Update delayed, but Possibilities up

Opting for sleep so update will be delayed.  But now, there is a Possibilities tab on the top menu which will show you if you are alive and what percent you have at 1st place and at a money spot (1st-6th).  Hopefully, I’ll get the update out tomorrow ~noontime and then on Tuesday, release the Bonus Prize details and Money Prize breakdown (remember, 100% of the fees are given back as prizes, which means with 133 entries, you all will split $1,330 in prize money).

Everyone’s an Underdog

Three pointers ruled the day and propelled VCU and Kentucky to victories.  This means there are no #1, #2, or #3 seeds in the Final Four.  It does leave the pool with 4 possible champs and 12 entries still alive.  The UNC loss also means we will have a Bonus winner for the Winningest Conference.  Up on our menu above, there is now a “Final Four” button which shows all 8 possible scenarios and who the winners are.  Other info on my update page.

Crazy Scenarios

Here are two unique scenarios:

* if Kentucky beats Butler/VCU in the final, then we have a 2-way tie for 1st and a 6-way tie for 3rd!

 Craig   1*           Ky  VCU Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla�
 Pack Rat   1*           Ky  VCU Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla�
  The Downtown Fiction   3*           Ky  VCU Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla�
 The Mighty Mobelfakta   3*           Ky  VCU Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla�
    Joker's Wild   3*           Ky  VCU Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla�
      Union Strong   3*           Ky  VCU Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla�
     Swerveman   3*           Ky  VCU Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla�
    GoBigBlue   3*           Ky  VCU Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla 

And if VCU/Butler beats Kentucky, we have a 6-way tie for 2nd, which means one person would be left out of the money:

                         Craig   1            VCU Ky  Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla
           The Downtown Fiction   2*           VCU Ky  Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla
          The Mighty Mobelfakta   2*           VCU Ky  Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla
                   Joker's Wild   2*           VCU Ky  Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla
                   Union Strong   2*           VCU Ky  Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla
                      Swerveman   2*           VCU Ky  Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla
                      GoBigBlue   2*         VCU Ky  Con But UNC Ari Kan Fla

So although The Mighty Mobelfakta is in 100% of the scenarios, in these two he could lose the tiebreaker and miss out.

Issue # 6.3.2 “Double-Digit Delight”

Issue # 6.3.2 "Double-Digit Delight"

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend games.  Sunday did seem to go very, very slow as it made me think having games spread apart is not a great idea (usually, Sunday games end around 7 so CBS can show “60 Minutes” and “The Amazing Race”).

Anyway, we officially have 125 entries (Elvis26 as I suspected, entered by accident).  Thank you all!  If you go to the standings and look at the “Possible Finish” column, you’ll see numbers and if you’re unlucky, an “e'”.  The numbers represent your highest possible finish (so “1” means you can still finish first) with “e” meaning “(Your entry here), I’m sorry to tell you that you’ve been eliminated from the HWCI NCAA Pool“.  But don’t despair, everyone who gets eliminated has a second chance for our Bonus Prize.  And some of you may be eliminated there as well.  Then all you have left is pride.  Prize distribution and Bonus details delivered Tuesday.

Reluctantly Duke

Never cared for Duke.  But I’ll need them to win it all and score a lot of points to try and take 5th place.  One person who’s happy for Duke’s win is You’re My Boy Blue who has guaranteed himself at least 3rd place ($170) so he can start spending the money now.   The other 12 will have to wait and see what happens next week.  Here are the Final Four Possibilities:

If MICHIGAN ST/BUTLER beats  W VIRGINIA in the final, then the possible winners are...
 The Pride Of Troy! Score:118 (place 1 winner)
 Max Approved Score:114 (place 2 winner)
 You're My Boy Blue Score:108 (place 3 winner)
 Another Two-Peat Score:107 (place 4 winner)
 Larzby Score:106 (tiebreak=137)
 The Mighty Mobelfakta Score:106 (tiebreak=142)
 Hummeless Score:106 (tiebreak=145)
 Blue Devil Blues Score:106 (tiebreak=169)

If  W VIRGINIA beats MICHIGAN ST/BUTLER in the final, then the possible winners are...
 The Pride Of Troy! Score:118 (place 1 winner)
 Max Approved Score:114 (place 2 winner)
 You're My Boy Blue Score:108 (place 3 winner)
 Another Two-Peat Score:107 (tiebreak=128)
 Punani59 Score:107 (tiebreak=131)

If MICHIGAN ST/BUTLER beats        DUKE in the final, then the possible winners are...
 You're My Boy Blue Score:116 (place 1 winner)
 Hummeless Score:114 (tiebreak=145)
 Blue Devil Blues Score:114 (tiebreak=169)
 The Pride Of Troy! Score:110 (place 4 winner)
 Another Two-Peat Score:107 (tiebreak=128)
 Jinx Score:107 (tiebreak=160)

If        DUKE beats MICHIGAN ST/BUTLER in the final, then the possible winners are...
 Blue Devil Blues Score:126 (place 1 winner)
 You're My Boy Blue Score:116 (place 2 winner)
 Eros Score:115 (place 3 winner)
 Hummeless Score:114 (place 4 winner)
 FOMI Score:111 (tiebreak=140)
 Deemed to Win Score:111 (tiebreak=144)

Good or Bad Calls?

Was watching but unable to listen to the game but there seemed to be some questionable calls (including allowing just 0.2 seconds to run off the clock on the intentionally missed free throw).  Will have to see what happened there.

But congrats to Michigan St. (again) for making the Final Four.  They always seem to sneak in, especially in broken brackets.  No one picked them but it did eliminate Another Two-Peat (who was the only one to pick Tenn) from winning first.  The next game is crucial in terms of standings.  If Baylor wins, only 9 can win the money spots with 4 still having a chance for 1st.  It’ll also give The Pride of Troy! at least 4th place and Marinomac at least a tie or 5th place (could lose the tiebreaker).  If Duke wins, 13 will still be alive but only 3 could win 1st (You’re My Boy Blue, The Pride of Troy!, and Blue Devil Blues) with You’re My Boy Blue guaranteed at least 3rd place.

I Don’t Know What to Think

WVU goes 0 for its first 17 16 from 2-point range; Kentucky goes 0 for its first 20 from 3-point range.  West Virginia misses 8 free throws after taking a 61-45 lead with 4:25 left.  Somehow, WVU is going to the Final Four for the first since 1959.  Duke is now the last #1 seed.  29 picked WVU.  Larzby is still in first and has a 12.5% chance for first but can’t pick up any more points.  The overwhelming favorite is The Pride of Troy! who has a 87.5% chance for money and a 50% chance for 1st.  He is also trying to get his 3rd year in the money (the previous were 4th place finishes).  Six have a 12.5% chance for 1st.  Just 17 can win money.

And we have a winner…

Congrats to Lawrence M (Bizarro Larzby) for winning the 2009 HWCI NCAA Pool.  With a 16 point lead, he is guaranteed to finish first after Michigan St. won.  He’s our 42nd person to win money (44 including 2nd/3rd entries that have won).  He’s also just the third person to ever win money on his/her 2nd or 3rd entry (his first entry was Larzby).  Wendy B (Buckye23) will win at least 4th place and will be our 13th multiple-winner (having won the $40 Bonus in ’07).  That leaves 3 spots with 6 people trying to get it.  Bob G (Baba) after not winning anything the first nine years, has a chance for back-t0-back money spots (2nd in ’08).  Vi N (Little Miss Sunchips) has also languished in her first eight years, many spent near the bottom, but will this be the year?  Adam C (AC) will try to be just the 18th person (15th not including our first year) to win money on their first try.  Steve N (The Rat Pack) went 0-for-2 today but can still hold on in his 4th year.  Ford R (Rainman) is hoping his sophmore year in the pool is lucky.  And Mike B (Buckeye Mike), who had the 22-0 start, will try to add to his $40 Bonus win in ’04, but even with the $70 5th place finish (if UNC wins), he’ll have earned just $110 in 14 years ($140).

Bonus1 Possibilities

2009 HWCI NCAA Pool – Bonus1 Possibilities.  There may only be 17 vying for the top 5 prizes, but there 51 (SilverSurfer and Bizarro Larzby aren’t eligible because they would finish in the top 5 if they are correct with the conference wins) still with a chance to take home $40.  Check out which scenario and what tiebreaker you’d need to win $40.  One notable possibility is that if UConn beats UNC or Villanova beats Michigan St. in the Final and the total points scored in that final is 134, there would be 5 people sharing $40, or $8 each!