2023 NCAA Champions
	#4-West Regional Champions University of Connecticut Huskies (31-8) 5th Title
2023 Winningest Conference
	The Big East Conference (12-4) 1st Time (Previous 3 times trace to current AAC; new Big East formed in 2013)

Monday, April 3, 2023 
Issue # 14.6.1 "UConn's Route was to Rout"
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HOME, CA (smt) - #4W-UConn trailed early 10-6 but dominated the rest of the way in winning their 5th title in 24 tournaments, beating #5S-San Diego St, 76-59.  UConn won the title for the 4th time coming from the West Regional, the 4th time beating a lower seed, and the 4th time in Texas (twice in Houston).  Even after SDSU clawed their way back to 5 points (60-55 with 5:19 left), UConn quickly hit a 3-pointer en route to a 9-0 run to put the game away. 

UConn won all six games by 13 or more points and scored 70 or more points in each.  Despite being a #4 seed (only the second #4 seed to win it (Arizona in '97)), they only faced one higher seed (where they routed #3W-Gonzaga by 28).  SDSU shot poorly (32%) at one point missing 14 straight after taking the 10-6 lead and also missed their first 7 layups.  Once again the mid-major falls just short (last one to win, UNLV in 1990).

UConn's win mean that for the 24th straight pool, someone picked the correct champion, this time 14 did (no one had SDSU).  The Huskies' win lifted Winsome T (Jah Lives-2) into first place, becoming the first person to win the pool in their first try since Lisa F (Shary Bobbins) all the way back in 1999 - the first time UConn won the title.   This prevented Robinson C (Samurai Jack) (the only one in the top 11 to not pick UConn) from being our first 3-time champion and dropped from 1st to 5th, losing the 4th place tiebreaker to Jessica H (JessaFish).  Winsome is our 26th different champion in 28 pools.

Ken B (March Sadness, 2nd), Tim W (PopTop1, 3rd), Jason R (Buccos 2, 6th), and Scott D (Honey Badger 2, 7th) all moved up one spot while Roy W (Krispy Seconds) took 8th, eliminating Spencer C (EMAW) who was in 5th. Eileen E (Jouez Bien, 9th 106) and Michael R (SoCal Samurai 2, 10th, 106) were just one 1st round win (2 pts) away from being in the money.

For the $40 Bonus, the low scoring first half negated any drama although the total points did reach 135, the lowest since 2015 (131).  Tom J's two entries tied (Kds911-2 (76th, 78) and Kds911-3 (22nd, 89)) as each picked 140, netting him the whole $40 but gets credit for 2 wins, and the first person to win twice in the same pool!

Robinson C missed the $735 but the $130 he did pick up now makes him our second-highest winner ($935) with Ken B just behind him ($925).  Darryn B (Big Luther (177th, 61)) ($920) also has won more than $900.  Tim W, who didn't win anything the first 11 pools, has now won money in back-to-back years.  Winsome T and Jessica H are our 97th and 98th participants to win money in our pool after an unusually high 7 of 9 money spots went to previous winners.

Also unusual is the high number of people who won on their 2nd or 3rd entry as 7 of 9 did so.  Previously, just 18 had won on their 2nd or 3rd entry but with all the upsets the "what if" brackets did really well.  Just 12 of 194 entries hit 100 points (just 17 of 169 last year) resulting in an all-time low average of 31.6 wins (previously 32.7 in '23) and 76.6 points (previously 82.4 in '22).  Just a tad of 50% of games were picked correctly (50.2%), way below the average of 58.7%.

In our 28th year, those looking for their first-ever win include Dan H (Hendo (78th, 78)) (21 pools-21 entries), Suzanne M (Suznana (36th-Tied, 84)) (20-29), David S (Dr Fun (145th, 70)) (19-20), Jane D (Crazy Janey (101st, 75)) (19-29), Deven K (SlumDawg1 (130th, 72)) (19-35), Keith J (Captain Illini (142nd, 70)) (18-20), and Brian Z (Zippy (121st, 74)) (17-22).  Four others have played 16 pools with no wins.  Patience is key as I went 18 years between wins (2003, 2021) and Robinson C above went 13 pools between wins.  The 14 other people who have played 21 pools or more have won money (sorry Dan H).

More pool excitement is coming in July as the Women's World Cup 2023 will be played in Australia and New Zealand as the USA goes for its 3rd straight title.  The 3rd HWCI Women's World Cup pool will be our 14th soccer pool and we hope to see you there!

Place	Amt	Winner (Ent #)	Nickname	Pts (Place)	Yrs in Pool (# Ent)	# Times Won (Total $)
1st	$735	Winsome T (2)	Jah Lives-2	119 (1st)	1 (3)	1st
2nd	$370	Ken B (1)	March Sadness	118 (2nd)	23 (24)	3 ($925; 1st '06, 4th '14)
3rd	$250	Tim W (2)	PopTop1	116 (3rd)	13 (21)	2 ($580; 2nd '22)
4th	$185	Jessica H (1)	JessaFish	111 (4th)	7 (7)	1st
5th	$130	Robinson C (2)	Samurai Jack	111 (5th)	22 (60)	4 ($935; 1st '01, 1st '05, 5th '09)
6th	$ 95	Jason R (2)	Buccos 2	110 (6th)	14 (36)	2 ($250; 4th '16)
7th	$ 75	Scott D (2)	Honey Badger 2	109 (7th)	7 (16)	2 ($150; 6th '16)
8th	$ 60	Roy W (2)	Krispy Seconds	107 (8th)	21 (37)	3 ($710; 3rd '05, 1st '11)
Bonus	$ 40 ($20 ea)	Tom J (2)	Kds911-2	78 (76th)	10 (20)	2 ($665; 1st '19)
		Tom J (3)	Kds911-3	89 (22nd)	10 (20)	3 ($685; 1st '19, Bns '23)

   Tids & Bits -  Halftime total of 60 pts (UConn led 36-24) was lowest total since 2011 (UConn 22-19)... the 135 total pts was just over the oddsmaker's 133... UConn is first unranked AP team to win title since 2011, which was also UConn... SDSU was 4/5 to start and then missed 14 straight FGs... just 11 of 63 games were one possession games (3 point margin or less) while more than half (32) were double-digit wins... just 1 overtime game and 1 buzzer beater (SDSUvFAU)... UCLA has the largest margin of victory (33) while Kansas St scored 98 points... 14 went 1-1-1 in the last 3 rounds... Winsome T is the first person to win anything in their first year since Janette H (3rd) and Billy T (4th) in 2018... That's Right was last (34), a record-low, but PopTop (193rd, 46) and Emilybama3 (192nd, 48) also scored fewer points than our previous low of 49... Feels Like '74 had the lowest placement of the 14 who picked UConn (19th, 91)... really going to miss Jim Nantz calling the Final Four games... Jessica H's win means 1 of 25 past winners (3 years) were female... the Big East went 12-4, SEC 9-8 (9-7 proper 64), Big 12 9-7, ACC 7-5 (6-5 in proper 64), Big Ten 6-8, MWC 5-4 (5-3 in proper 64), CUSA 4-1, WCC 4-2, Pac-12 3-4 (2-4 in proper 64), Ivy 2-1, AAC 2-2, NEC 2-1 (1-1 in proper 64), Southern 1-1, Southland 1-1 (0-1 in proper 64)... congrats to LSU for dominating Iowa and Caitlin Clark in Women's final, a good game to watch with boffo TV numbers to boot (9.9 million!)...  there were nicknames that were nostalgic (Feels Like '83, Feels Like '74), dreading the bizarre UCLA/USC move to the Big Ten (Pac Attack til '24, If Not Ucla, Go AZ!, PAC-10 Rules!, Pride of Troy, SC Sucks), self-motivating talking into a mirror (All I Do is Win, Allrloserscompared2me, CanUBeatasoph, Donating $10, Donating Another $10), sounded like texts gone wrong (I Don't Care Kev, BulbaGrrrl), foreign (Jouez Bien, DeutschlanderLakeNona), soccer references (Soccerwife, BigRedMessi, Suuuuiiii (had to look this up)), and bizarre (Edey'sElephantBalls, Flogger1, Wax Drip)... and we had those that toed the political line (as long as no profanity or personal attacks, I'll turn a blind eye) with Rutin4Putin, Bracket IDs as Winner, Indian Giver, and YoHomieLoanMeYoGun... personal favorites:  Danish Dynamite, Marshmallow Melter, March Sadness, So Cal Samurai, Camp Blue Jay... winners will hopefully get a commemorative pog for their victory for each year they have won (2013-2023 only)... tomorrow (April 4) would've been my Dad's 83rd birthday, may he rest in peace... hmmm, shot clock in baseball, a U.S. President indicted, tons of rain in LA, and a Star Trek show almost out-dueling a Star Wars show, yeah, not the same world anymore...

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While Star Trek Picard Season 2 was not very good, Season 3 (3 episodes left) has been pure delight and I didn't really watch ST:TNG...
Scott