Issue # 14.6.1 “UConn’s Route was to Rout”

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2023 NCAA Champions
	#4-West Regional Champions University of Connecticut Huskies (31-8) 5th Title
2023 Winningest Conference
	The Big East Conference (12-4) 1st Time (Previous 3 times trace to current AAC; new Big East formed in 2013)

Monday, April 3, 2023 

UCONN REMAINS UNDEFEATED IN TITLE GAMES
Jah Lives-2 rides UConn to win the pool; Krispy Seconds takes last top 8 slot

HOME, CA (smt) – #4W-UConn trailed early 10-6 but dominated the rest of the way in winning their 5th title in 24 tournaments, beating #5S-San Diego St, 76-59.  UConn won the title for the 4th time coming from the West Regional, the 4th time beating a lower seed, and the 4th time in Texas (twice in Houston).  Even after SDSU clawed their way back to 5 points (60-55 with 5:19 left), UConn quickly hit a 3-pointer en route to a 9-0 run to put the game away. 

UConn won all six games by 13 or more points and scored 70 or more points in each.  Despite being a #4 seed (only the second #4 seed to win it (Arizona in ’97)), they only faced one higher seed (where they routed #3W-Gonzaga by 28).  SDSU shot poorly (32%) at one point missing 14 straight after taking the 10-6 lead and also missed their first 7 layups.  Once again the mid-major falls just short (last one to win, UNLV in 1990).

SDSU vs UConn Live!

12:19 am PDT – 18 hours until the final. We already know who 7 of the top 8 prizes will be but we don’t know who will be champion (Samurai Jack if SDSU wins, Jah Lives-2 if UConn wins). We also don’t know who will win the $40 bonus as two can win if SDSU wins (leaving Big East with 11 wins) or ten can win if UConn wins (Big East with 12 wins). The last top prize spot will go to either EMAW (if SDSU wins) or Krispy Seconds (if UConn wins).

1:18 pm – If UConn wins, there is a tiebreaker for 4th to be decided. 149 total pts or less goes to JessaFish, 150 or more goes to Samurai Jack. The over/under is 133 points.

1:27 pm – If SDSU wins, if total pts is 129 or less, the $40 Bonus goes to Suznana, if 131 or more it goes to FV Locals. If 130, they will split $40. If UConn wins, 141 or less will go to Kds911-2 and Kds911-3 (same person so split doesn’t matter) and if 167 or more, it goes to Saratogastephen. In between, 7 others could win with possibilities of 3-way ties!

6:43 pm – SDSU led 10-6 but now it’s UConn 16-10. SDSU was 4/5 from field, now 4/13. 11 min left. Just 116 total pts projected but still early.

6:54 pm – SDSU has missed last 12 FGs. If not for 4 FTs, they’d be stuck on 10. UConn leads 22-14. 7:20 left. Projected 114 total pts.

7:01 pm – First SDSU FG in 11:08. Now 5/20 FGs. UConn leads 26-17.

7:03 pm – Missed open layup (why don’t players dunk?) followed by UConn 3. UConn 36-20.

Half – UConn led by as many as 16 and lead 36-24. Projected total pts only 120. Not pretty with 17 turnovers (9 by SDSU) but UConn still shooting 50% (SDSU 28.6% 8/28). Krispy Seconds looking good to take 8th if UConn holds on and Jah Lives-2 itching for pool title. Low scoring good news for Kds911-2 and Kds911-3 as total would have to go past 141 pts to lose Bonus (if UConn wins).

7:36 – What a long halftime.

7:44 – SDSU missed another layup (0/7) and trail by 13 with 16:33 left.

7:48 – 15:40 left, first SDSU layup made, down by 11 (43-32). Projected 122 pts.

7:54 – UConn is 10/11 on FTs and lead by 12. Will be hard for SDSU to come back. 13:59 left. Projected 126 pts.

8:01 – 11:56 left, UConn not letting SDSU get close, 49-36. UConn already shooting free throw from now on out and are 11/13. Projected 121 pts.

8:08 – 8:33 left and UConn leads 56-45. Projected creeping up to 128 pts.

8:10 – Down by 8 with 8:00 left. Projected to 130.

8:14 – 6:58 left, SDSU free throw narrows deficit to 7 (58-51). Projected 132.

8:18 – Can SDSU hit free throws? They hit 2 to cut it to 5 (60-55). 5:19 left.

8;20 – 3:52 left. UConn 63-55. Projected total 131. Does EMAW have hope now? Maybe Samurai Jack will add a 3rd ring to his finger? But UConn has been good at stopping runs in this Final Four, this time hitting a 3 to put them back up to 8.

8:24 – SDSU missed the front end of a 1-on-1. Just 13/18 on free throws (while UConn is 15/17).

8:26 – UConn up by 12, SDSU back to missing shots. 2:30 left. Projected 130 has lots of margin until 141 (Bonus) and 149 (4th place).

8:28 – UConn was on a 9-0 run as SDSU cuts it to 12 again. 1:55 left, 69-57, projected 133. Jah Lives-2 (title) and Krispy Seconds (8th) singing “hey hey hey, goodbye”.

8:33 – SDSU foul to stop clock at 1:07, now down by 16 75-59 (134).

Final – UConn wins 5th title (all since 1999) and mid-majors will have to wait another year (last UNLV in 1990). Final score 76-59 (135 points). Congrats to our 26th different pool champion, as Winsome T (Jah Lives-2) wins in first year. Robinson C (Samurai Jack) drops from 1st to 5th (a $605 drop), losing the 4th place tiebreaker to Jessica H (JessaFish). Roy W (Krispy Seconds) takes 8th, eliminating Spencer C (EMAW) who drops from 5th to 12th. The $40 Bonus goes to Tom J whose two entries tied for it (Kds911-2 and Kds911-3).

8:44 – As UConn has done, no drama winning all six games by 13 or more. No drama in pool tiebreakers as low scoring beginning never was close to being watched closely (needed 141+). Credit to SDSU to cutting it to five, but too many FG droughts to sustain any momentum, shooting just 32%.

Issue # 13.5.2 “28 Days of Drama” (History of the Pool)

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2023 NCAA FINAL @ Houston, Texas  – The Floor
The Road Ends Here
#5-South (Seed #17, NET #14, AP #18)	#4-West (Seed #13, NET #8, AP #10)
San Diego State University Aztecs (32-6)	University of Connecticut Huskies (30-8)
Mountain West Conference – Regular Season and Tourney Champs San Diego, California 1st Final def #12 College of Charleston 63-57 #13 Furman 75-52 #1 Alabama 71-64 #6 Creighton 57-56 #9E Florida Atlantic 72-71	Big East Conference (4th Place) Storrs, Connecticut 5th Final (’99, ’04, ’11, ’14) def #13 Iona 87-63 #5 Saint Mary’s 70-55 #8 Arkansas 88-65 #3 Gonzaga 82-54 #5MW Miami 72-59

Sunday, April 2, 2023 

UCONN UNDEFEATED IN TITLE GAMES; SDSU BIG UNDERDOGS
Just 2 prize up for grabs as those who entered multiple times benefited this year

FIRESTONE SCOUT RESERVATION, BREA, CA (smt) – If you count the WCC final (March 7) as the first day the madness begins, as that coronates Gonzaga, the first big mid-major to qualify for the tournament, then this Final would be the 28th day of madness.  Appropriate for our 28th HWCI NCAA Pool.

It does seem like the field clears up when #4W-UConn makes the final as other than their first title against heavy favorite Duke in ’99, the past three have seen them play lower seeds, even if they were low themselves (e.g., ’14 they were #7 but faced a #8).  Hence, UConn is a perfect 4-0 in finals and face lower seed #5S-San Diego St, who have won back-to-back games by one point, the last one on a buzzer beater.  In a rematch of the 2011 Sweet 16, #3W-UConn beat #2W-SDSU 74-67 on its way to its 3rd championship.  UConn will try to win a title in Texas for the 4th straight time, winning in San Antonio (2004), Houston (2011), and North Texas (2014).  Everything is new for San Diego St (never advanced past the Sweet 16) while despite 4 titles since ’99, UConn has a hard time getting into the Blue Blood club as they have just made the tournament 4 times since ’14, losing twice in the 1st round and once in the 2nd.  A streak of five straight #1 seeds winning the title ends this year with a #4 (only one was Arizona in ’97) or #5 (first time) taking it.

Issue # 12.5.1 “Buzzer Beater!”

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Saturday, April 1, 2023   ***APRIL FOOLS DAY***

SDSU HITS BUZZER BEATER; UCONN KEEPS MIAMI AT BAY
Samurai Jack or Jah Lives-2 will win pool; 8 clinched money, 2 entries fighting for last spot

DIGNITY HEALTH SPORTS PARK, CARSON, CA (smt) – #5S-San Diego St tried to lose against #9E-Florida Atlantic, missing 4 of 5 free throws late with a turnover, but a gutsy call by the SDSU coach to play for the last possession down by one with 38 seconds left worked as SDSU got the rebound with less than 10 seconds left.  Not calling a timeout, SDSU’s Lamont Butler hit a jumper as time expired for the first buzzer beater of the tournament sending the Aztecs into their first final with a 72-71 win.  FAU finished with 35 wins, most in the nation.

#4W-UConn broke open a 19-19 game with a 27-7 run in making their 5th trip to the finals with a 72-59 victory over #5MW-Miami.  The Hurricanes had cut it to 8 (53-45) with less than 12 minutes left but UConn scored the next 7 points to keep the game at double-digits the rest of the way.  Two late free throws prevented UConn with their 5th straight 15+ win, so it will have to be their 5th straight 13+ win.

Issue # 11.4.3 “What Happened?” (F4 Preview + FF Recap)

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2023 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Houston, Texas 4th Final Four (’71 (Astrodome), ’11 (Reliant Stadium), ’16 (NRG Stadium))  –  –  –  Hosted by U. of Houston (American Athletic Conf) (3rd Final Four), Rice U. (Conf USA) (4th Final Four), Houston Christian U. (Southland Conf) (1st Final Four), and Texas Southern U. (Southwestern Athletic Conf) (2nd Final Four)  – The Floor
First Semifinal	Second Semifinal
#5-South (Seed #17, NET #14, AP #18) Louisville, Kentucky (7th Regional) Hosted by U. of Louisville	#9-East (Seed #33, NET #13, AP #25) New York City, New York (12th Regional) – Hosted by Big East Conf and St. John’s U.	#5-Midwest (Seed #20, NET #35, AP #16) Kansas City, Missouri (16th Regional) Hosted by Big 12 Conf	#4-West (Seed #13, NET #8, AP #10) Las Vegas, Nevada (1st Regional) Hosted by U. of Nevada, Las Vegas
San Diego State University Aztecs (31-6)	Florida Atlantic University Owls (35-3)	University of Miami Hurricanes (29-7)	University of Connecticut Huskies (29-8)
Mountain West Conference – Regular Season and Tourney Champs San Diego, California 1st Final Four def #12 College of Charleston 63-57 #13 Furman 75-52 #1 Alabama 71-64 #6 Creighton 57-56	Conference USA – Regular Season and Tourney Champs Boca Raton, Florida 1st Final Four  def #8 Memphis 66-65 #16 Fairleigh Dickinson 78-70 #4 Tennessee 62-55 #3 Kansas St 79-76	Atlantic Coast Conference – Regular Season Co-Champs Coral Gables, Florida 1st Final Four def #12 Drake 63-56 #4 Indiana 85-69 #1 Houston 89-75 #2 Texas 88-81	Big East Conference (4th Place) Storrs, Connecticut 6th Final Four (’99, ’04, ’09, ’11, ’14) def #13 Iona 87-63 #5 Saint Mary’s 70-55 #8 Arkansas 88-65 #3 Gonzaga 82-54

Thursday, March 30, 2023 

UCONN JOINS 3 NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
At least $1,332 will be donated to American Lung Association; over $4,470 donated over 13 years

HOME, CA (smt) – Whereas last year we had four teams with a combined 61 Final Fours and 17 championships (20 including pre-NCAA) and each with at least 3 titles, this year we have 3 newbies joining #4W-UConn, who have 4 titles but all won in the past 24 years (this, its 6th Final Four).  Joining the Big East’s UConn is a member from the ACC, but not Duke, UNC, or Virginia, but #5MW-Miami (of Florida, not Ohio). Mid-majors join the fun as the Mountain West has #5S-San Diego St and Conference USA (who just won the NIT with North Texas beating fellow CUSA member UAB taking the title Wednesday in not-NYC) has #9E-Florida Atlantic.  Who would’ve thought the local team would be San Diego St and that two teams from Florida would be in the Final Four?

Seems like a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away that we were talking about defending champion #1W-Kansas not getting the Kansas City regional (they lost in the 2nd round), #1S-Alabama leading a strong SEC contingent (they lost in the Sweet 16 and the SEC had 9 wins after the first weekend but then went 0-3 in the Sweet 16), #1MW-Houston becoming the second team to play in their home city (Butler in Indy in 2010) since 1972 (they lost in Sweet 16), and #2W-UCLA succumbing to injuries (they did, losing to #3W-Gonzaga in another classic in Sweet 16).

Issue # 9.4.1 “Rally and Rout” [Pub: March 29]

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Saturday, March 25, 2023 

FAU ERASES LATE 6-PT DEFICIT, UCONN WINS BY 28
Samurai Jack remains in the lead with 103 pts; Just 19 entries still alive

BELLINGHAM, WA (smt) – #9E-Florida Atlantic had 22 turnovers yet went on a 13-1 run in three minutes to erase a six-point deficit to beat #3E-Kansas St, 79-76, to reach their first Final Four with their 35th win of the season.  FAU hit their last four free throws and KSU could not get off a shot at the end of the game for a chance to tie.  FAU is the third #9 seed to make the Final Four.

#4W-UConn quickly turned a 7-point halftime lead into a massive 33 points in routing #3W-Gonzaga, 82-54, in making their 6th Final Four, all in our pool era (’99, ’04, ’09, ’11, ’14).  They have won all four games by 15 or more points.  The Bulldogs were a very uncharacteristic 33% from the field and 2/10 from three.  With both #3 seeds falling, only #2MW-Texas is the lone top 12 team left.

Issue # 25.2 “25 Years: The Teams”

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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). 

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. 

Issue # 15.6.1 “Freshmen Hazed”

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2014 NCAA Champions
#7-East (New York, NY)	The University of Connecticut Huskies (32-8) 4th Title: ’99, ’04, ’11, ’14
2014 Winningest Conference
	The Southeastern Conference (11-3) 3rd time: ’06, ’07, ’14

CERRITOS, CA (smt)- The veteran starting lineup of #7E-UConn, some who stayed on despite the Huskies being banned from postseason last year, came out hungry against the all-freshmen starting lineup from #8MW-Kentucky jumping to a 30-15 lead and eventually hanging on to a 60-54 victory.  The Huskies never trailed in winning their 4th title (the same number as Duke!), all in the last 16 years and two years removed from retired coach Jim Calhoun and one year removed from a postseason ban due to academics.  While UConn was a perfect 10/10 from the charity stripe, Kentucky bookended 6/7 by missing 7 of their first 13 free throws and their last three (including a front end of a one-and-one).  Senior Shabazz Napier, while taking some ill-advised or quick shots, scored 22 pts and had 6 rebounds as he was one of the few who stayed on through the postseason ban.  This capped a wild tournament partially aided by bad seeding by the selection committee and that sometimes, just the name on the shirt (with a little luck) is enough to propel you to the finals.

In a strange twist, all 8 entries alive to win money were guaranteed to finish at least tied for 6th (before the dreaded tiebreaker), meaning two would lose the tiebreaker and go home empty handed.  But first, Read the rest of this entry »

Issue # 13.5.1 “#7 vs #8, Oy Vey!”

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In a wild game that saw Kentucky go on a 15-0 second half run only to be answered by Wisconsin’s 15-4 run, Aaron Harrison made his 3rd straight go-ahead 3-pointer in 3 games, this time with 5.7 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 74-73 win over the Badgers.  The Kentucky freshmen (66 points, a Final Four record) once again Read the rest of this entry »

Issue # 11.4.2 “Big 10 Implosion”

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MICHIGAN TEAMS FALL; UCONN & KENTUCKY BACK IN FINAL FOUR

#8MW-Kentucky rallied and beat #2MW-Michigan, 75-72, on Aaron Harrison’s 4th straight 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left.  With the game tied and playing for the last shot, the long 3 wasn’t as ill-advised but it worked out (why Read the rest of this entry »

20 Years of Madness

2014 HWCI NCAA Logo

In a week, we will begin our 20th HWCI NCAA Pool.  From our humble UCLA beginnings in 1995, thanks to you all, we’ve consistently topped 100 entries the past six years coming from more than 90 people for the past five years.  In that time we have not changed our points system (it’s worked so well, I guess we were lucky), our entry fee, or our love for the pool.  Although in the 20 years, five NCAA teams have won the tourney twice (UConn 3 times), only one person (Robinson C) has won the pool twice (2001, 2005).

Since there are a lot of Apple fanboys out there who don’t know what a PC is, we are working on a backup alternative to submitting your picks in case the javascript is not agreeable.  But of course, you can always email a photo/scan of the bracket in.

We hope you will join us again for another round of frustration and fun!

Check spam folders!

Well, that time is nearly here.  So if you don’t get an email from me by late Sunday night, check your spam filter!  Can we top 125 entries?  We shall see.  Meanwhile, UConn’s incredible postseason streak ended at 13 (5 in 5 days in Big East ’11, 6 wins to champ ’11, first 2 wins in Big East ’12) while the Pac-12 is embarrassing to watch.  15 teams are officially in the field of 68 with 12 more conference champs to be crowned on Saturday.

Ugly and classy?

UConn coach Jim Calhoun, in his always humble self, forgets to thank Butler.  Sheesh…

Ugly?

Seemed like it was 4-3 forever (as my son Spencer would say), but some good defense helped keep the score very low, as only 41 have been scored at the half (22-19).  Five threes have helped Butler compensate from a poor inside game while UConn is just struggling and picking up fouls.  Hopefully, the second half will pick up (especially for those in the tiebreaker who have a higher point total than their competitor).

Heartbreak for Harvard

March Madness will be soon upon us, minus one hour for daylight savings.  Well, the longest Division I tournament drought continues as Princeton beat Harvard on an incredible buzzer-beater in the one-game Ivy League playoff denying the Crimson an automatic bid (small chance they get in as an at-large considering the Ivy League has never had 2 teams in since the format expanded).  UConn did the improbable, winning 5 games in 5 days to not only win the Big East conference title but also showed that kids can be forced to work long, unreasonable hours and need to unionize.

We will still have the Most Wins in Conference tiebreaker but when you submit your bracket, it won’t be accurate until Thursday (due to First Four games between at-large teams).  Once we have everyone’s picks online, you can check to see how the First Four games tweaked your Most Wins in Conference.  Of course, no one cares about this until the last weekend anyway, so this isn’t a big deal.

David will be in Seattle starting Sunday and I’ll be in Phoenix starting Thursday noon but we’ll try to keep delays to a minimum.  The online bracket may not be up until Monday morning.