Welcome back all. We have concluded the first round with some more surprises, but before we get to the tournament update, I have an update to the pool We now have 137 entries. "So Pepster, how did we increase in entries after the tournament has started" some you might ask. Well, it is because I received the bracket from Karen Katz of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mail, postmarked March 19. She is now included in the standings.
Day 2 gave us some incredibly exciting games, the kind we missed on Thursday. It all started in the 8/9 game pitting last year's darling Florida Atlantic against Northwestern and we got some free basketball. Although Northwestern curb-stomped FAU in overtime, the game was back-and-forth most of the day.
Northwestern was not the only smart boys advancing to the second round as Yale outlasted SEC champion Aurburn 78-76, as Auburn Tre Donaldson missed 2 free throws with six seconds remaining that would have tied the game despite John Poulakidas of Yale pulling his best Jack Grohlke.
Another incredibly close - and exciting - game was Colorado over Florida 102-100 with Florida's Walker Clayton, Jr. making a three-pointing to tie the game at 100 with 9 seconds left followed by KJ Simpson rushing dow to hit the eventual game-winner with 3 seconds remaining. A last-ditch heave by Clayton, who had 33 points in this game - came dangerously close as it hit the backboard.
All three of these games have one thing in common, they knocked out a champion in our pool. Multiple people selected Florida Atlantic, Auburn and Florida. 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.
Other close games include last year's finalist San Diego State defeating UAB 68-65, and Grand Canyon defeating Saint Mary's 75-66. Grand Canyon joins Yale as being upsets worth bonus points in our pool, as was James Madison with its 11-point victory over 5 seed Wisconsin. People in our pool had everyone of the upsets, and each of these upsets was guaranteed by multiple people, meaning lots of movement in the standings. Another game of note is that 6th-seeded Clemson handily beat New Mexico 77-56 to be the only 6 seed to advance to the second round, as the 3 other 11 seeds all won on Thursday.
As I mentioned, multiple people selected each of yesterday's three bonuses, and several even selected each as a guarantee. But, since way more people selected James Madison and Grand Canyon that Yale, those that selected Yale get special mention. Those include George Walks 1 of West Palm Beach, Florida, Jeff Plamondon if Lincoln, Rhode Island, Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida Coco Wynne of Delray Beach, Florida and Rich Samuels 1 of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. They receive special mention, but the "Picks of the Day" Award goes to Cassi Spruill of Fairfax, Virginia, Day Yi of Forest Hills, New York, and Max Marion 4 of West Palm Beach, Florida. Congratulations and now - You are all dead to me. On a side note, I asked Barkley Sosa how on earth she can live under my roof and select Yale - FOR ANYTHING - and she responded, "I pick all the dog and wolf mascots that I can." I went back and reviewed her bracket, and although accurate - still not an excuse.
In fact, entrant Kisha Marzouca of Boynton Beach, Florida, a college classmate of mine, texted me to say "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IVY LEAGUE BASKETBALL?!?! yasssss this is the only time a Harvard person will be happy for Yale" She is a much better person than I.
Day 1 Kentucky loses; Day 2 Yale wins. This tournament got me feeling like a Mint Condition song, which coincidentally was on the radio when I did a breakfast run this morning.
And yes, I was at a red light when I took that picture.
And, since I am obviously in a cheerful mood, I will give an "Anti-Pick of the Day" award. In the running was Colleen Giamberini of Boynton Beach, Florida and Alyssa Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts who both slected Grambling over Purdue, but, that pick took guts. Going out on a limb should be rewarded, not ridiculed, especially since we all know Purdue can lose a first round game as a 1-seed; they did it last year. So, instead, the "Anti-Pick of the Day" award goes to Joshua Zdrowak of Tallahassee, Florida by way of Orlando, Florida who picked Auburn. Why was this such a bad pick? It is because he picked Auburn to win the Florida Atlantic-Northwestern game! Congratulations Joshua!
Social Media Posts/Random Quotes of the Day
5. Facebook post from a college classmate ... "It's weird to root for Yale for any reason. I have a reflexive distaste for Yale -- until March Madness starts up. And then Ivy League prode takes over. It feels very unnatural but, to paraphrase Whitman, 'Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contrdaict myself (I am large. I contain multitudes...)" - Much bigger person than me.
4. Auburn basketball alumnus Charles Barkley, "We're not gonna lose to the smart kids, I'll tell you that!"
3. When a play from Auburn-Yale game comes on the television and a zoom-in on a Yale player, Hannah Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida commented, "He looks like he goes to Yale." That's my girl.
And, since I am still not over the Kentucky loss
2. From Twitter sent to me by Kevin Dick of Alexandria, Virginia, calling John Calipari the "Italian Doc Rivers."
1. This was posted in the other pool run by this blog, but it needs mentioning here ...
Yeah, this tournament is killing me.
Stats of the Day
6. Tre Donaldson from Auburn was shooting 82.9% from the free throw line when he stepped up and missed two free throws with 6 seconds left in game and Auburn down 2 to Yale.
5. Zach Edey of Purdue pulled down 21 rebounds.
4. Ryan Langborg from Northwestern scored 12 points - IN OVERTIME - as Northwestern downed Florida Atlantic.
3. Iowa State Freshman Audi Cooks scored 40 points as Iowa State came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat Maryland in the women's tournament.
2. Colorado had 14 assists in its first 14 made field goals in the first half against Florida. (Finsihed the half 14 assists/17 made field goals).
1. Northwestern scored 19 total points in overtime over Florida Atlantic. That is the same exact number of points as they scored the ENTIRE FIRST HALF!
Players of the Day
Honorable Mention - Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn -Ejecting for hitting a Yale player.
10. Eddie Lampkin, Colorado - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
9. Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M - 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
8. Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State - 32 points, 8 rebounds
7. Johni Broome, Auburn - 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
6. Will Clayton, Jr., Florida - 33 points on 10/17 shooting and 7/7 free throw line
5. Kam Jones, Marquette - 28 points
4. Ryan Langborg, Northwestern - 27 points - 12 in overtime
3. John Poulakides, Yale - 28 points on 10/15 shooting; 6/9 from three point range
2. Mark Sears, Alabama - 30 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
1. Zach Edey, Purdue - 30 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks
So, looking at this list gives me the thought for the NCAA Tournament history lesson. I watched a lot of the Florida-Colorado game, and Colorado's Eddie Lampkin is a force. He is listed at 6'11 and 265 pounds, but I would bet his a good 25 pounds heavier than that, but not really fat. He is super-light on his feet, and possesses a devasting bump-and-spin move which is virtually unguardable. He reminds me a bit of former Boston College standout Danya Abrams, who albeit a bit shorter than Lampkin, was every bit as stocky and light on his feet. He played at Boston College from 1993 - 1997, and during the 1993-1994 year Boston College had some very unique and interesting sports successes.
It all started on November 20, 1993, when the number 1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team traveled to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to play the 17th-ranked BC Eagles. Boston College built a 38-17 lead into the fourth quarter with only 11 minutes left in the game. Notre Dame came roaring back to take the lead 39-38. Eagles quarterback Glenn Foley led the team on a last-minute drive that almost never happened as one of his passes bounced right off the hands of Notre Dame linebacker Pete Bercich. Two completions to tight end Pete Mitchell and one to Ivan Boyd set up a 41-yard field goal which David Gordon converted as time expired to knock off the top ranked Irish.
Later that winter, the Boston College Eagles defeated the then number 1 ranked Boston University Terriers in hockey, setting up this story ...
Boston College entered the tournament as the 9-seed, and opened in the first round against 8th-seeded Washington State in Landover, Maryland. Washington State was paced by Isaac Fontaine's 17 points as the Cougars narrowly lost to the Eagles 67. Boston College had a monster game from Bill Curley with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while getting 17 points and 7 assists from point guard Howard Eisley. Freshman Danya Abrams contributed 7 points and 9 rebounds in 37 minutes played for a team that was not very deep. This victory advanced Boston College into the second round - where number 1 seed North Carolina awaited.
This Tar Heel team was loaded, and after playing a 71-51 warm-up game against Liberty in the first round, North Carolina's stars looked like they were just going to waltz into the Final Four. Future NBAers all over the roster, UNC started Derrick Phelps at the point, Donald Williams and Brian Reese on the wings, Rasheed Wallace at the four and Eric Montross in the middle. Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis came off the bench, as did sharpshooter Dante Calabria - who I have played against in league ball - to make the Heels way more talented and deeper than the Eagles.
But, I probably wouldn't be including this game in this post if the normal happened, and the Eagles shocked the basketball-watching world, winning 75-72. North Carolina was paced by Eric Montross scoring 16 points, and Jerry Stackhouse contributing 15 off the bench. Rasheed Wallace and Jeff McInnis also finished with double digit points. Boston College, however, rode its starters as they scored all 75 of the teams points - led by Gerrod Abram's 21. Bill Curley had 18 with Howard Eisley and Malcolm Huckaby adding 11 each. The reason for the post - Danya Abrams scored 14 and had a team-high 10 rebounds - all while guarding Rasheed Wallace.
From there Boston College advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in Miami, Florida, where they defeated the 5th-seeded Indiana Hoosiers 77-68. Abrams only scored 6 points in this game, but Eisley scored 18, Huckaby and Abram 15, and Curley 11 to defeat the Alan Henderson led Hoosiers.
Advancing to the Elite 8, the Eagles lack of depth and the SEC Champion Florida Gators ended BC's hope of a Final Four 74-66. Abrams contributed 14 points and a team-high 9 rebounds to go along with Bill Curley's 20 and Howard Eisley's 19, but it wasn't enough. For Florida, Craig Brown had 21 and Andrew DeClerq had 16 to pace the Gators. For basketball fans, though, the highlight was watching Danya Abrams go head-to-head with Gator behemoth Dametri Hill, both of similar size and stature. More wrestling than basketball, these two giants definitely pushed each other throughout the entire game.
Florida went on to lose to Duke in the Final Four, which in turn lost to Arkansas in the championship game 76-72. That Arkansas team was one of the most exciting teams I have watched, Scotty Thurman, Corliss Williamson, Corey Beck and Dwight Stewart, but that is a story for another day.
Abrams was named first team All-Big East his next three seasons, and went on to play professionally for 11 years in various leagues around the world, and is currently in Massachussetts coaching.
So, back to the interesting year for Boston College, they defeated teh number 1 team in football, hockey, and basketball in the same season.
So, enough history... on to the Standings... Please double-check your results as I do make mistakes. I am happy to go back and review if you think I missed something.
Standings After Round 1/Day 2
1. Braeden Helland - 56
2. Blake Jackson - 54
Marcus Jackson - 54
4. Brian McMahon - 53
5. Allison Parker - 50
6. Jody Cox - 49
Bill Ganoe 3 - 49
8. Measha Williams 3 - 48
Joshua Zdrowak - 48
10. Miles Jackson - 47
Rich Samuels 4 - 47
12. Daniel Barsky 1 - 46
Quinn Jackson - 46
14. Jeff Plamondon - 45
15. Bill Ganoe 1 - 44
Ty Hedgpeth - 44
Shane Jernigan 2 - 44
Chris Simmons - 44
19. Scott Bieterman 2 - 43
Amanda Staudt - 43
Max Marion 3 - 43
Bubba Zdrowak - 43
Katie Zdrowak - 43
24. Joel Chernoff - 42
Kevin Dick - 42
Skip LaForte - 42
William Pujals - 42
Justin Yung - 42
29. James Coleman - 41
Paul Cummings 2 - 41
Bill Ganoe - 41
Kingfish Parham - 41
Dave Piasecki - 41
Ashley Poer - 41
Pepe Sosa - 41
Cassi Spruill - 41
Jeremy Spuhler - 41
Day Yi - 41
39. Paul Cummings 3 - 40
Kyle Henderson 1 - 40
Mark Holbert - 40
Rich Samuels 5 - 40
43. George Fox 2 - 39
Silas Nichols - 39
Cheryl Spuhler - 39
Keith Wynne - 39
47. Carolyn Fowler - 38
Justine Frank - 38
Matt Hopps - 38
Michael McNally - 38
Si Nichols - 38
Jacey Reynolds (2) - 38
Javier Rodriguez - 38
Rich Samuels 2 - 38
Lily Spuhler - 38
George Walks 4 - 38
Measha Williams 1 - 38
58. Paul Cummings 1 - 37
Alvaro Gonzalez - 37
Max Macon 3 - 37
Marcus Spruill - 37
George Walks 3 - 37
Amy Zdrowak - 37
Keith Zdrowak - 37
65. Melissa Gaynor - 36
Shane Jernigan - 36
Dan Laishley - 36
Max Marion 1 - 36
Sasha Moon - 36
Rich Samuels 3 - 36
Brittany Sosa - 36
Logan Spuhler - 36
Measha Williams 2 - 36
74. Matt Okell - 35
Lee Pagan - 35
George Walks 1 - 35
77. Karen Katz - 34
Max Macon 2 - 34
79. John Hedgpeth - 33
Max Marion 4 - 33
Sean McInerney 2 - 33
Ryan Rodriguez - 33
Jessica Samuels - 33
84. Scott Bieterman 1 - 32
Clair Bullock - 32
Jacey Fowler 1 - 32
James Garvin - 32
Tyler Giamberini - 32
Rich Samuels 1 - 32
Cheryl Spuhler - 32
George Walks 2 - 32
Jonathan Wasserman - 32
Biscuit Zdrowak - 32
94. Jenna Finkelstein - 31
Kyle Henderson 2 - 31
Nick Kuehl - 31
Dawn Lamb - 31
Derrick Lowe - 31
Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 31
Chris O'Neil - 31
Jane Reynolds - 31
A.J. Ripin - 31
Jamie Toole - 31
104. Colleen Giamberini - 30
105. Adam Jorgensen 1 - 29
Adam Jorgensen 2 - 29
Max Macon 1 - 29
Max Macon 4 - 29
Max Marion 2 - 29
Kisha Marzouca 1 - 29
Barkley Sosa - 29
Mike Wolff 2 - 29
113. Katie Kollmeyer - 28
Chris Pettit - 28
Savannah Grace Pressly - 28
Mike Wolff 1 - 28
117. George Fox 1 - 27
Coco Wynne - 27
119. Guy Hughes - 25
Hannah Sosa - 25
121. Daniel Barsky - 24
Barbie Curlett 2 - 24
Kisha Marzouca 2 - 24
124. Anne-Marie O'Neil - 23
125. Barbie Curlett 1 - 22
Arlene Amo Hopps - 22
Dave Marzouca 2 - 22
Natalie Moon - 22
Jason Spuhler - 22
130. Brent Bellinger - 21
Noel Martinez 1 - 21
Dave Marzouca 1 - 21
133. Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 20
Sean McInerney 1 - 20
135. Alyssa Hopps - 19
Noel Martinez 2 - 19
137. Stephanie Henderson - 18
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