Five of the first 8 games were decided by 3 points or less but only UCLA nearly blowing a 23-point lead prevented the last 8 from being all victories by 5 or more.  The Downtown Fiction leads getting 15 of 16 games correct with 4 others tied with 14.  Five bring up the rear only getting half correct (8). Standings are posted every game night and if you want to see yours or someone else’s bracket, click on the Your Picks menu option.

BTW, we did have a winner of the First Four for Charity and that will be announced later this weekend though you could figure it out (only one person went 4-0).

We got a record 23 entries for a Tuesday and are at a record-setting pace with 41 entries overall – which is odd, since I thought with the First Four most people would enter later rather than earlier. But in any case, you can always edit your picks later (email is preferred if it is just a couple changes). Of the 34 people, only two are new which will make it hard to top our record of 117 entries last year without new blood.  Remember the deadline is 9 am PDT Thursday.

As for the First Four for Charity contest,22 correctly picked Clemson over over-rated UAB.  The 18-point margin of victory (70-52) was larger than most optimistic Tiger fan (12 pts).  Halfway through the inaugural First Four, 13 people are 2-0.  Cliff T was one of three who had Clemson by 12 and now leads with a +8-point differential.  Vi N and Kevin T are tied for second with a +9.  Van P and Doug H are tied for 4th with a +11.  In the rear is Ford R with an 0-2 record and +42.  Five are 0-2.