{"id":4753,"date":"2014-03-09T09:12:58","date_gmt":"2014-03-09T13:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4753"},"modified":"2014-03-09T14:50:25","modified_gmt":"2014-03-09T18:50:25","slug":"2014-ctc-the-big-south-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4753","title":{"rendered":"2014 CTC: The Big South (FINAL)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In what may have been the worst season in Big South history, the conference races were still heated…but mainly because everyone was so bad.\u00a0 “Parity” is what you can call it, I guess, but with the best programs all rebuilding and the “up-and-coming” programs late in arriving, it was just overall bad basketball throughout the league.\u00a0 But, this bad basketball is so consistent that it makes for a wide open tournament.<\/p>\n

And, wide open tournaments are what the CTC was made for!<\/em> There are 6 different champion picks, including 3 people going with the 8th-seeded Winthrop to win the whole thing.\u00a0 3rd-seeded VMI is actually the most popular championship pick with\u00a010 people taking the Keydets.\u00a0 The shocking thing is that only ONE person took top-seeded High Point.\u00a0 10th-seeded Charleston-Southern has 5 people picking them to pull off two upsets to reach the semis.\u00a0 J has won the Big South CTC title in back-to-back years and is going for three straight this year.<\/p>\n

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 9th – 18 points each)<\/h1>\n

#2 Coastal Carolina vs #8 Winthrop<\/strong>
\nIf you bought tickets to the Big South tournament and travelled to Myrtle Beach to watch it, I am guessing you aren’t regretting it.\u00a0 This has been an incredibly exciting (albeit poorly played) tournament from start to finish.\u00a0 And, a lot of the excitement has surrounded the Winthrop Golden Eagles, who have now enjoyed back-to-back thrilling last-second victories to get themselves to the championship.\u00a0 Coastal Carolina had the “easy” road of a hard-fought 4-point win over VMI in the semis, which was on the heels of a brutal, double-OT win over Charleston-Southern in the quarters.\u00a0 These two teams have been through the ringer this week, but Coastal is at home and has had to play one game fewer, so they might have the edge here.\u00a0 But, is anyone willing to pick against the charmed Winthrop team right now.<\/p>\n

Mac, PapaCim, and Primm all have WINthrop taking this whole tournament, which would be monumental.\u00a0 I don’t think there has ever been a correctly predicted 8th-seeded champion in CTC history.\u00a0 7 people (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf) have the Chanticleers taking this title.\u00a0 A CCU win would give Stri his first Big South title since winning in 2008.\u00a0 A Winthrop win would give Mac his first Big South title ever.<\/p>\n

Coastal Carolina 76 – Winthrop 61<\/em>
\nAfter a pretty tight first half, Coastal pulled away in the second half to send them Dancing.\u00a0 Not sure if the 4 games in 5 days was a detriment to the Golden Eagles, but I guess maybe they should have won another game in the regular season.\u00a0 Anyway, does it surprise anyone else that this is Coastal’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993?\u00a0 What?!?!?\u00a0 I feel like they have dominated this conference for a decade now, but I guess they never came through in the tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 people (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf) correctly nailed the Big South champion.\u00a0 Mac, PapaCim, and Primm’s Cinderella run with Winthrop fell a game short.\u00a0 Congrats to Stri for winning Big South titles\u00a06 years apart.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

SEMIFINALS (March 8th –\u00a012 points each)<\/h1>\n

#4 UNC-Asheville vs #8 Winthrop<\/strong>
\nAsheville, coming off a nice fast-paced win over Radford on Friday will not have to face top-seeded High Point because they were upset by some Madness and the 8th-seeded Winthrop Eagles.\u00a0 Now, these two teams – both 10-6 out of the superior South Division – will square off for the right to play on ESPN.<\/p>\n

Usually when 8-seeds get this far, no one has them advancing, but Mac, PapaCim, Primm, and Stri can all pull off yet another huge upset here if Winthrop can bring back some magic.\u00a0 In fact, Mac, PapaCim, and Primm can ride these upset points all the way to Big South championship if Winthrop can take them there.\u00a0 7 people (Bry, Caleb, Doogan, GrossSr, Lohse, Teddy, WaTers) can all pick up some solid points (including upset points because it was supposed to be the 1-seed here) with UNCA.\u00a0 WaTers has the Bulldogs as his Big South champ.<\/p>\n

Winthrop 80 – UNC-Asheville 79<\/em>
\nBig South MADNESS yet again!\u00a0 Jaron Lane missed a point-blank shot at the buzzer that would have won it for Asheville, and Winthrop survives a thriller AGAIN.\u00a0 The future is bright for Asheville though, as their “big three” (Lane, D.J. Cunningham, and Andrew Rowsey) are all back next year.\u00a0 Rowsey – the Big South Freshman of the Year – is going to be a star.\u00a0 But, this was all about Winthrop, who will be trying to win their 4th game in 4 days on Sunday to get themselves back to the Dance.\u00a0 Hey, maybe the Committee will be devious, as usual, and give them the 16-seed opposite Wichita, so that Greg Marshall can coach against the program he put on the map.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mac, PapaCim, Primm. and Stri got another huge upset with Winthrop here, with the former 3 all still having a shot at yet another one in the finals.\u00a0 The 7 people with Asheville all missed a golden opportunity here, including WaTers, who lost his champ.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#2 Coastal Carolina vs #3 VMI<\/strong>
\nCoastal Carolina – the tournament hosts – survived a double-OT thriller against Charleston-Southern on Friday and now have to regroup and face a VMI that loves to run and ran Gardner-Webb off the floor Friday night.<\/p>\n

This game is gigantic for CTC ramifications.\u00a0 24 people have one of these two teams here with a somewhat even split.\u00a0 And, depending on who wins, either 7 or 10 people will lose their Big South champion.\u00a0 So, 17 people have a champion at stake here.\u00a0 Gersh is the only one in the field with nothing to win here, as he had Gardner-Webb reaching the finals from this spot.\u00a0 11 people (Alexi, Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan,\u00a0Mac, Primm, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf, WaTers) have the slight favorites in CCU.\u00a0 The other 13 all have VMI, including 10 (Chris, Colton, Dave, GrossJr, GrossSr, J, Lazarow, Lohse, Scoot, Teddy), who have the Keydets winning this tournament.\u00a0 7 people (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf) have CCU winning it all.<\/p>\n

Coastal Carolina 66 – VMI 62<\/em>
\nIn a game that was close throughout, Coastal Carolina pulled it out in the end in front of their home crown.\u00a0 Coming off of a double-OT war the night before, the Chanticleers seemed a bit fatigued, but came through in the end and will get solace in the fact that their championship opponent has had games that were just as tough and actually played one extra one.\u00a0 It was another near-miss for VMI, who is still building towards championship-caliber here in the Big South.<\/span><\/p>\n

11 people got this right, including 7 with a shot to get the Big South title winner correct.\u00a0 10 people lost their champion in this big CTC swing game.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

QUARTERFINALS (March 7th –\u00a06 points each)<\/h1>\n

#1 High Point vs #8 Winthrop<\/strong>
\nPart of the disappointment (and excitement) of the Big South this year was the total lack of a “good” team.\u00a0 High Point had the best league record at 11-5 (out of a far inferior division), but they do enter the tournament playing their best ball of the year – winners of 6 in a row – and they came into the season as a legit title contender.\u00a0 So, I guess you could say that it is actually set up well for the 1-seed here.\u00a0 The first problem, though, is their quarterfinal opponent.\u00a0 8th-seeded Winthrop was 10-6 in the much better division of the Big South, so the argument can be made that they had a better conference season, despite being 7 seeds lower.\u00a0 The regular season matchup was a thrilling 1-point High Point win at Winthrop.\u00a0\u00a0This feels a lot more like a semifinal than a quarterfinal and should be a great opener to a pretty interesting quarterfinal quadrupleheader.<\/p>\n

This is a HUGE CTC game – with some shocking picks associated with it.\u00a0 Only 10 people (Becks, Caleb, Chris, Colton, Doogan, Lazarow, Scoot, Stritts, Stumpf, WaTers) took High Point here, even though they are the #1 seed and had a bye to get here.\u00a0 7 of them (everyone except Caleb, Doogan, and WaTers) have High Point going to the finals, but only ONE PERSON – Stritts – has the #1-seed winning this tournament.\u00a0 As for Winthrop, you would think that they <\/em>were the #1-seed.\u00a0 Other than the 15 people that have them winning this game (a huge upset, by the way), 3 people (Mac, PapaCim, Primm) have them WINNING THIS TOURNAMENT.\u00a0 Stri also has them reaching the finals.\u00a0 WOW!\u00a0 I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this kind of a thing in the CTC.<\/p>\n

Winthrop 62 – High Point 60<\/em>
\nMADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\u00a0 This was almost the worst thing that ever happened to me.\u00a0 I’m back at work today and decided to watch the last 5 minutes of this game on my phone.\u00a0 When Andre Smith hit an INCREDIBLE three to win it for Winthrop, I let out an audible “woot,” and the woman next to me asked me if I was okay.\u00a0 I told her that I must have turned weird and had a shooting pain through my neck, but that I am better now.\u00a0 I was almost outed…\u00a0 Anyway, what an incredible game.\u00a0 Neither team ever had more than a 5-point lead, though Winthrop did seem to have a one-possession lead most of the way.\u00a0 But, after a missed front-end FT (I hate missed free throws with a passion), HP’s Adam Weary hit a runner in the lane with :05 seconds left to give High Point a 60-59 lead, only to see Andre Smith take the inbounds pass dribble to just past halfcourt and throw up a line drive that hit nothing but net…WOW!!!\u00a0 Yet another lesson to coaches everywhere – DON’T CALL A TIMEOUT IN THAT SITUATION.\u00a0 Most coaches in America would have called a timeout after the High Point basket, but Pat Kelsey didn’t (he may not have\u00a0had any, to be honest), and the defense couldn’t set up and Smith got off the shot heard ’round the CTC world.\u00a0 What a great start to a great weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only thing bigger than that shot is what it just did to the CTC.\u00a0 15 people pulled off a HUGE upset here.\u00a0 Mac, PapaCim, and Primm all kept alive their Big South champion.\u00a0 Stritts lost his champion here without them winning a single game.\u00a0 7 more lost a finalist here.\u00a0 High Point is also the first #1-seed to lose a conference tournament game in 2014.\u00a0 Wow…<\/span><\/p>\n

#4 UNC-Asheville vs #5 Radford<\/strong>
\nRadford squeaked by a bad Presbyterian team on Wednesday to set up this quarterfinal date with 4th-seeded UNC-Asheville.\u00a0 Asheville is rebuilding from a long run at the top of the Big South, and though they showed the inconsistency of youth this year, they also showed some real promise.\u00a0 This team might be another year away, but they do have the pieces right now to make a run at this title.<\/p>\n

This is another HUGE CTC game.\u00a0 Only 11 people (Bry, Caleb, Chris, Colton, Doogan, GrossSr, Lohse, Stri, Stritts, Teddy, WaTers) have the favored (and on a bye) Asheville team winning here.\u00a0 The other 14 all have Radford in an upset.\u00a0 Furthermore, this game will have HUGE down-the-road ramifications as well.\u00a0 7 people (Bry, Caleb, Doogan, GrossSr, Lohse, Teddy, WaTers) have Asheville going to the finals, though only WaTers has them winning it.\u00a0 7 other people (Alexi, Dave, Gersh, GrossJr, J, Lynch, RDoc) actually have Radford going to the finals, and 3 of them (Alexi, Gersh, Lynch) have the Highlanders WINNING IT ALL!\u00a0 This is one of the more important 4\/5 quarterfinals I have ever seen in the CTC.<\/p>\n

UNC-Asheville 96 – Radford 87<\/em>
\nAsheville dominated the first half and then survived a furious second-half comeback attempt by the Highlanders to advance to the conference semis on Saturday.\u00a0 Again, it was Asheville’s big three that led the way, as Jeron Lane had 29, Andrew Rowsey had 27, and D.J. Cunningham grabbed an incredible 19 rebounds.\u00a0 Asheville will face 8th-seeded Winthrop in the semis after the Golden Eagles\u00a0shocked top-seeded High Point in the first game.<\/span><\/p>\n

WaTers keeps alive his champion, while Alexi, Gersh, and Lynch all lose theirs.\u00a0 4 others lost a finalist here, while 6 others kept theirs alive with UNCA.\u00a0 This was a big CTC game that went in favor of the 4th-seeded Bulldogs.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#2 Coastal Carolina vs #10 Charleston-Southern<\/strong>
\nCharleston-Southern came out really flat on Wednesday against 7th-seeded Campbell, but recovered to come up with a big second half to keep their season alive.\u00a0 But, their reward is a prime time date on Friday night\u00a0with the conference hosts and possibly the best team in the league regardless of venue, Coastal Carolina.\u00a0 The Chanticleers won the superior Southern Division and have been playing their best ball down the stretch.\u00a0 They have an inside track to this tournament title – on their home floor – but this isn’t just any 10-seed that they are facing here in the quarters.\u00a0 This should be yet another very interesting and good quarterfinal in Conway.<\/p>\n

This nightime double-header seems tame – from a CTC perspective – as compared to the daytime matchups.\u00a0 But, they are not.\u00a0 5 (Chris, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Teddy) people have the 10th-seeded CSU team winning here in a gigantic upset, though no one has them in the finals.\u00a0 The other 20 people all have CCU here, with 7 of them (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Doogan, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf) picking the Chanticleers to win the whole thing, and 4 more (Alexi, Mac, Primm, WaTers) having them go to the finals and losing.\u00a0 Another huge CTC game.<\/p>\n

Coastal Carolina 73 – Charleston-Southern 68 (2 OT)<\/em>
\nCoastal came out really flat in their Big South tournament opener on their home floor, but kept it together on the defensive end and outlasted a solid CSU team in double-OT.\u00a0 The Chanticleers only shot 28% from the floor, but outrebounded CSU 59-41, including 28 offensive rebounds.\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 A disappointing season for CSU – who was picked by many to win this league – comes to a close here in devastating fashion, as they did have a shot to win this tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 people keep alive their champion here, while 5 people JUST MISS a huge upset.\u00a0 20 people got this one right.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#3 VMI vs #6 Gardner-Webb<\/strong>
\nFinally, the nightcap\u00a0to what should\u00a0be a great day of hoops in the Big South pits a VMI team that\u00a0was oh so close to winning this auto-bid last year against a Gardner-Webb team that dismissed Longwood on Wednesday night.\u00a0 VMI still plays\u00a0a\u00a0very\u00a0fast pace, but they have\u00a0come off their ridiculous D’Antoni on crack style that they had\u00a0just\u00a0a couple of years ago, and they are much better for\u00a0it.\u00a0 VMI is yet another serious\u00a0contender in\u00a0this wide open field.<\/p>\n

And, just as if the CTC wasn’t crazy enough with this quadruple-header in the Big South, we’ve got the nightcap that features the most popular Big South champion pick, VMI.\u00a0 10 people (Chris, Colton, Dave, GrossJr, GrossSr, J, Lazarow, Lohse, Scoot, Teddy) have the Keydets winning this tournament.\u00a0 Lynch, PapaCim, and Stritts also have them going to the finals and losing.\u00a0 GW was actually not very popular with the CTC crowd this year.\u00a0 Gersh is the only one that has them even reaching the finals.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, Primm, and Stumpf do have them winning this game tonight, though.<\/p>\n

VMI 90 – Gardner-Webb 77<\/em>
\nVMI looked solid and got the only relatively comfortable win of the day in the nightcap of the Big South quarterfinal quadruple-header.\u00a0 The Keydets, led by the star D.J. Covington, jumped out to an early lead and kept GW at arm’s length the entire game.\u00a0 They are now the only North Division team left and will take on the tournament hosts, CCU, in the semis on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

4 people missed the upset pick here, while 10 people kept alive their Big South champion pick.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

OPENING ROUND (March 5th – 3 points each)<\/h1>\n

#8 Winthrop vs #9 Liberty<\/strong>
\nThe defending Big South tournament champs at Liberty didn’t have much of a regular season last year either, but they ran through four straight to take the auto-bid to the tournament.\u00a0 The Flames went 5-11 and lost 20 games overall, finishing 5th in the weaker North Division.\u00a0 They get a Winthrop team that was actually pretty decent this year, despite finishing in 4th-place in the South.\u00a0 They also enter the tournament playing some of their best ball of the year.\u00a0 I might go out on a limb and say that this could be the best chance for an 8-seed to win any tournament across the country.\u00a0 The winner of this game will play top-seeded High Point on Friday.<\/p>\n

The 8\/9 game is usually a pretty prime upset spot, but only 4 people (Caleb, Chris, Colton, Stumpf) went with the mild Liberty upset, despite their run to last year’s title.\u00a0 None of them have the Flames beating High Point.\u00a0 Winthrop has a TON of supporters, including Mac, PapaCim, and Primm, who all have them winning this whole tournament.\u00a0 Stri also has them reaching the finals.\u00a0 An\u00a0amazing FIFTEEN people all have Winthrop winning today\u00a0AND then taking out top-seeded High Point in the quarters…wow!\u00a0 The other 10 people are probably best served rooting for Liberty here whether they picked them or not.<\/p>\n

Winthrop 77 – Liberty 65<\/em>
\nFor a while, it looked like 2013 all over again when a bad Liberty team rolled through the Big South tournament with upset after upset to earn a trip to the First Four.\u00a0 The Flames were up 17-5 early, but Winthrop final woke up took a 6-point lead into the halftime locker room and never looked back.\u00a0 The Eagles finished the game the way you’re supposed to, as they went 21-for-21 from the FT line in the game.\u00a0 #1 High Point awaits at noon on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

This could have busted a ton of brackets, but Winthrop survives and keeps alive the chances for the 15 people who have them beating top-seeded High Point.\u00a0 Caleb, Chris, Colton, and Stumpf missed a minor upset here.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#5 Radford vs #12 Presbyterian<\/strong>
\nThe Highlanders of Radford are not exactly a storied program, so a 20-win season is something to talk about.\u00a0 Three of those wins were against NAIA schools, but two of them were against Chattanooga and Florida Gulf Coast, who were #2 and #1 in their respective leagues.\u00a0 Now, they reap the rewards of a 10-win conference season by getting a first-round date with a very poor Presbyterian team, who still hasn’t rebounded from the paperwork fiasco that cost them D-1 qualification in a year that they had a very good team.\u00a0 They are still building…slowly.\u00a0 The winner of this game will get #4 UNC-Asheville in the quarters.<\/p>\n

Bry and Doogan are swinging for the fences here with the longshot Presby upset.\u00a0 If that happens, the biggest losses would go to Alexi, Gersh, and Lynch, who all have the Highlanders cutting down the nets here.\u00a0 Dave, GrossJr, J, and RDoc all have Radford reaching the finals.\u00a0 Becks, Lazarow, Mac, PapaCim, Primm, Scoot, and Stumpf all have Radford beating UNC-Asheville.<\/p>\n

Radford 78 – Presbyterian 73<\/em>
\nAnd…exhale, Radford fans.\u00a0 A back-and-forth game that really could have gone either way ended with the Highlanders on top and heading on to the quarterfinals to take on UNC-Asheville on Friday.\u00a0 A tough first half saw Radford up 6, but the Blue Hose scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a 37-33 lead.\u00a0 Radford responded with a run of its own, only to see Presby make a crazy comeback that fell just short.\u00a0 The Blue Hose go home, and Radford moves on to the quarters to face UNCA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bry and Doogan just missed a humongous upset pick here, while Alexi, Gersh, and Lynch dodged a major bullet and keep alive their champion.\u00a0 4 more nearly lost a finalist, but survive and advance.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#7 Campbell vs #10 Charleston-Southern<\/strong>
\nThe Fightin’ Camels of Campbell had a DREADFUL non-conference season, but started out conference play on fire.\u00a0 They fell apart down the stretch and lost any chance at a bye, but it’s hard to know what Campbell team is real.\u00a0 My guess?\u00a0 The bad one that started and ended the season.\u00a0 As for Charleston-Southern, they might be the most disappointing team in maybe the most disappointing league in the country.\u00a0 But, CSU still has talent, so they get a second chance that starts tonight against a very beatable Campbell team.\u00a0 The problem is that the tournament hosts, Coastal Carolina, await in the quarters for this game’s winner.<\/p>\n

The majority of the field actually has CSU in an upset here.\u00a0 Only 9 people (Alexi, Becks, Caleb, Mac, Primm, Scott, Stri, Stumpf, WaTers) have the Fightin’ Camels here.\u00a0 Scoot is the only one that has Campbell reaching the semis.\u00a0 As for CSU, 5 people (Chris, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Teddy) have them beating CCU in the quarters, so this is a big game for them.<\/p>\n

Charleston-Southern 81 – Campbell 71<\/em>
\nCSU, picked to win the league yet stuck as the 10-seed, looked like they were content with the end to a terribly disappointing season to come here in Conway in the opening round.\u00a0 Campbell jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half, but CSU came out and dominated the second half and actually won somewhat comfortably.\u00a0 Now, they get to take on the tournament hosts, Coastal Carolina.<\/span><\/p>\n

16 people hit this solid upset pick, including 5 people that have CSU going to the semis.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#6 Gardner-Webb vs #11 Longwood<\/strong>
\nWhen GW beat CSU on Wednesday, they were in a position to win the Southern Division, but a loss on Saturday to UNC-Asheville sent them4 \u00a0to 3rd place and, thus, a first round game against an under-talented, but feisty Longwood team.\u00a0 The Lancers – still relatively new to D-1 – are not very good.\u00a0 But, somehow, this not-very-good team won at TCU in the non-con, and then won road games at Charleston-Southern and Campbell in conference play – the latter by a shocking 23 points.\u00a0 Gardner-Webb should move on here to face 3rd-seeded VMI in the quarters.<\/p>\n

Colton, GrossSr, Lazarow, Scoot, and WaTers all went for a really nice big-time upset pick here with Longwood.\u00a0 Gersh has the most at stake with GW here, as he has them reaching the finals.\u00a0 Bry, Doogan, Primm, and Stumpf all have the Bulldogs reaching the semis, so they are hoping to avoid the upset here.\u00a0 Also, the 9 people that have VMI winning this tournament should probably be rooting for Longwood here, too, so that the Keydets have a far easier quarterfinal match.<\/p>\n

Gardner-Webb 81 – Longwood 65
\n<\/em>Longwood looked like a live ‘dog here, as they had knocked off some of the top teams in the league this year, but GW had no real problems in the nightcap of the Big South Opening Round quadruple-header.\u00a0 Up next is #3 VMI in the quarters on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

5 people missed a big upset pick here, while Gersh keeps alive a finalist.\u00a0 4 more keep alive a semifinalist.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

CTC UPDATE<\/h1>\n

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