HWCI NCAA Pool Update

PURDUE AND UCONN FINISH STRONG
Flying Ace takes over first; Bigtenfan clinches money; 30 go 2-0

No comebacks CYPRESS, CA (smt) - #1MW-Purdue's lead was cut to 7 with 8 minutes left but then went on a 13-1 run to put away #11S-NC State, 63-50, to advance to their 2nd finals appearance. NC State's incredible 9-game win streak was snapped and made it 0-8 for double-digit Final Four teams in the semifinals. Zach Edey was a force on the court but not necessarily on the stat sheet ("just" 20 pts, 12 rebounds) as his teammates excelled in the low-scoring game.

#1E-UConn never led by 30 like the other four games and found itself tied at 56 with 12:44 left but then went on an 11-2 run in winning by 13+ for the 11th straight tourney game, 86-72, over #4W-Alabama. UConn is vying to become the first back-to-back champion since Florida (2006-2007) and is undefeated in the finals (5-0). Alabama was hot in the first half hitting 8/11 from three but still trailed 44-40 at halftime (they cooled hitting just 3/12 in the 2nd half). UConn had great team dynamics with 20 assists on 31 made baskets while Purdue only had 9 assists on 26 baskets.

103 picked UConn and 66 picked Purdue enabling 30 to go 2-0. Concrete Kid went from 1st to eliminated (6th-Tied, 125 pts) while Flying Ace and Bigtenfan took 1st/2nd (133/129) and both are guaranteed money and both have UConn as their champ. Krispy Seconds is 3rd (127) and JessaFish is tied for 4th (126) and both have UConn as their champ. Joey JoJo Jr Shaboadoo is tied for 4th but has Purdue as champ and could win the pool. 56 went 0-2. Figure Four (64th-T, 109) and Concrete Kid lost NC State and Chase (143rd-T, 92) and UncleChimps (68th-T, 108) lost Alabama.

Purdue's win eliminated 8 entries and UConn's win eliminated 5 more, leaving a record 15 still alive with 13 vying for the final 6 money spots, which saw two #1 seeds for the first time since 2021. This is the first time the top two picks in the pool (UConn 71, Purdue 32) played in the final since 2007 when Ohio St (31) and Florida (13) both made it. So it will be Flying Ace vs Joey JoJo Jr Shaboadoo for the pool title and one will be our 27th different champion in 29 pools.

Bigtenfan is 2nd but can't win the pool (UConn as champ) while Joey JoJo Jr Shabadoo is tied for 4th and can still win it all (Purdue over UConn in final). Concrete Kid and Emmadness are tied for 6th but are eliminated (both have UNC as champ) while Sisyphus13 and Emilybama2 is tied for 31st (116) but can still win 8th (Purdue over UConn in final).

For the Bonus, the ACC finishes with 12 wins so no one will win this Bonus (Bonus1) and we now go to Bonus2, the total points in final tiebreaker. Depending who wins (because if people are tied for their total pts in final pick, the highest placement in pool qualifies), 65 could win if UConn wins and 65 could win if Purdue wins. A total of 85 entries are eligible (because top 8 finishers are not) to win the $40 Bonus.

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Tids & Bits - NC State has held all five opponents to 40% or less shooting (Purdue shot exactly 40%)... in the second half, each team had runs with UConn starting with a 4-0 run, then NC State 7-0, then UConn 7-0, then NC State again 7-0, before UConn's devastating 8-0 put the game away... Purdue had 16 turnovers (UConn just 4) and could be a factor in the final... the Women's final on Sunday will feature undefeated South Carolina and Caitlin Clark's Iowa team; the TV commentators are not the best as they did not understand UConn fouling to get closer to the Bonus (remember, it took Oregon more than 10 seconds to get the fouls needed to put the other team on the free throw line) under a minute left and not understanding the moving screen with 4 seconds left that knocked a Iowa player down... Charlie Hustle 2 has long clinched last and finishes with a record-low 30 points... 111 entries have reached 100 pts... entries averaged 0.87 wins today, the highest since 2021 (1.01)...

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It's Barriss! It's Barriss! If you watched the last arc of Season 5 (Eps 17-20) of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, this was a dangling tread and teased in several TV shows but ignored - until now...
Scott