THE HOME DEPOT CENTER, CARSON, CA / CERRITOS, CA (smt)- #4E-Syracuse used a killer zone defense to handcuff #3E-Marquette, 55-39, and advance to the Final Four pit stop for the 4th time in the Jim Boeheim era ('87, '96, '03).  The Golden Eagles at one point took a detour and went almost 7 minutes without taking an official shot (5 turnovers, twice fouled on a shot resulting in free throws) (something I have to see since for some reason I thought these games were in the evening) in the 1st half but Syracuse only had a low-scoring 24-18 halftime lead.   Marquette shot an incredibly low 22.6% (12/53) from the field and was an equally bad 3/25 from 3-point range.

#9W-Wichita St was not going to allow #2W-Ohio St to have the ball in a tied game with seconds left on the clock but the Shockers nearly blew a 20-point 2nd half lead in holding off the Buckeyes, 70-66.  Trying to follow fellow Big 10 rival Michigan, who rallied yesterday from a 14-pt deficit in the final 6:50 to win, Ohio St fought its way back from a 15-point deficit with 7:03 left coming within 3 (62-59) with 2:45 left.  But a clutch 3, the first Shocker FG since the 15-point lead, put up the needed roadblock and unraveled what was working for Ohio St and quickly fell behind by 8.  The Buckeyes' close and exciting games finally caught up to them as they zoned out in the first half trailing 35-22 at the half.

ChasCroix and The Rat Pack are still our co-leaders (105 pts).  In a uneventful day, no one picked Wichita St while just 4 picked Syracuse.  But of the four, Chi-Town Mikey's made his move from just a tie for 74th to a tie for 37th (89), but more importantly, remained as one of 7 people with a chance to win the pool. The Rat Pack (84.4%), ChasCroix (68.8%), Shake N' Bake (50.0%) (3rd-Tied, 99), and Jason97782-2 (50.0%) (14th-T, 95) all have a better than 1 in 2 shot for money.  Six more people (total: 8)

The Rat Pack and ChasCroix and are near locks for money at 86.7% and 72.7%, respectively.  ChasCroix has the best chance for 1st (41.4%) with The Rat Pack (28.9%) and Jason97782-2 (12.5%) in double-figures.  In fact, only 8 people can win the pool and this guarantees we will have a 18th different winner in our 19 pools (Robinson C being the only 2-time winner).  Shake N' Bake (42.2%), Jason97782-1 (34.4%) and Jason97782-2 (33.6%) all have a better than 1 in 3 shot for money.

In the Bonus1 race, the Big 10 still has 12 wins ensuring that Bonus2 won't be used.  50 can still win the Bonus while 52 have been eliminated from both the top money and Bonus. The only possible outcomes for  Winningest Conference are Big 10 with 12-15, the Big East with 13-14, or the Big 10 and Big East tied at 12, 13, or 14.

           Teams  Curr  Max Poss
Conf.      Left   Wins  Wins
-------    -----  ----  --------
Big10        1    12     15
BigEast      2    10     14

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