MINNESOTA REC: Fall 2011 Playoff Field Set | Tim Allen gives his picks on camera

After 8 weeks of regular season games and 4 play-in games on Wednesday, we finally have the field of 16 teams set for the Fall 2011 Rec Playoffs.

The final matchups and times will be as follows:

#1 St. Baul vs. #16 Huskies (9:30 PM)
#2 Rebels vs. #15 Noisy Withdrawal (6:30 PM)
#3 Celtics vs. #14 Cobra Kai (8:30 PM)
$4 Ninja Turtles vs. #13 D.Y. Nasty (8:30 PM)
#5 Timberpuppies vs. #12 Thunder (7:30 PM)
#6 Respect the Game vs. #11 Blue Chips (6:30 PM)
#7 The Bulls vs. #10 Thundercats (7:30 PM)
#8 Riddlers vs. #9 Avengers (9:30 PM)

All games are this Thursday at Fridley Lifetime Fitness.

The above seedings were determined by the Ultimate Hoops Players' Committee after about an hour and a half of deliberation. Higher seeded teams were given game time preference. The Committee is comprised of Tim Allen, Chad Wessels, Joe Neuenfeldt, Jason Briggs, Eugene Phelps, James Pinkett, Brandon Laurencot, Eric Hawkins, Josh Hoyle and Scott Nelson.


Play-In Game Recaps

The four play-in games saw one dominating performance, two games that were close at half but turned ugly in the 2nd, and one game that came down to the wire.

Thunder (B South, 5-3) vs. Greenhorns (Fridley, 3-5)

The Greenhorns kept this one close during the first quarter as the Thunder started out shooting lots of threes and not connecting on very many. In the second, Jeremy Bachman got into gear and led his team to a 17-point 2nd half advantage. Bachman finished with 17 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Andy Walz led the Thunder in scoring with 20 points.

The Greenhorns' Jason Briggs had a strong half, going 5-6 from the floor, but strangely sat out the first ten minutes of the second. By the time he returned, he had gone cold and the game was getting out of reach. Briggs finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks. Nate Weaver also played well with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Thunder will take on the Timberpuppies in their first round matchup.

Final Score: Thunder 76 - Greenhorns 55


Cobra Kai (Fridley, 3-5) vs. Lakers (B South, 4-4)

Much like the Greenhorns/Thunder game, this one started out close. The Lakers were only down 5 at the break, but had given up 48 points to a typically-anemic Cobra Kai team, which wasn't a good sign for their defense.

In the 2nd, the Lakers seemed to tire and the defense of the Cobras became too much, holding their opponents to only 22 points. Kevin Craft had a nice night with 21 points and 10 rebounds, but received little help from his teammates.

For Cobra Kai, it was the interior duo of Luke Sontowski (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Don Kahl (17 points, 8 rebounds) that helped them dominate in the 2nd half. Dustin Dupont chipped in 16 and 7 assists.

Cobra Kai will take on the Celtics in their first round matchup, which is a rematch from Week 5 of the regular season, which the Celtics won 63-47.

Final Score: Cobra Kai 85 - Lakers 65


Blue Chips (B. South, 5-3) vs. Tropics (B. South, 4-4)

While I thought the Tropics would lose this one, I didn't think it would be this lopsided. The Blue Chips opened this one up early and it was never really in doubt with the first half ending 43-21.

The Tropics' Mitch Hanson played a solid game with 16 points and 7 rebounds, but no other player on his team shot over 50% from the floor and Michael Bundy was his only teammate in double figures.

The Blue Chips, meanwhile, were led by Sam Halverson's 23 points and 17 rebounds, along with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists from Chris Daly. Peter Mortenson and Matt Boys each added double figures. Even with Keilon Riddley only scoring 5 points on 2-of-11 shooting, they had no trouble tonight.

The Blue Chips will take on Respect the Game in Round 1.

Final Score: Blue Chips 79 - Tropics 51



Huskies (B. South, 3-5) vs. Bulls (Fridley, 4-4)

With the Bulls coming off of a thrilling upset win over the Celtics, and the Huskies barely squeaking into the play-in games, there were many predictions that had the Bulls winning this one easy.

In the beginning of the game, it looked as though that might be the case. The Bulls came out strong and were up 11 at half. Only Ronnie Olson and Josh Hoyle were contributing for the Huskies and Heath Stoll's poor shooting from his game with the Blue Chips seemed to be carrying over.

The second half was a different story. The Huskies started playing better defense, the Bulls strangely stopped going to Roderick Powell as much, and suddenly we had a close game.

Powell did score 29 and center Mike Kouri also had a big night with 19 points and 19 rebounds. In addition to Olson and Hoyle for the Huskies, each of whom had 21, the Huskies also got 18 from Heath Stoll.

The difference in this game and the reason for the comeback, however, as the tremendous play off of the bench for Tommy Ng. He scored 14 points, had a couple of very timely assists and converted an and-one that brought the game within 5 points and turned the momentum towards the Huskies.

Roderick Powell was unable to get off a shot in time at the buzzer and the Huskies completed the comeback for a 1-point win. They will take on the undefeated St. Baul tomorrow night.

Final Score: Huskies 90 - Bulls 89


I will be live blogging the games tomorrow night starting at 7:30 (I would start at 6:30, but I'll be playing with my Respect the Game team). I hope to see you either at the gym in Fridley or online watching the game results.