CARSON/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- #3MW-Florida (32-6) came out on fire in the second half to jump to a 51-32 lead before coasting to a 73-58 win over fan-favorite #11E-George Mason (27-8) in the first Final Four semifinal. The Gators made ten 3-point shots (Lee Humphrey with six of those) before the Patriots made even made one (late in the game) to advance to the championship for only the second time (lost in 2000, also in Indy). GM made one last run to cut it to 9 with 4:46 left but Florida went 4/4 on FTs to put the lead back to 13 and out of reach.

#2W-UCLA (32-6) exploded coming out of halftime to expand on their 15-point halftime lead (first three baskets were dunks), building it up to 24 (55-31), and never letting Big Baby (or Big Zero) and his #4S-LSU Tigers (27-9) find their rhythm in winning 59-45. For the second consecutive game the Bruins held their opponents to 45 points and have established one of the best defenses in the shot clock era. In a twist, LSU, not UCLA, shot poorly from the free throw line, missing 15 of their first 26 attempts. UCLA also hit five 3-pointers to LSU's zero.  UCLA is in its 13th championship game, winning 11 of 12 games.

Any combination would have been an unlikely scenario at the start of the tournament, but eleven did pick UCLA and three picked Florida, but no one got both. As such, LORENZO MATA (113 pts) is in first place but can't finish higher than 2nd and JINX (110) is in 2nd place but can't finish higher than 3rd.  A record 9 entries are still alive and if you look at the possibilities, everyone has a 50% chance for money. For the second straight year, no one is guaranteed money going into Monday's game. And for the third straight year (after the first 9 years saw the HWCI NCAA Pool Champion crowned after the Semis), we don't have a winner yet. And (can I really start sentences with "and"?) the Bonus Prize can only be won if UCLA wins which means the prize totals are different! Confused? Here is the scoop...

       if UCLA wins     if FLA wins
1st:   $ 405.00         $415.00
2nd:   $ 190.00         $200.00
3rd:   $ 130.00         $140.00
4th:   $  85.00         $ 95.00
Bonus: $  40.00         [None]

With two scenarios left and nine people alive for just four big money spots, that means the tiebreaker will come into play. If UCLA wins, there is a battle for 2nd place. If the total points scored in the final is 132 or less, then BRUINS4LIFE (9th-T, 105) wins 2nd and BIX PIX (9th-T, 105) 3rd. If the total is 134 or more, it's reversed. If the total is 133, then both will split $320. If Florida wins, there is a battle for 4th place. If the total points scored in the final is 152 or less, AGENT 86 OF CONTROL (3rd-T, 108) wins 4th and BELUCKY1 (3rd-T, 108) goes home empty-handed. If the total is 154 or more, it's reversed. If the total is 153, the both will split $95. Interestingly, the over/under is about 128 points.