Our 25th HWCI NCAA pool is almost here. Haven’t followed anything but I’m sure USC and UCLA are the teams to beat! Art and detailed pool stats may be delayed as I lost a USB drive in June which means most of the past 2 year pool stats are gone and I have to re-create. But it doesn’t affect this year’s pool, just my obsession with pool stats. So, who will join the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs (Big South champs) into making their 1st tourney? Abilene Christian (Southland) and Grand Canyon (WAC) will try to win their tournament final today.
Donation to World Vision
As our 2018 HWCI First Four For Charity choice, World Vision received a generous donation of $56 from myself and other participants (Charles D and Jeff2 H).
Issue # 15.6.1 “Nova Nation” (4/2)
| 2018 NCAA Champions | |
 #1-EastBoston, MA Hosted by Boston College (ACC) TD Garden |
Villanova University Wildcats (36-4) 3rd Title: ’85, ’16 |
| 2018 Winningest Conference | |
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The Big 12 Conference (12-7) 4th Time: ’03, ’08, ’10 |
Billiam, BamaG 2, and ChasCroix-1 join four winners who clinched Saturday
GOODLAND HOTEL IN GOLETA, CA (smt)- Nine minutes into Monday’s game, #3W-Michigan actually had more three-pointers than #1E-Villanova (2 to 1) and built a 21-14 lead but then couldn’t hit a shot. Villanova found their rhythm, hitting 3 of their next 4 three-point attempts and went on a 23-7 run to close the half en route to another double-digit win, 79-62. After allowing Michigan to get a quick basket after the break, Villanova scored the next 7 points and never looked back. The Wolverines tried to get back, cutting the lead to 12 but consecutive threes by Donte DiVencenzo (who had a record 31 points off the bench which was 24 more than Michigan’s whole bench) had the Wildcats back up by 18 with 7:55 left. In the end, Villanova won their 3rd title and second in three years, hitting 10 more threes to extend their record of 28 threes in the Final Four and 76 in the tournament.
Villanova’s rout moved Billy T (Billiam), Greg J (BamaG 2), and Chuck D (ChasCroix-1) into the 4th, 5th, and 6th money spots. The garbage time scoring in the end pushed the total points to 141 which gave Greg J 5th place over Chuck D. Last year, Continue reading
Michigan-Villanova Live!
Getting done with work here in Goleta and stopping somewhere to eat to hopefully watch the first half. Philly Eagles Again (Champ), Slamjam51-3, and SacKings4Ever have already clinched money spots. For pride, 42 have picked #1E-Villanova to win and two have picked Michigan. Those two are STORMY Fever-Catch It! and We Fam!, coincidentally, both with explanation marks at the end of their nickname. Both need the Wolverines to win to finish in the money. Larzby also needs Michigan to win to hold on to a money spot. Billiam, ChasCroix-1, and BamaG 2 need the Wildcats to win to finish in the money. Either way, there is a tie for 5th and the total points in final tiebreaker will come into play. Bonus already won by SamerTime. So here we go…
1st, 15:30: Michigan coach “Weave 2 Poppy”? MI 9-6. Watching on the iPad from the Outpost restaurant. Hotel doesn’t have TBS so watching Michigan TeamCast on TNT.
11:00: MI 21-14. Mich has more 3s than Vil (2-1).
6:00: Vil hits 2nd three (both teams now 2/10), takes lead 23-21. Vil kept in game with 4 offensive rebounds (0 for MI).
Half: Vil ends half on 23-7 run, hitting 3 of their last 4 threes. Estimated total points is 130.
2nd 18:03: Vil on 7-0 run after spotting Michigan early basket. 44-30.
14:00: VIL another three, up 51-33. Estimated 129 pts.
11:58: Michigan battling, down 53-38. Estimated 130 pts. ChasCroix-1 would win 5th place tiebreaker and VIL win.
7:55: VIL nails another three, pushing lead back to 15 (59-44). And another three, up by 18 (62-44). Both by Donte DiVincenzo. Estimate 133 pts. ChasCroix-1 would finish 6th (and BamaG 2 5th) if total points is 135+ 136+.
6:52: Michigan TeamCast complaining about Donte’s carrying-over and not getting called on it. Donte human missing 2 free throws but makes 2 now.
5:37: Billiam, ChasCroix-1, and BamaG 2 are starting to count the money. 19 point lead (69-50).
4:23: Now Michigan TeamCast complaining about soft fouls on Wagner. On the last one, Wagner didn’t even touch the guy and got his 4th foul. 71-52.
3:48: Another 3, Villanova up by 22 (74-52). Scoring up, now estimate 139 which would give BamaG 2 5th place.
2:00: Total points hit 137 (79-58), gives BamaG 2 5th place. ChasCroix-1 will finish 6th.
10.7 sec: Benches empty. Villanova 79-62.
FINAL: Villanova 79, Michigan 62 (141 total points). VIL hit 10/27 3s (9/18 after starting 1/9). VIL 12-5 offensive rebounds. All 6 wins by double-figures. Slamjam51-3 finishes 2nd, SacKings4Ever 3rd, and Billiam 4th. Congrats to all 7 winners!
Issue # 14.5.2 “24 Ticking Down” (4/1) (History of the Pool)
| 2018 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ San Antonio, Texas | ||
| The Final at the Alamodome | ||
| #3-West Los Angeles, CA Hosted by Pepperdine U. (WCC) Staples Center |
vs. | #1-East Boston, MA Hosted by Boston College (ACC) TD Garden |
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| University of Michigan Wolverines (33-7) | Villanova University Wildcats (35-4) | |
| Big Ten Conference – Champs (Reg – 4th) Ann Arbor, Michigan 7th Final (’65, ’76, ’89, ’92, ’93, ’13) 1-time champion def #14 Montana 61-47 #6 Houston 64-63 #7 Texas A&M 99-72 #9 Florida St 58-54 #11S Loyola-Chicago 69-57 |
Big East Conference – Champs (Reg – 2nd) Villanova, Pennsylvania 4th Final (’71, ’85, ‘16) 2-time champions def #16b Radford 87-61 #9 Alabama 81-58 #5 West Virginia 90-78 #3 Texas Tech 71-59 #1MW Kansas 95-79 |
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Sunday, April 1, 2018 *** HAPPY EASTER *** or ***APRIL FOOLS! ***
Six battling for final 3 money spots as 3 have clinched and Bonus has been won
CERRITOS, CA (smt)- If #1E-Villanova can hit 13+ three-pointers like they have been doing, it will be a very long night for #3W-Michigan. But if the Wildcats shoot like they did against Texas Tech, hitting just 4 of 24, a quality team like Michigan can easily take advantage. So which Villanova team will show up? Michigan has alternated between double-digit wins and close games while Villanova has won all by at least 12 points. Michigan faced a #14 and then started facing worse and worse seeds, going from 6 to 7 to 9 to 11. Villanova has been facing and dominating better competition, going from a 16 seed to 9 to 5 to 3 to 1. As such, Villanova is favored by 7 points which for a single-elimination game, is pretty high. The over/under is 145 points which will matter for the tie-breaker for 5th place (regardless who wins).
In our 24th year, for the fourth time we have our pool champion before the final and the first since 2013. Bob G (Philly Eagles Again), after finishing as the bridesmaid in 2008 and 2012, will finally finish on top. With the first place prize, he is now our top earner with $1,020 in 20 years. That puts him ahead of Darryn B (Big Luther), one of only two 2-time pool champions, who has won $920. Ron E (Slamjam51-3) will win money for the first time in his 11 years playing the pool (either 2nd or 3rd) and Janette H (SacKings4Ever) will win money in her first pool (either 3rd, 5th, or 6th). Sam S (SamerTime) will win the $40 Bonus and be his second prize in 10 years. The other three spots will either go to repeat wealthy winners Sam N (STORMY Fever-Catch It) (3 wins, $350), Jeff H (We Fam!) (3 wins, $340) and Lawrence M (Larzby) (2 wins, $605) or low earners Billy T (Billiam)(1st time in pool), Chuck D (ChasCroix-1) (just 6th ($85) in 2017), and Greg J (BamaG 2) (only has won $40 Bonus in 2013). Ron E wins on his 3rd entry and Greg J would win on his 2nd entry, once again showing multiple entries usually do not have good showings in the pool. Although Bob G was close, we still haven’t had a person place two entries in the money (including the Bonus).
| If Michigan wins… | If Villanova wins… | ||||
| Place | Amount | Entry (Name) (Yrs in Pool-Won) | Entry (Name) (Yrs in Pool-Won) | ||
| 1st | $620 | Philly Eagles Again (Bob G) (20-2 (2nd ’08, 2nd ’12)) | Philly Eagles Again | ||
| 2nd | $320 | STORMY Fever-Catch It (Sam N) (21-3 (1st ’00, 5th ’10, 5th ’12)) | Slamjam51-3 | ||
| 3rd | $220 | Slamjam51-3 (Ron E) (11) | SacKings4Ever | ||
| 4th | $165 | We Fam! (Jeff H) (15-3 (2nd ’02, 4th ’04, 5th ’08)) | Billiam (Billy T) (1) | ||
| 5th (or 6th) | $120 | SacKings4Ever (Janette H) (1) -or- | ChasCroix-1 (Chuck D) (10-1 (6th ’17)) -or- | ||
| 6th (or 5th) | $ 75 | Larzby (Lawrence M) (15-2 (1st ’09, 5th ’16)) | BamaG 2 (Greg J) (13-1 (Bns ’13)) | ||
| Bonus | $ 40 | SamerTime (Sam S) (10-1 (3rd ’11)) | SamerTime |
A little history on our Zlatan-ic pool… Continue reading
Issue # 13.5.1 “Barrage of Threes” (3/31)
Philly Eagles Again clinches the 24th pool title and SamerTime clinches the Bonus
ZLATANLAND IN CARSON, CA (smt)- #3W-Michigan was behind by 10 with 14 minutes left but went on a 30-10 run aided by four 3-pointers (#11S-Loyola-Chicago only hit one the whole game) ending the Ramblers’ run, 69-57 in the first semifinal. The Big Ten champs have not lost since Feb 6th (14 straight wins). In the second semifinal, #1E-Villanova led 6-4 before… oh wait, they had 6 three-pointers to #1MW-Kansas’ four total points, building a 22-4 lead in out-gunning the Jayhawks, 95-79. The Wildcats tied a Final Four record with 13 three-pointers made after just 17 minutes en route to shattering the record with 18.
For the first time since 2013 and just fourth time ever, we have our pool champion before the final. Philly Eagles Again (125 pts) is ahead just enough to blunt a Michigan title challenge by STORMY Fever-Catch It (5th, 111). Slamjam51-3 (2nd, 121) will get 2nd or 3rd, and SacKings4Ever (3rd-Tied, 115) will get either 3rd, 5th, or 6th. We Fam! (12th, 105) and Larzby (3rd-T) need a Wolverine win and Billiam (6th-T, 110), ChasCroix-1 (8th-T, 107), and BamaG 2 (8th-T) need a Wildcat win. While Bob G will win the pool he did lose a chance to become the first person to place two entries in the prize money (Bob’s Best Bets (35th-T, 98) missing out thanks to Kansas’s loss). iWillLose (152nd, 62) got Villanova right and finally left last place, leaving Balls Dropped! and Paint Crew there instead (60).
Here are the final two scenarios:
If MICHIGAN beats VILLANOVA in the final, then the possible winners are...
Philly Eagles Again Score:125 (place 1 winner)
STORMY Fever-Catch It Score:123 (place 2 winner)
Slamjam51-3 Score:121 (place 3 winner)
We Fam! Score:117 (place 4 winner)
SacKings4Ever Score:115 (tiebreak=101 | 5th if <=122 | 6th if >=123)
Larzby Score:115 (tiebreak=144 | 6th if <=122 | 5th if >=123)
If VILLANOVA beats MICHIGAN in the final, then the possible winners are...
Philly Eagles Again Score:137 (place 1 winner)
Slamjam51-3 Score:133 (place 2 winner)
SacKings4Ever Score:127 (place 3 winner)
Billiam Score:122 (place 4 winner)
ChasCroix-1 Score:119 (tiebreak=128 | 5th if <=135 | 6th if >=136)
BamaG 2 Score:119 (tiebreak=143 | 6th if <=135 | 5th if >=136)
For the $40 Bonus, Kansas’s loss means the Continue reading
Issue # 12.4.4 “Two 1-Time Champs and Two #1s Battle It Out” (3/30)
| 2018 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ San Antonio, Texas [Alamodome] |
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| First Semifinal | Second Semifinal | ||
| #11-South Atlanta, GA Hosted by Georgia Tech (ACC) Phillips Arena |
#3-West Los Angeles, CA Hosted by Pepperdine U. (WCC) Staples Center |
#1-East Boston, MA Hosted by Boston College (ACC) TD Garden |
#1-Midwest Omaha, NE Hosted by Creighton U. (Big East) CenturyLink Center |
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| Loyola University Chicago Ramblers (32-5) | University of Michigan Wolverines (32-7) | Villanova University Wildcats (34-4) | Kansas University Jayhawks (31-7) |
| Missouri Valley Conference – Champs Chicago, Illinois 2nd Final Four (’63) 1-time champion def #6 Miami (Fla) 64-62 #3 Tennessee 63-62 #7 Nevada 69-68 #9 Kansas St. 78-62 |
Big Ten Conference – Champs Ann Arbor, Michigan 8th Final Four (’64, ’65, ’76, ’89, ’92, ’93, ’13) 1-time champion def #14 Montana 61-47 #6 Houston 64-63 #7 Texas A&M 99-72 #9 Florida St 58-54 |
Big East Conference – Champs Villanova, Pennsylvania 6th Final Four (’39, ’71, ’85, ’09, ‘16) 2-time champions def #16b Radford 87-61 #9 Alabama 81-58 #5 West Virginia 90-78 #3 Texas Tech 71-59 |
Big 12 Conference – Champs Lawrence, Kansas 15th Final Four (’40, ‘52, ’53, ’57, ’71, ’74, ’86, ’88, ’91, ’93, 02, ’03, ’08, ’12) 3-time champions def #16 Penn 76-60 #8 Seton Hall 83-79 #5 Clemson 80-76 #2 Duke 85-81 (OT) |
Five can win pool and 18 are still alive in race to finish
LEGOLAND IN CARLSBAD, CA (smt)- On the road to San Antonio, all four teams managed to get the automatic bid as their conference tournament champion. Coincidentally, Loyola-Chicago and Michigan both won their tournaments a week before Selection Sunday and face each other in the first semifinal. The Big Ten, in an effort to get their tournament at Madison Square Garden, held their tourney a week earlier than usual. That’s because Madison Square Garden hosts the Big East tournament, which was won by Villanova. Both Villanova and Kansas won the day before Selection Sunday, earned #1 seeds, and will face each other in the second semifinal. This left only the SEC with their championship on Selection Sunday (oh yeah, the Pac 12 final was also on Saturday though it’s debatable if they are still one of the Big Five conferences after their poor showing) as more one-bid leagues have the championship on Selection Sunday.
Both Loyola-Chicago and Michigan faced their expected seeded teams in the first weekend but then faced #7 and #9 seeds in the second weekend. Both have also won just one championship and are in the midwest United States. Both Villanova and Kansas have faced their expected seeded teams within one rank (2/3, 4/5, 8/9) and will face each other, the best possible matchup. Villanova has won all four games in double-digits while Kansas has won their last three games by four points, needing overtime vs. Duke.
As we look forward to crowning our 22nd different champion in 24 years, 18 entries are still hoping to finish in the top 6. The difference between 1st and 6th is $545. No one picked Loyola-Chicago but Continue reading
Issue # 11.4.3 “First Four Unkind to Pac 12” (First Four Recap) (3/27)
At least $56 will be donated to World Vision; over $705 donated in 8 years
EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- Apparently the Selection Committee did watch Pac 12 basketball because they shafted one of the big 5 conferences for a good reason — they suck. With any respect, USC would be easily in, UCLA and Arizona St would be 8/9 seeds, and Arizona, as the conference and tournament champ, would be at least a 3 seed. Nope. No USC, UCLA and Arizona St relegated to the First Four games, and champ Arizona dropped to a 4 seed and not in the West. Well, the committee knew what it was doing as #11bE-UCLA choked down the stretch against #11aE-St. Bonaventure, 65-58, and #11aMW-Arizona St lost a close one to #11bMW-Syracuse, 60-56. This was the first time a conference had two teams in the First Four and now have the distinction as the only conference to have two losers in the First Four in the same year. UCLA’s Aaron Holiday was a turnover machine (10 of UCLA’s 20 total) including three in the last 30 seconds after the Bruins had rallied to tie the game at 58. Arizona St had a 7 point lead with 7 minutes left before Syracuse, the last team in, went on an 8-0 run. Certainly, the Pac 12 basketball teams matched the horrible post-season Pac 12 football had.
#16bE-Radford slowly outscored #16aE-LIU Brooklyn 12-3 in the final five minutes to get their first tournament win, 71-61. There were 42 fouls and 30 turnovers in this grudge fest. #16bW-Texas Southern broke open a 10-10 game and never looked back in routing #16aW-NC Central, 64-46. Like a few of the Southwestern Athletic (SWA) Conference teams, Texas Southern played their first 13 games on the road against top teams and went 0-13 to start but won when it mattered, in the SWAC championship game and in the First Four game, their first ever tournament win. Texas Southern’s 0-13 start was the worst ever for a tournament team and they became the first sub .500 team (15-19) to win a tournament game. NC Central lost their second straight First Four game (last year).
The greatest upset is one of those “where were you when it happened” and I’ll always remember being at the Black Angus in Buena Park with my family and watching the game on the NCAA March Madness app on my iPad Air 2. Stunned. I even tweeted a cryptic message: Watch TV now. History in making? for anyone who didn’t bother to watch another #1 seed trash a #16 seed. The way #16S-UMBC played was fun to watch, they never took the gas off the accelerator that most big programs do when they have a double-digit lead with 10 minutes left. Kept the pressure and #1S-Virigina never responded. Virginia wasn’t a #1 seed, they were the #1 overall seed, and despite losing a bench player who was just 4th on the team in scoring, were still heavily favored to make the Sweet 16 before they had to worry about not having De’Andre Hunter on the bench. In fact, I compiled a few of the predictions below from all over the spectrum, post-Hunter injury. The most interesting was the swarm concept as a bunch of people individually moved a token toward the most likely scenario, in this case Virginia – High Confidence. The concept here as that as everyone is moving their token to that spot, some will Continue reading
Final Four Possibilities
Just to separate it out, here are the 8 possible winning scenarios. Is your name on this list? 18 entries are alive, 5 can win the pool.
2018 HWCI NCAA Pool – Final Four Possibilities 03/25/18
If LOYOLA CHI beats VILLANOVA in the final, then the possible winners are...
Philly Eagles Again Score:117 (place 1 winner)
SacKings4Ever Score:115 (place 2 winner)
Slamjam51-3 Score:113 (place 3 winner)
Spermicidal State Score:110 (tiebreak=131 | 4th if <=135 | 5th if >=136)
Billiam Score:110 (tiebreak=140 | 5th if <=135 | 4th if >=136)
BamaG 2 Score:107 (tiebreak=143 | 6th if <=143)
Larzby Score:107 (tiebreak=144 | 6th if >=144)
If VILLANOVA beats LOYOLA CHI in the final, then the possible winners are...
Philly Eagles Again Score:129 (place 1 winner)
SacKings4Ever Score:127 (place 2 winner)
Slamjam51-3 Score:125 (place 3 winner)
Billiam Score:122 (place 4 winner)
BamaG 2 Score:119 (place 5 winner)
Bwakewey 1 Score:118 (place 6 winner)
If LOYOLA CHI beats KANSAS in the final, then the possible winners are...
AlmostBaseballSeason Score:110 (place 1 winner)
Philly Eagles Again Score:109 (place 2 winner)
SacKings4Ever Score:107 (tiebreak=101 | 3rd if <=122 | 4th if >=123)
Larzby Score:107 (tiebreak=144 | 4th if <=122 | 3rd if >=123)
Kona Coast Sliders 1 Score:106 (tiebreak=134 | 5th if <=141 | Tied 5th if 142 | 6th if 143-149)
Bwakewey 3 Score:106 (tiebreak=150 | 6th if <=141 | Tied 5th if 142 | 5th if 143-157 | 6th if >=158)
Bob's Best Bets Score:106 (tiebreak=165 | 6th if 150-157 | 5th if >=158)
If KANSAS beats LOYOLA CHI in the final, then the possible winners are...
Kona Coast Sliders 1 Score:118 (tiebreak=134 | 1st if <=141 | Tied 1st if 142 | 2nd if 143-149 | 3rd if >=150)
Bwakewey 3 Score:118 (tiebreak=150 | 2nd if <=141 | Tied 1st if 142 | 1st if 143-157 | 2nd if >=158)
Bob's Best Bets Score:118 (tiebreak=165 | 3rd if <=149 | 2nd if 150-157 | 1st if >=158)
Flying Elvi Score:116 (place 4 winner)
MistressNine Score:113 (place 5 winner)
MMMtheBOSS Score:111 (place 6 winner)
If MICHIGAN beats VILLANOVA in the final, then the possible winners are...
Philly Eagles Again Score:125 (place 1 winner)
STORMY Fever-Catch It Score:123 (place 2 winner)
Slamjam51-3 Score:121 (place 3 winner)
We Fam! Score:117 (place 4 winner)
SacKings4Ever Score:115 (tiebreak=101 | 5th if <=122 | 6th if >=123)
Larzby Score:115 (tiebreak=144 | 6th if <=122 | 5th if >=123)
If VILLANOVA beats MICHIGAN in the final, then the possible winners are...
Philly Eagles Again Score:137 (place 1 winner)
Slamjam51-3 Score:133 (place 2 winner)
SacKings4Ever Score:127 (place 3 winner)
Billiam Score:122 (place 4 winner)
ChasCroix-1 Score:119 (tiebreak=128 | 5th if <=135 | 6th if >=136)
BamaG 2 Score:119 (tiebreak=143 | 6th if <=135 | 5th if >=136)
If MICHIGAN beats KANSAS in the final, then the possible winners are...
Philly Eagles Again Score:117 (place 1 winner)
STORMY Fever-Catch It Score:115 (tiebreak=144 | Tied 2nd)
Larzby Score:115 (tiebreak=144 | Tied 2nd)
Slamjam51-3 Score:113 (place 4 winner)
AlmostBaseballSeason Score:110 (place 5 winner)
We Fam! Score:109 (place 6 winner)
If KANSAS beats MICHIGAN in the final, then the possible winners are...
Kona Coast Sliders 1 Score:118 (tiebreak=134 | 1st if <=141 | Tied 1st if 142 | 2nd if 143-149 | 3rd if >=150)
Bwakewey 3 Score:118 (tiebreak=150 | 2nd if <=141 | Tied 1st if 142 | 1st if 143-157 | 2nd if >=158)
Bob's Best Bets Score:118 (tiebreak=165 | 3rd if <=149 | 2nd if 150-157 | 1st if >=158)
Philly Eagles Again Score:117 (place 4 winner)
Flying Elvi Score:116 (place 5 winner)
Larzby Score:115 (place 6 winner)
Issue # 10.4.2 “It Was the Worst of Games, It Was the Best of Games” (3/25)
Philly Eagles Again jumps into lead and can win in 6 of 8 scenarios; Bonus2 might be in play
ALHAMBRA/LA MIRADA, CA (smt)- #1E-Villanova was uncharacteristically bad, hitting just 33% of their shots and making just 4 threes on 4 of 24 (16.7%) shooting but still won their fourth straight double-digit game in the tournament, downing #3E-Texas Tech, 71-59. The Wildcats kept themselves in the game by collecting 20 offensive rebounds (of their season-high 51 rebounds) as Texas Tech played just as poorly shooting 33% as well and missing layup after layup and could not build the momentum needed for an extended run. At one point in the telecast, CBS put up a graphic that the Red Raiders had missed 15 of 21 layups (with 6:35 to go), a crazy stat that showed the Villanova was very beatable with a competent team. The slow claw saw Texas Tech within five (52-47) and the ball with 6:01 left but, you guessed it, Texas Tech missed a layup (blocked) and it was soon 7 points. Villanova hit their last 12 free throws in icing the game.
In the Midwest, a typical blue blood matchup turned into a classic heavyweight fight with #1MW-Kansas getting the game-tying three to send the game into overtime where Malik Newman scored all 13 points in knocking out #2MW-Duke, 85-81. No team had more than a 7 point lead and there were 11 ties and 18 lead changes, most of them in the second half. After Duke hit a 3 to go ahead 64-62 with 5:55 left, there were six more lead changes and then the final tie at the end of regulation. In the first 3:09 of overtime there were five lead changes and two ties. Incredible game. Only blemish was a poor block call on Duke’s Wednel Carter Jr who was set for what seemed like seconds but was still called for his fifth foul with 2:57 left with Duke up by 1. Duke star Grayson Allen nearly ended the game on a buzzer beater but his bank shot rolled in and out and he ended his career with no field goals in the last 33 minutes. Kansas finally won an Elite 8 game after losing the past two year’s Elite 8 games.
In the pool, 29 went 2-0 including Philly Eagles Again who jumps into the lead with 109 pts. SacKings4Ever and Larzby remain tied for 2nd (107) while Slamam51-3 moved into 4th (105). Five went 3-1 for the round with only Walkure Ga Tomaranai (31st-Tied, 92) not having a chance at money. Kona Coast Sliders 1 rose to 10th (T, 98) and STORMY Fever-Catch It moved into a tie for 22nd (95). 26 went 0-2 and 18 went 0-for-the-Final-Four. iWillLose got Villanova but still in last with 54 points. He could finish 152nd if Villanova over Kansas.
Bob G has locked up at least a tie for first in 7 of 8 Final Four scenarios. His Philly Eagles Again wins outright if Villanova beats Kansas (4 scenarios) or Michigan beats Kansas in the title game (1 scenario) and his Continue reading
Issue # 9.4.1 “No Doubt This Time” (3/24)
Larzby finally in front by 4 points with 81.3% chance to win money
ROSEMEAD, CA (smt)- After winning their first three games by a combined total of four points, #11S-Loyola-Chicago made sure to secure their Final Four berth routing #9S-Kansas St, 78-62. In pushing the pace, the Ramblers had 15 turnovers and K-State converted on a lot of them, but Loyola-Chicago helped themselves by shooting 57.4% from the field and 50% behind the stripe (9/18) while the Wildcats shot 34.8% from the field. Sister Jean and the Missouri Valley Conference tournament winners will go to San Antonio as the fourth #11 seed to make it.
#3W-Michigan was only pretty in short bursts but it was enough to hold off #9W-Florida St, 88-84. The Wolverines went on a 11-1 run in 4:52 early in the second half to turn a one-point deficit into a 10-point lead and then a 7-0 run in 1:49 to build back a 10-point lead with 2:26 left. But the rest of the time Michigan was sloppy (same for Florida St) and the Seminoles took advantage late to quickly score 8 of the next 9 points in 1:09 but could not get closer than 2 in the final seconds. However, in the most bizarre sequence, down by 2 with 24 seconds left, the Seminoles prevented Michigan’s poorest free throw shooter Zavier Simpson from getting the in-bound pass and allowed near 90% free throw shooter Duncan Robinson to get the ball instead and was fouled. Simpson had already missed the front end of a 1-on-1 and missed 1 of 2 the last trip (why Michigan kept giving him the ball was a gift that kept on giving to FSU) and, so of course, Robinson easily nailed both free throws to put Michigan up 58-54. After a missed 3-point attempt, Michigan got the rebound but the Seminoles did NOT foul, essentially giving up with 10.6 seconds left. Maybe because it was Robinson who got the rebound and Florida St had no timeouts, the Seminoles felt they’d automatically be down by 6 with a foul but still, anything can happen. At least try to steal the ball.
The second half was mostly ugly with FSU going without a FG for 5:44 early in the half then without a FG for 7:53 (staying in the game with 8 free throws) from 10 minutes to 2:07. Michigan went 5 minutes without a FG midway through and none in the last 2:26. Both teams shot under 39% from the field (Michigan 38.8%, FSU 31.4%) and under 24% from long range (FSU 23.5%, Michigan 18.2% (4 of 22 after making 14 of 24 their last game)). In the last 1:38, Michigan missed twice on the front end of a 1-on-1 and made just 2 of 4 in their other free throw attempts (before Robinson coolly nailed 2 with 21 seconds left).
In the pool, Larzby was one of 33 to pick Michigan and moved into first place, topping the century mark (101 pts). Philly Eagles Again moved into 2nd (97) and Billiam and Lady Chocoholic moved into a tie for Continue reading
Current Standings after Friday…
…can be found here for now: http://www.hwci.com/ncaa/2018/status0323.htm
and always can be found embedded in my updates (but since usually my updates are the next day, this site is usually updated first).
Apologize for the delay.
Issue # 8.3.2 “Almost Chalk” (3/23)
M Star back in the lead by just a point; 35 still in the running for money
CERRITOS, CA (smt)- #1MW-Kansas nearly blew a 20-point with 12 minutes left and a 15-point lead with 4:44 left but held off #5MW-Clemson comeback attempt, 80-76. Clemson got within 4 with 15 seconds left but could not get any closer. Kansas makes it third straight trip to the Elite 8 but the lost in the Elite 8 the past two years. #1E-Villanova fell behind 60-54 in the second half but outscored #5E-West Virginia 36-18 the rest of the game in winning 90-78. #2MW-Duke held off a late rally by upstart #11MW-Syracuse, 69-65. The Blue Devils had a 9-point lead with 4 minutes left but saw it cut to three with 41 seconds left and Syracuse had a chance to cut it to one with 7 seconds left but made just 1 of 2 free throws. So while the Midwest is chalk with #1 vs #2, the East lost their #2 seed Purdue, as #3E-Texas Tech pulled away after Purdue came within 3 with 5:27 left going on an 11-0 run to put the game away, 78-65 for their first ever trip to the Elite 8.
In the pool, M Star (96 pts) took back the lead from SacKings4Ever and leads by a point. Larzby moved into a tie for 2nd and was one of 5 to go 4-0 for the day (and 1 of 2 to go 5-3 for the round with the other being Spermicidal State who moved into a tie for 6th (90)). Bob G’s two entries, Continue reading
Issue # 7.3.1 “Rambling On” (3/22)
SacKings4Ever back in the lead with 60 still in the running for money
CERRITOS, CA (smt)- Once again, #7S-Nevada rallied from a double-digit second half deficit (this time 12 points with 16:45 left) to tie the game at 59… but left too much time on the clock with 4:06 remaining. In a tight battle the rest of the way, #11S-Loyola-Chicago’s Marques Townes hit a clutch three with 6.3 seconds left to lead by 4 and eventually held on to win, 69-68. The Ramblers’ three victories have been a total margin of just four points and they reach the Elite 8 for the first time since ’63. Interestingly, Nevada was low on fouls to give and with a six second differential in shot to game clock, surprisingly did not try to foul (either to get their count up to a 1-on-1 or to just extend the game) and even if Townes would have missed the three, less than six seconds would have been left to go down the court. So after a quick layup with 3 seconds left, Nevada fouled three times, each taking 0.5-1.0 seconds, but could not get the ball back because Loyola-Chicago was not in a 1-on-1 situation. Game over. Maybe Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, Loyola’s 98-year-old team chaplain, put the prayer on big time to have Nevada reach such a poor decision.
#9S-Kansas St, despite three players fouling out, won for the first time ever against #5S-Kentucky (now 1-9 all-time) by scoring the last three points in a 61-58 win. In the Wildcat-Wildcat battle, Kentucky was on a 13-4 run and was up 57-56 with 1:32 left. #4W-Gonzaga has had a poor showing all tournament and it finally caught up them as #9W-Florida St found an opening and finished on a 22-11 run to reach the Elite 8 for the first time since ’93, 75-60. #3W-Michigan’s barrage of threes helped build a 29-point first half lead (52-23) en route to a thrashing of #7W-Texas A&M, 99-72. Michigan shot 61.9% (tournament high) from the field and made 14 of 24 threes (58.3%).
In the pool, SacKings4Ever and Alyonushka went 2-2 with the former taking over 1st place (87 pts) and the latter moving to a tie for 64th (69) from 114th. Wuk2 moved into 3rd (84) behind former leader M Star (84) but Continue reading
Issue # 6.2.3 “Winners and Losers” (3/21) **Prize Distribution & Bonus Details”
52 eliminated entries can now win the Bonus
EL SEGUNDO/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- The #1 most expected not to last fell in the 2nd round (W-Xavier) but the overall #1 who became the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed was a shocker (S-Virginia). The two #1 seeds (E-Villanova and MW-Duke) don’t have much elite company as they are only joined by five other teams in the top 16 (last time in the pool era was 2000). Incredibly two #7s, two #9s, and two #11s are in the Sweet 16. Three #5 seeds fill up the remaining spots. There has been one buzzer beater (#3W-Michigan over #6W-Houston) and a few near buzzer beaters in one of the more exciting tournaments in recent years. #11S-Loyola-Chicago has won on two shots in the final seconds (0.3 and 3.6 seconds left) to win by a combined total of 3 points while #7S-Nevada has twice rallied from 14-point second half deficits (14 to #10S-Texas and 22 to #2S-Cincy). #11MW-Syracuse became the eighth straight First Four team to win 1st Round and the fourth to win in 2nd Round. Eleven games have gone to overtime (2) or decided by 3 points or less. Whew.
While you are taking a breather, take a listen to She’s Forever” from one of the unsigned bands Paul T (Poolrider (102nd-T, 63 pts) helps promote and always his 3rd entry, Cinema for the Blind (25th-T, 73), a young brother-sister duo). Our 24th year saw a 156 entries (and our first removed entries (4) since 2002) from 108 people, some making their appearance for the first time since 2014. We will have six money spots as we have $1,560 to divvy out. The top prize will be $620, $70 less than last year when we had a record 178 entries. The prize distribution is listed below and as always, all fee money goes into prizes. So we have those top six spots plus the Bonus. What’s the Bonus? Read on…
As it has been for the past 14 years, the Conference Wins is the Bonus Prize (as detailed below) (aka, Bonus1). However, if no one wins it, the Bonus2 takes effect and the entry who is closest to the Total Points in Final tiebreaker gets the Bonus Prize. We have used this Bonus to give hope to those who get eliminated early as only those who do not finish in the top 6 will be eligible to win. Rules follow below…
Bonus1 – Winningest Conference
When you completed your online entry and saw your picks (to print out), Continue reading