2012 HWCI NCAA Pool Update|
The 18th HWCI NCAA Tournament Pool |
|
2012 HWCI NCAA Pool Update |
| 2012 NCAA Champions | |
![[U. of Kentucky Wildcats]](images/KY.png) #1-SOUTH (ATLANTA, GA) |
The University of Kentucky
Wildcats (38-2) |
| 2012 Winningest Conference | |
![[Big East Conference]](../archive/conf/big_east.gif) |
The Big East Conference (13-9) |
Monday, April 2, 2012 Issue # 15.7.1 "One-and-Done Complete" [ Home | Blog | Facebook | Updates ]
CERRITOS, CA (smt)- #1S-Kentucky was the #1 overall seed, which usually means nothing but this year, the Wildcats picked up their 38th win in beating #2MW-Kansas, 67-59, for their 8th NCAA title. In the coach's rematch of the 2008 final (Bill Self's Kansas vs. John Calipari's Memphis), Calipari comes out on top this time and avoided the epic collapse of that Tiger team when Kansas went on a 13-3 run to pull within five with over a minute left. The Wildcats built a 18-point lead and then swatted away 11 Jayhawk shots (led by Anthony Davis' 6). The only other #1 overall seed to win was Florida (2007) since they started seeding #1 seeds in 2004. If you go by who was #1 in the AP rankings, only UCLA (1995) and Duke (2001) won. Calipari's strategy of getting the very best (aka, one-and-dones) finally paid off.
A record 52 entries got the correct champion (and the 2nd highest percentage (38.8%) ever, falling way short of the 83.3% who picked UCLA in our very first year) with the top 15 all picking Kentucky. But what matters is who finished in the top 6, or in this case, the top 7 as we have our first-ever tie for a money spot. Along with the Bonus Prize winner, the eight winners is our most ever. Middle-schooler Quinn D (Quinnsanity) tied for the most 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th round wins to become our 17th different HWCI NCAA Pool champion with our largest first-place pot of $540. Bob G (Lots of Losers) won 2nd place for the 2nd time, coincidentally both times when Calipari went up against Self. Nicolas S (Nwspring 1) is our only winner in his first year taking 3rd. Jon J (SlackJaw) won the tiebreaker to take 4th place sending Sam N (Vodka2-Its Not Real) to 5th. Sam N, who you should ask who Vodka2 really is and what the daily status is, won for the 3rd time and along with Bob G are our only multiple-winners meaning six tasted money for the first time -- so 60 people have won money in our pool.
That left a four-way tie for sixth place. The relatively low scoring game (4th lowest ever) meant the 126 total points gave us our first-ever tie -- as Andy F (Frumunda Mybalz) and Megan J (The Wife's Picks) will share the $65 prize leaving Kevin J (Paint Crew) and Dan H (Hendo) wondering why they picked the total points so high. Andy's first win in 15 years means the longest winless drought belongs to Man V (Yellowmonkey, did not play this year) at 0-for-15 and Byron W (49er Time) at 0-for-13.
Ten had a chance to win the Bonus Prize (who picked the Big East with 13 wins) but it was Linh T (SpAva) who got the total points exactly right to win the $40 (more than the split prize for 6th!).
| Prize | Winner | Nickname | Money Won | Years in Pool | # Times Won |
| 1st | Quinn D | Quinnsanity | $ 540 | 5 | 1 |
| 2nd | Bob G | Lots of Losers | $ 280 | 14 | 2 ($ 500) |
| 3rd | Nicholas S | Nwspring 1 | $ 190 | 1 | 1 |
| 4th | Jon J | SlackJaw | $ 135 | 10 | 1 |
| 5th | Sam N | Vodka2-Its Not Real | $ 90 | 15 | 3 ($ 350) |
| 6th (Tie) | Andy F | Frumunda Mybalz | $ 32.50 | 15 | 1 |
| 6th (Tie) | Megan J | The Wife's Picks | $ 32.50 | 3 | 1 |
| Bonus | Linh T | SpAva | $ 40 | 11 | 1 |
Please join our Facebook HWCI NCAA Pool Group or post comments on our blog. Here you can join the group and meet your competitors, make new friends, set up NCAA watching gatherings, and post stuff to the wall (pictures, witty comments, etc.).
Tids 'n' Bits- Kansas was able to stop its opponents cold and come back with a 16-8 run to beat Purdue, break open a close game with a 12-0 run against UNC, and take over Ohio St. with a 15-7 run... they did end the game with a 15-8 run (it was a 13-3 run at one point) but dug themselves too big of a hole... in our 2010 HWCI World Cup Pool, we did have a split-pot with a tie for 4th... it'll be the 75th year of March Madness next year... if you picked chalk for all 18 years, you'd only have won once ($60)... four exactly picked 126 points including our pool champion... this is the first time I had to cents ($32.50) for a winner... Sam N's winning second entry is only the 5th 2nd entry to win money (his first or main entry was Vodka2-It's Real-- in other words, out of 191 2nd or 3rd entries submitted, only 5 have won money... only winners Bob G, Jon J, and Sam N entered multiple times meaning just 3 of 26 people who entered 2 or 3 entries won money...
-------
Now my wife can't complain she doesn't win
anything in our pool...