1999 HWCI NCAA Pool Update

Tuesday, March 16, 1999                       http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa
Issue # 7.3.1 "Sweet 16 dreams..."

                     1999 HWCI NCAA TOURNAMENT POOL
                     ==============================

      GONZAGA LEADS PACK OF SURPRISES- BUT WILL ANYONE STOP DUKE?
      Twenty people can still win first and get half of $360 pot

     LA MIRADA, CA (smt)-  It's been two days since the madness 
stopped so that the sports world can get their heads together for 
the next wave of NCAA games.  Here are my Sweet 16 thoughts:

     1.  DUKE- Can it get any easier for them?  It would have still
been laughable if they had to face #8 Charleston, #4 Tenn, and
#2 Miami, FL in their next three games but now instead they faced
#9 Tulsa, will play #12 SW Missouri St., and then either #6 Temple
or #10 Purdue.  The rich get richer.
     2.  CBS- They can't handle more than one game going on at a
time.  They're brainless.  It's unfantomable to wait 30 minutes for
a score of a close game.  It's worse when 10 of those 30 minutes are
commercials.
     3.  GONZAGA- Huh?  They outhustled and outrebounded Stanford.
They've earned respect and could make the Elite 8.  Will they now
change their name?
     4.  PAC 10- It couldn't get any worse (unless USC made it).
     5.  MIAMI- Who would have guessed it would be Miami of Ohio and
not Miami of Florida that would be in the Sweet 16.
     6.  KANSAS VS KENTUCKY.  Now that's a classic matchup.  Too bad
it happened in the second round.
     7.  WALLY.  Wally Szczerbiak of Miami of Ohio single-handedly
led them to a first round win by scoring 43 of Miami's 59 points.
     8.  SW Missouri St-  The #12 seed stifled #5 Wisconsin to an
amazingly low 32 points then went out and whipped #4 Tennessee.  Too 
bad they have to face Duke.
     9.  FLORIDA A&M- The poor team met Duke in the first round.  The
good news is they covered the 46 point spread.
     10. NAMES- What's with the similar names?  Kent/Kentucky.  
Stanford/Samford.  Miami of Florida/Florida/Florida A&M.  
Ole Miss/Missouri/SW Missouri St.  Oklahoma/Oklahoma St.  
Miami of Ohio/Miami of Florida.
     11. UCLA- Another first round exit in Indianapolis.  Well, at
least Coach Steve Lavin didn't cry like last year (though he should
have- it was a pitiful performance).
     12. #1 SEEDS- Although #1S-Auburn and #1MW-Michigan St. had some
problems in the second round, this could be the first year all four
#1 seeds made it to the Final Four since the field expanded to 64
teams.
     13. TEMPLE VS PURDUE- Great matchup here.  Too bad the winner 
loses in the Elite 8.
     14. SOUTH REGION- The only region where things made sense with
the top four seeds advancing.  Only 4 of the other 12 top seeds
in the other regions advanced.  
     15. CINCINNATI- It's good to know that in one of the most 
unpredictable tournaments, you can always count on high seeded
Cincy to not make the Sweet 16.
     16. DUKE- They're so good I gotta mention them twice.

     THE POOL:  MAX POWER used a strong 2nd round to take over first
place with 81 points.  CHRIS (79 pts) is right behind with SHARY
BOBBINS (76) in third.  Of the 36 entrants, 29 still have a shot
at some money but only 20 still have a chance for first place.
Speaking of money, the pot has been divided.  

          First place  = $180 \
          Second place =  $90  \ Total pot =
          Third place  =  $60  /  $360.00
          Forth place  =  $30 /

Just eight people have their Final Four teams intact.  Even with that,
THE MIGHTY MOBELFAKTA (59) joins six others as being the first ones to
be eliminated this year.  SHAW (69) has 3 of his 4 Final Four teams 
out but still has a chance for first place, believe it or not.
In four previous pools, five people have submitted two entries and
so far none of them have won.  So it doesn't look good for 
THE FABONE V (73) and FREE FABONE (71), despite clinging to 4th and 
7th place, respectively.  Heading into the Sweet 16, SHARY BOBBINS
has the best chance (34.4%) of finishing first while MAX POWER has
the best chance of winning any money (69.6%) after all is said and
done.  Of the 32,768 possible outcomes, JAYLOC can win money on
just 24 of them (0.07%).  The standings can change rapidly.  In 1995,
our first year, LOSER WHO DIDN'T PICK UCLA was 11th (of 12 entrants)
after the first round, picked 14 of 16 in the second round to take
over first place, then got none of his final four teams in to end 
the pool dead last.  More info can be found at:  
http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa/f4poss.html or by visiting the main page.
After Friday's games, you will be able to know which of the
128 final possible outcomes you could win money on.  After Sunday's
games, the Final Four report will be posted on the webpage detailing
the eight final outcomes and who would win what.

     NEW FEATURE:  Shout out your frustrations and comments (or some
good-old gloating) on the HWCI NCAA Discussion Forum.  It's located
at:  http://www.hwci.com/forum/wwwboard.html or just link from the
main webapge.  Please visit and post your thoughts on the pool.

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Madness, Part II begins Thursday...
Scott HW