It's (Hilton) Magic

#2 Iowa State 67, #5 Princeton 52

Fred Hoiberg and his Iowa State Cylcones have won the 2013 Coliseum Invitational!

Hilton Coliseum is 3-and-a-half hours north of Kansas City, but the magic was still alive in this championship final as Iowa State was able to trounce Mitch Henderson's Princeton Tigers.

Early on the game was back and forth, and by halftime #5 Princeton looked to have the inside track on the upset; they were up 27-26.

Then came the second half, where Iowa State exploded for 41 points while only allowing 25. It was a team effort for Iowa State, as all nine players that went into the game contributed at least two points in the second half.

For Princeton, Ian Hummer led the way with 15 points and TJ Bray was right behind him with 11. Princeton as a team shot 35% from the field thanks to Iowa State's athletic players forcing tough shots inside. For Iowa State Chris Babb led the team with 15 points while Tyrus McGee had 13 and Georges Niang had 12.

This championship run by Iowa State was a team effort, which made choosing a single MVP tough. However, the committee has decided that senior guard Tyrus McGee is the 2013 Coliseum Invitational MVP.

So there you have it. 32 teams were thrown together, and one team came out the winner. We'll see what random teams are put in the blender next season. In the meantime, congratulations to the Iowa State Cyclones, your 2013 Coliseum Invitational Champions!

 

Coliseum Invitational: National Semifinals

It has come down to this. The final four teams standings. They have convened in Kansas City to see who will come out as the winner of the Coliseum Invitational. Here are the four regional winners: 

Region 1: #1 Ohio State Buckeyes

Region 2: #2 Iowa State Cyclones

Region 3: #5 Princeton Tigers

Region 4: #2 Missouri Tigers

The matchups were determined by the grouping the remaining teams by RPI. So in this case, the matchups are Ohio State (8) vs. Princeton (120) and Missouri (34) vs. Iowa State (44). Here is a summary of both games: 

#2 Iowa State 72, #2 Missouri 70

After a slow start by both teams that saw a 29-28 Tiger lead at halftime, things started to pick up with both teams scoring a combined 85 points in the second half. Iowa State began pulling away when they were up by six with 3 minutes left. However, Mizzou began fighting back and were able to tie the game at 70 on a Laurence Bowers lay-in with 14 seconds remaining. The game was decided when Melvin Ejim connected on a jumper with one second left. Ejim had 12 points and 15 rebounds, but Chris Babb led the Cyclones in scoring with 19. Behind him was Will Clyburn with 18 and Tyrus McGee with 15. For Missouri, Earnest Ross led the way with 15 points, Keion Bell had 12, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Phil Pressey and Tony Criswell finished with 10 each.

#5 Princeton 70, #1 Ohio State 59

It was efficient offense and strong perimeter defense that allowed Princeton to run away with this game against Ohio State. After shooting out to a 41-25 lead at half, Princeton was able to hold on to the lead for the rest of the game. Ian Hummer led the way with 21 points while Denton Koon added 14. For Ohio State, Deshaun Thomas had 18 points and 7 rebounds. He was the only Buckeye to score double-figures. As a team, they shot 15% from three and 53% from the line.

So the final of the first ever Coliseum Invitational will be Iowa State and Princeton. Will there be more Hilton Magic in Kansas City, or will the Ivy Leaguers' efficiency be too much for Iowa State. On Friday, it will be all figured out.

Coliseum Invitational: Regional Finals

This is it. The field started with 32 teams and has been whittled down to 8. There are only four tickets to Kansas City, so who will reign supreme? Below is a summary of each game:

REGION 1

# 1 Ohio State 68, #2 Oregon 57

Despite a 12 point and 11 rebound showing by Arsalan Kazemi, the Ducks just couldn't handle Ohio State at Value City Arena. Oregon was held to 39% from the field and 21% from three while the Buckeyes went 48% from the field and 53% from three. Deshaun Thomas led OSU with 19 points while Lenzelle Smith added on 12 points.

REGION 2

#2 Iowa State 88, #1 Syracuse 80

It was a shootout under the Dome, but the Cyclones took their Hilton Magic to Syracuse and handled the Orange's world-famous zone. Tyrus McGee led Iowa State off the bench with 22 points while Will Clyburn lead the starters with 20. 11 of Clyburn's points came from the line (Remember kids, you gotta hit those free throws. Will went 11-14). Korie Lucious added 13 and Melvin Ejim added 12 points and 9 rebounds. For Syracuse, CJ Fair had a huge game with 27 points and 8 rebounds, including going 8-8 from the line (Kids...). Brandon Triche had 15 and 3 steals. James Southerland had 11.

REGION 3

#5 Princeton 80, #2 Temple 78

After spending the past two rounds on the West Coast, the Tigers only had to travel an hour away for their Regional Final game against Temple. Princeton took a 23-21 lead off of a Will Barrett tip-in with 8:34 left in the first half and - despite a comeback effort by the Owls late in the second half - never looked back. Barrett led Princeton in scoring with 18 points, but Ian Hummer had 17 points and 10 rebounds. TJ Bray also had 14 points and Denton Koon had 11. Khalif Wyatt led Temple with 18, Will Cummings had 16, and Jake O'Brien added 10 in the losing effort.

REGION 4

#2 Missouri 89, #1 Creighton 80

Missouri's offensive machine has been firing on all cylinders this tournament, and the machine kept grinding past Doug McDermott and Creighton in Omaha. Phil Pressey led the way with 21 points and 6 assists while Keion Bell had 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists for Mizzou. Laurence Bowers added 19 and 9 rebounds while Jabari Brown added 13 points. For Creighton, Doug McDermott led the losing effort with 23 points, Gregory Echenique had 14 points and 9 rebounds, Grant Gibbs had 11, and Will Artino came off the bench and scored 14. Despite those sound performances, the Bluejays were out-rebounded 39-22 and shot 31% from three.

So the final four teams are set for Kansas City; Ohio State, Iowa State, Princeton, and Missouri. The matchups for the National Semis are based on RPI, with the top RPI playing the fourth best RPI, and the second best RPI playing the third best RPI. With that in mind, the matchups will be:

#5 Princeton vs. #1 Ohio State

#2 Iowa State vs. #2 Missouri

These games will be played on Wednesday. The winners will face off in the Final on Friday.

Coliseum Invitational: Regional Semifinals Part 2

Two more Regional Finals are left to be set, so here are the results for the Semifinal rounds in Regions 2 and 3:

REGION 2

#1 Syracuse 63, #4 Nebraska 53

After having to fight tooth-and-nail in a double-overtime win over USC, the Cornhuskers' might was unable to produce similar results against the Orange. Outside of Ray Gallegos and Brandon Ubel picking up 16 points and 6 rebounds each, Nebraska struggled to score, including David Talley going 2-12 from the field. Shavon Shields came of the bench and had 10 points and 11 rebounds. For the victorious Orange, Michael Carter-Williams' 18 led the way. Brandon Triche also had 16 while CJ Fair and James Southerland had 11.

#2 Iowa State 67, #3 Alabama 48

It was another strong home victory for the Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum. This time Iowa State was led by Korie Lucious's 14 while Tyrus McGee (12), Melvin Ejim and Will Clyburn (11 each) came through with significant contributions. Trevor Releford (14) and Trevor Lacey (13) both paced the Crimson Tide, but the team as a whole shot a paltry 31%, and it's gonna be hard to win when your shooting is that off on a given night.

REGION 3

#5 Princeton 70, #1 UNLV 66

After a win at Stanford, Princeton stayed out on the West Coast on the heels of their matchup at UNLV. Unimpeded by jet lag, the playing field was leveled as they sparred with the Rebels at Thomas & Mack. In the end, Princeton came out on top due to strong shooting and perimeter defense. Princeton shot 48% from the field and 47% from three, while UNLV shot 45% from the field and 20% from three. Denton Koon and Will Barrett led the way with 16 points each. Ian Hummer had 15 points and 10 rebounds while TJ Bray chipped in 12. For UNLV, Anthony Bennett lead the way with 19 while Bryce Dejean-Jones had 14 and Anthony Marshall had 12.

#2 Temple 76, #3 Tennessee 58

The Volunteers had no answer for Khalif Wyatt and Scootie Randall. Wyatt led the Owls with 17 and Randall had 15. From a percentage standpoint, Tennessee shot well (43% from the field, 50% from three), but Tennessee took six fewer field goals than Temple and shot half as many free throws. Also, turnovers. Tennessee had 14 while Temple only had 6. Jarnell Stokes was the only double-digit scorer for the Vols. He had 10.

...and with that, the table is fully set for the Regional Finals. The match-ups are as follows:

REGION 2: #2 Iowa State at #1 Syracuse

REGION 3: #5 Princeton at #2 Temple

All four Regional Finals will take place on Sunday the 31st.

Coliseum Invitational: Regional Semifinals Part 1

16 teams remain in the Coliseum Invitational, and the first 8 from Region 1 and Region 4 are looking to move on to Sunday's Regional Final in today's matchups. Below is a summary of each game:

REGION 1

#1 Ohio State 63, #5 Dayton 60

Two schools an hour-and-a-half apart faced off in Columbus to see who would advance to the Regional Finals. A Devin Oliver three-point attempt didn't go in at the regulation buzzer, meaning no overtime to settle the score and a victory for the Buckeyes. Aaron Craft's 16 lead OSU while Sam Thompson and Lenzelle Smith both had 11. For Dayton Kevin Dillard led with 13 while Dyshawn Pierre had 12 and Vee Sanford had 11. With the three at the buzzer not going in, Devin Oliver finished the night with 7.

#2 Oregon 71, #6 Southern Illinois 68

The Saluki magic ran out in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. The team that stormed through the conference tournament and survived the Regional Quarterfinals fought to the bitter, but came up short against the Ducks in Eugene. Oregon was lead by Damyean Dotson's 18. Tony Woods added 12 while Arsalan Kazemi had 10. For SIU, Jeff Early was held to 9 points and 10 rebounds. In his stead, Desmar Jackson led with 17 points while Anthony Beane had 13 and Dantiel Daniels had 12.

REGION 4

#1 Creighton 81, #4 Iowa 72

The Bluejays kept the game high-scoring and ultimately the Hawkeyes just couldn't keep up. Doug McDermott finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds while Austin Chatman backed him with 13 and Avery Dingman with 11. For Iowa, Zach McCabe led from off the bench with 16 while Roy Devyn Marble (12) and Aaron White (10) were the major starting contributors. Iowa shot 39.7% while yielding a 55.6% field goal percentage to Creighton, but managed to stay in it by getting to the line and hitting their free throws (71%). Creighton, however, shot two fewer freebies and went 84.2% from the line.

#2 Missouri 78, #3 Air Force 69

After laying the smacketh down on Nebraska-Omaha, Air Force proved to be a slightly tougher out for Missouri. When the buzzer sounded, though, Mizzou had still come out with a smooth victory. Again it was Keion Bell leading Mizzou as he finished with 23 points. Jabari Brown (16), Phil Pressey (14), and  Laurence Bowers (12) also had heavy contributions for the Tigers. Michael Lyons paced Air Force with 15 points, followed by Mike Fitzgerald's 13 and Todd Fletcher's 10.

The first two regional finals have been set:

REGION 1: #2 Oregon at #1 Ohio State

REGION 4: #2 Missouri at #1 Creighton

Region 2 and Region 3 will figure out their Finals matchups tomorrow.

Coliseum Invitational: Regional Quarterfinals Part 2

After a hectic Day 1 filled with blowouts and buzzer-beaters, it was time for another day of college hoops. This time, the 16 teams of Region 2 and Region 3 squared off to see who advances to the Regional Semis.

REGION 2

#1 Syracuse 69, #8 Florida A&M 58

Four Orange scored double-digits as Syracuse cruised to victory over the Rattlers. Reggie Lewis's 22 points and Markee Teal's 11 rebounds for FAMU kept this from being a total blowout, but it was still too much Syracuse. Brandon Triche led Syracuse with 14 points, while Trevor Cooney added 12 and both James Southerland and CJ Fair had 10 each.

#2 Iowa State 72, #7 SMU 56

Rather it was Hilton Magic, or just being the superior team, Iowa State was able to pull out the victory over Larry Brown and the SMU Mustangs with relative ease. Tyrus McGee lead the Cyclones with 16 points, Will Clyburn had 15, and Korie Lucious had 13. For the Mustangs, Jalen Jones finished with 14 while Nick Russell had 11 and Cannen Cunningham had 10.

#3 Alabama 66, Georgia Tech 59

The Tide were down one at the half, but rolled past Tech in the second behind Trevor Releford's 25. Alabama only needed 8 players to dispense of the Yellow Jackets, as Rodney Cooper added 14 and Trevor Lacey picked up 11. For Georgia Tech, Robert Carter finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds and Kammeon Holsey finished with 12.

#4 Nebraska 83, #5 USC 81 (2 OT)

The Cornhusker victory was the result of a David Rivers contested jumper with seconds left the second overtime. He ended up with 13, and Nebraska moves on to the second round after an emotional victory in Lincoln. Dylan Talley lead the way for Nebraska with 27 points and Ray Gallegos was right behind him with 20. Shavon Shields also had 13 points and 10 rebounds. For USC, Eric Wise had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Omar Oraby had 11 points and 11 rebounds, JT Terrell had 10, and Jio Fontan also had 10 along with 11 assists.

REGION 3

#1 UNLV 57, #8 Hofstra 46

The embattled Pride put up a valiant defensive effort but couldn't stop UNLV from getting the opening round win. Steve Mejia of Hofstra was the only player on either team to reach double-digits; he had 15. Anthony Marhsall and Anthony Bennett led the Rebels with 9 points each. Hofstra kept UNLV to 42% shooting but only shot 33% themselves.

#2 Temple 58, #7 Eastern Michigan 49

All the Owls needed was Khalif Wyatt in their victory over Eastern Michigan. Wyatt had 21 points for Temple while Scootie Randall pitched in 10 points and Anthony Lee added 10 rebounds. Derek Thompson lead Eastern Michigan with 11 points.

#3 Tennessee 66, #6 George Washington 51

Isaiah Armwood's 11 points and 11 rebounds and Patricio Garino's 10 was not enough for George Washington as Tennessee's strong defense and balanced scoring allowed the Volunteers to cruise to a win at Thompson-Boling. Trae Golden and Josh Richardson both led Tennessee with 10 points while four more players finished with either 8 or 9 points.

#5 Princeton 59, #4 Stanford 52

A lot of great minds were on the court at Maples Pavilion Wednesday night, and Princeton came out with the victory on the road. Both teams incredibly strong defensive efforts as both teams were held to 38% shooting. In the end, the Tigers came out with the victory as Will Barrett led with 13 and Ian Hummer added on 9 points and 11 rebounds. TJ Bray (11 pts) and Brendan Connolly (10 pts) also had big nights for Princeton. For Stanford, Josh Huestis (16 points) and Dwight Powell (16 points and 14 rebounds) had big nights for the Cardinal.

So the table is fully set for the Regional Semis. The matchups are as follows:

REGION 2

#4 Nebraska at #1 Syracuse

#3 Alabama at #2 Iowa State

REGION 3

#5 Princeton at #1 UNLV

#3 Tennessee at #2 Temple

Region 1 and Region 4 will be back at it tomorrow, then 2 and 3 will face off in semifinals action on Friday.

Coliseum Invitational: Regional Quarterfinals Part 1

Day 1 of the Coliseum Invitational sees the teams of Region 1 and Region 4 facing off to see who moves on to the Regional Semis. With a field of solid teams, is anybody primed for an upset on opening day? Below is a recap of each game:

REGION 1

#1 Ohio State 74, #8 Howard 47

The Bison came into Columbus and were simply outmanned. Lenzelle Smith and Deshaun Thomas were both able to pick up 18-point games for the Buckeyes. Mike Phillips had 13 for Howard, but his team as a whole shot 30%. Ohio State on the other hand shot 54% from the field, including 59% from three (10-17).

#2 Oregon 57, #7 Manhattan 54

There was almost an upset in Eugene. After being down 36-23 at the half, Manhattan fought back and took the game down to the wire. A Donovan Kates three brought the Jaspers within three with 10 seconds remaining. But after a crucial missed free throw by Arsalan Kazemi, Manhattan couldn't push the ball downcourt in time to get a good shot off. In the end, Shane Richards led Manhattan and all scorers with 13 points while Donovan Kates and Michael Alvarado pitched in 10 each. They also grossly out-rebounded their opponent 48-33. For Oregon, Damyean Dotson lead with 12 and Dominic Artis had 10.

#6 Southern Illinois 65, #3 Cincinnati 62

Southern Illinois enters the Invitational as the winner of the Big Prairie Conference Tournament. The team went 10-14 in conference play, then stormed through the tournament as a ninth seed. On this day in Cincinnati, the run continues, as a big second half comeback put the Salukis on top over the Bearcats. Jeff Early, the Big Prairie Tourney MVP, was once again the leader on this night, picking up 23 points and 16 rebounds. SIU came into halftime down 35-22, but took the lead off an Early jumper that made it 47-45 with 11:02 left in the second half. Desmar Jackson added 12 and Anthony Beane had 10 for SIU. For Cincy, JaQuon Parker and Sean Kilpatrick both had 15 while Cashmere Wright added 11.

#5 Dayton 59, #4 Vanderbilt 49

The hostile confines of Memorial Gym didn't seem to phase Dayton, as the Flyers cruised to a 10-point victory in Nashville. Kevin Dillard controlled the game, scoring 20 and dishing out 6 assists in the victory. Vee Stanford added 16 points and Dyshawn Pierre ripped down 11 boards. For Vandy, Kyle Fuller scored 11 while Kedren Johnson added 10.

REGION 4

#1 Creighton 97, #8 Jackson State 67

Led by Doug McDermott's 28 points and 7 rebounds, the Bluejays almost put 100 on Jackson State in front of a raucous CenturyLink Center crowd. Grant Gibbs contributed 16 while Ethan Wragge added 14 off the bench. The Bluejays out-rebounded the Tigers 44-18. Kelsey Howard (13), Christian Williams (12), and Dundrecous Nelson (12) all scored double figures for Jackson State.

#2 Missouri 107, #7 Nebraska-Omaha 67

While Creighton almost put 100 on Jackson State, Mizzou most certainly hit the century mark against UNO. Three different Tigers finished with 20-point games: Keion Bell messed around and almost got a triple double with 22 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds, Phil Pressey put up 21 and had 7 steals, and Laurence Bowers added 20 to the cause. Also of note: Alex Oriahki's double-double, as he had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Mizzou out-rebounded UNO 40-19 and stole the ball from the Mavs 14 times (UNO stole it only 4 times). John Karhoff was Nebraska-Omaha's lone double-digit scorer. He had 10.

#3 Air Force 78, #6 Delaware 77 (OT)

A pull-up, buzzer-beating jumper by Kyle Green helped push Air Force past Delaware in overtime. A tight game throughout, the largest lead by either side was a six-point one held by Air Force early in the second half. Working with a 9-man rotation, four Blue Hens scored double-figures. Devon Saddler's 26 led the way while Kyle Anderson (16), Jarvis Threatt (15), and Jamelle Hagins (12 and 11 rebounds) put in major work as well. Air Force on the other hand used all 12 of their players, and were led by Michael Lyons's 16 points and 10 rebounds. Falcon hero Kyle Green finished the night with 11.

#4 Iowa 60, #5 Texas-Arlington 51

It was a bad shooting night for everyone involved, but it was Aaron White's 15 that put the Hawkeyes over the top and allowed them to advance to the next round over the Mavericks. Iowa shot 36% from the field while UT Arlington went 31% from the field. Jamel Outler came off the bench for Arlington and notched 16 points while the starting five only came up with a combined 26.

So with those results in place, the first half of the Regional Semis is set. The matchups for the next round will be as follows:

REGION 1

#5 Dayton at #1 Ohio State

#6 Southern Illinois at #2 Oregon

REGION 4

#4 Iowa at #1 Creighton

#3 Air Force at #2 Missouri

Tomorrow, Region 2 and Region 3 face off to complete the field for the next round. Who knows what lies ahead in the Coliseum Invitational.

Introducing: the Coliseum Invitational

Today, I have decided to bring back something I used to do in earlier iterations of my sports blog: the simulated basketball tournament. I would randomly pick 32 teams I liked from the college basketball season and use WhatIfSports to see which team would come out on top. I'm now set to bring back those good ol' days with the Coliseum Invitational. 

This time around, I'm picking 31 schools that I have either been on the campuses of or know people that attend them. The 32nd team is the champion of the ILLHoops Tournament I ran to see which team from the state of Illinois would come out as the victor. In its inaugural edition, Southern Illinois will be the representative from the Land of Lincoln.

With the teams selected, I then used each school's RPI to match them up serpentine style into four regions.

The Field of 32 is as follows:

REGION 1

#1 Ohio State vs. #8 Howard

#2 Oregon vs. #7 Manhattan

#3 Cincinnati vs. #6 Southern Illinois

#4 Vanderbilt vs. #5 Dayton

REGION 2

#1 Syracuse vs. #8 Florida A&M

#2 Iowa State vs. #7 SMU

#3 Alabama vs. #6 Georgia Tech

#4 Nebraska vs. #5 USC

REGION 3

#1 UNLV vs. #8 Hofstra

#2 Temple vs. #7 Eastern Michigan

#3 Tennessee vs. #6 George Washington

#4 Stanford vs. #5 Princeton

REGION 4

#1 Creighton vs. #8 Jackson State

#2 Missouri vs. #7 Nebraska-Omaha

#3 Air Force vs. #6 Delaware

#4 Iowa vs. #5 Texas-Arlington

...and here is how the schedule will break down for the Invitational:

3/26: Regional Quarterfinals (Region 1 & Region 4)

3/27: Regional Quarterfinals (Region 2 & Region 3)

3/28: Regional Semifinals (Region 1 & Region 4)

3/29: Regional Semifinals (Region 2 & Region 3)

3/31: Regional Finals (All regions)

4/3: National Semifinals (Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO; Teams will be paired by RPI)

4/5: Coliseum Invitational Final (Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO)

You'd have to assume Ohio State and Syracuse are the favorites to take win it all, but in these types of tournaments, who knows. That's what so fun about it. I hope you enjoy the ride, and we will see who will be crown the Coliseum Invitational champion.