EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- The ACC was "this close" to becoming the first conference to receive three #1 seeds, but Wake Forest's loss in the first round of the ACC tourney opened the door for Pac-10 tourney champ #1W-Washington (UDub) to claim the 4th and final top seed. Big-10 tourney champ #1MW-Illinois picked the up the top seed overall and ACC tourney champ #1E-Duke was the 3rd #1 seed. #1S-UNC, which lost in the ACC semis, is the 2nd #1 seed and will get to play Tuesday's 64v65 winner (which is odd, shouldn't Illinois get this game (oh, looks like Ill wanted to play on Thursday and the 64v65 winner has to play on Friday)... well, I guess it really doesn't matter). Illinois also became the first unanimous #1 (AP) since Kansas in '97 which means they'll probably lose. Kansas lost in the Elite 8 and the last #1 team to win it all was Duke in 2001.

Fan fav #3W-Gonzaga got a good seed- but beware- since 1999, the Zags are 8-1 when ranked #9 or lower and just 1-2 when ranked #6 or higher. 2002 finalists Maryland and Indiana were left out, but #3MW-Arizona made the tourney for the 21st straight time. While last year, no local (SoCal) team made the tourney, this year we have... just #11W-UCLA. Go Bruins!

For simplicity, I'm using the traditional region names (West, Midwest, South, East) but our entry bracket will, for the first time, have the "official" regional names (Albuquerque (W), Chicago (MW), Austin (S), Syracuse (E)). Also, we are now accepting credit card PayPal payments to "[email protected]" (but the entry fee is $10.59 (59 cents in PayPal fees... damn them!).

Thus, a new decade of tournament pool frustrations shall begin. If you've been with us since the beginning, that's $100 down the drain. But there is nothing like tearing up your bracket as your team falters down the stretch. Ten bucks for the agony of defeat. And if you're lucky, boatloads of cash for the thrill of victory (Rick F. won $370 last year).

WHAT:        11th Annual HWCI NCAA Tournament Pool
RECRUITING
INCENTIVE:   None (but still recruit!)
DEADLINE:    9:00 a.m. PST on Thursday, March 18, 2002
ENTRY FEE:   $10.00 per entry (max 3 entries per person)
PREV CHAMPS: 2004- FABIO, $370 (79 entries)
             2003- BIG LUTHER, $280 (63)
             2002- THE FABON8ER, $400 (80)
             2001- TEAM SAMURAI, $280 (59)
             2000- MORALES' MOUNDS, $180 (36)
             1999- SHARY BOBBINS, $180 (36)
             1998- ANNA COME LATELY, $150 (28)
             1997- MAX, $125 (22)
             1996- JAYBIAN, $110 (19)
             1995- BIX PIX, $70 (12)
RULES:       Check http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa/rules.html for more info
ARCHIVE:     Check http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa/history.html
FORUM:       Click on "Discussion Board" at http://www.hwci.com/ncaa
NOTES:       All fee money goes back into prizes
             At least four winners (top prize about 40-50%)
             Set points are awarded per game (2/3/4/6/8/12 for the 6 rnds)
             Two went 16-0 on the first 1st Round day in 2003
             Only 2 people (both in 2001) have picked all 4 Final Four teams
             Just 77 of 434 entries have picked the correct champion
             Points possible:   196
             Most points ever:  148 by BIX PIX in 1995
             Least points ever:  49 by GOBAY, HENDO in 2002  

Enter online at http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa/entry.html. You can also fax your entry to me at (707) 221-2715. Make arrangements (such as PayPal) to send in your $10 entry fee(s) by March 18th. Complete rules and daily pool information can be found on the official site: http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa.