EL SEGUNDO/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- #1S-Memphis quickly showed they deserved a #1 seed by jumping out to a 19-point halftime lead over #2S-Texas and by hitting their free throws in a 85-67 win.  The Longhorns scored 12 straight points to get within 5 (39-34) but the Tigers went on a 18-4 run to keep Texas out of reach.  The Tigers, a 59.6% free throw shooting team in the regular season, hit 30 of 36 (83%), in advancing to the Final Four for the first time in 23 years.  In the nightcap, the last #1 seed, MW-Kansas, seemed like a lock to have all four #1 seeds in the Final Four for the first time, but #10MW-Davidson would not go down quietly.  Leading scorer Stephen Curry (25 pts) had a chance to be the quintessential hero but passed the ball off as time wound down and the subsequent game-winning 3-pointer was far off the mark allowing the Jayhawks to survive, 59-57.  Both Kansas and Memphis snapped 2-game losing streaks in the Elite 8.  Davidson's 25-game winning streak ended while Memphis picked up its 37th win against just one loss.

SHRINER is now the leader with 132 points, one ahead of FLYING ACE and two ahead of JUNO INO.  Twenty-three (23) went 2-0 while 30 went 0-2.  With all top seeds making the Final Four, a record 12 had a Perfect Final Four.  How rare is that?  There have only been 8 Perfect Final Four brackets in the past 699 entries (and 6 of them came last year!).  QUICKPICK MCGRAW (101st, 50 pts) is the only one to go 0-For-The-Final-Four, the 114th entry to do so.  In fact, QUICKPICK is the only person ever to have the lowest (or tied for the lowest) win total in each of the six rounds.  The Memphis-Texas game was our most even pick 'em of the tournament with 39 choosing Memphis and 38 choosing Texas.  The Tigers win eliminated 14 entries and left just eight vying for first place.  Kansas was picked by 55 and Davidson' failure to get off the winning shot prevented LUSTIFULLY N LONDON! (20th-Tied, 116) from getting a much needed six points over everyone else.  The Jayhawks win also eliminated our defending champion, BACK2BACKHOPEFULLY (28th-T, 115).  Robinson C (FLIP FIGHTERS (20th-T)) is the only past champion (and only 2-time champion) who can still win it all.  But there are a record 24 entries who can still finish in the top 5. 

JUNO INO has the most chances to win money (62.5%) while a record eight entries have a chance to win first (SHRINER with two possibilities (one is a tiebreaker)).  15 of the 24 remaining entries have exactly one chance in 8 to win money.  You can now view the eight remaining possible outcomes and if you're still alive (and I'm not), you can see what you need to happen to win money.  The most interesting one is if UCLA beats UNC in the Final as we would have a tiebreaker for 2nd place and a four-way tiebreaker for 5th (meaning three of the four would win zilch).

In the race for the Bonus Prize, the Big 12 split today giving the conference 10 wins.  There are only three scenarios left.  Either the Big East has the most with 11 wins (QUEENB, DK, and INDY could win this), the Big East and Big 12 tie with 11 wins (no one wins and we go to Bonus2 which opens it back up to all the losers in the closest to total points criteria), or the Big 12 wins with... wait for it... 12 (MR_ROCKET, ARBEDYTHREE, CROW2BUGS, COBI'S DAD, and QUICKPICK MCGRAW (believe it or not!) could win this).  In the last scenario,  COBI'S DAD would win the Bonus1 if Kansas beats UCLA in the Final but would be ineligible if Kansas beats Memphis in the Final (because then he'd win either 2nd or 3rd place). 

Notes / 債券:  The 2.52 average wins for the 4th Round set a record (2.27 in 2007)... 63 still have their Final Two intact... even if you take out the 5th place prize, 18 entries would still be alive and that would still be a record (17 in 2007).... 8 entries have won their last 7 games... Kansas makes the Final Four for the 13th time and will face ex-coach Roy Williams and his Tar Heels...