2018 HWCI NCAA Pool Update

#1 SEEDS ADVANCE WITH #2 AND #3
M Star back in the lead by just a point; 35 still in the running for money

CERRITOS, CA (smt)- #1MW-Kansas nearly blew a 20-point with 12 minutes left and a 15-point lead with 4:44 left but held off #5MW-Clemson comeback attempt, 80-76. Clemson got within 4 with 15 seconds left but could not get any closer. Kansas makes it third straight trip to the Elite 8 but the lost in the Elite 8 the past two years. #1E-Villanova fell behind 60-54 in the second half but outscored #5E-West Virginia 36-18 the rest of the game in winning 90-78. #2MW-Duke held off a late rally by upstart #11MW-Syracuse, 69-65. The Blue Devils had a 9-point lead with 4 minutes left but saw it cut to three with 41 seconds left and Syracuse had a chance to cut it to one with 7 seconds left but made just 1 of 2 free throws. So while the Midwest is chalk with #1 vs #2, the East lost their #2 seed Purdue, as #3E-Texas Tech pulled away after Purdue came within 3 with 5:27 left going on an 11-0 run to put the game away, 78-65 for their first ever trip to the Elite 8.

In the pool, M Star (96 pts) took back the lead from SacKings4Ever and leads by a point. Larzby moved into a tie for 2nd and was one of 5 to go 4-0 for the day (and 1 of 2 to go 5-3 for the round with the other being Spermicidal State who moved into a tie for 6th (90)). Bob G's two entries, Bob's Best Bets (92) and Philly Eagles Again (91), are 4th and 5th. Gators Ragnarok (143rd-T, 66) and West Coast Dreaming (125th-T, 70) went 0-4 today. iWillLose was one of 10 to go 1-7 for the round and remains in last with 48 pts.

Ten can still win the pool, led by SacKings4Ever (25.8%), Larzby (21.9%), and Bob's Best Bets (20.3%). 35 still have a chance to finish in the top 6. Blake H's three entries are all still alive (Bwakewey 1 (20th-Tied, 86), Bwakewey 2 (17th-T, 87), and Bwakewey 3 (20th-T, 86)). If you want to know which of the 128 scenarios you will win money, email or tweet @HWCI_Pools your request. For example, my son's SpAva's (31st-T, 84) 18 chances to win money are in the graphic and listed here. Blake H's request is here.

For the Bonus1, 82 still have a chance to win the $40. The minimum wins will be 12 as either the Big 12 or ACC will get #12 (Kansas-Duke) while the SEC and Big Ten were eliminated. The Big 12 has 3 teams in the Elite 8 and the ACC two. The Big 12 could finish with 17 wins and the ACC could finish with 16 wins.

We are now on Twitter (@HWCI_Pools). Please follow! I will post using #hwcincaa mini-updates during the day so you can follow without being on Twitter (and if you are, please use #hwcincaa). 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 & Bits - In the proper 64, the SEC finished 8-8, the Big East is 6-5, the Big 12 is 11-4 , the ACC is 11-7, the Big Ten is 7-3, the Missouri Valley is 3-0, and the Mountain West and WCC each finished 2-1 and 2-2, respectively... in the Bonus1, the ACC or Big 12 will get at least 12 wins (Kansas-Duke) so the top conference is at a minimum of 12 wins... thus, 10 were eliminated and 82 can still win the Bonus1... Villanova made the Elite 8 for the first time since '16, when they won the title and Duke made the Elite 8 for the first time since '15 when they won the title... Villanova was 13/24 from long distance... Duke ended the 1st half on a 10-0 run to go from 3 down to 7 up (34-27)... 127 picked Kansas, 142 picked Villanova, 72 picked Duke, and 27 picked Texas Tech... 6 are 0-for-the-Final Four... 12 still have 3 of 4 Final Four teams left... SacKings4Ever and Larzby can each get a max of 141 pts while Paint Crew (153rd-T, 60) can only get a max of 60 pts... KanUBeatA5thGrader and Spermicidal State are tied for 6th (90) but can't win the pool... Wuk2 is tied for 6th but can't win money... Kona Coast Sliders 1 is tied for 50th (80) but can still win the pool... STORMY Fever-Catch It and We Fam! are tied for 75th (77) but can still win money (2nd and 3rd, respectively)... Hungry Coyote (31st-T) has the longest odds to win money, just 1.56% (2 in 128)... after 93 went 0-4 yesterday just two went 0-4 today; the 0.42 wins on Thursday was one of the lowest and the 2.78 wins for the round was the 3rd lowest ('00 1.83, '11 2.56)...

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What's the point of the March Madness app if you can't watch the 2nd screen if it's on CBS...
Scott