{"id":4755,"date":"2014-03-08T11:20:46","date_gmt":"2014-03-08T15:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4755"},"modified":"2014-03-08T23:00:45","modified_gmt":"2014-03-09T03:00:45","slug":"2014-ctc-the-ohio-valley-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4755","title":{"rendered":"2014 CTC: The Ohio Valley Conference (FINAL)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This was supposed to be the year where the big two in the OVC became a big three.\u00a0 Both Belmont and Murray State were in rebuild mode, and Eastern Kentucky was ready to jump in there and compete with the kings of the OVC.\u00a0 But, Belmont and Murray kept their thrones and seemed just a step better than even EKU (and Morehead, who had a good year, as well) all year.\u00a0 This league leaves 4 teams out of their tournament, so you won’t see the terrible UT-Martin program or a Jacksonville State that finished their season on an 8-game losing streak or a Tennessee State team that didn’t beat a D-1 team until February or an underachieving Austin Peay team was edged out by two weak teams in SIU-Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois.\u00a0 None of them will exactly be missed.<\/p>\n

It is not surprising that\u00a0the\u00a0most supported champion pick here is #1 Belmont – with 17\u00a0championship picks, but it is a\u00a0little surprising that all 25 have the top-seeded Bruins reaching the finals.\u00a0 #2 Murray State got 6 title picks, and #3 EKU got a pair of supporters.\u00a0 The lowest seed – SIU-Edwardsville –\u00a0is actually a rather popular sleeper pick with 8 people taking them to pull off one upset and two people thinking they’ll pull of a pair of upsets.\u00a0 5 people went with 6th-seeded SEMO to make the finals. \u00a0Gersh is coming off a perfect OVC bracket and is trying to defend his title.\u00a0 J is the only one to win this conference multiple times (man, he has really dominated these small conferences over the years).<\/p>\n

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 8th – 24 points)<\/h1>\n

#1 Belmont vs #3 Eastern Kentucky<\/strong>
\nHarvard clinched the first bid to the tournament Friday night, and the second bid will be handed out here.\u00a0 Belmont got here after blowing out Morehead on Friday night, while EKU won a hard fought game against Murray, and now the Colonels take all that experience here to try and run with the Bruins on ESPN2.<\/p>\n

Dave and Doogan are the only two with EKU here.\u00a0 6 people (Colton, Gersh, GrossSr, Mac, Primm, WaTers) have already lost with Murray.\u00a0 The other 17 all have Belmont and are looking for the 24 points.\u00a0 If Belmont does win, then J (who has already won the OVC twice in the past) and Stritts will both finish the 2014 OVC with a perfect bracket.\u00a0 If EKU wins, Doogan will take the 2014 OVC title outright.<\/p>\n

Eastern Kentucky 78 – Belmont 73<\/em>
\nAnd, they have done it!\u00a0 Seniors win in mid- and low-major conferences this time of year, and EKU showed it yet again.\u00a0 The sharp-shooting Bruins only hit 8 of 24 three-pointers, while the Colonels hit 11 of their 22.\u00a0 EKU was led by three guys, who combined for 66 of the Colonels 78 points, and now they are no their way to the Big Dance.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, the first conference title of the 2014 CTC goes to…DOOGAN.\u00a0 Congrats to one of the founding fathers on winning his first OVC title of the “modern era.”\u00a0 Dave was the only other one to hit this champion, as he continues to climb the overall leaderboard.\u00a0 17 people miss out on a 24-pointer here, including J and Stritts, who missed out on a perfect OVC bracket.\u00a0 J would have won his 3rd OVC title, and Stritts would have been champion in his very first CTC conference.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

SEMIFINALS (March 7th – 16 points each)<\/h1>\n

#1 Belmont vs #4 Morehead State<\/strong>
\nThe OVC semifinal double-header tonight is as good as this conference can offer.\u00a0 The best four teams all year are all present and ready to play a quick, 2-day tournament to decide the OVC auto-bid (which could make some noise with a favorable matchup).\u00a0 Morehead had to play their way here, but did so somewhat impressively on Thursday night, cruising past a decent Tennessee Tech team by 15.\u00a0 Their reward?\u00a0 A semifinal date with king.\u00a0 Belmont, despite losing an insane amount of talent off of last year’s roster, again reigned supreme in the OVC as new stars emerged in Nashville under the incredible tutelage of Coach Rick Byrd.\u00a0 Byrd – possibly the most underrated coach in America – has his team running on all cylinders at the right time of the year, yet again.\u00a0 The Bruins won their final 6 games of the regular season, finishing off a 14-2 OVC season one game ahead of Murray State.\u00a0 Now, we are two Belmont wins away from having to endure incredibly ANNOYING comments like “dude, you want a sleeper?\u00a0 try Belmont – they’re good and nobody’s gonna pick them” –some guy who has never heard of anyone who has ever been on a Belmont roster, let alone this one.\u00a0 I love the NCAA tournament talk around the office.\u00a0 Smile and nod, smile and nod.<\/p>\n

It is hard to get 25 people to agree on anything, but apparently Belmont basketball is a galvanizing force.\u00a0 All 25 CTC entries took Belmont to win this semi and go to the finals.\u00a0 17 of them have the Bruins winning again on Saturday to take the OVC title.<\/p>\n

Belmont 86 – Morehead State 63<\/em>
\nThis game was never in doubt, as Belmont came to play here in the OVC.\u00a0 They were up 31 with under 2 minutes to play.\u00a0 A good season for Morehead ends in ugly fashion, and Belmont is one game away from taking on “national sleeper” role yet again.<\/span><\/p>\n

All 25 people get this one right, including 17 people who kept alive their champ.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#2 Murray State vs #3 Eastern Kentucky<\/strong>
\nThis is weekend that Eastern Kentucky has been building for for several seasons now.\u00a0 In the rebuild of a once-proud program, they eyed this season, when their best players were experienced and the Belmonts and Murrays of the world were rebuilding.\u00a0 Well, the regular season didn’t bring the riches they had hoped for, as they still finished behind the two big boys, but redemption could come this weekend and it starts Friday night against Murray.\u00a0 If experience counts for anything this time of year, bet on the Colonels, as they are the 10th more experienced team in Division-I.\u00a0 As for Murray, they are the 251st most experienced team (which is very low for an OVC team, considering the high-major teams are, in the era of early entries, always the least experienced) and have done a fantastic job rebuilding after the departure of Isaiah Cannon.\u00a0 This is going to be a great matchup of a hungry group of veterans taking their last shot against a talented group of youngsters trying to make an OVC name for themselves.<\/p>\n

8 people (Caleb, Dave, Doogan, GrossJr, J, Scoot, Stritts, Stumpf) went with EKU here.\u00a0 Dave and Doogan trust the Colonels enough to have them fulfilling their plans and winning this tournament.\u00a0 Alexi, Lazarow, Lohse, PapaCim, and Teddy have already lost this game with SEMO.\u00a0 The other 12 people all have Murray here, with 6 of them (Colton, Gersh, GrossSr, Mac, Primm, WaTers) taking the Racers to win the OVC title.<\/p>\n

Eastern Kentucky 86 – Murray State 83<\/em>
\nIt looks like experience beat out the youth on this day, as EKU builds a big lead and holds on down the stretch.\u00a0 As exciting as 169 points may be, there was essentially no defense played in this one, particularly by the Racers, who held EKU just under 60% shooting.\u00a0 The Colonels now move on to try and complete the big back-to-back on Saturday night against Belmont.<\/span><\/p>\n

8 people hit this one, including J and Stritts, who stay perfect heading to the championship game.\u00a0 6 people lose their OVC championship pick with the Murray State loss.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

QUARTERFINALS (March 6th – 8 points each)<\/h1>\n

#4 Morehead State vs #5 Tennessee Tech<\/strong>
\nMorehead State enters the OVC tournament on the second day for the quarterfinals.\u00a0 While overshadowed by the excellence of the top three in this league, Morehead has actually had an excellent year, going 10-6 in conference including a nice road win at EKU.\u00a0 Now, they enter as the 4-seed who enjoyed a bye into the quarters.\u00a0 Their quarterfinal opponent is another team that had a really solid year, Tennessee Tech, but finished a game behind and had to play Wednesday night in the opening round.\u00a0 The Techsters took care of a game SIU-Edwardsville team and now take their shot at Morehead.\u00a0 The winner of this game will take on top-seeded Belmont in the semis on Friday.<\/p>\n

Caleb, Chris, Dave, and Doogan have a solid T.Tech upset pick here.\u00a0 GrossJr and Teddy have already lost this game with SIU-Edwardsville.\u00a0 The other 19 people all have Morehead winning this one.\u00a0 Since all 25 entries have Belmont making the finals, no one can lose more than one game here today.<\/p>\n

Morehead State 76 – Tennessee Tech 61<\/em>
\nMorehead looked really strong in dismissing a decent Tech team.\u00a0 The Eagles had control of this game from the start, forcing 22 Tech turnovers in the win.\u00a0 They will now move on to Friday’s semifinal against the top-seeded Bruins of Belmont.\u00a0 This Morehead team is underrated and shouldn’t be taken lightly.<\/span><\/p>\n

19 people got this one right, while Caleb, Chris, Dave, and Doogan all missed a mild upset pick.<\/span><\/p>\n

#3 Eastern Kentucky vs #6 SE Missouri State<\/strong>
\nThis was supposed to be the year that Eastern Kentucky challenged the top 2 teams in this league.\u00a0 They were experienced and good, while Belmont and Murray were both rebuilding.\u00a0 But, the two dominant programs proved why they stay dominant every year – they just flat-out win.\u00a0 EKU was still definitely the 3rd-best team in this league, but they are close and are a real threat in this tournament.\u00a0 They got the bye to the quarters, but now have a really tough test against a SEMO team that expected to be a lot better than their 6th-place finish.\u00a0 In the tournament – their second chance – they cruised past Eastern Illinois in the opening round and now take a shot at EKU.\u00a0 This should be a really good game with a semifinal shot at #2 Murray State on the line.<\/p>\n

8 people (Alexi, Bry, Chris, Lazarow, Lohse, Lynch, PapaCim, Teddy) have SEMO in a nice upset here.\u00a0 Lazarow, Lohse, PapaCim, and Teddy all have them winning here and then again over Murray State.\u00a0 Dave and Doogan have the most at stake with EKU here, as they both picked them to win this tournament.<\/p>\n

Eastern Kentucky 84 – SE Missouri State 76<\/em>
\nThe nightcap in the OVC was like the opener in that it really wasn’t all that competitive, despite only an 8-point final margin.\u00a0 EKU led most of the way by significant margins.\u00a0 SEMO hit some threes down the stretch, but their somewhat disappointing season came to a close with a whimper.\u00a0 Eastern Kentucky, who was hoping to really compete with the big boys in the OVC this year has a shot to do just that on the biggest of OVC stages, as they take on #2 Murray State in the semifinals on Friday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

8 people missed this decent upset pick, including Lazarow, Lohse, PapaCim, and Teddy, who all lost a finalist here.\u00a0 Dave and Doogan have to be pleased with how good the Colonels looked, as they have them winning this tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

OPENING ROUND (March 5th – 4 points each)<\/h1>\n

#5 Tennessee Tech vs #8 SUI-Edwardsville<\/strong>
\nThe Techsters have had a pretty good year and are capable of knocking off anyone (they beat Belmont, Morehead, and EKU this year), but can also throw in a clunker here and there.\u00a0 SIU-Edwardsville is usually on that list above of teams that didn’t even make the conference tournament, but they might have the best team in their fledgling D-1 program’s history.\u00a0 This should actually be a pretty decent game for the right to play to play 4th-seeded Morehead State in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

SIUE is a popular upset pick here, as 8 people (Becks, Bry, Colton, GrossJr, Lynch, RDoc, Teddy, WaTers) went with SIUE here.\u00a0 GrossJr and Teddy have them beating Morehead in the quarters.\u00a0 Caleb, Chris, Dave, and Doogan have the most to lose with Tech here, as those 4 all have Tech beating Morehead before losing to Belmont.<\/p>\n

Tennessee Tech 74 – SIU-Edwardsville 67<\/em>
\nHow do you turn the ball over 19 times and still win a conference tournament game?\u00a0 Well shooting 58% from the field is one way to do that, and that is exactly what TT did on Wednesday in a hard-fought win over SIUE.\u00a0 Edwardsville really has some stuff to build on from 2014, but they will be watching the rest of the OVC tournament from their dorm rooms.\u00a0 TT moves on to the quarters to face 4th-seeded Morehead State.<\/span><\/p>\n

8 people missed a nice upset pick here, including GrossJr and Teddy, who lost a semifinalist in this game.\u00a0 Caleb, Chris, Dave, and Doogan keep alive a semifinalist here.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#6 SE Missouri State vs #7 Eastern Illinois<\/strong>
\nIt took a 4-game winning streak, including a thrilling 118-115 double-OT win over Murray State on Saturday for SEMO to even make this tournament.\u00a0 For most of the season, they were on the outside looking in, which is exactly where everyone wanted them because this team is scary.\u00a0 Picked 3rd in the preseason, SEMO is experienced and talented and had a solid noncon season.\u00a0 But, they lost some tough games early in conference play and, along with a few head-scratchers, found themselves just fighting for a spot in this first round.\u00a0 Well, they got here and now they get a very beatable Eastern Illinois team for the right to face #3 Eastern Kentucky in what could be a fantastic quarterfinal matchup.<\/p>\n

Caleb, Colton, Dave, Scoot, Stumpf, and WaTers went with the mild EIU upset, though none of them took them over EKU.\u00a0 SEMO has a nice contigent of strong supporters, so a loss for them here could bust some brackets.\u00a0 Bry, Chris, and Lynch have SEMO winning here and then upsetting EKU in the quarters. \u00a0Alexi, Lazarow, Lohse, PapaCim, and Teddy went a step further and all have the Bears rolling all the way to the finals before falling to Belmont.<\/p>\n

SE Missouri State 79 – Eastern Illinois 61<\/em>
\nThough a tight game early, SEMO pulled away late in the first half and never looked back, knocking off an overmatched EIU team and ending the second season of Young Coach Spoonhour.\u00a0 SEMO – a very dangerous team in this tournament – moves on to face 3rd-seeded Eastern Kentucky in the quarters on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

6 people missed a small upset pick here, while 8 people keep alive their shot at SEMO upsetting EKU in the quarters.\u00a0 5 of those (Alexi, Lazarow, Lohse, PapaCim, and Teddy) have SEMO in the finals, so this easy victory tonight is very encouraging.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

CTC UPDATE<\/h1>\n

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