CERRITOS, CA (smt)- Kevin Love had his third straight double-double (19 pts, 10 reb) to lead #1W-UCLA into the Final Four for a record 18th time with a 76-57 victory over #3W-Xavier.  Xavier had cut UCLA's second half lead to six but then the Bruins went on a 17-2 run and never let the Musketeers get within eight the rest of the way.  In the other 1 vs 3 match-up, #1E-UNC's Tyler Hansbrough had his second double-double (28 p, 13 r) to send the Tar Heels to their 17th Final Four in a 83-73 win over #3E-Louisville.  Louisville never let North Carolina jump to a big lead (keeping it 12 or lower the whole game) and tied it at 59 but UNC always had an answer.  When the Cardinals again got within two at 66-64, the Tar Heels went on a 11-2 run to put the game away.  The first two #1 seeds made it, will the other two join them for the first time in history (since field expanded to 64/65 teams)?  The remaining #1 seeds, #1MW-Kansas & #1S-Memphis, have both lost their last two Elite 8 matchups.

FLYING ACE expanded his first place lead to five points (125 points) but is now ahead of SHRINER who moved into second with WOODEN_SOLDIER (who can't win 1st) a point behind him.   JUNO INO is in 4th tied with FLYIN' HAWAIIAN (who can't win 1st/2nd/3rd) with 118 pts.  A record 64 went 2-0 (only 87 had done so in the previous 13 years) and those that didn't, tumbled, but only four were eliminated today, leaving 41 still in the running for money.  Only 14 can win 1st with FLYING ACE, SHRINER, and PSW-SP (9th-Tied, 115 pts) all having exactly 5 chances (out of 32) to win the to prize.  The bad news for PSW-SP is that she only has five chances (basically Texas winning it all or Davidson beating Texas in the Final) to win money meaning she either finishes 1st or is eliminated.  ACE has 19 chances (59.4%) with three others with a 31-38% chance to win money.  Just four went 0-2.

In the race for the Bonus Prize, the last Big East team fell, leaving the conference with 11 wins.  The two Big 12 teams play tomorrow (9 wins; max: 14).  There are only 9 entries still alive to win the Bonus1 while 55 can't win prize money or the Bonus1 (unless no one wins Bonus1 we go to the Bonus2).  No one will win the Bonus1 if the Big East and Big 12 finish tied with 11 wins or the Big 12 wins 14 games - or the Bonus1 winner is a top 5 finisher and thus is ineligible.

Notes / σημειωσεις:  28 still have their Final Four intact with only FLIP FIGHTERS (46th-T, 104) losing his perfect 4 with Louisville's loss... 86 entries picked UCLA while 75 chose UNC... if you want to know your possible winning outcomes, post your request on the Discussion Board topic or comment on the Blog entry- as an example, here is my wife's five possible winning scenarios (PSW-SP)... QUICKPICK MCGRAW may have ended his pool yesterday at 50 points (avoiding the worst bracket ever), but he did set a record low with just 21 wins (HENDO in 2002 had 22 wins)...