Tag Archives: Gonzaga

Issue # 4.2.1 “Zags = Sweet 16” (3/23)

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Saturday, March 23, 2024 
ZAGS MAKE 9TH STRAIGHT SWEET 16 AS TOP SEEDS PREVAIL
Larzby alone in first plus MissT-3 jumps 84 places to 39rd

BUILDING A CATAPULT AT VETERANS PARK, CYPRESS, CA (smt) – #5MW-Gonzaga trailed #4MW-Kansas 49-48 early in the second half but then ripped off a 32-4 run (to lead 80-53) to make their 9th straight Sweet 16, winning 89-68.  #1W-UNC trailed 28-20 to #9W-Michigan St but went on a 23-3 run to advance to their 36th Sweet 16.  #2MW-Tennessee couldn’t shoot from three (3/25), had a ton of turnovers, but still had a 9-point lead at the half and eventually topped #7MW-Texas, who were much worse.  #2W-Arizona and #2E-Iowa St were in a battle early in the second half before pulling out double-digit wins.  #3E-Illinois led 50-24 and 75-43 in their rout of #11E-Duquesne, finally allowing their coach to retire!

In a clean game, #11MW-Oregon didn’t attempt a free throw until 26.4 seconds left up by 2 because #3MW-Creighton need to foul.  But what a big attempt it was, as Oregon could have gone up by 4 but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 which the Bluejays took advantage to tie the game at 62 and send the game to overtime.  But we did two overtimes with Creighton scoring the first 15 points in the 2nd OT (eventually outscoring the Ducks 15-2, with Oregon’s only two points at free throws at the end) to prevent the upset.

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Issue # 7.3.1 “Zags-UCLA Did Not Disappoint”

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Thursday, March 23, 2023 

OWLS FLY HIGH, ZAGS WIN THRILLER
March Sadness takes the lead as 1 of 4 to go 3-1; 81 entries still alive

HOME, CA (smt) – #7E-Michigan St rallied from five down late to send the game into the tournament’s first overtime and led 92-90 but #3E-Kansas St scored 8 of the last 9 points to win 98-93.  K-State’s Markquis Nowell set a tournament record with 19 assists (while adding 20 points and 5 steals) as the last Big Ten team was eliminated (they started with a tournament-high 8).  #4W-UConn never trailed and used an early 14-0 run and at one point led by 29 in a 88-65 win over #8W-Arkansas.

#9E-Florida Atlantic went on a 18-2 run to turn a 39-33 deficit into a 51-41 lead that they did not relinquish in upsetting #4E-Tennessee, 62-55.  The FAU Owls won their 34th game (#1MW-Houston hopes to join them tomorrow) and makes their first Elite 8 in just their second appearance. 

What is it about #3W-Gonzaga and #2W-UCLA in the tournament?  In 2006 (Sweet 16), UCLA rallies from a 13-point halftime deficit by scoring the last 11 points of the game in 3:26 to win by 2 and end Adam Morrison’s Gonzaga career.  In 2021 (Final Four), UCLA rallied from 5 points down in overtime to tie it only to have the Zags’ Jalen Suggs banked a near half-court buzzer beater to win it. 

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Issue # 7.3.1 “Once a Mid-Major, Always a Mid-Major” (3/24)

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ZAGS FALL AGAIN TO TEAM IN BETTER CONFERENCE
Mia Culpa leads by 9, nearly in money; 51 still alive

Zags mental block continues

GOLETA, CA (smt) – Third time wasn’t the charm, as for the 3rd straight game #1W-Gonzaga struggled and their comeback was literally blocked as #4W-Arkansas made it back-to-back Elite 8s with a 74-68 win.  The Zags do well when not playing a team from the top conferences, as they lost to the SEC today, the Big 12 last year (Baylor) and ’19 (Texas Tech), the SEC again in ’18 (Florida St), and the ACC in ’15, ’16, and ’17 (Duke, Syracuse, and UNC).  Doesn’t matter if they are both #1 seeds or the Zags were the better seed, the Zags still behave like a mid-major team (like Butler before them) and fail to rise to the occasion.

Just as bad an omen, the West Coast teams again collapsed as #1S-Arizona also fell to a hot #5S-Houston team, 72-60.  Though Zona was still in it late, Houston still won their 3rd game in double-digits and also made their 2nd straight Elite 8.  Only #4E-UCLA remains from the West Coast in a year it seemed possible one of them would win the title for the first time since the ’97 Wildcats. 

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Issue # 4.2.1 “UNC Unchokes Itself” (3/19)

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AN ELBOW NEARLY DOOMED UNC
Tarheel Blue Balls goes 6-2 to lead by 2

Manek Elbow

DISAPPOINTED SELLOUT CROWD FOR LAvORL AT DIGNITY HEALTH SPORTS PARK, CA (smt) – Where to even start?  #8E-UNC was cruising with a 25-point lead (67-42) when with 10:08 left, UNC’s Brady Manek’s (26 pts) elbow landed on a #1E-Baylor player’s face and the refs decided to call a flagrant-2 and eject him from the match giving Baylor, at the time, a couple of meaningless free throws.  The Bears made 1 of 2 but that turned into a quick 11-0 run and eventually outscored UNC 38-13 in ten minutes to tie the game at 80 with 15.8 seconds left (a head scratcher long 3-pt attempt by UNC on the last play exemplified all that went wrong for UNC).  Ten turnovers, three late missed free throws, taking just ten shots (the did make 4 of them), another technical foul, and seemingly always dribbling into a corner against Baylor’s press was ten minutes UNC wanted to forget.  Luckily, in overtime, they were like goldfish and outscored the Bears 13-6 to win 93-86 to advance to their 30th Sweet 16.  Baylor exploited inconsistent refs with their aggressive press which caused UNC fits (plus poor decision making).  In overtime, UNC got the benefit of calls as Baylor just ran out of gas while having 3 players foul out.

#1MW-Kansas scored the last 6 points in holding off #9MW-Creighton by 7.  #11S-Michigan, who some thought should have been in the First Four went on a 14-4 run late to overcome a 6-point deficit to #3S-Tennessee to win by 8.  #4MW-Providence, who most thought was over-seeded, walloped #12MW-Richmond by 28 to make its first Sweet 16 since ’97.  #4E-UCLA broke open the game after #5E-St. Mary’s got within one five minutes into the second half to make its 5th Sweet 16 in 9 years.  A collision course with Gonzaga looms but first two of the biggest programs will face off as 11-time champion UCLA will face 6-time champion UNC.

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Issue # 1.0.1 “Back to Normal?” (3/13)

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Sunday, March 13, 2022  **HELP support Ukrainian refugees via International Rescue Committee (deadline Tue 4:00 pm PDT **)

BLUE BLOODS BACK, ZAGS #1 OVERALL AGAIN
Our 27th pool is as normal as it gets – same fee, same rules, same heartbreak

NO SCHOOL MASK MANDATE AS OF MARCH 12, CA (smt) – After a year where we didn’t see any blue bloods in the top 8 seeds (with  Duke, Indiana, and Kentucky not even qualifying and only Kansas seeded 7 or better) with the likes of Illinois, Baylor, Houston, Alabama, and Iowa breaking through, this year the blue bloods are out for vengeance with #2W-Duke, #1MW-Kansas, and #2E-Kentucky among the favorites to win it all with #4E-UCLA, #8E-UNC, and #12bE-Indiana also joining the fun.  No longer confined to a single city and partial crowds, the NCAA returns to normal with full capacity crowds across 14 cities and optional masking (though testing before travel is still required).  Just one game (VCU had to forfeit against Oregon) was a no-contest and produced a first-time winner in Baylor.

#1W-Gonzaga repeated as the #1 overall seed (5th time as a 1 seed, third straight (would’ve been 4 if ’20 wasn’t cancelled)) with S-Arizona (who was ineligible last year due to a self-ban), Kansas, and E-Baylor also netting #1 seeds.  This was only the 2nd time two #1 seeds heralded from the Western USA (’00 with Zona and Stanford) and all four are not in the Eastern Time Zone (btw, Happy Daylight Savings).  The Big 12 got two #1 seeds for the first time since ’03 (OK and TX).  The three local teams were spread across regions with #7-USC in the Midwest and #15-Cal State Fullerton in the West.

Bubble team #11E-Virginia Tech not only played spoiler denying Coach K a 16th ACC title in his final year but also likely knocked Oklahoma to last out, by winning 13 of its last 15 games, including 4 in 4 days in the ACC tourney.  #12MW-Richmond’s upset of #10W-Davidson today knocked Dayton out of the tourney (who could have played on their home floor in the First Four).  But somehow #11S-Michigan not only snuck in but avoided the First Four.

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Issue # 14.5.3 “Offense and Offensive Rebounds” (4/5)

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Star Wars: The Bad Batch premiers May the Fourth!
2021 NCAA Champions
Baylor Bears 2021 Champions#1- South Regional Champions

Baylor University Bears (28-2)
1st Title
2021 Winningest Conference
Pac 12 ConferenceThe Pac 12 Conference
(13-5)

1st Time

BAYLOR OUT-MUSCLES ZAGS FOR FIRST TITLE
MizzouTgr11 2 wins pool in his 6th year, Wuk#3 wins 3-way tie for 7th

Mark Vital Bear Hug

EL SEGUNDO/CYPRESS, CA (smt) – #1S-Baylor jumped out to a 9-0 and 29-10 lead en route to a 86-70 drubbing of previously unbeaten #1W-Gonzaga for their first national title.  The Zags still did what they do in the first half, shooting 54.5%, but the Bears had 16 more shots thanks to 9 offensive rebounds and forcing 8 turnovers in taking a 10-point lead into the half.  There was no 2nd half momentum as Baylor poured it on again and when the deficit got cut to 9, Baylor ran off 7 straight points.  Baylor dominated in the tournament, only trailing once (by 2) in the 2nd half of all six games.  The Bulldogs’ hangover from their dramatic overtime win did them in, as the 19-point early deficit was too much to overcome.  At one point, Baylor made 10 threes to Gonzaga’s one.  At one point when they were threatening, Gonzaga missed four of five free throws (including the front end of a 1-and-1, a loss of 5 crucial points).

To me, the MVP was Baylor’s Mark Vital, who had 8 offensive rebounds (3 more the whole Zags team), 2 steals, 6 pts, and a great “bear” hug of his coach.  How nice one of the mascots “Joy” gets etched into the championship logo.  Gonzaga finishes 31-1 and their lowest point total of the season.  More impressively, all the sacrifices of the players, coaches, and staff to live in the Indy bubble gave us a great tournament (except poor VCU) with all the highs and lows we missed last year and maybe, just maybe, the Pac 12 will be respected (UCLA #1?) once again. 

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Gonzaga vs Baylor Live!

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1:00 pm – I’ll be taking my son to Boy Scouts tonight so we’ll see how the WordPress app works with updating. Pac Attack wins the pool if the Zags win, MizzouTgr11 2 wins if the Bears win (see Final Possibilities). Total points in Final tiebreaker will come into play (note over/under is now 159, down a point) if Gonzaga wins with Hawkeye 3 getting 5th if total pts <=147 and Gonzagafinallywinsit gets 5th if total pts >=148. If Baylor wins, with The Fabone Marathon wins 4th if <=144 and Mr Wizard wins 4th if >=145.

If Baylor wins, 7th is a 3-way tie meaning at least one will go home empty handed.

  • Carseroni wins 7th if <=120,
  • Carseroni and Mrs Meghan&Mr Meghan split $60 if 121,
  • Mrs Meghan&Mr Meghan wins 7th if pts are 122 to 140,
  • Mrs Meghan&Mr Meghan and Wuk#3 split $60 if 141, and
  • Wuk#3 wins 7th if >=142.

For the $40 Bonus, 51 are tied if Gonzaga wins and 49 are tied if Baylor wins. If total points is <=103, then Thai Spice wins and if total points is >=169 then Bigtenfan wins. The rest are in the middle (see Bonus possibilities).

3:50 pm – Ok, done with short trip to El Segundo. Now dealing with an hour of traffic. Oh, UNC has a coach now.

15:30 – 11-1 Baylor. In the car on way to Cypress Boys & Gils Club.

11:42 – 23-8 Baylor. Zags in trouble.

10:00 – 29-10. (Projected total – 156)

7:50 – 31-14. Baylor has twice as many shot attempts (24-12).

Half – Zags score last 5 to cut deficit to 10 (47-37). Projected total points 168 (Bonus projected for Mauihammy&Jay Bilas regardless who wins). Down by as many as 19, Zags still shot 54.5% (12/22). 8 turnovers and allowing 9 offensive rebounds allowed Baylor to shoot 16 more times (19/38). After missing first free throw, Zags made last 12. Baylor just 2 free throws (2/2).

15:51 – 56-45. Driving home now.

11:45 – 67-53. Zags had it down to 9 but Baylor’s 3s are killing them. Projected 168.

10:20: 20 pts! 73-53

8:27 – 2 missed free throws. Nothing going right. 75-59. Still 168 projected.

5:00 – Baylor 80-63, projected 163. Zags missed 4 of last 5 free throws including front end of a 1-and-1. Two more points will give Mr Wizard 4th. Wuk#3 already clinched 7th. 163 would give Dr Fun Bonus (missing out on 4th since Zags will lose).

3:15 – Baylor 82-65, projected 160 (would give Bonus to ZarinC).

End – Baylor ran out the clock and thus, 86-70 win produced 156 points. That gives ATI3.0 the Bonus! Perfect season ruined as Zags 35-game win streak comes to an end. Sheesh, Zags still shot 51% but just 5/17 on threes. Baylor 18 more shots with 16 offensive rebounds and forcing 14 turnovers. Baylor was 10/23 on threes and made 16/18 free throws.

Issue # 13.5.2 “Pool is a Marathon, Not a Sprint” (4/4)

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2021 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Indianapolis, Indiana
Hosted by Indiana U.-Purdue U. Indianapolis (IUPUI) (Horizon League)
The Final at Lucas Oil Stadium – Unity & Equality Floor
#1-Southvs. #1-West




Baylor University Bears (27-2)Gonzaga University Bulldogs (31-0)
Big 12 Conference – Regular Season Champs
Waco, Texas
2nd Final (’48)
def #16 Hartford 79-55
#9 Wisconsin 76-63
#5 Villanova 62-51
#3 Arkansas 81-72
#2MW Houston 78-59		West Coast Conference – Regular Season and Tourney Champs
Spokane, Washington
2nd Final (’17)
def #16a Norfolk St 98-55
#8 Oklahoma 87-71
#5 Creighton 83-65
#6 USC 85-66
#11E UCLA 93-90 (OT)



THE GAME WE WAITED FOR SINCE DECEMBER
Long droughts and deja vu as 10 battle for final four spots

Our 3rd HWCI EURO Pool begins in May...

HAPPY EASTER & HAPPY 81st BIRTHDAY DAD, CA (smt) – Both #1W-Gonzaga and #1S-Baylor are making just their second final and seeking their first NCAA title.  Baylor has not trailed in the second half except for a brief 2-point deficit midway through the 2nd half vs #5S-Villanova and demolished #2MW-Houston while, until the Final Four, Gonzaga had not trailed since early in the first half vs #8W-Oklahoma.  But, oh, that game vs #11E-UCLA.  The Zags, having had won 27 straight by double-digits, could have choked or played tentative when it was close late but persevered against a well-coached Bruin team (for once) and needed a denial of an easy UCLA dunk, a gutsy charge call, and buzzer beater bank shot to prevail in overtime.  Despite the close call, Gonzaga is still favored by five with a very high over/under of 160.

While Baylor slipped to #3 after a loss in the Big 12 tournament, the past two years and this tournament has shown these have been consistently the best two teams in the country (both were #1-2 in the NET rankings though).  The highly anticipated Dec 5th matchup was cancelled due to COVID so now we get to finally see these teams play each other.  However, people still picked Illinois more than Baylor (29 vs 19, 72 vs 49 to make final) as Baylor did have a tougher region to start.  The only times the top 2 teams were picked to make the Final were in ’07 (42 Ohio St, 36 Florida), ’05 (45 Illinois, 36 UNC), and ’99 (32 Duke, 15 UConn).

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Issue # 12.5.1 “Buzzer Beater Bank” (4/3)

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TOP TWO TEAMS WIN; ONE EASILY AND ONE IN OT
Pac Attack or MizzouTgr11 2 will win the pool; 10 fighting for last 4 spots

Zags buzzer beater bank

FAMILY PICNIC, CA (smt) – Having just played double-digit seeds, #2MW-Houston ran into a buzz saw in #1S-Baylor and saw their 8-6 lead quickly disappear as the Bears had 10-0 and 11-0 runs in the first half.  Baylor ended the half up 45-20 and never let the Cougars get closer than 16 in a 78-59 rout for their first final appearance in 73 yeas (’48). 

In the nightcap, #11E-UCLA played nearly flawless but #1W-Gonzaga pulled out the victory on a long buzzer beater bank three in overtime, winning their 35th straight game, 93-90.  In the instant classic, UCLA shot 57.6% and Gonzaga 58.7% and committed just 10 turnovers each in the 183 point epic battle that essentially was a one score game the whole second half and overtime (Zags briefly by 7 in 2nd half and 5 in OT) and featured 15 ties and 19 lead changes.  UCLA played out the end of the 2nd half (no timeout) and got a whistle with one second left but it was a charge, not a block… it would’ve been more unlucky had the basket went in (nullifying a buzzer beater) or had it been UCLA’s 7th foul (it was their 6th) that would’ve sent the Zags to the line for the win.  So to overtime, UCLA’s third of the tourney.  If there was one thing to fault UCLA for, it was missing the front end of a one-and-one down by 4 two minutes into OT.  Ouch.  UCLA once again played out the end and this time Johnny Juzang (29 pts) put in his own miss with 3.3 seconds left to tie it at 90 after being down by 5.  Taking UCLA’s playbook, the Bulldogs also played out (no timeout) and saw three dribbles and a 42-foot running jump shot by Jalen Suggs magically banked in at the buzzer.

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Issue # 11.4.3 “Our Pool Has an Efficacy of 66.4%” (4/1)

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2021 NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Indianapolis, Indiana
8th Final Four (’80 (Market Square Arena); ’91, ’97, ’00, ’06 (RCA Dome); ’10, ’15 (Lucas Oil Stadium))
Hosted by Indiana U.-Purdue U. Indianapolis (IUPUI) (Horizon League)
Lucas Oil Stadium – Unity & Equality Floor
First SemifinalSecond Semifinal
#1-South
Hinkle Fieldhouse
Bankers Fieldhouse
Lucas Oil Sta (South)		#2-Midwest
Bankers Fieldhouse
Hinkle Fieldhouse
Lucas Oil Sta (North)		#1-West
Hinkle Fieldhouse
Bankers Fieldhouse
Lucas Oil Sta (North)		#11-East
Bankers Fieldhouse
Hinkle Fieldhouse
Lucas Oil Sta (South)
Baylor BearsHouston CougarsGonzaga BulldogsUCLA Bruins
Baylor University Bears (26-2)University of Houston Cougars (28-3)Gonzaga University Bulldogs (30-0)University of California, Los Angeles Bruins (22-9)
Big 12 Conference – Regular Season Champs
Waco, Texas
3rd Final Four (’48, ’50)
def #16 Hartford 79-55
#9 Wisconsin 76-63
#5 Villanova 62-51
#3 Arkansas 81-72		American Athletic Conference (2nd Place) – Tourney Champs
Houston, Texas
6th Final Four (’67, ’68, ’82, ’83, ’84)
def #15 Cleveland St 87-56
#10 Rutgers 63-60
#11 Syracuse 62-46
#12 Oregon St 67-61		West Coast Conference – Regular Season and Tourney Champs
Spokane, Washington
2nd Final Four (’17)
def #16a Norfolk St 98-55
#8 Oklahoma 87-71
#5 Creighton 83-65
#6 USC 85-66		Pac 12 (4th Place)
Los Angeles, California
19th Final Four (’62, ’64, ’65, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76, ’80, ’95, ’06, ’07, ’08)
def #11a Michigan St 86-80 (OT)
#6 BYU 73-62
#14 Abilene Christian 67-47
#2 Alabama 88-78 (OT)
#1 Michigan 51-49

11-TIME CHAMP WITH 3 SEEKING THEIR FIRST TITLE
At least $248 will be donated to CDP; over $1,731 donated over 11 years

Largest bracket on the JW Marriott in downtown Indy

DIGNITY HEALTH SPORTS PARK, CARSON, CA (smt) – If you saw the largest bracket on the JW Marriott in downtown Indy, you would not see a lot of familiar names.  The tournament didn’t feature Blue Bloods such as Duke, Kentucky, and Indiana with UNC making it as an #8 seed and Kansas joining after having to quit their Big 12 tournament due to COVID-19 after struggling the first half of the year.  UNC lost in the first round and Kansas in the second.  That left UCLA.  The 11-time national champions lost their last four games and squeaked into the First Four game against a wanna-be Blue Blood, Michigan St.  The Bruins rallied from five down with 90 seconds left to force overtime to beat the Spartans, allowed a 3-pointer with less than a second left to Alabama and then routing them in overtime 23-13, and then survived three open three attempts by another Michigan team to hold on to defeat the Wolverines in the Elite 8.

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Issue # 10.4.2 “West Coast Bias” (3/30)

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ZAGS RUN OVER USC; UCLA SURVIVES AGAIN
Pac Attack still leads and is guaranteed 5th; record 27 still alive to win money

Three Misses at the Buzzer

FREE KRISPY KREME, GARDENA, CA (smt) – #1W-Gonzaga somehow got 10 more shots than #6W-USC eight minutes into the game (5 Trojan turnovers in the first 6 minutes) en route to a 25-8 lead and never let USC get closer than 13 the rest of the way en route to a 85-66 rout.  It was the Bulldogs’ second Final Four (’17) and their 34th straight victory, the last 27 by double digits. 

In the second game, #11E-UCLA used an 18-8 run to end the first half and then blew a 9-point lead before holding on for dear life three times in a 51-49 victory over #1E-Michigan.  One thing with UCLA, if you’re the opponent, you’ll get good looks for threes late – Alabama hit a game-tying three with less than a second left in the last game and Michigan had three good looks in the final seconds.  Trailing by just one and having the last possession, Michigan still decided to shoot a three which was air-balled with 12 seconds left.  Then trailing by just two thanks to a missed free throw, Michigan missed another wide open three with a few seconds left (the Bruins player kept running leaving the open three).  Then, thanks to a review that put 0.5 seconds back on the clock, a great drawn up play set up Michigan for another open three that just banked and missed at the buzzer.

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Issue # 1.0.1 “The Indy 68”

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Sunday, March 14, 2021  **HELP support Center for Disaster Philanthropy COVID-19 Fund (deadline Thu 4:00 pm PDT **)

BIG TEN GETS 4 OF TOP 8 SPOTS, ZAGS #1 OVERALL
After a long year, our 26th year hopes to offer a distraction

CAL POLY POMONA VAC SHOT #1, CA (smt)- After the March Sadness of 2020, where the NCAA along with all the sports leagues cancelled their seasons abruptly due to the rising COVID-19 pandemic, March Madness will try again this year, with health protocols and tournament procedures in place to enable completion of the tournament.  Soccer showed with the successful summer completions of  NWSL’s Challenge Cup and the MLS is Back tournament (which was the basis of our 11th HWCI soccer pool) in a location bubble that sports and the COVID-19 can coexist.  Going outside a bubble can lead to issues but the NCAA completed more than 80% of their scheduled games (the NFL 100%) and now all teams will descend into the Indianapolis greater area bubble. 

The Big Ten got a conference record 9 teams in, including 4 of the top 8 spots but unbeaten Gonzaga (26-0) got the #1 overall seed in the West.  Yes, the region names remain the same even though all games will be played in the greater Indianapolis area.  Tip times and locations were not announced during the selection show (which started ten minutes late as the Big Ten final went into overtime but took just 27 minutes to reveal the entire bracket) as those came out later.  Baylor got the #1 seed in the South while Illinois and Michigan got #1s in the Midwest and East.  The other Big Ten teams in the top 8 were #2S-Ohio St and #2W-Iowa.  SEC tourney winner #2E-Alabama and AAC tourney winner #2MW-Houston were the other #2 seeds. 

The top 41 ranked teams in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) made the tourney but so did NET70 #11bE-Michigan St while NET42 Penn St did not.  #11bW-Drake, as the final team in, has the Ivy League to thank, as with them not playing this year due to COVID-19, that allowed one more at-large bid (37) than usual.  Saturday’s upsets with #12E-Georgetown winning the Big East (were just 9-12 going into the tourney) and #12MW-Oregon St winning the Pac 12 (14-12 going into the tourney) knocked out Louisville and Colorado St, who along with St. Louis and Ole Miss, become the four alternates (in that order) if any tournament team has to withdraw by Tuesday evening.  #14S-Colgate played just 15 games but are 14-1 with a 13-game win streak.  Three teams played 30 games. 

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Issue # 25.2 “25 Years: The Teams”

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Tuesday, March 24, 2020
25 YEARS:  281 TEAMS HAVE MADE PROPER 64 IN OUR POOLS
Ignoring Opening Round and First Four losers, we have seen at least one new team each year

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- In the final AP pool, teams 2 through 7 are not your usual suspects with only Florida St (ACC), Baylor (Big 12), and Creighton (Big East) coming from the Power 5 conferences.  Gonzaga (WCC), Dayton (Atlantic 10), and San Diego St (Mountain West) would have provided some much needed parity.  But alas, none of those teams will count.  So without a tournament, here is another 25 Year retrospective, this time focusing on the teams who have made the tournament (the proper 64 that is). 

Top Seed in NCAA Tournament
Top Ranked Team to Win it All

So when the NCAA tried to mess up brackets by adding a 65th team (Opening Round 64v65) in 2001 due to the new Mountain West Conference taking away an at-large bid or when they added three more at-large teams to create the First Four (well, the First Round until 2016) in 2011, we ignored them.  The proper 64 bracket that starts Thursday at 9:15 am is what matters in this pool.  If you pick your bracket early you’ll just select “Team A/Team B” to advance and as always, you can change your picks up until the deadline.

Duke has been the top seed (#1 overall) 6 times including four in a row from ’99-’02  with Kentucky (4) and Kansas (3) right behind as shown in the table on the left.  From ’95-’03 the top seed was determined by the final AP pool before the tournament and from ’04-present the top seed is announced as part the NCAA’s ranked seeds listing.  UMass (’96) is probably the oddest top seed and local favorite UCLA was only the top seed in our first pool in ’95.  Five top seeds went on to win the tournament (’95 UCLA, ’01 Duke, ’07 Florida, ’12 Kentucky, ’13 Louisville).  Only twice did the top 2 seeds make the final (’99 Duke v UConn, ’05 Illinois v UNC) and twice did none of the top 4 seeds make the Final Four (’06, ’11).   UConn, however, has won the most titles (4) with Duke, UNC, and Kentucky winning 3 each in the past 25 years.  A #1 seed has won the title 17 times with UConn (#7E) the worst seed to win the title. 

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Issue # 9.4.1 “Buzzer Beater”

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Saturday, March 30, 2019 

MISTAKE COSTS ZAGS; HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT WON BY VIRGINIA
Carseroni is one of 11 to get both games and jumps to 4 point lead; Just 7 can win pool

Zags' Perkins technical foul

HOME/LABCORP, LOS ALAMITOS, CA (smt)- After falling behind 69-62 with 52 seconds left, #1W-Gonzaga got within two at 71-69 before Josh Perkins made the accidental mistake heard around the world with 11 seconds left when his hand knocked the inbound player’s hand meaning it was a 2-shot technical foul plus #3W-Texas Tech got to keep the ball.  The resulting four free throws gave the Red Riders their first Final Four ever in their 75-69 upset of the Zags.  It was a harsh penalty but it’s there to prevent intentional delay tactics which this wasn’t.  Texas Tech hit their last six free throws and the best defense held off the best offense as the Zags shot just 42.4% and had 16 turnovers.

The second half of the #1S-Virginia-#3S-Purdue game had everything a fan would want with clutch shots, clutch rebounds, a buzzer beater, and a mano y mano matchup between the Cavs’ Kyle Guy and the Boilermakers’ Carsen Edwards. Guy hit 3 threes to start the second half in helping build a 45-37 lead but then Edwards caught fire hitting 6 of 8 three pointers and 24 points in a 32-22 run to put Purdue up by 2 with 1:11 left (Guy had 10 of those 22 points).  But Purdue’s Ryan Cline missed a free throw leaving the game at 70-67 and Purdue smartly fouled before Guy or anyone else could take a three with 5 seconds left.  The second free throw was missed and a long rebound was won by Virginia in the back court and a great pass up to Mamadi Diakite in the arc was put in at the buzzer sending the game into overtime tied at 70.  The overtime was tight as Guy was held to just two late free throws and Edwards had just a jumper (finished with 42 points and 10 threes) and then missed a three with 7 seconds left down 76-75.  The Cavs hit their final four throws to win 80-75.  So surprised that the clutch three specialist from the last game, Ryan Cline, didn’t get a chance to shoot a three late in overtime.  Just six of 58 games have been one possession games (9 if you just include regulation) and 37 of 58 have been double-digit blowouts.  

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Issue # 7.3.1 “Ones and Threes”

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Thursday, March 28, 2019 

ONE VS THREE IN BOTH WEST AND SOUTH
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Tennessee last second "foul"

HOME, CA (smt)- #1W-Gonzaga held #4W-Florida St to just two points in the last 4:11 to expand a scant four point lead (60-56) to a 72-58 victory while #1S-Virginia held #12S-Oregon to no field goals in the last 5:43 to turn a 45-42 deficit into a 53-49 win.  The Cavs actually shot worse (35.7%) than the Ducks (37.8%) but pulled out the win after Oregon scored more points in their 23-12 run than in the first half (22).  #3W-Texas Tech held #2W-Michigan to just 16 first-half points en route to Wolverine-record tourney low 44 for the game in their 63-44 victory.  Michigan missed their first 18 three-point attempts (finished 1 of 19) and shot just 32.7% from the field. 

#2S-Tennessee who blew a large lead (25 points) and needed overtime to win in the 2nd round saw their fortunes reverse, as they rallied from a large deficit (18 points) but lost in overtime to #3S-Purdue, 99-94.  Both teams shot as well or better from the field than the free throw line (Purdue 54.0% FG, 48.4% FT; Tennessee 50.0% FG, 50.0% FT) so this game could’ve been won easily by either team if they just hit their free throws (Purdue missed 17 including two front ends of a one-and-one and were at one point 3 of 13; Tennessee missed 12).  Tennessee had an 82-80 lead but with 1.7 seconds left they “fouled” (Purdue player may have kicked out but if you lean into the player, the ref may call it, ticky-tack as it was) on a 3-point attempt and Purdue only made 2 of 3 to send the game to OT.  Tennessee lived too much on the edge blowing a 16-point lead to #15S-Colgate and the aforementioned 25-point lead to #10S-Iowa.  Purdue did have Ryan Cline who not only hit four 3-pointers in the last five and a half minutes, he hit fadeaways and shots the defender knew he was going to take, a la Stephen Curry… but did it with class.  A joy to watch even though I picked Tennessee.

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