Shenendehowa will have home court for the entirety of their run in the Suburban Council basketball tournament for both men & women, which gets underway tomorrow. Both Shen teams ran the table in the regular season, and are heavy favorites to win the titles.
Women's bracket:
8. Bethlehem @ 1. Shen. The Eagles go into this game off a demoralizing loss to Troy this afternoon. Unfortunately, the Lady Horses will be in a consolation tournament similar to the one they won in women's soccer earlier this season.
7. Shaker @ 2. Averill Park. The Lady Bison upset Sean Organ's Warriors Saturday afternoon, and now will have an opportunity to make it two in a row.
6. Guilderland @ 3. Saratoga.
5. Niskayuna @ 4. Albany. This 4-5 matchup has two teams with identical records. The bad news? The winner likely gets Shen.
Men's bracket:
8. Colonie @ 1. Shen.
7. Bethlehem @ 2. Saratoga.
6. Schenectady @ 3. Troy. These two teams met on opening night, with Troy blowing the Patriots out of the gym. Schenectady has improved, but Troy, winners of 4 in a row, are just flat out hot after blowing out Shaker & Bethlehem in their last two games.
5. CBA @ 4. Niskayuna.
Predictions:
Women's tournament:
Bethlehem blew a 4th quarter lead against Troy earlier today, and will face a Shen team that has had 48 hours and change to rest and prepare. Tip time is 4:30, and is the first half of a double-header at Shen. The Eagles need a miracle, but Shen is just too strong.
Averill Park has revenge on its minds after losing to Shaker on Saturday. The Warriors want a rematch with Shen, and will even the score.
Saratoga has their new star in Natasha Chudy, and Guilderland is just a speed bump. The Lady Streaks will see Averill Park in the semi-finals.
Albany hasn't been the same as in past years, finishing 2nd behind Averill Park this season, and they didn't get to play their favorite patsy in recent years, Troy. Olivia Olsen will carry the Silver Warriors into the semis at Shen.
Men's tournament:
If anyone's going to pull an upset in the quarters, it's going to be CBA. The downside to knocking off Nisky is a trip to Shen on Wednesday. Troy was a last second basket shy of beating Saratoga last weekend, and they routed Bethlehem in their regular season finale. The Blue Streaks should have no problem with the Eagles, and Troy will remind Schenectady of last month's beatdown. The only way Troy gets another home game is if Bethlehem does the impossible, and recovers to beat Saratoga, which I don't see happening.
Semi-finals: Shen will dispose of CBA on the boys' side, while the women will have a tough time before eliminating Nisky. As hot as Troy has been, they will review the tape of their February 27 game vs. Saratoga, figure out where they went wrong, and advance in the other upset of the tournament. Remember, Shen's the only other team that beat Rich Hurley's Flying Horses this season, and it was by less than 10 points. If there's going to be anything resembling an upset in the women's tournament, it'll be Saratoga over Averill Park. However, the Warriors will find a way to survive.
We'll look at the finals on Friday, and we'll see where Troy's women will play in the consolation tournament tomorrow.
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