)

Previous CTC Champions
2011 – Scoot
2010 – Teddy
2009 – Doogan
2008 – Doogan

#9 Connecticut vs. #16 DePaul
Anyone who even pretends to be a college hoops fans probably has an amateur psychologist explanation of what happened to the Huskies this year.  I will save my opinions about “needing a leader” or “operating without their coach,” but let me just say that Kemba Walker did more for that team than score.  As for DePaul, this perennial 16-seed in the Big East tournament actually looked decent for much of the season and is not quite the walkover than they normally are in this position, so UConn better watch out.  #8 West Virginia awaits the winner of this game in tomorrow’s Second Round.  Only Bry was dumb enough (again…) to pick DePaul here.  Dave, Gersh, KA, Primm, Rikey, RDoc, RSmith, and Waters all have UConn winning again tomorrow.

#12 St. John’s vs. #13 Pittsburgh
Trivia question – who is the youngest team in all of college hoops.  Kentucky with all their freshmen?   Some small conference team that isn’t very good?  No and no.  The answer is Steve Lavin’s Red Storm.  St. John’s is the youngest team in America and they have even more elite talent coming in next year.  Lavin is about to completely turn this program around, but he’s still a year away – at least.  Now, these kids get to take on one of the more disappointing teams in the country in Pitt.  The Panthers – maybe because of the loss of Tra Wooddall for much of the season – have been a debacle.  But, everyone gets new life, and they are usually very, very good in the Big East tournament.  The winner of this game will take on #5 Georgetown in the Second Round.  Most of the field actually took Pitt in the minor upset.  Only 7 people took the Red Storm (Alexi, Gersh, Mac, Primm, RSmith, Teddy, Waters).  Waters has St. John’s beating G’town in the second round.  Bry and Gross are the two biggest Pitt believers, as they have them going to the quarters.

#11 Rutgers vs. #14 Villanova
See what I mean about the Big East being vastly overrated?  We’ve only recapped two games so far and we mentioned, possibly, the two biggest disappoinments in the nation.  Well, let me add a third to that list in this third game.  Villanova has been a train wreck all year.  As for Rutgers, they were actually in the at-large discussion for a while, but have pretty much ended that.  Now, they get a shot here, with the winner to take on #6 South Florida.  The field is basically split on this one, as 9 people took the upset of ‘Nova here (Alexi, Bry, Doogan, Gross, J, Lohse, Lynch, Primm, RSmith).  Primm is the biggest ‘Nova supporter, as he has them in the quarters.  KA, RDoc, Scoot, Teddy, and Waters all have RU winning again tomorrow.

#10 Seton Hall vs. #15 Providence
In a two-on-two tournament, Seton Hall might be a Final Four contender.  But, unfortunately for the Pirates, Mr. Naismith decided that the game should have 5 players on a team, so Seton Hall is squarely on the bubble instead.  Providence usually shows up at the Garden, but they don’t have all that much talent this year.  Rick Pitino’s 7th-seeded Louisville Cardinals awaits the winner of this one. Bry, Doogan, and Teddy are the only three to bite on the Providence upset of the Hall in the nighcap tonight, though none of them have PC beating Lousiville tomorrow.  J, Lohse, Lynch, and RDoc all have Seton Hall upsetting the Cardinals, though.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all in a conference tournament setting, these tournaments throw something at you that you’ve never seen before.  And, this is one of them.  I have never seen a quintuple-header, in succession in the same gym.  But, the MEAC never fails to deliver, and they do it again, starting the first game at 11:00 and expecting the fifth game to tip around 9:00 pm.  Nice work, MEAC, nice work.

As for the CTC, this is phenomenal.  As of writing this, we have 19 of the 20 entries in.  6 people took Savannah St. to win it all; 6 people took Norfolk St.; and, 7 people took Delaware St.  Should be exciting…

Championship Picks
6 for #1 Savannah St. (Bry, Doogan, KA, Rikey, RSmith, Scoot)
6 for #2 Norfolk St. (Dave, Gross, J, Lynch, Primm, Teddy)
7 for #3 Delaware St.

Biggest Upsets
R1 – #13 S.C. State (Bry, J, KA, Waters)
QF – #11 Florida A&M (Doogan)
SF – #9 Morgan St. (Alexi, Teddy)

Previous CTC Champions
2011 – Doogan
2010 – Bry
2009 – Lynch
2008 – Alexi

#8 Hampton vs. #9 Morgan St.
When you hear about a MEAC tournament game between Morgan St. and Hampton, you probably think that it has to be at least a semifinal, and more likely a championship.  But, no, both teams are WAY down this year and are meeting in the 8-9 game for the right to face #1 Savannah St. in the quarters.  Nearly half the field went with the mild upset of Morgan St. here (Alexi, Bry, Gross, J, Lohse, Lynch, Mac, Teddy, Waters).  Alexi and Teddy went real big on Morgan St., as they both have them going to the finals.  Dave has the most on the line with Hampton, as he has them in the semis.

#7 N.C. A&T vs. #10 Howard
These two teams started conference play in complete opposite ways.  Howard won their first two games and were thought possibly contend.  N.C. A&T started very slowly, yet got hot late and ended up in 7th place.  #2 Norfolk State awaits the winner of this game in the quarters.  10 people went with the upset pick of Howard here (Bry, Dave, Gersh, J, Lil Lohse, Lynch, RDoc, RSmith, Scoot, Waters).  Gersh has the Bison going to the semis.  No one that picked N.C. A&T has them going any further.

#5 N.C. Central vs. #12 MD-Eastern Shore
The MEAC got a lot better with their two additions this year, as Savannah State actually won the league, and NC Central was a really solid squad all year.  They will play their first ever MEAC tournament game today against long-time MEAC doormat, UMES.  RDoc is the lone believer in UMES, as everyone else has N.C. Central here.  Gross, Lohse, and Primm have the most faith in NCC, taking them to reach the finals.  A slew of other people have NCC winning again tomorrow. 

#4 Bethune-Cookman vs. #13 S.C. State
S.C. State was terrible for most of the season, but did look a little better late in the year.  Bethune-Cookman, alma mater of the great John Chaney, put together another really nice season, but fell just short of the third bye and has to take part of this crazy quintuple-header.  This is only CTC game all year that is guaranteed to pit to two teams this far apart in seedings.  So, the upset points were too tempting for Bry, J, KA, and Waters to pass up, regardless of the fact that S.C. State was 0-16 in the MEAC this year.  Waters even has them winning again next round.  Dave and RDoc have the most at stake here with BC, as they have them going to the finals.

#6 Coppin St. #11 Florida A&M
Coppin St. is another team that looked like a contender for much of the season, but suffered some head-scratching losses along the way, culminating in a 6th-place finish for Coppin.  FAMU was really bad for most of the season, but started to pick it up late.  The winner of this game will get #3 Delaware St. in the quarters.  Bry, Doogan, and Mac have this FAMU upset.  Doogan even has them winning again, so this is big for him.

So, the Eye of the Storm is just about ending.  In fact, the winds are picking up, out of the East…

19 games today, including a Big East quadruple-header at the Garden.

Championships
Horizon
Summit
Sun Belt

Semifinal Doubleheaders
Big Sky

First Round Quadruple-Headers
Big East
Atlantic Ten

First Round Quintuple-Headers
MEAC

This second Monday could be called “Moving Day” in the CTC.  It is a day with only a few games, but one-third of them championship games, so there are usually big variations in the point totals, offering real opportunities for moving in the standings.  Teddy made the most of this opportunity by winning the day and moving from also-ran to real contender overnight.  Teddy’s 145 points gained him 8 spots in the overall standings, and he now sits in 6th place, fewer than 100 points behind the leader.  Gross (up 5 spots to 4th) and Primm (up 4 spots to 8th) also gained a lot of ground on this day.  Bry jumped 3 spots to 3rd place and right in the mix.  Doogan and J also gained 3 spots in the standings, getting them a little closer to contention – 14th and 16th, respectively.  Alexi puts in another solid performance with 98 points.  His incredible consistency keeps him atop the overall leaderboard (actually extending his lead now to 14.5), despite not winning any individual days thus far.

As for those for struggled on Moving Day, Waters struck out, going 0-for-12 on the day and registering a goose egg.  Mac also got hit really hard today (looks like he picked a bad day to stop popping PKs), scoring just 16 points and falling from 2nd place and half-point out to 5th place and over 80 points out.  Rikey and Scoot lost the most places on the leaderboard, as they each dropped 4 spots to 9th and 12th, respectively.  Stri, RSmith, and RDoc all fell 3 spots in the overall standings.

DAY EIGHT SCORES (days won):

1. Teddy – 145 (1)
2. Bry – 141
3. J – 136
4. Gross – 127
5. Primm – 119
6. Lohse – 101 (3)
7. Doogan – 99
8. Alexi – 98
9. Dave – 73
10. RSmith – 66
11. RDoc – 53
12. Lynch – 43
13. Rikey – 43 (1)
14. Scoot – 42 (1)
15. Gersh – 40
16. Stri – 40 (1)
17. KA – 29
18. Lil Lohse – 27
19. Mac – 16 (1)
20. Waters – 0

OVERALL STANDINGS:

1. Alexi – 909.5 (WCC)
2. Lohse – 895 (BSouth, AS)
3. Bry – 862
4. Gross – 829.5 (ASun, CAA)
5. Mac – 827 (ASun)
6. Teddy – 820 (ASun, MAAC)
7. Stri – 811.5 (OVC, ASun)
8. Primm – 799.5
9. Rikey – 792.5 (OVC, ASun)
10. RSmith – 786 (MVC)
11. Dave – 762
12. Scoot – 758.5 (ASun)
13. RDoc – 749.5
14. Doogan – 748.5
15. Lynch – 720
16. J – 714.5 (BSouth)
17. Gersh – 708 (ASun)
18. Lil Lohse – 679.5 (SoCON)
19. Waters – 584
20. KA – 527.5

It wasn’t pretty, but to the people of North Baltimore, it doesn’t matter.  The Loyola Greyhounds are going dancing.  And, they deserve it.  This is one of the best teams in school history and just because they were overshadowed by Iona all season doesn’t mean that they weren’t every bit as good – and probably much better-suited for March – than their MAAC counterparts.  And, they proved it on Monday night by knocking off the team that beat Iona the day before…albeit by only scoring 48 points.

The Loyola championship also gives Teddy a title – the 2012 MAAC championship.

#2 Loyola (MD) 48 – #4 Fairfield 44
This was a back-and-forth game all night, and it looked for a while as if FU was close to pulling away at various points.  But, the Greyhounds and their stalwart defense stayed tough and pulled it out in the end.  Alexi, KA, Primm, Scoot, and Teddy were the only 5 with Loyola winning this, and earn themselves 26 points in the process.  Dave, the only one with Fairfield, missed out on another big opportunity here, just one day after a near-miss with Illinois St.  It has been a snakebitten CTC so far for Dave.

FINAL MAAC STANDINGS:

1. Teddy – 95 (’12)
2. KA – 87
3. Scoot – 80
4. Alexi – 74
5. Primm – 62 (’11)
6. Dave – 57
7. Gross – 54
8. Gersh – 48
9. Doogan – 46
10. Lynch – 46
11. Stri – 40
12. Waters – 34
13. Lohse – 32
14. Mac – 32
15. Rikey – 32
16. RDoc – 24
17. Bry – 20 (’09/’10*)
18. Lil Lohse – 20
19. RSmith – 20
20. J – 16 (’08)

Anyone who watched the CAA title game last night has to know that both of those teams are NCAA teams.  But, we all know that the Committee is going to take Seton Hall or N.C. State or Northwestern over Drexel, even though the Dragons won 25 of their last 27 games in a very solid conference.  Oh well…

The VCU win gives the 2012 CAA crown to Gross, who only missed one opening round game and one quarterfinal.

#2 VCU 59 – #1 Drexel 56
The Rams, like their semifinal explosion against Mason, started real fast in this one, but the Dragons came back, showing a ton of guts and heart – not surprisingly, a staple of a coach named “Bruiser.”  But, the Rams brilliant array of fullcourt presses were just too much, even for the CAA’s best point guard, to handle.  The Dragons are still young and should be just as good, if not better, next year, but I don’t think there’s any question that they are one of the 37 best teams not to win a conference tournament this year.  Bry, Dave, Doogan, Gross, J, and Lohse all had the Rams winning this tournament, and pick up th 46 points that come along with it.

FINAL CAA STANDINGS:

1. Gross – 165 (’12)
2. Doogan – 158
3. Bry – 146 (’10/’11)
4. J – 144
5. Dave – 130
6. Lohse – 130
7. Mac – 126
8. RDoc – 114
9. Lynch – 112
10. Rikey – 105
11. Alexi – 100 (’08)
12. Scoot – 98
13. Stri – 98
14. Lil Lohse – 91
15. KA – 84
16. RSmith – 84
17. Gersh – 77
18. Primm – 77
19. Waters – 56
20. Teddy – 42