Down Goes Frazier!!! Down Goes Frazier!!! And no, I didn't repeat myself, as we lost not 1, but 2 number 1 seeds last night as the number 1 overall seed Gonzaga lost to Arkansas, and the number 2 overall seed Arizona fell to Houston. This had tremendous implications for our pool as Gonzaga was selected by a large plurality of our entrants. And, the most common finals matchup was Gonzaga and Arizona. With both of those teams now sitting at home, a lot of entries with other champions now can be excited about a possible win. Entrants like ...
OUR NEW LEADER, Day Yi 1 of Forest Hills, New York. Day, who eschewed the number 1 seeds to select Duke over Villanova is sitting pretty atop the stands, IF his selections keep winning. Conversely, Day Yi 2 sits at the very bottom of the pool. However, Dawn Lamb (Quarter) of Delray Beach, Florida sits just above him in 140th place, and can amass a grand total of ZERO more points. So, the fight for last place will be over tonight. If either Providence or UCLA wins, Dawn Lamb (Quarter) will receive her money back as the 141st place finisher. If both of those teams lose, Day Yi 2 will finish in last place, and Day himself will seek the unprecedented bookend double.
Not only did Gonzaga and Arizona lose, but Duke beat a game Texas Tech squad so in four games we lost 3 champions. That means we only have 3 remaining, with Kansas in action tonight. Our remaining champions are: Auburn, Arizona, Baylor, DUKE, Gonzaga, Illinois, KANSAS, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas Tech, VILLANOVA, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin.
Most of the games were very close last night as Arkansas and Gonzaga went close to the wire, with the Razorbacks pulling out the 74-68 win, all while their best player had a horrible shooting night from the field. Michigan used its tremendous size advantage over Villanova to make several good runs, but the Wildcats took Juwan Howard's team's best punch and pulled away 63-55. Texas Tech held a lead in a back-and-forth game with Duke, before the Blue Devils clinched it 78-73. Houston just out-athleted Arizona to win 72-60.
In our pool, yesterday's most common selection was Villanova, followed by Duke. Even 13 entries thought that Houston would return to the Elite 8 for the second consecutive year. But, only 2 prescient souls thought that the Arkansas Razorbacks would be playing this weekend, and so the Selection of the Day Award goes to Guy Hughes of Lexington, Kentucky, and Braeden Helland 3 of Jacksonville, Florida. Congratulations gentlemen.
This reminds me of one of my favorite teams to watch from back-in-the-day, the 1994/1995 Arkansas Razorbacks teams.
Arkansas entered the SEC in 1992, and made its mark immediately, winning the regular season conference championship in 1992 and 1994. The 1994 team was led by athletic win Scotty Thurman and big man Corliss "Big Nasty" Williamson. They also received key contributions from Corey Beck, Dwight Stewart, with shooter Alex Dillard contributing off the bench.
In the NCAA Tournament, Arkansas earned a 1 seed, and defeated North Carolina A&T 94-79 in the first round behind 24 from Williams, 19 from Thurman, and Dillard chipping in 13 off the bench. In the second round, the Razorbacks dispatched the Othella Harrington-led Georgetown Hoyas 85-73, with Williamson scoring 21 and Dwight Stewart scoring 16 off then bench. In the Sweet Sixteen, Arkansas trucked Tulsa 103-84, despite Gary Collier scoring 35 in 29 minutes for the Golden Hurricane. Williamson and Thurman each scored 21, with Williamson grabbing 9 rebounds. In the Elite 8, the Michgan Wolverines of Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson were waiting (sans Chris Webber), and despite a battle, Arkansas prevailed 76-68. Juwan Howard scored a game-high 30, but it was not enough to defeat a balanced Arkansas attack, led by Scotty Thruman's 20, and 3 other players in double digits. A shootout followed in the Final Four as Arizona, led by Damon Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves, put up 82, only to lose to Arkansas by 9 as the Razorbacks scored 91. Corliss Williamson had a monster game with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Scotty Thurman contributed 14 as Arkansas proceeded to the final game against the Grant Hill-led Duke Blue Devils. Duke had a balanced scoring attack among its starters as Antonio Lang, Cherokee Parks, Jeff Capel, Grant Hill and Chris Collins all scored in double figures (15,14,14,12,12 respectively). However, the Blue Devils only played 2 players off the bench, and eventually succumbed to Arkansas 76-72. Corliss Williamson, the Most Outstanding Player, scored 23 and had 8 rebounds. Scotty Thurman and Corey Beck each scored 15. One big key, however, was Arkansas' depth, as the Razorbacks' bench scored 17 points compared to 5 for Duke's bench. Arkansas was NATIONAL CHAMPION!!!
In 1995, the Razorbacks returned hoping to defend their title. Virtually the entire team returned to go 28-6 and the NCAA rewarded Arkansas with a 2 seed in the tournament. Arkansas, starting Williamson, Thurman, Beck, Clint McDaniel and Darnell Robinson, with Stewart and Dillard again playing key roles for the squad. The first-round game against Texas Southern was close, as Arkansas eeked out a 79-78 win. Stewart scored 21 off the bench and Williamson scored 19 to advance to the second round. Arkansas had another tough battle in the second round as John Wallace and Lawrence Moten scored 29 and 27 respectively for the Syracuse Orangemen. Arkansas survived 96-94 on 27 points from Scotty Thurman (on 5-8 shooting from three) and 25 points and 10 rebounds from Corliss Williamson. Arkansas won another tough battle in the Sweet Sixteen defeating Memphis 96-91behind Williamson's 27 points and 13 rebounds and Alex Dillard's 19 off the bench (4-8 from three point range.) A much lower scoring battle in the Elite 8 resulted in an Arkansas 68-62 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers. Williamson again led the way with 21 points and 9 rebounds to send Arkansas back to the Final Four.
In the Final Four in Seattle, Washington, Arkansas won its semi-final game over North Carlina 75-68. North Carolina had stars Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace, but Corliss Williams 21 points and 10 rebounds led the way, with Dwight Stewart adding 15 off the bench to send Arkansas to its second consecutive championship game. It is here where Arkansas' 11 tournament game winning streak comes to an end, as the UCLA Bruins, led by Ed O'Bannon and Toby Bailey (and helped by Tyus Edney's coast-to-coast last second layup in 4.8 seconds to defeat Missouri), coasted to the championship 89-78. Clint McDaniel led the Razorbacks in scoring with 16, while Corliss Williamson only scored 12 on 3-16 shooting.
With a championship and a runner-up finish in consecutive years, these Arkansas Razorback teams were GOOD, and Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman were exciting to watch!
Now back to yesterday's action.
Players of the Day
5. Jamal Shead, Houston - Socred 21 points with 4 rebounds and 6 assists as Houston cruised past Arizona.
4. Drew Timme, Gonzaga - Scored 25 points with 7 rebounds, and would have been higher had Gonzaga actually won.
3. Jermaine Samuels, Villanova - 22 points and 7 rebounds in a victory over Michigan.
2. JD Notae, Arkansas - Scored 21 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and 6 assists in an upset win over Gonzaga.
1. Paolo Banchero, Duke - Probably the best individual player remaining (with apologies to Jaden Ivey), scored 22 points, and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists in Duke's win over Texas Tech.
Stats of the Day
3. Bennedict Mathuri, Arizona - Arizona's best player shot 4-14 from the field. That is not going to get it done, and subsequently, Arizona lost to Houston.
2. JD Notae, Arkansas - Notae scored 21 points in spite of shooting 2-12 from three-point range. He is going to have to be more accurate tomorrow against Duke.
1. Jamal Shead, Houston - Shead shot 9-10 from the free throw line, which is how teams advance in this tournament.
Best Social Media Posts
I was at bar trivia, so I didn't actually pay attention to social media during the games.
Onto the standings, and remember, please double-check your scores, and let me know if you think I made a mistake.
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