ISML 2013: The Next Eight In!

ISML 2013: BoBA Tiara Odds, March 11, 2013

BEDLAM ON BALTIC AVENUE
ISML 2013 TIARA ODDS
As of March 11, 2013

Kanade Tachibana EVEN
Eucliwood Hellsythe 3-2
Mikoto Misaka 2-1
Mio Akiyama 3-1
Asuna Yuuki 7-2
Ruri Gokou 4-1
Kuroyukihime 9-2
Eru Chitanda 5-1
Azusa Nakano 11-2
Rikka Takanashi 6-1
Shana 13-2
Shinka Nibutani 7-1
Yuki Nagato 8-1
Haruhi Suzumiya 9-1
Yui (Angel Beats!) 10-1
Yuri Nakamura 12-1
Sena Kashiwazaki 13-1
Kobato Hasegawa 14-1
Charlotte Dunois 15-1
Mashiro Shiina 17-1
Hitagi Senjougahara 18-1
Kirino Kousaka 19-1
Taiga Aisaka 20-1
Yui (Sword Art Online) 24-1
Suguha Kirigaha 25-1
Nadeko Sengoku 27-1
Tomoyo Sakagami 30-1
Kyou Fujibayashi 33-1
Yozora Mikazuki 35-1
Hinagiku Katsura 40-1
Erio Touwa 50-1
Nagisa Furukawa 55-1
C.C. 60-1
Victorique de Blois 65-1
Saber 70-1
Ayase Aragaki 75-1
Rin Tosaka 90-1
Holo 100-1
Illyasviel von Einzbern 125-1
Yui Hirasawa 130-1
Mato Kuroi 140-1
Ui Hirasawa 150-1
Masami Iwasawa 160-1
Konata Izumi 170-1
Last Order 180-1
Nymph 190-1
Keiko Ayano 200-1
Rin Natsumi 225-1
Nanami Aoyama 250-1
Inori Yuzuriha 275-1
Shinobu Oshino 300-1
Noumi Kudryavka 500-1
Mei Misaki 750-1
Mikan Yuuki 1000-1

Iona: 2012-13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Champions

The fourth-seeded Iona Gaels completed their sweep through the MAAC tournament and secured a second-straight NCAA tournament berth with a 60-57 win over the No. 6 Manhattan Jaspers in Monday's MAAC tournament championship game.

The Gaels earned a bid to last year's big dance at-large last year, but a 20-13 record this season and a fourth-place MAAC finish would obviously have fallen well short of the field of 68 without Monday's win. The Gaels earned a 79-73 upset Sunday over the No. 1 Niagara Purple Eagles to set up Monday's win.

The Gaels are 1-8 all-time in NCAA tournament competition, and the one win, an 84-78 victory over Holy Cross in the first round of the 1980 tournament, was later vacated because of NCAA sanctions.

Manhattan, under second-year coach Steve Masiello, was looking for its first NCAA tournament bid since making back-to-back tournaments in 2003 and 2004.
Senior guard Lamont Jones led the Gaels with 14 points.

Gonzaga: 2012-13 West Coast Conference Champions

The No. 1 team in the nation will now have to wait and see if they get the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament as the Gonzaga Bulldogs beat the Saint Mary's Gaels 65-51 in to claim the WCC tournament championship.

Junior forward Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and senior forward Elias Harris added 19 points for the Bulldogs as they defeated Saint Mary's for the third time this year. It was the 31st win of the season for Gonzaga, extending the school record set on Saturday.

The intensity of the rivalry between the two teams was apparent from the beginning as the teams traded baskets back and forth for the first ten minutes. But junior Gael's guard Jordan Page went down with a knee injury and Gonzaga pounced, taking a 38-29 lead going into halftime.

Saint Mary's and Gonzaga have now met in the WCC tournament final the past five consecutive years, with Gonzaga holding a 3-2 edge courtesy of the win tonight.

Junior guard Stephen Holt led the Gaels with 19 points, but Saint Mary's struggled from behind the arc, a key part of their game. The Gaels were 7-26 from the three-point line, and star point guard Matthew Dellavedova was held to two points on 1-8 shooting. Without the outside shot, the Gaels had no answer for the Zags interior players, who combined for 46 of their 65 points as the team shot 57 percent overall.

Now Saint Mary's will have to wait for their name to be drawn on Sunday, although most bracketologists predict an at-large berth for the Gaels. For Gonzaga, they will wait and see if their top-ranking polls translates to the tournament seeding, as they are hoping for their first number one seed in school history.

ISML 2013: More tickets punched

ISML 2013: More tickets punched

By JR Salazar
March 11, 2013

While the College of Cardinals are getting ready to choose their next pope, and conference tournaments are taking place in America as part of March Madness, the 2013 International Saimoe League Preliminaries went on. Eight more candidates from the Nova Division have punched their tickets to the moe version of the Big Dance: the ISML Regular Season.

From Nova Group 1, Keiko Ayano flies the flag for Sword Art Online after defeated Homura Akemi 3347-2434. Sanae Dekomori was third with 2108 votes. In other matches, Yuno Gasai defeated Erica Blandelli 2990-2195. Madoka Kurokami was third with 1529 votes. Shiori Shiomiya won her match, 2737-2487 ovder Yuiko Kurugaya. Tsubasa Hanekawa was third with 2155 votes.

Nanami Aoyama joins Mashiro Shiina in representing Sakurasou after defeated Karuta Roromiya 2773-2502. Momo Beila Deviluke was third with 2279 votes. In other action in Nova Group 2, Fuuko Kurasaki defeated Tsumiki Miniwa 2828-2486. Mio Nishizono was last with 1858 votes. Nobuna Oda trounced Mayaka Ibara 2950 2420. Miho Nishizumi was last with 1518 votes.

Returning to the regular season is the face of Guilty Crown, Inori Yuzuriha, who blew past Ririchiyo Shirakiin 3263-2218. Tsukihi Araragi was last with 2073 votes. In other Nova Group 3 action, Hanbee Takenaka won a 2497-2488 thriller over Akiko Himenokouji. Kuro Matsumi was third with 1525 votes. Lala Satalin Deviluke prevailed over Kyouko Toshinou 2554-2438, Kumin Tsuyuri was third with 2432 votes.

In a surprise result, Shinobu Oshino is coming back to the regular season after demolishing Touka Takanashi 3019-2402. Nyarlathotep never stood a chance, earning just 2224 votes. In other Nova Group 4 action, Koneko Toujou defeated Kyouko Sakura 2714-2532, with Riko Mine holding up the rear with 1986 votes. Iori Nagase picked up a rare win for Kokoro Connect, 2884-2790 over Shizuku Mizutani. Ran Mouri was last with 1069 votes.

There will be two faces that will be joining the party from Little Busters!. One of them is Rin Natsume, who defeated Aria Holmes Kanzaki 2927-2243. Shouko Kirishima was last with 2239 votes. In other Nova Group 5 actiom, Yui Kotegawa prevailed over Irisviel von Einzbern 2593-2413. Elucia de Lute Ima was third with 2316 votes. Sawa Okita dismissed Asako Natsume 2875-2423. Touki Onjouji was third with 1245 votes.

Joinin Rin for Little Buster is Noumi Kudryavka, who cruised past Meiko Honma 3007-2632. Ritsu Tainaka, the perennial laggard from K-ON!, lagged again, winning just 1946 votes. In other Nova 6 action, Tenri Ayukawa picked up a rare win, 2836-2072 over Mayuri Shiina. Hakaze Kusaribe was last with 1871 votes. Anna Kushina annihilated Akari Akaza 3137-2058. Mami Tomoe was last with 2013 votes.

For the first time in ISML history, there will be more than one representative from To-Love-Ru. Mikan Yuuki scored the upset of the preliminary phase, stunning Kurisu Makise 3024-2730 in Nova Group 7 and, in effect, finally exorcising the demons that haunted her in preliminaries past. Minami Shimada defeated Morgiana 2922-2252, with Yuuko Kanoe holding up the rear with 1647 votes. Rea Sanka picked up a win, a 2701-2290 decision over Haqua du Lot Herminium. Komari Kamikita was last with 2194 votes.

In a more subtle upset, there will be Another representative. Pun notwithstanding, Mei Misaka defeated Karen Araragi 2843-2725 to take Nova Group 8. Neko was last with 1948 votes. Himeko Inaba prevailed over Madoka Kaname 2574-2519. Wakana Sakai was last with 2073 votes. And finally in this group, Haruka Saigusa edged Rias Gremory 2565-2447. Watashi was last with 1804 votes.

And that concludes Phase II of the 2013 ISML Nova Division Preliminaries. The final phase, Phase III, begins next Sunday, Mar. 17, 2013. Vote for your favorite candidates at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate. And keep it right here on the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue for continuing coverage of anime's premier character competition...the International Saimoe League!

James Madison: 2012-13 Colonial Athletic Association Champions

The Dukes are dancing: James Madison got a win in the CAA Tournament final against Northeastern, resisting a Huskies comeback run after taking a 20-point lead early.

Behind 26 points from A.J. Davis in front of a Richmond crowd that was cheering heavily for the Dukes, James Madison got out to a huge lead over Northeastern and held on for a 70-57 win to seal the CAA's auto-bid.

Joel Smith opened the game with a three for Northeastern and Reggie Spencer followed with a bucket to make it 5-3 Huskies, and then the faucet turned off. James Madison scored 15 straight, as part of a 19-1 run, a stretch where the Huskies went 12 minutes and 55 seconds of game time without hitting a field goal. Each missed shot -- and each of their eight turnovers -- was followed by a run-out by the Dukes, who pumped up the tempo. A.J. Davis had 17 points in the first half, while 6'6 Rayshawn Goins, the only forward in a four-guard lineup, was simply unstoppable inside for James Madison, who finished the first half with 13 points and 10 rebounds and ahead 40-18.

However, despite the 22-point lead, James Madison couldn't breathe easy: on Sunday, Northeastern had given up the first 13 points of the game and trailed 28-4 at one point before rallying back for a 69-67 win on a Jonathan Lee layup with three seconds to go.

Sure enough, the Huskies stormed back. After keeping pace with the Dukes, a stint of vicious full-court press combined with some unforced turnovers by the Dukes led to open layups for Northeastern and a 9-0 run cut the deficit to 51-43. That momentum died when Smith fouled out while contesting a James Madison three-pointer. That gave the Dukes a chance to earn points at the line and left the Huskies without their top scorer. Some dunks and monster blocks put the lead back to 15 in short notice, and from there JMU coasted in front of a partisan Richmond crowd.

The Dukes were the highest-seeded team to have to play in the quarterfinals of the seven-team field. Their first game was a relatively comfortable win over William & Mary, but they nearly didn't make it out of a semifinal matchup against Delaware. Andre Nation's game-winning attempt with 15 seconds to go missed but, after a Blue Hens rebound, James Madison forced a turnover and Devon Moore hit a pair of free throws for the 58-57 win.

The tournament trip is Matt Brady's first as head coach between four years at Marist and five at James Madison.

Western Kentucky: 2012-13 Sun Belt Champions

 

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, seeded sixth in the Sun Belt Tournament, got 17 points and 13 rebounds from sophomore George Fant to complete an improbable run to an NCAA tournament berth, beating the No. 4-seeded Florida International Golden Panthers, 65-63, in Monday's conference tournament final.

The Hilltoppers (20-15) won four games in four days, including a three-point win in the quarterfinals and a two-point win in the semifinals, to secure its second-straight trip to the big dance. Western Kentucky made a similar run in last year's Sun Belt Tournament under interim head coach Ray Harper (head coach Ken McDonald was fired in January 2012 after a 5-11 start to the season).
Harper, now in his first year as Western Kentucky's full-time head coach, has two NCAA tournament berths to his name.

The Golden Panthers, who beat the No. 1 Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders in the semifinals, closed to within two points at 62-60 with 27 seconds to play. Jamal Crook answered with two made free throws on Western Kentucky's next trip down for the Hilltoppers.

Florida International's Tymell Murphy hit a three-pointer with two seconds left to set the final score at 65-63.

Davidson: 2012-13 Southern Conference Champions

The Davidson Wildcats are heading to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row after defeating the College of Charleston Cougars, 74-55, on Monday night to win the Southern Conference Tournament.

The Wildcats enter the tournament as one of the hotter teams in the nation, riding a 17-game win streak as they swept through the Southern Conference Tournament.

Junior forward De'Mon Brooks led the Wildcats with 24 points. Senior guard J.P. Kuhlman added 14 points for Davidson as they won the Southern Conference championship for the second-straight year.

It was a much easier ride for Davidson after barely squeaking by the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 65-62, in the semi-finals. The Cougars shot 30 percent from the floor, dooming any chance they had of pushing past Davidson, who shot 55 percent from the floor. The Wildcats never trailed in the game as they beat the Cougars for the third time this year.

This will be the second-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Wildcats. Davidson fell to the Louisville Cardinals in the first round of the tournament last year as a eleven seed. This year, the Wildcats will also most likely enter the tournament with an uphill battle to climb. Chris Dobbertean of SB Nation has the Wildcats as a No. 14 seed going up against the Florida Gators in the first round.

The Conclave Is Tomorrow.

Brace Yourselves.