This day is kind of like the middle-Sunday in Wimbledon (yes, only true sports fans get tennis references), as we wind down from week one and enter the extravaganza that is week two of the BSB Conference Tournament Challenge.\u00a0 So, you can call this day the calm before and after the storm.\u00a0 And this second storm is, well, about 5 times bigger than the first.\u00a0 But, let us not ignore the four champions that will be crowned tonight and then the four more semifinal games in interesting conferences.<\/p>\n
COLONIAL CHAMPIONSHIP <\/u><\/strong>(48 points): #1 Old Dominion vs. #3 William & Mary<\/em>.\u00a0 Probably the two most impressive regular seasons of anyone in this conference were by these two, even though W&M was technically the third seed, so it is fitting that the auto-bid comes down to these two.\u00a0 Five entries (Bry, Ina, J, Stri, and Lil Lohse) have Old Dominion for 48 tonight.\u00a0 Four entries (Doogan, Alexi, Lynch, and KA) have William & Mary for 52 tonight.<\/p>\n WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP<\/u><\/strong> (32 points): #1 Gonzaga vs. #2 St. Mary’s<\/em>.\u00a0 The big game for fans of St. Mary’s is an even bigger game for fans of Lynch.\u00a0 He is the only one with St. Mary’s.\u00a0 Everyone else has Gonzaga in this one.<\/p>\n SoCON CHAMPIONSHIP <\/strong>(16 points):<\/em><\/u> #1S Wofford vs. #1N Appalachian St<\/em>.\u00a0 Wofford has dominated the SoCon all year long and now they get to make it all worthwhile.\u00a0 App St. has looked very impressive throughout this tournament and is only one win away from dancing.\u00a0 Bry, Ina, Doogan, Stri, both Lohses, and Teddy all have Wofford winning tonight.\u00a0 No one has App St, though\u00a0J, Alexi, Waters, Lynch, and KA will all be rooting for them to zero out this final.<\/p>\n MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP <\/strong>(16 points):<\/em><\/u> #1 Siena vs. #2 Fairfield<\/em>.\u00a0 Can FU do it?\u00a0 We will see tonight in Albany.\u00a0 Everyone in the CTC, except Alexi, has Siena winning this title.\u00a0 Alexi had Niagara, but will be rooting for FU to pull an FU on the rest of the MAAC and CTC fields tonight.<\/p>\n SUN BELT SEMIFINALS <\/u><\/strong>(8 points each): #1 Troy vs. #4 W. Kentucky<\/em>.\u00a0 Top-seeded Troy ousted S. Alabama last night, but gets a bigger test today with W. Kentucky.\u00a0 The Hilltoppers got a game-winner from A.J. Slaughter to beat Arkansas St. yesterday.\u00a0 They routinely dominate this tournament and will try and do it again this year, though they will need four wins in four nights.\u00a0 Bry, J, Lynch, and Teddy hope they can, as they all have WKU winning this tournament.\u00a0 Ina, Doogan, both Lohses, and Stri are all hoping for three wins in three nights and then a loss, as they have WKU winning tonight and going to the finals.\u00a0 Waters is the only one out of 12 contestants to have #1 Troy winning this game.\u00a0 He has them winning the tournament.<\/p>\n #2 N. Texas vs. #6 Denver<\/em>.\u00a0 The surprise of the Sun Belt this year is Denver, who handily knocked off #3 Middle Tennessee last night.\u00a0 Now, they get another big test as N. Texas is the foe.\u00a0 The Mean Green struggled, but took care of business against a feist LA-Monroe squad last night.\u00a0 No one has Denver winning this game.\u00a0 J, Doogan, Stri, Waters, Lynch, and KA all have N. Texas winning this game.\u00a0 Doogan and Stri have them winning it all.<\/p>\n SUMMIT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS<\/u><\/strong> (8 points each): #1 Oakland vs. #5 IPFW<\/em>.\u00a0 The first big game is #1 Oakland–who handled UMKC on Saturday–facing IPFW, who upset SD State yesterday.\u00a0 Lohse and Teddy both have IPFW winning this game.\u00a0 Lohse has them winning it all.\u00a0 Stri and KA have already lost this game (SD State).\u00a0 The other 8 entries have Oakland in the finals.\u00a0 Bry, Ina, J, Alexi, and Lil Lohse have Oakland winning it all.<\/p>\n #2 IUPUI vs. #3 Oral Roberts<\/em>.\u00a0 Oral Roberts barely <\/em>escaped a big upset yesterday with a one-point, overtime win over North Dakota St.\u00a0 IUPUI took care of W. Illinois on Saturday rather easily.\u00a0 This game is huge in the Summit League and the CTC.\u00a0 Five people (Doogan, Stri, Waters, Lohse, and Teddy) have IUPUI in this game.\u00a0 The other seven have Oral Roberts.\u00a0 Doogan, Stri, Waters, and Teddy have IUPUI winning the tournament.\u00a0 Lynch and KA have Oral Roberts winning the whole thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This day is kind of like the middle-Sunday in Wimbledon (yes, only true sports fans get tennis references), as we wind down from week one and enter the extravaganza that is week two of the BSB Conference Tournament Challenge.\u00a0 So, … Continue reading
\n<\/u><\/em>The great CAA tournament is set to close down with a phenomenal championship matchup.\u00a0 Nine of the twelve CTC entries have their champion still alive, so with 48 points on the line, this could be a pretty big swing game.\u00a0 And, the CTC MVC title is still in doubt.\u00a0 An ODU win tonight gives Bry his first CAA title (in the modern era–since ’08, when we started saving the records), while a win by William & Mary gives Alexi his second CAA title in three years.<\/p>\n
\n<\/u><\/em>All bubble teams will be watching intently tonight rooting hard for Gonzaga to knock off St. Mary’s in the WCC final.\u00a0 St. Mary’s could possibly get in as an at-large, but it’s far from certain, while there is no chance the Zags are left out of the field of 65.\u00a0 Despite his 11th place standing in the WCC right now, Lynch is the only one with St. Mary’s winning this game, so if he’s right, he will vault over everyone else and win this conference.\u00a0 If not, Lohse and Teddy will share the 2010 WCC honors.<\/p>\n
\nThe most unlikely top-two seeds to meet in the title game are probably the two meeting in tonight’s SoCon championship.\u00a0 But, it’s the case, as App St. justified their division title and will play for the auto bid tonight in Charlotte.\u00a0 With no one having App St. to win this game, Stri has locked up the 2010 SoCon title.\u00a0 The only question is how many points will he have.<\/p>\n
\nThe Siena Conference has one more chance to make that term a falsehood, as Fairfield (the best MAAC team not named “Siena”) goes to shock Upstate New York tonight in Albany.\u00a0 Bry is going to win the 2010 MAAC title, but he is one win away from perfection, so the game still means something.<\/p>\n
\n<\/u><\/em>Four teams remain in the craziness that is taking place in Hot Springs this week.\u00a0 Tonight, the semifinals.\u00a0 Tomorrow, the finals.<\/p>\n
\n<\/u><\/em>And, after a two-night quarterfinal round, the Summit League is ready for its semifinals.\u00a0 The top three seeds all advanced (as expected–and predicted by every CTC’er) plus the Cinderella #5 IPFW.\u00a0 With everyone having the top three in the final four, the rest of the games in this conference are going to produce big swings in points, as everyone diverges from here.<\/p>\n