LEXINGTON PARK, MD (smt)- It's happened, a team has knocked off the overall #1 seed in the first round... except this happened in the NIT as #8-Robert Morris, playing at home due to KY's home arena hosting NCAA games, knocked off defending NCAA champ #1 Kentucky.  There was also a buzzer beater in the NIT.  Hopefully, the NCAA tournament will provide buzzer beaters, which have been lacking in recent years.  In the First Four, 20-loss (now 21) #16bMW-Liberty nearly came back from a late 7-point deficit thanks to #16aMW-NC A&T forgetting how to hit a free throw.  The one-point victory was a promising start but the nightcap saw #11b-St. Mary's (CA) roll over the NCAA committee's controversial pick of #11a-Middle Tenn.

Well, the First Four is important for us as this is the 3rd year we are doing the First Four for Charity.  We got 20 entries on short notice (we had 30 in '11 and 26 in '12) raising $40.  A couple generous souls have pushed that total to $51.  The charity I picked is MathCounts, which is an organization that exposes middle school kids to the wonders of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).  STEM skills are sorely needed and just exposing young boys and girls to STEM is a benefit, regardless of what he/she wants to be when he/she grows up.  Even better, I think my company, who is one of the sponsors, will double my contribution.  Doubling would top the $100 I gave to the American Red Cross for the Japanese tsunami and earthquake victims and the $83 for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Alhambra.  So thanks to everyone who participated helping raise money for this program.  For those keeping score, 7 went 2-0 with Cliff T and Tom J ahead on point differential (14) while Wendy B was the only one to go 0-2.

DEADLINE:    9:00 a.m. PDT on Thursday, March 21
ENTRY FEE:   $10.00 per entry (max 3 entries per person)
RULES:       Check http://www.hwci.com/wordpress/?page_id=43 for more info
ARCHIVE:     Check http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa/2013/history.html
BLOG:       Comment at http://www.HWCI.com/wordpress  
NOTES:       All fee money goes back into prizes
             At least four winners (top prize about 40-50%) (if >=100 entries, 5 winners; if>=125 entries, 6 winners)
             Set points are awarded per game (2/3/4/6/8/12 for the 6 rounds) (no upset weighting)

Enter online now! You can also fax your entry to me at (720) 368-0816 or email us for a snail mail address (postmarked by Thursday AM). Make arrangements (such as PayPal) to send in your $10 entry fee(s) by March 23rd. Complete rules and daily pool information can be found on the official site: http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa.