CERRITOS, CA (smt)- In Seattle, the two biggest West Coast teams were slain as #2MW-Gonazaga and #1W-Stanford were eliminated. #10MW-Nevada (making it the 8 stright year at least one #10 seed has made the Sweet 16) jumped to an early 20-point lead and never let the Zags (a horrible 3/22 (14%) from 3-pt range) or its home crowd back into the game. Gonzaga has lost its magic of late, failing to make the Sweet 16 for the third straight year, all as a #9 seed or better. Then Stanford had a huge collapse, blowing a 13-point lead with less than 8 minutes left. #8W-Alabama used a 16-0 run (29-9 at one point) to shock the Cardinal. The amazing thing about their 30-14 run to end the game is that they only scored one 2-point basket. One. They shot a jaw-dropping 24 free throws (making 19) in that stretch (they took 33 more free throws overall, making 26 more overall), and had they not missed their last 3 free throws, Stanford wouldn't even had a chance to tie it at the end.

OK, six more games were played. #5W-Syracuse won the battle of the former champs, outlasting a #4W-Maryland comeback attempt. #4E-Wake Forest, #1E-St. Joe's (who most predicted would be the first #1 seed to bow out), and #3S-Texas survived some scares while #1S-Duke and #2W-UConn won easily.

Now, one of the first milestones is to survive the weekend. After Sunday's games, we will know which entries have been eliminated from money (top 4 spots and/or bonus prize). It may be surprising that it's not that bad. Some in the bottom of the standings will still be alive and some near the middle won't be. Those who had a Stanford-Gonzaga final (there're five of you), we'll find out if there's still a chance for you.

Four entries went 6-2 today while three went 2-6. DC944 was one of the former and now takes over first place with 72 points. JEDI MASTER ROB, PINKBUBBLES, and SMORGGLE are tied for 2nd with 71 pts. JODON007 (70 pts) had a tough day and falls from first to fifth. SKRATCHNSNIFT was one to just get two right and falls into last place with 42 pts and can't get more than 90 with 3 of the Final Four teams gone. BRENT (71st-Tied, 55) also lost 3 of his Final Four teams. SOURCE (64th-T, 58) lost his first six games. SCHADENFREUDE (50th-T, 61) was the only one to pick Nevada and in the pool competitive games, 22 picked Syracuse and 48 picked Texas.

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This is what March Madness is all about...
Scott