Sunday, March 31, 2024 (Posted Tuesday April 2)
Issue # 10.4.2 "Edey is Too Biggie"
[   | | | | Bonus | Possibilities | Standings ]

MANZANAR NHS/DEATH VALLEY, CA (smt) - #1MW-Purdue's 7'-4" center Zach Edey had a career-high 40 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Boilermakers to their first Final Four since 1980 with a 72-66 win over #2MW-Tennessee.  Edey shot 22 free throws (made only 14) and had just one block, but a key one with 33 seconds left (zero last game).  Edey is so tall he didn't even need a ladder to cut a piece of the net for himself.  Purdue only made 20% of their threes and just 63.6% of their free throws but still overcame the Vol's 11 threes and Dalton's Knect's 37 points.  Purdue outscored Tenn 11-6 to end the game.

#11S-NC State continued their magical run in knocking off #4S-Duke for the second time during their 9-game winning streak, 76-64, to make their first Final Four since 1983.  The Wolfpack slowly chipped away at Duke's 6-point halftime lead and after tying it at 35, went on a 23-9 run and never let the Blue Devils cut the lead to single digits.  NC State becomes the 7th double-digit Final Four team since 1985 (when field expanded to 64) and will try to become the first to make the final. 

Three picked NC State and 106 Purdue.  Concrete Kid and Figure Four went 2-0 with the former building a 7-point lead (125 pts) over JessaFish and the latter going from a tie for 61st to a tie for 17th (109).  Seven lost Tennessee as their champ and two lost Duke (Indy Kid (25th-T, 107) and Samurai Jack (94th-T, 96)).  86 entries went 0-2.

Tennessee's lost eliminated 13 entries and Duke's loss eliminated 5 more.  But that still left a record 28 entries still alive to win money (topping 27 in 2021) with a ton of tiebreaker scenarios.  Six can still win the pool.  Only Flying Ace (3rd-T, 117) has clinched money (can finish 1st to 8th) and Concrete Kid has the best chance to win the pool (50%).

An Alabama over Purdue final will produce an exciting 4-way tie for first, a two-way tie for 5th, and a two-way tie for 8th.  However, a UConn over NC State final would produce a 2-way tie for 4th and a 4-way tie for 7th, meaning 10 entries are alive in this final scenario for the top 8 spots.  Of those in potential tiebreaker territory, the total points in final tiebreaker picks range from 78 from Eggman1 (3rd-T) (possible if Duke was still playing!) to 180 from Concrete Kid.

WinnerTown is 6th (115) but can't win the pool (just UConn as champ) while Joey JoJo Jr Shabadoo is tied for 15th (110) and can still win it all (Purdue over UConn in final).  NKG23 is tied for 11th but is eliminated (lost both finalists) while Sisyphus13 and Emilybama2 is tied for 66th (100) but can still win 8th (Purdue over UConn in final). 

For the Bonus, the ACC got its 12th win and can get 12, 13, or 14 wins, meaning just Jonna (42nd-T, 104) can win the Bonus if NC State wins the title (she had ACC with 14 wins).  But any other scenario, no one would win this Bonus (Bonus1) and we would go to Bonus2, the total points in final tiebreaker.  After the semifinals, the eligible entries will be listed (remember if your point total is tied (e.g., several picked 123 points), whoever has the highest placement (e.g., 5th place beats 11th place) gets that point total slot).

We are now on Twitter (@HWCI_Pools) and Discord.  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 - Edey had 14 straight points towards the end of the game (Purdue's 48th to 61st point)... NC State has held all four opponents to less than 40% shooting... Duke involved in another low-scoring half, leading just 27-21 (led 23-22 over Houston last game)... Duke shot just 32.2% (19/59) and just 25% (5/20) from three... UConn is a heavy favorite to win the title at 1:2 odds with Purdue at 2:1, Alabama at 16:1, and NC State 18:1...  Charlie Hustle 2 has long clinched last and finishes with a record-low 30 points... Eggman2 (17th-T) also picked NC State... interestingly, Greg P picked for his total points in final tiebreaker 78 for Eggman1, 96 for Eggman2, and 134 for Eggman3... three went 3-1 for the Elite 8 (Concrete Kid, Figure Four, and MizzouTgr11 3 (37th-T, 105), who unfortunately had Houston winning it all and is eliminated) and 17 will be 0-for-the-Final-Four... entries averaged 0.57 wins today and 1.33 for the Elite 8...

--------
37 1/4 hours, 874 miles, 15 hours in the car (I drove the whole way), and a lifetime of priceless memories...
Scott