The Top 1 Through 16 Tournament

[PointGuard]

In their first games in the tournament, UNLV won with defense and Central Michigan won with offense (keyed by PG Chuck Livas’ 26 points).

Starting lineups:

UNLV: PG 6-0 Clyde Ruddock, SG 6-3 George Finley, SF 6-5 Rick Watkins, PF 6-8 Geoff Ahern, C 6-9 Simon Ellis

Central Michigan: PG 6-4 Chuck Livas, SG 6-1 Tremaine Moore, SF 6-6 Jarvis Martin, PF 6-7 Joe Evans, C 6-10 Ramsey Millar

Central Michigan hit their first 4 shots (including two 3’s) and took an 11-3 lead after 2-1/2 minutes of play. UNLV clawed their way back within 1 point of the lead only to see the Chippewas score 12 straight points that put them ahead 24-11 midway through the first half. Central Michigan led 43-31 at the half time break.

The Chippewas outshot the Runnin’ Rebels 60% to 45% but UNLV held a 14-10 rebounding advantage. PF Joe Evans led Central Michigan’s scoring with 10 points. UNLV’s scoring was paced by SF Rick Watkins 7 points. The question at the half is whether UNLV could tame the Chippewas high octane offense.

UNLV held Central Michigan scoreless for the nearly the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half but could only score 5 points themselves to trim the lead to 7 points. Turnovers kept the Runnin’ Rebels from getting close. Additionally, Central Michigan’s shot selection kept their shooting percentage high. UNLV simply ran into a buzzsaw.

Final Score: Central Michigan—71, UNLV—58.

UNLV: PG Clyde Ruddock-9/4/0, SG George Finley-6/0/0, SF Rick Watkins-14/2/2, PF Geoff Ahern-10/1/8, C Simon Ellis-8/0/4; Bench player: Matt Jones-5/1/2.

Runnin’Rebels team stats: FG%-46%, 13 of 20 FT’s, 7 of 18 Threes, 25 Rebs, 18 TO’s, 11 PF’s.

Central Michigan: PG Chuck Livas-10/3/2, SG Tremaine Moore-15/3/0, SF Jarvis Martin-3/0/1, PF Joe Evans-10/0/6, C Ramsey Millar-10/3/3; Bench players: Ricardo Dix-6/2/0, Tim Cornell-6/1/0, Brian Watkins-6/0/3.

Chippewas team stats: FG%-57%, 9 of 13 FT’s, 10 of 21 Threes, 18 Rebs, 13 TO’s, 18 PF’s.

Player of the Game: Central Michigan SG Tremaine Moore-15 pts, 3 assists, 1 steal.

[Side note]--The lone UNLV fan at the game, a man simply identified by the UNLV jersey with the name "WAYNE" on the back, glumly walks out of the arena, muttering under his breath, "I waited all that time for THAT?"

[Wayne23]

murpha mumph grga murpha frappin frappers

[PointGuard]

Game 9: Charlotte—73, Kent State—60

Game 10: Southern Illinois—70, Ball State—52

Game 11: Nevada—74, St. Joseph—57

Game 12: Massachusetts—73, BYU—66

Game 13: Valparaiso-64, St. Bonaventure-57

Game 14: Western Kentucky-75, Saint Louis-65

Game 15: Hawaii-66, Bowling Green-50

Game 16: Central Michigan-71, UNLV-58

[PointGuard]

PG Mark Graham, Charlotte-22 pts, 2 assists, 1 reb
C Marion Kurtz, Charlotte-15 pts, 3 assists, 4 rebs
SG Willie Baker, Kent State-17 pts, 2 assists, 4 rebs
SF Tim Montross, Southern Illinois-21 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb
PG Shannon Ress, Southern Illinois-19 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb
SG David Krimmel, Massachusetts-20 pts, 3 assists, 2 reb
SG John Hopkins, BYU-23 pts, 2 reb
C Lou Jefferson, Valparaiso-14 pts, 1 assist, 8 reb
PF John Wiel, Saint Louis-24 pts, 5 reb
PF Jerome Bowie, Bowling Green-16 pts, 9 reb
SG Michael Maybin, Bowling Green-15 pts, 6 reb
SF Rick Watkins, UNLV-14 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb
SG Tremaine Moore, Central Michigan-15 pts, 3 assists

[PointGuard]

Game 17 (L9 vs L10): Kent State vs Ball State
Game 18 (W9 vs W10): Charlotte vs Southern Illinois
Game 19 (L11 vs L12): St. Josephs vs BYU
Game 20 (W11 vs W12): Nevada vs Massachusetts
Game 21 (L13 vs L14): St. Bonaventure vs Saint Louis
Game 22 (W13 vs W14): Valparaiso vs Western Kentucky
Game 23 (L15 vs L16): Bowling Green vs UNLV
Game 24 (W15 vs W16): Hawaii vs Central Michigan

Who’s going to be champ? Nevada? Massachusetts? Hawaii? Central Michigan? Do you have a favorite?

[Wayne23]

Go UMass! Hope my #2 fav does better than my #1 did. At least they're at home!

[PointGuard]

No, the coin tosses for home/away for Round 3 have not yet been done. So you won't know that until the results of the game are posted here.

UMass has looked good with solid wins over Southern Illinois and BYU thus far. They've also been good with coin tosses, winning both to be at home for both games they've played.

[Wayne23]

I gotta root for a freakin' coin toss!

[PointGuard]

I wish we had a neutral court option in the Exhibition mode.

[Wayne23]

Yep. So do I!