Central Basketball Association

Prior to the start of the 2014 Central Basketball Association season, the pre-season rankings were released, where the defending champions, St. Louis Hawks, sat in the pole position as the favorite to get back to the title game. They had started off last season 4-0, en route to winning the regular season championship, and then ultimately the league title game at home versus the Bowling Green Hornets. However, it wasn't Bowling Green that was listed as the second-best team in the 2014 CBA pre-season rankings, but rather it was Middle Tennessee.

Halfway through the 2013 season last year, it was widely expected that St. Louis and Middle Tennessee would be in the title game. Both teams started the season 4-0 and looked dominating against their respective opponents. However, the Storm lost their final three games, including being upset by the winless River City Panthers in the season finale, to miss out on an opportunity to qualify for the 2013 Championship game. If the Storm would have won just one game in those last three games, it would have been St. Louis at Middle Tennessee in Nashville for the 2013 title game. It appears now that much-anticipated matchup is set to occur one year later than the Middle Tennessee organization initially expected.

Fate may have written these two teams as opponents in the Championship game, but it sure didn't follow the path that both teams expected. Even though the two teams were the top two preseason favorites, Middle Tennessee earned a spot in the title game by rallying late last week at home to force overtime, and defending not one, but two game-winning opportunities by Fort Wayne, only to pull away in the third overtime. For the defending champions, St. Louis, they needed a game-winning shot with 4.6 seconds left to beat Middle Tennessee in the season finale to clinch a post-season berth; and followed that performance last week by rallying from 18 points down with six minutes left in the game to shock the Chattanooga Rail Runners on the road. Both teams may have taken challenging roads to get to the 2014 CBA Championship game, but it is the end that matters, not the means. Tomorrow night, we shall see whether St. Louis becomes back-to-back defending champions, or whether Middle Tennessee, in front of their home fans, will finally hoist the trophy they have been coveting anxiously for the last year.   

Championship Matchup: St. Louis Hawks at Middle Tennessee Storm 

When: Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. Central Time

Venue: Fisk University, Henderson A. Johnson Gymnasium, 1000 17th Ave North, Nashville, Tennessee

Regular season records: Middle Tennessee (6-4, 1-4 home), St. Louis (5-5, 2-3 road)

Semi-finals results: St. Louis defeated Chattanooga 123-118 in Rossville, Georgia; Middle Tennessee defeated Fort Wayne 132-126 in triple overtime in Nashville, Tennessee

Team overall records: Middle Tennessee (2 seasons, 11-8 overall record, 5-5 overall home record, 10-8 regular season record, 1-0 post-season record, 0 championship titles); St. Louis (2 seasons, 12-7 overall record, 6-3 overall road record, 10-7 regular season record, 2-0 post-season record, 1 championship title)

Matchup history: Middle Tennessee leads series 2-1. In 2014, the two teams met once, with St. Louis defeating Middle Tennessee 98-96 on May 11, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2013, the two teams met twice, with Middle Tennessee defeating St. Louis 110-109 on May 4, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee; and Middle Tennessee defeating St. Louis 118-109 on May 18, 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Head Coaches:

• Nathan Willhite (Middle Tennessee) - 11-8 career record in second season as Storm head coach; completed 11th season as men's basketball head coach at Welch College.
• Floyd Irons (St. Louis) - 12-7 career record in second season as Hawks head coach; won 2013 league title as Hawks head coach last season; former Vashon High School boy's basketball head coach for 33 years (1974-2006), where he led teams to 10 state championships in Missouri (1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006); recognized as the winningest head coach in Missouri high school history with 802 career victories; produced multiple players who played in the NBA, including Anthony Bonner, who was selected in first round of 1990 NBA Draft. 

Players to watch (Middle Tennessee):

•  #3 Myles Thrash (Stillman): 21.9 points per game, 6.7 assists per game, 1.8 steals per game
• #15 Torye Pelham (Southern Mississippi): 14.2 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, 1.3 blocks per game
• #21 Brandon Springer (Cumberland): 25.1 points per game, 2.2 steals per game
• #22 Wesley Poe (Trevecca Nazarene): 9.8 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game
• #23 Dominique Rouse (Chattanooga State): 14.2 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game

Players to watch (St. Louis):

• #00 Dwayne Polk (St. Louis): 16.3 points per game, 7.0 assists per game
• #10 Lonell Johnson (Missouri Western): 22.6 points per game
• #20 Chris Rebuck (Maryville): 15.0 points per game
• #24 Alex Jackson (Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis): 15.5 points per game
• #34 Corey Hill (Univ. of Northern Iowa): 25.3 points per game

Prediction: Middle Tennessee Storm 112, St. Louis Hawks 109

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