CERRITOS, CA (smt)- UCLA had the history and its legends at the game but Florida had the desire and the perfect game giving the Gators its first NCAA title. For the third time in the past four finals, no #1 seed could be seen and for the first time ever (with 64/65 teams), no #1 seed made the Final Four. And if this pool was not based in the Los Angeles area and Ken B wasn't such a die-hard Gators fan, would anyone have picked UCLA or Florida to win it all?

Some final thoughts on this crazy tournament...

THE BATTLE: The mid-major seniors vs the major conference sophomores/juniors... the gap seems to closing a bit.

QUESTIONABLE SELECTIONS: George Mason. The Missouri Valley Conference. That's why they play the games.

BUZZER BEATER!!!: For the first time in three years, a shot at the buzzer goes in to win the game (Texas v West Virginia in S16).

NERVOUS: Teams regularly blew 10-point 2nd half leads. Such as Iowa v NW St (17), Gonzaga v UCLA (14), Washington v UConn (11), and Albany v UConn (10.. well, that's forgivable).

COLD: And teams regularly went without a field goal for long periods of time. These are top seeds, too, especially in the Sweet 16 & Elite 8. Villanova v Florida (lost, 10:08), BC v Villanova (lost, 9:16), UCLA v Gonzaga (won, 8:43), and LSU v Duke (won, 7:30 w/o FG).

NO MORE MONKEY: Gonzaga (5 yrs) & Florida (6 yrs) both finally made it to the Sweet 16 as a top seed.

GIVE THE MONKEY TO...: Duke, who for the 4th time in 5 yrs failed to make it to the Elite 8 (3 times as the #1 seed). Kansas, who for the 2nd straight year, failed to win their first game (vs #14 & 13 seeds).

MONKEY IN THE CLOSET: Cincinnati, who for the first time in our pool, failed to make the tournament, and thus, we'll have to wait until next year to see if Cincy will fail to make the Sweet 16 (8 of past 9 years).

NOT YOUR AVERAGE TOURNAMENT: Just 2 of the 16 Sweet 16 teams were there last year, four MVC and eight Big East teams made the tourney, no Big 10 teams made the Sweet 16, a #11 seed made the Final Four, and no #1 seeds made the Final Four.

BEST COMEBACK: NW St. rallied from 17 down to stun Iowa, outscoring the Hawkeyes 27-9 in the last 8 1/2 minutes, capped by Jermaine Wallace's falling out of bounds 3-pt shot with 0.5 seconds left.

IMPROBABLE COMEBACK: UCLA scored the last 11 pts in 3:26 to beat Gonzaga... and did it without the Zags attempting one free throw during that stretch.

BIZARRE PLAY I: Texas v LSU, 52 seconds - 32 seconds left... Uh, TEX shot blocked, TEX rebound, TEX 3-pt shot missed, TEX rebound, LSU steal, LSU turnover as two players go into the sidelines, recovered by TEX, TEX 3-pt attempt blocked from behind, recovered by TEX, 3-pt TEX shot... GOOD!!! Tie game at 52, and OT would follow.

BIZARRE PLAY II: UConn v George Mason, 57 seconds - 47 seconds left... Uh, GMU breakaway, GMU slam attempt blocked, GMU rebound, GMU slam attempt blocked again, GMU rebound, GMU pass turnover, UCONN layup and foul... GOOD!!!! 3-pt play. What should have been a GM 73-67 lead turns into a GM 71-70 lead, and OT would follow.

BEST INNOVATION: Surprisingly, NCAA Sports March Madness on Demand (MMOD). Watching any game was a breeze (except for the one on TV) and best of all, it was free. It also had "Buzzer Beater" which was just the last few minutes of any close game, another awesome feature.

CONGRATS: Gator fan Ken B ($415), Jake P ($200), fellow co-worker and sad Bruin fan John C ($140), and the two-time defending 4th place winner, Pat N ($95).

BONUS FLOP: What seemed like a sure bet that the Big East would get the most wins (with 8 teams, 2 more than any other conference) but they didn't, and for the second straight year no one won the $40 Bonus (making the top 4 winners $10 richer).

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: After finishing 51st, 78th, 52nd, 60th, and 67th the past five years, Ken B won the pool title with his GATORS NEVER CHOKE entry... John C has finished 60th, 23rd, 61st, and 61st again the past four years before taking home 3rd place.

GOING BACKWARD: Robinson C's FLIP FIGHTERS went from 1st last year to 76th this year... Darryn B's BIG LUTHER has gone from 1st to 23rd to 63rd to 78th this year.

NO LUCK: Cliff T's LUCKORBUST last year lost 1st in the second to last day and this year his BELUCKY1 lost 4th place on the tiebreaker on the final day. Maybe not putting "LUCKY" in the nickname might help next year.

DOUBLE ZERO: Seven submitted two or more entries... and seven went home empty-handed.