Travel Delay

The possibilities and Bonus possibilities are now updated. The update will be delayed as I was traveling today and missed the four games. Got lots of notes but have to collect it tomorrow during my meeting (maybe). Might get a double update tomorrow night.

Issue # 6.2.3 “Is Eight Enough?” (3/22) [Prize Distribution & Bonus]

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Wednesday, March 22, 2023 

NEW 8TH PLACE PRIZE PLUS THE BONUS ARE UP FOR GRABS
Including Bonus, 165 entries can still win money

HOME, CA (smt) – Just nine top four seeds made the Sweet 16 including #15S-Princeton.  The West has #2-4 (losing #1 Kansas) while the South has #1 Arkansas but a #5, #6, and #15.  The Midwest has #1-3 and #5 while the East has #3 and #4 joined by #7 and #9.  #1E-Purdue became the second team to lose to a #16 seed (FDU) while #2S-Arizona lost in the first round.  But you can’t be worse than POTUS who had Arizona as his champ and Virginia over Alabama in Sweet 16.

There have been no overtime games (there were 5 last year) and very few one possession wins (7, though 3 more than last year after the 2nd Round) in the 48 proper 64 games played thus far.  More than half (25 of 48) have been double-digit wins. 

7 of 8 Big Ten teams are already out and the ACC barely squeaked by getting a team (Miami (FL)) in the Sweet 16 every year since 1979.  It’s the SEC dominating going 9-4 (not including First Four loss) as 11 conferences sent a team to the Sweet 16.  Overall #1 Alabama has won each game by 21 and 22 points while only two other teams, #1MW-Houston and #4W-UConn, have won both games by double-digits.

Issue # 5.2.2 “Upsets But Little Drama”

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Sunday, March 19, 2023 

#5, #6, #7, and #9 PULL AWAY LATE
Jah Lives-2 remains on top with 85 pts; 134 entries still alive

LA MIRADA, CA (smt) – After #16E-Fairleigh Dickinson closed the gap to 3 with 3:27 left, #9E-Florida Atlantic went on a 7-0 to put the game away.  Up by 8 (78-70) with seconds left, FAU, not used to winning, tried an uncontested 360 degree dunk (failed miserably) as time ran out, unsportsmanlike to the max.  While FAU was favored, three lower seeds pulled off upsets, but with little drama at the end. 

#7E-Michigan St stunned trendy pick #2E-Marquette by going on a 7-0 run after the lead was cut to one with 3:36 left to win by 9.  #6S-Creighton never allowed #3S-Baylor to get closer than 9 in the last 11 minutes behind Ryan Nembhard’s 30 points.  After #4MW-Indiana went up 49-47, #5MW-Miami (Florida) went on a 16-2 run to win by 16. 

#3MW-Xavier led by 20 and held on to a 9-point win.  #3E-Kansas St trailed by one to #6E-Kentucky with 2:39 left but a couple of clutch 3s and hitting all 8 free throws propelled them to a 75-69 win.  #4W-UConn trailed by one to #5W-St. Mary’s with 16:06 left but went on a 22-7 run to win by 15.  Both #6W-TCU (12/20 60%) and #3W-Gonzaga (16/25 64%) struggled from the line but it was the Zags who pulled away late (buzzer beater three by TCU made the final margin close at 3).

Issue # 6.2.3 “Eight Money Spots” (3/22)

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TOP 7 PLUS THE BONUS ARE UP FOR GRABS
Including Bonus, 130 entries can still win money

RARE WORKDAY IN EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt) – The four double-digit seeds (#10, two #11s, #15) in the Sweet 16 match last year’s total with only the West getting all four top seeds in and the East losing #1 and #2.  While the NCAA contest produced 506 perfect East Regions, our 169 entries only managed to produce 8 with 3 of the 4 teams (no one had St. Peter’s).  While defending champ #1E-Baylor was not expected to repeat, #2E-Kentucky was a popular two seed to win it all (3rd highest pick (14) behind Gonzaga and Arizona).  While only four of 48 games (not including First Four) have ended with a 3 point margin or less, five games have gone to overtime.  #1MW-Kansas, #1W-Gonzaga, and #1S-Arizona all survived nail-biters in the 2nd round, with the Zona game going to overtime.  Only #5S-Houston has been stress free winning each game by at least 14 points.  Only 4 of the 16 2nd Round games were won by more than 10 points.

Our 27th year saw a second-best 169 entries from 106 people.  Of the 106, 27 entered twice (up 7 from last year) and 18 entered three times (down 4).  But thanks to all, we hit the magic number of 165 entries (I had to look at my own history links page to find out what I had set it to years back) which means we will have a 7th place prize for the 3rd time.  We will have eight money spots (top 7 plus Bonus) and we have $1,690 to divvy out. The top prize will be $650, $10 more than last year.  The prize distribution is listed below and as always, all fee money goes into prizes. What’s the Bonus? Read on…

Issue # 5.2.2 “Big Ten Implodes” (3/20)

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ARIZONA SURVIVES IN OT, 2 DOUBLE-DIGITS ADAVNCE
Mia Culpa goes 7-1 to take the lead and has best chance to win pool; 110 still alive

LAZY DOG, CERRITOS, CA (smt) – After #11S-Michigan won yesterday extending the Big Ten’s win streak to six, they could only watch as #4S-Illinois, #7S-Ohio St, #7W-Michigan St, and #3MW-Wisconsin fell in four consecutive games to start the day.  But #3E-Purdue salvaged the Big Ten day by going on an early 20-0 run and hitting 33 of 46 free throws to beat #6E-Texas.

Illinois had pulled within four (46-42) on a fast break dunk but RJ Melendez was called for a technical for hanging on a rim to protect himself.  #5S-Houston hit the free throw and went on a 19-7 run to blow the game open to make their third straight Sweet 16 (complete with shirtless coach).  Ohio St missed two front ends of a one-and-one and hit just 1 of 7 shots after rallying from 15 down to get it down to 2 as #2S-Villanova survived.  Michigan St went on a 13-2 run to go up by 5 late but #2W-Duke rallied back, going on a 15-4 run themselves and hit 7  free throws in the final minute to win by 9.  Playing near home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was just 1 of 21 on threes at one point (before a meaningless three with seconds left) as #11MW-Iowa St went on a 9-0 run after the Badgers went up 28-27 and never looked back in reaching their first Sweet 16 since ’16.

Gonzaga vs Baylor Live!

1:00 pm – I’ll be taking my son to Boy Scouts tonight so we’ll see how the WordPress app works with updating. Pac Attack wins the pool if the Zags win, MizzouTgr11 2 wins if the Bears win (see Final Possibilities). Total points in Final tiebreaker will come into play (note over/under is now 159, down a point) if Gonzaga wins with Hawkeye 3 getting 5th if total pts <=147 and Gonzagafinallywinsit gets 5th if total pts >=148. If Baylor wins, with The Fabone Marathon wins 4th if <=144 and Mr Wizard wins 4th if >=145.

If Baylor wins, 7th is a 3-way tie meaning at least one will go home empty handed.

• Carseroni wins 7th if <=120,
• Carseroni and Mrs Meghan&Mr Meghan split $60 if 121,
• Mrs Meghan&Mr Meghan wins 7th if pts are 122 to 140,
• Mrs Meghan&Mr Meghan and Wuk#3 split $60 if 141, and
• Wuk#3 wins 7th if >=142.

For the $40 Bonus, 51 are tied if Gonzaga wins and 49 are tied if Baylor wins. If total points is <=103, then Thai Spice wins and if total points is >=169 then Bigtenfan wins. The rest are in the middle (see Bonus possibilities).

3:50 pm – Ok, done with short trip to El Segundo. Now dealing with an hour of traffic. Oh, UNC has a coach now.

15:30 – 11-1 Baylor. In the car on way to Cypress Boys & Gils Club.

11:42 – 23-8 Baylor. Zags in trouble.

10:00 – 29-10. (Projected total – 156)

7:50 – 31-14. Baylor has twice as many shot attempts (24-12).

Half – Zags score last 5 to cut deficit to 10 (47-37). Projected total points 168 (Bonus projected for Mauihammy&Jay Bilas regardless who wins). Down by as many as 19, Zags still shot 54.5% (12/22). 8 turnovers and allowing 9 offensive rebounds allowed Baylor to shoot 16 more times (19/38). After missing first free throw, Zags made last 12. Baylor just 2 free throws (2/2).

15:51 – 56-45. Driving home now.

11:45 – 67-53. Zags had it down to 9 but Baylor’s 3s are killing them. Projected 168.

10:20: 20 pts! 73-53

8:27 – 2 missed free throws. Nothing going right. 75-59. Still 168 projected.

5:00 – Baylor 80-63, projected 163. Zags missed 4 of last 5 free throws including front end of a 1-and-1. Two more points will give Mr Wizard 4th. Wuk#3 already clinched 7th. 163 would give Dr Fun Bonus (missing out on 4th since Zags will lose).

3:15 – Baylor 82-65, projected 160 (would give Bonus to ZarinC).

End – Baylor ran out the clock and thus, 86-70 win produced 156 points. That gives ATI3.0 the Bonus! Perfect season ruined as Zags 35-game win streak comes to an end. Sheesh, Zags still shot 51% but just 5/17 on threes. Baylor 18 more shots with 16 offensive rebounds and forcing 14 turnovers. Baylor was 10/23 on threes and made 16/18 free throws.

Issue # 13.5.2 “Pool is a Marathon, Not a Sprint” (4/4)

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2021 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Indianapolis, Indiana Hosted by Indiana U.-Purdue U. Indianapolis (IUPUI) (Horizon League)
The Final at Lucas Oil Stadium – Unity & Equality Floor
#1-South	vs.	#1-West
Baylor University Bears (27-2)	Gonzaga University Bulldogs (31-0)
Big 12 Conference – Regular Season Champs Waco, Texas 2nd Final (’48) def #16 Hartford 79-55 #9 Wisconsin 76-63 #5 Villanova 62-51 #3 Arkansas 81-72 #2MW Houston 78-59	West Coast Conference – Regular Season and Tourney Champs Spokane, Washington 2nd Final (’17) def #16a Norfolk St 98-55 #8 Oklahoma 87-71 #5 Creighton 83-65 #6 USC 85-66 #11E UCLA 93-90 (OT)

THE GAME WE WAITED FOR SINCE DECEMBER
Long droughts and deja vu as 10 battle for final four spots

HAPPY EASTER & HAPPY 81st BIRTHDAY DAD, CA (smt) – Both #1W-Gonzaga and #1S-Baylor are making just their second final and seeking their first NCAA title.  Baylor has not trailed in the second half except for a brief 2-point deficit midway through the 2nd half vs #5S-Villanova and demolished #2MW-Houston while, until the Final Four, Gonzaga had not trailed since early in the first half vs #8W-Oklahoma.  But, oh, that game vs #11E-UCLA.  The Zags, having had won 27 straight by double-digits, could have choked or played tentative when it was close late but persevered against a well-coached Bruin team (for once) and needed a denial of an easy UCLA dunk, a gutsy charge call, and buzzer beater bank shot to prevail in overtime.  Despite the close call, Gonzaga is still favored by five with a very high over/under of 160.

While Baylor slipped to #3 after a loss in the Big 12 tournament, the past two years and this tournament has shown these have been consistently the best two teams in the country (both were #1-2 in the NET rankings though).  The highly anticipated Dec 5th matchup was cancelled due to COVID so now we get to finally see these teams play each other.  However, people still picked Illinois more than Baylor (29 vs 19, 72 vs 49 to make final) as Baylor did have a tougher region to start.  The only times the top 2 teams were picked to make the Final were in ’07 (42 Ohio St, 36 Florida), ’05 (45 Illinois, 36 UNC), and ’99 (32 Duke, 15 UConn).

Issue # 11.4.3 “Our Pool Has an Efficacy of 66.4%” (4/1)

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2021 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Indianapolis, Indiana 8th Final Four (’80 (Market Square Arena); ’91, ’97, ’00, ’06 (RCA Dome); ’10, ’15 (Lucas Oil Stadium)) Hosted by Indiana U.-Purdue U. Indianapolis (IUPUI) (Horizon League) Lucas Oil Stadium – Unity & Equality Floor
First Semifinal	Second Semifinal
#1-South Hinkle Fieldhouse Bankers Fieldhouse Lucas Oil Sta (South)	#2-Midwest Bankers Fieldhouse Hinkle Fieldhouse Lucas Oil Sta (North)	#1-West Hinkle Fieldhouse Bankers Fieldhouse Lucas Oil Sta (North)	#11-East Bankers Fieldhouse Hinkle Fieldhouse Lucas Oil Sta (South)
Baylor University Bears (26-2)	University of Houston Cougars (28-3)	Gonzaga University Bulldogs (30-0)	University of California, Los Angeles Bruins (22-9)
Big 12 Conference – Regular Season Champs Waco, Texas 3rd Final Four (’48, ’50) def #16 Hartford 79-55 #9 Wisconsin 76-63 #5 Villanova 62-51 #3 Arkansas 81-72	American Athletic Conference (2nd Place) – Tourney Champs Houston, Texas 6th Final Four (’67, ’68, ’82, ’83, ’84) def #15 Cleveland St 87-56 #10 Rutgers 63-60 #11 Syracuse 62-46 #12 Oregon St 67-61	West Coast Conference – Regular Season and Tourney Champs Spokane, Washington 2nd Final Four (’17) def #16a Norfolk St 98-55 #8 Oklahoma 87-71 #5 Creighton 83-65 #6 USC 85-66	Pac 12 (4th Place) Los Angeles, California 19th Final Four (’62, ’64, ’65, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76, ’80, ’95, ’06, ’07, ’08) def #11a Michigan St 86-80 (OT) #6 BYU 73-62 #14 Abilene Christian 67-47 #2 Alabama 88-78 (OT) #1 Michigan 51-49

11-TIME CHAMP WITH 3 SEEKING THEIR FIRST TITLE
At least $248 will be donated to CDP; over $1,731 donated over 11 years

DIGNITY HEALTH SPORTS PARK, CARSON, CA (smt) – If you saw the largest bracket on the JW Marriott in downtown Indy, you would not see a lot of familiar names.  The tournament didn’t feature Blue Bloods such as Duke, Kentucky, and Indiana with UNC making it as an #8 seed and Kansas joining after having to quit their Big 12 tournament due to COVID-19 after struggling the first half of the year.  UNC lost in the first round and Kansas in the second.  That left UCLA.  The 11-time national champions lost their last four games and squeaked into the First Four game against a wanna-be Blue Blood, Michigan St.  The Bruins rallied from five down with 90 seconds left to force overtime to beat the Spartans, allowed a 3-pointer with less than a second left to Alabama and then routing them in overtime 23-13, and then survived three open three attempts by another Michigan team to hold on to defeat the Wolverines in the Elite 8.

Issue # 5.2.2 “The Pac 12, Yes, That Pac 12, Dominates” (3/22)

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THREE TRADITIONAL PAC 12 TEAMS CRUSH OPPONENT
BamaG jumps to 1st but 6 others have better chance to win the pool

EL SEGUNDO,CA (smt) – Traditional Pac 10 teams #7W-Oregon, #11E-UCLA, and #6W-USC ran all over their opponents while added Pac 12 team (along with Utah) #5E-Colorado got beat handily by #4E-Florida St.  The Pac 12 got four of its 5 teams in the Sweet 16 while the mighty Big Ten (9 teams before First Four) is just left with #1E-Michigan, who had to turn a 5-point second half deficit into a comfortable victory.  Oregon (finally playing after winning the first round by forfeit) broke a 46-46 tie by scoring the last 10 points of the half and never let up against #2W-Iowa, UCLA scored 18 straight points and led by as many as 26 in their win over #14-Abilene Christian, and in a game you had to see to believe, USC scored the last 11 points of the first half and then built as much as a 35-point lead over Oral Rob…, oh wait, over Norfolk St, oh wait, it was #3W-Kansas.  Kansas who had never lost a tournament game by more than 18, got routed by 34.  It was such a shock, the timekeeper left and didn’t even run down the last 3.8 seconds, leaving it to the refs to call mercy and end the game.

Issue # 12.5.1 “Streaky Endings”

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Saturday, April 6, 2019 

TIGERS SHOCKED BY VIRIGNIA, TEXAS TECH CLOSES STRONG
ChuckPersonCellBlock leads by one but The Gambler 2 or Kds911 can still win the pool

HOME/GARDENA, CA (smt)- Wow.  #1S-Virginia led 57-47 with 5:24 to go before #5MW-Auburn went on a 14-0 run to lead 61-57 with 17 seconds left.  Then the Cavaliers ended the game on a 6-1 run to win 63-62 to advance to their 1st Finals.  But how we got there was crazy.  During the 14-0 run Auburn hit 3 threes and Virginia was 0-for-2 on free throws and took an awfully long time to get a shot off when they were down by 2 taking more than 25 off the shot clock on two consecutive possessions when time isn’t on your side.  Like Duke in the last round, Virginia then needed to foul 3 times to get Auburn to shoot free throws but was able to do it in 3.3 seconds after figuring it out with 20.9 seconds left (Auburn initially rebounded with 30.1 seconds left).  Auburn has been horrible at the free throw line but made both to up by 4 before Kyle Guy hit a 3 to pull Virginia within one with 6.5 seconds left (again taking an awfully long 13 seconds to get the shot off).  A foul before the inbounds not only took no time off the clock, the refs put back 0.9 seconds (so, why doesn’t every team foul before the inbounds?).  The Tigers’ Jared Harper, who hit all 11 free throws against Kentucky, hit the key front end of the one-and-one but missed the second.  Auburn with two fouls to give, fouled with 5.4 seconds left. 

Possibilities

DIGNITY HEALTH SPORTS PARK, CARSON, CA — Geez, got another flash drive error and had to resort to a backup a couple days ago. Thus, the update will be late, likely Monday night but I do have the winning possibilities uploaded for those of you (i.e., not me) still alive. Just 13 can finish in the top 6 but 5 of those can still win the pool. The Gambler 2 and Kds911 are guaranteed money (at least 4th). Carseroni is 1st but can’t get any more points and still has a 62.5% chance of money.

Just 17 can win the $40 Bonus BUT if Auburn beats Michigan St or Texas Tech beats Auburn in the Final, no one will win the Bonus1 and we we will go to Bonus2, which is total points in final, and a bunch of us may still have a chance yet again. That will be detailed after Saturday’s games.

Final Four Possibilities (Top 6)

Bonus Possibilities

How did your Final Four hold up?

Final Four Possibilities

Just to separate it out, here are the 8 possible winning scenarios.  Is your name on this list?  18 entries are alive, 5 can win the pool.

2018 HWCI NCAA Pool – Final Four Possibilities 03/25/18

If LOYOLA CHI beats VILLANOVA in the final, then the possible winners are...
             Philly Eagles Again Score:117 (place 1 winner)
                   SacKings4Ever Score:115 (place 2 winner)
                     Slamjam51-3 Score:113 (place 3 winner)
               Spermicidal State Score:110 (tiebreak=131 | 4th if <=135 | 5th if >=136)
                         Billiam Score:110 (tiebreak=140 | 5th if <=135 | 4th if >=136)
                         BamaG 2 Score:107 (tiebreak=143 | 6th if <=143)
                          Larzby Score:107 (tiebreak=144 | 6th if >=144)
If VILLANOVA beats LOYOLA CHI in the final, then the possible winners are...
             Philly Eagles Again Score:129 (place 1 winner)
                   SacKings4Ever Score:127 (place 2 winner)
                     Slamjam51-3 Score:125 (place 3 winner)
                         Billiam Score:122 (place 4 winner)
                         BamaG 2 Score:119 (place 5 winner)
                      Bwakewey 1 Score:118 (place 6 winner)
If LOYOLA CHI beats KANSAS in the final, then the possible winners are...
            AlmostBaseballSeason Score:110 (place 1 winner)
             Philly Eagles Again Score:109 (place 2 winner)
                   SacKings4Ever Score:107 (tiebreak=101 | 3rd if <=122  | 4th if >=123)
                          Larzby Score:107 (tiebreak=144 | 4th if <=122  | 3rd if >=123)
            Kona Coast Sliders 1 Score:106 (tiebreak=134 | 5th if <=141   | Tied 5th if 142 | 6th if 143-149)
                      Bwakewey 3 Score:106 (tiebreak=150 | 6th if <=141   | Tied 5th if 142 | 5th if 143-157 | 6th if >=158)
                 Bob's Best Bets Score:106 (tiebreak=165 | 6th if 150-157 | 5th if >=158)
If KANSAS beats LOYOLA CHI in the final, then the possible winners are...
            Kona Coast Sliders 1 Score:118 (tiebreak=134 | 1st if <=141 | Tied 1st if 142 | 2nd if 143-149 | 3rd if >=150)
                      Bwakewey 3 Score:118 (tiebreak=150 | 2nd if <=141 | Tied 1st if 142 | 1st if 143-157 | 2nd if >=158)
                 Bob's Best Bets Score:118 (tiebreak=165 | 3rd if <=149 | 2nd if 150-157  | 1st if >=158)
                     Flying Elvi Score:116 (place 4 winner)
                    MistressNine Score:113 (place 5 winner)
                      MMMtheBOSS Score:111 (place 6 winner)
If MICHIGAN beats VILLANOVA in the final, then the possible winners are...
             Philly Eagles Again Score:125 (place 1 winner)
           STORMY Fever-Catch It Score:123 (place 2 winner)
                     Slamjam51-3 Score:121 (place 3 winner)
                         We Fam! Score:117 (place 4 winner)
                   SacKings4Ever Score:115 (tiebreak=101 | 5th if <=122 | 6th if >=123)
                          Larzby Score:115 (tiebreak=144 | 6th if <=122 | 5th if >=123)
If VILLANOVA beats MICHIGAN in the final, then the possible winners are...
             Philly Eagles Again Score:137 (place 1 winner)
                     Slamjam51-3 Score:133 (place 2 winner)
                   SacKings4Ever Score:127 (place 3 winner)
                         Billiam Score:122 (place 4 winner)
                     ChasCroix-1 Score:119 (tiebreak=128 | 5th if <=135 | 6th if >=136)
                         BamaG 2 Score:119 (tiebreak=143 | 6th if <=135 | 5th if >=136)
If MICHIGAN beats KANSAS in the final, then the possible winners are...
             Philly Eagles Again Score:117 (place 1 winner)
           STORMY Fever-Catch It Score:115 (tiebreak=144 | Tied 2nd)
                          Larzby Score:115 (tiebreak=144 | Tied 2nd)
                     Slamjam51-3 Score:113 (place 4 winner)
            AlmostBaseballSeason Score:110 (place 5 winner)
                         We Fam! Score:109 (place 6 winner)
If KANSAS beats MICHIGAN in the final, then the possible winners are...
            Kona Coast Sliders 1 Score:118 (tiebreak=134 | 1st if <=141 | Tied 1st if 142 | 2nd if 143-149 | 3rd if >=150)
                      Bwakewey 3 Score:118 (tiebreak=150 | 2nd if <=141 | Tied 1st if 142 | 1st if 143-157 | 2nd if >=158)
                 Bob's Best Bets Score:118 (tiebreak=165 | 3rd if <=149 | 2nd if 150-157  | 1st if >=158)
             Philly Eagles Again Score:117 (place 4 winner)
                     Flying Elvi Score:116 (place 5 winner)
                          Larzby Score:115 (place 6 winner)

Read the rest of this entry »

Issue # 6.2.3 “Winners and Losers” (3/21) **Prize Distribution & Bonus Details”

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EL SEGUNDO/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- The #1 most expected not to last fell in the 2nd round (W-Xavier) but the overall #1 who became the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed was a shocker (S-Virginia).  The two #1 seeds (E-Villanova and MW-Duke) don’t have much elite company as they are only joined by five other teams in the top 16 (last time in the pool era was 2000).  Incredibly two #7s, two #9s, and two #11s are in the Sweet 16.  Three #5 seeds fill up the remaining spots.  There has been one buzzer beater (#3W-Michigan over #6W-Houston) and a few near buzzer beaters in one of the more exciting tournaments in recent years.  #11S-Loyola-Chicago has won on two shots in the final seconds (0.3 and 3.6 seconds left) to win by a combined total of 3 points while #7S-Nevada has twice rallied from 14-point second half deficits (14 to #10S-Texas and 22 to #2S-Cincy).  #11MW-Syracuse became the eighth straight First Four team to win 1st Round and the fourth to win in 2nd Round.  Eleven games have gone to overtime (2) or decided by 3 points or less.  Whew.

While you are taking a breather, take a listen to She’s Forever” from one of the unsigned bands Paul T (Poolrider (102nd-T, 63 pts) helps promote and always his 3rd entry, Cinema for the Blind (25th-T, 73), a young brother-sister duo).  Our 24th year saw a 156 entries (and our first removed entries (4) since 2002) from 108 people, some making their appearance for the first time since 2014.  We will have six money spots as we have $1,560 to divvy out. The top prize will be $620, $70 less than last year when we had a record 178 entries. The prize distribution is listed below and as always, all fee money goes into prizes. So we have those top six spots plus the Bonus. What’s the Bonus? Read on…

As it has been for the past 14 years, the Conference Wins is the Bonus Prize (as detailed below) (aka, Bonus1). However, if no one wins it, the Bonus2 takes effect and the entry who is closest to the Total Points in Final tiebreaker gets the Bonus Prize. We have used this Bonus to give hope to those who get eliminated early as only those who do not finish in the top 6 will be eligible to win. Rules follow below…

Bonus1 – Winningest Conference

When you completed your online entry and saw your picks (to print out), Read the rest of this entry »

Issue # 10.4.2 “The Vet and the Other SEC Team”

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Sunday, March 26, 2017 

ROSEMEAD, CA (smt)- The Carolinas are in.  The battle of the SEC saw rivals #7E-South Carolina (the other USC) and #4E-Florida play for more than 14 minutes with neither side taking more than a 3-point lead (from 44-41 Florida to 65-63 South Carolina).  But Maik Kotsar ended that with a jump shot to give the Gamecocks a four-point lead with 1:57 left.  The last minute saw Florida still down by four but they had their chances as South Carolina missed four free throws but the only thing the Gators could come up with were two painful turnovers in losing 77-70.  South Carolina joins #1W-Gonzaga in making their first Final Four and one of these teams will make their first Final as they will face off in the early game Saturday.

The battle of the blue bloods, part 2 (after #2S-Kentucky beat #3S-UCLA two days ago) proved to live up to its billing in the first part and the last ten minutes.  #1S-North Carolina and Kentucky battled early with the Tar Heels holding on to a 34-30 lead with 4:30 left.  But then the game turned out to be a slog to watch, one of the poorest performances for the tournament, as the middle 20 minutes (4:30 1st half to 9:30 2nd half) saw both teams grind out to a partly 19 points each (15 of those 38 points on free throws).  Kentucky missed all six three-point attempts and made just 7 of 27 shots overall while committing two turnovers.  UNC turned the ball over eight times and was just 2 of 8 from three-point range and made just 5 of 17 shots.  Imagine taking just 17 shots in 20 minutes?  Ugly.

But luckily for us, the teams turned it up sprinting to a 24-22 (Wildcat advantage) finish in the last 9:30.  Kentucky got on track outscoring UNC 17-6 to take a 64-59 lead with under 5 minutes left.   But then UNC went on a 12-0 run to take a 71-64 lead with 53 seconds left.  After missing 8 straight three-pointers, the Wildcats hit 3 threes in the final minute (two in 8 seconds aided by an inbound 5-second violation and the last aided by UNC missing the front end of a 1-and-1), with Malik Monk somehow shooting over two defenders to tie the game at 73 with 8 seconds left.  But instead of a timeout, Read the rest of this entry »

Issue # 6.2.3 “Six Conferences Battle it Out for Supremacy”

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Tuesday, March 21, 2017 

CERRITOS APT/EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- The top overall seed Villanova and 2 seeds Duke and Louisville are no more in somewhat of a chalk tournament thus far.  12 of the top 16 seeds are in the Sweet 16.  While there have been no buzzer beaters or overtime games, there has been a lot of drama watching teams make clutch play after play (while you are taking a breather, take a listen to one of the unsigned bands Paul T (Poolrider) helps promote, Foreign Figures).  Our 23rd year saw a record number of entries (178) from a record number of people (124), some making their appearance for the first time since 2002.  For the first time, we will have SEVEN money spots as we have $1,780 to divvy out. The top prize will be $690, $95 more than last year. The prize distribution is listed below and as always, all fee money goes into prizes. So we have those top seven spots plus the Bonus. What’s the Bonus? Read on…

As it has been for the past 13 years, the Conference Wins is the Bonus Prize (as detailed below) (aka, Bonus1). However, if no one wins it, the Bonus2 takes effect and the entry who is closest to the Total Points in Final tiebreaker gets the Bonus Prize. We have used this Bonus to give hope to those who get eliminated early as only those who do not finish in the top 7 will be eligible to win. Rules follow below…

Bonus1 – Winningest Conference

When you completed your online entry and saw your picks (to print out), some of you might have been wondering what the heck “Winningest Conference(s): ?? | Wins: #” meant. And thus, subliminally, you were also picking which conference would get the most wins in the tournament and how many wins that conference would get via your direct picks. Neat, eh? So that output, which in my case (Air Fabone 23), says Read the rest of this entry »