No surprise in the first round as seeds held to form. Cheshire and North Haven put up the biggest fights.
Still, maybe it's time to go back to having just eight teams like it is supposed to be.
Now, the real tournament begins at East Haven High today:
No. 8 Hand vs No. 1 Hillhouse, noon: Hillhouse swept the season series, but Hand hung tough with the Academics in New Haven. Hand will need forward Mike Callaghan to play very well and have its guards play the Academics' guards even. Even then, I doubt very much that Hand can pull the upset:
Morelli's pick: Hillhouse by 15.

No. 5. Notre Dame-West Haven vs. No. 4 Career, 1:45 p.m.: Career won both regular-season meetings and won in this round last year against Notre Dame, which has struggled against the New Haven teams in recent years. After watching Career struggle to put Cheshire away in the first round, I believe the Green Knights have a chance. They will keep it close, but...
Morelli's pick: Career by five.

No. 7 Sheehan vs. No. 2 Lyman Hall, 3:30 p.m.: Sheehan is looking for its third win of the season over its crosstown rival. The last win came in overtime. Sheehan needs to win the guard matchup and Sheehan center Bret Biestek needs to hold his own against Lyman Hall's Jefferson Lora and David Dempsey. There's an old saying about the difficulty of beating a team three times in a season, but...
Morelli's pick: Sheehan by three.

No. 6 Hamden vs. No. 3 Xavier, 5:15 p.m.: In a day full of familiarity, Xavier tries to beat Hamden for a third time. The Green Dragons have been playing well coming into the tournament, including a convincing win over West Haven on Thursday. Can Hamden continue its stellar play? It will not be easy against one of the SCC's most physical frontcourts.
Morelli's pick: Xavier by 10.