CERRITOS, CA (smt) - Wow.  How do you blow a 8-point lead in OT?  By missing 4 of 6 free throws.  #8E-Texas had one of the greatest choke jobs, not only in their season (falling from #1 all the way down to an 8 seed), but in their game as #9E-Wake Forest recovered from blowing a big lead to be one of 7 lower seeded teams to advance.  And this is just Day 1.  Three top seeds did have an easy time (#1MW-Kansas, #2W-Kansas St., #1E-Kentucky) as well as a #14 seed, Ohio U., who stunned #3MW-Georgetown by shooting 56% from 3-point land (13 of 23) (remember, the line was moved back a foot last year, too).  And Ohio U. didn't even have a winning record in the Mid-American Conference (9th, 7-9).  Second half runs propelled #5W-Butler (22-4), #3E-Baylor (19-9), #3E-New Mexico (17-0, though they then allowed #14E-Montana to go on  a 20-7 run), #10S-St. Mary's (Calif.) (31-13), and #11E-Washington (23-7) to victories.  #7W-BYU (double OT) and #2E-Villanova (OT) literally outlasted their opponents who outplayed them and should've won in regulation.  #11E-Old Dominion, #13W-Murray St. (rare buzzer beater!), #9MW-Northern Iowa, and #6MW-Tenn squeaked out victories as four of eight games to go to overtime or decided by 3 points or less (last year, in the whole tourney, just 2 OT games and 9 games decided by 3 or less points or OT).  Seven upsets and just one from the popular 9 or 12 seeds.

#15E-Robert Morris actually had an 8-point lead with 4:19 left in regulation and led 'Nova from 11-9 until the first play of overtime (60-58), a span of almost 35 minutes.  For the most part, teams were failing at the charity stripe and even reliable BYU missed free throws in overtime.  While Florida had their 12-game tournament win streak snapped (remember they missed the past two years after winning back-to-back titles), BYU snapped a 7-game 1st Round losing streak-- all in our pool years.  Below is how they have fared (green cells show how they did, i.e., lost in the first round) and their seeds.  As you can see, we didn't have much faith in them, as they never got the majority of entries even as an #8 seed four times.  This year, it's different as 77 picked BYU.

Year	Seed	Region	Team	W6	W5	W4	W3	W2	W1	W0
1995	8	SE	BYU	0	0	0	0	0	4	8
2001	12	W	BYU	0	0	0	0	3	5	51
2003	12	S	BYU	0	0	0	0	1	3	59
2004	12	W(PHX)	BYU	0	0	0	1	2	9	67
2007	8	S	BYU	0	0	0	0	0	29	69
2008	8	W	BYU	0	0	0	0	0	38	63
2009	8	W	BYU	0	0	0	0	0	54	60

We received a record 33 entries on Thursday which pushed us past last year's total of 114.  It appears at least 117 of the 118 are good to go (just waiting on one confirmation (Troyboy4)).  In the fifteen years since our first pool, we have gone up in entries every year but one (2003).  This year, though, we did go down in number of people (94 vs. 98 last year).  A record 16 submitted two entries and a record four submitted the maximum 3 entries.  History and statistics shows it doesn't help but last year's champion did submit two and did win on his second bracket.  We have 19 new people (welcome!) and 26 new entries.  Thanks to Google search, isportslinks, and those who recruited!  Below is the breakdown day-by-day since we started the online entry in 1999.

	1999			2000			2001			2002			2003			2004			2005			2006			2007			2008			2009			2010
SUN NITE	0			0			1			2			1			0			2			n/a			n/a			0			n/a			1
MONDAY	3	3		2	2		5	6		9	11		11	12		11	11		15	17		9	9		15	15		19	19		11	11		8	9
TUESDAY	4	7		3	5		5	11		19	30		12	24		9	20		19	36		21	30		14	29		20	39		14	25		23	32
WEDDAY	16	23		13	18		31	42		34	64		27	51		50	70		32	68		45	75		58	87		49	88		62	87		53	85
THU MORN	13	36		18	36		17	59		16	80		12	63		9	79		14	82		10	85		11	98		13	101		27	114		33	118

As for the pool, EastCoastBias is all alone in first going 14-2 (28 pts).  Three (You're My Boy Blue, Suznana, and BracketBoy) are tied for second with 26 pts.  Even with 7 upsets, 85 entries still managed to pick at least 10 games correctly.  Bracket Buster and HowardZinn are tied for last with 14 pts.  Sexual Napalm (5th-Tied, 24) (boy, I'm going to have fun with this year's Nickname issue...) won his first 10 games but went 2-4 in his last six.  No one picked Ohio (9 teams were unloved like Ohio, with zero picks) while 25 picked Murray St. and 27 picked Old Dominion.  Kansas was picked by 64, by far the most ever picked to be champion in our pools (last time that heavy a favorite, UCLA in 2008 with 44 picking them to win... ah, wasn't it just yesterday UCLA was actually good?).  Eleven different teams were picked to win it all with Kentucky getting 24 and Syracuse 8.  You can view everyone's bracket here or view the overall choice listing.  And, for the first-time ever, I believe, we actually have two brackets picked EXACTLY the same.  All 63 games the same (though they differ on the tiebreaker).  Amazing.  So LuckyNumberSlevin and RunsWithCrackers (19th-T, 22) are LuckyNumberSlevenRunsWithCrackers.

You can now view the unofficial list of people in our pool and you can find out who #1 or Sisyphus are.  Please explain your nickname or discuss which nicknames you like, don't like, or don't understand in our discussion forum.

   Tids & Bits - 36 entries have played at least 8 of our 16 pools... 92 entries make their return including Jeff L. (1st since 2005) and Eric C. (1st since 2006)... One game in and Another Two-Peat (19th-T) lost his Florida champ - can't blame him for being loyal to a T... Droppin' Dimes (19th-T) is the only person to lose 2 Final Four teams (G'Town, Notre Dame)... he and Jonna Rocks (19th-T) lost their champ G'Town... David's Lighter (19th-T), Random (59th-T), and EastCoastBias still have their Sweet 16 intact... Vandy has been a #4 seed twice in the past 3 years and lost both times in the first round (in '08 to Siena)... the Big East conference got roughed up, going 1-3 (4 more teams play tomorrow)... 8 mid-majors won today maybe adding fuel that if a 9th place MAC team can beat a Big East team, 96 teams may be acceptable (don't buy it)... Ohio won for the first time in 45 years and Baylor won for  the first time in 50 years... the 9 unanimous picks (e.g., Kansas) is the most since 2001 when 10 teams were all picked to win their first round game (and they were all correct!)... great job by WestwoodOne on the evening games as they bounced from game-to-game in the closing minutes - though I don't know why they listed 1150AM as an affiliate when I listed to 570AM...