Overtime

There will be limited parking for Tuesday night’s FCIAC Boys Basketball Tournament semifinal games at Sacred Heart University, with Stamford playing St. Joseph at 6 p.m., followed by Bridgeport Central and Bassick in the nightcap.

There will be three shuttle buses taking fans from across the street at Notre Dame High School to the Pitt Center starting at 5 p.m.

One of the best experiences of my professional career came during March of 1998. I had left The Advocate to take a job at ESPN, which I hated and quit after six months. I did freelance writing for almost a year, until the person who replaced me at the paper left in May of 1998 and I returned.

But not before getting a job with a now-defunct company called Total Sports, which ran the NCAA’s website. I was hired for a month in 1998 to do all the commentary and analysis of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The company was based in Raleigh, so I was in a college basketball hotbed — and I’m a North Carolina fan, and it made the Final Four that year — and I got every fan’s dream: to get paid for watching and writing about what I consider the closest thing there is to a perfect sporting event in this country.

I had previously worked for some college basketball publications and covered the Fairfield University team when it made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

The combination of being a college basketball addict, along with some of you asking for a forum for discussing the sport, has led me to start a new feature for this blog. I am going to call it The Madness, and starting this week, going to the end of the NCAA Tournament, along with my usual commentary I am going to put up additional posts about college basketball. I’ll offer opinions and give you the chance to offer your own and ask questions.

One thing you should not ask me: My selections for the Final Four until the draw is announced in two weeks. It is a foolish attempt if you don’t know what teams are going to be placed in each region. It is almost like asking to name the four best teams in the country.

So look for The Madness starting this week, and feel free to make any suggestions.

With the Pitt Center now available, next week’s FCIAC Boys Basketball Tournament semifinals and final games have been moved to Sacred Heart University from Fairfield Warde. Tuesday’s first semifinal starts at 6, with Thursday’s final at 7.

The highest remaining seeded team will play in the late game Tuesday. Stamford and St. Joseph will meet at 6, unless No. 1 Bridgeport Central is upset tonight.

Today’s snow has caused the postponement of the FCIAC girls basketball and boys hockey tournaments, as well as the State Open wrestling meet.

Tonight’s FCIAC girls basketball championship game between Trinity Catholic and St. Joseph is now scheduled for tomorrow at 4:30 at Fairfield Ludlowe.

With the forecast calling for the snow to continue until tomorrow morning, it is possible the FCIAC would have to move the game again, with a limited option.

The state tournaments are supposed to begin on Monday. The CIAC allows teams to play games on one Sunday each season, so the final could be moved to then. If not, the two schools would likely be declared co-champions.

Today’s scheduled FCIAC Tournament boys hockey quarterfinal games have been moved to tomorrow at the Darien Ice Rink at the same times. Darien will play St. Joseph at 6 p.m., followed by New Canaan against Wilton.

The State Open Wrestling Tournament has also been pushed back a day. Preliminary rounds will now start tomorrow at noon at the New Haven Athletic Center. The third- and fifth-place finals will be at 2 p.m., with the championships at 4 p.m.

The FCIAC boys tournament is scheduled to begin tomorrow with four quarterfinal games at Fairfield Warde. So is the girls hockey final between New Canaan and Darien, and two other hockey quarterfinals.

Here is the current schedule for tomorrow:

Boys Basketball Quarterfinals at Fairfield-Warde

No. 6 Stamford (11-7) vs. No. 3 Harding (14-4), Noon

No. 7 Trinity Catholic (11-7) vs. No. 2 St. Joseph (16-2), 2 p.m.

No. 5 Trumbull (12-6) vs. No. 4 Bassick (13-5), 5 p.m.

No. 8 Ridgefield (10-8) vs. No.1 Bridgeport Central (17-1), 7 p.m.

Girls Basketball Final at Fairfield-Ludlowe

No. 1 St. Joseph vs. No. 2 Trinity Catholic, 4:30 p.m.

Girls Ice Hockey Finals at Terry Conners

No. 1 New Canaan vs. No. 3 Darien, 4 p.m.

Boys Ice Hockey Quarterfinals at Darien Ice Rink

No. 6 Darien (7-5) vs. No. 3 St. Joseph (9-2-1), 6 p.m.

No. 7 Wilton (7-5) vs. No. 2 New Canaan (11-1), 8 p.m.

at Terry Conners Ice Rink

No. 5 Trinity Catholic (7-4-1) vs. No. 4 Ridgefield (8-4), 6 p.m.

No. 8 Stamford (5-7) vs. No. 1 Greenwich (10-0-2), 8 p.m.

Is there anybody out there who does not believe Bridgeport Central and St. Joseph will be meeting a week from tonight for the FCIAC boys basketball title? It is hard to find anyone.

In one of the weakest seasons in recent memory, Central, the No. 1 team in the state and top seed, and St. Joseph, the second seed, stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Is there anyone in the field that will create a seismic stir and upset either school along the way? If so, which team is the sleeper? Which player will be the most influential in the tournament, which begins Saturday with four quarterfinal games? Is there a first-round upset out there? And which team will emerge as the champion?

Here’s an analysis:

Team to beat: Bridgeport Central. Until defeated on the court, the Hilltoppers have to be considered the favorites. Their only loss was an opening-game forfeit to Staples for using an ineligible player. The team has a go-to star in Jerome Parkins, an explosive guard in Jerry Washington and no real weaknesses.

Players to watch: Greg Langston and Andrew Victoria. I’m throwing out two people, one for his influence during the regular season and one for his need during the playoffs. I thought the Cadets were a distant second to Central early in the season, and maybe they were. Part of the problem was a lack of team speed. The other was Langston trying to do too much. In the first two games I saw him play, Langston spent too much time on the wing with his arms extended, waiting for the ball.

I don’t know if St. Joseph coach Vito Montelli said something to Langston, or he did it on his own, but he realized subjugating his game was in the team’s best benefit. I don’t think he was being selfish as much as he felt he needed to carry the team on his own.

Now Langston is part of an ensemble, and the Cadets are all the better for it. There is a lot of talent on the team, and players like Timajh Parker and Oscar Assie have been allowed to step up and play more prominent roles.

Langston is still very much an impact player. By shooting and scoring a little less, the Cadets have become a better team.

Assuming we get the expected Central-St. Joseph final, the Hilltoppers will have the advantage in team speed, but will need to bang with St. Joseph’s strong inside game. That is where Victoria, Central’s 6-foot-9 center, comes in. Victoria doesn’t have to score a lot, but he has to rebound and defend well in the paint.

Sleeper team: Harding. It is hard to see a champion coming from someone other than Central or St. Joseph. The only team that might be able to pull off the surprise is the Presidents. Laquan Mendenhall seems to spend as much time in coach Charlie Bentley’s doghouse as on the court, and Harding needs him running the offense to have any chance. As we will see in the next entry, Harding is the most mercurial team in the league and does not have much size, but if it can play consistently for three games, it has the best chance to pull off what would be a major surprise.

Best chance for a first round upset: Stamford over Harding. As stated, Harding has the most schizophrenic personality in the tournament, and could just as easily lose in the quarterfinals as go all the way. Stamford underachieved during the regular season; though it lacks a true point guard, any team with a threesome like Mark Ellis, Marc Guirand and Jethro Anilus should have performed better.

In the teams’ regular season meeting, Stamford had trouble with turnovers in the first half, played a great second half until the final minute and was on the verge of winning on the road, then lost the ball three times in the final 60 seconds, and the game.

The Black Knights are going to have to handle Harding’s pressure. They probably don’t have the pieces to make a run that would likely mean having to defeat Harding, St. Joseph and then Central to defend their title, but a quarterfinal win would not be that stunning.

And the champion is……Bridgeport Central: The axis of power in the FCIAC has moved from Stamford to the Bridgeport area this year. I really wanted to pick St. Joseph because it is playing so well, and Central has made a habit of underachieving in the conference tournament. But on Warde’s large court, I am going to give a slight nod to Central’s speed over St. Joseph’s size.

Everyone thinks it is a forgone conclusion that either Bridgeport Central or St. Joseph will win the FCIAC Boys Basketball championship next Thursday night.

Do you agree?

Here is a chance to have your say.

We are giving your four choices and the chance to add a comment if you feel like it.

The poll is open until the first game at noon on Saturday.

If the anticipated snow storm causes the postponement of tomorrow night’s FCIAC girls basketball championship game between Trinity Catholic and St. Joseph, it will be moved to Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Fairfield Ludlowe.

That would create a rare doubleheader treat for the two schools. The FCIAC boys basketball quarterfinals begin Saturday at Fairfield Warde, and Trinity and St. Joseph are meeting at 2 p.m.

Fans of the two schools would be able to drive crosstown and see both games, which would likely mean a much bigger crowd for the girls game, and a financial boon for the FCIAC.

With wins Wednesday night, Stamford and Trinity Catholic, last year’s finalists, qualified for the FCIAC Tournament, which begins Saturday at Fairfield Warde with four quarterfinal games.

Stamford, the defending champion, defeated Brien McMahon to earn the sixth seed. It will play No. 3 Warren Harding in the noon opener.

That will be followed by a game between No. 7 Trinity Catholic, which lost to the Black Knights in double overtime a year ago but earned its 12th straight conference tournament berth with a win Wednesday over Staples, and No. 2 St. Joseph.

The teams played twice during the regular season, with the Crusaders winning the season opener on Jonathan Boykin’s 50-foot shot at the buzzer and losing in the Cadets’ holiday tournament when Remy Pinson missed a 40-foot shot as time expired.

In the evening session, No. 4 Bassick and No. 5 Trumbull will face off at 5 p.m. That will be followed by a contest between No. 1 Bridgeport Central, the state’s top-ranked team, and eighth-seeded Ridgefield.