Thursday, March 21, 2002            
Issue # 8.3.1 "Hoosiers and Golden Flashes..."
http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa

CERRITOS, CA (smt)- Big second halves by #5S-Indiana (ended on 29-14 run), #2W-Oklahoma (ended on 48-23 run), and #12W-Missouri (ended on 38-22 run) propelled them into the Elite 8. #10S-Kent St. let #3S-Pitt end the second half on a 15-9 run but held on in overtime to upset Pitt, 78-73. The biggest upset was Indiana's win over defending champion #1S-Duke, who many considered to have an easy road to the Final Four. How big are making free throws? Just ask Jason Williams or the Kent St. team. With Duke down by four, Williams got the rebound and hit a three with four seconds left and was fouled for a chance for a 4-pt play to tie the game. What a gift. But what was going to be Duke's downfall at the start of the tournament? Poor free throwing. Williams had a chance to erase all his free throwing problems with one shot. He missed. Duke lost. On the other side, Kent St. hit all 8 free throws in overtime. The final California team (of 7) and fourth and fifth Pac-10 teams lost today. #8W-UCLA, having already saved coach Lavin's job, folded in the second half.

How bad is it for Bob Knight? He's portrayed horribly in an ESPN movie ladden with profanity. His #6E-Texas Tech team gets upset in the first round. Now, his former team, Indiana, has advanced to the Elite 8 with a clear path to the Final Four.

Two entries have been removed due to lack of payment, leaving the field with 80 entries. THE DUKE and SHOCKING HEATER 99 didn't respond to any emails and will be forever deleted. This allowed MADPRO#2 (53rd-Tied, 69 pts) to briefly go from elimination to a chance for 4th, but at the end of the day, he was back where he started. Duke's loss and Oklahoma's win changed the whole dynamics of the pool. RANDOM PICKS (90) is still in first despite going 0-4 and has a 15.7% chance of winning first but the best chance of winning money shifts to THE FABON8ER (2nd, 85) with 50.4%. CHENMAN and DARA (both at 20th-T, 77) now both have an 11% chance of winning first. The biggest jumpers were those who went 2-2 for the day (YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT 39th-T -> 14th-T and SOURCE 47th-T -> 28th-T thanks to Missouri picks). Two picked Indiana and three picked Kent St. but all failed to pick Oklahoma. ZONAMASTER (37th-T, 73) also picked Missouri but picked Arizona. 31 people lost their Champion pick.

The top three are PICKS, THE FABON8ER, and FREE JINX (84). MHK (83), although tied for 4th place with ARPS, can't finish higher than 3rd. ZIPPY (81) is eliminated despite being tied for 6th place. Also tied for sixth, PINKOCEAN can't finish higher than 2nd and BOB DYLAN can't finish higher than fourth. The $800 prize money breakdown should be released tomorrow on the discussion board sometime.