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Monday, March 13, 2017  **HELP support innovation, deployment and adaptation of Technology for Humanitarian Goals (deadline Tue 3:40 pm PDT **

DEFENDING CHAMP VILLANOVA TOP OVERALL SEED WHILE ACC NETS NINE TEAMS
Our HWCI Pool wears the legendary #23

SALT LAKE CITY, UT/CARSON, CA (smt)- Defending champion E-Villanova earned the top overall seed while MW-Kansas and S-North Carolina (7 losses) got one seeds despite losing in their conference tournament.  For the second time, W-Gonzaga (32-1) got a #1 seed though last time they got ousted in the second round.  W-Duke had an up-and-down season but won four games in four days to win the ACC tournament and moved from a 4 seed to a 2 seed (7th overall team) while MW-Michigan had their plane slide off the runway, played their first tournament game in practice jerseys, and won four games in four days but only moved to a 7 seed.  The ACC got 9 of its 15 teams in the tourney while the Big East got 7 of its 10 in (70%).  The Big 10 also got half its 14 teams in and the Big 12 got 6 of its 10 in.  Only four at-large spots went to non-major conferences with the Atlantic 10 (2), The American, and the West Coast getting more than one team in.  Despite being ranked 20th in the country, S-Wichita St got dumped to a 10 seed and is actually a 6.5-point favorite over #7S-Dayton.  Not much controversy over the at-large teams or seeding for the most part and no leak of the bracket early like last year.

Locally, #11bE-USC (Southern Cal, not to be confused with the other 7E-USC, South Carolina) snuck into as one of the last four in but the last time USC made it as a First Four team (’11), it lost.  They will play #11aE-Providence (#11aS-Kansas St was the last at-large team in). The fun-to-watch 11-time champ UCLA team managed to settle to a 3 seed in the South, a region with 6-time champion North Carolina and 8-time champion Kentucky.

Our HWCI NCAA Pool is our 23rd, which is a popular jersey number for the top elite players Michael Jordan and LeBron James.   Last year we had a record 149 entries, second highest behind 2015’s 161.  This is the third year we’re fully to our brand new web entry (no more java or Mac issues) and despite all the R&D, the entry fee is still $10 (and although we now accept Google Wallet payments, we do not accept Bitcoins).  Deadline is still 9 a.m. PDT Thursday.  Same point system.  If the winner of any of the First Four changes your mind, then you can either update your bracket or email your change (easier to email one or two changes than resubmit a bracket).  So you can pick as early as NOW or wait until the last minute.  The only minor change, one no one cares about until the last weekend, is the “Winningest Conference” Bonus.  What prints out when you submit your bracket may change depending if Kansas St (B12), #11bS-Wake Forest (ACC), Providence (Big East), or USC (Pac 12) wins its First Four game.  Since the ACC has 9 teams, the Big East 7, the Big 12 6, and the Pac 12 4, it’s possible the Winningest Conference could be either, so we your total may be bumped up if you have either of these teams going past the 2nd Round.

We are now on Twitter (@HWCI_Pools).  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 Groupor 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.). 

You can mail your entry fee (email me for snail mail) or give your $10 (per entry) to someone who will give the money to David or Scott. We are accepting PayPal (check or PayPal funds only) to “hwci<at>hotmail.com” or credit card PayPal payments to “smt0222<at>yahoo.com” (but the entry fee is $10.61 (61 cents in PayPal fees… damn them!)).  Now, you can send money via your smartphone and pay no fees!  Use Google Wallet’ Send Money function and send your $10 (per entry) to “smt0222<at>gmail.com” — just make sure you put your NAME and NICKNAME in the notes section. And if you’re having trouble getting your picks in, take a picture of your bracket with your phone and email it to ncaa<at>hwci.com.

Last year, Joanna J won the pool in her 6th year.  She took home a record $595, getting 3 of the 4 Final Four teams, both finalists, and picking champ Villanova.  Last year we received a 149 entries from a 110 people. 

Enter online now! You can also fax your entry to me at (720) 368-0816 or email us for a snail mail address (postmarked by Thursday AM). Make arrangements (such as PayPal) to send in your $10 entry fee(s) by March 17th. Complete rules and daily pool information can be found on the official site: http://www.HWCI.com/ncaa.

   Tids & Bits – This is the second year of the 30-second shot clock (was 35) and I think it speeds up the in close games so I take it as a positive… the state of North Carolina got 5 teams in with Florida, Ohio, and California getting four each… there are five new teams making our tourney for the first time (UC Davis (pending winning First Four game), Jacksonville St, North Dakota, Northern Kentucky, Northwestern)… mulitple bid conferences: ACC (9), Big 10 (7), Big East (7), Big 12 (6), SEC (5), Pac 12 (4), A10 (3), ACC (2), WCC (2)… Gonzaga has made the NCAA tournament 19 straight years – despite seeding, the last time the Zags lost in their first game was 2008… Kansas is the only team to be in every one of our pools (28 straight overall, missing 1989 due to probation, and a record (was 17 by UNC ’75-’01))… Duke has made the tourney 22 straight years while Kentucky has been in a record 56 tourneys… Top seed order: Villanova, Kansas, UNC, and Gonzaga.. Providence (42), #11bS-Wake Forest (43), USC (45), and Kansas St (46) were the last four in… last 4 teams out were Syracuse, Illinois St, Iowa, and Cal — and all will get a #1 seed in the NIT (practice was implemented for 2015’s NIT)… a 14 seed has won in 3 straight years… Hawaii as a #13 seed won last year, snapping a two-year drought for 13 seeds (at least one has won in previous six years prior)… a First Four team has won at least a Round of 64 game in each year thus far (began ’11)… there are 351 teams in 32 conferences and still no team in Alaska… 327 teams played in their conference tournament as 4 were ineligible (Savannah St, Alcorn St, Northern Colorado Cal State Northridge; Hawai’i appealed to play this year and the NCAA agreed), 4 are in transition (Abilene Christian, Grand Canyon, Incarnate World, UMass), and 16 did not qualify (including 4 from the Ivy League, who had their first conference tournament this year with the top 4 teams)… Vermont has won 21 games in a row… Northern Kentucky made the tournament in their first year of eligibility after their transition from Division II (7th team to do so)… Phoenix is the first western city to host the Final Four since Seattle in 1995 — our first year of the pool… New Orleans makes the tourney for the first time since 1996, a 21-year drought… #5E-Virginia is 1-3 against 12 seeds… #13MW-Vermont has won 21 games in a row… #9W-Vandy got an at-large bid with 15 losses, the most-ever… odds: UNC 13:2, Villanova 7:1, Kansas/Gonzaga/Kentucky/Duke/Arizona 15:2, Louisville/UCLA 10:1… Gonzaga (Washington) and Arizona are the first 1-2 West seeds actually located in the Western USA since ’91 (UNLV and Arizona)… Syracuse’s head coach pleaded last year and made the tourney with an RPI of 72 and made the Final Four; this year the RPI went down to 84 and they just missed the cut…

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Went perfect on the first day last year: 16-0 and ended up with nada in the end …
Scott