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Friday, March 17, 2023  **HAPPY ST. PATTY’S DAY** 

FDU 2ND 16 SEED TO BEAT 1 SEED; WEST IS CHALK
Samurai Jack leads going 27-5 as 16 lose Purdue as champ

HOME, CA (smt) – #16E-Fairleigh Dickinson, who didn’t win the regular season or tournament in the NEC, rode their First Four win momentum to down #1E-Purdue, 63-58, becoming the second #16 seed to beat a #1 seed.  FDU only made the tournament because NEC champion Merrimack (who beat FDU in final) is still ineligible due to D-II to D-I transition.  And yet, with one three-point dagger to put FDU up by 5 with a minute left, FDU (never better than a 15 seed) now has 3 tournament wins (2 in First Four), which is three more than mid-major Boise St.  Purdue had big droughts losing a 47-41 lead to fall behind 49-47 and then going over 5:40 without scoring as FDU increased their 54-53 lead to 58-53.  Purdue has now lost to a #16, a #15 (St. Peter’s last year in Sweet 16), and a #13 seed (North Texas in 1st Round) the past three years.  In their last 10 tourneys, Purdue has lost to a double-digit seed five times (all as a 5 seed or better).

It’ll be FDU vs FAU as #9E-Florida Atlantic won their 32nd game (same as Houston) getting a generous jump ball (while two #8E-Memphis players tried to call time out) with 5.5 seconds left and converting a lay in to win 66-65.  #14MW-Kennesaw St led 61-48 with 9:56 left but #3MW-Xavier ended the game on a 24-6 run to advance.  #11W-Arizona St hit a tying 3 but #6W-TCU got a lay in with 1.5 seconds left to win 72-70.  #5MW-Miami (Florida) ended their game on a 16-1 run to win by 7 over #12MW-Drake. 

#6S-Creighton, #7E-Michigan St, and #6E-Kentucky kept their slim leads but finished strong while #4MW-Indiana, #3S-Baylor, #5W-St. Mary’s, #2E-Marquette, #11MW-Pitt, #4W-UConn, #3W-Gonzaga, and #4MW-Indiana all won by 11 points or more.

Just three upsets today which gives the East a #16 vs #9 matchup, keeps the West chalk (top 8 all won), and puts two double-digit seeds in the South and Midwest.  Kentucky’s win made the SEC 6-1 while the Big Ten and Big 12 each have 5 wins.  The Pac 12 fizzled going 0-2 today (1-3) and leaving UCLA as the lone representative. 

Zippy (15th-Tied, 48 pts), SlumDawg 2 (15th-T), and Norman (7th-T, 50) went 15-1 today (obviously missing FDU; everyone did) but it’s Samurai Jack still on top with 54 points.  Five are tied for 2nd with 52 points.  74 got FAU and 66 Pitt.  That’s Right went 5-11 to fall into last with 28 pts.  16 entries lost Purdue as their champ but 82 still have all Final Four teams intact.  Unfortunately, Donating Another $10 only has one team left (Texas; lost Arizona, Purdue, Illinois) despite being tied for 39th place (46).  Five still have 15 of 16 Sweet 16 teams alive while That’s Right only has 6 (also only has 3 of 8 Elite 8 teams remaining).

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   Tids & Bits – Poodoo is Star Wars Huttese for stinky Bantha fodder (food)… UMBC was the other #16 seed to win beating the #1 overall seed Virginia in 2018… Kennesaw St’s last appearance was in 1992 and tried to join Furman (last app 1980) in the Round of 32… Arizona St almost made the First Four teams 3-for-3 today (FDU and Pitt won)… Drake had no FGs in last 5:37… the WCC is 2-0, the Big East 4-1, and ACC 3-2… Pitt was bad shooting 34.1% (14/41) but Iowa St was even worse (23.3%, 14/60); Pitt even had 15 turnovers (to Iowa St’s 8) let Iowa St have 16 offensive rebounds and still won by 18… FDU was 4-22 last year and #345 at KenPom… FDU was #301 in the NET rankings (of 363 teams) (Purdue #5) — for comparison, UMBC was #139 (of 351 teams) (Virginia #1) in RPI (before NET existed).. Purdue was a 23-point favorite… 88 missed local USC… 191 got Zags, 190 Marquette, and 187 Xavier and Kansas St… first time a #15 and #16 won in the same year… just 5 of 32 games were one possession games (3 point margin or less) while 17 were double-digit wins… no overtime games or buzzer beaters (yet)… UCLA had the largest margin of victory (33) while Alabama and Kansas each scored 96 points… somehow my two kids are tied for 39th while the parents are tied for 103rd and 142nd…

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So I take a 3-hour nap (still recovering) and FDU wins?  Last time I was at least alerted UMBC was winning, …
Scott

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