The 18th HWCI NCAA Tournament Pool

HW Basketball Logo 2012 HWCI NCAA Pool Update
Saturday, March 24, 2012 
Issue # 11.5.1 "Furious Rally Stun Gators"
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PITINO BACK IN FINAL FOUR; SYRACUSE ZONED OUT
Larzby knocked off top as newcomers Bigtenfan and Nwspring l are new co-leaders

CERRITOS, CA (smt)- When legendary coach Rick Pitino was called for a technical foul after yelling at his own player for a dumb foul with 10:56 left, it seemed dire for #4W-Louisville as #7W-Florida hit all four free throws to go up by 11.  But the Cardinals outscored the Gators 18-3 in the last 8:14 to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2008 (also as a #4 seed), 72-68.  The Gators were 8-for-11 from 3-point range in the first half but were 0-for-9 in the second half.  Pitino is now 7-0 against his former player and Gator coach Billy Donovan showing that the master still owns the learner.  The Gators lost for the second straight year in the Elite 8 after holding an 11 point lead with 10 minutes left in the game.  Florida curiously started settling for jumpers and had costly turnovers (stepping out of bounds, traveling).

#2E-Ohio St. overcame early foul trouble for Jared Sullinger to knock off #1E-Syracuse, 77-70, and advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2007.  A ton of fouls as Ohio St. hit 31 of 42 free throws and Syracuse hit 20 of 25.  The Buckeyes broke down Syracuse's zone defense in the second half hitting 52.4% of their shots.

On the 7th Gameday, a new leader is born as Bigtenfan and Nwspring 1 (both first-time entrants) are tied for first with 114 pointsLarzby was one of 71 to go 0-2 and his six-day reign ends falling to a tie for 4th (109) and now can't finish higher than 4th.  In addition to Nwspring 1, Biggest Luther (to go from a tie for 9th to 3rd (110)) and Pool Raider (to go from a tie for 64th to a tie for 23rd (96)) went 2-0.  Bigtenfan has the best chance to win the pool (37.5%) but nine others are challenging him including Biggest Luther, ('03 champ) who will try to be just the second person to win the pool twice (Robinson C (aka, Team Samurai (59th-Tied, 90)) in '01 & '05).  There are 32 possible outcomes and 39 still have a chance to win money.

Now, my wife (SpAva (30th-T, 96))is mad at me because she says I jinxed her after publicly stating in my tagline I will now have to root for her bracket.  Since she doesn't read my updates, I have to figure In It to Nguyen It (which is a great nickname) (20th-T, 100) tipped her off.  Louisville's win knocked her down and Ohio St. eliminated her.  And to add insult to injury, I still have a chance to win 5th (The Fabone in 3D (23rd-T, 98)).

In the race for the Bonus, the Big East picked up its 13th win (not including South Florida's First Four win which doesn't count).  Both the Big 10 and Big 12 can't get more than 13 wins.  This means that just 18 entries can win the Bonus1.  Remember, it there is a tie (e.g., Big East 13 & Big 10 13, you have to have picked both -- whereas if you picked Big East 13 & Big 10 13 you only need one (or both) to qualify.

Please join our Facebook HWCI NCAA Pool Group or post comments on our blog.  Here you can join the group and meet your competitors, make new friends, set up NCAA watching gatherings, and post stuff to the wall (pictures, witty comments, etc.). 

   Tids 'n' Bits- No one had a chance to get both correct and lose both (i.e., no one chose Syracuse & Florida)... Pitino is in his 6th Final Four and is the first person to take a team to the Final Four in four different decades... this is the second straight year the Big East tournament champ made the Final Four (UConn '11)... Freakshow (116th-T, 78) is the 3rd person to go 0-for-the-Final-Four... Noam Chomsky is slowly making his way up the standings, now tied for 92nd (84) and can still win 1st... 7 picked Louisville while 59 picked Ohio St, as the Fab Melo-less Orange finally faltered...

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Refs are becoming the story unfortunately -- lots of ticky tack fouls...

Scott


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