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Saturday, April 1, 2017 

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA (smt)- #1W-Gonzaga had a 14-point second-half lead only to see #7E-South Carolina score 16 straight points in 3 1/2 minutes to lead by 2 with 7:06 left.  The Zags then responded with a 7-0 run of their own in the next 3 1/2 minutes and then held on to a 77-73 win to advance to their first Final.  Up by 3 with 13 seconds left and playing defense, the Zags did what every person always yells at the TV, FOUL to give two free throws instead of allowing a game-tying three.  Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins did thisperfectly leaving just three seconds left (of course, USC helped by taking their time for the shot).  As expected, South Carolina made the first, missed the second but couldn’t get the rebound and the Zags sealed the game with two free throws.

Trying to get the rebound off a missed free throw, however, was no problem for #1S-North Carolina.  The Tar Heels were comfortable with a six-point lead with under a minute left only to see #3MW-Oregon cut it to one.  UNC missed two free throws but they got the offensive rebound so Oregon fouled again.  Incredibly, UNC missed both free throws again, and more incredibly, UNC got the offensive rebound again running out the final four seconds for a 77-76 victory to return to the final for the second consecutive year and 11th overall (5-5).

Dboyz17 was one of 11 to get both teams correct to take a five-point lead with 136 points.  If UNC wins he will be our 21st different champion of our pool.  But if Gonzaga wins, Parched Fatness (4th-Tied, 129) will be our 21st different champion.  MarchMindlessness (2nd, 131) and Alternative Picks (3rd, 130) are guaranteed at least 6th place and join Dboyz17 as guaranteed winners.  That leaves four spots left with eight entries fighting for them.  Jbwsaijo (4th-T), who led before today, now can’t finish higher than 7th place.  The Juggernaut and ChasCroix1 are tied for 11th (120) but still can win 6th.  In the possibilities, the final 2 scenarios are laid out for you.

If GONZAGA beats N CAROLINA in the final, then the possible winners are...
                 Parched Fatness Score:141 (place 1 winner)
               Spermicidal State Score:138 (place 2 winner)
                         Dboyz17 Score:136 (place 3 winner)
                     GonzagaGirl Score:135 (place 4 winner)
               MarchMindlessness Score:131 (place 5 winner)
               Alternative Picks Score:130 (place 6 winner)
                        Jbwsaijo Score:129 (place 7 winner)
If N CAROLINA beats GONZAGA in the final, then the possible winners are...
                         Dboyz17 Score:148 (place 1 winner)
               MarchMindlessness Score:143 (place 2 winner)
               Alternative Picks Score:142 (place 3 winner)
            Agnes Schweitzhoffer Score:135 (place 4 winner)
                     Flying Elvi Score:133 (place 5 winner)
                      ChasCroix1 Score:132 (tiebreak=132; wins 6th if <=150, 7th if >=151)
                  The Juggernaut Score:132 (tiebreak=169; wins 7th if <=150, 6th if >=151)

As for the Bonus, no one will win Bonus1 and Bonus2 will be in effect.  The Bonus2 is the total points in final contest and if there is a tie, the higher placement entry will win (e.g., if two entries get the correct total of 144, the one who is 20th will win over the entry who is 45th).  Full possibilities are now posted and 65 entries have a chance to win (depending if UNC or Gonzaga wins).

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   Tids & Bits – 58 picked UNC and 35 picked Gonzaga to make the finals… 96 missed both teams… 30 chose UNC as their champion while 25 chose Gonzaga…123 entries can’t get any more points while Dboyz17 could reach a total of 148…  everyone averaged just 0.52 wins for the 5th round (better than the 23-year average of 0.44 and highest since ’12 (0.84))… Lavar Ball (178th, 67) clinched last with Kansas’ loss… this will be the 19th straight year at least one person picked the correct champion (last one to slip by: Kentucky ’98)… the SEC has 11 wins and the ACC has 10 wins… oh, UConn’s women’s team lost for the first time in 112 games and thanks to ESPN’s notification so I could watch the end of regulation and OT which was sloppy (Miss. St. in the final minute threw the ball out of bounds to its bench and in the final minute of OT committed a flagrant 1 foul; and UConn didn’t go for the last shot but took a bad shot giving Miss. St. the final possession in OT) but great drama including a buzzer beater; so with Miss St’s win, does that mean there are now two good Division I women’s teams?; maybe not as critics are saying this is one of the greatest upsets which means Miss. St wasn’t a good team after all…

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Watching the Oregon-UNC game at brother’s home (Shake N’ Bake (161st-T, 87))…
Scott