2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Results - Round 2 Day 2

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children and dogs of all ages, my apologies for the delay in posting the standings.  Contrary to popular belief, I do maintain a regular job that requires my attention from time-to-time.  I do appreciate the 8 or 9 of you that contacted me to make sure that I am OK given that these standings were not posted on Monday or Tuesday.  I even appreciate the curse words I received from a couple of you.  (I kid).  (Now, was I kidding about receiving the curse words or about appreciating it, hmmm?)  I especially apologize to Melanie Scherr of Jupiter, Florida, who I think joined the pool this year simply for the write-ups.

So, on this baseball opening day - about which I am extremely pissed.  Random aside, baseball is supposed to start the Monday of the NCAA Tournament finals (or at least one game the Sunday night before).  That way me and the crew can wear our baseball t-shirt/hats and/or jackets as applicable to support opening day baseball.  Silas Nichols of Washington, D.C. and I sat next to a dad/son at the 2006 Final Four in Indianapolis in which the dad took his son to the afternoon baseball game in Cincinnati on Monday afternoon, and then they drove to Indianapolis for the NCAA final between Florida and UCLA (the Joakim Noah is ugly game).  For those that do not know that story at the conclusion of the game Joakim Noah was noticed on camera jawing at a UCLA cheerleader.  When later asked what he was talking about he said that he was bragging to her about winning the championship since she had been calling him "ugly" all game.  Now, Silas Nichols and I may have  run into the UCLA cheerleaders the previous day at the TGI Friday's outside the NCAA Hall of Fame, which doubled as the UCLA host bar for the weekend.  When asked if we were cheering for UCLA or Florida, one of us might have said something along the lines of, "How can we cheer for a team that has a player as ugly as Joakim Noah".  You're welcome America.  Anyway, this calendar is screwy for having the NCAA Finals on the 8th, and baseball starting March 28 (excluding the Japan games, of course).  Damn Global Warming.

Well, I digress. Despite the calendar starting to turn to baseball - at least to the extent anyone cares about baseball anymore - we turn back to Sunday's basketball games, and tonight's Sweet Sixteen.  Sunday's results were uneventful, in that every single higher seed was victorious.  In fact, 15 of the top 16 seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.  The only exception was Kansas State, that lost to UC-Irvine way back in the first round.  UC-Irvine, the 13th seed, lost to much higher seeded Oregon (12th) last round so no bonuses were awarded.  We do have a couple of entries that have Oregon advancing, and moving forward, Oregon is the only team that could possible earn bonus points.  For those of you with Oregon in the Elite 8 - good luck.

Speaking of Oregon, a number of entries had Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen, which led to way more entries than you would think having a perfect 8-for-8 Sunday.  Even more had 7 of 8.  Basically, if you had 6 or less winners from Sunday's games, you lost ground.  Because of the sheer volume of that, I am not awarding any of those brackets the "Pick of the Day".  The Pick of the Day is awarded to Biscuit Zdrowak of Orlando, Florida who had the University of Central Florida Knights defeating the Duke Blue Devils, which even though that upset did not occur, OH MY GOD!!!

Had UCF had one of about 5 plays go their way, literally just one, they win that game.  The Kinght's Aubrey Dawkins (son of coach and Duke star Johnny Dawkins), despite being way behind the entire Duke defense on a fast break, mishandled a wide-open alley-oop that went for naught and turned into a turnover  (that's one).  On the penultimate series with Duke down 3, Duke's Zion Williamson pushes off the defender with the left-hand as he entered the top of the key, which gave him a lane to the basket.  Zion, who is simply a force of nature, sought contact with the 7-6 behemoth from Senegal Tacko Fall, who not only fouled out on the play but allowed Williamson to get a clean look at the basket for a field goal.  If either the offensive foul is called or Fall let's Williamson score, UCF is up 3 or 1 after that possession (that's two).  Williamson missed the potential game-tying free throw, but Duke freshman R.J. Barrett pushed the defender under the basket so that he was able to rebound the miss and lay it in for a Duke 1 point lead (that's three).  UCF however, wasn't done, and had 8.1 seconds remaining.  In going for the win and to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, Knight guard B.J. Taylor dribbles around Duke defensive stopper Trae Jones, gets to the rim and is able to put up a bank shot that was a bit too hard (that's four).  Incidentally, UCF apologists have clamored for a foul on this drive, but this contact was mostly initiated by Taylor, and was minimal compared to the rest of the game so I feel the no-call here was correct.  The aforementioned Dawkins, seeing that Taylor's shot is going to come of the rim, skies around Williamson for the rebound and tips the ball back of the backboard much softer than Taylor, but his tip hits the backboard, hits the rim and falls harmlessly (for the overall number 1 seed) or heartbreakingly (for the 9th seeded Knights) to R.J. Barrett to end the game.  Wow.  Interestingly, a statistician company played 10,000 versions of each game in the tournament and had UCF defeating Duke over 61% of the time.  Too bad the mathematicians calculated this one wrong otherwise our brackets would have become REALLY interesting.

The one good thing about this outcome is the sentiment that due to the referee's no-calls, if Duke wins the championship UCF will hang a championship banner in their gym.

The Tennessee-Iowa game deserves mention only because Tennessee jumped out to a casual 25 point lead, then Iowa came back to ultimately send the game to overtime.  The Hawkeyes were spent by that pint, and the Volunteers ultimately won by 6.  Otherwise, the games were mostly boring.

This made it difficult for me to try to find an applicable tournament history lesson.  But, while reviewing the brackets one thing sticks out - the 12th seeded Oregon Ducks.  Then it dawned on me.  I don't believe anyone in this pool was alive when Oregon won its only basketball national championship.

Amelia Earhart was officially declared dead; Spanish Nationalist troops take Barcelona; Pope Pius XI dies of a heart attack succeeded by Pope Pius XII as the 260th Pope; German troops occupied Bohemia and Moravia, effectively eliminating Czechoslovakia as a country; England and South Africa commenced the longest game of cricket ever played, which only concluded after 12 days because the English team had to catch the last ferry home; and the University of Oregon defeated The Ohio State University 46-33 in Evanston, Illinois to capture the first championship in NCAA Tournament history.  Welcome to the first quarter of 1939.

Oregon, with a 26-5 record bested Texas 56-41 in the first round and Oklahoma 55-37 in the Final Four before winning the championship by beating Ohio State (there were only 8 teams in the tournament).  The Ducks held a definitive height advantage over most teams, and also had a serious experience advantage as all 5 of their starters returned from the previous season.  In the championship game, Oregon received a game high 15 points from John H. Dick (who went on to become a Rear Admiral in the Navy), while three other starters, 6'8" Urgel "Slim" Wintermute, Basketball Hall of Famer Lauren "Laddie" Gale (himself 6'4"), and Bobby Anet were named to various All-American teams.  During the final game, Anet broke the championship trophy while diving for a loose ball during the game and knocking it over - breaking.  Ohio State's Jimmy Hull was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after scoring a tournament-high 58 points in his 3 games.

It should be noted that as big a money-making venture as the NCAA Tournament is now, the 1939 tournament lost $2,531.

Dick, joined the United States Navy as an aviator in 1942 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and remained int he Navy until 1973.  He rose to the rank of Rear Admiral after captaining the USS Saratoga supercarrier from 1967-1969.  This has nothing to do with basketball, but I found it interesting.

Since all of the higher seeds won, for the first full day in the tournament, we did not lose a champion from our pool.  This means we still have 11 different teams that have been selected by at least one entrant to be NCAA Champion.  That number is going to change tonight as we will lose at least two champions given that Gonzaga and Florida State meet as does Tennessee and Purdue.  Our champions - with the 11 remaining champions in bold - are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

As for tonight, we have a Sweet Sixteen rematch between Gonzaga and Florida State kicking things off with the 1 seeded Bulldogs looking for revenge, , and fellow 1 seed Virginia playing late in the evening.  Purdue-Tennessee and Texas Tech-Michigan also are on the agenda.  Plenty of selections on both sides of each of these games, so a lot of jostling could occur in the standings.  In golf parlance this is Saturday, "Moving Day".  Hoping not to move too much are our co-leaders, Carolyn Fowler of Greenacres, Florida, and Matt Hopps of Quincy, Massachussetts.

Feel free to check your scores.  Let me know if you see a discrepancy.  Otherwise, enjoy the start of the Sweet Sixteen.

1 - Carolyn Fowler - 78 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

      Matt Hopps - 78 - Duke/North Carolina

3 - Max Macon #2 - 76 - Tennessee/Michigan State
     Measha Williams #2 - 76 - Gonzaga/Virginia

     Measha Williams #3 - 76 - Gonzaga/Virginia

6 - Max Macon #4 - 75 - Duke/Houston

7 - Marcus Jackson - 74 - Virginia/Duke
      Katie Kollmeyer - 74 - Tennessee/Duke

9 - Ashley Poer #2 - 73 - Virginia/Michigan State
      Justin Yung - 73 - Gonzaga/Virginia

11 - Scott Bieterman - 72 - Duke/Kentucky

12 - Silas Nichols - 71 - North Carolina/Michigan

       Krystal Travers - 71 - Kansas State/Florida State

14 - Duncan Merchant - 70 - Duke/Houston
       George Walks #2 - North Carolina/Duke

16 - Brian Hinaman - 69 - Duke/North Carolina
       Mac Kroesen - 69 - North Carolina/Duke
       Ty Leatherman - 69 - Duke/Virginia
       Chad Phillips - 69 - Florida State/North Carolina

20 - Paul Cummings - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 68 Duke/North Carolina

       Martha Kroesen - 68 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #1 -68 - Florida/Kentucky
       Melanie Scherr - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

       Michael Spicer - 68 - North Carolina/Buffalo

       Jonathan Wasserman - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

27 - Karen Katz - 67 - Gonzaga/Houston
        Philip Kroesen - 67 - North Carolina/Duke

29 - William Pujals - 66 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #3 - 66 - Kentucky/Duke

31 - Alyssa Ave - 65 - Purdue/Michigan
       Anthony LaPira - 65 - Duke/Tennessee

       Kareem Montague - 65 - Virginia/Duke

       Kyle Sheehan - 65 - Duke/Kentucky

       Steven Usma #4 - 65 - Duke/Kentucky

       George Walks #3 - 65 - Florida State/Kentucky

37 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 64 - North Carolina/Florida State

       Coby Kroesen - 64 - North Carolina/Duke

39 - Chris Kroesen - 63 - North Carolina/Michigan State

       Max Macon #1 - 63 - Virginia/LSU

       Max Marion #2 - 63 - Duke/North Carolina

       Barkley Sosa - 63 - Kentucky/LSU
       Brittany Sosa - 63 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #5 - 63 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Harrington Wax III - 63 - North Carolina/Michigan State

46 - Bill Ganoe #1 - 62 - North Carolina/Duke
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 62 - Duke/Tennessee

       Max Marion - 62 - Duke/Virginia

       Rich Samuels #2 - 62 - North Carolina/LSU
       Steven Usma #1 - 62 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #2 - 62 - Virginia/Michigan State

       Measha Williams #1 - 62 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Mike Zachary - 62 - Duke/North Carolina

54 - Dan Barsky #2 - 61 - Duke/North Carolina
       Mango Merchant - 61 - Gonzaga/Virginia

56 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 60 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Adam Jorgensen - 60 - Michigan State/Virginia

       Edy Pecan - 60 - Syracuse/Kentucky

       Jeremy Spuhler - 60 - Tennessee/LSU
       George Walks #5 - 60 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

61 - Sean McInerney - 59 - Duke/North Carolina

       Allison Parker - 59 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 59 - Florida/North Carolina

       Brittany Sosa - 59 - Gonzaga/Virginia

       Pepe Sosa - 59 - Kentucky/Michigan State

66 - Jenna Finkelstein - 58 -  Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Eric Inge - 58 - Duke/North Carolina

       Kline Kroesen - 58 - North Carolina/Michigan

69 - Glen Merchant - 57 - Duke/Houston

       Kingfish Rod Parham - 57 - Duke/Tennessee

       Jane Reynolds - 57 - Duke/Kentucky
       George Walks #1 - 57 - Kansas/Duke

       Amy Zdrowak - 57 - Duke/Virginia

74 - Hilary Kroesen 56 - Kentucky/Gonzaga
       Sasha Moon - 56 - Duke/Tennessee
       Traci Sheehan - 56 - Michigan State/Tennessee

        Jason Spuhler - 56 - Duke/North Carolina

78 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 55 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Arlene Amo Hopps - 55 - Villanova/Virginia Tech

       Skip LaForte - 55 - Michigan State/North Carolina

       Michael Litsey - 55 - Michigan/Virginia

       Dana Mandelbaum - 55 - North Carolina/Duke

       Annette Pritchard - 55 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Robert Tanen #2 - 55 - Gonzaga/Virginia

85 - Jacey Fowler #1 - 54 - Villanova/Texas Tech

       Ashley Poer #1 - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

       Jordyn Sheehan - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

       Robert Tanen #1 - 54 - Florida State/North Carolina
      Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 54 - North Carolina/Duke

90 - Jean Calixte - 53 - Duke/North Carolina

       Scott Hansel - 53 - Duke/Kentucky

       Matt Nieman - 53 - Virginia/Gonzaga

       Chris Petit - 53 - North Carolina/Duke

       John Santucci - 53 - Kansas/Michigan
       Ira Schulteis - 53 - Duke/North Carolina

       George Walks #4 - 53 - Duke/Virginia

97 - Rachel Bornn - 52 - Duke/Kentucky

98 - Robert Hosmer - 51 - Duke/Virginia

       Jeff Pamondon - 51 - Duke/Tennessee
        Annette Pritchard #2 - 51 - Duke/North Carolina
        Meredith Tanen - 51 - Gonzaga/Virginia

102 - Dan Barsky #1 - 50 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
          David Olson - 50 - North Carolina/Duke

104 - Hilary Kroesen #2 - 49 - Kansas/Marquette

         Wes Wiggins - 49 - Gonzaga/Virginia

106 - Katie Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/Tennessee

107 - James Garvin - 47 - Duke/Virginia

         Max Macon #3 - 47 - Gonzaga/Kentucky

         Rich Samuels #1 - 47 - Duke/Kentucky
         Cheryl Spuhler - 47 - Duke/Tennessee

         Tara Telliott - 47 - North Carolina/Duke

         Joshua Zdrowak - 47 - North Carolina/Michigan

113 - Samantha Sheehan - 46 - Duke/Tennessee

114 - Liz Carew - 45 - Kentucky/Duke

         Hannah Sosa - 45 - Virginia/Duke

116 - Abigail Sosa - 44 - Tennessee/Duke

117 - Jennifer Armstrong - 43 - Duke/Wisconsin
         Luis Briones - 43 - Duke/Villanova

119 - Biscuit Zdrowak - 41 - Virginia/Michigan State

120 - Griffey Parker - 40 - Houston/Duke

         Jessica Samuels - 40 - Virginia/Gonzaga

122 - Cubbie Kroesen - 39 - Kentucky/Marquette

123 - Keith Zdrowak - 36 - Duke/North Carolina