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Saturday, April 6, 2019
TIGERS SHOCKED BY VIRIGNIA, TEXAS TECH CLOSES STRONG
ChuckPersonCellBlock leads by one but The Gambler 2 or Kds911 can still win the pool
HOME/GARDENA, CA (smt)- Wow. #1S-Virginia led 57-47 with 5:24 to go before #5MW-Auburn went on a 14-0 run to lead 61-57 with 17 seconds left. Then the Cavaliers ended the game on a 6-1 run to win 63-62 to advance to their 1st Finals. But how we got there was crazy. During the 14-0 run Auburn hit 3 threes and Virginia was 0-for-2 on free throws and took an awfully long time to get a shot off when they were down by 2 taking more than 25 off the shot clock on two consecutive possessions when time isn’t on your side. Like Duke in the last round, Virginia then needed to foul 3 times to get Auburn to shoot free throws but was able to do it in 3.3 seconds after figuring it out with 20.9 seconds left (Auburn initially rebounded with 30.1 seconds left). Auburn has been horrible at the free throw line but made both to up by 4 before Kyle Guy hit a 3 to pull Virginia within one with 6.5 seconds left (again taking an awfully long 13 seconds to get the shot off). A foul before the inbounds not only took no time off the clock, the refs put back 0.9 seconds (so, why doesn’t every team foul before the inbounds?). The Tigers’ Jared Harper, who hit all 11 free throws against Kentucky, hit the key front end of the one-and-one but missed the second. Auburn with two fouls to give, fouled with 5.4 seconds left.
Virginia barely made it to half-court before the second foul as Ty Jerome lost the ball off his foot taking precious seconds away down to 1.5. But the controversy was that he picked it up with two hands and dribbled again before being fouled, a clear double-dribble. But the refs nor the announcers caught it. Guy tried to win it at the buzzer but his shot was short. But wait, there was a whistle and a foul. Thank goodness they didn’t rain confetti down from the rafters. Like how Purdue was bailed out when Tennessee leaned into the shooter at the buzzer, Auburn’s Samir Doughty leaned into Guy’s attempt and bumped him causing the foul. Both were harsh calls but that is how the rule is written, you must let the shooter come back down and Guy wasn’t attempting to draw the foul with his legs flailing or anything. So could we get a buzzer beater free throw (Virginia was just 3 of 9 at the line at the time)? Nah, as the refs reset the zero clock to 0.6 seconds. And Guy hit the first and second to tie, and after a Tiger timeout, hit the third for the lead. A last attempt fell short by Auburn and Virginia celebrated.
After an ugly 44-point first half where #3W-Texas Tech and #2E-Michigan St. each had just a single basket in the final 7:37 ending with the Red Raiders leading 23-21, the second half of the second half proved to be better. Texas Tech went on a 11-2 run in just 2:43 to lead by 12 (45-33) with 11:18 left and eventually led by 13 with 9:41 left. Then the Spartans went on a 16-4 run to cut the deficit to one with 2:55 left. But Texas Tech ended the game on a 9-0 run to advance to their first Finals winning 61-51.
Dagger (18th-Tied, 123) was the only one to get both games correct but was already eliminated as 9 players above him also picked Virginia as their champion. ChuckPersonCellBlock (135 pts) is now in the lead by one over The Gambler 2 and Kds911 but only the latter two are guaranteed money. WhereUGoneSteveFisher and FortressHoops3 (both 5th-T, 130) are also guaranteed money. That leaves 6 entries vying for the final two money spots. With the Big Ten and SEC losing (Michigan St and Auburn) and the ACC winning (Virginia), the ACC will be the winningest conference with either 14 or 15 wins. 8 entries can win the $40 Bonus if Texas Tech wins (ACC 14) and 7 entries can win if Virginia wins (ACC 15). With Texas Tech’s defense and Virginia’s slow-paced offense, you’d expect a low scoring game but we shall see.
2019 HWCI NCAA Pool - Final Four Possibilities 04/06/19
If TEXAS TECH beats VIRGINIA in the final, then the possible winners are...
ChuckPersonCellBlock Score:135 (place 1 winner)
The Gambler 2 Score:134 (tiebreak=135: 2nd <=137, 3rd >=138)
Kds911 Score:134 (tiebreak=140: 2nd >=138, 3rd <=137)
Carseroni Score:131 (place 4 winner)
WhereUGoneSteveFisher Score:130 (tiebreak=135: 5th <=147, 6th >=148)
FortressHoops3 Score:130 (tiebreak=160: 5th >=148, 6th <=147)
If VIRGINIA beats TEXAS TECH in the final, then the possible winners are...
The Gambler 2 Score:146 (tiebreak=135: 1st <=137, 2nd >=138)
Kds911 Score:146 (tiebreak=140: 1st >=138, 2nd <=137)
WhereUGoneSteveFisher Score:142 (tiebreak=135: 3rd <=147, 4th >=148)
FortressHoops3 Score:142 (tiebreak=160: 3rd >=148, 4th <=147)
Samurai Jack Score:141 (place 5 winner)
BamaG Score:137 (tiebreak=127: 6th <=128, 6th-Tied 129)
Philly Eagles Again Score:137 (tiebreak=131: 6th 130-134, 6th-Tied 129)
Agnes Schweitzhoffer Score:137 (tiebreak=138: 6th >=135)
Tids & Bits – Virginia started the 2nd half on an 8-0 run to erase a 31-28 deficit… Auburn once again took 30+ threes but made only 9 while Virginia was 7 of 19… Virginia hit just half their free throws (6/12)… Spartan’s coach Tom Izzo is 1-7 in the Final Four… Texas Tech’s defense again shined holding Michigan St to 31.9% from the field and just 17 field goals total.. at one point early in the second half, only 3 players had scored… the entries averaged just 0.23 wins today, 0.94 for the round… Just 8 of 62 games have been one possession games (12 if you just include regulation) and 38 of 62 have been double-digit blowouts… Dagger is just the 107th entry to go 2-0 in the Final Four… 107 went 0-2 today… Maitai still sits in last with 49 pts… 15 entries can win the Bonus1 and 138 have been eliminated from both the Bonus1 and Top 6… Wesson Oil (67th-T, 110) actually has Texas Tech winning the title but is already eliminated… 53 picked Virginia and 3 picked Texas Tech (none had picked Auburn and 16 had Michigan St)… Auburn had beat Kansas, UNC, and Kentucky and the other team to do that was Arizona in ’97 who won the title… the last time there were two teams in their first Final Four was two years ago (Gonzaga, South Carolina)… either Virginia or Texas Tech will win a title in their first Finals appearance… seems like these first halves of semifinals are always clankers playing in a huge dome with lights shining off the floor — BTW, the last non-dome Final Four was at the Continental Airlines Arena in New York in ’96, our second year of the pool…
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Can’t wait for Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge but can’t stand the crowds…
Scott
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