![](\"http:\/\/www.smallbizpod.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/imagecontent\/EUTarget25RedTapeCut_CE6B\/redtape4.jpg\")
Here we go, everyone.\u00a0 It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting 12 long months for.\u00a0 The BSB Conf Tourney Challenge gets underway tonight.\u00a0 I just got all the picks in for the three tourneys that start tonight, so let’s get it going.<\/p>\n
We have the same 8 contestants from last year (Bry, Doogan, Ina, J, Stri, Alexi, Waters, and Lynch), plus 4 new ones (Lohse, Lil Lohse, KA, and Teddy).<\/p>\n
Every day during the Challenge I will try to update the night before’s action, including the ramifications on The Challenge and preview that night’s action and the potential swings in The Challenge that each game could provide, so check back periodically.\u00a0 (Both the previews and recaps will be somewhat sorted according to Challenge ramifications.)\u00a0 So, without further ado, let’s get to tonight’s action.<\/p>\n
BIG SOUTH QUARTERFINALS #6 Liberty (10-8) at #3 Winthrop (12-6).\u00a0 <\/em>The Golden Eagles of Winthrop open their Big South tourney at home against Liberty.\u00a0 J and Lynch went out on a limb and took the road team, Liberty, for the upset.\u00a0 KA, Lil Lohse, and Alexi all have Winthrop winning this whole tourney.<\/p>\n #7 Charleston-Southern (7-11) at #2 Radford (13-5)<\/em>.\u00a0 Radford, the defending conference champs open this year’s tourney at home as the #2-seed.\u00a0 They play Charleston-Southern tonight.\u00a0 11 of the 12 contestants have Radford winning this game at home, as only Stri went out on a limb and took Charleston-Southern.\u00a0 This is a big game for Ina, as she is the only one with Radford repeating as Big South champs.<\/p>\n #5 High Point (10-8) at #4 UNC-Asheville (11-7)<\/em>.\u00a0 UNC-Asheville and their 8-foot giant center, Kenny George (I think he’s still there, isn’t he?) open at home against High Point.\u00a0 J and Lynch took the minor upset of High Point in this one.\u00a0 Waters has a lot at stake here, as he has UNC-Asheville winning the Big South.<\/p>\n OHIO VALLEY QUARTERFINALS: #8 Tennessee St. (6-12) at #1 Murray St. (17-1)<\/em>.\u00a0 The Racers open with the 8-seed Tennessee St.\u00a0 KA was the only one brave enough to take Tennessee St. in what would be a huge upset.\u00a0 In fact, only 3 contestants (KA, Lohse, and Stri) do NOT have Murray St. winning this tournament.<\/p>\n #7 Jacksonville St. (7-11) at #2 Morehead St. (15-3)<\/em>.\u00a0 If someone is going to take out Murray St., it will probably be Morehead, who had a really nice year.\u00a0 They open, at home, against Jacksonville St.\u00a0 KA’s bravery is joined by Lil Lohse, as they both have JSU in this big upset.\u00a0 Lohse and Stri both have Morehead winning this tournament.<\/p>\n #6 Tennessee Tech (8-10) at #3 Austin Peay (11-7)<\/em>.\u00a0 The Governors open their postseason at home tonight against Tennessee Tech.\u00a0 J, Lynch, and Lohse all have Tennessee Tech in this upset.\u00a0 KA is the only one who picked the Governors to win the whole thing.<\/p>\n #5 E. Kentucky (11-7) at #4 E. Illinois (11-7)<\/em>.\u00a0 A nice matchup in the 4-5 slots here as E. Illinois hosts E. Kentucky.\u00a0 Surprisingly, only Lohse and Teddy picked the home <\/em>team here.\u00a0 Everyone else has the minor upset of E. Kentucky.\u00a0 But, after this game, everyone except KA (who has E. Kentucky in the final) has Murray St. winning the semifinal, so no one else is in jeopardy of losing a finalist here.<\/p>\n HORIZON LEAGUE OPENING ROUND:<\/u><\/strong> #8 Loyola (IL) (5-13) at #5 Cleveland St. (10-8)<\/em>.\u00a0 Gary Waters’ Cleveland St. Vikings open their postseason at home against Loyola (IL).\u00a0 Everyone has Cleveland St. in this game except KA.\u00a0 Lynch is the only one with the Vikings winning the whole thing.<\/p>\n #10 Youngstown St. (2-16) at #3 Green Bay (11-7)<\/em>.\u00a0 Green Bay just missed the double-bye, so now they have to win 4 games to get to The Dance.\u00a0 They open with a bad YSU team tonight at home.\u00a0 Stri, Waters, and Lil Lohse actually took the chance to pick up monster upset points with YSU tonight.\u00a0 KA’s interest in this game is peaked, as well, because she has Green Bay going all the way in the Horizon League.<\/p>\n #9 Illinois-Chicago (3-15) at #4 Milwaukee (10-8)<\/em>.\u00a0 The Flames of UIC go into Milwaukee tonight.\u00a0 Bry is the only one that has the Flames in this upset.\u00a0 KA has Milwaukee going the furthest, as she has them reaching the finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here we go, everyone.\u00a0 It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting 12 long months for.\u00a0 The BSB Conf Tourney Challenge gets underway tonight.\u00a0 I just got all the picks in for the three tourneys that start tonight, so let’s get … Continue reading
\n<\/u><\/strong>The Big South tournament gets underway tonight with four quarterfinal games on the home courts of the top seeds.\u00a0 Coastal Carolina is the #1 seed\u00a0and if they can win this tourney, they should be a tough out in Doogan’s “Nickname Pool,” because Chanticleers is a pretty amazing nickname.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/clearinghousechaos.files.wordpress.com\/2008\/09\/kenny-george.jpg\")
#8 VMI (5-13) at #1 Coastal Carolina (15-3)<\/em>.\u00a0 The top-seeded Chanticleers (and best defensive team in the conference) take on a VMI team that plays faster than a Mike D’Antoni team (averaging over 90 points per game, but close to 100 points given up per game).\u00a0 Waters is the only one that is drawn to that style enough to pick VMI in this game.\u00a0 If they come through, that is a huge upset pick.\u00a0 Everyone else has C. Carolina.\u00a0\u00a0More than half of the contestants (7 out of 12) have C. Carolina winning this whole tourney, so those that don’t wouldn’t necessarily mind a big upset on day one.<\/p>\n
\n<\/u><\/strong>The Murray St. conference gets going tonight, as the Racers dominated the regular season, and we will see if they can finish it off and get the auto bid.\u00a0 There is even some talk that they may be in the running for an at-large, but I would highly recommend that they don’t leave it up to the Committee to select them out of a conference such as the OVC.\u00a0 The opening round games are all on the campuses of the higher seeds, and then the final two rounds move to Nashville.<\/p>\n
\nThe Horizon League, with the smartest conference tournament format of any mid-major gives the top two teams double-byes, and gives the regular season champ the home court advantage througout.\u00a0 But, the bottom 8 teams open on campus sites in the opening round.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/i.a.cnn.net\/si\/2006\/writers\/tim_layden\/03\/15\/five.out\/t1_drew.jpg\")
#7 Detroit (9-9) at #6 Valparaiso (10-8).\u00a0 <\/em>One of the darlings of our NCAA tournament memories is Valpo and Bryce Drew.\u00a0 They open their postseason tonight at home against a red-hot Detroit team.\u00a0 This game actually has a LOT of Challenge implications.\u00a0 Teddy, KA, Lohse, Alexi, Doogan, Ina, and Bry all have Detroit in the upset.\u00a0 Lohse actually has them going all the way to the finals.\u00a0 On the other hand, both Stri and Waters both have Valpo going all the way to the finals, so this is big already in the course of the Horizon League.<\/p>\n