{"id":1534,"date":"2011-03-01T18:11:29","date_gmt":"2011-03-01T22:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1534"},"modified":"2011-03-02T21:29:13","modified_gmt":"2011-03-03T01:29:13","slug":"ctc-day-one-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1534","title":{"rendered":"CTC: Day One"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAST UPDATE:\u00a0\u00a011:25 pm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here we go!<\/p>\n

Opening Day.\u00a0 The grass is never as green.\u00a0 The sun is never as bright.\u00a0 The air is never as clear.\u00a0 Everyone has optimism.\u00a0 Everyone has hope.\u00a0 Everyone is in first place.\u00a0 That is the feeling right now, as no one has seen their title team go down in the quarters; no one has watched as their big upset pick fall in overtime.\u00a0 Everyone has a zero in the L column.\u00a0 But, only for a couple hours…<\/p>\n

(NOTE:\u00a0 There are two entries that have not come in at the time of posting, so there might be an edit or two.)<\/p>\n

HORIZON LEAGUE OPENING ROUND<\/strong> (6 points each)<\/em><\/span>
\nThe Horizon League is one of the two tournaments that starts tonight, and it is actually a relatively important tournament.\u00a0 Being upgraded from 2x to 3x this year (possibly because they placed a team in the championship game last year…), this tournament should get someone off to a good start here in 2011.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:<\/strong>\u00a0 Day One in the Horizon and all is well.\u00a0 Four favorites win – some convincingly, some not as much, but it does lead into what should be a great weekend in Milwaukee.\u00a0 No first round upsets usually leads to at least a couple perfect brackets, and this is no exception.\u00a0 Mac, Rikey, Teddy, Waters, Alexi, Stri, Doogan, and Bry can all be embarrassed to say that they are conservative enough to have gone 4-for-4 tonight.\u00a0 KA, at least with the integrity of a girl who loves a good upset, only hit one of these games.\u00a0 OVERALL HORIZON LEADERS (perfect 24 pts) – Bry, Doogan, Stri, Alexi, Waters, Teddy, Rikey, and Mac.<\/p>\n

#3 Cleveland State vs. #10 Illinois-Chicago<\/em>
\nThe Vikings have probably lost all hope at an at-large bid, so all they have left is the Horizon tournament – and they didn’t even get one of the double-byes, so they have a long road ahead of them.\u00a0 The first game previewed in a tournament with 20 people and, somehow, we have a unanimous pick.\u00a0 No one has UIC in this one.\u00a0 Lynch has the most at stake here, as he has the Vikings winning the whole thing.\u00a0 Cheryl and Primm have them going to the finals.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0\u00a0Cleveland State 73 – Illinois-Chicago 61<\/strong>
\nThe Vikings built a 17-point lead a halftime, fell asleep at the start of the second and woke up in time to beat UIC rather handily.\u00a0 Future first-round NBA pick, Norris Cole, went for 26.\u00a0 Everyone got this right.\u00a0 Lynch kept his champion alive.<\/p>\n

#4 Valparaiso vs. #9 Youngstown State<\/em>
\nValpo, like CSU, is probably out of at-large possibility, so this is all they’ve got.\u00a0 KA, Primm, and Gross were the only three tempted by the big upset pick here.\u00a0 Mac has the most at stake with Valpo, as he has them winning the whole thing.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0 Valparaiso 80 – Youngstown State 71<\/strong>
\nA back-and-forth game for the first 17 minutes, opened up as Valpo went on a 9-0 run to end the first half with a 10-point lead.\u00a0 They led in the second half by as many as 19 and looked like they would walk to Milwaukee for the quarters, but Youngstown State wouldn’t go quietly and actually drew the game within one, 71-70\u00a0with less than 2 minutes to go, but couldn’t get over the hump.\u00a0 Brandon Wood and the Crusaders hung on and ended the upset hopes of KA, Primm, and Gross.\u00a0 Mac kept alive his champion.<\/p>\n

#5 Detroit vs. #8 Loyola (IL)<\/em>
\nA decent Detroit team opens their tournament at home against Loyola.\u00a0 As mundane as it seems, this game does have some some CTC implications.\u00a0 J, Lynch, KA, and Dan all have Loyola in the upset.\u00a0 Gross has Detroit going all the way to the Horizon finals.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0 Detroit 90 – Loyola (IL) 69<\/strong>
\nOur first utter blowout of the CTC is offered up by Detroit.\u00a0 The Titans cruised past Loyola to earn themselves a quarterfinal date with Valpo.\u00a0 This results looks pretty nice to Gross, who has Detroit in the Horizon title game.<\/p>\n

#6 Wright State vs. #7 Green Bay<\/em>
\nThis Green Bay team does not have Aaron Rodgers, but maybe they have his magic.\u00a0 Wright State, on the other hand, has let a good season go down the drain with a fading finish.\u00a0 They still are not a team to be overlooked, though, as Vaughn Duggins and company can flat-out play.\u00a0 This game is the most hotly contested first-round matchup, as far as the CTC goes (though, there are very few down-the-road) implications.\u00a0 11 of the 19 entries that have been submitted actually went with the underdog, Green Bay, in this one.\u00a0 A minor upset, but an upset nonetheless.\u00a0 Only Bry, J, Doogan, Alexi, Teddy, Rikey, and Mac took the favorite here.\u00a0 Looking ahead, though, there are very few ramifications.\u00a0 Only two people have Cleveland State beating either one of these teams in the quarters (Dan\u00a0has Green Bay going to the semis and Waters has Wright State).<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0 Wright State 60 – Green Bay 50<\/strong>
\nVaughn Duggins and his awkward style of play pour in 22 points as the Wright State Raiders slip past Green Bay into the quarters.\u00a0 This very popular underdog pick didn’t materialize, and Wright State keeps the dreams of Waters and Stri alive to nail Wright State in the semis.\u00a0 Dan lost the most in this game, as he had Green Bay in the semis.<\/p>\n

BIG SOUTH QUARTERFINALS <\/strong>(4 points each)<\/em><\/span>
\nThe other conference that kicks off tonight is the Big South.\u00a0 The Big South is a\u00a0critical\u00a0one in the CTC because it is almost always the first one, so it sort of sets the pace.\u00a0 In the end, though, there are not a ton of points at stake here.\u00a0 But, every conference crown is important.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0 <\/strong>Day One of the Big South gave us some great games and one major upset.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, and J all hit the High Point upset and two of the three favorites that won to lead the way with 22.\u00a0 KA, Dave and Primm struggled, going just 1-for-4.\u00a0 OVERALL BIG SOUTH LEADERS (22 pts):\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, and J.<\/p>\n

#1 Coastal Carolina vs. #8 Gardner-Webb<\/em>
\nCoastal Carolina had the nation’s longest winning streak at one point this season, but lost its only two conference games in the last week of the season, so, despite a 16-2 conference record, they are not exactly playing their best basketball.\u00a0 Gardner-Webb would not have even qualified for the Big South tournament if Florida Gulf Coast was eligible, but a chip and a chair, right?\u00a0 If they win every game they play from here on out, we will crown them national champions.\u00a0 Doogan and Primm swung for the fences here, going for the huge Gardner-Webb upset pick.\u00a0 On the other side, Coastal, the top seed, was the champion pick of 10 people (Bry, J, Lynch, both Lohses, Scoot, Rikey, Dave, Gross, and Mac).<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0 Coastal Carolina 83 – Gardner-Webb 72
\n<\/strong>And there is a 17-way tie for first in the CTC!\u00a0 In the first final score of the 2011 CTC, the Chanticleers overcame their “issues<\/a>” to win their opening tournament game at home.\u00a0 Gardner-Webb led much of the first half, but Coastal held them at arm’s length for most of the second half, winning a game that was a lot closer than the final score.\u00a0 Doogan and Primm’s longshot upset pick was close, but didn’t quite come through.<\/p>\n

#2 Liberty vs. #7 High Point<\/em>
\nLiberty, the surprise of the Big South this year, had a remarkable year, considering they only lost one game to anyone other than Coastal, even though they were only picked to finish 8th in the conference in the preseason.\u00a0 High Point, well, wasn’t very good this year.\u00a0 Despite that, three entries (the BSB contingent – Bry, Doogan, and J) have High Point in the upset here.\u00a0 Surprisingly, though they are the #2-seed, only 3 people have Liberty winning this whole tournament (KA, Dan, and Gersh), so those three are big-time Liberty fans for the next week.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0 High Point 66 – Liberty 60<\/strong>
\nMadness!\u00a0 Shay Shine drops 26 on the Flames and High Point moves on.\u00a0 Liberty looked like they were going to win big, opening up an 18-9 lead early in the first half and then a 39-30 lead midway through the second, but the last 14 minutes were dominated by Shine and High Point.\u00a0 J, Doogan, and Bry all nailed the first big upset of the CTC.\u00a0 KA, Dan, and Gersh all lost their champion.<\/p>\n

#3 UNC-Asheville vs. #6 Charleston-Southern<\/em>
\nBarring a big Gardner-Webb upset of Coastal, this game will probably go the furthest of all quarterfinal games in\u00a0determining this year’s Big South CTC champion.\u00a0 5 people have Charleston-Southern in the upset (KA, Teddy, Cheryl, Dave, and Mac), while\u00a04 others have UNC-Asheville cutting down the nets as Big South champ on Saturday (Doogan, Alexi, Waters, and Primm), with a boatload of others having UNC-Asheville as least in the finals.\u00a0 Teddy and Dave actually have CSU in the finals.\u00a0 This is a big see-saw game in the Big South quarters.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0 UNC-Asheville 72\u00a0– Charleston-Southern 63<\/strong>
\nAsheville takes care of business at home, never really being threatened.\u00a0 With the Liberty loss giving them a home semifinal and a short-handed Coastal squad, Asheville has become the new favorite to win this tournament.\u00a0 Doogan, Alexi, Waters, and Primm would like that result.\u00a0 Teddy and Dave lost finalists here.<\/p>\n

#4 VMI vs. #5 Winthrop<\/em>
\nVMI – maybe the most exciting team in the country to watch because of their astromonical number of three-point attempts and their complete aversion to defense – played really well down the stretch to earn the 4-seed and a home game in the first round.\u00a0 The downside – they get an experienced, well-coached (albeit, slightly down on their usual talent) Winthrop team.\u00a0 While VMI is the favorite and the home team, the majority went against the Keydets here.\u00a0 Only Doogan, Stri, Teddy, Cheryl, Dan, Rikey, Gersh, and Mac took VMI at home.\u00a0 But, those who like them seem to love them.\u00a0 Doogan has the Keydets in going to the finals, while Teddy and Cheryl actually have them winning the whole thing.\u00a0 Alexi, KA, and Primm have the most at stake with the Golden Eagles, as they have Winthrop going to the finals.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0 VMI 78 – Winthrop 73<\/strong>
\nVMI played just enough defense to hold off the Golden Eagles in a game that was close all night.\u00a0 Alexi, KA, and Primm lose a finalist.\u00a0 Teddy and Cheryl keep their champion alive.<\/p>\n

As promised, I want to give an overall preview of each conference and its CTC implications on the day they get started, so we will see how this works.<\/p>\n

CTC SNAPSHOT – HORIZON LEAGUE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Championship Picks:<\/p>\n