Monthly Archives: April 2024

Issue # 13.6.1 “Husky Domination” (4/9)

Posted on by
Star Wars: The Bad Batch and Star Trek: Discovery final seasons

Archive

2024 NCAA CHAMPIONS


UCONN Champions		#1-East Regional Champions
 UConn (6 titles)
University of Connecticut Huskies (37-3)
6th Title
     
2024 WINNINGEST CONFERENCE
ACCThe Atlantic Coast Conference (12-4)
9th Time

Tuesday, April 9, 2024
UCONN, DESTROYER OF TEAMS
Flying Ace wins 1st pool; Zippy’sWife Nets Bonus; 71 picked UConn

49% SOLAR ELCIPSE, CA (smt) –  #1E-UConn let #1MW-Purdue’s Zach Edey get two points at a time (ended with 37 pts, a good number in garbage time) while the Huskies allowed just one three while hitting six en route to a 75-60 rout to complete the back-to-back championships.  UConn never panicked and methodically destroyed their 12th straight tournament team by 13 or more points.

UConn dominated opponents for a second straight year, this time averaging a record 23.3 points per win for six games (since ’85).  UConn spread their love again with four of the starters in double-figures in points and all with at least 5 rebounds.

Purdue failed to duplicate Virginia’s accomplishment of losing to a #16 seed and winning the title a year later.  Like Iowa in the Women’s final, the team seemed to believe too much of the hype of their star player and forgot they were good as well, as Edey scored 37 of the 60 points (61.6%) and took 46.2% of the shots (Clark scored 40% of Iowa’s points and took 44.4% of the shots).  The loss extends the Big Ten’s title drought to 24 years (23 tourneys).

Continue reading »

Purdue vs UConn Live!

Posted on by

12:20 am – 18 hours to tip off! Lots of excitement in the pool as only two have locked up prize money.

  • If 6-point favorite UCONN wins: Byron W (Flying Ace) will win the pool, Roy W (Krispy Seconds) will win 3rd, Jessica H (JessFish) 4th, either Billy H (Sunscar22) or Blakeley H (Bweakewey 3) 5th and 6th, Ken G (WinnerTown) will win 7th, and our admin David F (The Mighty Mobelfakta) will take 8th.
  • If Purdue upsets: Andy F (Joey JoJo Jr Shabadoo) will win the pool, Greg P (Eggman1) will win 2nd, Everett J (EveritoDaBurrito) or Byron W will take 3rd and 4th, Deven K (SlumDawg 1) will take 5th, Alex K (Juggernaut) will take 6th, Benjamin D 7th, and either Emily W (Emilybama2) or Charles D (Sisyphus13) will take 8th.
  • For the $40 Bonus the total points tiebreaker will be the Bonus (Bonus2).  65 entries can win the Bonus if UConn wins and 65 can win if Purdue wins, meaning a total of 85 entries are eligible to win (top 8 finishers are not eligible).

5:43 pm – Geez, on East Coast you have to wait until 9:20 for tip off. In the first round, Spokane games began at 10:30 am local. Brooklyn and Pitt last games announced a 9:40 pm local start, but usually started later.

6:30 pm – UConn 11-9 early 15:04 left. 20 pts projects to 160 pts.

6:38 pm – Edey has scored Purdue’s last 11 points but UConn still leads 18-16.

6:48 pm – Tied at 23. 6:50 left. Project about 142 pts.

7:15 – UConn leads 36-30. 66 halftime pts projects to 132 pts. Miss Mia 3 would win Bonus. Sunscar22 would win 5th place tiebreaker .

7:40 pm – UConn 43-34 15:54 left. . Edey no pts in last 10 min. 77 pts projects to 128 (Jouez Bien) as scoring pace slows down. Android app failing big time. Trying to use Max app.

7:44 – UConn has built a 13 point lead (47-34), their margin of victory on last 9 tourney games.

7:51 – UConn running away 51-38 11:31 left. Project 125 pts (Alfred Moniaga).

7:58 – UConn up 16! 56-40. 9:27 left. Project to 126 (SKG23).

8:31 – Back to Back. Late flurry pushes to 135 total pts. Zippy’sWife takes $40 bonus. Last UConn basket gives Bwakewey 3 5th place over Sunscar22.

Issue # 13.5.2 “Every Four Pools” (4/7) (Final Preview & History of the Pool)

Posted on by
Euro 2024 starts in June!

Archive

2024 NCAA FINAL @ Phoenix, Arizona
 – The Floor
The Road Ends Here
#1-Midwest
(Seed #3, NET #3, AP #3)		-vs-#1-East
(Seed #1, NET #2, AP #1)
 Purdue - Boiler Up

 Husky Pride

Purdue University Boilermakers (34-4)University of Connecticut Huskies (36-3)
Big Ten Conf – Regular Season Champs
West Lafayette, Indiana
2nd Final (’69)
 def #16 Grambling State 78-50
def #8 Utah State 106-67
def #5 Gonzaga 80-68
def #2 Tennessee 72-66
def #11S North Carolina State 63-50		Big East Conf – Reg Season & Tourney Champs
Storrs, Connecticut
6th Final (’99, ’04, ’11, ’14, ’23)
def #16 Stetson 91-52
def #9 Northwestern 75-58
def #5 San Diego State 82-52
def #3 Illinois 77-52
def #4W Alabama 86-72

Sunday, April 7, 2024 
UCONN JUST ROUTS, PURDUE HOPING FOR VIRGINIA MAGIC
Two guaranteed money leaving 13 vying for final 6 money spots

YARD WORK, HOME, CA (smt) – Like a leap year which adds a 29th day to February (most years), almost every four pools has yielded something interesting with this being our 29th pool.  1995 was our first pool and the Pac-12’s last title (UCLA).  1999 saw UConn upset Duke for the 1st of 5 titles.  2003 saw Syracuse win their first title as a 3 seed (only picked by one).  2007 saw Florida go back-to-back, the last team to do so, and the last time the top 2 picked teams met in the final.  2011 saw another #3 seed, UConn, win the title.  2015 saw Coach K win his last title with Duke.  2019 saw Virginia win the title a year after losing to a #16 seed.  With 2020 canceled, 2024 is the fourth year and we will either see #1E-UConn win back-to-back titles or #1MW-Purdue do what Virginia did, win a title a year after losing to a #16 seed.

Continue reading »

Issue # 12.5.1 “Close Doesn’t Count” (4/6)

Posted on by
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire

Archive

Saturday, April 6, 2024
PURDUE AND UCONN FINISH STRONG
Flying Ace takes over first; Bigtenfan clinches money; 30 go 2-0

CYPRESS, CA (smt) – #1MW-Purdue’s lead was cut to 7 with 8 minutes left but then went on a 13-1 run to put away #11S-NC State, 63-50, to advance to their 2nd finals appearance.  NC State’s incredible 9-game win streak was snapped and made it 0-8 for double-digit Final Four teams in the semifinals.  Zach Edey was a force on the court but not necessarily on the stat sheet (“just” 20 pts, 12 rebounds) as his teammates excelled in the low-scoring game.

#1E-UConn never led by 30 like the other four games and found itself tied at 56 with 12:44 left but then went on an 11-2 run in winning by 13+ for the 11th straight tourney game, 86-72, over #4W-Alabama.  UConn is vying to become the first back-to-back champion since Florida (2006-2007) and is undefeated in the finals (5-0).  Alabama was hot in the first half hitting 8/11 from three but still trailed 44-40 at halftime (they cooled hitting just 3/12 in the 2nd half).  UConn had great team dynamics with 20 assists on 31 made baskets while Purdue only had 9 assists on 26 baskets.

Continue reading »

Issue # 11.4.3 “Who Can Stop UConn?” (F4 Preview & FF for Charity) (4/4)

Posted on by
Lymphoma Research Foundation
2024 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Phoenix, Arizona
2nd Final Four (’17)

Hosted by Arizona St. U. (Pac 12 Conf) (2nd Final Four)
 – The Floor
First SemifinalSecond Semifinal
#11-South
(Seed #45, NET #63, AP #29)

Dallas, Texas (6th Regional)

Hosted by Big 12 Conference
#1-Midwest
(Seed #3, NET #3, AP #3)

Detroit, Michigan (5th Regional)
 – 
Hosted by U. of Detroit Mercy and Oakland U.
#4-West
(Seed #16, NET #9, AP #19)

Los Angeles, California (10th Regional)

Hosted by Pepperdine U.
#1-East
(Seed #1, NET #2, AP #1)

Boston, Massachusets (4th Regional)

Hosted by Boston College
 
 
 
 
North Carolina State University Wolfpack (26-14)Purdue University Boilermakers (33-4)University of Alabama Crimson Tide (25-11)University of Connecticut Huskies (35-3)
Atlantic Coast Conf – Tourney Champs
Raleigh, North Carolina
4th Final Four (’50, ’74, ’83)
def #6 Texas Tech 80-67
def #14 Oakland 79-73 (OT)
def #8 Marquette 67-58
def #4 Duke 76-64		Big Ten Conf – Regular Season Champs
West Lafayette, Indiana
3rd Final Four (’69, ’80)
 def #16 Grambling State 78-50
def #8 Utah State 106-67
def #5 Gonzaga 80-68
def #2 Tennessee 72-66		Southeastern Conf – 5th Place
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
1st Final Four
def #13 Charleston 109-96
def #12 Grand Canyon 72-61
def #5 North Carolina 89-87
def #6 Clemson 89-82		Big East Conf – Reg Season & Tourney Champs
Storrs, Connecticut
7th Final Four (’99, ’04, ’09, ’11, ’14, ’23)
def #16 Stetson 91-52
def #9 Northwestern 75-58
def #5 San Diego State 82-52
def #3 Illinois 77-52

Thursday, April 4, 2024  ***HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD… RIP***  
UCONN AND PURDUE ROLLING OPPONENTS; NC STATE ON A ROLL
At least $477 will be donated to Lymphoma Research Foundation; over $5,168 donated over 14 years

LA MIRADA, CA (smt) – After last year where the top 12 teams (all #1/2/3 seeds) were eliminated before the Final Four, we do have two #1 seeds for the first time since 2021.  The one thing that remains the same is #1W-UConn, who are trying to become the first back-to-back champions since Florida did it in 2007.  #1MW-Purdue will try to do what Virginia did in 2019 and that is lose to a #16 seed the year before and then win the title.  #11S-NC State will try to continue their amazing run, winning 5 games-in-5 days to claim the auto bid for the ACC and then winning the first four games of the tourney including surviving an overtime game vs #14S-Oakland (of Massachusetts, not California).  #4W-Alabama is making its first Final Four and while they have not played a better seed yet, they have eliminated two straight ACC teams.

The first round saw 11 upsets including three #11 seeds, two #12 seeds, and #13E-Yale (who knocked off #4E-Auburn) and #14S-Oakland (who knocked off #3S-Kentucky).  The second round saw just two worse seeds (#6W-Clemson over #3W-Baylor and #5MW-Gonzaga over #4MW-Kansas) win which led to the Sweet 16 netting all the #1 and #2 seeds for the just the fifth time (but saw just 3 of the 8 make the Elite 8).  UConn has built a 30-point lead in all four games and has beaten ten straight tourney opponents by 13 points or more.  Purdue’s only trouble was in their last game against #2MW-Tennessee but with Zach Edey scoring 14 straight points for Purdue, ending up winning by six. 

Continue reading »

Issue # 10.4.2 “Edey is Too Biggie” (3/31)

Posted on by
Manzanar NHS and Death Valley

Archive

Sunday, March 31, 2024 (Posted Tuesday April 2)
NC STATE BEATS DUKE AGAIN, EDEY POWERS PURDUE
Concrete Kidstays in first; Concrete Kid and Figure Four go 2-0

MANZANAR NHS/DEATH VALLEY, CA (smt) – #1MW-Purdue’s 7′-4″ center Zach Edey had a career-high 40 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Boilermakers to their first Final Four since 1980 with a 72-66 win over #2MW-Tennessee.  Edey shot 22 free throws (made only 14) and had just one block, but a key one with 33 seconds left (zero last game).  Edey is so tall he didn’t even need a ladder to cut a piece of the net for himself.  Purdue only made 20% of their threes and just 63.6% of their free throws but still overcame the Vol’s 11 threes and Dalton’s Knect’s 37 points.  Purdue outscored Tenn 11-6 to end the game.

#11S-NC State continued their magical run in knocking off #4S-Duke for the second time during their 9-game winning streak, 76-64, to make their first Final Four since 1983.  The Wolfpack slowly chipped away at Duke’s 6-point halftime lead and after tying it at 35, went on a 23-9 run and never let the Blue Devils cut the lead to single digits.  NC State becomes the 7th double-digit Final Four team since 1985 (when field expanded to 64) and will try to become the first to make the final. 

Continue reading »