30 Straight Points! The NCAA Block Squares Pool

By now you have heard or read everything you need to about UCONN delivering a 30-0 run last night to batter a good Illinois team. Illinois went 50 real time minutes and more than 9 game minutes without a point. During that period, Illinois missed 17 consecutive shots and for the game shot 25%. This for the most efficient offense in the country coming into the game. How bad was it? How about some social media...

And then there was Donovan Clingan. On shots he contested, Illinois was 0-19. He also had a pretty good game offensively. Again, the hyperbole from social media...

Two days ago, I raved about this team noting that I watched a beating in which nothing was memorable. Last night, UCONN decided to make me pay attention. 

I don't have much on the Alabama game except the shot chart from that game against Clemson. Just look at this! It is simply amazing. 

The game has changed my friends. And Alabama, welcome to your first Final Four.

For the Block Squares Pool, Scott Walters and Devin McDonough were our two winners last night. 

And just a reminder, I will start sending payouts tonight and tomorrow for the first four rounds. 

--Your Commissioner 

NCAA Tournament Pool Elite 8/Day 1

 

We are halfway to deciding the Final Four as the Connecticut Huskies and Alabama Crimson Tide both clinched berths in Glendale/Phoenix/Scottsdale for the Final Four.  What this means is that the NCAA says the Final Four in Phoenix (see above), but it is actaully played in Glendale (about an hour away during game days), but the most fun will be in Scottsdale.  Anyway, these two teams both punched their tickets in way different manners.

Connecticut beat Illinois.  I mean it.  Literally beat them.  Like Old Testament, flood the world, turn whole teams into stone or pillars of salt type of ass-kicking.  Really don't need to say much about the game because it was so horrific.  I will give my apologies to Terrence Shannon of Illinois, who apparently I cursed by calling him one of the best two players in the tournament.  We shall see if the curse affects Zach Edey today.

Alabama defeated Clemson in a close, fun, brutally-tough matchup that featured a lot of up-and-down the court, three-pointers and athleticism - and PHYSICALITY!  This matchup was brutal down low.  But fun.  There was one stretch mid-way through the second half where the teams hit 5 consecutive three-pointers.  This is Alabama's fist trip to the Final Four.  I hope their fans bring their football zeal and anxiety to the Arizona!

Social Media Posts

Thousand upon thousands about Connecticut destroying Illinois.  That is all.

Stats of the Day

There are so many amazing stats from the UConn game, that they dominate this list, so of course I will start with the other game.

8.  Clemson was top 10 in the country in free throw shooting for the season, and the #1 ranked free throw shooting team in the tournament at 78.71%.  So of course, they shot 8-16 from the free throw line.

7.  Illinois leading-scorer Terrence Shannon had 2 points at half-time.

6.  Connecticut and Illinois combined to shoot 31% in the first half.

5.  Connecticut has now won 10 straight NCAA Tournament games by double-digits, and including the Big East Tournament, have won 13 straight elimination games, having last lost in the 2023 Big East Conference semi-finals 70-68 to Marquette.

4.  Illinois's shooting efficiency was 29.9%!

3.  Connecticut held Illinois to 14 total points with Donovan Clingan on the court.

2.  Illinois was 019 on shots at the rim with Donovan Clingan challenging.  He blocked 5 of those shots.

1.  CONNECTICUT WENT ON A 30-0 RUN!  A 30-0 RUN!!!

Since Illinois lost, another champion is down!  The remaining six-teams all have champions in our pool, so lots of competing interests remain!  Our remaining champions are:  ALABAMA, Auburn, Arizona, Baylor, CONNECTICUT, Creighton, DUKE, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State, North Carolina, NORTH CAROLINA STATE, PURDUE and TENNESSEE.  So, out of the 12 remaining teams in the tournament, entries have each of them as their champion, except Clemson.  Best of luck to all those entrants that have a champion remaining - Your Tournament Host does not.

Eight people in our pool did pick Alabama to advance to the Final Four.  And although Marcus Jackson of Reston, Virginia, Braeden Helland of Riviera Beach, Florida, Dave Piasecki of Tacoma, Washington, Coco Wynne of Delray Beach, Florida, and Savannah Grace Pressly of Boca Raton, Florida all deserve mention for their pick, only Jane Reynolds of Greenacres, Dawn Lamb of Delray Beach and Barbie Curlett 1 of Jacksonville, Florida  had both Alabama AND Connecticut.  So Jane, Dawn and Barbie - congratulations on your award for the "Pick of the Day!"

For the history section, I usually just see what memory or anniversary or something the games of any particular day trigger, and if possible, I will write about that.  For today's history lesson, it wasn't anything that occurred on the Court, but rather the fact that I saw one commercial on numerous occasions yesterday that triggered my memory, likely intentionally.  The commercial is Coach Krzyzewski talking about the importance of being in uniform, with a montage of athletes and members of the military while Coach K keeps talking.  The first person shown is current NBA great C.J. McCollum, in what looks to be a facsimile of his college uniform.

This was noticeable because McCollum went to Lehigh, not a basketball powerhouse, but still was a 2-time Patriot League Player of the Year and 2-Time AP Honorable Mention All-American while playing for the Engineers.  He earned both of these awards during the 2012 season, in which Lehigh earned an NCAA Touranment berth, and a 15-2 seed matchup against traditional powerhouse Duke, coached by Krzyzewski.

In that game, Lehigh kept it close at halftime, going into the locker down by 2, 30-28.  The offensive explosion occurred in the second half, as Lehigh scored 47 to defeat Duke 75-70.  McCollum finished the game with 30 points and 6 assists, receiving scoring help from Gabe Knutsen with his 17 points and team-high 8 rebounds.  Duke was paced by Mason Plumlee's 19 points (with 12 rebounds) and Austin Rivers also contributed 19 points.   The downfall for Duke was trying to guard McCollum, who not only scored 30, but also fouled out Duke's starting guards Seth Curry - brother of Steph - and Tyler Thornton.

Lehigh's cinderella-run ended in the second round, as they were beaten by Xavier 70-58, as McCollum couldn't muster the same scoring magic dropping 14 points, but contributing 8 rebounds.

Lehigh, however, remains one of the few 15-seeds to have ever won an NCAA Tournament game over a 2 seed.  That list is:

1991 Richmond over Syracuse

1993 Santa Clara over Arizona

1997 Coppin State over South Carolina

2001 Hampton over Iowa State

2012 Lehigh over Duke

2012 Norfolk State over Missouri

2013 Florida Gulf Coast over Georgetown

2016 Middle Tennessee state over Michigan State

2021 Oral Roberts over Ohio State

2022 St. Peters over Kentucky

2023 Princeton over Arizona

Kentucky behind future first two overall picks Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would eventually win the 2012 title over Kansas, led by Thomas Robinson.

As for CJ MCCollum, despite being an Honorable Mention All-American in 2012, decided to come back to Lehigh for his senior season, where he became the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer before succumbing to a broken foot.  He was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Portland Trailblazers, where he played for 10 seasons before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, where he still plays.  He has a career average of 19.4 points per game.  As he is playing, McCollum is beginning his transition into his post-NBA career by hosting a popular basketball-themed podcast called Pull Up with C.J. McCollum, and he will be putting his journalism degree to use as he has signed a deal with ESPN to be an analyst for its various platforms.

Kudos to Coach Krzyzewski for recognizing basketball talent and for having McCollum on the commercial given the history between Lehigh and Duke in the NCAA Tournament.  

Players of the Day

We had many good players in this tournament, but none like Luke Goode from Illinois, but he definitely isn't goode enough to make our top 10.

10.  Joseph Girard, Clemson - 19 points on 5-10 shooting from three-point range

9.  Cam Spencer, Connecticut - 11 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists

8.  Jarin Stevenson, Alabama - 19 points, 3 rebounds, 58-8 from three-point range

7.  Nick Pringle, Alabama - 16 points, 11 rebounds, 8-13 from the free throw line

6.  Mark Sears, Alabama - 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 7-14 from three

5.  Paige Bueckers, Connecticut - 24 points

4.  Flau'Jae Johnson, LSU - 24 points, 12 rebounds

3.  Caitlyn Clark, Iowa - 29 points, 15 assists

2.  JuJu Watkins, USC - 30 points, 4 assists

1.  Donovan Clingan, Connecticut - 22 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 5 blocks.

Best Players in Each Region

East - Donovan Clingan, Connecticut - AND IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE

West - Mark Sears, Alabam

Midwest - TBD

South - TBD

And speaking of TBD, what will we see today?  Will the offensive firepower of Tennessee be able to keep up with the size of Zach Edey and the talent of Purdue?  Will North Carolina State become the 7th double-digit seed to make the Final Four, or will the traditional blue blood of Duke join Connecticut in stabilizing the old regimes power in basketball?  Well, we shall see!

And now, to our Leaderboard, where WE HAVE A NEW LEADER!!!  If you had one game correct yesterday, you moved up some.  If you had no games correct, you moved down a lot.  For the three that had both ... flying up the leaderboard!!!  As always double-check your scores to make sure I am accurate and let me know if you find a discrepancy.

Tournament Standings after Elite 8/Day 1

1.  Bill Ganoe 3 - 99 - North Carolina/Houston

2.  Allison Parker - 98 - North Carolina/DUKE

3.  Blake Jackson - 96 - DUKE/Arizona

4.  Ty Hedgpeth - 94 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

     Marcus Jackson - 94 - Kansas/ALABAMA

6.  Miles Jackson - 93 - Kentucky/CONNECTICUT

     Brian McMahon - 93 - CONNECTICUT/Kentucky

     Jeff Plamondon - 93 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

9.  Braeden Helland - 92 - Auburn/Creighton

10.  George Fox 2 - 91 - CONNECTICUT/DUKE

       Max Marion 3 - 91 - PURDUE/Baylor

12.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 90 - North Carolina/TENNESSEE

       Javier Rodriguez - 90 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Chris Simmons - 90 - TENNESSEE/CONNECTICUT

       Measha Williams - 90 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Justin Yung - 90 - North Carolina/PURDUE

17.  Rich Samuels 4 - 88 - Houston/Arizona

       Lee Pagan - 88 - Arizona/PURDUE

       Jane Reynolds - 88 - ALABAMA/TENNESSEE

       Cassi Spruill - 88 - Houston/Illinois

21.  Jeremy Spuhler - 87 - CONNECTICTU/TENNESSEE

22.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 86 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Measha Williams 1 - 86 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       Josh Zdrowak - 86 - Arizona/Kentucky

25.  Paul Cummings 2 - 85 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 85 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       John Hedgpeth - 85 - DUKE/North Carolina

       Marcus Spruill - 85 - North Carolina/PURDUE

       Cheryl Spuhler - 85 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       Amanda Staudt - 85 - Arizona/PURDUE

31.  Carolyn Fowler - 84 - North Carolina/TENNESSEE

       Mark Holbert - 84 - North Carolina/Kentucky

       Matt Hopps - 84 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Max Macon 2 - 84 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Si Nichols - 84 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       William Pujals - 84 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

37.  Joel Chernoff - 83 - North Carolina/Houston

38.  Kyle Henderson 1 - 82 - Creighton/CONNECTICUT

       Rich Samuels 5 - 82 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

40.  James Coleman - 81 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Jody Cox - 81 - Marquette/Arizona

       Dawn Lamb - 81 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       Sean McInerney 2 - 81 - CONNECTICUT/Creighton

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 81 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Matt Okell - 81 - North Carolina/Houston

       Dave Piasecki - 81 - Florida/Auburn

       Keith Zdrowak - 81 - PURDUE/Baylor

48.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 80 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Brittany Sosa - 80 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Logan Spuhler - 80 - Arizona/DUKE

51.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 79 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Silas Nichols - 79 - CONNECTICUT/Kentucky

       Bubba Zdrowak - 79 - DUKE/Arizona

54.  Paul Cummings 3 - 78 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Justine Frank - 78 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       Rich Samuels 2 - 78 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

57.  Kevin Dick - 76 - Kentucky/North Carolina

       Max Marion 1 - 76 - Kentucky/CONNECTICUT

       Sasha Moon - 76 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Rich Samuels 1 - 76 - CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

       Rich Samuels 3 - 76 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

62.  George Fox 1 - 75 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 75 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       George Walks 3 - 75 - PURDUE/Baylor

       Amy Zdrowak - 75 - PURDUE/Baylor

66.  Barbie Curlett 1 - 74 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       Tyler Giamberini - 74 - Arizona/Kansas

       Dan Laishley - 74 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       Jacey Reynolds 2 - 74 - North Carolina/TENNESSEE

       Lily Spuhler - 74 - Kansas/North Carolina

       Measha Williams 2 - 74 - Houston/Auburn

       Mike Wolff 1 - 74 - DUKE/North Carolina

73.  Jenna Finkelstein - 73 - Florida/CONNECTICUT

       Chris O'Neil - 73 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Day Yi - 73 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

76.  Jacey Fowler 1 - 72 - North Carolina/PURDUE

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 72 - Auburn/PURDUE

78.  Max Macon 1 - 71 - CONNECTICUT/TENNESSEE

       Ashley Poer - 71 - Iowa State/Houston

       Pepe Sosa - 71 - Arizona/Kentucky

       Keith Wynne - 71 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

82.  Michael McNally - 70 - Gonzaga/Baylor

       George Walks 4 - 70 - PURDUE/North Carolina

       Coco Wynne - 70 - Creighton/Illinois

85.  Paul Cummings 1 - 69 - PURDUE/Iowa State

       Derrick Lowe - 69 - Kentucky/North Carolina

       Ryan Rodriguez - 69 - DUKE/Auburn

       Jamie Toole - 69 - Houston/Arizona

       Katie Zdrowak - 69 - Arizona/PURDUE

90.  Skip LaForte - 68 - Michigan State/Houston

       Natalie Moon - 68 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 68 - Kentucky/Iowa State

93.  Adam Jorgensen 1 - 67 - CONNECTICUT/Creighton

       Adam Jorgensen 2 - 67 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       Noel Martinez 1 - 67 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

96.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 66 - PURDUE/Baylor

       Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 66 - TENNESSEE/Arizona

       Melissa Gaynor - 66 - Illinois/South Carolina

       Quinn Jackson - 66 - Iowa State/Gonzaga

       Katie Kollmeyer - 66 - Arizona/Houston

       Sean McInerney 1 - 66 - Marquette/North Carolina

       Chris Pettit - 66 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Jonathan Wasserman - 66 - Kentucky/Illinois

104.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 65 - Kentucky/Auburn

         Kingfish Parham - 65 - Auburn/Oregon

         Jessica Samuels - 65 - Florida Atlantic/Houston

107.  Barbie Curlett 2 - 64 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

         Arlene Amo Hopps - 64 - North Carolina/DUKE

         Savannah Grace Pressly - 64 - Florida Atlantic/Marquette

         Cheryl Spuhler - 64 - Iowa State/Marquette

111.  Max Marion 2 - 63 - North Carolina/Marquette

         Kisha Marzouca 1 - 63 - Arizona/DUKE

         George Walks 1 - 63 - North Carolina/Kentucky

114.  Shane Jernigan 1 - 62  CONNECTICUT/Marquette

         George Walks 2 - 62 - Baylor/Gonzaga

116.  Max Macon 3 - 61 - Florida/North Carolina

         Max Macon 4 - 61 - Houston/North Carolina

118.  Clair Bullock - 60 - NORTH CAROLINA STATE/North Carolina

         James Garvin - 60 - PURDUE/Iowa State

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 60 - Arizona/Houston

         Jason Spuhler - 60 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

122.  Brent Bellinger - 59 - Illinois/PURDUE

         Nick Kuehl - 59 - Auburn/Marquette

         Max Marion 4 - 59 - Houston/Iowa State

         Anne-Marie O'Neil - 59 - PURDUE/Arizona

         Barkley Sosa - 59 - CONNECTICUT/Gonzaga

127.  Colleen Giamberini - 58 - CONNECTICUT/NORTH CAROLINA STATE

128.  Stephanie Henderson - 56 - Marquette/CONNECTICUT

         Karen Katz - 56 - PURDUE/Auburn

130.  Dave Marzouca 1 - 55 - Wisconsin/CONNECTICUT

131.  Guy Hughes - 51 - Houston/Iowa State

         Mike Wolff 2 - 51 - North Carolina/Florida

133.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 50 - Arizona/DUKE

134.  Noel Martinez 2 - 49 - Auburn/TENNESSEE

         A.J. Ripin - 49 - North Carolina/Houston

136.  Hannah Sosa - 45 - Florida/Arizona

136.  Alyssa Hopps - 35 - North Carolina/Kentucky - CLINCHED LAST PLACE AND RETURN OF ENTRY FEE!!!!  CONGRATULATIONS ALYSSA.

2024 NCAA Tournament Pool Sweet 16/Day 2

 

The Sweet 16 is over, and we already have a mathematical winner.  That's it - Pool is over.  Wait, it is a winner for last place.  Congratulations to Alyssa Hopps of Quincy, Massachussetts, who is currently in 137th place, with no possibility of earning any additional points.  You will be receiving your entry fee back (or at the least person that paid your fee will).  Before making fun of Alyssa's performance just note that she is likely the best current basketball player in this pool.  And that includes the few of you that hooped in college.  With regard to the other end of the pool, we have a lot of movement at the top.  But I will get to that later.

Social Media Post of the Day

1.  Michigan State Representative Matt Maddock, the self-proclaimed "Trump Endorsed, Ranked Most Conservative State Representative, Freedom Caucus, Anti-communist, Husband of Michigan's Most Wanted Republican" posted this on Thursday ...

For those that can't, don't know how, or won't enlarge that, it is a picture of three buses at Detroit Metro airport with a police escort.  The post reads, "Happening right now.  Three busses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro.  Anyone have any idea where they're headed with their police escort?"

Well, I actually do, because it was the Gonzaga basketball team that landed in Detroit to play in last night's Sweet Sixteen game against Purdue.  Now, to be honest, throughout the last couple of decades many higher-seeded teams have considered the Gonzaga Bulldogs to be illegal invaders into the bastion that is the upper-echelon of the NCAA basketball elite.  See, you all thought I was going to get political with this, but it is all about the baskeball.

Sadly, it isn't all about the basketball anymore for Gonzaga, which fell to the number 1 seed Purdue 80-68, behind the stellar play of Zach Edey - who along with Terrence Shannon has been the best player in this tournament.  Gonzaga, on the other hand, is back on its way to invade Spokane, Washington.

Purdue will move on to play the Tennessee Volunteers, who eliminated Creighton 82-75 despite a fantastic game from Baylor Scheierman, who had 25 points and 6 boards.  He was no match for Tennessee's Dalton Knecht, who scored 24, and added 6 rebounds, 5 assists, two steals, and 1 block.

On the other side of the bracket Duke outlasted Houston 54-51, after Houston's All-American leader Jamal Shead left with approximately 16 minutes left due to an ankle injury sustained in the game.  Not to say that the game would have been different, but Jeremy Roach, whom Shead was primarily guarding, scored 12 of his 14 points after Shead's injury.  Yes, injuries are part of the game, but they are also part of the story.

Duke advances to play its old ACC foe North Carolina State, who continued its surprise run defeating Marquette 67-58.  This was a weird game to watch as NC State took a big lead and as Marquette kept chipping away, they just couldnt' get close enough.  NC State was offensively discombobulated the entire lsat 12:30, but from about the 12:30 mark until the under 8 minute time-out, Marquette could barely score either. 

With North Carolina State being an 11-seed  and defeating 2-seed Marquette, bonus points were in play.  However, none of the 4 people that selected North Carolina State into the Elite Eight had them defeating Marquette.  So no bonuses awarded.  But kudos to Logan Spuhler of Acworth, Georgia, Clair Bullock of Columbus, Ohio, Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida and Colleen Giamberini of Boynton Beach, Florida for selecting the Wolfpack.  Wait, did I say 4?  I meant 5.  The Pick of the Day is awarded to John Hedgpeth of Wilimington, North Carolina who not only selected North Carolina State, but also chose Duke, Purdue and Tennessee.  He had a perfect 4 for 4.  His only flaw was that he also did not have North Carlina State over Marquette, so no extra 5 bonus points.  Either way, John passed a lot of of entries as he flew up the Leaderboard.  Congratulations, John.

We lost four champions last night, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston and Marquette, leaving us with 7 possible champions - basically everybody but Clemson.  Our remaining champions are ALABAMA, Auburn, Arizona, Baylor, CONNECTICUT, Creighton, DUKE, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Gonzaga, Houston, ILLINOIS, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State, North Carolina, NORTH CAROLINA STATE, PURDUE and TENNESSEE.  So, out of the 12 remaining teams in the tournament, entries have each of them as their champion, except Clemson.

Stats of the Day

2.  North Carolina State's Mohamed Diarra had 11 rebounds in the first half; Marquette had 12.

1.  Indiana's women's basketball team hit more three-pointers (13) in their loss to South Carolina yesterday than South Carolina has ever given up in a single game since Dawn Staley became their coach in the 2008-2009 season.  Also, Dawn Staley has been the coach since the 2008-2009 season!

Players of the Day

10.  Kyle Filipowski, Duke - 16 points, 9 rebounds

9.  DJ Horne, North Carolina State - 19 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

8.  Kam Jones, Marquette - 20 points

7.  Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina - 22 points on 10-12 shooting

6.  Graham Ike, Gonzaga, 18 points, 10 rebounds

5.  Braden Smith, Purdue - 14 points, 8 rebounds, 15 assists

4.  Dalton Knecht, Tennessee - 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

3.  Aziaha James, North Carolina State - 29 points, 5 assists

2.  Baylor Scheierman, Creighton - 25 points, 6 rebounds

1.  Zach Edey, Purdue - 27 points, 14 rebounds

I don't know how I failed to mention this.  Nobody is talking about it, but I am pretty sure that Jamal Shead of Houston was injured when Duke's Kyle Filipowski tripped him.  Filipowski, knowing that you cannot fully embrace your inner Grayson Allenness until you have multiple trips in one year, needed at least one more after his intentional hit job on North Carolina's Harrison Ingram.  Now, he claims he didn't do it on purpose and didn't even know Ingram was there, but the video doesn't lie; Filipowski BE TRIPPIN'!

So, maybe Filipowki didn't actually trip Shead, but Grayson Allen does have multiple trips.  Here is a walk down memory lane with a GRAYSON ALLEN TRIPPING COMPILATION.

Of course, none of that compares to the travesty surrounding the greatest non-ejection in NCAA Tournament history, which happened in the Elite 8 in Philadelphia in 1992 when wannabetoughguy (yes, all one word) Christian Laettner stomped on all around nice guy and great citizen Aminu Timberlake and SHOULD HAVE BEEN EJECTED!

And no, I am not bitter.

Here is what we have to look forward to today, Illinois is an 8 1/2 point underdog to defending champion - and rolling like they are in Ibiza - Connecticut.  Both are champions in our pool, so this is a big game.  Illinois is going to have to come out of the gates firing, and it needs a big game from Terrence Shannon who, along with Purdue's Zach Edey, is playing the best of anybody in this tournament.

In the second game, 6-seed Clemson and 4-seed Alabama meet for the first time since Clemson upended Alabama on 44-16 on January 7, 2019 in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.  Alabama is an incredibly high-scoring team that can be very exciting.  Can Clemson slow them down to crash the party?

Have fun watching the games, and always double check your brackets in case I made a scoring error.  Remember today's games are worth 8 points each.  And, as you will see, there is room to make up on the leaders, if you have your championship game intact, as well as most of your Final Four.  For now, here is your Leaderboard.

Tournament Standings after Sweet Sixteen/Day 2

1.  Blake Jackson - 96 - DUKE/Arizona

2.  Bill Ganoe 3 - 91 - North Carolina/Houston

     Max Marion 3 - 91 - PURDUE/Baylor

4.  Allison Parker - 90 - North Carolina/DUKE

5.  Ty Hedgepth - 86 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

     Marcus Jackson - 86 - Kansas/ALABAMA

7.  Miles Jackson - 85 - Kentucky/CONNECTICUT

     Brian McMahon - 85 - CONNECTICUT/Kentucky

     Jeff Plamondon - 85 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

10.  Braeden Helland - 84 - Auburn/Creighton

11.  George Fox 2 - 83 - CONNECTICUT/DUKE

12.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 82 - NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE

       Javier Rodriguez - 82 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Chris Simmons - 82 - TENNESSEE/CONNECTICUT

       Measha Williams 3 - 82- PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Justin Yung - 82 - North Carolina/PURDUE

17.  Jody Cox - 81 - Marquette/Arizona

18.  Rich Samuels 4 - 80 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

19.  Lee Pagan - 79 - Arizona/PURDUE

       Cassi Spruill - 79 - Houston/ILLINOIS

       Jeremy Spuhler - 79 - CONNECTICUT/TENNESSEE

       Bubba Zdrowak - 79 - DUKE/Arizona

23.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 78 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Rich Samuels 2 - 78 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Measha Williams 1 - 78 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       Josh Zdrowak - 78 - Arizona/Kentucky

27.  Paul Cummings 2 -77 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 77 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       John Hedgpeth - 77 - DUKE/North Carolina

       Marcus Spruill - 77 - North Carolina/PURDUE

       Cheryl Spuhler - 77 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       Amanda Staudt - 77 - Arizona/PURDUE

33.  Kevin Dick - 76 - Kentucky/North Carolina

       Carolyn Fowler - 76 - North Carolina/TENNESSEE

       Mark Holbert - 76 - North Carolina/Kentucky

       Matt Hopps - 76 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Max Macon 2 - 76 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Si Nichols - 76 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       William Pujals - 76 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

40.  George Walks 3 - 75 - PURDUE/Baylor

       Amy Zdrowak - 75 - PURDUE/Baylor

42.  Joel Chernoff - 74 - North Carolina/Houston

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 74 - Creighton/CONNECTICUT

       Jacey Reynolds 2 - 74 - North Carolina/TENNESSEE

       Rich Samuels 5 - 74 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Measha Williams 2 - 74 - Houston/Auburn

47.  James Coleman - 73 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Sean McInerney 2 - 73 - CONNECTICUT/Creighton

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 73 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Matt Okell - 73 - North Carolina/Houston

       Dave Piasecki - 73 - Florida/Auburn

       Keith Zdrowak - 73 - PURDUE/Baylor

53.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 72 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 72 - Auburn/PURDUE

       Brittany Sosa - 72 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Logan Spuhler - 72 - Arizona/DUKE

57.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 71 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Ashley Poer - 71 - Iowa State/Houston

       Silas Nichols - 71 - CONNECTICUT/Kentucky

       Jane Reynolds - 71 - ALABAMA/TENNESSEE

       Pepe Sosa - 71 - Arizona/Kentucky

62.  Paul Cummings 3 - 70 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Justine Frank - 70 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       George Walks 4 - 70 - PURDUE/North Carolina

65.  Paul Cummings 1 - 69 - PURDUE/Iowa State

       Derrick Lowe - 69 - Kentucky/North Carolina

       Ryan Rodriguez - 69 - DUKE/Auburn

       Katie Zdrowak - 69 - Arizona/PURDUE

69.  Skip LaForte - 68 - Michigan State/Houston

       Max Marion 2 - 68 - Kentucky/CONNECTICUT

       Sasha Moon - 68 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Rich Samuels 1 - 68 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Rich Samuels 3 - 68 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 68 - Kentucky/Iowa State

75.  George Fox 1 - 67 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 67 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

77.  Melissa Gaynor - 66 - ILLINOIS/South Carolina

       Tyler Giamberini - 66 - Arizona/Kansas

       Quinn Jackson - 66 - Iowa State/Gonzaga

       Dan Laishley - 66 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       Lily Spuhler - 66 - Kansas/North Carolina

       Mike Wolff 1 - 66 - DUKE/North Carolina

       Jonathan Wasserman - 66 - Kentucky/ILLINOIS

84.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 65 - Kentucky/Auburn

       Jenna Finkelstein - 65 - Florida/CONNECTICUT

       Dawn Lamb - 65 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       Chris O'Neil - 65 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Kingfish Parham - 65 - Auburn/Oregon

       Jessica Samuels - 65 - Florida Atlantic/Houston

       Day Yi - 65 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

91.  Jacey Fowler 1 - 64 - North Carolina/PURDUE

       Cheryl Spuhler - 64 - Iowa State/Marquette

93.  Max Macon 1 - 63 - CONNECTICUT/TENNESSEE

       Max Marion 2 - 63 - North Carolina/Marquette

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 63 - Arizona/DUKE

       George Walks 1 - 63 - North Carolina/Kentucky

       Keith Wynne - 63 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

98.  Michael McNally - 62 - Gonzaga/Baylor

       George Walks 2 - 62 Baylor/Gonzaga

       Coco Wynne - 62 - Creighton/ILLINOIS

101.  Max Macon 3 - 61 - Florida/North Carolina

         Max Macon 4 - 61 - Houston/North Carolina

         Jamie Toole - 61 - Houston/Arizona

104.  Clair Bullock - 60 - NORTH CAROLINA STATE/North Carolina

         James Garvin - 60 - PURDUE/Iowa State

         Natalie Moon - 60 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

107.  Brent Bellinger - 59 - ILLINOIS/PURDUE

        Adam Jorgensen 1 - 59 - CONNECTICUT/Creighton

        Adam Jorgensen 2 - 59 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

        Nick Kuehl - 59 - Auburn/Marquette

        Max Marion 4 - 59 - Houston/Iowa State

        Noel Martinez - 59 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

113.  Daniel Barsky 2 - 58 - PURDUE/Baylor

         Barbie Curlett 1 - 58 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

         Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 58 - TENNESSEE/Arizona

         Katie Kollmeyer - 58 - Arizona/Houston

         Sean McInerney 1 - 58 - Marquette/North Carolina

         Chris Pettit - 58 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

119.  Barbie Curlett 2 - 56 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

         Arlene Amo Hopps - 56 - North Carolina/DUKE

         Karen Katz - 56 - PURDUE/Auburn

         Savannah Grace Pressly - 56 - Florida Atlantic/Marquette

123.   Shane Jernigan 1 - 54 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

124.  Kisha Marzouca 2 - 52 - Arizona/Houston

         Jason Spuhler - 52 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

126.  Guy Hughes - 51 - Houston/Iowa State

         Anne-Marie O'Neil - 51 - PURDUE/Arizona

         Barkley Sosa - 51 - CONNECTICUT/Gonzaga

         Mike Wolff 2 - 51 - North Carolina/Florida

130.  Colleen Giamberini - 50 - CONNECTICUT/NORTH CAROLINA STATE

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 50 - Arizona/DUKE

132.  Noel Martinez 2 - 49 - Auburn/TENNESSEE

         A.J. Ripin - 49 - North Carolina/Houston

134.  Stephanie Henderson - 48 - Marquette/CONNECTICUT

135.  Dave Marzouca 1 - 47 - Wisconsin/CONNECTICUT

         Hannah Sosa - 47 - Florida/Arizona

137.  ALYSSA HOPPS - QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, 35 - North Carolina/Kentucky - CLINCHES LAST PLACE AND ENTRY FEE RETURNED

We Are Almost There: The NCAA Block Squares Pool

State Farm Stadium in Glendale AZ

We are almost there! 

The NCAA Tournament is maybe my favorite major sporting event. For three weeks, we get a single elimination tournament that always delivers no matter what type of fan you are. Small school alumni can root for their team to make national news as a Cinderella team, the gambling is uncomplicated and inclusive, and more often than not, we end March with the best college basketball teams fighting for the title of Champion (cue Luther Vandross).

This year is no exception. The Sweet 16 produced some exciting basketball between some really good teams. At times the games turned into rock fights, but for the most part it was a fun two days! And yesterday, we confirmed that there is another juggernaut in the bracket. Yes, Purdue! A perennial dog in this tournament, Zach Edey and the Boilermakers appear to have finally figured it out and they are laying waste to opponents in this years tournament. 

The other notable takeaway for me last night was the ankle injury to Jamal Shead. I am not going to say that Houston wins that game against Duke last night if he is able to play, but it was a completely different team after he left. All credit to Duke however. They had to fight through a stifling defense to pull that out. 

And finally, N.C. State. That's it, that's the take. 

For the Block Squares Pool, we keep introducing new people to the winners circle! Winners from last night are below. 

Given the large number of winners this year, I am going to pay out the first four rounds of the pool starting on Sunday night or Monday. If you have won any squares, you will be paid the way you paid me. 

Also, the stakes double again today to $200 per game. Good luck everyone!!

--Your Commissioner

2024 NCAA Tournament Pool Sweet 16/Day 1

 

Sorry for the late post - but I did have work I had to do today (Damn depositions.)  But finishing this up while actually watching basketball, so that is nice!

Well, the Sweet Sixteen is now halfway done, and we had some pretty good games last night.  WE HAVE A NEW LEADER(S), but before we get started, I have to relay this story from one of the entrants in our pool.

Jody Cox of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was on vacation last week and as we all know, that was when our brackets were due.  He and his family were on a Spring Break ski trip, or in the jungle, or Serengeti, or Australian Outback, who knows.  [Ed. Note - I know, but it isn't my place to put his business out there.]  But, he really, really wanted to enter the pool.  So, being the bright, MacGyverish guy that he is, he drew his own brackets, took a picture and sent it to me so that I could timely receive his entry.  Now, it is perfectly legible and I had no problem scoring his sheet.  However, I found out in talking to him this week that he drew the brackets on a pizza box!!!  That my friends, is resourcefulness and dedication!!!  He is the Andrew Tate of our pool - without all of the criminality and horrible personality.

There are also some pretty interesting facts and statistics pertaining to the beginning of the Sweet Sixteen!

Purdue and Gonzaga - both in the Sweet Sixteen - have the most tournament wins without winning a national title at 46.  Illinois has 44.  [Spoiler Alert - 45].

The Illinois-Iowa State game is a matchup of KenPom's number 1 ranked offense (Illinois) and defense (Iowa State).

Duke hasn't beaten a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament since 1994.  They play the one-seed Houston Cougars in the Sweet Sixteen tonight.

San Diego State has more tournament wins the past two years (7) than in all previous tournaments combined (6).

Louisiana Tech won the first women's NCAA Tournament in 1982 over Cheyney State.  The starting point guard for Louisiana Tech was Kim Mulkey.  You can read some about here on this post from SINICKAL.  (There's your F'in cite!)  You can also find us making fun of here in last year's Final Four Chronicles, and possibly more this year if LSU makes the Women's Final Four.

The Connecticut-San Diego State game is the rematch of the 2023 title game; The Marquette-NC State game is a rematch of the 1974 NCAA title game.  NC State won that game 76-64, behind the Most Outstanding Player David Thompson, in Greensboro, North Carolina.  Some big basketball names in that tournament:  Besides Thompson, Norm Sloan coached NC State and Tom Burleson was a standout, Al McGuire coached Marquette who had Maurice Lucas, and some featured players from outside that championship game included Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes from UCLA, Marvin Barnes from Providence, Campy Russell from Michigan and John Shumate from Notre Dame.  Loaded!

But, due to the rules of the day, we missed the possibility of the greatest tournament championship game, if the ACC Championship game was any indication.  See, back then only conference champions could participate in the NCAA Tournament, and NC State and Maryland were both in the ACC.  At the time of the tournament, NC State was ranked number 1 in the country and Maryland was ranked #4, but was probably the hottest non-Wolfpack team in the country entering the ACC tourney.  Being the number 1 seed, NCAA had a quarterfinal bye and dispatched Virginia 87-66 to make the finals.  Maryland, with the conference's number 2 seed, ran through Duke 85-66 and North Carolina 105-85 to set up the most collosal of conference finals, which NC State won 103-100 in overtime.  NC State qualified for the NCAA Tournament, and Maryland went home - as by far the greatest team to never even make the NCAA Tournament.  But that score is just the start ...

As stated earlier, NC State was led by David Thompson, three-time ACC Player of the Year and 1975 National Player of the Year.  His co-stars were Tom Burleson - the ACC Tournament's Most Outstnding Player - and Monte Towe, looking like polar opposites at 7'4" and 5'7" respectively.  Future Baltimore Oriole pitcher Tim Stoddard also started on this team coached by Norm Sloan.

Maryland had its own assortment of star players, including 6 future NBA draft picks.  It is even hard to say who "led" this team, but the six future draft picks included John Lucas, future Congressman Tom McMillan, Len Elmore, Mo Howard, Tom Roy, and Owen Brown.  Maryland was coached by the legendary Lefty Driesell, who passed away this February.

This game went back-and-forth all night, with Maryland hitting 12 of its first 14 shots.  NC State withstood that storm, and trailed only 55-50 at halftime.  NC State had a four-point lead with just over 2 minutes left in regulation, but Maryland scored two late buckups to force overtime.  Three lead changes in the extra frame occurred before NC State prevailed 103-100.

Most impressive state of this game is that both teams combined for zero turnovers in the second half and overtime.  Let me say that for the people in the back:  BOTH TEAMS COMBINED FOR ZERO TURNOVERS IN THE SECOND HALF!!!  That is high quality basketball.

Of course, the following year the NCAA expanded the tournament and allowed at-large teams into the NCAA Tournament.  Also of lasting import is the story that David Thompson could jump so high that he could take a dollar bill of the top of the backboard - and leave four quarters change!  He also scored 73 points in a single NBA game, topped only by Wilt Chamberlain (100, 78, 73 two times), and Koby Bryant (81) and Wilt Chamberlain (78).  [Luka Doncic also scored 73 in a game earlier this year.]

I know this is only NCAA Tournament-adjacent, but this is one of the three greatest basketball games ever, along with Duke-Kentucky 1992 (I can't believe I have to mention this - UGH!) and the 1992 US Olympic team's internal scrimmage chronicled in The Greatest Game Nobody Ever Saw. 

Now, let's get back to the 2024 games.

The first early game was Clemson/Arizona, with the Clemson defeating Arizona 77-72.  Clemson took an early lead, and although it kept seeming like the Wildcats were clawing back, they never could get over that hump.  With 1:06 remaining in the game, Clemson called time out, and then ran a picture-perfect out-of-bounds play for a PJ Hall Dunk that not only ended the game, but showed that all Wildcats must have problem defending the out-of-bounds under the basket play.  And, since I thought of this point as it happened, Guy Hughes of Lexington, Kentucky and Kevin Dick of Alexandria, Virginia have to suffer this thought with me now that I put it out there.

This is Clemson's first Elite 8 since 1980, when they were led by Larry Nance, who eventually went on to win the very first NBA Slam Dunk championship!

The second game was absolute annihilation:  Connecticut over San Diego State 82-52.  Some numbers from defending-champion UConn's run:

9 straight double-digit wins;

17 years since a defending champion reached the Elite Eight;

28 seconds that UConn trailed in last night's game; the only time they have trailed in this year's tourney;

86 - UConn's total margin of victory this tournament - the largest since 1985; and

+152 - The total +/- of Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, UConn's starting back court.

Alabama defeated North Carolina 89-87 in a super-exciting game punctuated by North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson's go-ahead three-point play and game-saving block for the Crimson Tide.

Then, Illinois beat Iowa State behind Terrence Shannon's 29 points, including two free throws with 6 second left to raise the lead to 5.

With a 3, 4 and 6 seed all advancing over a 1, 2, and 2 seed, we lost three champions last night, including Your Tournament Host.  Our remaining champions are:  ALABAMA, Auburn, Arizona, Baylor, CONNECTICUT, CREIGHTON, DUKE, Florida, Florida Atlantic, GONZAGA, HOUSTON, ILLINOIS, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, MARQUETTE, Michigan State, North Carolina, NORTH CAROLINA STATE, PURDUE and TENNESSEE.  So, out of the 12 remaining teams in the tournament, entries have each of them as their champion, except Clemson.

Most entries had Connecticut in the Elite 8, and a surprisingly large number of entries picked Illinois into this weekend's game.  There were 12 entries with the Crimson Tide into the Elite 8, but only 3 that had Clemson surviving this far.  For that reason Kyle Henderson 1 of Fort Worth, Texas, Cheryl Spuhler of Acworth, Georgia, and Savannah Grace Pressly of Boca Raton, Florida all win the coveted "Pick of the Day"!  Congratulations you three.

Players of the Day

10.  Aaron Estrada, Alabama - 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

9.  Armando Bacot, North Carolina - 19 points, 12 rebounds

8.  Stephon Castle, Connecticut - 16 points, 11 rebounds

7.  Jaden Bradley, Arizona - 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

6.  Oumar Bello, Arizona - 15 points, 15 rebounds

5.  Cam Spencer, Connecticut - 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

4.  Chase Hunter, Clemson - 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assist

3.  Curtis Jones, Iowa State - 26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

2.  Grant Nelson, Alabama - 24 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5 blocks

1.  Terrence Shannon, Illinois - 29 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

Social Media Posts of the Day

I saw this on both TikTok and Twitter - from two different posters.  It simply said, "I really hope Ke$ha did't wake up this morning feeling like P. Diddy!"

Ok Mr. Tournament Host - given the severity of the accusations against P. Diddy, that seems like kind of a shot.  How are you going to connect that to this tournament?  Here, let me show you.

So, there are a number of people implicated in the P. Diddy criminal investigation.  Among them is a 25-year old who is accused of working as a "drug mule" for Diddy, and has been arrested on charges of cocaine possession and possession of controlled substances.   In addition to being a "drug mule", this 25-year old has been accused in civil suits as procuring guns as well for Diddy.  This man is Brendan Paul.  Paul was arrested at the Opa-Locka airport attempting to board a private plane either owned or leased by Diddy.

Brenden Paul played basketball for Syracuse University during its heyday from 2018-2020 before transferring to Division II Fairmont State.  See, I told you could make the connection.

Anyway, it is important to note that everything stated above is still just an allegation and that in the United States we are innocent until proven guilty.

Now, on to the rankings.  You will notice a whole lot of Jacksons near at the top.  In fact, the Jackson Five are all doing very well.  I'll bet you can't find the 5th Jackson!  (You can't - it's Staudt!)  Anyways, as always, please check your scores and if you feel that a discrepancy exists, let me know.

Tournament Standings after Sweet Sixteen/Day 1

1.  Allison Parker - 86

     Marcus Jackson - 86

3.  Blake Jackson - 84

4.  Bill Ganoe 3 - 83

5.  Brian McMahon - 81

6.  Braeden Helland - 80

7.  Max Marion 3 - 79

8.  Ty Hedgpeth - 78

9.  Miles Jackson - 77

     Jeff Plamondon - 77

11.  George Fox 2 - 75

12.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 74

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 74

       Chris Simmons - 74

       Measha Williams 3 - 74

       Josh Zdrowak - 74

17.  Jody Cox - 73

       Amanda Staudt - 73

19.  Carolyn Fowler - 72

       William Pujals - 72

       Rich Samuels 4 - 72

22.  Cassi Spruill - 71

       Bubba Zdrowak - 71

24.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 70

       Javier Rodriguez - 70

       Rich Samuels 2 - 70

       Rich Samuels 5 - 70

       Measha Williams 1 - 70

       Justin Yung - 70

30.  Paul Cummings 2 - 69

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 69

       Sean McInerney 2 - 69

       Dave Piasecki - 69

       Marcus Spruill - 69

       Cheryl Spuhler - 69

36.  Kevin Dick - 68

       Mark Holbert - 68

       Matt Hopps - 68

       Si Nichols - 68

40.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 67

       Silas Nichols - 67

       Lee Pagan - 67

       Pepe Sosa - 67

       Jeremy Spuhler - 67

       George Walks 3 - 67

       Amy Zdrowak - 67

47.  Joel Chernoff - 66

       Paul Cummings 3 - 66

       Quinn Jackson - 66

       Jacey Reynolds 2 - 66

       Measha Williams 2 - 66

52.  James Coleman - 65

       Paul Cummings 1 - 65

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 65

       Matt Okell - 65

       Kingfish Parham - 65

       Day Yi - 65

       Katie Zdrowak - 65

       Keith Zdrowak - 65

60.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 64

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 64

       Skip LaForte - 64

       Max Macon 2 - 64

       Max Marion 1 - 64

       Sasha Moon - 64

       Rich Samuels 1 - 64

       Rich Samuels 3 - 64

       Brittany Sosa - 64

69.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 63

       Ashley Poer - 63

       Jane Reynolds - 63

       Keith Wynne - 63

73.  Justine Frank - 62

       Melissa Gaynor - 62

       Tyler Giamberini - 62

       Lily Spuhler - 62

       George Walks 4 - 62

78.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 61

       John Hedgpeth - 61

       Dawn Lamb - 61

       Derrick Lowe - 61

       Ryan Rodriguez - 61

83.  Jacey Fowler 1 - 60

       Cheryl Spuhler - 60

       Logan Spuhler - 60

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 60

87.  George Fox 1 - 59

       Max Macon 1 - 59

       Max Marion 2 - 59

       Michael McNally - 59

       George Walks 1 - 59

92.  Dan Laishley - 58

       George Walks 2 - 58

       Jonathan Wasserman - 58

95.  Jenna Finkelstein - 57

       Max Macon 3 - 57

       Chris O'Neil - 57

       Jessica Samuels - 57

       Jamie Toole - 57

100.  James Garvin - 56

101.  Adam Jorgensen 1 - 55

         Adam Jorgensen 2 - 55

         Max Marion 4 - 55

104.  Daniel Barsky 2 - 54

         Barbie Curlett 1 - 54

         Katie Kollmeyer - 54

         Mike Wolff 1 - 54

         Coco Wynne - 54

109.  Max Macon 4 - 53

110.  Clair Bullock - 52

         Barbie Curlett 2 - 52

         Karen Katz - 52

         Natalie Moon - 52

         Savannah Grace Pressly - 52

115.  Brent Bellinger - 51

         Nick Kuehl - 51

         Noel Martinez 1 - 51

         Kisha Marzouca 1 - 51

119.  Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 50

         Shane Jernigan 1 - 50

         Chris Pettit - 50

122.  A.J. Ripin - 49

123.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 48

124.  Anne-Marie O'Neil - 47

         Barkley Sosa - 47

126.  Colleen Giamberini - 46

         Sean McInerney 1 - 46

128.  Hannah Sosa - 45

129.  Stephanie Henderson - 44

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 44

         Jason Spuhler - 44

132.  Guy Hughes - 43

         Dave Marzouca 1 - 43

         Mike Wolff 2 - 43

135.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 42

136.  Noel Martinez 2 - 41

137.  ALYSSA HOPPS - QUINCY, MASS - 35 - CLINCHED LAST PLACE

UConn is in Beast Mode: The NCAA Block Squares Pool

Source: University of Connecticut

The Big East keeps rolling! 

Well, maybe I should say that Connecticut keeps rolling. I kept looking up at that game last night and UConn lead kept growing. I have no idea what happened in that game. Literally nothing stands out about the game and I can't remember a single play. And they just keep annihilating teams. And this has been going on for two years. Here is UConn's run as a 4-Seed in the 2023 tournament:

• Round 1: UConn 87 - Iona 63
• Round 2: UConn 70 - St. Mary's 55
• Round 3: UConn 88 - Arkansas  65
• Round 4: UConn 82 - Gonzaga 54
• Round 5: UConn 72 - Miami (FL) 59
• Round 6: UConn 76 - San Diego St 59

That's an average margin of victory of 20 points and is remembered by me as one of the underrated dominant runs we have seen in the tournament. You might ask yourself if a bunch of upsets in front of UConn contributed to this run, and I would tell you no. The big upset in that region was the 1-Seed Kansas being knocked out of the tournament by 8-Seeded Arkansas which was the highest seed UConn would face. The other seeds faced were a 13, a 3, and three 5's. I think that is pretty respectable. 

This year's tournament appears to be no different for the Huskies. Last night, UConn produced the only snoozer in a night of pretty good basketball. Remember that this tournament is mostly chalk at this point, so teams here are essentially supposed to be here.

So, what is UConn's margin of victory through the first 3 rounds of this years tournament? 28.6 points!!

Now, I may be made to eat this column in the next two weeks but even so, we should marvel at what is going on up in Storrs. They have won five national championships in 25 years under three different coaches in the shadow of a magnificent run by the women's program, and they again appear to be a juggernaut this year. 

Look at that, I didn't even mention Grant Nelson arriving on scene like he was bringing a gun. 

As for our squares, a couple of people took some bad late beats in the games yesterday. If you stayed up to watch your winning square turn to crap with under 3 seconds to play, I hope you are okay today. The results are below.

Four more games tonight. Good luck everyone!

-Your Commissioner

2024 NCAA Tournament Standings - Round 2/Day 2

 

The below standings include the final two teams selected by each entrant in Champion/Runner-up format.  If capitalized and bold, the team is still alive in the tournament.

Pool Standings aftner Round 2

1.  Blake Jackson - 80 DUKE/ARIZONA

2.  Allison Parker - 78  NORTH CAROLINA/DUKE

3.  Braedon Helland - 76  Auburn/CREIGHTON

4.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 75 NORTH CAROLINA/HOUSTON

5.  Marcus Jackson - 74  Kansas/Alabama

6.  Brian McMahon - 73  CONNECTICUT/Kentucky

     Jody Cox - 73 MARQUETTE/ARIZONA

8.  George Fox 2 - 71  CONNECTICUT/DUKE

9.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 70  NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE

     Ty Hedgpeth - 70  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

     Measha Williams 3 - 70  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

     Josh Zdrowak - 70  ARIZONA/Kentucky

13.  Miles Jackson - 69  Kentucky/CONNECTICUT

       Jeff Plamondon - 69 CONNECTICUT/MARQUETTE

15.  Kevin Dick - 68  Kentucky/NORTH CAROLINA

16.  Max Marion 3 - 67  PURDUE/Baylor

       Rich Samuels 4 - 67  HOUSTON/CONNECTICUT

18.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 66  CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 66  CREIGHTON/CONNECTICUT

       Quinn Jackson - 66  IOWA STATE/GONZAGA

       Jacey Reynolds 2 - 66  NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE

       Chris Simmons - 66  TENNESEE/CONNECTICUT

       Justin Yang - 66  NORTH CAROLINA/PURDUE

24.  Paul Cummings 2 - 65  CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Amanda Staudt - 65  ARIZONA/PURDUE

       Katie Zdrowak - 65  ARIZONA/PURDUE

27.  Carolyn Fowler - 64  NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE

       Mark Holbert - 64  NORTH CAROLINA/Kentucky

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 64  Auburn/PURDUE

       William Pujals - 64  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

       Rich Samuels 5 - 64  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

32.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 63  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

       Pepe Sosa - 63  ARIZONA/Kentucky

       Cassi Spruill - 63  HOUSTON/ILLINOIS

       George Walks 3 - 63  PURDUE/Baylor

       Bubba Zdrowak - 63  DUKE/ARIZONA

37.  Joel Chernoff - 62  NORTH CAROLINA/HOUSTON

       Paul Cummings 3 - 62  CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Javier Rodriguez - 62  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Rich Samuels 2 - 62  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Measha Williams 1 - 62  HOUSTON/CONNECTICUT

       Measha Williams 2 - 62  HOUSTON/Auburn

43.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 61  Kentucky/Auburn

       James Coleman - 61  CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Paul Cummings 1 - 61  PURDUE/IOWA STATE

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 61  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Sean McInerney 2 - 61  CONNECTICUT/CREIGHTON

       Kingfish Parham - 61  Auburn/Oregon

       Dave Piasecki - 61  Florida/Auburn

       Marcus Spruill - 61  NORTH CAROLINA/PURDUE

       Cheryl Spuhler - 61  CONNECTICUT/MARQUETTE

       Day Yi - 61  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

       Keith Zdrowak - 61  PURDUE/Baylor

54.  Matt Hopps - 60  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

       Skip LaForte - 60 Michigan State/HOUSTON 

       Max Marion 1 - 60  Kentucky/CONNECTICUT

       Si Nichols - 60  CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Rich Samuels 3 - 60  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

59.  Silas Nichols - 59 CONNECTICUT/Kentucky

       Lee Pagan - 59  ARIZONA/PURDUE

       Ashley Poer - 59  IOWA STATE/HOUSTON

       Jeremy Spuhler - 59  CONNECTICUT/TENNESSEE

       Keith Wynne - 59  CONNECTICUT/MARQUETTE

       Amy Zdrowak - 59  PURDUE/Baylor

65.  Justine Frank - 58  CONNECTICUT/MARQUETTE

       Tyler Giamberini - 58  ARIZONA/Kansas

       George Walks 4 - 58  PURDUE/NORTH CAROLINA

68.  John Hedgpeth - 57  DUKE/NORTH CAROLINA

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 57  CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Matt Okell - 57  NORTH CAROLINA/HOUSTON

       Ryan Rodriguez - 57  DUKE/Auburn

72.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 56  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Jacey Fowler 1 - 56  NORTH CAROLINA/PURDUE

       Max Macon 2 - 56  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Sasha Moon - 56  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

       Rich Samuels 1 - 56  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON  

       Brittany Sosa - 56  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 56  Kentucky/IOWA STATE

79.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 55  HOUSTON/CONNECTICUT

       Max Marion 2 - 55  NORTH CAROLINA/MARQUETTE

       Jane Reynolds - 55  ALABAMA/TENNESSEE

       George Walks 1 - 55  NORTH CAROLINA/Kentucky

83.  Melissa Gaynor - 54  ILLINOIS/South Carolina

       Dan Laishley - 54  HOUSTON/CONNECTICUT

       Lily Spuhler - 54  Kansas/NORTH CAROLINA

       George Walks 2 - 54  Baylor/GONZAGA

87.  Dawn Lamb - 53  CONNECTICUT/MARQUETTE

       Derrick Lowe - 53  Kentucky/NORTH CAROLINA

       Max Macon 3 - 53  Florida/NORTH CAROLINA

       Chris O'Neil - 53  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

       Jessica Samuels - 53  Florida Atlantic/HOUSTON

       Jamie Toole - 53  HOUSTON/ARIZONA

93.  James Garvin - 52  PURDUE/IOWA STATE

       Karen Katz - 52  PURDUE/Auburn

       Caroline Spuhler - 52  IOWA STATE/MARQUETTE

       Logan Spuhler - 52  ARIZONA/DUKE

97.  George Fox 1 - 51  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Adam Jorgensen 1 - 51  CONNECTICUT/CREIGHTON

       Adam Jorgensen 2 - 51  HOUSTON/CONNECTICUT

       Nick Kuehl - 51   Auburn/MARQUETTE

       Max Macon 1 - 51  CONNECTICUT/TENNESSEE

       Max Marion 4 - 51  HOUSTON/IOWA STATE

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 51  ARIZONA/DUKE

104.  Michael McNally - 50  GONZAGA/Baylor

         Jonathan Wasserman - 50  Kentucky/ILLINOIS

         Mike Wolff 1 - 50  DUKE/NORTH CAROLINA

107.  Jenna Finkelstein - 49  Florida/CONNECTICUT

         Max Macon 4 - 49  HOUSTON/NORTH CAROLINA

         A.J. Ripin - 49  NORTH CAROLINA/HOUSTON

110.  Clair Bullock - 48  NORTH CAROLINA STATE/Auburn

         Barbie Curlett 2 - 48   CONNECTICUT/MARQUETTE

         Natalie Moon - 48  CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

113.  Daniel Barsky 2 - 46  PURDUE/Baylor

         Barbie Curlett 1 - 46  HOUSTON/CONNECTICUT

         Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 46  TENNESSEE/ARIZONA

         Shane Jernigan 1 - 46  CONNECTICUT/MARQUETTE

         Katie Kollmeyer - 46  ARIZONA/HOUSTON

         Chris Pettit - 46  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

         Coco Wynne - 46  CREIGHTON/ILLINOIS

120.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 44  NORTH CAROLINA/DUKE

         Savannah Grace Presely - 44  Florida Atlantic/MARQUTTE

122.  Brent Bellinger - 43  ILLINOIS/PURDUE

         Guy Hughes - 43  HOUSTON/IOWA STATE

         Noel Martinez 1 - 43  PURDUE/CONNECTICUT  

         Anne-Marie O'Neil - 43  PURDUE/ARIZONA

         Barkley Sosa - 43  CONNECTICUT/GONZAGA

         Mike Wolff 2 - 43  NORTH CAROLINA/Florida

128.  Colleen Giamberini - 42  CONNECTICUT/NORTH CAROLINA STATE

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 42  ARIZONA/DUKE

         Sean McInerney 1 - 42  MARQUETTE/NORTH CAROLINA

131.  Noel Martinez 2 - 41  Auburn/TENNESSEE

         Hannah Sosa - 41  Florida/ARIZONA

133.  Stephanie Henderson - 40  MARQUETTE/CONNECTICUT

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 40  ARIZONA/HOUSTON

         Jason Spuhler - 40  CONNECTICUT/HOUSTON

136.  Dave Marzouca 1 - 35  Wisconsin/CONNECTICUT

137.  Alyssa Hopps - 31  NORTH CAROLINA/Kentucky