HWCI NCAA Pool Update

HIGH SCORING AND FREE THROWS DEFINE DAY 2
A 3-way tie for first plus Alfred Moniaga jumps 126 places to 23rd

Colorado jumper goes in HOME, CA (smt) - You gotta hit your free throws. Last year semifinalist #8E-FAU rallied from 9 points down late to lead by 2 and a chance to add to it but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and #9-Northwestern tied it at 58 to send it to overtime (2nd OT game including First Four). Northwestern then dominated the OT period 19-7 to advance. Last year semifinalist #5E-San Diego St did not make a FG in the last 4:11 but hit 8/10 free throws to hold off #12E-UAB by three. #4E-Auburn missed their last 3 free throws in the final 10 seconds in a 2-point loss to #13E-Yale, who hit 5/6 in the last 45 seconds. The Tigers lost a starter to an ejection just 3:01 into the game, lost a player to injury in the final scramble, and blew a 10-point lead with 7:27 left.

Last year semifinalist #1E-UConn jumped to a 42-10 lead (eventually built to 55-19) in routing first-timer #16E-Stetson, 91-52. #4W-Alabama (109 with loser #13W-College of Charleston scoring 96), #3W-Baylor (92), #9E-Texas A&M (98) each scored more than 90 with #10S-Colorado and #7S-Florida each reaching 100 points in the Buffaloes prevailing 102-100 on a side jumper that bounced a few times on the rim before falling in with 1.7 seconds left.

#2S-Marquette (who trailed by 9 just before halftime), #6W-Clemson, #4E-Duke, #1MW-Purdue (no loss to #16 this time), #1E-Houston, #12E-James Madison (upsetting #5E-Wisconsin), and #8MW-Utah St all won by double-digits with #12W-Grand Canyon upsetting #5W-St. Mary's by nine.

The Pac 12 continued to shine in their last full year going 4-0 (5-0 including First Four) as did the ACC (4-0). The Big 12 went 5-3 but the SEC went 3-5, with all five losses to worse seeds (#9, #10, #11, #13, #14). The Big East also won all 3 games and the Atlantic 10 both games. The Big Ten went 4-2 and the Mountain West 2-3.

Alfred Moniaga (23rd-Tied, 46 pts; up from 149th-T yesterday) went 14-2 while eight went 13-3 on a day where six upsets happened. 91 got at least 11 right today (where by seeding would only give you 10). Charlie Hustle 1 got just 11 right but still remains in a tie for first with Larzby and Eggman 1 with 52 points each. Three went 7-9 including Charlie Hustle 2 who remains in last with 24 points. After setting a record low yesterday going 5-11, Charlie Hustle 2 tied a record low after the first round at 12-20 (joining Go Beach! in 2021).

Five lost Auburn as their champ while Charlie Hustle 2 lost #15S-Western Kentucky, Source (57th-T, 44) lost Wisconsin, and Gator Glory (186th-T, 34) lost Florida (of course!). 11 picked Yale, 61 Grand Canyon, 67 Northwestern, 84 James Madison, 94 Texas A&M, and 78 Colorado (yet another First Four team to make at least the 2nd Round, 12 of 13 years). Trendy upset picks did not happen as the better seed saw Clemson get just 70 picks and only 93 picked Utah St.

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Tids & Bits - Go Pac 12 as they are 4-0 (5-0 including First Four)... AAC champ #12E-UAB and MWC champ #11W-New Mexico are considered the other bid stealers but both lost... my Junior son Spoonceer (123rd-T, 40) was picking good schools and was happy both Yale and Northwestern advanced... 9 and 11 seeds each went 3-1 while 12 seeds won the last two (2-2).. there have been some bad obvious missed calls and luckily Northwestern won after an inadvertent whistle gave the possession to FAU with 27 seconds left... FAU had 21 turnovers... Colorado shot 63%, 60% from three, and 84.8% from the free throw line while Florida shot 51.5/44/86.4%... a dumb technical on the Florida coach allowed Colorado to make a rare 5-point play with 7:44 left (82-72 lead)... Baylor hit 16/30 from three... Purdue's last three tournaments saw them lose to a #16, #15, and #13 seed; good news is only #11 Oregon would loom and not until the Midwest Final... Nebraska is now 0-8 in the tourney... the so-called Japanese Steph Curry (Keisei Tominaga) had 21 points (5/11 from three but just 1 assist)... Avery 1 (26th-T, 46) has all Sweet 16 teams alive, 52 have all Elite 8 teams, and 121 have all Final Four teams still alive... Charlie Hustle 2 only has 5 Sweet 16 teams alive, just 1 Elite 8, and no F4 teams alive... entries averaged 10.4 wins today and 21.1 for the round...

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More rain in LA coming...
Scott