{"id":4688,"date":"2014-03-15T10:03:23","date_gmt":"2014-03-15T14:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4688"},"modified":"2014-03-15T15:12:02","modified_gmt":"2014-03-15T19:12:02","slug":"2014-ctc-the-big-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4688","title":{"rendered":"2014 CTC: The Big Sky (3\/15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This year in the Big Sky was actually incredibly fascinating.\u00a0 At one point during the season, 2nd place and 10th place were separated by a single game.\u00a0 It turned out that a 10-10 Eastern Washington team (who could have been a live sleeper) missed the tournament by finishing 8th.\u00a0 Also out are 9-11 Montana State and 8-12 Idaho State – both of whom could easily have risen up and knocked someone off).\u00a0 Also missing is – literally – the WORST team in the country, Southern Utah.\u00a0 One of the big stories this year is what happened to Montana.\u00a0 I’m not sure, but they sure weren’t themselves.\u00a0 It should be interesting to see if they show up here in the tournament.<\/p>\n

Well, the majority of the field (16) like Weber to win this tournament on their home floor.\u00a0 However, in amazing CTC craziness, the other 9 picks are spread out among nearly the entire rest of the field.\u00a0 With the exception of #7 Sacramento State, every other team is represented with a championship pick.\u00a0 That’s fantastic.\u00a0 Needless to say, there are plenty of upset\/sleeper picks here.\u00a0 Perfection is the key in the Big Sky, as it has been\u00a05 years since anyone has missed any game in the tournament and still won the crown.\u00a0 Primm and Scoot shared the title last year.\u00a0 Bry has actually won this tournament 3 times.<\/p>\n

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 15th – 24 points)<\/h1>\n

#1 Weber State vs #2 North Dakota<\/strong>
\nIn a conference that was all over the map all year, we get a chalky final here with the top 2 seeds battling for the auto-bid.\u00a0 It wasn’t easy for the top seed and tournament hosts, Weber, though, as they took care of a Northern Colorado team that may have been the most talented team in the Big Sky this year, but just didn’t have the consistency in the regular season and, therefore, had to play a road game in the semis.\u00a0 Now, North Dakota has that same task.\u00a0 And, judging by their performance on Friday, they may be up for it.\u00a0 UND hammered a good Portland State team to get here.\u00a0 Weber won both regular season matchups by a dozen points.<\/p>\n

Lynch and Scoot are all alone on North Dakota here.\u00a0 16 people (Alexi, Becks, Bry, Caleb, Chris, Colton, Dave, Doogan, GrossJr, GrossSr, PapaCim, RDoc, Stri, Stritts, Teddy, WaTers) have Weber here.\u00a0 Becks, RDoc, and Stri will complete perfect Big Sky brackets if Weber wins here.\u00a0 Scoot will steal the outright Big Sky title with a North Dakota win.<\/p>\n

SEMIFINALS (March 14th – 16 points each)<\/h1>\n

#2 North Dakota vs #5 Portland State<\/strong>
\nNorth Dakota survived a really tight game with #7 Sac State, while Portland State took out perennial juggernaut Montana, setting up a somewhat unlikely Big Sky semifinal.<\/p>\n

Dave, Lohse, Lynch, and Teddy all have Portland State here in a nice upset pick, with Lohse has them winning it all.\u00a0 8 people (Becks, Colton, Lynch, Primm, RDoc, Scoot, Stri, Stritts) have North Dakota winning here, with Lynch and Scoot taking them to win it all.<\/p>\n

North Dakota 79 – Portland State 63<\/em><\/p>\n

#1 Weber State vs #6 Northern Colorado<\/strong>
\nThe big development with the terrible season in Missoula, MT, is that Weber State is all alone at the top of the Big Sky.\u00a0 Usually, those two teams battle each other for the top spot, but this year it was all Weber.\u00a0 That is not saying that this Weber team is all that special (though senior star Devion Berry sure is), and they certainly can be beaten, particularly by a talented UNC team that hasn’t been playing up to their potential lately.\u00a0 They did survive a furious comeback by Northern Arizona in the quarters.\u00a0 The winner of this game will be a strong favorite in the championship.\u00a0 Weber State earned the right to host this game, so they have to be given the edge in this one.<\/p>\n

Caleb, Lazarow, PapaCim, and Primm all have UNC winning here with Lazarow and Primm taking them to win it all.\u00a0 Everyone except Lazarow, Lynch, and Primm have Weber State going to the finals.\u00a0 This means that Caleb and PapaCim both have Weber and UNC playing each other in the finals, so they will win this game regardless and lose the other semifinal.<\/p>\n

Weber State 66 – Northern Colorado 63 (OT)<\/em><\/p>\n

QUARTERFINALS (March 13th – 8 points each)<\/h1>\n

#2 North Dakota vs #7 Sacramento State<\/strong>
\nNorth Dakota had a really nice season and was rewarded with the 2nd-seed in the tournament and a real shot to win this thing.\u00a0 UND actually beat NDSU in the battle for North Dakota earlier this year, then they finished 12-8 in conference.\u00a0 They are senior-laden and well-coached.\u00a0 They will open the tournament with a Sacramento State team that is not used to important basketball games, as the program just isn’t very accomplished.<\/p>\n

7\u00a0people (Bry, Caleb, Doogan, J, Lohse, PapaCim, Teddy) have Sac State in the upset here, though none of them have them going any further.\u00a0 Lynch and Scoot put their champ at risk here, while Becks, Colton, Primm, RDoc, and Stritts put a finalist at risk.<\/p>\n

North Dakota 79 – Sacramento State 76<\/em><\/p>\n

#3 Northern Arizona vs #6 Northern Colorado<\/strong>
\nWhen UNC beat Weber State on Jan 9, it looked like UNC might be the best team in this conference.\u00a0 But, two separate 4-game losing streaks ended that talk.\u00a0 Now, they have new life and a shot to get this done in the tournament.\u00a0 They open with a Northern Arizona team that has been solid all year long.<\/p>\n

Only 7 people (Colton, Doogan, GrossSr, Lynch, Scoot, Stumpf, WaTers) have the higher-seeded UNA Lumberjacks.\u00a0 The other 18 all have UNC in the upset.\u00a0 Someone is going to lose a champ here, as Stumpf has UNA winning this tournament, while Lazarow and Primm both have #6 UNC.\u00a0 Doogan, GrossSr, and WaTers all have UNA losing\u00a0in the finals.\u00a0 Caleb and PapaCim have UNC losing in the finals.\u00a0 This is a pretty big swing game in the Big Sky.<\/p>\n

Northern Colorado 62 – Northern Arizona 60<\/em><\/p>\n

#4 Montana vs #5 Portland State<\/strong>
\nWill Cherry is gone for the Grizzlies, but Kareem Jamar (one of the best two-name names ever) is still there and Wayne Tinkle can flat-out coach.\u00a0 There is no reason for this team to have struggled so mightily over the course of the season, but all is erased now, and they can salvage their season with a good weekend here.\u00a0 They start with a Portland State team that is up-and-coming, but probably a year away.<\/p>\n

11\u00a0people (Becks, Caleb, Dave, GrossSr, Lohse, Lynch, RDoc, Scoot, Stri, Stumpf, Teddy) have Portland State in the minor upset here.\u00a0 Dave, Lohse, Lynch, and Teddy\u00a0have them going to the finals.\u00a0 Lohse has them winning it.\u00a0 Gersh, J, and Mac all have Montana winning this tournament.\u00a0 Alexi, Bry, Chris, GrossJr, and Lazarow have the Grizz losing in the finals.<\/p>\n

CTC UPDATE<\/h1>\n

Championship Picks<\/strong><\/p>\n