{"id":1780,"date":"2011-03-12T13:10:08","date_gmt":"2011-03-12T17:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1780"},"modified":"2011-03-13T10:03:39","modified_gmt":"2011-03-13T14:03:39","slug":"ctc-day-twelve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=1780","title":{"rendered":"CTC: Day Twelve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Update:\u00a09:58 AM
\n*denotes recent update<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday was an unbelievable day of wild finishes, blown leads, and lots of overtimes.\u00a0 Can today provide anything like that?\u00a0 Well, there are some more great games, and some huge CTC implications all day.\u00a0 Another day “lost” to the roundball…<\/p>\n

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP <\/span><\/strong>(80 points)
\n<\/span><\/em>A\u00a0great, crazy Big East tournament is down to two, including the 9-seed, UConn.\u00a0 Scoot is leading the Big East, but Stri (the only one with Louisville) will win the Big\u00a0East title with a win by the ‘Ville.\u00a0 Scoot will hold on if UConn wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#3 Louisville\u00a0vs. #9 Connecticut<\/em>
\nCan Kemba do it again?\u00a0 Walker has been off-the-charts this week and watching him play is just amazing.\u00a0 The Cards have surprised people all year, so why not one more time?\u00a0 The Big East tournament never disappoints, so expect a great game in the Garden tonight.\u00a0 Either way, it should be a great coaching matchup between two of the best of all-time.\u00a0 Stri is the only one that even has a shot at this, as he has Louisville.<\/p>\n

*FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Connecticut 69 – Louisville 66<\/strong>
\nWhat have you done in the last 5 days?\u00a0 Well, Kemba Walker played 190 minutes of basketball (154 of them were in the past 4 days against ranked teams), scored 133 points (46 more than the previous Big East tournament record), won 5 games, and took home the MVP along with his team’s Big East championship trophy.\u00a0 Unbelievable!\u00a0 And, to all of those who say these conference tournaments don’t matter in the rich conferences because they’re only playing for seeding – you’re dead-wrong.\u00a0 No matter what happens the rest of the way, UConn has a banner to fly and ridiculous memories to hang on to, and THAT is why we have sports.\u00a0 For memories, for pride.\u00a0 And UConn has both of them to take away in spades from MSG.\u00a0 Oh, and they robbed Stri of being the only one to nail the Big East champ.<\/p>\n

BIG XII CHAMPIONSHIP <\/span><\/strong>(80 points)
\n<\/span><\/em>The best two teams in the Big XII survived the week to meet in a great Big XII final.\u00a0 Bry, the current Big XII leader, will win the conference with a Kansas win.\u00a0 Gersh will steal the crown if Texas wins today.<\/p>\n

#1 Kansas vs. #2 Texas\u00a0<\/em>
\nA 6:00 pm start time for one of the best games of the year.\u00a0 A great KU team against an almost great UT team will battle for the Big XII title.\u00a0 Texas has not really been that tested, as they cruised by a bad OU team and then kept A&M at arm’s length all game yesterday.\u00a0 On the other hand, KU has had it rough this week.\u00a0 They survived a one-point game against Okie State in the quarters and then trailed for much of the game against Colorado yesterday.\u00a0 But, they are both here and the score is 0-0.\u00a0 The Morrises have been fantastic this week and we will see how they are against a good, athletic, and skilled frontline of UT.\u00a0 A huge game for CTC purposes, particularly at the very top, as the overall leader, J, has Texas, and his three closest pursuants – Bry, Rikey, and Lohse – all have Kansas.\u00a0 Stri, Alexi, KA, Dan, and Mac also have KU.\u00a0 Doogan, Gersh, and Gross have Texas here.\u00a0 Everyone else has already lost it.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Kansas 85 – Texas 73<\/strong>
\nToday, Kansas looked like the Final Four favorite that they truly are.\u00a0 They pretty much dominated a good Texas team from start to finish and probably locked up a #1 seed in the pairings that will be announced tomorrow night.\u00a0 KU is now 8-1 in Big XII championship games, while Texas is 0-6 (4 were against KU).\u00a0 8 people hit this game, and J falls to 0-2 in games that would have clinched him the overall title.\u00a0 He has one chance left (tomorrow’s SEC championship) or he is going to think back on what could have been.<\/p>\n

PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIP <\/span><\/strong>(80 points)
\n<\/span><\/em>The two most talented Pac-10 teams arrive in the finals today in LA.\u00a0 If Arizona wins today, Gersh will take the Pac-10 title.\u00a0 If Washington wins, Lynch will grab the crown.<\/p>\n

#1 Arizona\u00a0vs. #3 Washington\u00a0<\/em>
\nArizona knocked off the suddenly-trendy bubble pick of USC yesterday, while UW got a break facing Oregon and took advantage.\u00a0 The inside game of Arizona and some guy named Derrick Williams will battle the guard-oriented Washington team and some guy named Isaiah Thomas.\u00a0 Both teams should be in The Dance, but UW would like to get the auto-bid, just in case.\u00a0 Lynch and Gross have UW here.\u00a0 Bry, J, both Lohses, KA, Teddy, Scoot, Rikey, Gersh, and Mac all have Arizona.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Washington 77 – Arizona 75 (OT)<\/strong>
\nIt’s probably not smart to say this before the Big East game has ended, but this was, by far, the best ending in a weekend that was jam-packed with great endings.\u00a0 And, it just so happens, the great Gus Johnson was on the mike.\u00a0 I thought he was going to explode when C.J. Wilcox hit a three for UW to send it to OT.\u00a0 Then, he took it to yet another level when Kevin Parrom hit a game-tying three for Arizona with :06 seconds left in OT.\u00a0 And, then I think he actually DID explode when Isaiah Thomas hit a ridiculous shot at the buzzer to win it for the Huskies.\u00a0 When the shot went in (and, trust me, I watched it about 87 times just to hear Gus), he just yelled, “OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”\u00a0 Then, he composed himself (relatively) enough to scream at top volume “COLD-BLOODED!”\u00a0 Ya, it was amazing.\u00a0 Thanks, Gus, my life is better because of you.\u00a0 Lynch and Gross’s life is a little bit better, also, because they had the Huskies here.<\/p>\n

ATLANTIC 10 SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(40 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>One game between two teams that had to win on the road on\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0just to get to AC, and another game between two of the league’s best teams.\u00a0 Bubble teams around the country have joined\u00a0us here at BSB as\u00a0die-hard Temple fans – at least for the next two days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#9 Dayton vs. #12 St. Joe’s<\/em>
\nOne of these teams will be in the A-10 championship game – which is an amazing thing to think.\u00a0 Dayton, who eliminated their arch-rival and top-seed Xavier yesterday after winning big in UMass on Tuesday.\u00a0 St. Joe’s went into GW and beat the Colonials on Tuesday and then came to AC and ended Duquesne’s quest for a tournament berth.\u00a0 Chris Wright, Chris Johnson, and Jawan Staten (who is gonna be incredible) lead a very talented Dayton team that just underachieved all year.\u00a0 This is not your typical 9-seed.\u00a0 Clearly, no one has either of these teams even in this game, let alone winning it.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE: Dayton 64 – St. Joe’s 61
\n<\/strong>A spirited finish to another disappointing season for the Hawks, but Chris Wright goes for 17 points, 15 boards, and 5 assists to send Dayton to the title game, where they’ll have a chance to steal a tourney bid.<\/p>\n

#2 Temple vs. #3 Richmond\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe Owls offense looked really, really good for the second straight game against LaSalle yesterday, dropping a cool 96 with a very\u00a0balanced offense.\u00a0 It looks like Scootie Randall may miss another game today, so Aaron Brown may be in the starting lineup again, but Khalief Wyatt is really the third guard in crunch time.\u00a0 The Spiders – the only team with two first-team all-A10 players – probably need another win here to go back to the tournament to erase the memories of a disappointing first-round loss to St. Mary’s last year.\u00a0 The Spiders will need to play defense like they did yesterday when they held Rhode Island to less than half what Temple scored against LaSalle.\u00a0 A pretty big swing game here, especially for Rikey, who can gain on all the other leaders if Richmond wins here.\u00a0 Doogan, Alexi, Waters, and Scoot all have the Spiders along with Rikey.\u00a0 Waters is the only one with Richmond winning the title.\u00a0 Stri, Lil Lohse, Cheryl, Dave, Gersh, Primm, and Mac all have Temple winning here, but not in the finals.\u00a0 Bry, J, Lynch, Lohse, KA, Teddy, Dan, and Gross all have TU winning this tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Richmond 58 – Temple 54<\/strong>
\nThe first A-10 tournament loss in the career of Temple senior Lavoy Allen comes today in the semis to a Richmond team that probably just put themselves in the Dance.\u00a0 The big two for Richmond – Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper – combined for 40 of the Spiders 58, and the defense held a Temple team to almost half of what they scored last night against LaSalle.\u00a0 Juan Fernandez was really bad for the Owls today, going just 3-17 from the floor and missing the front-end of a key 1-and-1 down the stretch.\u00a0 Waters keeps his champ alive, and 4 other people get this pick right.<\/p>\n

ACC SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(40 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>With Chris Singleton out for FSU, we probably have the league’s four best teams in the semis today.\u00a0 Should be a pretty good double-header.<\/p>\n

#1 North Carolina vs. #4 Clemson<\/em>
\nUNC barely survived Miami yesterday, while Clemson took it to BC in an easy quarterfinal win.\u00a0 These two teams will now play for the right to go to the ACC championship game.\u00a0 This could be a big game because if Duke has to play without Nolan Smith, the winner of this game may enter the championship game as a favorite.\u00a0 Watch for\u00a0which UNC guard\u00a0Brad Brownell decides to guard with his great perimeter defender, Demontez Stitt.\u00a0 Teddy and Dave have already lost this game (BC); Lohse has the big upset pick with Clemson.\u00a0 Everyone else has UNC.\u00a0 Stri, Waters, Scoot, Cheryl, Dan, Primm, Gross, and Mac all have the Heels winning the tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE: North Carolina 92 – Clemson 87 (OT)
\n<\/strong>This game was reminiscent of a few already today and also UNC’s win yesterday, as Clemson leads all game until a Tar Heel comeback sends it to OT on a nice Tyler Zeller hook shot.\u00a0 The emergence of Harrison Barnes hit a new high point.\u00a0 The freshman looked Jimmer-esque, scoring 40.\u00a0 He’s now averaging nearly 20\u00a0points over the Heels’ last 13 games.\u00a0 Clemson will have to keep their fingers crossed trying to get into the field tomorrow night.\u00a0 Lohse just misses his upset pick.<\/p>\n

#2 Duke vs. # 6 Virginia Tech<\/em>
\nI’m not gonna lie, I was really hoping for that Derwin Kitchen shot to count and beat Va Tech, just for the humor of watching the Hokies on the bubble again.\u00a0 Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind Seth Greenberg, and I really like this Va Tech team, but the humor of three straight years as the first one out would be too much.\u00a0 But, now, they are probably in.\u00a0 A win today will assure that.\u00a0 As for Duke, it should be interesting to see what they do without Nolan Smith (assuming he doesn’t play).\u00a0 Seth Curry did a good job with the offense at the end of the Maryland game yesterday, but if he the long-term answer?\u00a0 There is no doubt that he can run this team offensively – maybe almost as well as Smith – but he is quite a liability on defense, and this team is already a bit questionable on that end.\u00a0 I think that, if we focus on his three-pointers and offensive awareness, we may not notice a huge difference, but let’s pay attention to the points allowed difference with Curry in the lineup as opposed to Smith.\u00a0 Waters, Primm, and Gross have already lost this game (FSU).\u00a0 Lynch and Cheryl have the nice upset pick here of Va Tech, with Lynch having them win it all.\u00a0 Everyone else has Duke here.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, J, Alexi, both Lohses, KA, Teddy, Rikey, Dave, and Gersh all have Duke winning the tournament.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Duke 77 – Virginia Tech 63<\/strong>
\nIn their third game in three days and after playing only 6 players in yesterday’s game, Virginia Tech didn’t have enough in the tank today against the Dukies and a not-so-hobbled Nolan Smith, who dropped 27 in a game where many thought he wouldn’t even play.\u00a0 The Blue Devils advance to the ACC finals against who else – UNC.\u00a0 Lynch and Cheryl missed this big upset pick, with Lynch losing his champ.<\/p>\n

BIG TEN SEMIFINALS<\/span><\/strong> (40 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>A bit of an odd final four in the Big Ten comes together today.\u00a0 With Purdue and Wisconsin going down yesterday, the OT survival of OSU gives them a pretty wide open path to the title – but there is still that guy named Izzo.<\/p>\n

#1 Ohio State vs. #4 Michigan<\/em>
\nThe best team in America needed OT to beat the 8th-best team in the Big Ten yesterday, but like last year, when the Buckeyes barely survived their quarterfinal, they can still cut down the nets.\u00a0 Speaking of that game last year, it was at the expense of a Michigan team that thought they had a huge win to put themselves into at-large conversation.\u00a0 This year, they already have that win – beating Illinois yesterday – and should be in regardless of today’s result.\u00a0 But, they are playing incredibly well right now and should be dangerous.\u00a0 Lynch had Illinois winning this game, so he has already lost it.\u00a0 Dave is the only one with Michigan.\u00a0 The other 18 all have OSU, with a dozen picking the Buckeyes to win it.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE: Ohio St. 68 – Michigan 61
\n<\/strong>John Bielein is reminding everyone how good of a coach he is, getting the Wolverines back to the Dance, but the Buckeyes were too tough in this one, riding a Jared Sullinger double-double into tomorrow’s Big Ten title game.\u00a0 Dave misses his upset attempt.<\/p>\n

#6 Penn State\u00a0vs. #7 Michigan State<\/em>
\nNo one will argue that this MSU team is immensely talented and incredibly well-coached.\u00a0 The question is, then,\u00a0why are they on the bubble?\u00a0 They have been very disappointing, but maybe finding their stride at the right time.\u00a0 Kalin Lucas look dynamic yesterday, which makes this team really tough to defend.\u00a0 Penn State scored 36 in an elimination game yesterday – and are playing again today.\u00a0 What?!?\u00a0 Well, this senior-laden team is trying to take one last shot at the tournament and might get themselves in with a win today.\u00a0\u00a0No one has PSU winning this game.\u00a0 J and Primm are the only two with MSU winning here.\u00a0 A Michigan State win might seal up the overall title for J.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Penn State 61 – Michigan State 48<\/strong>
\nA day after holding the Badgers to 33 points, the Nittany Lions did it again – this time to Michigan State, holding the Spartans to 48 points on just 32% shooting.\u00a0 Taylor Battle had 25 for the Lions, who may have punched their ticket to the Dance, but have a chance to make it official tomorrow against OSU.\u00a0 J misses the first of three chances to officially clinch the overall title here, as he and Primm miss on this upset pick.<\/p>\n

SEC SEMIFINALS <\/span><\/strong>(40 points each)
\n<\/span><\/em>Alabama came from way down to crash the Eastern Division’s coronation today in the SEC semis.<\/p>\n

#1W Alabama vs. #2E Kentucky<\/em>
\nAlabama should be out and NIT-bound, but their NCAA hopes are still alive after a miracle comeback against Georgia yesterday.\u00a0 Joe Lunardi actually has the Tide (and their 82 RPI) in the field as of today.\u00a0 A win here against UK should cement that.\u00a0 Kentucky, who, as usual, is mostly freshmen, is starting to play some good basketball down the stretch, but they didn’t look dominant against Ole Miss yesterday.\u00a0 Everyone is alive here.\u00a0 Lynch and KA are the only two with Alabama.\u00a0 Everyone else has UK, with 12 having the Wildcats win the tournament.\u00a0 KA has the Tide rolling to the SEC title.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 72 – Alabama 58
\n<\/strong>An impressive performance by the Wildcats, as this game was not even as close as the score indicates.\u00a0 They’ll get Florida or Vandy tomorrow in what should be an excellent SEC title game.\u00a0 18 of the 20 CTC’ers hit this “upset” pick.<\/p>\n

#1E Florida vs. #3E Vanderbilt\u00a0<\/em>
\nThis Florida team is very, very good and survived a really tough Tennessee team yesterday.\u00a0 Vandy held off Mississippi State as John Jenkins comes back in style.\u00a0 This should be a great game, as these two teams play for the shot at an SEC title and better seeding in tomorrow’s announcement.\u00a0 Alexi, Lynch, Lil Lohse, and Primm have already lost this game with either Tennessee or Mississippi State.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, J, Lohse, Teddy, Gersh, and Gross all have Vandy.\u00a0 Everyone else has Florida, including Stri, Waters, Cheryl, and Mac, who have UF winning the title.\u00a0 Doogan and J both have Vandy cutting down the nets.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 Florida 77 – Vanderbilt 66<\/strong>
\nDown for nearly the entire first half, the Gators came out of the locker room on a mission and blew out Vandy in the second half, 49-30.\u00a0 This is the 7th time this year and twice in as many days that UF has turned a halftime deficit into a victory.\u00a0 Doogan and J lose their champ.\u00a0 Bry also loses this game, and Rikey gets it right.<\/p>\n

MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP <\/span><\/strong>(64 points)
\n<\/span><\/em>Round Three between two of the best teams in the history of the M-West should be fantastic today.\u00a0 I have been waiting for this game all week.\u00a0 There will be at least one\u00a0champion here with a perfect bracket.\u00a0 Bry and J will both go perfect if SDSU wins.\u00a0 Stri will hit perfection with a BYU win.<\/p>\n

#1 BYU\u00a0vs. #2 San Diego State\u00a0<\/em>
\nWith all due respect to the Kansas-Texas Big XII title game, this game here is the game of the day.\u00a0 And, that is really saying something for a game on the Versus Network.\u00a0 We all know now what The Jimmer did yesterday, so we will see if he has an encore in store.\u00a0 The key to this one – as it was in their first two meetings – will be the pace of play.\u00a0 SDSU is much more comfortable in the 50s, while BYU would like to run in the 80s.\u00a0 Last time they met, SDSU used Billy White on Fredette, and his athleticism did give him some trouble, but he got really worn out very quickly.\u00a0 Steve Fisher will have to recognize when White is gassed and switch him off or he could be staring at a 10-0 Jimmer run.\u00a0 Another huge storyline in this one is how different will BYU be this time around on the frontline without their leading rebounder in Davies.\u00a0 Can Leonard, White,\u00a0and Malcolm Thomas take full advantage of their big size advantage now?\u00a0 It will probably change the dynamic of this game, at least.\u00a0 Another matchup that might decide this game is which point guard plays better – Jackson Emery for BYU or D.J. Gay for the Aztecs.\u00a0 Personally, I like Gay a lot more as a player, but it should be interesting because Gay is so incredibly good with the basketball, and Emery is so adept at taking it away.\u00a0 18 of the 20 have a horse in this race.\u00a0 KA and Gross have lost with UNLV.\u00a0 Stri, Lohse, Teddy, Dan, and Gersh have BYU.\u00a0 The other 13 have SDSU.<\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE:\u00a0 San Diego State 72 – BYU 54<\/strong>
\nOkay, I am going to make the case one more time:\u00a0 is it me or is it almost ridiculous to think SDSU is ANYTHING BUT a #1-seed in the NCAA tournament?\u00a0 I really don’t get it.\u00a0 They are 31-2.\u00a0 They tied for the regular season title and won the conference tournament in the 4th-rated conference in America.\u00a0 They beat UNLV three times, including twice on the road.\u00a0 Their ONLY 2 losses were against BYU – a top-10 team who they hammered here on the eve of Selection Sunday.\u00a0 For all those who say that they didn’t play anyone – their SOS is 46 and their RPI is 3.\u00a0 THREE!\u00a0 And, here’s the key part – can you name me four teams more deserving?\u00a0<\/p>\n