Issue # 4.2.1 “Buzzer Beater Madness” (3/17)

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**HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY**

TENN AND HOUSTON SHOCKED BY LAST MINUTE BASKETS
M Star shoots back to top as 18 go 7-1

Houston-Michigan Buzzer BeaterCERRITOS (smt)- We got our first true buzzer-beater as a great designed play got the ball to Jordan Poole who fired off a spread-eagled three before the buzzer and nailed it to give #3W-Michigan a one-point 64-63 victory over #6W-Houston.  Houston missed both free throws before the play and couldn’t extend a two-point lead with 3.6 seconds left and they did not guard the inbound pass (I thought the famous ’92 Duke buzzer-beater made teams start to guard the inbound pass).  that wasn’t the only late-game drama as #11S-Loyola-Chicago blew a 10 point lead with 4 minutes left and trailed by 1 with 21 seconds left.  Clayton Custer took an off balanced jumper that hit the front of the rim, then the backboard, and then into the rim with 3.6 seconds left to give the Ramblers a 63-62 win over #3S-Tennessee.  The Vols, with no timeouts, took the inbound and actually had a great look at a 3 that was just long.  The South has now lost its #1, #3, and #4 teams.  Watch out #2S-Cincinnati.

#5S-Kentucky (ending game on 21-6 run after #13S-Buffalo got within 3), #1E-Villanova, and #2MW-Duke dominated second half for an easy win while #1MW-Kansas, #4W-Gonzaga, and #3E-Texas Tech all held on to narrow wins.  Six top seeds won today.

M Star was one of 18 to go 7-1 today to take the lead with 75 pts.  Wuk2 and Bwakewey 1 are Continue reading »

Standings fixed, Nicknames added

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The standings have been fixed.  Also, a new menu item has appeared above and that is “Who’s Who” and that lists all our players in name order (last names hidden) and nickname order.  So who is Little Luther who is tied for the lead?  Who did your friend pick as a nickname so you can make fun of it.  I like the pop culture references (e.g., Kylo Ren, Dagny Taggart) and creative name spellings (e.g., Billiam, Bwakewey) and of course, puns (e.g., Full Metal Bracket).  No hard curse words so you can imagine what Aztecs Say FU MEChA originally was.  We also have a limit of 21 characters in the nickname field so some had to be shortened.  All CAPS annoy me but for some reason, 15-year vet PRIDE OF TROY was left alone.  So enjoy!  And if you want to explain some of the meaning behind your nickname, please do so!

Issue # 3.1.2 “We are UMBC” (3/16)

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FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER, A 16 BEATS A 1
4-way tie for first in crazy day with six upsets

Headline - UMBC v VirginiaEL SEGUNDO/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- It was bound to happen but never like this.  With top teams losing players year after year to the pros and smaller conference teams keeping and maturing their players, something had to give.  It was supposed to be MW-Penn catching Kansas off-guard (with Vegas money moving toward the underdog) or the fourth #1 seed W-Xavier to come short against Texas Southern.  Not the #1 overall team in the tourney.  Not in a blowout.  Losing by 20 when you were favored by 20?  I’m trying to figure out which is the more improbable scoreline:  S-UMBC 74, Virginia 54 or recently Albany 83, UMBC 39?  How does losing your 6th man (De’Andre Hunter) rattle a team’s psyche so much?  If this were soccer, Virginia coach Tony Bennett would be sacked for inexcusably not preparing his team and suffering the most embarrassing defeat ever as the first #1 seed to lose in 136 tries.  But oh, what a historical moment it was.  Starting with UMBC’s (that’s University of Maryland-Baltimore County) Jairus Lyles who seemed to make everything, even ones after the whistle in jest.  And he was cramping which will add to his legend to go with his 28 points on 9/11 shooting.  It was bad enough for the Cavs that game was tied at 21 at the half but Bennett’s halftime pep talk was probably piss-pour as well as UMBC came out blazing with a 17-3 run to start the half.  And amazingly, Virginia never did it back down to single digits for that one hope and a prayer.  The top team in the country had no answer and kept shooting threes, at one point missing 13 straight.

So the two biggest hits to our pool were a #1 that lost by 20 points and #4S-Arizona team that lost by 21.  Sheesh.  Well, 15 other games were played and up to that historic upset, Continue reading »

Issue # 2.1.1 “Buffalo Roams, Pac 12 Moans” (3/15)

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DARK HORSE ‘ZONA OUT, TOP SEEDS STRUGGLE
In our 24th pool, we have 160 entries, our 3rd highest total

Loyola-Chicago near buzzer beaterCERRITOS, CA (smt)- With #1S-Virginia down a top player, it seemed like the journey was made for #4S-Arizona to play with a chip on its shoulder to the Final Four.  But Arizona is a Pac 12 team and with that curse, fell to#13S-Buffalo who won their first tourney game ever.  Just like that, the Pac 12 fizzled 0-3 and matched the horrible post-season showing of its football teams who went 1-8 in bowl games.  Buffalo’s win overshadowed #11S-Loyola-Chicago nailing a 3-pt near buzzer-beater (they put 0.3 sec back on clock) to advance to the Round of 32.  Top seeds had lots of trouble but eventually #4W-Gonzaga, #1MW-Kansas (#16MW-Penn led 21-11 at one point), #5W-Ohio St, #8MW-Seton Hall, #5S-Kentucky, #6W-Houston, #3E-Texas Tech (holding #14E-Stephen F Austin to no FGs in last 5 minutes), and #3W-Michigan were victorious.  #3S-Tennessee, #2MW-Duke, #1E-Villanova, and #6E-Florida had easy wins.  The tourney started with a riveting match that #7MW-Rhode Island pulled out in overtime over a #10MW-Oklahoma team that Trae Young that singlehandedly kept  them in the game.  The other mild upset was #9E-Alabama, despite 15 losses as an at-large pick, winning by 3 over #8E-Virginia Tech.

For our 24th pool, we unofficially have 160 entries from 112 people.  The is our third highest total (behind ’17‘s 178 and ’15‘s 161) and third-highest participation (behind ’17’s 124 and ’15’s 113).  We tied a record with 72 entries (’15) on Wednesday.  We also discovered that the comment section on our form doesn’t go anywhere and that ncaa<at>hwci.com has a very aggressive spam filter this year.  Growing pains.

Kds911, SacKings4Ever, and M Star started off 13-0 but Continue reading »

Welcome to our pool!

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Unofficially, we have 160 entries from 112 people.  We should finalize everything by Saturday.  You will notice three new menu items at the top.

Standings – The current pool standings are updated by the next morning (usually late that same day though).

Team Dist – Who did everyone pick to win it all?  18 teams were picked.  How many picked Arizona to make the Final Four?

All Picks – This is everyone’s picks sorted by champion.  You can find out who were the 7 people who picked Buffalo to beat Arizona.  Who is that one person who did not pick Xavier to make the Round of 32?  Amazingly, for the first time ever in 24 years, we have two entries with the exact 63 picks (they differ on total points though).  CryingJordans and AlfordBlows will be forever tied as we move through the tournament.

Soon, the Nicknames will be up so you can see who is who in the pool.  And Your Bracket has been up since Wednesday so you can print out your bracket if you forgot.

Issue # 1.0.1 “The Following Takes Place Between 9am Monday and 9am Thursday”

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Monday, March 12, 2018  **HELP support World Vision (deadline Tue 3:40 pm PDT )**

VIRGINIA SECURES TOP SEED WHILE PAC 12 IS KICKED TO THE GROUND
For pool # 24, events occur in real time

Seed ListBUTTE, MT/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- S-Virginia steam-rolled in the tough ACC winning the regular season and tournament to get the tournament selection committee’s top #1 overall seed with a 31-2 record.  Two Big East teams (E-Villanova and W-Xavier) and Big 12 champ MW-Kansas got the other three #1s.  This was the second straight year Kansas got a 1 seed despite 7 losses but at least this year they won their conference tournament.  The Cavs led the ACC contingent who got a record-tying 9 teams while the SEC got a record 8 teams (was 6) but none higher than a 3 seed (S-Tennessee).  The Big 12 got 7 of its 10 teams in (with early hopes for 9) and the Big Ten got four, who played their tournament a week early in order to have their games at Madison Square Garden.  That leaves the Pac 12 as the last of the Big 6 conferences and they were treated that way by having their conference & tourney champ Arizona seeded 4th and in the South, two others only getting to the First Four (#11bE-UCLA and #11aMW-Arizona St), and their conference runner-up and tourney finalist USC getting left out entirely despite an RPI of 34 (record for lowest RPI not to make tourney since ’11).  Notre Dame was actually the first out and they can blame #12S-Davidson’s upset Atlantic 10 final win over #7MW-Rhode Island for stealing a spot on Sunday.  A record five teams had 8-10 conference records and made the tourney (Notre Dame was also 8-10 while USC was 12-6) albeit two face each other in the First Four (Arizona St and #11bMW-Syracuse) and #9E-Alabama was comfortably in despite losing a record-tying 15 games (Vandy in ’17).  Five at-large berths were given outside the Big 6 with the American and Atlantic 10 each getting two and the Mountain West getting one.

The selection committee (BTW, why the $%#! was the selection show not on CBS???) seemed to emphasize wins equally throughout the season, which is great except that if you lose 11 of 15 games to end a season including the first game of your conference tournament, sorry, #10MW-Oklahoma, you were not deserving of a bid and should’ve played yourselves out of a spot.  HOWEVER, for these last at-large bids I’m okay for TV reasons to choose a team with a star player like OK’s Trae Young but the committee should just admit that over whatever baloney they tried to convince TNT’s Charles Barkley with.  Quadrant wins were also a factor putting less emphasis on RPI for the first time.  But then again, if you can’t schedule teams in Quadrant 1, how could you ever pick up Quadrant 1 wins, so it seems to benefit the big conferences more.  I really hope Syracuse’s inclusion wasn’t due to all their complaining about missing the tourney last year.

Locally, UCLA snuck into as one of the last four while USC missed the cut after Continue reading »

8th HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity (Due 3:40 pm PDT Tuesday)

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While you decide who will win the tourney, for the 8th year I’m doing the HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity, where I will donate $2 per entry to a charity, this year to World Vision, which is a non-government organisation (NGO) that works with people around the world to help eliminate poverty and its causes. It is working with the United Nations and other NGOs to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals. World Vision was founded in the USA during the Korean War in the 1950s.  This was a recommendation from one of our players and if you have an idea, please let me know for next year.  This First Four for Charity is free and you just have to submit (you can comment on this post to enter, email, post to Facebook, tweet @HWCI_Pools) who the four First Four winners will be and by what point margin. For example: LIU by 3, UCLA by 25, Tx-Southern by 1, Syracuse by 8.   The four games are LIU-Brooklyn vs Radford, St. Bonaventure vs UCLA, NC Central vs Texas Southern, and Arizona St vs Syracuse.  Get your entry by 3:40 pm PDT Tuesday.  As a bonus, in the end, if we top our record of 178 entries this year, I’ll donate an additional $25.  Also, invite your friends and people can enter (since it’s free) this charity contest but not our main pool.

Congrats to Fullerton!

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Well, with UCLA and USC doing well in the Pac 12 tournament, they should be in. But they will be joined by local Cal State Fullerton who beat the other local team, UC Irvine, in the Big West Tournament Final to make the tourney for the 3rd time and first time since 2008.  With the brackets coming out tomorrow, expect our website to be up very late Sunday or early Monday.  As usual, all the rules remain the same ($10/entry, max 3 entries, deadline 9 am PDT Thursday).  Spread the word to your friends and family and let’s see if we can top the 178 entries we got last year.  Feel free to follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Beginner Patron Paid!

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Earlier this year, the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) was selected as the beneficiary of our HWCI First Four for Charity contest.  This conference is a global humanitarian technology conference focused on bringing together people to address the critical issues for the benefit of the resource-constrained and vulnerable populations in the world and starts in two weeks, October 19-22 in San Jose, California.

Thanks to additional generous donations by Charles D, Bob S, and Jeff2 H the final total was $85.10 (including my contribution) and I just donated that amount to the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference as a Beginner Patron.  In total, the 7 years has raised $593.98 $649.08.  The receipt is here:  GHTC_BeginnerPatron_171004_$85.10.  With the recent natural disasters in recent weeks in the southern U.S. and Caribbean (including complete loss of power for Puerto Rico), this will be a hot topic at GHTC and money raised will help provide an interactive forum to bring graduate students, professors, business people, and innovators together for a common cause.

Issue # 14.6.1 “Ugly Redemption”

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2017 NCAA Champions
University of North Carolina Tar Heels
#1-South (Memphis, TN)		 University of North Carolina
Tar Heels
(33-7)
6th Title: ’57, ’82, ’93, ’05, ’09, ’17
2017 Winningest Conference
SEC Conference

ACC Conference

 The Southeastern Conference
(11-5)
4th Time: ’06, ’07, ’14, ’17
&
The Atlantic Coast Conference
(11-8)
6th Time: ’04, ’05, ’10, ’15, ’16, ’17

Monday, April 3, 2017 

UNC WINS 6TH TITLE DESPITE POOR SHOOTING; ZAGS 2ND HALF FUNK
Dboyz17 holds on to win pool while ChasCroix1 wins tiebreaker for 6th

CERRITOS APT, CA (smt)- #1S-North Carolina shot 35.6%, only made 4 of 27 from long range (14.8%), and missed 11 free throws (57.7%) yet were able to hold off #1W-Gonzaga, 71-66, in a foul-marred game (22 fouls on each team).  With two injured ankles, Joel Berry made four threes (the rest of the team was 0 for 14) and scored 22 points (second straight final with 20+ points) to lead UNC to redemption after last year’s final loss to Villanova.  It was an ugly contest with UNC shooting 30% in the 1st half and Gonzaga shooting 28% in the second half and the refs plagued the game with fouls, a ticky tack flagrant 1 at a key point in the game, and missing an out-of-bounds hand by a UNC player in a tie-up that was possession UNC with under a minute left.  Despite the poor shooting all-around the teams did manage to combine to score 136 points which is more than the other mid-major finals involving Butler (120 and 94 points in back-to-back finals).

UNC’s win gave Dboyz17 the 2017 HWCI NCAA Pool title and record $690 win (out of a record $1,780 pot), finishing with 148 points followed by MarchMindlessness (143), Alternative Picks (142), Agnes Scheweizhofer (135), and Flying Elvi (133).  The 136 total points gave ChasCroix1 the tiebreaker over The Juggernaut to win 6th.  Bigtenfan was in position to win the Bonus but a late foul put that in jeopardy; luckily UNC made just one of two free throws and he finished off by one point and was still the best finisher (32nd) among the 12 entries who were one off.

Place Amount Winner Nickname Pts (Place) Yrs in Pool (#Ent) # Times Won (Total $)
1st $690 Greg Z Dboyz17 148 (1st) 4 (5) 1st win
2nd $355 Eric F MarchMindlessness  143 (2nd) 7 (9) 2 ($450; 5th ’14 )
3rd $240 Nelson P  Alternative Picks 142 (3rd) 11 (14) 1st win
4th $180 Andy F  Agnes Schweitzhofer 135 (4th) 20 (20) 2 ($212.50; 6th(Tied) ’12)
5th $130 Brian S  Flying Elvi 133 (5th) 21 (21) 2 ($190; 2nd ’97)
6th $ 85 Chuck D  ChasCroix1 132 (6th) 9 (16) 1st win
7th $ 60 Alex K  The Juggernaut 132 (7th) 2 (2) 1st win
Bonus $ 40 Benjamin D  Bigtenfan 116 (32nd) 6 (11) 2 ($330; 2nd ’14)

[Twitter]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 Group or post comments on our blog.  Continue reading »

Gonzaga v UNC- Live Pool Updates

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If you’re watching on the March Madness App, you get to see some behind the scenes coverage and pre-recorded segments as they wait to go live after commercials.

Game over!  UNC 71-65.  Bigtenfan thankful UNC only made 1 of 2 as 136 still gives the $40 bonus.  If he made both, Bamag2 would’ve gotten it.

All but over besides total points in final.  135 now.  Bigtenfan would win… 7 seconds left but 2 free throws to UNC.

UNC 68-65 21.9 seconds left.  Jump shot gives UNC a 3-pt lead after Zags again fail to get a defensive rebound (tied up, possession UNC).  134 pt projection.

UNC 66-65 1:25 left. Both teams have missed 19 free throws.  That same corner has played havoc with Gonzaga with a couple slips and a sprained ankle.  136 pt projection would give Bigtenfan bonus.

UNC 62-60 3:08 left.  Dboyz17, MarchMindlessness, and Alternative Picks are guaranteed money but they would love to get the maximum placement with UNC winning. 132 pt projection would give ChasCroix1 (if Zags win) or Harbaugh’s Khakis (if UNC wins) bonus.

UNC 59-57 5:03 left.  Zags last 9 pts off free throws before jumper at 6:07 first basket in over 8:27 then a three-point banking in.  Zag’s Collins fouls out going for defensive rebound.  133 pt projection SlumDawg would win bonus.

UNC 54-52 7:21 left.  Zags over 7 minutes without a basket (and not doing that well from free throw line).  130 pts would give FV LOCALS bonus.

UNC 52-50 8:02 left.  This tourney will be known for endlessly long delays with refs going to monitors too long.  Ticky tack flagrant 1 against Gonzaga’s Karnowski even though he got fouled.

50-50 9 minutes left.  Most of the last points via free throws thus far.  129 pts give And Mich. Still Sucks bonus.

UNC 47-46 10:50 left.  Boy, lots of missed shots (some badly), turnovers, and fouls (16 this half already).  Gonzaga already in Bonus and UNC in the 1-and-1.  Injured Joel Berry leading UNC. 128 projected pts would give Zippy bonus.

Zags 41-40, 15:53 minutes left.  Interesting seeing the Zags road uniforms for the first time (“ZAGS”).  One of Zags big men Collins picked up 4th foul.  Projection of 137 pts would give Bamag2 Bonus.

UNC 40-35.  8-0 run thanks to a couple Zag turnovers and an airball.  UNC shooting better 3/5 this half.

Halftime:  Gonzaga 35, UNC 32.  UNC offensive rebounding keeping them in since they are shooting 30%.  67 points at half -> 134 at end.  That would give Hendo bonus.  But game is close so mid-major still in it.  Over under is 153.5 points which would put John Galt or 16 Chumps (Zags win)/EEChick1400 (UNC wins) in position for Bonus.

Issue # 13.5.2 “23 Paths to Success” (History of our Pool)

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2017 NCAA Final Four @ PHOENIX, AZ
The Final at University of Phoenix Stadium
#1-West
San Jose, CA		 vs. #1-South
Memphis, TN
Gonzaga University Bulldogs University of North Carolina Tar Heels
Gonzaga University
Bulldogs (37-1) 		 University of North Carolina
Tar Heels (32-7)
West Coast Conference
Spokane, WA
First Final (est. 1958)
def. #16 South Dakota St. 66-46
#8 Northwestern 79-73
#4 West Virginia 61-58
#11 Xavier 83-59
#7E-South Carolina 77-73		 Atlantic Coast Conference
Chapel Hill, NC
11th Final (’46, ’57, ‘ 68, ’77,
’81, ‘82, ’93, ’05, ’09, ’16)
def. #16 Texas So. 103-64
#8 Arkansas 72-65
#4 Butler 92-80
#2 Kentucky 75-73
#3MW-Oregon 77-76

Sunday, April 2, 2017 

CLASSIC BATTLE OF MAJOR VS MID-MAJOR #1’S
11 can finish in top 7 and 65 can win Bonus

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- Gonzaga has only lost one time all year and some blame the weak West Coast Conference but has beaten a Big Ten, a Big East, a Big 12, and an SEC team en route to the finals.  North Carolina is representing the so-called best conference, the mighty ACC, who got 9 teams in but only they survived into the Sweet 16.  While the Bulldogs are making their first-ever finals appearance, the Tar Heels are making their 11th and second straight.  UNC is a slight 1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 153.5 points.

In our 23rd year, there are 11 people still alive (once again, no one has more than one entry in the running) with 8 trying to win money for the first time with the Brian S (Flying Elvi) last winning in ’97, a span of 19 pools (17 years in the pool).  John W (Jbwsaijo) is the only person who is playing for the first time.  Nelson P (Alternative Picks) last played in ’12 being winless in all 10 years but his return will net him at least 6th place.  Andy F (Anges Schweizhoffer) has played 20 years and his only win was a share of 6th place in ’12 ($32.50 which was less than the $40 Bonus!).  Michael G (Spermicidal State) will try to win money in his 10th try.  John W (Jbwsaijo) will try to become the 24th person to win money in the first year of playing (just the 14th since ’99).  65 entries have a chance at the $40 Bonus.  Since final pool placement counts, it means that although 16 entries picked 144 as their total points in final tiebreaker, if the total ends up being 144, Jason R (Buccos 3) will win (finish with 119 pts) if Gonzaga wins or Greg Z (Dboyz17-2) will win if UNC wins (finish with 128 pts) (and would be the first person to get more than one entry in the money in the same year).

If Gonzaga wins… If UNC wins…
Place Amount Entry (Name) (Yrs in Pool-Won) Entry (Name) (Yrs in Pool-Won)
1st $690 Parched Fatness (Mike M) (3) Dboyz17 (Greg Z) (4)
2nd $355 Spermicidal State (Michael G) (10) MarchMindlessness (Eric F) (7-5th ’14)
3rd $240 Dboyz17 (Greg Z) (4) Alternative Picks (Nelson P) (11)
4th $180 GonzagaGirl (Angelina K) (5) Agnes Schweitzhofer (Andy F) (20-6th(Tied) ’12)
5th $130 MarchMindlessness (Eric F) (7-5th ’14) Flying Elvi (Brian S) (21-2nd ’97)
6th $ 85 Alternative Picks (Nelson P) (11) ChasCroix1 (Chuck D) (9)
7th $ 60 Jbwsaijo (John W) (1) The Juggernaut (Alex K) (2)
Bonus $ 40 TBD TBD

A little history of our humble pool…
Continue reading »

Issue # 12.5.1 “#1 vs #1”

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Saturday, April 1, 2017 

SMART FOUL BY ZAGS AND SMART REBOUNDING BY UNC
Dboyz17 takes lead and only Parched Fatness can dethone

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, Continue reading »