{"id":1746,"date":"2011-03-11T12:46:14","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T16:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1746"},"modified":"2011-03-12T12:13:10","modified_gmt":"2011-03-12T16:13:10","slug":"ctc-day-eleven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1746","title":{"rendered":"CTC: Day Eleven"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAST UPDATE:\u00a0\u00a010:49 am
\n* – denotes recently posted update<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have said many times that the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament are the four greatest days in the sports calendar.\u00a0 And, I believe the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs is a\u00a0close 5 & 6.\u00a0 But, there is no doubt in my mind that the most underrated days on the sporting calendar are the Thursday and Friday of Championship Week, and probably could give any of those top picks a run for their money, in my book.\u00a0 50 games yesterday and 39 more today are absolutely phenomenal.\u00a0 Add the massive CTC implications, and you have yourself an amazing day.\u00a0 Today’s games will go a long way to determining everything in the CTC standings, as there are hundreds and hundreds of points at stake here.\u00a0 Just sit back and enjoy it…<\/p>\n

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP <\/span><\/strong>(16 points)
\n<\/span><\/em>Back on Day Two of the CTC we all only had about 20 points.\u00a0 Perry Jones, Jim Tressel, Brandon Davies, and Charlie Sheen\u00a0were seen as upstanding citizens.\u00a0 No one had ever heard of Solomon Bozeman or the other Tristan Thompson.\u00a0\u00a0And, the Patriot League tournament was just beginning.\u00a0 Now,\u00a010 days later, we are ready to crown a champion.\u00a0 \u00a0With Gross leading the PL, and\u00a0no one picking Lafayette to win,\u00a0the only question is will Gross get the perfect bracket\u00a0to\u00a0go alon with his 2011 CTC PL\u00a0title belt?\u00a0 If Bucknell wins, he will do just that.\u00a0 If not, he’ll just get a “regular” belt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#1 Bucknell vs. #6 Lafayette<\/em>
\nAfter dismantling Army in the quarters, Bucknell needed every bucket to knock off Lehigh in the semis, 66-64.\u00a0 And, speaking of needing every bucket, Lafayette had a thriller in the semis, as they went into DC and beat American in double-OT.\u00a0 The Leopards will have to win their third straight road game in this tournament if they are going to win it.\u00a0 Interesting fact:\u00a0 Bucknell’s win on Sunday marked the 20th time in 20 PL tournaments that the #1 seed advanced to the championship game.\u00a0 And, they have won 15 of the 19 tournaments, so the smart money is on the Bison.\u00a0 The CTC’ers seem aware of that, as 17 entries have Bucknell winning this game.\u00a0 Only Waters, Dan, and Scoot – who have already lost this game – do not have Bucknell.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Bucknell 72 – Lafayette 57<\/strong>
\nThe #1 seed wins again in the Patriot, as Bucknell advances to the NCAA tournament.\u00a0 The Bison should probably get a 14-seed or so and could be tough for someone.\u00a0 17 people got this champion correct, but Gross comes up huge completing a pretty impressive perfect PL bracket.<\/p>\n

BIG EAST SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(40 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>And the 12 games in 3 days are in the books, and the deepest conference in the country has its final four.\u00a0 With all the talk about the dis<\/em>advantage of the double-bye in the first two years of this format, the double-bye teams did alright for themselves yesterday, even though it didn’t begin all that well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#4 Syracuse vs. #9 Connecticut<\/em>
\nThe Orange survived a grueling game with St. John’s, while the UConn Kembas eliminated the top seed in the tournament on some last-second heroics.\u00a0 The question here will be just how much the Huskies have left in the tank.\u00a0 They are not exactly the deepest team, and this is their fourth game in four nights.\u00a0 A lot of times fatigue will affect the jumpers, and against the Syracuse zone, those jumpers better not be short all night.\u00a0 No one in the CTC even had UConn getting this far, let alone winning this game.\u00a0 J, Lohse, Teddy, and Primm all have Syracuse winning this game and the title game tomorrow, so the other 16 contestants are now UConn fans.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Connecticut 76 – Syracuse 71 (OT)<\/strong>
\nTwo years after that incredible six-overtime game is a relatively short, routine, single-OT affair.\u00a0 UConn seemed to have the game in hand in regulation, up by 6 with :20 seconds left, but Scoop Jardine (who I still think stinks) banked in a ridiculous three, then Shabazz Napier missed the front-end of a one-and-one, allowing Jardine to hit another and send it to OT.\u00a0 Jardine tried again in OT to tie it with a stupid shot, but he missed, and UConn was able to ice it at the line.\u00a0 The Huskies become the first team in college basketball history to win four straight conference tournament games without winning the title…yet.\u00a0 Kemba Walker put together an UNBELIEVABLE line:\u00a0 31 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 steals.\u00a0 And, watching the game, he was even better than those numbers might indicate.\u00a0 J, Lohse, Teddy, and Primm miss out on what would have been a huge CTC scoring opportunity here, and all lost their champ here as well.<\/p>\n

#2 Notre Dame vs. #3 Louisville\u00a0
\n<\/em>How good did both of these teams look last night?\u00a0 Real good.\u00a0 The Irish utterly dismantled Cincinnati, while Louisville beat down Marquette, setting up a really good nightcap in the Big East semis.\u00a0\u00a0 It should be interesting to see how the Irish – who I still don’t believe have a true ballhandling point guard – can handle the Louisville pressure.\u00a0 If they can limit turnovers and easy buckets, I think ND will win this game due to their superior talent.\u00a0 Also, watch for patented Pitino halftime adjustments if they are down at the break.\u00a0 Mike Brey doesn’t exactly have the same track record, though I think he’s underrated as an in-game tactician.\u00a0 J, Alexi, Teddy, Gersh and Cheryl have all lost this game already with either WVU, Marquette,\u00a0or ‘Nova.\u00a0 Of the remaining 15, 10 have ND and 5 have the ‘Ville (Doogan, Stri, KA, Scoot, and Dave).<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Louisville 83 – Notre Dame 77 (OT)<\/strong>
\nHow great is the Big East tournament?\u00a0 Two more semis, two more OT games.\u00a0 Louisville erases a 16-point deficit (with some great halftime adjustments) to tie the game and win it in OT.\u00a0 Preston Knowles played the last 15 minutes of the game with 4 fouls, completely dominating the Irish.\u00a0 Big East POY, Ben Hansbrough, was really bad on this night, including an ill-advised shot late in the OT.\u00a0 Purdue transfer Scott Martin was the best player for ND tonight with 21 and 8.\u00a0 This was a big game for the CTC, as Bry loses his Big East champ in OT just hours after J lost his in OT.\u00a0 Along with Bry, Dan, Gross, and Mac also lost their champs.\u00a0 Stri is the only one with the Ville winning this tournament.<\/p>\n

BIG XII SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(40 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>Three favorites and an upstart Colorado team won yesterday in the quarters, setting up a very interesting semifinal double-header today in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

#1 Kansas vs. #5 Colorado<\/em>
\nThe Jayhawks didn’t look like the country’s second-best team yesterday, though I do believe they are.\u00a0 Ok State is just really good this time of year.\u00a0 Colorado, who probably did what they needed to get their name called next week by beating K-State, will try and cement an at-large with a win today.\u00a0 Look for how Self decides to defend the great Alec Burks.\u00a0 Ty Thomas is probably his best perimeter defender (though, I still think he sucks), but he may not have the size to match up with the bigger Burks.\u00a0 Cheryl is the only one with the big upset pick here of Colorado.\u00a0 A slew of people had K-State (Doogan, J, Waters, Lynch, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Scoot, Primm, and Gross).\u00a0 The remaining 10 entries all have KU here, and all but Dave and Gersh have KU winning it all.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Kansas 90 – Colorado 83<\/strong>
\nThe Morris Family had 40 points, 21 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks today, as KU overcomes a big early deficit to eliminate Colorado.\u00a0 The Buffs, led by 23 from Alec Burks, put up a nice fight pretty much all day, but the Jayhawks were just too talented for Colorado in their third game in three nights.<\/p>\n

#2 Texas vs. #3 Texas A&M
\n<\/em>A midseason swoon has seemed to cause America to forget about Texas A&M, but this was a top 10 team in the nation at one point.\u00a0 And, they do it the old-fashioned way – with defense – though they didn’t last night in dropping 86 on Mizzou.\u00a0 Texas, who pounded Oklahoma yesterday, is trying to erase the memories of last year’s late-season collapse that ruined the season of a team that spent some time at #1 in the country.\u00a0 Alexi, Scoot, Cheryl, and Dan all have lost this game already with Mizzou.\u00a0 KA and Dave are the only two with A&M here (Dave has them winning it all).\u00a0 Everyone else has UT, including 4 people\u00a0who have the ‘Horns cutting down the nets (Doogan, J, Gersh, and Gross).\u00a0<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Texas 70 – Texas A&M 58<\/strong>
\nThe Aggies gave the ‘Horns a run for their money, but, in the end, the talent of Texas was too much, particularly the effort and athleticism of J’Covan Brown (another great name).\u00a0 Texas will battle Kansas in a great Big XII title game on Saturday.\u00a0 4 people, including overall leader, J, keep alive their champ.\u00a0 Dave loses his champ.<\/p>\n

PAC 10 SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(40 points each)
\n<\/em><\/span>The big upset of UCLA last night opened up the bottom of the bracket for UW, but USC and Oregon are still scaring potential bubble teams around the country.<\/p>\n

#1 Arizona vs. #4 USC<\/em>
\nArizona didn’t crush Oregon State the way\u00a0many thought they should have, but the got the W and are two wins away from a Pac-1o tournament title to go alongside their regular season version.\u00a0 USC, who is playing some of the best basketball in the league right now, beat up on Cal yesterday.\u00a0 If you think ‘Zona is a heavy favorite – or a favorite at all – think again.\u00a0 Vegas has the Trojans as a 1-point favorite in this one.\u00a0 Lynch and Dan have the seed-based upset picks of USC here.\u00a0 Cheryl, Dave, and Gross all have already lost with Cal.\u00a0 The other 15 all have ‘Zona here, including 11 of them who have the ‘Cats winning it all.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE: Arizona 67 – USC 62
\n<\/strong>Derrick Williams shoots 7-10 from the field, for 20 points, and leads the Cats to the win.\u00a0 Maybe this guy should take more shots, huh?\u00a0 Lynch and Dan miss their upset shot.<\/p>\n

#3 Washington\u00a0vs. #7 Oregon\u00a0<\/em>
\nProbably the biggest upset of the day yesterday saw the Ducks take out UCLA.\u00a0 UW survived in-state rival Wazzu and Klay Thompson’s 43 record-setting 43-point night last night.\u00a0 Now, these two will get a shot to play for a spot in the Pac-10 finals.\u00a0 Bubble teams around the country are big yoo-dub fans tonight.\u00a0 Lynch, Lohse, Gersh, and Gross are the only ones with UW in this one – Lynch and Gross have the Huskies winning it.\u00a0 No one has Oregon.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Washington 69 – Oregon 51<\/strong>
\nIt took the Huskies a while to shake a pesky Oregon team, but they finally did and ended up winning by\u00a0a pretty big margin.\u00a0 An atypical defensive day for the Huskies (or a game against an inferior opponent), as they held the Ducks to 51 points on 32% shooting.\u00a0 Lynch and Gross keep alive their Pac-10 champion.<\/p>\n

ATLANTIC 10 QUARTERFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(20 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>Three days ago, four teams booked their tickets to Atlantic City\u00a0for a weekend of…basketball.\u00a0 The top four teams, including the great Temple Owls take the floor today for the first time in Championship Week.<\/p>\n

#1 Xavier vs. #9 Dayton<\/em>
\nThe Musketeers were the best team in the A-10 all year, led by the conference’s best player – Tu (formerly Terrell) Holloway.\u00a0 Dayton, who hammered UMass in Amherst on Wednesday, have the talent to win this tournament, so who knows…\u00a0 There is one bold upset pick of Dayton here, and that is Gross.\u00a0 The other 19 have the X, with many of them having Xavier go all the way.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Dayton 68 – Xavier 67<\/strong>
\nThree noontime games, three #1-seeds, three games that went to the final whistle…\u00a0 Tu Holloway converted a traditional three-point play to give the Musketeers a 67-66 lead with :25 seconds left, and then the X defense made the stop, but Luke Fabrizius was fouled corralling the offensive board and hit both free throws with :06 seconds left.\u00a0 Holloway’s long game-winning attempt went off iron and, just like that, the A-10’s #1-seed is gone.\u00a0 As is the champion pick of Doogan, Stri, Alexi, Lil Lohse, Scoot, Cheryl, Rikey, Gersh, Primm, and Mac.\u00a0 A HUGE upset pick by Gross here picks him up some major points.<\/p>\n

#4 Duquesne vs. #12 St. Joe’s<\/em>
\nThe Duquesne Dukes looked, for a while, like they were going to break a very long NCAA tournament drought.\u00a0 They won the first ever A-10 automatic bid and haven’t even been there since.\u00a0 But, really it was just a result (as many people realized) of a soft early schedule.\u00a0 It was great for them because they were in a position to get to where they wanted to be, but they still needed to get a couple nice wins before they were legit contenders.\u00a0 St. Joe’s had an abysmal year (with their incredibly overrated coach), but they are young and are getting better.\u00a0 They barely qualified for the A-10 tournament and then made the best of their qualification by going into GW and knocking off a decent Colonials team.\u00a0 Now, they take a shot at the Dukes in AC.\u00a0 No has St. Joe’s here to pull another upset, but a few (Lynch, Lil Lohse, KA, Teddy, Dan, and Gersh) have already lost this game by picking GW here.\u00a0 The rest of the field has the Dukes.\u00a0 Dave has the most on the line here, as he has Duquesne winning it all.\u00a0 Lohse and Gross both have the Dukes in the finals.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 St. Joe’s 93 – Duquesne 90
\n<\/strong>More absolute Madness in the A-10.\u00a0 The St. Joe’s Hawks, who were lucky to even make this tournament are two wins away from winning it.\u00a0 Carl Jones had 28-7-7 for the Hawks, but fouled out in the last two minutes of regulation, when it looked like St. Joes’ season was going to end.\u00a0 But, a late rally, capped by the game-tying dunk by Ronald Roberts (9-for-11 from the floor) sent the game to OT, where they took control.\u00a0 St. Joe’s, who averaged only 63 points per game this season, was not expecting to win a game in the 90’s.\u00a0 No one got this crazy upset pick.\u00a0 Dave lost the most here – losing his champion.\u00a0 Lohse and Gross both lost Duquesne, who they had as a finalist (which looked like a great pick when Xavier lost).\u00a0<\/p>\n

#2 Temple vs. #10 LaSalle<\/em>
\nIt is hard to sum up my feelings about this year’s Temple team because I am so emotionally invested in this team.\u00a0 First of all, there is Lavoy Allen, who, when it’s all said and done, will go down as having one of the best careers of any Temple player of my generation.\u00a0 They also have Juan Fernandez, who, while he had some shooting issues this year, is one of the better guards to go through the program.\u00a0 Plus the development of guys like Ramone Moore, Michael Eric, and Scootie Randall has been incredible to watch.\u00a0 This Dunphy guy really can coach, huh?\u00a0 But, speaking of Eric and Randall, their injuries (Eric is out and Randall is questionable) could be the ultimate key to this team’s postseason success.\u00a0 They start their postseason run tonight against Big Five rival – and pretty talented squad – LaSalle, who went into Olean, NY, and beat a tough Bonnies team on Wednesday night.\u00a0 All 20 entries have the Owls in this one, with a lot of them picking Temple to win the tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Temple 96 – LaSalle 76<\/strong>
\nThe Owls, after dropping 90 on the Explorers last week, even topped that in the quarters in the A-10 tonight to avoid the upset bug plaguing the A-10 tonight.\u00a0 LaSalle turned the ball over 22 times (15 in the first half), and the Owls went 10-19 from the three-point line against the phantom defense played by Dr. Gianinni’s team.\u00a0 Everyone got this one right.<\/p>\n

#3 Richmond vs. #6 Rhode Island<\/em>
\nProbably the most important game for the A-10, as a conference, is the nightcap quarterfinal tonight.\u00a0 Richmond is squarely on the bubble, and they probably cannot afford a loss here or they’re probably NIT-bound.\u00a0 And, it is not going to be easy because Delroy James and the Rams are tough.\u00a0 URI is coming off a 9-point win at home against St. Louis in the opening round on Wednesday.\u00a0 KA has a great upset pick here of URI and Dave has already lost with St. Louis.\u00a0 The other 18 have the Spiders here.\u00a0 Waters has the most at stake, as Richmond is his A-10 champion.\u00a0\u00a0A bunch of entries have the Spiders in the finals (Doogan, Alexi, Waters, Scoot, and Rikey).<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE: Richmond 55 – Rhode Island 45
\n<\/strong>Kevin Anderson scores 21 and the Spiders win to set up an excellent semifinal with Temple tomorrow.\u00a0 With Dayton and St. Joe’s on the other side of the bracket, Temple-Richmond will probably go down as the marquee matchup of this tournament.\u00a0 KA’s alma mater exits toward the NIT.<\/p>\n

ACC QUARTERFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(20 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>Enter UNC and Duke, stage right.\u00a0 The top 4 ACC teams join the\u00a04 winners from yesterday for a weekend of ACC basketball.<\/p>\n

#1 North Carolina vs. #9 Miami (FL)<\/em>
\nRoy Williams is probably a very smart man, but how could it possibly take him so long to realize that Larry Drew wasn’t very good?\u00a0 Now, he is getting all this praise for replacing him in the starting lineup, when I think we should be asking: “what took you so long?”\u00a0 But, regardless, they are running on all cylinders right now, and are legit Final Four contenders.\u00a0 They have a TON of talent, led by Harrison Barnes, who people completely wrote off after a slow start and have forgotten why there was so much hype around him to begin with.\u00a0 The guy is AWESOME.\u00a0 Miami had a miracle win over UVA yesterday just to keep their season alive.\u00a0 18 entries have UNC winning this game, but 2 (Teddy and Dave) were bold enough to take Miami in what could be a legendary upset pick.\u00a0 Expectedly, a lot of the field has UNC winning the tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 North Carolina 61 – Miami (FL) 59<\/strong>
\nUNC led at exactly one point all day – at the final whistle.\u00a0 Miami led all day, including 53-37 late in the second half, completely imploded down the stretch and fell victim to great playmaking drive by Kendall Marshall, who dished to Zeller for the game-winner.\u00a0 Teddy and Dave were completely robbed here with a HUGE upset pick.\u00a0 A lot of the field, barely, held on to their ACC champion here.<\/p>\n

#4 Clemson vs. #5 Boston College<\/em>
\nThe winner of this game is going to the tournament.\u00a0 It’s still unclear as to whether the loser will also go, but they should consider this an elimination game.\u00a0 BC handled a terrible Wake Forest team yesterday to get here.\u00a0 Clemson has had a bit of an under-the-radar solid season this year, but they could use another quality victory on their resume.\u00a0 Demontez Stitt has never really reached the level that many predicted when he arrived on campus as a heralded freshman four years ago, but he is still a pretty solid player, and you can do a lot worse than him as a go-to guy.\u00a0 This is a bit of a swing game here in the ACC, at least for this round alone.\u00a0 Only 8 entries (Bry, Stri, Lohse, Scoot, Cheryl, Rikey, Gersh, and Primm) have the Tigers.\u00a0 The other 12 all have BC here.\u00a0 Lohse has the most faith in Clemson, pegging them as a finalist, while Teddy and Dave both have BC going to the finals.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Clemson 70 – Boston College 47<\/strong>
\nDemontez Stitt did lead the Tigers with 20 points in an easy quarterfinal win over BC.\u00a0 Clemson has probably now secured an at-large bid, but they will get a shot to cement it against UNC in the semis.\u00a0 BC is gonna sweat on Sunday, as Stitt (a great defender) shut down Reggie Jackson.\u00a0 Teddy and Dave lost a finalist here.\u00a0 Lohse kept a finalist alive.<\/p>\n

#2 Duke vs. #7 Maryland<\/em>
\n\u00a0Without Kyrie Irving, people just wrote this Duke team off as a possible dominant team.\u00a0 And, honestly, while I thought it was absolutely crazy at the time, they really aren’t the same team – and I don’t understand that at all.\u00a0 They are loaded!\u00a0 When Kyle Singler is not the best player on your team, you KNOW you have a great team.\u00a0 That being said, there are flaws.\u00a0 This is not the Duke type defensive team that Coach K is used to.\u00a0 The Plumlees are really just guys out there, instead of the studs that people thought they would be.\u00a0 Duke is, in many ways, like the Yankees and their “prospects” are given much more credence just because they’re Duke.\u00a0 Gary Williams, love him or hate him (and I’m more the latter than the former), is a great game-day coach and always find that extra gear against the Devils, so watch out.\u00a0 Even the die-hard Terp fans in the CTC didn’t pick Maryland here.\u00a0 Everyone has Duke, including 11 who have the Blue Devils as ACC champs.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Duke 87 – Maryland 71<\/strong>
\nWould you believe that this was a very close game for about 36 minutes?\u00a0 Maryland even had a lead midway through the second half.\u00a0 But, the Devils turned it on and ended up winning by 16.\u00a0 But, the win is NOT the story of this game.\u00a0 Nolan Smith – a national POY candidate – left this game with an apparent ankle or knee injury.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\u00a0 Everyone got this one right.<\/p>\n

#3 Florida State vs. #6 Virginia Tech<\/em>
\nNot many teams are, but FSU is definitely not good enough to really deal with the loss of their best player – and future pro – Chris Singleton.\u00a0 They will try and get by with their solid, athletic frontcourt, but they might be over their heads both this week and next if Singleton can’t play – or isn’t 100%.\u00a0 Va Tech hammered Georgia Tech yesterday to set up this important quarterfinal matchup.\u00a0 If you ask me, they are in regardless, but knowing their past history, they are pretty well aware of what can happen on Selection Sunday even if you think you’ve done enough.\u00a0 Va Tech was a pretty popular upset pick in this round (even though Vegas has them as a 4-point favorite), as J, Alexi, Lynch, Teddy, Cheryl, and Dan all have the Hokies going to the semis.\u00a0 The rest of the field have FSU.\u00a0 Waters, Primm, and Gross all have FSU going to the finals.\u00a0 Cheryl has VT going to the finals; Lynch has them winning it.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Virginia Tech 52 – Florida State 51<\/strong>
\nWhile the officials’ overturning of Derwin Kitchen’s apparent game-winner for FSU was pretty big for Va Tech and FSU in their quests for an ACC title and NCAA tournament berth, it was nothing compared to J and Bry’s quest for a CTC overall title.\u00a0 When Kitchen hit what looked like a game-winner, it looked like Bry would extend his overall lead heading into the second-to-last day.\u00a0 But, when the refs determined, correctly (on the closest call of this kind that I have ever seen), that when time expired, the ball was still touching the very fingertip of Kitchen’s middle finger, it gave J (and 5 others) the upset pick and the overall lead by himself.\u00a0 Lynch is happy with this result, as he has Va Tech as his ACC champ.<\/p>\n

BIG TEN QUARTERFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(20 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>In Chicago, the best top three in a conference are ready to start their postseason runs, including the best team in the country at noon.<\/p>\n

#1 Ohio State vs. #8 Northwestern<\/em>
\nThere is no doubt in my mind that OSU is the best team in the country.\u00a0 In fact, I don’t like that everyone keeps saying that this year doesn’t have a “great” team.\u00a0 This team is definitely great.\u00a0 It has it all – from a stud big man to the senior leaders to dead-eye outside shooting to hard-core effort on the defensive end and the boards.\u00a0 I will be picking the Buckeyes to win the NCAA tournament in any bracket I complete.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, this team is so good, people completely forget about Buford, who may be\u00a0some NBA team’s first-round draft pick this year. \u00a0Their one potential weakness is depth, which could come into play this weekend, but isn’t usually a big issue in next week’s tournament.\u00a0 On the other side, people seem to forget that this NW team has a ton of talent and probably should have been a tournament team.\u00a0 John Shurna is really good, and Juice Thompson (who had 35 yesterday), is a solid senior lead guard.\u00a0 This won’t be a runaway for the country’s top team.\u00a0 Not surprisingly, everyone went with OSU here, and most people went with the Buckeyes all tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Ohio State 67 – Northwestern 61 (OT)<\/strong>
\nAn incredible shooting display by John Shurna is not enough, as OSU comes all the way back to send the game to OT and then dominate the extra session.\u00a0 Jared Sullinger was not very good in his first postseason game, but was a force when they needed him most.\u00a0 Unfortunately, despite another solid game by Juice Thompson, I still can’t convince the wife to start referring to me as “Juice.”\u00a0 The Big Ten’s most popular champion pick stays alive – barely.<\/p>\n

#4 Michigan vs. #5 Illinois<\/em>
\nProbably the last ever Big Ten quarterfinal game between two teams that got byes will be today in the mid-afternoon.\u00a0 Illinois should have been great this year, but, well, maybe Demitri McCamey just isn’t that good.\u00a0 Yes, it is really hard for me to believe that I’m even writing that because I thought he was in the conversation for best point guard in America, but I was dead-wrong.\u00a0 I do like some of the athleticism that Illinois has, but they lack any toughness whatsoever.\u00a0 Michigan, on the other hand, may have gotten a double dose of toughness, and just didn’t get the talent.\u00a0 But, when you have John Beilein as your coach (another incredibly underrated guy), you always have a chance, and, to everyone’s surprise, it looks like this team is going dancing.\u00a0 More people believe in Illinois here than Michigan, as only 9 people took the Wolverines – Alexi, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Cheryl, Dan, Dave, and Gersh.\u00a0 One entry (Dave) took Michigan to reach the finals, and one entry (Lynch) took Illinois to reach the finals.\u00a0 Both had their pick losing to Purdue.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Michigan 60 – Illinois 55<\/strong>
\nThe Illini led most of the way, but flat-out gave this one away at the end with very sloppy play on both ends of the floor, marking only the 2nd time in 14 years that Illinois didn’t make the Big Ten semis (an amazing statistic, actually).\u00a0 Gotta give credit to the Wolverines, though, as they have been one of the hottest teams in the land for about a month now and are now almost assured of selection in the Dance on Sunday night.\u00a0 Love to see a guy named Tim Hardaway hitting big threes…ah, memories.\u00a0 Dave\u00a0kept alive his wildcard finalist, while\u00a0Lynch lost his.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#2 Purdue vs. #7 Michigan State<\/em>
\nThe game of the day – bar none – is a quarterfinal game.\u00a0 Even with some big conferences (Big East and Big XII, among others) playing semifinals rounds, this quarterfinal game between the Big Ten’s 2- and 7-seeds could be phenomenal.\u00a0 Here is one request I have about Purdue from here on out:\u00a0 Can we please have a moratorium on “How good would they be with Robbie Hummel?” comments?\u00a0 Please?!?\u00a0 Why don’t we just say:\u00a0 “Wow, this team is really, reall good.”\u00a0 Period.\u00a0 E’twuan Moore and JuJuan Johnson are as good an inside-outside combination as you will find anywhere in the country.\u00a0 In fact, I think they are the best inside-outside duo anywhere.\u00a0 Throw in dead-eye shooters like Ryne Smith and D.J. Byrd and a quintessential college point guard in Lewis Jackson, and this is a great team with or without that Hummel guy.\u00a0 But, how tough did this tournament bracket break for them?\u00a0 Because Michigan State was a complete train wreck for a lot of the season, this team with Final Four talent and an all-time great head coach is a 7-seed.\u00a0 But, they can put it together.\u00a0 And, it could be at any time.\u00a0 This is going to be good.\u00a0 And, aside from it being a fantastic game, from a basketball perspective (who cares about that?), this game, maybe as much as any other single game, is a HUGE game from a CTC perspective.\u00a0 J, Alexi, Dan, Primm, and Gross all have MSU winning this game.\u00a0 J and Primm have Sparty in the finals.\u00a0 On the other side, Doogan, Lynch, Lohse, KA, Teddy, Cheryl, and Dave all have the Boilermakers winning this whole tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Michigan State 74 – Purdue 56<\/strong>
\nMSU had a huge first half and was able to stave off a furious Purdue comeback, as\u00a0Sparty is going back to The Dance – definitely.\u00a0 We saw Kalin Lucas, vintage 2009, tonight, as he dropped 30 and was easily the best player on the floor all night.\u00a0 If he can return to his Big Ten POY level, this team could be rather dangerous.\u00a0 This was a HUGE game for the 5 that hit this game, especially J and Primm, who have them in the finals.\u00a0 When the CTC is all said and done, if J is the champion (which is a distinct possibility, at this point), we may look back at right now as the turning point, as J hit his upset pick with MSU, and Bry missed his with Tennessee.<\/p>\n

#3 Wisconsin vs. #6 Penn State<\/em>
\nWe seem to say it every year:\u00a0 “Bo Ryan [another Philly product at head coach] may have done his best job yet.”\u00a0 But, if we say it every year, can’t we just say that this guy is one of the absolute best?\u00a0 Yes, yes, we can say that.\u00a0 I know that Jordan Taylor and John Leuer have immense talent, but looking at this roster, is this really a Top 10-caliber roster?\u00a0 Not without Ryan.\u00a0 The one reason for hesitation is that the Badgers were much better at home, and their games at Kohl are over.\u00a0 I still think they have Final Four potential, but we shall see.\u00a0 This pesky, senior-laden PSU team sees their collegiate mortality here, as they definitely need at least one more win for at-large consideration (and that still might not be enough, though a win over Wis would be nice).\u00a0 They took care of Indiana in unimpressive fashion, but they’re here, and that’s all that matters.\u00a0 Waters, Scoot, Dave, and Primm all have PSU in the upset here; everyone else has Wisconsin.\u00a0 Gross has the most at stake, with Wisconsin as his champion.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE: Penn St. 36 – Wisconsin 33
\n<\/strong>Nope, that score is not a typo.\u00a0 Big Ten Basketball, everybody!\u00a0 I saw that score come across the ticker and thought it was the halftime score.\u00a0 The Nittany Lions had nobody in double-figures and got zero points from their bench, and they win.\u00a0 Wisconsin shoots 2-21 from 3.\u00a0 It’s hard to understand why Wisconsin is such a different team home and away.\u00a0 Waters, Scoot, Dave, and Primm hit the nice upset, while Gross loses his champ.<\/p>\n

SEC QUARTERFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(20 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>Three East Division teams win yesterday, as the difference in the quality of the divisions continue to be spotlighted.\u00a0 We will see how the top two Western teams do as they enter the tourney today.<\/p>\n

#1W Alabama vs. #4E Georgia<\/em>
\nUGA knocked off Auburn yesterday with expected ease.\u00a0 Now, they get an upstart Alabama team that, if they had actually played anyone in the non-conference would be a solid bubble team.\u00a0 Anthony Grant (former VCU head man) is a GREAT coach and is going to turn this Tide program around and rather quickly.\u00a0 Bama is in the bubble mix, but needs AT LEAST a win here.\u00a0 The Dawgs are a rather popular upset pick here.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, J, Scoot, Primm, Gross, and Mac all have UGA here.\u00a0 Teddy has already lost this game (Auburn), and everyone else has ‘Bama.\u00a0 No one has Georgia past the semis, but KA does have Alabama going to the finals and winning it.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Alabama 65 – Georgia 59 (OT)<\/strong>
\nIf Georgia misses the NCAA tournament, they might subpoena my email and sue me for damages, as I sent an email to Gross with about 6 minutes left (when UGA had a 14-point lead), saying that we were about to hit a big email.\u00a0 Alabama outscored Georgia 19-5 after that to send the game to OT and then rode that momentum to a win in the extra session.\u00a0 JaMychal Green (another incredible name) stuffed the stat sheet\u00a0for the Tide with 20 points, 13 boards, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 5 blocks.\u00a0 Bama definitely boosted their at-large resume, but probably still need another win to feel even remotely safe.\u00a0 7 entries are snakebitten by missing this seemed-to-be-in-the-bag upset pick.\u00a0 KA miraculously saves her champion pick.<\/p>\n

#2E Kentucky vs. #3W Ole Miss<\/em>
\nI wonder how long Calipari can keep this up.\u00a0 It seems like his stategy of complete turnover of a roster and then poor in-game coaching is only one semi-failed recruiting class (or one more recruiting allegation) away from mediocrity.\u00a0 But, for now, he’s got yet another college team loaded with professional-caliber personnel.\u00a0 Ole Miss and Chris Warren (who is 22 points away from becoming the 4th ever 2000-point, 400-assist in SEC history) knocked off South Carolina yesterday to set up their shot at the ‘Cats today.\u00a0 It’s a bit surprising, but this game is unanimous – everyone has UK.\u00a0 The Wildcats are also the most popular champion pick in the SEC, by a pretty wide margin.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Kentucky 75 – Ole Miss 66<\/strong>
\nThe ‘Cats did not look all that good in a game that was a lot closer than the 9-point final spread may indicate.\u00a0 The Rebels were in it until the end, when UK cemented the game with free throws.\u00a0 A rough days for Knight and Jones were made up for by Lamb and Miller, who were both solid.\u00a0 Chris Warren fell 2 points shy of the 2,000-point mark and now will hope that Ole Miss gets a shot in a postseason tournament.\u00a0 The 12 entries with UK as their champion cannot be overly encouraged by this game, but, as we’ll keep saying all month, a win is a win, no matter how ugly here in March.<\/p>\n

#1E Florida vs. #5E Tennessee<\/em>
\nI have been in love with this Florida team from the very beginning.\u00a0 Chandler Parsons, while not a household name, is a star.\u00a0 Erving Walker has been off-the-charts surprising, and the bigs of Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin are VASTLY underrated.\u00a0 Macklin’s hook shot is almost unstoppable when it’s on, and Tyus is very vulnerable at the 4.\u00a0 And, the best part is that they have sort of realized how to best utilize Kenny Boynton.\u00a0 He’s not going to win you games by taking 20 shots, but if you can get him 8 to 10 good ones, he can be very dangerous.\u00a0 Tennessee, who beat Arkansas last night and is capable of beating anyone on any given night, are a brutal team for any top seed to have to play in the quarters.\u00a0 Bry, Alexi, Lynch, Teddy, Primm, and Gross all went for a gigantic upset pick here with Tennessee.\u00a0 Alexi even has them going to the finals.\u00a0 Top-seeded Florida is only the champion pick of Stri, Waters, Cheryl, and Mac.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Florida 85 – Tennessee 74<\/strong>
\nTennessee led for most of the first half and some of the second, but Bruce Pearl was called for a technical foul with his team down 1, which fueled a furious Florida spurt and the Gators never looked back.\u00a0 A balanced scoring attack for Florida saw all five starters in double-figures and were led by Boynton with 22.\u00a0 UT’s big two, Hopson and Harris, combined for 44, but it wasn’t enough.\u00a0 A lot of people missed this upset pick, including Alexi, who lost a finalist.\u00a0 Stri, Waters, Cheryl, and Mac are happy, as they are the only 4 with this top-seed winning this tournament.<\/p>\n

#2W Mississippi State vs. #3E Vanderbilt<\/em>
\nMississippi State stinks.\u00a0 But, their coach is incredible.\u00a0 As long as Rick Stansbury is still on the sidelines, this Bulldogs team will have at least a modicum of success.\u00a0 In fact, this is a battle between the two coaches who I think might be the most overlooked great coaches in America, as Kevin Stallings leads Vandy in to play the ‘Dogs.\u00a0 This is\u00a0a huge swing game in the SEC because of the belief in the long-term ability of these two teams.\u00a0 While MSU is the favorite here, only 6 people picked them to win this game – Waters, Lynch, Lil Lohse, Dan, Dave, and Primm.\u00a0 Primm and Lil Lohse both have them reaching the finals and losing.\u00a0 Lynch has them reaching the finals and winning.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, J, Lohse, Teddy, Gersh, and Gross all have the Commodores going to the finals.\u00a0 Doogan and J have them winning it.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Vanderbilt 87 – Mississippi State 81<\/strong>
\nJohn Jenkins, who didn’t play in Vandy’s opening round win against LSU, came back with a vengeance, dropping 29 on the Bulldogs to end a forgettable season in Starkville.\u00a0 The Commodores will now get top-seeded Florida in the semis.\u00a0 Doogan and J keep alive their SEC champ.\u00a0 Lynch loses his.<\/p>\n

MOUNTAIN WEST SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(32 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>BYU survived a scare on the scoreboard, SDSU survived a scare on the injury table, but both are now in the semis tonight in tough games.<\/p>\n

#1 BYU vs. #5 New Mexico<\/em>
\nBYU survived to beat a bad TCU team yesterday, while New Mexico beat a really good Colorado State team.\u00a0 And, remember, New Mexico gave BYU 2\/3 of their season’s losses this year.\u00a0 Lil Lohse, Scoot, Rikey, and Mac all took New Mexico with this upset pick, though none of them have the Lobos winning it all.\u00a0 Everyone else has BYU, with Stri, Lohse, Teddy, Dan, and Gersh picking the Cougars to win this tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n

IN-GAME UPDATE:\u00a0 <\/strong>Jimmer Fredette has 33 points, and it’s NOT EVEN HALFTIME.\u00a0 Honestly, it looks like he’s playing NBA Jam and he’s on fire.\u00a0 I’ve seen a lot of basketball in my days, and I’ve never really seen anything like this.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 BYU 87 – New Mexico 76<\/strong>
\nEven though The Jimmer was inhuman all night, this was a close game for about 35 minutes.\u00a0 But, when New Mexico lost their two best players – Dariese Gary to injury and Drew Gordon to foul trouble – they just didn’t have the horses to handle a white-hot Fredette.\u00a0 Jimmer hoisted up 37 shots – which I would harshly criticize, if he didn’t make 22 of them – en route to 51 points from the field (and 1 from the line).\u00a0 It was absolutely unbelievable to watch.\u00a0 Simply unforgettable.\u00a0 I wonder what he has for an encore on Saturday.<\/p>\n

#2 San Diego State\u00a0vs. #3 UNLV\u00a0<\/em>
\nWhat a game here!\u00a0 SDSU – basically on the road – takes on UNLV.\u00a0 The Rebels are probably in, but can’t be certain, while I really think that (especially with the Pitt loss), the Aztecs have a really strong argument for a #1-seed if they win this tournament.\u00a0 And, that is big for a program that has never lost a tournament game, considering a 1-seed has never lost in the tournament.\u00a0\u00a0Everyone has a horse in this race, and most people’s is the same horse.\u00a0 Only Lohse, KA, and Gross have UNLV, with the latter two picking the Rebels to win it all.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 San Diego State 74 – UNLV 72<\/strong>
\nMister Clutch strikes again, as D.J. Gay hit a buzzer-beater to break the hearts of the home crown in Vegas.\u00a0 This was a phenomenal game of back-and-forth action that was, for most of the second half, a man’s war between Kawhi Leonard and Tre’Von Willis.\u00a0 It was fantastic M-West basketball that ended with a big shot by the most underrated point guard in the nation.\u00a0 KA and Gross lost their champ here, while a bunch of entries kept theirs alive.<\/p>\n

CONFERENCE USA SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(24 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>With #1 UAB going out in the quarters, this conference now has three good teams and one Cinderella in the semis tonight.<\/p>\n

#4 Memphis vs. #8 E. Carolina<\/em>
\nMemphis won a hard-fought war with Southern Miss yesterday and benefit from not having to play the #1-seed UAB because of the ECU upset.\u00a0 The Pirates are playing very well right now, though, so this is no walkover for the Tigers.\u00a0 With the elimination of the top-seed, UAB, and a popular 5-seed, S. Miss, there are not a whole lot of people with a team left to root for in this game.\u00a0 No one has ECU, and only 4 people (J, Waters, Lynch, and Lil Lohse) have Memphis.\u00a0 Every one of the four except Lil Lohse has Memphis cutting down the nets.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Memphis 76 – E. Carolina 56<\/strong>
\nJoe Jackson had 24 off the bench for the Tigers, as they cruise past ECU into the finals.\u00a0 J, Waters, and Lynch all keep their champ alive.<\/p>\n

#2 Tulsa vs. #3 UTEP<\/em>
\nUTEP knocked off Marshall yesterday on their home floor, while Tulsa survived a pesky Rice team.\u00a0 They meet now in a good semifinal, with a trip to the C-USA championship on the line.\u00a0 Neither team has a very strong at-large profile, so a loss here would pretty much eliminate either of them.\u00a0 J, Teddy, and Dan have already lost this game with Marshall.\u00a0 Stri, Waters, Scoot, and Gersh have Tulsa.\u00a0 The other 13 all have UTEP.\u00a0 Stri and Scoot have Tulsa winning it all.\u00a0 Six entries (Bry, Doogan, Lil Lohse, Cheryl, Dave, and Gross) have UTEP winning it all.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 UTEP 66 – Tulsa 54<\/strong>
\nThe Miners got 26 from their star, Randy Culpepper and knocked off Tulsa to move on to the finals against Memphis tomorrow.\u00a0 The 6 entries with UTEP winning this tournament are happy.<\/p>\n

MAC SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(16 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>A wild quarterfinal quadruple-header that went into the early morning hours in Cleveland sets up a good semifinal double-header.\u00a0 It should be interesting to see how tired legs perform for the two teams that had to play extra time yesterday.<\/p>\n

#2 W. Michigan vs. #6 Akron<\/em>
\nThanks to 6 straight missed free throws by the best FT-shooting team in the MAC, Akron survived in double-OT against Miami (OH) yesterday, even after blowing a 12-point second-half lead.\u00a0 W. Michigan won a relatively close game against Bowling Green.\u00a0 This is a bit of a swing game in the CTC.\u00a0 5 people have already lost this with Miami (OH), but the other 15 are relatively split.\u00a0 Doogan, J, Alexi, Teddy, and Gross have a nice upset pick of Akron here.\u00a0 Bry, Stri, Waters, both Lohses, Scoot, Rikey, Gersh, and Primm all have WMU here.\u00a0 Scoot, Dave, and both Lohses have W. Mich winning this tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Akron 79 – W. Michigan 68<\/strong>
\nAkron advances to their fourth straight MAC final – pretty impressive – as they beat WMU almost wire-to-wire, though they did almost blow a huge lead until a really bad tech by WMU’s Mike Douglas gave Akron a ton of free throws to put it away.\u00a0 5 people hit a nice upset here; 4 lost a champion.<\/p>\n

#1 Kent State vs. #4 Ball State\u00a0<\/em>
\nBall State came back from 9 points down with under two minutes left to shock Ohio in OT yesterday.\u00a0 Ohio even had the ole intentionally missed free throw for an offensive rebound and a really good look to tie in OT, but it didn’t fall, and the Cardinals advance to the semis against KSU.\u00a0 Teddy has lost this game with Buffalo; Scoot and Dave have lost this game with Ohio.\u00a0 Of the remaining 17, 16 have Kent State.\u00a0 Cheryl is the lone dissenting opinion with Ball State.\u00a0 A boatload of entries have KSU winning it all in the MAC.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Kent State 79 – Ball State 68<\/strong>
\nKent State led this game pretty much the whole way, but it didn’t ever seem like they had control, as Ball State hung around all game.\u00a0 Justin Greene’s 20 points were finally just too much for the Cardinals, and the MAC’s best team advances to the finals to take on Akron.\u00a0 A lot of CTC’ers keep their champ alive here.<\/p>\n

WAC SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(16 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>With the top two teams getting byes to the semis, we now have a final four ready to tipoff in Vegas, with all trying to knock off the top-dogs.<\/p>\n

#1 Utah State vs. #8 San Jose State<\/em>
\nUtah State dominated this conference all year long and with the only team that beat them (Idaho) out of the tournament, they should be able to finish the job and take the decision out of the hands of the committee.\u00a0 SJSU is coming off back-to-back upsets to get here is playing with nothing lose and their young team could be dangerous.\u00a0 Everyone except KA (Hawaii) has USU winning this game and the WAC title.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Utah State 58 – San Jose State 54<\/strong>
\nYou have to hand it to a very young SJSU team that finished 8th in the WAC, but were a couple plays away from upsetting the heavy favorites and playing for the WAC title.\u00a0 This is a team to watch going forward.\u00a0 But, this year is about USU, who survived a SJSU three-point attempt that probably would have own the game to move on to the finals.\u00a0 19 people have USU winning this tournament.<\/p>\n

#2 Boise State vs. #3 New Mexico State<\/em>
\nBoise State, somehow, got the 2-seed and the double-bye in this tournament.\u00a0 They will take on NMSU, who was supposed to be the only team with the talent to contend with USU in this conference this year.\u00a0 The Aggies knocked off Nevada yesterday to get here.\u00a0 6 people have NMSU in this one (J, Lohse, Lil Lohse, Dan, Rikey, and Primm); 5 have already lost it with either Nevada or Fresno (Alexi, KA, Gersh, Gross, and Mac); the other 9 have Boise.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Boise State 81 – New Mexico State 63<\/strong>
\nBoise hammers NMSU to advance to the WAC final to try and steal a bubble team’s bid against USU.\u00a0 9 people got this one right.<\/p>\n

BIG WEST SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(8 points each)
\n<\/em><\/span>The 1-seed survived yesterday, and the 2-seed did not, as the Big West moves to the semifinal round.<\/p>\n

#1 Long Beach State vs. #7 UC-Riverside<\/em>
\nLBSU and that great trio of juniors took care of business (a little sloppily) last night against UC-Irvine.\u00a0 Tonight, they get UCR, who pulled off a big upset of Cal Poly.\u00a0 Since everyone picked LBSU to win this tournament, it would stand to reason that everyone has them winning their semifinal, as well.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Long Beach State 74 – UC-Riverside 63<\/strong>
\nLBSU, who everyone has winning this tournament, allowed UCR to hang around, but, in the end, Casper Ware and company were just too much.<\/p>\n

#3 CS-Northridge vs. #5 UC-Santa Barbara<\/em>
\nThe Matadors were picked to finish last in the Big West.\u00a0 The Gouchos were picked to finish first in the Big West.\u00a0\u00a0But, CSN had a better year than UCSB\u00a0and get to wear home white tonight in their semifinal.\u00a0\u00a0CSN knocked off Fullerton last night easily, while UCSB eliminated a disappointing Pacific\u00a0team.\u00a0 With most people having Cal Poly here, this is a good shot for those with a team left here to gain some points on most of the field.\u00a0 Alexi, Scoot, Dan, Dave, and Gross all have CS-Northridge.\u00a0 No one has UCSB.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 UC-Santa Barbara 83 – CS-Northridge 63<\/strong>
\nThe Gouchos hammered Northridge to advance to the Big West championship game – which should be a good one – against LBSU.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MEAC SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(8 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>A crazily scheduled tournament is now down to a standard 4-team, 2-day tournament.\u00a0 Three of the top four teams are joined by party-crashers Norfolk State tonight.<\/p>\n

#2 Hampton vs. #6 Norfolk State<\/em>
\nHampton has been one of the dominant teams in the MEAC all year, and they caught a bit of a break, as they faced #10 UMES in the quarters and now #6 Norfolk in the semis.\u00a0 Norfolk probably played as well as they could in beating Coppin last night, so we’ll see if they can get it going agains tonight.\u00a0 No one has Norfolk State winning this game.\u00a0 Stri, Alexi, Waters, Lohse, Dave, and Gross have all lost this game already with either Coppin or FAMU.\u00a0 Everyone else has Hampton.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, J, Teddy, Dan, Rikey, Gersh, and Primm all have Hampton winning this tournament.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Hampton 85 – Norfolk State 61<\/strong>
\nHampton made a statement with a pummelling of Norfolk in the semis, setting up a great MEAC final with Morgan State.\u00a0 A lot of people keep alive their champ.<\/p>\n

#1 Bethune-Cookman vs. #4 Morgan State<\/em>
\nOne of the best BC teams in a long time has its biggest test of the year tonight.\u00a0 Two-time defending champion Morgan State has the talent and experience to win this tournament, but they will have to go through #1 tonight.\u00a0 5 people had N.C. A&T (J, Lohse, Teddy, Cheryl, and Dave) and have already lost it.\u00a0 5 more have Morgan State (Bry, Doogan, Alexi, Waters, Lynch).\u00a0 The other 10 all have BC.\u00a0 Alexi and Waters have Morgan winning the whole thing.\u00a0 Stri, Lil Lohse, KA, Gross, and Mac all have BC winning it.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Morgan State 61 – Bethune-Cookman 48<\/strong>
\nJohn Chaney’s alma mater will not be in the NCAA tournament this year, as Morgan handles the MEAC’s top-seeded team rather easily.\u00a0 Kevin Thompson had 22 and the Bears move to the finals where they will try and win their 3rd straight MEAC title.\u00a0 Alexi and Waters keep alive their champ.\u00a0 5 others lose theirs.<\/p>\n

SWAC SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(8 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>The SWAC’s top two teams are still on a collision course for the finals, but have to get through the semis tonight.<\/p>\n

#2 Jackson State vs. #6 Grambling State<\/em>
\nJackson State – probably the most talented team in the SWAC – held Prairie View to 38 points in their quarterfinal two nights ago.\u00a0 Grambling pulled off a nice upset of Mississippi Valley State yesterday to set up this semifinal matchup.\u00a0 KA, Teddy, and Dave all have a nice upset pick of Grambling here.\u00a0 Doogan, Scoot, Primm, and Gross have already lost this game with either Mississippi Valley State or Prairie View A&M.\u00a0 The other 13 have JSU in this one.\u00a0 Waters, Lil Lohse, Gersh, and Mac have JSU winning this tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Grambling 81 – Jackson State 75 (OT)<\/strong>
\nDonald Qualls, who averages 10 points per game, dropped 35 on Jackson State, as Grambling comes from 11 down in the final 6 minutes to send the game to overtime and win it.\u00a0 KA, Teddy, and Dave hit a nice upset here.\u00a0 4 people lose their champ.<\/p>\n

#1 TX-Southern vs. #4 Alabama State<\/em>
\nTX-Southern, who ran away with the SWAC this year, only scored 50 points in their Friday night quarterfinal win over AR-Pine Bluff, but their defense carried the day.\u00a0 They will now get a decent Alabama State team, who beat up on Alabama A&M last night in the quarters.\u00a0 Waters, Lynch, and Lil Lohse have the nice upset pick of\u00a0Bama State.\u00a0 KA and Gross have already lost the game with Bama A&M.\u00a0 The other 15 have top-seeded TX-Southern, with most of them having TSU going the distance.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Alabama State 73\u00a0– TX-Southern 66<\/strong>
\nThe second straight SWAC semifinal upset results in an unlikely final, as TX-Southern goes down.\u00a0 Waters, Lynch, and Lohse hit big with this upset.<\/p>\n

GREAT WEST SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(8 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>The Strange West conference has its semis tonight, as the top-seed and host, Utah Valley, enters the tournament for the first time.<\/p>\n

#3 North Dakota vs. #7 Houston Baptist<\/em>
\nHouston Baptist – the worst team in the country – beat NJIT last night and now get ND.\u00a0 The Fighting Sioux took care of another awful team, TX-Pan American, last night.\u00a0 No one even had HB reaching this game, let alone winning it.\u00a0 Doogan, J, Alexi, Lil Lohse, KA, Teddy, Scoot, Dan, Dave, Gersh, Primm, and Mac all have North Dakota here.\u00a0 The other 8 had N.J.I.T., so they’ve already lost it.\u00a0 J, Lohse, KA, Scoot, Dan, Gersh, and Mac all have ND winning this tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 North Dakota 65 – Houston Baptist 63<\/strong>
\nI’m considering going to the Great West tournament next year, as this is the 4 straight game in this tournament that went down to the last possession.\u00a0 But, then again, it didn’t sound like it was “good basketball,” even though it sounded quite clutch.\u00a0 Andrew Gonzalez hit three free throws with :05 seconds left to tie it for HB, and then Patrick Mitchell hit two free throws with :02 seconds left to win it for North Dakota.\u00a0 How there were 5 free throws in a close game in the final :05 seconds, I have no idea…\u00a0 7 people keep alive their champ.<\/p>\n

#1 Utah Valley vs. #4 South Dakota<\/em>
\nUVU is the host and the best team in this conference.\u00a0 They also received the only bye of this tournament, so they play their first postseason game of the year.\u00a0 SD needed OT to beat a bad Chicago State team last night.\u00a0 It is Lohse versus the world here, as he has South Dakota and the other 19 have UVU.\u00a0 In fact, Lohse has SD winning this tournament.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, Stri, Alexi, Lynch, Lil Lohse, Teddy, Rikey, Dave, Primm, and Gross all have UVU winning it.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 South Dakota 72 – Utah Valley 70<\/strong>
\nThere have been 5 games in the Great West tournament, and they have been decided by a combined 10 points.\u00a0 South Dakota upset the top-seed and tournament hosts, UVU, to advance to the title game on Saturday against North Dakota.\u00a0 Lohse won big here, as the only one with SD and the only one with them winning it all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAST UPDATE:\u00a0\u00a010:49 am * – denotes recently posted update I have said many times that the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament are the four greatest days in the sports calendar.\u00a0 And, I believe the Divisional Round of the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[944,9,483],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-challenge","category-college-hoops","category-conference-tourney-challenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1746"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1768,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1746\/revisions\/1768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}