Broad Street Believers

The only thing I remember about the movie, Mulholland Drive, is that it was incredibly confusing with twists and turns all throughout the movie.  Normally, that is exactly the kind of movie that I love because all the confusion all comes together in a meaningful way in the end to really blow your mind.  Mulholland Drive did not.  It was confusing in a total meaningless way and then it just ended.  All the confusion was pointless because you learned nothing at the end that you didn’t know already.  That is how I feel about this year’s SoCon Tournament.  Every game produces a result more confusing than the last, but, in the end, it is totally meaningless because there is one team that is just so much better than the other 11, that we all know how this is going to turn out.  All this confusion will give no payoff when Davidson rolls into the tournament uncontested.

#1 Davidson 83 – #4 Elon 67
The Wildcats took the next step towards making this confusion meaningless, as they easily dispatched Elon.  Everyone except KA got this one right, with most people having Davidson winning this tournament.  KA lost her champion in this one.

#6 W. Carolina 82 – #2 UNC-Greensboro 77
WCU is just the most recent confusing example of the SoCon tournament, as they knock off UNC-Greensboro, a day after blowing out Wofford.  UNC-Greensboro gave up 82 points to WCU only a day after holding App State to 55 points (oh, App State scored 93 in the Opening Round against Bobby Cremins’ C of Charleston – see, totally confusing).  No one had WCU in this one.  Scoot and Waters lost their champions.

SoCON PENTHOUSE:  Lil Lohse (64)
SoCON CELLAR:  Bry, KA (30)

The top two – and season-long dominant – teams in the Summit won on Saturday in the quarters and got to watch to see who they’ll face in the semis.

#4 W. Illinois 58 – #5 North Dakota St. 53
A disappointing season by NDSU comes to a close at the hands of W. Illinois, who has had a really solid season.  Oral Roberts awaits the Leathernecks in the semis.  While a decent number of people had the 4-seed winning this game, the biggest winner was Gross, who has them in the finals.  Lynch lost the most, as he had NDSU in the finals.

#6 S. Utah 84 – #3 Oakland 82
The Golden Grizzlies really wanted one last shot at Oral Roberts before ORU bolts for the A-Sun.  Instead, their season is ended by another team leaving the conference, SUU (heading to the Big Sky next year).  SUU now moves on to face Nate Wolters and the Jackrabbits.  Bry and Gross are the only two that got this one, but neither of them have SUU going any further.  KA and RSmith lost their champs here.

SUMMIT PENTHOUSE:  Bry, Gross (30)
SUMMIT CELLAR:  Dave, KA, Waters (8)

Every year, the Sun Belt seems to blow up.  Well, it happened again…

#9 Arkansas St. 64 – #1 Middle Tennessee 61
Middle Tennessee went 0-for-5 from the FREE THROW LINE in the final minute of play and still had a chance to tie in the closing seconds, except that their point guard decided that driving to the rim, down by 3 with 3 seconds left, was the best play at the time.  Who needs a 3-pointer, down by 3?  Anyway, the 25-win Blue Raider team is now out, and this tournament is wide open.  All 20 people had Mid Tenn here, so the winners are the 10 people that didn’t have them winning this tournament (Alexi, Gersh, J, KA, Lohse, Lynch, Mac, RDoc, Stri, Waters).

#7 W. Kentucky 68 – #2 AR-Little Rock 63
Might as well go the whole nine yards if there’s gonna be Madness.  #2 AR-Little Rock also got beat by a Hilltopper team that is playing with house money, at this point.  6 people had the nice upset pick here (Alexi, Gross, Lohse, Lynch, RSmith, Teddy).  RSmith and Teddy have the ‘Toppers going to the finals.  Lynch lost his champion here.

#5 N. Texas 65 – #4 LA-Lafayette 62
The Mean Green come from behind to nip the Ragin’ Cajuns.  A decent number of people had this mild upset, but the ramifications go further.  Lohse has N. Texas in the finals, so that’s still alive for him.  Gersh had ULL winning this whole tournament, so he, like a lot of people on this night, lost his Sun Belt champion.

#3 Denver 61 – #6 S. Alabama 50
The Pioneers are now, not only the best remaining seed, but they have to be considered the clear favorites to win this tournament, as they survive the chaos that was the quarterfinals.  Gersh and RSmith missed the upset pick here.  8 people keep alive their champion pick with Denver (Alexi, J, KA, Lohse, Lynch, RDoc, Stri, Waters).  In fact, Denver is the only remaining team that anyone picked to win this tournament.

The results of the night gives Dave the ignominious distinction of clinching a Sun Belt goose egg.  He will finish this conference with 0 points.

SUN BELT PENTHOUSE:  Gross, Lohse, Teddy (50)
SUN BELT CELLAR:  Dave (0)

The Fairfield Stags had this tournament on their home floor for the past several years and always seemed to blow their best opportunities.  Now, as the 4-seed, in Springfield, MA, they have secured a shot to finish the job, pulling off one of the bigger upsets of the CTC.

#4 Fairfield 85 – #1 Iona 75
The Iona Gaels might still make the tournament – but they’re going to have to sweat it out.  This was not a great showing for a team that should have run away with this conference tournament.  But, the Stags are playing really well and are one game away from dancing.  Dave, KA, and Teddy hit this huge upset.  Dave has Fairfield winning this tournament.  A slew of people lost their MAAC champ here.

#2 Loyola (MD) 70 – #6 Siena 60
The door is wide open, now, for the Greyhounds of Loyola to bust through and make the Dance.  They struggled all night with Siena, but came through in the end and are 40 minutes from history.  Doogan, Lynch, and Waters missed a big upset here.  Alexi, KA, Primm, Scoot, and Teddy all keep alive a nice championship pick here.

MAAC PENTHOUSE:  Teddy (69)
MAAC CELLAR:  J (16)

My new favorite conference is the NEC – and not because one of the 87 Fox Sports channels in my cable package broadcasts several NEC games a week.  Okay, maybe that’s it.  But, either way, I have become a closet LIU fan and just a fan of this league, in general.  And, since that same FSN channel had the NEC double-header yesterday, I got to watch a pretty fantastic semifinal double-header setting up a very interesting final on Wednesday.

#3 Robert Morris 71 – #2 Wagner 64
Danny Hurley probably took more proverbial “lumps” as a college coach in Sunday’s semifinal loss on their home floor than any other time in, this, his second season at the collegiate level.  Staring at the end of a terrific season in Staten Island, Hurley’s team, completely imploded in the final minutes, coach included.  Robert Morris, the benefactor of this implosion, played well enough to win anyway, but the Wagner meltdown of bad fouls, technical fouls, and poor turnovers just cemented RMC’s trip to the finals.  Hurley’s team will be back, though, as he is really building something in the forgotten borough.  On the other side, this Robert Morris team earned it – playing as well as anyone in the low-majors since the beginning of February – and will be really tough in the finals.  6 people had RMC in the finals (Lil Lohse, Mac, Primm, Rikey, RDoc, Waters); only RDoc and Waters have them winning it.  7 people lost their NEC champion in this one (Alexi, Dave, Gross, Lohse, Lynch, RSmith, Scoot).

#1 Long Island 78 – #5 Quinnipiac 75
Now, I can say this as a long-time (almost two years, now) fan of the LIU Blackbirds.  I think they got a lot of “home-cookin'” in this one and were actually outplayed on their home floor by a young, feisty QU team that will be featured often in the years to come on that FSN channel of mine.  That being said, LIU did make the plays down the stretch that leads to winning basketball, particularly, LIU’s Big Three stepped up when their numbers were called, as they have their whole careers so far – and there is only more to come.  Sophomore PG Jason Brickman (awesome name for a guard) is as steady a floor general as you’ll find at this level, and his job is made even easier by a pair of stalwart junior forwards (Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasawere), who are probably playing at a level too low for their abilities.  This LIU team might be my Long Beach State of next 2012-13.  But, for now, they have to focus on reaching another NCAA tournament, and it won’t be easy, as Robert Morris is coming to town on Wednesday night.  Most people did have the Blackbirds reaching the finals (Dave, Gross, and Lohse were the only three that did not).  Teddy (who did have LIU also, due to reseeding) and Dave missed out on the QU upset pick.  Half the field (Bry, Doogan, Gersh, J, Lil Lohse, Mac, Primm, Rikey, Stri, Teddy) has LIU cutting down the nets.

NEC Standings
The LIU and RMC wins kept three people perfect in the NEC – Mac, Primm, and Rikey.  They all have LIU winning it, but more on that in Wednesday’s preview.

NEC PENTHOUSE – Mac, Primm, Rikey (53*)
NEC CELLAR – Gross (12)

While the beginning of this great tournament didn’t actually produce any great games, the ending was fantastic.  And, RSmith went very impressively perfect through this bracket.  J, KA, and RDoc brought up the rear in the MVC.

#2 Creighton 83 – #4 Illinois St. 79 (OT)
One day after Illinois St. shocked the top-seeded Shockers of Wichita St. (much to the joy of Dave and RSmith, who were the only two to pick that), they nearly made Dave (who had them winning this tournament) a true genius.  But, in the end it was just too much Doug McDermott.  I still don’t understand why it took them so long to double-team him, but what do I know?  Either way, the Creighton Blue Jays are the 2012 MVC Champs, and RSmith is a very impressively perfect 2012 CTC MVC title.  Alexi, Bry, Mac, and Teddy also came through with a huge 52-point championship pick here.

FINAL MVC STANDINGS:

1. RSmith – 205* (’12)
2. Mac – 164
3. Teddy – 140
4. Alexi – 124 (’10)
5. Bry – 124
6. Dave – 121
7. Gersh – 104
8. Lynch – 96
9. Primm – 96
10. Scoot – 96
11. Lil Lohse – 80
12. Rikey – 80
13. Stri – 80 (’08/’09)
14. Gross – 72
15. Lohse – 64
16. Waters – 64
17. Doogan – 56
18. J – 48
19. KA – 48
20. RDoc – 48

After the top two seeds (and dominant teams this year) won their quarterfinal games yesterday, the Summit is ready to pick up with the other two games today.

#3 Oakland vs. #6 S. Utah
The Golden Grizzlies of Oakland are usually a powerhouse in the Summit, right alongside Oral Roberts.  This year, it looked like they were way behind their arch-rivals, but they got red-hot down the stretch and ended up in third place and has a real shot at this tournament.  S. Utah is used to being a doormat in this league, but this year, they had their best season in their Summit history.  The winner here gets #2 South Dakota St. in the semis.  18 people have Oakland here – the only two with SUU are Bry and Gross.  Many people have Oakland going to the finals.  KA and RSmith have them winning this tournament.

#4 W. Illinois vs. #5 North Dakota St.
North Dakota St. was supposed to have a big year, but they were rather mediocre.  W. Illinois, like S. Utah, is used to being a Summit doormat, but actually flirted with contention this year.  The winner of this game will get Oral Roberts in the semis.  This is a popular mild upset pick, as only 6 people have the favored WIU team (Alexi, Gross, J, Lil Lohse, Lohse, Scoot)

After three decently interesting games yesterday, the Sun Belt picks up with a quarterfinal quadruple-header today.

#1 Middle Tennessee vs. #9 Arkansas St.
The Red Wolves knocked off FL-Atlantic by 15 yesterday and looked real good in doing it.  Middle Tennessee has been a lot better than the rest of the conference all year and they start their title chase today.  All 20 people have Mid Tenn here, with a lot of them picking the Blue Raiders to win it all.

#2 AR-Little Rock vs. #7 W. Kentucky
The Hilltoppers are one of the classic Sun Belt programs (probably, The Sun Belt elite), but they really struggled all year.  However, with everyone alive in March, they have new life and survived a tough game yesterday against FIU.  AR-Little Rock, the surprising champion of a year ago, had a thrilling season chock full of overtime and buzzer-beating wins in conference, getting them to the #2-seed.  6 people actually have WKU in the upset here (Alexi, Gross, Lohse, Lynch, RSmith, Teddy).  The other 14 have UALR.  Mac has the Trojans winning the whole thing.

#3 Denver vs. #6 S. Alabama
S. Alabama survived against #11 Troy last night and now get the reward of facing a really, really good Denver team.  The Pioneers are about as talented as a mid-major gets, but they were up and down all year, particularly away from their mile-high home court.  But, they are definitely good enough to take this whole thing, but it starts today.  Gersh and RSmith have USA in the nice upset here.  16 people all Denver here (Dave and Doogan have already lost with Troy here).  A number of entries have the Pioneers in the finals.  8 people have them winning it all (Alexi, J, KA, Lohse, Lynch, RDoc, Stri, and Waters).

#4 LA-Lafayette vs. #5 N. Texas
This is a great quarterfinal between two teams who got yesterday off to prepare for this one.  The Ragin’ Cajuns have had a decent season, but started to falter at the end, slipping to 4th.  The Mean Green, on the other hand, started really slowly, but have been playing much better lately.  No matter who survives this one, they should give their next opponent (most likely, Middle Tennessee) a real test.  This game could be a real swing game, as it’s nearly split down the middle.  11 people actually took the mild upset with N. Texas (Bry, Gross, J, Lohse, Primm, Rikey, RDoc, RSmith, Scoot, Stri, Teddy).  The other 9 have LA-Lafayette.  Gersh and Lohse have the most at stake here, as they have their picks here beating Middle Tennessee next round (Gersh with ULL, Lohse with UNT).

After a long quarterfinal day in Springfield, the MAAC will pick it up and just play two today.

#1 Iona vs. #4 Fairfield
The Gaels turned it on in the second half yesterday against Marist, while Fairfield barely survived against Rider.  They will battle today for a right to hit the finals.  Dave, KA, and Teddy all have FU in the upset.  Dave has them winning this tournament.  The rest of the field has Iona, except Primm, who has already lost with Rider.

#2 Loyola (MD) vs. #6 Siena
The Siena Saints went into the wee hours of the morning to get an OT win over Manhattan in the quarters.  Now, they have to turn around and play a Loyola team that outlasted Niagara.  Doogan, Lynch, and Waters all have Siena in what would be a great upset pick here.  Surprisingly, only 6 people have the 2nd-seeded Greyhounds winning this game (Gersh, Gross, KA, Primm, Scoot, Teddy).  Of those 6, only Gersh does not have Loyola winning this tournament.