Broad Street Believers

The America East completed their quadruple-header of bad basketball yesterday, and now we only have to sit through two bad games today.

#1 Stony Brook vs. #4 Albany
SB struggled mightily with 2-win Binghamton, while Albany pounded New Hampshire.  They will meet today for the right to play in the final.  If SB wins, they will host the championship game.  If Albany wins, they will have to wait and see the second game before finding out if they will host the title game.  Doogan and Primm have a nice Albany upset pick here.  Primm has the Great Danes winning this tournament.  RSmith has already lost the game.  Everyone else has SB.

#2 Vermont vs. #6 Hartford
Vermont scored 50 points and is still alive.  Hartford scored 53 and is ready to take on UVM for a spot in the Am East finals.  Dave, KA, and Primm actually have Hartford here (KA has them winning the tournament).  Bry, Gross, Lil Lohse, and Lynch have already lost with BU.  The other 13 have Vermont, including 10 who have UVM winning the tournament (Alexi, Doogan, J, Lohse, Mac, RSmith, Scoot, Stri, Teddy, Waters)

The NEC tournament had its quarterfinals on Thursday night and will pick up with the semis today.

#1 Long Island vs. #5 Quinnipiac
The only road team to pull off the quarterfinal upset, Quinnipiac (who beat St. Francis 80-72), gets to take the trip to Brooklyn to face LIU, who knocked off Sacred Heart by a dozen.  Dave could pull of another big upset here, as he has QU.  Gross has already lost this game with St. Francis.  The other 18 have LIU, including a lot of people that have them winning the tournament.  Teddy also has QU, but it would only be worth 3 upset points because he has QU and LIU (due to the reseeding).

#2 Wagner vs. #3 Robert Morris
Wagner survived against CCSU on Thursday, while RMC blew out a red-hot Monmouth team.  Lil Lohse, Primm, Rikey, RDoc, and Waters all have RMC in this one, with RDoc and Waters picking them to win it all.  Everyone else has Wagner, except J and Teddy.  J has already lost it.  Teddy has neither of these teams.

Bubble teams beware.  Another bid thief may be among us, as Illinois St. is primed and ready to steal one.  Quite possibly the best season in MVC history is down to two teams for the tournament title.

#2 Creighton vs. #4 Illinois St.
This was supposed to be when CBS gets to show the world the great MVC matchup of Wichita St. and Creighton.  But, ISU has crashed the party – and deservedly so.  Dave is the only one with the Redbirds winning this title (a pretty impressive pick if it comes through).  5 others (Alexi, Bry, Mac, RSmith, Teddy) have Creighton.  The other 14 cannot get anymore points in Arch Madness.

RSmith is, unbelievably, still perfect in this bracket.  And, even more unbelievably, if Creighton doesn’t win the title, neither will he.  Dave is poised to steal the MVC title from RSmith if Illinois St. can come through.

This has been a crazy SoCon tournament, and now we’re down to our final three games.  The Southern Division absolutely dominated the Northern Division all year and now there are three Northern Division teams in the Final Four.

#1 Davidson vs. #4 Elon
The Wildcats easily handled Furman, and Elon beat a good GA-Southern team in the quarters.  Now, we will see if Elon can step up and beat the conference’s elite.  KA and Scoot have Elon in a nice upset pick here.  The other 18 have Davidson.

#2 UNC-Greensboro vs. #6 W. Carolina
The biggest shock of the quarters was WCU, who blew out a good Wofford team.  UNC-Greensboro took care of App St. by 10.  Only 3 people have any chance at scoring ANY points in this game (wow).  Lil Lohse, Scoot, and Waters have UNC-Greensboro winning this game.  No one has WCU.  The other 17 people have already lost.  Scoot and Waters actually have UNC-Greensboro winning the tournament.

What a tournament, and what a Final Four this is going to be.  This was the dream scenario.  We got the four big boys, all ready to go in Richmond.  No time for conversation, let’s lace ’em up and play ball…

#1 Drexel vs. #4 Old Dominion
Two great defensive teams will do battle in the opener.  6 people have ODU in the upset here (Bry, Dave, Gersh, Lohse, Primm, Teddy).  Waters has already lost it.  The other 13 have Drexel.  Teddy has ODU winning this tournament.  9 people have Drexel (Alexi, KA, Lil Lohse, Lynch, Mac, Rikey, RDoc, Scoot, Stri) winning it all.

#2 VCU vs. #3 George Mason
These teams plain don’t like each other and get to battle it out in the nightcap with their respective seasons on the line.  Both teams survived tough quarterfinal matchups and are ready to go.  What a game this is for the CTC:  9 people have VCU (Bry, Dave, Doogan, Gross, J, Lohse, Lynch, Mac, RDoc) and 9 people have Mason (Gersh, KA, Lil Lohse, Primm, Rikey, RSmith, Scoot, Stri, Waters).  The other two (Alexi & Teddy) had Georgia St.

Scoot comes up big in the night games and steals a very nice victory in Day Six, grabbing 333 points on the day alone.  But, the real story continues to be the continued dominance of Lohse and, to a lesser extent, Stri.  Both were over 300 for the day, allowing Lohse to keep a 25-point lead over Stri, and more than 50 over the rest of the field.  J and KA have rough days, failing to hit 200.  J also took the biggest fall, dropping 9 spots in the standings.  RDoc and Doogan also dropped 7 and 6 spots, respectively.  Mac had a huge day, finishing second on the day and jumping 5 spots to #3.  RSmith, Gross, and Lil Lohse also jumped big to the middle of the standings.

DAY SIX SCORES (days won):

1. Scoot – 333 (1)
2. Mac – 327
3. Alexi – 321
4. Gersh – 314
5. Lohse – 307 (3)
6. Stri – 306 (1)
7. Rikey – 304 (1)
8. Dave – 300
9. RSmith – 295
10. Bry – 292
11. Waters – 283
12. Lynch – 282
13. Lil Lohse – 280
14. Gross – 277
15. Primm – 262
16. Doogan – 258
17. RDoc – 252
18. Teddy – 220
19. KA – 178
20. J – 160

OVERALL STANDINGS (conferences won):

1. Lohse – 686 (BS, AS)
2. Stri – 661.5 (OVC, AS)
3. Alexi – 633.5
4. Mac – 632 (AS)
5. Rikey – 618.5 (OVC, AS)
6. Scoot – 614.5 (AS)
7. Dave – 612
8. Gersh – 604.5 (AS)
9. Primm – 599.5
10. Bry – 573
11. RSmith – 572
12. RDoc – 559.5
13. Lynch – 559
14. Doogan 557.5
15. Lil Lohse – 553.5
16. Gross – 544.5 (AS)
17. Waters – 517
18. Teddy – 498 (AS)
19. J – 452.5 (BS)
20. KA – 401.5

RDoc seemed in control of the A-Sun, but Mercer lost on its home court, opening up the title to a slew of people, if Belmont could pull out the title game on Saturday.  Well, they did, and now 8 people get to bask in the glow of A-Sun victory in 2012.  Bry’s brilliant pick of Belmont to lose in the first round may have had something to do with him finishing (that and only getting 2 of the 7 games right).  J was also in the cellar, getting the three favorites in the quarters.

#1 Belmont 83 – #6 Florida Gulf Coast 69
The FGC Eagles had a great season, and they acquitted themselves nicely on national TV, for the first time, but Belmont is just too good.  The Bruins, who may have been bored in the regular season, showed the conference that they are on another level.  A dozen entries had Belmont winning this title (Alexi, Gersh, Gross, Lohse, Lynch, Mac, Rikey, RSmith, Scoot, Stri, Teddy, Waters).

FINAL A-SUN STANDINGS

1. Gersh – 48 (’12)
2. Gross – 48 (’12)
3. Lohse – 48 (’12)
4. Mac – 48 (’12)
5. Rikey – 48 (’12)
6. Scoot – 48 (’12)
7. Stri – 48 (’12)
8. Teddy – 48 (’12)
9. Alexi – 42
10. RDoc – 42
11. RSmith – 42
12. Waters – 42
13. Lynch – 36
14. Dave – 30
15. Lil Lohse – 30
16. Primm – 30
17. Doogan – 24
18. KA – 24
19. Bry – 18
20. J – 18

There was only one upset through the OVC tournament – an Opening Round 7 over 6 upset of Jacksonville State over Austin Peay.  Rikey and Stri wisely went all chalk in this conference and picks up a conference title.  Alexi, Dave, and Lohse were just 2 points out of a title.  Gersh took a beating here.

#1 Murray St. 54 – #2 Tennessee St. 52
Up 7 with 5 minutes left, Robert Covington (TSU’s best player) picked up his fourth foul and had to sit.  Murray promptly went on a 10-0 run.  Covington came back in and TSU went on their own 10-0 run (partly in technical blackout on ESPN).  But, Murray was too tough down the stretch and came out on top, saving at least one bubble team’s fate.  TSU should be back, though, as they only have 2 seniors, neither of whom were incredibly important.  17 people had Murray winning this one (Alexi, Bry, Dave, Doogan, Gross, J, KA, Lil Lohse, Lohse, Lynch, Mac, Primm, Rikey, RDoc, Scoot, Stri, Teddy).

FINAL OVC STANDINGS:

1. Rikey – 76 (’12)
   
2. Stri – 76 (’12)
3. Alexi – 74
4. Dave  – 74
5. Lohse – 74
6. Bry – 72
7. Doogan – 70
8. Lynch – 70
9. RDoc – 68
10. Lil Lohse – 58
11. Primm – 56
12. J – 54 (’10/’11)
13. Teddy – 54
14. KA – 52
15. Mac – 52
16. Scoot – 52
17. Gross – 48
18. RSmith -32
19. Waters – 32 (’08)
20. Gersh – 26

The Summit League is losing one of its flagship programs next year, as Oral Roberts is jetting to the A-Sun.  It is hard to imagine a Summit League with ORU, so let’s not…for now.  The Golden Eagles are trying to go out with a bang – another Summit title – and are the favorites to do so.

As usual, the Summit rewards their top two teams not with a bye, but with an extra day between the quarters and semis, so only the top two seeds play tonight.

To win this conference outright, you better be good…check that, you better be perfect.  And, that might not even get you an outright title.  In fact, last year perfection got you a part of an EIGHT-way tie.  The prior two years, the crown was split 3 ways and 2 ways, respectively.  You have to go all the way back to Waters and his perfect 2008 bracket to find an outright winner in the Summit League.

Championship Picks
13 for #1 Oral Roberts
5 for #2 South Dakota St. (Doogan, Gross, Lynch, Primm, Teddy)
2 for #3 Oakland (KA, RSmith)

Biggest Upsets
QF – #8 IPFW (Gross)
SF – #7 IUPUI (Dave)

Previous CTC Champions
2011 – Bry*/Gross*/Lil Lohse*/Lohse*/Lynch*/Mac*/Stri*/Teddy*
2010 – Alexi/Bry/Lohse
2009 – Doogan/Stri
2008 – Waters*

#1 Oral Roberts vs. #8 IPFW
IPFW needed a road win on the last day of the season to even get a chance to make this tournament.  They did it, and it paid off, as everything else fell their way and now they’re in.  The bad news?  They get to open with ORU, who won yet another Summit title, on their way out the door.  Gross is the only one with the guts to take IPFW in this one.  Most of the field has ORU winning this tournament, so an IPFW win wouldn’t be terrible for any of the other 6 people that don’t have ORU winning it.

#2 South Dakota St. vs. #7 IUPUI
If you’ve never heard of Nate Wolters, educate yourself, trust me.  This guy is a do-everything point guard for the SDSU, and he might just be the best player that no one’s ever heard of.  He led the Jackrabbits to a fantastic season, and he is one of those transcendant players that can win a tournament like this all by himself.  But, the first test is not an easy one, as IUPUI – a struggle all year with a young team – is starting to play a lot better.  Dave is the biggest IUPUI fan today, as he has them going to the finals.  J, KA, and Waters also have the Jaguars in this upset.  Doogan, Gross, Lynch, Primm, and Teddy are hoping SDSU survives because they all have them winning this tournament.