Monday, April 8, 2019
VIRGINIA GETS 1ST TITLE IN OVERTIME IN SURPRISING HIGH SCORING GAME
Kds911 wins tiebreaker over The Gambler 2 to win the pool
SANTA BARBARA, CA (smt)- More than five minutes into the game, the score was 3-2. Seriously. Five points with #3W-Texas Tech’s three points on free throws. The Red Raiders didn’t hit their first field goal until 12:38 left in the first half. 7 minutes in it was 7-3 #1S-Virginia and the projected total points was just 57. It was what expected with 2 of the top 3 defenses this year. But the last 13 minutes saw 51 points and the second half had a lot of clutch shooting as Virginia blew another second half lead as Texas Tech tied it at 59. Down by three, Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter hit a three to tie it at 68 with 12.9 seconds left. That’s 136 points and the over/under for the game was 118. On to overtime. Virginia actually had an 11-0 run and hit all 12 free throws to win their first championship, 85-77. Hunter and Kyle Guy combined for 51 points. The Cavaliers won the championship a year after becoming the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 with the difference being that Hunter was healthy this tournament.
For the first time ever, the pool title was decided on tiebreaker once Virginia won (Mike M (ChuckPersonCellBlock) was so close but needed Texas Tech to actually play defense on that last play that Hunter hit the game-tying 3). Once the score reached 138, the first two free throws in the overtime by Virginia, Kds911 won the tiebreaker over The Gambler 2. There was also a tiebreaker for 3rd (won by FortressHoops3), 6th (won by Agnes Schweitzhoffer), and the Bonus (won by Kai Pomeroy). Crazy.
If the over/under of 118 had held like it was going to for most of the first half, the four tiebreakers would’ve gone the other way. The second half explosion of points cost Carl S (The Gambler 2) 1st place (difference of $315), Rob C (WhereUGoneSteveFisher) 3rd place (difference of $55), and Greg J (BamaG) and Bob G (Philly Eagles Again) 6th place (loss of $85). In the Bonus, it looked for a while either Yasmin J (Netflower) (if Texas Tech won) or Andy F (Agnes Schweitzhoffer) (if Virginia won) was going to win (but for Andy, he did win 6th anyway). And with Vi P (Kai Pomeroy) winning the Bonus, only 6 of 7 winners were males. There were four first time winners including Rob C winning his first in 16 years (he’s been with us since ’99 but missed ’02, ’06, ’07, ’09, and ’10 for some reason) and Vi P her first in 19 years. The other three picked up their 3rd win the pool with Robinson C (Samurai Jack) increasing his career earnings to $805 over 19 years and 54 entries and picking up his first non-first place win. Eric F (FortressHoops3) has won 3 times in 9 years for a total of $675.
| Place | Amount | Winner | Nickname | Pts (Place) | Yrs in Pool (#Ent) | # Times Won (Total $) |
| 1st | $645 | Tom J | Kds911 | 146 (1st) | 7 (11) | 1st win |
| 2nd | $330 | Carl S | The Gambler 2 | 146 (2nd) | 5 (7) | 1st win |
| 3rd | $225 | Eric F | FortressHoops3 | 142 (3rd) | 9 (15) | 3 ($675; 5th ’14, 2nd ’17) |
| 4th | $170 | Rob C | WhereUGoneSteveFisher | 142 (4th) | 16 (17) | 1st win |
| 5th | $125 | Robinson C | Samurai Jack | 141 (5th) | 19 (54) | 3 ($805; 1st ’01, 1st ’05) |
| 6th | $ 85 | Andy F | Agnes Schweitzhoffer | 137 (6th) | 22 (22) | 3 ($297.50; 6th-T ’12, 4th ’17) |
| Bonus | $ 40 | Vi P | Kai Pomeroy | 115 (54th) | 19 (19) | 1st win |
Tids & Bits – Virginia scored 1.29 points per possession… Just 8 of 63 games have been one possession games (13 if you just include regulation) and 38 of 63 have been double-digit blowouts… 22 picked Virginia… Maitai was last with 49 pts… in the proper 64, the ACC finished 15-6, Big Ten 13-8, SEC 12-7, Big 12 8-6, WCC 3-2, Pac 12 3-3, AAC 3-3… Virginia’s last 4 games at end of regulation were 4 points, zero points (OT), 1 point, and zero points (OT)… for 21st straight year, someone picked correct champion (’97 Arizona, ’98 Kentucky)… MMMtheBoss (76th, 109), EMAW (120th, 100), and Pung Pung (140th, 95) all guessed 162 points on the nose… Maitai was 90 points off the total (guessed 72)… New Market Mallers (79th-Tied, 109) was the lowest entry who got Virginia right… ChuckPersonCellBlock (10th, 135) was the highest entry who missed Virginia… 129 of 162 reached 100 points… Virginia is the 17th #1 seed to win the championship in our pool era (25 years)… my son Tama Spency Boy finished 12th (134) in his first official pool… in other sports, what a great ending to the Women’s final as well with Baylor blowing a 17-point lead andholding off Notre Dame who accidentally made a free throw they were trying to miss with seconds left… Chris Davis is 0-for-49? Wow… LAFC (5-0-1) 19 goals in 6 games!…
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Like The Amazing Race, you can start of slow but finish strong, can’t wait for the 31st edition…
Scott
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