Issue # 1.0.1 “Top to Bottom”

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Sunday, March 12, 2023  **HELP support the American Lung Association (deadline Tue 4:00 pm PDT **)

# 1 PRESEASON BOTTOMS OUT, ALABAMA ON TOP
Our 28th pool will test UCLA loyalists again

OFF STREET CAFE, CERRITOS, CA (smt) – 2W-UCLA was this close to a #1 seed but lost to #2S-Arizona in the Pac 12 final and is on a collision course once again with 3W-Gonzaga (would be 4th tourney meeting since ’06).  Can UCLA do it?  Defending champ 1W-Kansas, who lost to 2MW-Texas in Big 12 final, fell to the #3 overall seeding, missing out on the Midwest, as SEC champ #1S-Alabama was the #1 overall seed with #1MW-Houston (who also lost in the final) second.  #1E-Purdue rounded out the top seeds.  Who we won’t see is #1 preseason pick UNC, who failed to qualify and then turned down the #1 seed in the NIT (as one of the First Four out) because they are too big for the NIT (plus, the NIT won’t be playing its final in NYC for the first time, not counting the pandemic 2021 reduced tourney in Dallas) and too much pressure to beat Youngstown St.  I feel bad for the players.

After 42 years of Coach K, 5E-Duke won the ACC tournament with Jon Scheyer to start the new era and after feeling “snubbed” last year, #7MW-Texas A&M is back in.  And a team with twenty (20!) losses, #16bE-Texas Southern, won the SWAC tournament after entering it 11-20 and will play in their fourth straight First Four game where they are 3-0 (’18, ’21, ’22). 

The SEC and Big Ten (boy, can’t wait until UCLA and #10E-USC switch to the Big Ten) got 8 teams in with the Big 12 seven.  The ACC and Big East each got 5 and the Pac-12 and MWC got 4 each.  31 of 36 at-large bids went to the power conferences (with MWC getting 3 of the 5).

Issue # 15.6.1 “Jayhawks Rally Like it’s ’08” (4/4)

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2022 NCAA Champions
	#1-Midwest Regional Champions University of Kansas Jayhawks (34-6) 4th Title
2022 Winningest Conference
	The Atlantic Coast Conference (13-5) 8th time & The Big 12 Conference (13-5) 5th time

Monday, April 4, 2022   ***HAPPY 82ND BIRTHDAY DAD (BELUCKY2)!!!***

KANSAS RALLIES FROM 16 DOWN TO STUN UNC
Bob, Glen, and Greg join the winner’s circle; Chris wins Bonus

VERY LONG BOY SCOUT MEETING IN CYPRESS, CA (smt) – In 2008, Kansas was down 9 to Memphis with 2:12 left in the Final and rallied to force overtime and pick up their 3rd NCAA title.  A 15-point halftime deficit?  No big deal.  #1MW-Kansas overcame a record 16-point overall deficit and record 15-point second half deficit to hold off a hobbled #8E-UNC team, 72-69, for their fourth title.  Three different UNC players got injured but played through in turning a 56-50 deficit into a 69-68 lead with 1:42 left.  Hobbled players affected the final minute stumbling with a couple turnovers and forcing bad threes because the quickness wasn’t there anymore.  Up by 3, Kansas ran out of bounds with 4.3 seconds left but UNC’s long three by Caleb Love (who hit deciding threes vs UCLA and Duke) was way short.

Kansas vs UNC Live!

8:45 pm PDT Sunday – OK, getting this link up and ready. We already know the top 3 so it will be the bottom 4 spots and the Bonus that will be of interest.

9:35 pm Sunday – If UNC wins, there will be a 4-way tie for 4th (meaning all will win something).

• If total points in final is
  • <=132: Larzby, SlumDawg3, MizzouTgr11 2, Team Samurai (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th)
  • 133-141: SlumDawg3, Larzby, MizzouTgr11 2, Team Samurai
  • 142: SlumDawg3, Larzby & MizzouTgr11 2 tied, Team Samurai
  • 143-150: MizzouTgr11 2, SlumDawg3, Larzby, Team Samurai
  • 151: MizzouTgr11 2, SlumDawg3 & Team Samurai tied, Larzby
  • 152-160: MizzouTgr11 2, Team Samurai, SlumDawg3, Larzby
  • >=161: Team Samurai, MizzouTgr11 2, SlumDawg3, Larzby

9:41 pm Sunday – Much simpler if Kansas wins – Larzby, Bob’s Bruins, Reign of Game, DaBoyz22 (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th)

12:30 am – SlumDawg3, who has never won in his previous 17 pools was tied for 105th after 40 games but now has a chance to nab 4th/5th/6th with a UNC win thanks to being the only entry to pick the Tar Heels as its champ. Tarheel Blue Balls will win by 11 points either way, the 2nd largest margin of victory (13 in ’98). Mia Culpa who led by 13 after the Sweet 16 (48 games) could finish behind by 24 if Kansas wins (but will still get 3rd place). 7 entries went 1-7 in the Elite 8 and that win was Kansas – just 3 picked them to win it all though.

3:26 pm – Usually, the final tips off at 6:10 pm PDT but this time it’s 6:20 pm, which is 9:20 on the east coast. Might mean ten more minutes I get to watch while my son finishes up his Boy Scout meeting in Cypress.

15:56 1st – Kansas jumped to 7-0 lead and it’s 9-3. This projects to 120 pts which would give Ormonde3 the Bonus.

10:45 – Shots not falling but 10 of 12 UNC pts off offensive rebounds. 15-12 Kansas – Projects to just 118 pts (Pick 1).

3:00 1st – UNC up by 12 (34-22). Projects 132 (Zippy). Tiebreakers for 4th-7th in play.

Half – Wow, UNC up 40-25. 65 projects to 130 which would give Pac-10 Rules! the Bonus and Larzby, SlumDawg3, MizzouTgr11 2, Team Samurai (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th).

20:00 2nd – Kansas can’t make a layup and is giving up rebounds and shooting just 30%.

15:40 – Kansas cuts it to 8 (45-37) with a free throw coming. Projected 135 would give Spoonceer the Bonus.

12:41 – Kansas down by one (46-45) but could be up by 3 but have missed 4 of past 5 free throws. Projects to 133 (SlumDawg1).

10:53 – 50 all.

7:48 -57 all. Projects 142 ([2] Brakewey 2, Carseroni tied).

1:41 – Another offensive rebound, UNC leads 69-68. 137 pts (Rjw615) if no else scores.

4.6 left: Another UNC offensive rebound, but passed out for a 3 and thrown out of bounds! Kansas 72-69. 141 pts (Tiniest Prancers).

4.3 left: Kansas runs out of bounds, UNC with a chance! Refs say only 0.3 went off the clock. For UNC to win, they need 4 pts, so 145 would be MizzouTgr11 2, SlumDawg3, Larzby, Team Samurai. But first, UNC needs to tie!

Final: Kansas 72, UNC 69! No dagger shot by Love this time, airball. Congrats to Larzby, Bob’s Bruins, Reign of Game, DaBoyz22 (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th). Congrats to Tiniest Prancers for winning the Bonus!

4th NCAA Title for Kansas, biggest comeback coming back from 16 points in the 1st half and 15 points in the 2nd half.

Had UNC fouled and Kansas made 1 free throw, Bwakewey 2 and Carseroni would have won the Bonus, splitting $40 and if Kansas made both free throws, My Sweet Mia would’ve won (making Stephen I the first person to win money and win the Bonus (two different entries, of course!).

Issue # 14.5.2 “A Perfect Pool, 27 Up, 27 Down” (4/3) (Finals Preview + History)

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2022 NCAA FINAL @ New Orleans, Louisiana  – The Floor
The Road Ends Here
#1-Midwest	-vs- #8-East
University of Kansas Jayhawks (33-6)	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels (29-9)
Big 12 Conference – Regular Season and Tourney Champs Lawrence, Kansas 10th Final (’40, ’52, ’53, ’57, ’88, ’91, ’03, ’08, ’12) def #16a Texas Southern 83-56 #9 Creighton 79-72 #4 Providence 66-61 #10 Miami of Florida 76-50 #2S Villanova 81-65	Atlantic Coast Conference (2nd Place) Chapel Hill, North Carolina 12th Final (’46, ‘57, ’68, ’77, ’81, ’82, ’93, ’05, ’09, ’16, ‘17) def #9 Marquette 95-63 #1 Baylor 93-86 (OT) #4 UCLA 73-66 #15 Saint Peter’s 69-49 #2W-Duke 81-77

WILL KANSAS SHOW ’22 WAS WHAT WOULD’VE HAPPENED IN ’20?
6 compete for 4th through 7th as 4 guaranteed money; 58 entries can win Bonus

PORTILLO’S, BUENA PARK, CA (smt) – Full blue blood will be on display with 3-time champion #1MW-Kansas (10th final) taking on 6-time champion #8E-North Carolina (12th final) but don’t let the seed difference fool you as I could name Bacot (20+ rebounding), Manek (red hair, ejection, key 3s), and Love (dagger 3s) for UNC and just Agbaji (hot hand) for Kansas.  Star power for UNC, but Kansas once had star power back in ’20 and was the prohibitive favorite to win it all before the pandemic cancelled that year’s tournament three days before Selection Sunday.  This is rematch of the ’57 final where UNC won in triple-overtime over Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain.  Only one #8 seed (Villanova ’85) has won the title whereas the last four titles have come from #1 seeds.

Issue # 13.5.1 “UNC Does it Again” (4/2)

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KANSAS AND UNC IN FINAL FOUR, REMATCH OF ’57
Tarheel Blue Balls Wins the Pool getting both finalists; 10 still alive

CITADEL OUTLETS, LOS ANGELES, CA (smt) – #1MW-Kansas jumped to a 10-0 lead and although #2S-Villanova had pulled within six (64-58), the Jayhawks shot themselves (53.7%) to a 16-point win, 81-65.  Both teams hit 13 three-pointers (26 combined is a Final Four record) but Kansas did it at a better clip (24 shots vs 31) in making their 10th final.

In the first-ever tournament meeting between these Tobacco Road rivals, #8E-UNC and #2W-Duke struggled early but then delivered a back-and-forth slugfest with 18 lead changes and 12 ties.  Ultimately, the Blue Devil free throws didn’t fall and a key 2-miss trip fueled the Tar Heels to build a couple of four-point leads led by the dagger of a 3 by Caleb Love (22 of his 28 points in the 2nd half) with 25 seconds left for a 78-74 lead.  The 81-77 win put UNC in its 12th final and a rematch of the ’57 final where UNC beat Kansas.  UNC ruined Coach K’s last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium and now launched his retirement.  UNC coach Hubert Davis won just his 29th game with UNC while Coach K will retire with 1,202 Duke wins. 

Issue # 12.4.4 “Revenge of the Blue Bloods” (4/1)

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Friday, April 1, 2022 **NO APRIL FOOL’S JOKE HERE**

THE ELITE TAKE OVER THE FINAL FOUR
At least $1,366 will be donated to IRC; over $3,097 donated over 12 years

WATCHING USMNT GET DRAWN INTO ENGLAND’S GROUP, CA (smt) – While it was nice to see some fresh blood in the Final Four the past two years (Baylor & Houston’s 1st trip since before ’85, the Zags 2nd, blue-blood UCLA’s first since ’08 last year and Texas Tech & Auburn’s 1st ever, Virginia’s 3rd (and first since ’84), Michigan St’s first since ’15 in ’19), three blue bloods are back with three-time champion Villanova tagging along.  Combined, the four teams have 61 Final Fours (the previous 2 tourneys had only a combined 41 with 19 of them belonging to UCLA).  While not a blue blood in the traditional sense, Villanova has won 2 of the past 5 titles and are in their 3rd FF in six tourneys.  The top-heavy Final Four makes you forget about St. Peter’s, Providence, Miami, Iowa St and even Gonzaga and Arizona.  Remember them?  Remember the West Coast power?  Nope, it’s Kansas and three teams who you can barely see on the map on the East Coast.

Star Studded Final Four

61 Final Fours. 17 Championships. Not the Final Four many envisioned (in our pool, only Tarheel Blue Balls got all four) but what a great group and you feel like any of them, including #8 North Carolina could win the title. So what if the college teams put stars over their logos like world soccer teams do? UNC leads with 6, followed by Duke with 5 and Kansas and Villanova with 3 each. So none as crazy as Boca Juniors’ star-filled logo. Though UNC has one more title than the LA Galaxy.

Issue # 10.4.2 “In the End, Blue Bloods Advance” (3/27)

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FAMILIAR TEAMS KANSAS AND UNC IN FINAL FOUR
Mia Culpa lead cut to 4 as Tarheel Blue Balls Gets All 4 Teams; 18 still alive

PLAYING TENNIS WITH MY KIDS IN OUR CUL-DE-SAC, CA (smt) – As the lone #1 seed, MW-Kansas struggled in the first half trailing by 6 at the break (35-29) but came on strong in the second half, outscoring #10MW-Miami (FL) 47-15 to win easily, 76-50.  Kansas shot 50% en route to winning the Midwest Regional for the 13th time.  In the destroyed East Regional, #8E-UNC jumped to a 9-0 lead and never looked back in routing Cinderella #15E-St. Peter’s, 69-49 for their record 21st trip to the Final Four.  Unlike in other sports, playing on a court means that a Gator-fetti bucket was dumped on the players and coaches instead of Gatorade (I guess in this case, the sponsor is Powerade).

Both underdogs suffered from relentless defense as Miami missed 36 shots but only got 5 offensive rebounds and St. Peter’s missed 42 shots but only got 7 offensive rebounds.  This sets up a first that doesn’t sound like a first, the first tournament match-up between ACC rivals #2W-Duke and UNC.  For two teams that have reached the Final Four a total of 38 times, never have they met.  The other semifinal will be Kansas and #2S-Villanova, a team that has eliminated Kansas in the past two times they met (’18 Final Four and ’16 Elite 8).  In the end, with all the upsets and teams that disappointed, it’s three Blue Bloods (UNC, Kansas, Duke) and one wannabe Blue Blood (Villanova) in the Final Four.

Issue # 8.3.2 “Love Conquers All” (3/25)

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ST PETER’S DOES IT, ACC ROLLS IN
Mia Culpa lead by 13, clinches at least 4th; 33 still alive

3.5 HOUR LONG DRIVE GOLETA TO HOME, CA (smt) – In the city of brother love, #4E-UCLA had a three-point lead under 2 minutes and UNC clanked a bad shot but a hustle play to save the ball created a UNC three-point opportunity by Caleb Love (who had a jaw-dropping 27 points in the 2nd half – UCLA had 35 total in the 2nd half) to tie and later allowed another offensive rebound that UNC tipped in to go up by 5.  UNC hit their free throws to win 73-66, outscoring the Bruins 12-2 to end the game.  The west coast is toasted, once again.  UCLA played well committing just 6 turnovers but it was two hustle plays that doomed them.  I also blame the telecast using UCLA in ugly yellow background for the scoreline.

#15E-St Peter’s played well and didn’t panic when #3E-Purdue went up 56-52 and went on a 9-1 run, hit 19/21 free throws, and their defense made Purdue miss their first 10 threes of the 2nd half in winning 67-64.  In a rare one possession game, Purdue actually had a very decent look to tie as the buzzer-beater just missed.  St Peter’s is the first team to win twice as double-digit underdogs and becomes the first 13/14/15/16 seed to make the Elite 8.

Issue # 4.2.1 “UNC Unchokes Itself” (3/19)

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AN ELBOW NEARLY DOOMED UNC
Tarheel Blue Balls goes 6-2 to lead by 2

DISAPPOINTED SELLOUT CROWD FOR LAvORL AT DIGNITY HEALTH SPORTS PARK, CA (smt) – Where to even start?  #8E-UNC was cruising with a 25-point lead (67-42) when with 10:08 left, UNC’s Brady Manek’s (26 pts) elbow landed on a #1E-Baylor player’s face and the refs decided to call a flagrant-2 and eject him from the match giving Baylor, at the time, a couple of meaningless free throws.  The Bears made 1 of 2 but that turned into a quick 11-0 run and eventually outscored UNC 38-13 in ten minutes to tie the game at 80 with 15.8 seconds left (a head scratcher long 3-pt attempt by UNC on the last play exemplified all that went wrong for UNC).  Ten turnovers, three late missed free throws, taking just ten shots (the did make 4 of them), another technical foul, and seemingly always dribbling into a corner against Baylor’s press was ten minutes UNC wanted to forget.  Luckily, in overtime, they were like goldfish and outscored the Bears 13-6 to win 93-86 to advance to their 30th Sweet 16.  Baylor exploited inconsistent refs with their aggressive press which caused UNC fits (plus poor decision making).  In overtime, UNC got the benefit of calls as Baylor just ran out of gas while having 3 players foul out.

#1MW-Kansas scored the last 6 points in holding off #9MW-Creighton by 7.  #11S-Michigan, who some thought should have been in the First Four went on a 14-4 run late to overcome a 6-point deficit to #3S-Tennessee to win by 8.  #4MW-Providence, who most thought was over-seeded, walloped #12MW-Richmond by 28 to make its first Sweet 16 since ’97.  #4E-UCLA broke open the game after #5E-St. Mary’s got within one five minutes into the second half to make its 5th Sweet 16 in 9 years.  A collision course with Gonzaga looms but first two of the biggest programs will face off as 11-time champion UCLA will face 6-time champion UNC.

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 # 1.0.1 “The Silver Age of Brackets”

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Monday, March 18, 2019  **HELP support Boys & Girls Clubs of America (deadline Tue 3:40 pm PDT **

ACC NABS 3 #1 SEEDS, DUKE #1 OVERALL
Our 25th year offers a consistent experience, unlike the new NCAA Evaluation Tool

CERRITOS/SANTA BARBARA, CA (smt)- The Big Ten got 8 teams in but it was the ACC who was king as #1E-Duke (with sensation Zion (Williamson)), #1S-Virginia, and #1MW-North Carolina (record 17th #1 seed) got the top three #1 seeds.  #1W-Gonzaga, despite losing to #11S-St. Mary’s in the WCC final, got the last #1 seed.  The Cavs are back as a #1 seed a year after becoming the first team to lose to a #16 seed (no UMBC in sight this year).  The top 32 ranked teams in the new NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) made the tourney but so did NET73 St. John’s while NET33 NC State did not.  #12S-Oregon’s upset of #9MW-Washington in the Pac 12 final likely sent UNC Greensboro (60NET) home.  The ACC and SEC got 7 teams in with the Big 12 (6), AAC (4), Big East (4), and Pac 12 (3) getting at least three teams.  The mid-majors managed to snag seven at-large bids (including the AAC’s 3) and almost a eighth (the aforementioned UNCG) in a nice change of pace.  Somehow #9S-Oklahoma (7-12) and #11MW-Ohio St. (9-13) made the tourney with horrible losing conference records.  No sign of UCLA or USC but the #13S-Anteaters of UC-Irvine made it to be our only local team, their 2nd appearance after making it in 2015 also as a 13 seed and nearly knocking off Louisville.  #2E-Michigan St and #2W-Michigan (with the Spartans beating the Wolverines 3 times in 15 days) were both shipped to Hartford but Michigan St got Duke’s region due to the fact the regional (Washington DC) is much closer than their normal position as 5th seed in the West (Anaheim).  #7S-Cincy gets to play in the same state (Columbus) with #4MW-Kansas hoping to make the regional in Kansas City.  Streaking MW-Auburn who beat #2S-Tennessee for their first SEC title in 34 years only earned a 5 seed.

Wow, the Selection show brought back memories of a simpler time when all picks were done in just over a half-hour, none of this NBA analyst nonsense of last year,  none of the leaked brackets of the past, none of the dragging out the picks over an hour.   And back on CBS where it belongs.

Issue # 14.6.1 “Ugly Redemption”

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2017 NCAA Champions
#1-South (Memphis, TN)	University of North Carolina Tar Heels (33-7) 6th Title: ’57, ’82, ’93, ’05, ’09, ’17
2017 Winningest Conference
	The Southeastern Conference (11-5) 4th Time: ’06, ’07, ’14, ’17 & The Atlantic Coast Conference (11-8) 6th Time: ’04, ’05, ’10, ’15, ’16, ’17

Monday, April 3, 2017 

CERRITOS APT, CA (smt)- #1S-North Carolina shot 35.6%, only made 4 of 27 from long range (14.8%), and missed 11 free throws (57.7%) yet were able to hold off #1W-Gonzaga, 71-66, in a foul-marred game (22 fouls on each team).  With two injured ankles, Joel Berry made four threes (the rest of the team was 0 for 14) and scored 22 points (second straight final with 20+ points) to lead UNC to redemption after last year’s final loss to Villanova.  It was an ugly contest with UNC shooting 30% in the 1st half and Gonzaga shooting 28% in the second half and the refs plagued the game with fouls, a ticky tack flagrant 1 at a key point in the game, and missing an out-of-bounds hand by a UNC player in a tie-up that was possession UNC with under a minute left.  Despite the poor shooting all-around the teams did manage to combine to score 136 points which is more than the other mid-major finals involving Butler (120 and 94 points in back-to-back finals).

UNC’s win gave Dboyz17 the 2017 HWCI NCAA Pool title and record $690 win (out of a record $1,780 pot), finishing with 148 points followed by MarchMindlessness (143), Alternative Picks (142), Agnes Scheweizhofer (135), and Flying Elvi (133).  The 136 total points gave ChasCroix1 the tiebreaker over The Juggernaut to win 6th.  Bigtenfan was in position to win the Bonus but a late foul put that in jeopardy; luckily UNC made just one of two free throws and he finished off by one point and was still the best finisher (32nd) among the 12 entries who were one off.

We are now on Twitter (@HWCI_Pools).  Please follow!  I will post using #hwcincaa mini-updates during the day so you can follow without being on Twitter (and if you are, please use #hwcincaa).  Please join our Facebook HWCI NCAA Pool Group or post comments on our blog.  Read the rest of this entry »

Issue # 13.5.2 “23 Paths to Success” (History of our Pool)

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2017 NCAA Final Four @ PHOENIX, AZ
The Final at University of Phoenix Stadium
#1-West San Jose, CA	vs.	#1-South Memphis, TN
Gonzaga University Bulldogs (37-1)		University of North Carolina Tar Heels (32-7)
West Coast Conference Spokane, WA First Final (est. 1958) def. #16 South Dakota St. 66-46 #8 Northwestern 79-73 #4 West Virginia 61-58 #11 Xavier 83-59 #7E-South Carolina 77-73		Atlantic Coast Conference Chapel Hill, NC 11th Final (’46, ’57, ‘ 68, ’77, ’81, ‘82, ’93, ’05, ’09, ’16) def. #16 Texas So. 103-64 #8 Arkansas 72-65 #4 Butler 92-80 #2 Kentucky 75-73 #3MW-Oregon 77-76

Sunday, April 2, 2017 

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- Gonzaga has only lost one time all year and some blame the weak West Coast Conference but has beaten a Big Ten, a Big East, a Big 12, and an SEC team en route to the finals.  North Carolina is representing the so-called best conference, the mighty ACC, who got 9 teams in but only they survived into the Sweet 16.  While the Bulldogs are making their first-ever finals appearance, the Tar Heels are making their 11th and second straight.  UNC is a slight 1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 153.5 points.

In our 23rd year, there are 11 people still alive (once again, no one has more than one entry in the running) with 8 trying to win money for the first time with the Brian S (Flying Elvi) last winning in ’97, a span of 19 pools (17 years in the pool).  John W (Jbwsaijo) is the only person who is playing for the first time.  Nelson P (Alternative Picks) last played in ’12 being winless in all 10 years but his return will net him at least 6th place.  Andy F (Anges Schweizhoffer) has played 20 years and his only win was a share of 6th place in ’12 ($32.50 which was less than the $40 Bonus!).  Michael G (Spermicidal State) will try to win money in his 10th try.  John W (Jbwsaijo) will try to become the 24th person to win money in the first year of playing (just the 14th since ’99).  65 entries have a chance at the $40 Bonus.  Since final pool placement counts, it means that although 16 entries picked 144 as their total points in final tiebreaker, if the total ends up being 144, Jason R (Buccos 3) will win (finish with 119 pts) if Gonzaga wins or Greg Z (Dboyz17-2) will win if UNC wins (finish with 128 pts) (and would be the first person to get more than one entry in the money in the same year).

A little history of our humble pool…
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Issue # 12.5.1 “#1 vs #1”

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Saturday, April 1, 2017 

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA (smt)- #1W-Gonzaga had a 14-point second-half lead only to see #7E-South Carolina score 16 straight points in 3 1/2 minutes to lead by 2 with 7:06 left.  The Zags then responded with a 7-0 run of their own in the next 3 1/2 minutes and then held on to a 77-73 win to advance to their first Final.  Up by 3 with 13 seconds left and playing defense, the Zags did what every person always yells at the TV, FOUL to give two free throws instead of allowing a game-tying three.  Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins did thisperfectly leaving just three seconds left (of course, USC helped by taking their time for the shot).  As expected, South Carolina made the first, missed the second but couldn’t get the rebound and the Zags sealed the game with two free throws.

Trying to get the rebound off a missed free throw, however, was no problem for #1S-North Carolina.  The Tar Heels were comfortable with a six-point lead with under a minute left only to see #3MW-Oregon cut it to one.  UNC missed two free throws but they got the offensive rebound so Oregon fouled again.  Incredibly, UNC missed both free throws again, and more incredibly, UNC got the offensive rebound again running out the final four seconds for a 77-76 victory to return to the final for the second consecutive year and 11th overall (5-5).

Dboyz17 was one of 11 to get both teams correct to take a five-point lead with 136 points.  If UNC wins he will be our 21st different champion of our pool.  But if Gonzaga wins, Read the rest of this entry »