Tag Archives: Scott Update

Issue # 25.2 “25 Years: The Teams”

Posted on by

Archive

Tuesday, March 24, 2020
25 YEARS:  281 TEAMS HAVE MADE PROPER 64 IN OUR POOLS
Ignoring Opening Round and First Four losers, we have seen at least one new team each year

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- In the final AP pool, teams 2 through 7 are not your usual suspects with only Florida St (ACC), Baylor (Big 12), and Creighton (Big East) coming from the Power 5 conferences.  Gonzaga (WCC), Dayton (Atlantic 10), and San Diego St (Mountain West) would have provided some much needed parity.  But alas, none of those teams will count.  So without a tournament, here is another 25 Year retrospective, this time focusing on the teams who have made the tournament (the proper 64 that is). 

Top Seed in NCAA Tournament
Top Ranked Team to Win it All

So when the NCAA tried to mess up brackets by adding a 65th team (Opening Round 64v65) in 2001 due to the new Mountain West Conference taking away an at-large bid or when they added three more at-large teams to create the First Four (well, the First Round until 2016) in 2011, we ignored them.  The proper 64 bracket that starts Thursday at 9:15 am is what matters in this pool.  If you pick your bracket early you’ll just select “Team A/Team B” to advance and as always, you can change your picks up until the deadline.

Duke has been the top seed (#1 overall) 6 times including four in a row from ’99-’02  with Kentucky (4) and Kansas (3) right behind as shown in the table on the left.  From ’95-’03 the top seed was determined by the final AP pool before the tournament and from ’04-present the top seed is announced as part the NCAA’s ranked seeds listing.  UMass (’96) is probably the oddest top seed and local favorite UCLA was only the top seed in our first pool in ’95.  Five top seeds went on to win the tournament (’95 UCLA, ’01 Duke, ’07 Florida, ’12 Kentucky, ’13 Louisville).  Only twice did the top 2 seeds make the final (’99 Duke v UConn, ’05 Illinois v UNC) and twice did none of the top 4 seeds make the Final Four (’06, ’11).   UConn, however, has won the most titles (4) with Duke, UNC, and Kentucky winning 3 each in the past 25 years.  A #1 seed has won the title 17 times with UConn (#7E) the worst seed to win the title. 

Continue reading »

Issue # 25.1 “25 Years: The Entries”

Posted on by

Archive

Wednesday, March 18, 2020  **HELP support Direct Relief’s COVID-19 Response Fund (deadline Thu 9:15 am PDT) **

25 YEARS:  365 PEOPLE HAVE PLAYED IN OUR POOLS
As deadline nears, we can predict how many entries we might get

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- Could a non-power 5 school such as Dayton, Gonzaga, or San Diego St have won it all?  We’ll never know.  Well, Sportsline ran a simulation and Dayton won (yay, Flyers).  This is the start of a series of updates reflecting on the 25 years of our HWCI NCAA pool and a peak behind the curtain of how the pool is run.  Kind of a nice number to do so, so thanks NCAA for cancelling this year’s tournament due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) concerns.  Whereas pro athletes can wait this out and as leagues have previously self-inflicted on their seasons voluntarily (NBA lockout 8 months in 2011-12 (82->66 game season), NHL lockout 1994-95 (84->48 game season), NHL lockout 2004-05 (cancelling entire season and Stanley Cup), MLB strike in 1994 (cancelling the World Series!), NFL strike 7 weeks in 1982 (16->9 game season)), these amateur athletes have worked hard for years for an opportunity to play in March Madness and will move on to their next phase in life (attempt to go pro, graduate school, the working world).

When CBS (or that awful year it was on TBS) finally gets through announcing the bracket on Selection Sunday, where feasible, David and myself are busy reading up the homepage (http://www.hwci.com/ncaa) for people to enter their picks.  Sometimes, this is very late Sunday (or very early Monday) and sometimes, like in 2006 where a hard drive crash kept the online entry disabled until 1 pm Monday or in 2014 where java security errors kept the updated form down until 2 am Tuesday, we experience anti-technology days that wreak havoc on our sanity!

Table of entries since 1999
Continue reading »

Issue # 14.6.1 “Wahoowa!”

Posted on by

Archive

Watch the best reality show, The Amazing Race 31, the Reality Show Edition
2019 NCAA Champions
#1-South Regional Champions

University of Virginia Cavaliers (34-3)
1st Title
2019 Winningest Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference
(15-6)

7th Time: ’04, ’05 (Tied with Big10), ’10 (Tied with Big10, Big12), ’15, ’16,  ’17 (Tied with SEC)

Monday, April 8, 2019 

VIRGINIA GETS 1ST TITLE IN OVERTIME IN SURPRISING HIGH SCORING GAME
Kds911 wins tiebreaker over The Gambler 2 to win the pool

'Hoo Crew!

SANTA BARBARA, CA (smt)- More than five minutes into the game, the score was 3-2.  Seriously.  Five points with #3W-Texas Tech’s three points on free throws.  The Red Raiders didn’t hit their first field goal until 12:38 left in the first half.  7 minutes in it was 7-3 #1S-Virginia and the projected total points was just 57.  It was what expected with 2 of the top 3 defenses this year.  But the last 13 minutes saw 51 points and the second half had a lot of clutch shooting as Virginia blew another second half lead as Texas Tech tied it at 59.  Down by three, Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter hit a three to tie it at 68 with 12.9 seconds left.  That’s 136 points and the over/under for the game was 118.  On to overtime.  Virginia actually had an 11-0 run and hit all 12 free throws to win their first championship, 85-77.  Hunter and Kyle Guy combined for 51 points.  The Cavaliers won the championship a year after becoming the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 with the difference being that Hunter was healthy this tournament. 

Continue reading »

Issue # 13.5.2 “25th Anniversary” (History of Pool)

Posted on by

Archive

Our HWCI Women's World Cup Pool begins in May...
Our 2nd HWCI Women’s World Cup Pool Begins in May!
2019 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Minneapolis, MN
Hosted by U. of Minnesota (Big Ten)
The Final at U.S. Bank Stadium
#3-Westvs.#1-South
Texas Tech University Red Raiders (31-6)University of Virginia Cavaliers (34-3)
Big 12 Conference – Regular Season Co-Champs
Lubbock, Texas
1st Final
def #14 Northern Kentucky 72-57
#6 Buffalo 78-58
#2 Michigan 63-44
#1 Gonzaga 75-69
#2E-Michigan St 61-51		Atlantic Coast Conference – Regular Season Co-Champs
Charlottesville, Virginia
1st Final
def #16 Gardiner-Webb 71-56
#9 Oklahoma 63-51
#12 Oregon 53-49
#3 Purdue 80-75 (OT)
#5MW-Auburn 63-62

Sunday, April 7, 2019

A TOUGH DEFENSE VERSUS A SLOW OFFENSE
Six battling for final 2 money spots as 4 have clinched; 15 vying for Bonus

BANC OF CALIFORNIA STADIUM, LOS ANGELES/SANTA BARBARA, CA (smt)- Will this be a Butler-UConn type championship when just 94 points were scored?  Texas Tech has held the two Michigans to 44 and 51 points and 6th-best offense in Buffalo to 58 points while Virginia held high scoring Oklahoma and Oregon to 51 and 49 points.  Including the tournament, Virginia is #1 in scoring defense (allowing 55.5 pts/game) and Texas Tech is #3 (58.8).  Virginia is 7th in 3-point percentage (39.4%) though they take their time taking their shots. Or maybe we’ll be surprised and Texas Tech will score something like 78 or 75 like they did vs Buffalo and Gonzaga or Virginia will score 80 like they did against Purdue.  Virginia has needed luck at the buzzer twice, scoring a game-tying buzzer beater off a missed free throw against Purdue and a missed double-dribble call and foul on a buzzer-beating 3-point shot against Auburn.  Texas Tech has won each game by at least six points with four in double-digits.  With all that, Virginia is just a one-point favorite to try to complete the worst-to-first (losing to #16 seed to winning the title) and the over/under is an all-time low of 118 pts.  With so many tiebreakers in play for the top 6 and the Bonus, this low over/under is at least 10 points less than the tiebreak point giving those entries who guessed lowest a little buffer.

Continue reading »

Issue # 12.5.1 “Streaky Endings”

Posted on by

Archive

Disneyland's Star Wars Galaxy Edge opens May 31

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

Auburn foul on Virginia's Guy

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. 

Continue reading »

Issue # 11.4.3 “Certified Fresh*” *-Once we deleted all the negative comments

Posted on by

Archive

To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
2019 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Minneapolis, MN
4th Final Four (’51 (Williams Arena), ’92 & ’01 (Metrodome))
Hosted by U. of Minnesota (Big Ten)U.S. Bank Stadium
Second SemifinalFirst Semifinal
#2-East
Washington, DC
Hosted by Georgetown U. (Big East)
Capital One Arena		#3-West
Anaheim, CA
Hosted by Big West Conference
Honda Center		#1-South
Louisville, KY
Hosted by U. of Louisville (ACC)
KFC Yum! Center		#5-Midwest
Kansas City, MO
Hosted by Missouri Valley Conference
Sprint Center
Michigan State University Spartans (32-6)Texas Tech University Red Raiders (30-6)University of Virginia Cavaliers (33-3)Auburn University Tigers 
(30-9)
Big Ten Conference – Reg. Season Co-Champs & Tourney Champs
East Lansing, Michigan
10th Final Four (’57, ’79, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’05, ’09, ’10, ’15)
2-time champions
def #15 Bradford 76-65
#10 Minnesota 70-50
#3 LSU 80-63
#1 Duke 68-67		Big 12 Conference – Regular Season Co-Champs
Lubbock, Texas
1st Final Four
def #14 Northern Kentucky 72-57
#6 Buffalo 78-58
#2 Michigan 63-44
#1 Gonzaga 75-69

Atlantic Coast Conference – Regular Season Co-Champs
Charlottesville, Virginia
3rd Final Four (’81, ’84)
def #16 Gardiner-Webb 71-56
#9 Oklahoma 63-51
#12 Oregon 53-49
#3 Purdue 80-75 (OT)

Southeastern Conference – Tournament Champs
Auburn, Alabama
1st Final Four
def #12 New Mexico St 78-77
#4 Kansas 89-75
#1 North Carolina 97-80
#2 Kentucky 77-71 (OT)

Thursday, April 4, 2019  

TWO NEWBIES AND VIRGINIA JOIN MICHIGAN ST IN FINAL FOUR
At least $85 will be donated to Boys & Girls Clubs of America; over $783 donated in 9 years

SANTA BARBARA, CA (smt)- It is so nice that if you don’t like how something is being viewed, you canjust force a company like Rotten Tomatoes to change their scoring methods or delete a bunch of data until it comes out positive.  Luckily, the HWCI NCAA Pool will not bow to trolls and will continue to press on, year after year, this being our 25th silver anniversary.  Considering we have had at least 125 entries the past 9 years with 89.5% of the entries returning players this year, I say we are Certified Fresh! 

Continue reading »

Issue # 10.4.2 “Duke and Kentucky KO’d”

Posted on by

Archive

Sunday, March 31, 2019 

TIGERS WIN IN OT; DUKE AND ZION FALL SHORT
Carseroni 1st but stuck at 131; Just 5 can win pool and 2 guaranteed money

MSU runs away

HOME/DIGNITY HEALTH SPORTS PARK, CARSON, CA (smt)- #5MW-Auburn proved it could win without launching lots of threes (just 7 of 23) and knocked off their 3rd straight Blue Blood, #2MW-Kentucky, in overtime 77-71.  Although the rest of the team hit just 7 of 13 free throws, Jared Harper was 11-for-11 and hit all six in overtime and had 12 of the Tigers’ 17 OT points.  Auburn made its first Final Four and knocked off legendary programs Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky in consecutive games.   Each team had a chance in the final seconds as regulation ended at 60-60. 

#2E-Michigan St complained that they shouldn’t have been in the same region as #1E-Duke despite one of the higher 2 seeds.  But they faced each other and produced a great game, with no team taking more than a 4-point lead in the final 17 minutes.  In the end, Duke’s RJ Barrett tried to take control from Zion Williamson and got the foul but missed the first of 2 free throws down 68-66 with 5.2 seconds left.  He tried to miss the second but actually made it meaning Duke now needed to foul four times (not being in the penalty yet).  After the first foul, with 4.7 seconds left, Duke misplayed the situation and Michigan St. ran away from the defenders and ran out the clock to reach their 10th Final Four, winning 68-67.

Continue reading »

Issue # 9.4.1 “Buzzer Beater”

Posted on by

Archive

Saturday, March 30, 2019 

MISTAKE COSTS ZAGS; HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT WON BY VIRGINIA
Carseroni is one of 11 to get both games and jumps to 4 point lead; Just 7 can win pool

Zags' Perkins technical foul

HOME/LABCORP, LOS ALAMITOS, CA (smt)- After falling behind 69-62 with 52 seconds left, #1W-Gonzaga got within two at 71-69 before Josh Perkins made the accidental mistake heard around the world with 11 seconds left when his hand knocked the inbound player’s hand meaning it was a 2-shot technical foul plus #3W-Texas Tech got to keep the ball.  The resulting four free throws gave the Red Riders their first Final Four ever in their 75-69 upset of the Zags.  It was a harsh penalty but it’s there to prevent intentional delay tactics which this wasn’t.  Texas Tech hit their last six free throws and the best defense held off the best offense as the Zags shot just 42.4% and had 16 turnovers.

The second half of the #1S-Virginia-#3S-Purdue game had everything a fan would want with clutch shots, clutch rebounds, a buzzer beater, and a mano y mano matchup between the Cavs’ Kyle Guy and the Boilermakers’ Carsen Edwards. Guy hit 3 threes to start the second half in helping build a 45-37 lead but then Edwards caught fire hitting 6 of 8 three pointers and 24 points in a 32-22 run to put Purdue up by 2 with 1:11 left (Guy had 10 of those 22 points).  But Purdue’s Ryan Cline missed a free throw leaving the game at 70-67 and Purdue smartly fouled before Guy or anyone else could take a three with 5 seconds left.  The second free throw was missed and a long rebound was won by Virginia in the back court and a great pass up to Mamadi Diakite in the arc was put in at the buzzer sending the game into overtime tied at 70.  The overtime was tight as Guy was held to just two late free throws and Edwards had just a jumper (finished with 42 points and 10 threes) and then missed a three with 7 seconds left down 76-75.  The Cavs hit their final four throws to win 80-75.  So surprised that the clutch three specialist from the last game, Ryan Cline, didn’t get a chance to shoot a three late in overtime.  Just six of 58 games have been one possession games (9 if you just include regulation) and 37 of 58 have been double-digit blowouts.  

Continue reading »

Issue # 8.3.2 “Tigers Shoot the Threes”

Posted on by

Archive

Friday, March 29, 2019 

UNC FIRST #1 TO GO DOWN, DUKE SURVIVES AGAIN
ChuckPersonCellBlock holds on to lead while just 18 can win the pool

VT Ahmed Hill just misses

HOME/CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER, CA (smt)- After #3E-LSU went on a 13-0 run to cut #2E-Michigan St.’s lead to four, MSU went on a 16-5 run to break the game back open for a 80-63 victory.  MSU hit 13 of 32 three-pointers while LSU will now try to find another coach with Will Wade still suspended.  After #1MW-UNC got within six, #5MW-Auburn hit five straight three pointers as part of a 16-3 run to break the game open in their 97-80 rout of the Tar Heels.  With the Tigers hitting threes and at one point were just 2 of 10 from the free throw land, it’s a wonder why UNC did not try to foul instead of letting the Tigers launch three after three (17 of 37 overall).  One thing about teams who win often such as UNC is that they don’t know how to play from behind.  Down by 10 with 7 minutes left and the ball, UNC took 10-20 seconds each possession and made poor shot choices (including a very long 3).  UNC didn’t start fouling until it was under 3:30 and down by 11 and to Auburn’s credit, they did hit six in a row but still finished under 50% (8 of 17).

#1E-Duke survived another nail-biter, 75-73, with #4E-Virginia Tech as the Hokies missed two threes and then an easy layup for the tie as the buzzer sounded.  It seemed like no one told VT’s Ahmed Hill that the refs put 0.5 seconds back on the clock (so 1.1 left) as he seemed to jump and just tip it with two hands near the basket instead of grabbing it for a more controlled put back.  It was a great play and also good to see VT didn’t try for the game-winning three as most teams would do and tried to get the easy game-tying bucket.  Duke shot well, hitting 55.4% from the field.  #2MW-Kentucky also barely survived #3MW-Houston took a 58-55 lead after being down by 13 early but the Wildcats scored the last 7 points in winning 62-58.  Just six of 56 games have been one possession games (8 if you just include regulation) and 37 of 56 have been double-digit blowouts.  

Continue reading »

Issue # 7.3.1 “Ones and Threes”

Posted on by

Archive

Thursday, March 28, 2019 

ONE VS THREE IN BOTH WEST AND SOUTH
ChuckPersonCellBlock leads by two while 99 entries are still alive

Tennessee last second "foul"

HOME, CA (smt)- #1W-Gonzaga held #4W-Florida St to just two points in the last 4:11 to expand a scant four point lead (60-56) to a 72-58 victory while #1S-Virginia held #12S-Oregon to no field goals in the last 5:43 to turn a 45-42 deficit into a 53-49 win.  The Cavs actually shot worse (35.7%) than the Ducks (37.8%) but pulled out the win after Oregon scored more points in their 23-12 run than in the first half (22).  #3W-Texas Tech held #2W-Michigan to just 16 first-half points en route to Wolverine-record tourney low 44 for the game in their 63-44 victory.  Michigan missed their first 18 three-point attempts (finished 1 of 19) and shot just 32.7% from the field. 

#2S-Tennessee who blew a large lead (25 points) and needed overtime to win in the 2nd round saw their fortunes reverse, as they rallied from a large deficit (18 points) but lost in overtime to #3S-Purdue, 99-94.  Both teams shot as well or better from the field than the free throw line (Purdue 54.0% FG, 48.4% FT; Tennessee 50.0% FG, 50.0% FT) so this game could’ve been won easily by either team if they just hit their free throws (Purdue missed 17 including two front ends of a one-and-one and were at one point 3 of 13; Tennessee missed 12).  Tennessee had an 82-80 lead but with 1.7 seconds left they “fouled” (Purdue player may have kicked out but if you lean into the player, the ref may call it, ticky-tack as it was) on a 3-point attempt and Purdue only made 2 of 3 to send the game to OT.  Tennessee lived too much on the edge blowing a 16-point lead to #15S-Colgate and the aforementioned 25-point lead to #10S-Iowa.  Purdue did have Ryan Cline who not only hit four 3-pointers in the last five and a half minutes, he hit fadeaways and shots the defender knew he was going to take, a la Stephen Curry… but did it with class.  A joy to watch even though I picked Tennessee.

Continue reading »

Issue # 6.2.3 “We’ll Pay You in Silver” (Bonus Prize & Prize Distribution)

Posted on by

Archive

Recent Rumors

Tuesday, March 26, 2019 

TOP SIX AND BONUS WILL WIN $1,620 POT
20 of 23 eliminated entries eligible for Bonus in our Silver Anniversary

Center Road

GOLETA, CA (smt)- With all four #1s, #2s, #3s and two #4s and a #5 and #12 in the Sweet 16, the sum seed total of 49 is the lowest since seeding began.  #1W-Gonzaga and #1MW-UNC have closed out games strongly while #1E-Duke needed some luck and non-whistles and #1S-Virginia trailed #16S-Gardner-Webb by 14 at one point.  Beleaguered conference Pac 12 has its #12S-Oregon in the mix while the ACC (5), SEC (4), and the Big Ten (3) continue to dominate.

With the mostly chalk Sweet 16, one entry (Center Road) around the world actually has a perfect bracket, and he didn’t even know it!  I use this sometimes in my statistics class showing the 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,780,000 odds of picking a perfect bracket or if you do some weighting of seeds, maybe get it down to 1 in 67,582,737,423.  Still virtually impossible.  How has our group done in 25 years?  No one has gone a perfect first round with Air Fabone 23 (Scott T) going 31-1 in 2017.  With Honey Badger (Scott D) going 16-0 this year, he became the first to have a perfect Round 2.  What the future lie?  Van&Sam (Van P) in 2007 was able to 8-0 in the Sweet 16, 4-0 in the Elite 8, and 2-0 for the Final Four.  But she missed the champion (Florida beat Ohio St)!  Unfortunately, Center Road was not eligible for Warren Buffet’s million dollar for life Sweet 16 challenge!

Continue reading »

Issue # 5.2.2 “Chalk + Oregon”

Posted on by

Archive

Sunday, March 24, 2019 

DUKE, TENNESSEE SURVIVE; OREGON JOINS FUN
Buckeye Mike leads by one while Honey Badger goes 16-0 for Round

UCF Dawkins Tip

CERRITOS/GOLETA, CA (smt)- #2S-Tennessee blew a 25-point first half lead (44-19) and needed overtime to defeat #10S-Iowa, 83-77.  Iowa also had to rally from 4 points down with under a minute left to send the game into overtime at 71 all.  #9E-Central Florida nearly made a layup and then tantalizingly watched the follow-on tip by Aubrey Dawkins roll around the rim and then out in falling to #1E-Duke, 77-76.  UCF’s Tacko Fall had foul trouble playing just 25 minutes but UCF did benefit from a generous call late that gave them a late four-point lead (and subsequently blew an alley-oop that would’ve put them up 6).  After watching and seeing it either probably did hit the rim or was inconclusive (resetting the shot clock where UCF scored), CBS later produced two great replays clearly showing the ball missed the rim (one above that showed it banked and missed the rim and a slo-mo second view that showed the ball never changed direction, thus didn’t hit the rim).  But while Duke was robbed there, they probably did get the benefit of some rough play and maybe an offensive foul that wasn’t called after that.  And with the game on the line, Zion missed a game-tying free throw that was put back in by Duke for that final lead with 11.8 seconds left. 

Continue reading »

Issue # 4.2.1 “Chalk + Auburn”

Posted on by

Archive

Saturday, March 23, 2019 

FAVORITES ADVANCE ALONG WITH RED HOT AUBURN
Slamjam51 3 takes over 1st place as 8 are perfect today

LSU's Waters for the win

CYRPESS COSTCO/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- Surprising SEC tournament champion #5MW-Auburn continued its hot run in routing #4MW-Kansas to advance to the Sweet 16 with 7 favorites.  #3E-LSU blew a 15-point second half lead and trailed by 3 before Tremont Waters drove for a layup with 1.6 seconds left to break a 67-67 tie.  #2MW-Kentucky struggled against #7MW-Wofford in winning by six but the other six (#2W-Michigan, #4W-Florida St, #1W-Gonzaga, #2E-Michigan St, and #3S-Purdue) all won by at least 12 points.  That means 26 of 40 games were blowouts and just 4 of 40 were one possession games.  Yawn. 

There were great performances, more than I remember from another tournament with #12W-Murray St’s Ja Morant excelling with 28 points in the loss, Purdue’s Carsen Edwards scoring an absurd 42 points, and the Zags’ Brandon Clarke scoring 36 points and blocking 5 shots.  One star who failed to produce was Wofford’s Fletcher Magee who after setting the career record for 3s with 509 in the last game, just needed four to tie Steph Curry’s single-season record of 162.  But he instead set the record for most missed threes without a make, going 0-for-12.  And his demeanor is the same as Curry’s, arrogant and just putting up 3s late despite teammate Nathan Hoover hitting 4-of-5 threes (Curry’s selfish and dumb threes (which of course he missed) late against Cleveland is the only reason Lebron has a ring in Cleveland)).

Continue reading »

Issue # 3.1.2 “ZOT! ZOT! ZOT!”

Posted on by

Archive

Friday, March 22, 2019 
Issue # 3.1.2 “ZOT! ZOT! ZOT!“

ANTEATERS SHOCK AMONGST 8 UPSETS
5 tied for first as three go 15-1 despite 8 upsets

UC Irvine Anteaters

GOLETA/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- The lone local team, #13S-UC Irvine, rallied with a 17-4 run to put away #4S-Kansas St to reach the Round of 32.  UCI was just one of 8 upsets on the day with #12S-Oregon, #9S-Oklahoma, #9MW-Washington (and their relentless defense), and #9E-Central Florida (with great name and player Tacko Fall) winning comfortably and #10S-Iowa (over hometown crowd #7S-Ciincy), #12E-Liberty, and #11MW-Ohio St pulled out close wins.  #1 seeds struggled with infamous #1S-Viriginia going down 30-16 to #16S-Gardner-Webb, but the difference from last year to this year is that De’Anndre Hunter wasn’t injured and scored 23 points in helping rally from a 5-point halftime deficit with a 25-5 run to start the 2nd half.  #1MW-UNC also was down 5 at the half to #16MW-Iona but broke from halftime on a 25-7 run to win easily.  #1E-Duke fell behind by 7 early to #16E-North Dakota St before scoring 54 points in the 2nd half.  #3W-Texas Tech, #6W-Buffalo, #3MW-Houston, and #4E-Virginia Tech won easily but #2S-Tennessee trailed 52-50 but held on to win by 7. 

Continue reading »

Issue # 2.1.1 “Darlings Mostly Disappoint”

Posted on by

Archive

Thursday, March 21, 2019 
A BIG TEN GOES 5-0 WHILE BIG EAST DOWN TO ONE
Our 25th year saw an increase to 162 entries from 1l3 people

GOLETA, CA (smt)- Potential Cinderella darlings #14E-Yale, #12MW-New Mexico St, #11E-Belmont, and #11S-St. Mary’s all faltered leaving head coachless #3E-LSU, #5MW-Auburn, #6E-Maryland, and the defending champ #6S-Villanova heading into the 2nd Round.  Yale sure did look like they were looking forward to Belmont in the next round and forgot they had to win the first one.  New Mexico St bypassed an easy layup to tie the match, missed 2 of 3 free throws with 1.7 seconds left when down by 2, and the airballed a wide open three at the buzzer in losing by one.  Auburn was tying to give the game away blowing a late 13 point lead and committing six turnovers in the last nine minutes or so and missing front ends of one-and-one free throws.  The only team that fulfilled people’s upset brackets was #12W-Murray St led by Ja Morant’s triple double (17 pts-16 ast-12 reb), the first in tournament play since ’12 in a rout of #5W-Marquette.  There were a few other upsets as #10E-Minnesota, #10W-Florida, and #9W-Baylor picked up wins.  Still upset at their placement, #2E-Michigan St trailed #15E-Bradley by one at halftime before pulling away.  #4W-Florida St, #7MW-Wofford, and #3S-Purdue ended strong while #4MW-Kansas, #2MW-Kentucky (winning the Wildcats vs Wildcats battle), #1W-Gonzaga, and #2W-Michgan rolled to easy victories. 

Continue reading »