A 40-Degree Day of Basketball: The NCAA Tournament Squares Pool

To quote the philosopher Stringer Bell, yesterday was "like a 40-degree day. Ain't nobody got nothing to say about a 40-degree day. Fifty? Bring a smile to your face. Sixty? Shit, they is damn near barbecuing on that motherfu&$er. Go down to 20, they get their bitch on. Get their blood complaining. But forty? Nobody give a fu&k about 40."

Yesterday, I watched some of a lot of games. Went to dinner and missed a few games. Saw the really important stuff like the end of the Kentucky-Santa Clara game and gladly didn't see more than a couple of minutes of the Florida-Prairie View game. Well, I did see Olivier Rioux enter the game in garbage time for Florida and record 2 points, 2 rebounds and an assist. I still can't understand that situation. He is 7'9" and cannot get on the floor! Friends have told me that my obsession with him is unnatural, and I get it. But as I wrote last year, this has to be considered the most incredible story in sports. I still believe that. 

But I digress. The point I was trying to make is that yesterday was a 40-degree day. When everything was done late last night all of the favorites advanced, save a couple of 9 seeds beating 8 seeds. 

Chalky ball with some standout performances. Most notable to me was Tarris Reed from UConn. 31 points and 27 rebounds last night against Furman, and UConn needed every bit of it. Reed outrebounded the Furman team and it is the first 30/25 in the NCAA tournament since Elvin Hayes did it 58 years ago. Just a dominant performance.

As for the squares pool, the Day 2 results are below. This wraps up Round 1 meaning that games are now worth 50 points.

On to Round 3. Good luck everyone!

--Your Tournament Host

NCAA Tournament Pool 2026 - Round 1/Day 2 Results

 

Welcome back.  Was anybody else singing Lemon Pound Cake to the tune of Under the Boardwalk in their heads while watching games yesterday?  Just me?  Ok.  Well, that song is genius.

Day 2 of the first round started off with an all-time classic.  Just an awesome basketball game between the 10 seed Santa Clara and the 7 seed Kentucky.  Close all game, back-and-forth at the end (something like 50+ lead changes!!!), and after now-Kentucky legend Otega Oweh scored a tough lay-in with about 9.9 seconds left in the game to tie it, Santa Clara sharpshooter Allen Graves etched his name in NCAA lore by nailing a game-winning three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left.  Or did he?  The aforementioned Oweh, received the inbound pass, drove the left sideline until just after half court and put up a heave that banked in for his 8th consecutive Kentucky point in a row, and sent the game to overtime.  [Ed. Note - It is about time Kentucky ended up on the positive side of a last-second shot.  See Laettner, Christian and Maye, Luke].  From there, Kentucky took over pounding the ball inside to Mouhamed Dioubate, and Brandon Garrison providing the defense on switches as the big man blocked not one, but two three-point shots on the perimeter to seal the win for the Wildcats.  Garrison had 6 blocks in the game! 

A note on Dioubate, he is Muslim, which means this weekend is Eid al-Fitr, meaning an end to Ramadan and an end to his requirement to refrain from all food and drink during the daylight.  If this means Kentucky's most athletic player will be able to hydrate and properly and timely replenish his food, nutrients and fluids, this could mean problems for the Midwest bracket!!!

The rest of the games were seriously boring.  REALLY Boring.  Not one upset (by our definition) occurred, with the only interesting point being that all 4 nine seeds won for the first time since 2019 and only the sixth time ever.  And, since the game was so boring, I won't really mention the games at all (except for my stats and players of the day).  But there were some really cool things that happened in college sports yesterday, so I will discuss those until the games get interesting again.

First, Alabama pitcher Tyler Fay threw a no-hitter last night as the Crimson Tide baseball team won 6-0.  Now, Fay didn't no-hit just any team like Southwestern Central, he did it against NCAA and SEC powerhouse Florida, currently 18-3 and ranked 18th in the country couldn't touch Fay as he struck out 13 and only walked 2 in a 132-pitch gem.

The NCAA Women's tournament started yesterday, and TCU's Olivia Miles - a transfer from Notre Dame - earned a 12-16-14 triple double to become the only person, man or woman, with an NCAA tournament triple double for multiple teams.  Yes, we watch women's basketball here.  And while on the subject, let's give a shout out to participant Alyssa Hopps of Quincy, MA, who just completed her first-year on Babson College's women's team, and finished with 5.9 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game in an average of 14 minutes.  No doubt her role will be expanding in her next three years - and we hope to see her in the Division III version of the tournament soon!

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

There were some very interesting stats from yesterday's games.  My favorite are:

Stats of the Day

6.  Florida reserve center Olivier Rioux - all 7'9" of him - played 2 minutes and scored 2 points.  This is like if any other team had a giraffe play and actually score a basket!!!

5.  4-0.  The records of the 9 seeds against the 8s.  For only the 6th time ever.

4.  Brandon Garrison of Kentucky had 6 blocks, and UCLA's Donovan Dent had 6 steals against UCF.  That's some serious defense.

3.  Skyy Clark lost 1 tooth while diving for a loose ball and taking an elbow to the face.

2.  Florida's 114-55 decimation of Prairie View A&M is the largest blowout by a 1-seed in NCAA tournament history, and the second largest blowout ever.

1.  1,077 - The number of assists by Purdue's Braden Smith in his NCAA career, surpassing Duke legend and recently fired coach of Arizona State Bobby Hurley.  Congrats Braden.  

Upon reading the "Stats of the Day" list, you may have asked yourself, "Self, I wonder what the largest blowout in NCAA tournament history was," and "I wonder if Pepster will tell us."  Well, I know the answer to both of those queries, and soon you will too.

Way back on March 11, 1963, in McGraw Memorial Hall in Evanston, Illinois, the mighty Loyola Ramblers crushed Tennessee Tech 111-42, a 69-point spread.  In the immortal words of the legendary sports anchor Warner Wolf, "If you had Tennessee Tech and 68, YOU STILL LOST!!!"  All five Loyola starters scored in double figures, whereas Bobby Young (14) and Eddie Mason (10) had more than half of Tennessee Tech's points.

Loyola would eventually make it to the Final Four, held in Freedom Hall in Louisville that year.  Behind Lee Hunter's 29 points and 18 rebounds, and with a huge assist from Jerry Harkness (20 points and 11 rebounds), Loyola would defeat the Duke Blue Devils 94-75.  Duke was led by eventual MOP Art Heyman, who valiantly tried to keep Duke in the game with his 29 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough.  In the finals Loyola would face Cincinnati, who crushed Oregon State 804-48 in the semifinals paced by George Wilson's 24 points and 13 rebounds.

In the finals, Loyola had a balanced scoring attack led Hunter's 16 (with 11 boards), Vic Rouse's 15 (and 12 rebounds), with Huntre chipping in 14.  The leading scorer in the game was Cincinnati's Ron Bonham, who drummed his way to 24 points while playing all 45 minutes of the game, which went into overtime.  In fact, 9 of the 10 starters played all 45 minutes, with only the Bearcats Dale Heidotting earning time off the bench.  His four minutes were largely to spell George Wilson, who experiences some late foul trouble.

In this close, largely back-and-forth game, the Loyola Ramblers prevailed, winning the first (and only) men's basketball championship.

Other than the Kentucky-Santa Clara game, the most interesting thing about the games were the press conferences.  In particular two coaches shined in that regard.

First up is Byron Smith, the head coach of Prairie View A&M, who when asked what his team could do to try to slow Florida down as his team was down 60-21 at halftime responded succinctly, "We need some help from the Lord."

Next up is Kevin Willard, Villanova's coach who told the reporter that he was going to "Fire his Staff" at halftime, and that he needed to "get a new staff."  After the game he simultaneously doubled-down on his statement and said it was a joke.  

So, I guess I should discuss some of the play during yesterday's games.

Players of the Day (Women's Edition)

10.  Taleysia Cooper, Tennesse - 24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

9.  Mia Nicastro, Western Illinois - 21 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block

8.  Brooke Carlson, Colorado State - 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 

7.  Allie Turner, Gonzaga - 27 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists

6.  Brookly Meyer, South Dakota State - 29 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

5.  Carys Baker, Texas - 21 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks

4.  Toby Fournier, Duke - 24 points, 7 rebounds

3.  Taryn Barbot, Charleston - 36 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals

2.  Olivia Miles, TCU - 12 points, 16 rebounds, 14 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

1.  Avery Howell, Washington - 30 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

Players of the Day (Men's Edition)

10.  Armani Lyles, Akron - 26 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

9.  Darryn Peterson, Kansas - 28 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist

8.  Braden Smith, Purdue - 26 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists

7.  Malik Reneau, Miami - 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

6.  Dominique Daniels, Cal Baptist - 25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

5.  Killyen Toure, Iowa State - 25  points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists

4.  Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee - 29 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals

3.  LaBaron Philon, Alabama - 29 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals

2.  Otega Oweh, Kentucky - 35 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

1.  Tarris Reed, Connecticut - 31 points, 27 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

And now, for our own "Players of the Day", this was not particularly difficult to select the "Picks of the Day."  Primarily because 3 stood out.  With no major upsets of which to speak, a decent amount of entries had 14 of the 16 games correct, 8 had 15 games correct, and 3 went a perfect 16-0 yesterday.  We might have had 4, but Floyd Forte of Grand Haven, Michigan - who otherwise went 15-0, forgot to select a winner of the Kentucky-Santa Clara game.  Another entrant, Ty Hedgpeth of Wilmington, North Carolina, went 15-1, with her only loss being her selection of Santa Clara, which I can only assume was an attempt at payback for all of my Duke jokes throughout the years.  (Did you see my stab at Bobby Hurley earlier?).  But, with that, the "Picks of the Day" go to the perfect 16-0 selections of Measha Williams (Canes 1 Bracket) of Houston, Texas, Steven Usma 3 of Miami, Florida, and Lily Spuhler of Acworth, Georgia.

As we approach tipoff of the Michigan-St. Louis game, good luck everyone, and remember, all games today are worth 2 points each (and some might be subject to upset bonuses!)

As always, please double check my scoring, and if you find a discrepancy, please let me know.  I will 

double-check it for you, as I am only human.  Just remember my admonition from before, I will double-check the entirety of your bracket.  Now, onto the standings!!!

FIRST ROUND STANDINGS

1.  Jason Spuhler - 48

2.  Max Macon 2 - 47

3.  Rich Samuels - 45

4.  Megan Cox - 43

     Crew Ferguson - 43

     Martha Kroesen - 43

     Day Yi 1 - 43

8.  Stephanie Henderson - 42

     Steven Usma 2 - 42

10.  Josh Zdrowak - 41

11.  Megan Corrado - 40

       Paul Kludt - 40

       Mitchell K. (Lamb) - 40

       Glen Merchant - 40

       Henry Transecki - 40

16.  Jonathan Cox 2 - 39

       Cheryl Spuhler - 39

       Measha Williams (Buddy Canes 1 Bracket) - 39

19.  Jeff Plamondon 1 - 38

       Ashley Poer 1 - 38

       Annette Pritchard 1 - 38

       Steven Usma 3 - 38

       Steven Usma 5 - 38

       Chuck Whitcomb - 38

25.  Brent Bellinger B - 37

       Kyle Henderson - 37

       Pepe Sosa 1 - 37

28.  Ty Hedgepeth - 36

       Dave Piasecki - 36

       Vincent Plamondon - 36

       Jonathan Wasserman 2 - 36

32.  Daniel Barsky 2 - 35

       Brent Bellinger A - 35

       Jim Coleman - 35

       Mark Holbert 2 - 35

       Karen Katz 1 - 35

       David Kennedy - 35

       Mango Merchant - 35

       Si "Papa Si" Nichols - 35

       Bubba Zdrowak - 35

       Keith Zdrowak - 35

42.  Shane Jernigan 2 - 34

       Brittany Sosa - 34

       Pepe Sosa 2 - 34

       Justin Yung - 34

46.  Matt Hopps - 33

       Guy Hughes - 33

       Mac Kroesen - 33

       Monte Lambert - 33

       Duncan Merchant - 33

51.  Dwayne Cushman - 32

       Benny Merchant - 32

53.  Floyd Fonte 1 - 31

       Hazy Frank - 31

       Braeden Helland - 31

       Adam Jorgensen - 31

       Karen Katz 2 - 31

       Rylee Montague - 31

       William Pujals - 31

       Matt Thibaut - 31

       Steven Usma 1 - 31

       Measha Williams (Canes 2 Bracket) - 31

       Mike Wolff 1 - 31

64.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 30

       Jonathan Cox 1 - 30

       John Hedgpeth - 30

       Blake Jackson - 30

       Max Macon 4 - 30

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 30

       Sasha Moon - 30

       Amanda Staudt - 30

       Katie Zdrowak - 30

73.  Joel Chernoff - 29

       Shane Jernigan 1 - 29

       Dawn Lamb - 29

       Max Macon 1 - 29

       Salvatore Plamondon - 29

       George Walks 3 - 29

       George Walks 4 - 29

80.  Colleen Giamberini - 28

       Quinn Jackson - 28

       Silas Nichols - 28

       Kingfish Parham 1 - 28

       Kingfish Parham 2 - 28

       Lily Spuhler - 28

86.  Paul Cummings 1 - 27

       Marcus Jackson - 27

       Katie Kollmeyer - 27

89.  Paul Cummings 3 - 26

       Jenna Finkelstein 2 - 26

       Carolyn Fowler - 26

       Skip LaForte - 26

       Monte Lambert 2 - 26

       Mike Litsey - 26

       Natalie Moon - 26

       Jeff Plamondon 2 - 26

       Chris Simmons - 26

       Barkley Sosa - 26

       Measha Williams (Canes 3 Bracket) - 26

100.  Trey Angus - 25

         Jenna Finkelstein - 25

         Floyd Fonte 2 - 25

         Gracie Fonte - 25

         Jacey Fowler - 25

         James Garvin - 25

         Mark Holbert - 25

         Keith W 2 (Lamb) - 25

         Sean McInerney 2 - 25

         Sean McInerney 3 - 25

         Javier Rodriguez 2 - 25

         Jasmine Tran - 25

         George Walks 2 - 25

         Stacia Wilkaitis - 25

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 25

115.  Randy Bennett - 24

         Paul Cummings 2 - 24

         Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 24

         Justine Frank - 24

         Arlene Amo Hopps - 24

         Sean McInerney 1 - 24

         Annette Pritchard 2 - 24

         Stephanie Soplop 1 - 24

         Stephanie Soplop 2 - 24

124.  Barbara Curlett - 23

         Floyd Fonte 3 - 23

         Alyssa Hopps - 23

         Ashley Poer 2 - 23

         Jane Reynolds - 23

         Javier Rodriguez 1 - 23

         Caroline Spuhler - 23

         Steven Usma 4 - 23

         George Walks 1 - 23

         Jonathan Wasserman 1 - 23

         Day Yi 2 - 23

135.  Max Macon 3 - 22

         Amy Zdrowak - 22

137.  Colbie (Lamb) - 21

         Keith W 1 (Lamb) - 21

         Allison Parker - 21

         Hannah Sosa - 21

141.  Mike Wolff 2 - 20

A Sad Day One Notebook: The NCAA Tournament Squares Pool

As many of you know, I am a proud alumnus of America's University - also known as Syracuse. Unfortunately, our men's basketball program is currently in a down period and while this is my favorite time in the sports calendar, this is a sad time.

Despite it all, I have to believe that this situation will all work itself out and we will get back to prominence. Eventually. I hope. Damn, I really hope it happens soon! 

Why did I start this post this way? Well, it informs how I have to watch the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament this year. I have the goal of doing some advance scouting of potential coaches to help recover the glory of America's University. With that, here are some of my notes from the first day of games:

• First, watching 16 games each on Thursday and Friday, and 48 games total over the first weekend is a job. I am out here grinding! Yesterday featured three different bars and my basement for viewing. Thirteen HARD hours.
• The first bar of the day, Walters Sports Bar was live! High Point University had the largest watch party yesterday with at least 25 bougie, purple clad alumni losing their minds. There was a lot going on in this game. High Point played from behind and in critical situations without fear and with great confidence. Definitely a sign of outstanding coaching. Is the next stop for Flynn Clayman an interview at America's University?
• Also, what about Wisconsin. My lord! Wisconsin has lost in the first or second round of the tournament in 6 of the last 8 years. And, one of the years that they didn’t make the tournament was because there was no tournament due to COVID. They are a disaster for a major conference program! 
• Nebraska? The only early window blowout? As noted by friend of the blog Kev-O, Nebraska basketball has existed since 1896. This was their first NCAA tournament win.
• Louisville survived the University of South Florida yesterday, but they are in trouble in this tournament! USF couldn't buy a basket in this game and we discovered that Louisville can't handle full court pressure. USF shot just 39% from the field and 15% (5 for 33) from 3 yesterday. Putrid. And they were still in this game. Solid coaching performance from Upstate NY native Bryan Hodgson. Is his next stop an interview at America's University?
• What an effort from Sienna yesterday. They simply ran out of gas at the end of that due to a lack of depth. Four of the five starters played all 40 minutes of the game and Gerry McNamara only made his first substitution with 0:10 left in the game to give a foul. Even Jon Scheyer had to admit he had been outcoached by the Syracuse alumnus. Does this mean that the next stop for Gerry McNamara is an interview to be the next coach of America's University?
• How about McNeese? Also a valiant effort that waned late. I would be willing to entertain a interview with Billy Armstrong to lead America's University, but only if Amir Khan is hired also as a paid graduate assistant. You remember our favorite student manager from last year, don't you?
  
  
• How about the old guys? Tom Izzo is still getting it done. He is only 71? He has been head coach at Michigan St for 31 years. And talk about stability, the school has only had two coaches since 1975. On the other end of the spectrum is John Calipari. Everywhere he lands, he builds the exact same long, athletic team. Acuff and that Arkansas team are going to be a tough out.
• BYU's AJ Dybantsa is a beast! He scored 50% of his teams points and it needed to be more. Also, did anyone else note that the BYU basketball team represents like the French National Soccer Team?

  

  
  
• St. Louis! And Robbie Avila! I wonder if we can get Josh Schertz out of his extension and get him into America's University for an interview. 
• After watching that North Carolina debacle, I feel like I am going to have to start talking about them like I do the University of Virginia. As a dumpster fire. If you don't remember my tirade about that, you can revisit it here.
• What about Michigan, Texas A&M, Houston, Illinois and Gonzaga you ask? Yeah, I watched them. 

With the first day of games completed, we have our first slate of winners. Congratulations to Mick Magee and Kyle Armstrong for being multiple winners on Day 1. 

On to Day 2!

--Your Tournament Host

NCAA Tournament Pool 2026 - Round 1/Day 1 Results

 

I am currently updating the Pool Commentary.  Check back in a few hours.

Hello Everybody, and welcome to our tournament pool.  This year we are 143 strong!!!  A note, so that you don't get too confused, there is another pool - a Squares Format - running on this blog as well.  You should be able to tell the two apart.  One of them is a little more verbose than the other.  (Hint, that is this one.)

We welcome back all three of the finalists from last year, Measha Williams, Paul Cummings, and Steve Usma.  Good luck on repeating.

Also welcome back our last place contestant, Barkley Sosa, whose method of selecting all of the dog mascots - and against every cat mascot - was not successful last year, but was OH SO CLOSE in the first round yesterday in her pick of Siena over Duke.

James Garvin of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was the first entry submitted this year, but the first to pay was Chris Simmons of Boynton Beach, Florida/Park City, Utah.  I only mention this because he wanted me to mention it, and I wanted to add that he did not put his name, e-mail address, or any contact information whatsoever on his bracket.

The tournament started off with a bang yesterday, as the first game ended with Ohio State taking a last second shot against TCU, but it missed, sending the Horned Frogs - and Landman lovers everywhere - into the second round.  It also gave Michigan fans something to crow about, like former Wolverine Hooper Jalen Rose.

We have a wide variety of champions selected this year, which I will continuously post here.  Remaining champions will always be capitalized and in bold.  This year, our collective champion selections are:  ALABAMA, ARIZONA, CONNECTICUT, DUKE, FLORIDA, HOUSTON, ILLINOIS, IOWA STATE, KANSAS, KENTUCKY, MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN STATE, North Carolina, PURDUE, and VIRGINIA.

Yes, you read that correctly.  We have already lost a champion.  Jacey Fowler of Greenacres, Florida was the unlikely recipient of that L yesterday.

On the flip side of that, we had three major upsets, with High Point defeating Wisconsin (more on that later), Virginia Commonwealth beating North Carolina (also more on that later), and Texas winning against BYU.  All told, we have 6 brackets with all 3 of those upset selections.  Jonathan Cox of Palm Beach Gardens, Crew Ferguson of Raleigh, North Carolina and Day Yi of Forest Hill, New York.  Those 3, however, did not have any of those upsets as the guarantee.  Day did, however, go 15-1, which would ordinarily be enough for the pick of the day.  But that honor goes to the one of the entries with all 3 upsets picked correctly AND one of those being their guarantee.   Max Macon 2 of Jupiter, Florida and Rich Samuels of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida fit the bill, but only Jason Spuhler of Acworth, Georgia qualifies under that scenario AND went 15-1, losing only the TCU-Ohio State game.  Congratulations Jason, you are the pick of the Day!

And we received our first big upset of the tournament when High Point came back to defeat the Wisconsin Badgers.  A note from the post-game press conference:

Reporter:  "What happened Wisconsin?"

Wisconsin:  "I was going to go to the second round, but then I got High .... Point."

Sums it up.  By the way, did anybody follow the Afroman trial?  (For those that don't know, Afroman was the artist that performed But I Got High).  A couple of years ago, sheriff's deputies, acting on a no-knock warrant based solely upon (ultimately determined to be) made up statements from a confidential information, raided Afroman's house, destroyed his door and other parts of his house, took evidence and money, but ultimately finding nothing.  The District Attorney did not file any charges, and Afroman's stuff was returned, except the money that was returned was less than the amount catalogued by the authorities on site.  Afroman, who had a security system including cameras inside his house, took the footage and made videos about what happened, including this hilarious song Lemon Pound Cake.  Seven officers sued Afroman for defamation and false light, and on Wednesday evening, after a couple of days of absolutely hilarious testimony, the jury returned a verdict in Afroman's favor.  Who knew that in my lifetime the three biggest free speech cases would be about flag-burning, Afroman, and Two Live Crew!!!  Amazing.

Anyway, back to the games, High Point finished off Wisconsin behind one of the more remarkable stats in NCAA Tournament history.  Which brings me to the biggest stats from yesterday's actions.

Stats of the Day

3.  Virginia Commonwealth erased a 19-point deficit to defeat North Carolina.

2.  All 5 of Siena's starters played all 40 minutes of the game against Duke!!!  Not one sub.

1.  Chase Johnston of High Point scored a breakaway layup with 11 seconds left for the final points of the 83-82 win.  This was Johnston's FIRST TWO-POINT BASKET OF THE SEASON!!!  That's right, he did not hit a two-pointer all year!!!

Siena's performance against Duke almost made history in defeating Duke, but it is still remarkable in that its starters played the entire game, excepting a last-minute substitution to get a senior in the game.  The last time this happened was in the 1979 semi-final in which DePaul's starters played the entire game against Indiana State.  Let's take a look at this game.  

Indiana State has some remarkable talent on the floor as none other than Larry Bird managed to score a game-high 35 points, bring down a game-high 16 rebounds, and finish off with a game-high 9 assists.

For DePaul, their 5 starters spread out the statistics pretty evenly.  Star Mark Aguirre scored 19 points and added 5 rebounds, and he was helped by an additional 19 points from Gary Garland - who also had 4 rebounds and 8 assists.  Curtis Wilkins and Jim Mitchem also scored in double-figures as DePaul narrowly fell to the Sycamores 76-74.  Aguirre would ultimately become the number 1 overall draft pick by the Dallas Mavericks in 1981, and had a stellar NBA career.  He is also a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

Larry Bird would be the 6th pick in the 1979 draft by the Boston Celtics, and only fell that low because of a rule change that most owners/general managers did not understand.  Indiana State went on to fall in the finals to the Michigan State Spartans 75-64, with Bird once again leading the team with 19 points and 13 rebounds.  It was not enough as the Spartans, led by one Magic Johnson, scored 24 points, had 7 rebounds and dished 5 assists.  He would eventually be the number 1 pick in the 1979 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, and had a storied NBA career leading to the Hall of Fame, where he was joined by Bird.  Some say this 1979 NCAA championship game led to the rise of the NBA.  Who's to argue that?

And speaking of stars, here are the stars from yesterday's action.

Players of the Day

Honorable Mentions to Jeremiah Wilkins of Georgia, and Joseph Pinion of South Florida, who likely would have made the Top 10 if their teams had won.

10.  Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 7-13 from Three

9.  Henri Veesaar, North Carolina - 26 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

8.  Cameron Boozer, Duke - 22 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists

7.  Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt - 26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

6.  Morez Johnson, Michigan - 21 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

5.  A.J. Dybantsa, BYU - 35 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist

4.  Mates Vokietius, Texas - 23 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist (would be much higher if he didn't miss 7 free throws in a row)

3.  Rob Martin, High Point - 23 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists

2.  David Mirkovic, Illinois - 29 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists

1.  Terrence Hill, VCU - 34 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 7-10 from Three, 40 minutes off the bench

Today's action should hopefully be as good or better than yesterday's, with the Santa Clara versus Kentucky having already tip-offed.  But, the match-up of the day is Long Island v. Arizona.

A note about the standings.  There are 141 entries listed.  We have 143.  One person submitted entries in a format that is not particularly usable by me.  Now, I can see it, and I know the score on those 2 brackets, but I am waiting for a bracket in a format I can print out to add to my collection, the selection symbolizes dope, take a toke, but don't choke.  If you do, you'll have no clue on what me and my homes Snoop Dogg came to do.  But, I digress.  When I have them in my hand today, they will be added.

Also, I am human and I do score everything by hand, so I will make mistakes.  So if you think I have made an error with your bracket, let me know.  I will re-check it.  And, if I find a mistake, I will correct it.  Please note that this may mean an upward correction, or a downward correction.   Whatever I find.

Now, onto the standings!

ROUND 1/DAY 1 STANDINGS

1.  Jason Spuhler - 35

2.  Max Macon 2 - 33

     Rich Samuels - 33

4.  Day Yi 1 - 30

5.  Megan Corrado - 29

     Jonathan Cox - 29

     Megan Cox - 29

     Crew Ferguson - 29

     Martha Kroesen - 29

     Steve Usma 2 - 29

11.  Glen Merchant - 28

       Jeff Plamondon 1 - 28

13.  Mitchell K (Lamb) - 27

       Henry Transecki - 27

       Josh Zdrowak - 27

16.  Paul Kludt - 26

       Ashley Poer 1 - 26

18.  Stephanie Henderson - 24

       David Kennedy - 24

       Cheryl Spuhler - 24

       Steve Usma 5 - 24

       Jonathan Wasserman 2 - 24

       Chuck Whitcomb - 24

       Bubba Zdrowak - 24

25.  Brent Bellinger B - 23

       Kyle Henderson - 23

       Mac Kroesen - 23

       Annette Pritchard 1 - 23

       Pepe Sosa 1 - 23

       Measha Williams (Buddy Canes 1 Bracket) - 23

       Keith Zdrowak - 23

32.  Daniel Barsky 2 - 22

       Brent Bellinger A - 22

       Braeden Helland - 22

       Mark Holbert 2 - 22

       Guy Hughes - 22

       Karen Katz - 22

       Mango Merchant - 22

       Dave Piasecki - 22

       Vincent Plamondon - 22

       Steve Usma 3 - 22

       Justin Yung - 22

43.  Jim Coleman - 21

       Hazy Frank - 21

       Ty Hedgpeth - 21

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 21

       Benny Merchant - 21

       Duncan Merchant - 21

       Si ("Papa Si") Nichols - 21

       Brittany Sosa - 21

       Pepe Sosa 2 - 21

52.  Matt Hopps - 20

        Amanda Staudt - 20

54.  Dwayne Cushman - 19

55.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 18

       John Hedgpeth - 18

       Rylee Montague - 18

  

58.  Joel Chernoff - 17

       Jonathan Cox 1 - 17

       Blake Jackson - 17

       Adam Jorgensen - 17

       Karen Katz 2 - 17

       Monte Lambert 1 - 17

       Max Macon 1 - 17

       Max Macon 4 - 17

       Measha Williams (Canes 2 Bracket) - 17

       Katie Zdrowak - 17

68.  Floyd Fonte 1 - 16

       Colleen Giamberini - 16

       Marcus Jackson - 16

       Quinn Jackson - 16

       Shane Jernigan 1 - 16

       Dawn Lamb - 16

       Mike Litsey - 16

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 16

       Sasha Moon - 16

       Kingfish Parham 1 - 16

       William Pujals - 16

       Matt Thibaut - 16

       Steve Usma 1 - 16

       George Walks 3 - 16

       George Walks 4 - 16

       Mike Wolff 1 - 16

84.  Skip LaForte - 15

       Kingfish Parham 2 - 15

       Jeff Plamondon 2 - 15

       Measha Williams (Canes #3 Bracket) - 15

88.  Katie Kolllmeyer - 14

       Monte Lambert 2 - 14

       Silas Nichols - 14

       Salvatore Plamondon - 14

       Barkley Sosa - 14

93.  Paul Cummings 1 - 12

       Paul Cummings 3 - 12

       Sean McInerney 12 - 12

       Natalie Moon - 12

       Chris Simmons - 12

       Lily Spuhler - 12

       Jasmine Tran - 12

       Stacia Wilkaitis - 12

101.  Trey Angus - 11

         Jenna Finkelstein 2 - 11

         Carolyn Fowler - 11

         Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 11

         Arlene Amo Hopps - 11

         Sean McInerney 2 - 11

         Ashley Poer 2 - 11

         George Walks 2 - 11

109.  Randy Bennett - 10

         Barbara Curlett - 10

         Jenna Finkelstein 1 - 10

         Floyd Fonte 2 - 10

         Floyd Fonte 3 - 10

         Gracie Fonte - 10

         Jacey Fowler - 10

         James Garvin - 10

         Mark Holbert 1 - 10

         Keith W (2) (Lamb) - 10

         Sean McInerney 1 - 10

         Annette Pritchard 2 - 10

         Jane Reynolds - 10

         Javier Rodriguez 1 - 10

         Javier Rodriguez 2 - 10

         Stephanie Soplop 2 - 10

         Hannah Sosa - 10

         Caroline Spuhler - 10

         George Walks 1 - 10

         Jonathan Wasserman 1 - 10

         Day Yi 2 - 10

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 10

131.  Paul Cummings 2 - 9

         Justine Frank - 9

         Alyssa Hopps - 9

         Keith W. 1 (Lamb) - 9

         Max Macon 3 - 9

         Allison Parker - 9

         Stephanie Soplop - 9

         Steven Usma 4 - 9

         Amy Zdrowak - 9

140.  Colbie (Lamb) - 8

         Mike Wolff 2 - 8

NCAA Tournament Pool - 2026 - The Road to Indy (Pre-Tournament Sosa Household Brackets)

 

The NCAA Tournament Pool for 2026 recap/results will be posted here.  But for now, to invalidate any accusations of cheating when I win, the 4 brackets of the Sosa Household are posted here.

Tune in for all of the tournament reports to follow.

Let's Fu&king Go! You Are All Degenerates Like Me!

I write this post while sitting in a bar grinding over a parlay featuring the under in the USA -Dominican Republic baseball game and the over in the Golden State Warriors - NY Knicks game. Needless to say, I hate everything about gambling. This is the worst!

With that, I welcome everyone to the 2026 NCAA Tournament Block Squares Pool! For the next several weeks, I will be using this blog space for all communication on this pool. All of the squares for the pool are now filled, the numbers have been drawn and the official pool has been distributed to everyone. The final grid is posted below.

 

By the way, for those of you interested in additional opportunities to waste money during the tournament, my friend Pepster will be running a conventional bracket pool in this blog space. Please text me if you want to join it also. So, am I saying that gambling is good?

Back to this squares pool. The rules for this game are as follows: 

1. Each entry will keep its numbers for the entirety of the tournament. We will not re-draw numbers.
2. A winning block is one that has a two number combination that matches the last digits of the final score in the game. As an example, if the score of a game is 78-63, then the box corresponding to Winning Team Score - 8; Losing Team Score - 3 is the winner. This applies to the final score of the game, not the score at the end of regulation.
3. I will post an updated “leaderboard” shortly after each day of play that links to the official game scores and lists winners in this pool.
4. All winnings will be paid out at the end of the tournament.

The pool will pay out winners for all 63 games of the main tournament played starting with the first game on Thursday, March 19th and finishing in Indianapolis, IN with the Championship Game. The Play-In games are not part of this tournament pool. The payouts per round will be:

• 1^st Round Games - 25 each
• 2^nd Round Games - 50 each
• Sweet 16 Games - 100 each
• Elite 8 Games - 200 each
• Final 4 Games - 400 each
• Championship Game - 1000

Good luck everyone! I am looking forward to an exciting tournament.

Your commissioner

Sinickal

 

Amtrak Basketball Classic - the Redux

 

Last year, as a preparatory trip to the Final Four, your boys Kev-O, Pepster, and Sinickal planned a trip to watch basketball centered around the two cathedrals of the sport:  Madison Square Garden and the Palestra.  MSG - the world's second most famous arena - should go without saying, but the Palestra, former home of the entire Big Five of Philadelphia basketball, and now current home of some of the Big Five, is a cozy cathedral that is a much-see location for all hoop headz.  Why do we call it the Amtrak Basketball Classic?  Because Sinikal and Kev-O live in the DMV, so Pepster flew into Reagan National to meet them, and the three of us Amtraked to NYC for the noon tip-off there, and then Amtraked to Philly for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off there (and then back to the DMV).  Let's just say the trip was so fantastic, that we had to do a redux, and was such a blast that others insisted on being included this time - a total of 10 people!!!  So, we (pseudo-live) blogged it!

Friday, February 20

11: 49 a.m. - Pepster and Bill arrive at PBI for their flight to Reagan National.

11:57 - TWISTED TRUNK at the airport!!!  Why is this even mentioned?  Because Twisted Trunk was a favorite Palm Beach watering hole of Pepster and Bill that closed a few months ago, and we had no idea one opened up in the airport!!!

12:00 p.m. - First drink; Bloody Maria for Bill and Double Down Hazy Double IPA for Pepster.

13:11 - Lady at the gate in a Florida Panthers "Tkachuk Around and Find Out" tee shirt.  She is obviously ready for the semi-final Olympic men's hockey game today!

13:14 - Announcement of no Wi-Fi on the plane!

15:40 - Pepster and Bill land.

16:38 - Arrive at Sinickal's house.

18:18 - Sinickal, Pepster and Bill arrive at Duffy's, a local establishment that has announced they are closing their doors at the end of shift February 28.  Women at the very first table wearing a "Chinga La Migra" shirt.   God do we love DC!

19:08 - Sinickal and Allison, who has just recently joined us at Duffy's, are talking to Rick, a bartender at Duffy's. Sinickal is leading an animated discussion about Rick being without his phone for quite sometime because he left it in a Lyft. Rick states that he just communicates through Instagram if he needs to speak to his kids, but he is mostly incommunicado.  Sinickal, "That is very 1992 of you.  I hope you don't die of dysentery!"

20:01 - Brandon, Pepster's brother who actually lives in Jersey City but is currently in Miami for work but was planning to join the festivities tomorrow, texts to say that his plane has been delayed multiple times out of Miami, and he can no longer get back into town until Sunday.  We are down to 9.

21:28 - Allison heads home while Sinickal, Pepster and Bill head to Trusty's.  GREAT dive bar, which only recently took a stray through its window, and with great homemade onion dip.  Yes, I typed what I typed.

Time Unknown - Back to the crib.

Saturday, February 21

6:00 a.m. - Pepster, Bill and Sinickal are all awake; boy is it early!  Gonna be a long day.

6:50 - The three of us head to Union Station with the wonderful Allison as our chaffeur.

6:58 - Enter Union Station.

7:00 - Run into Mick in line for breakfast at McDonald's.  We are now 4!

7:15 - Our 7:30 departure for the Vermonter is delayed.  They have to remove a car, making the trip more congested.  They also announce that because of this, time at tables in the Cafe Car will be limited to twenty (20) minutes.  Uh Oh!

7:20 - While in line for boarding, we see Brian make it into the line.  We are now 5!

7:45 - Begin boarding.

8:02 - Onboard in the car next to the Cafe Car.  The 5 of us are a bit spread out, but still close enough to annoy the rest of the passengers - if we wanted to do so.

8:10 - Cafe car is open.  We head back, take a table or 2, and order 2 Dogfish Head 90 minute IPAs, 6 Stella's and 2 Michelob Ultras.  Not apiece.

8:15 - Two ladies and 1 younger man join the cafe car and sit at a nearby table.  They are discussing their order.  The young man says he doesn't want anything because he is still drunk.  Sinickal then asks the other two, "Are you still drunk?"  One lady responds, "No, I am his mother!"  Sinickal retorts, "I didn't ask who you were.  I just asked if you were still drunk.

9:20 - Simcox - Sinickal's college roommate at Syracuse - joins us at the Baltimore stop.  We are now 6!

9:35 - After ordering 2 Stone IPAs, Simcox sits down while Pepster and Sinickal are re-telling the story of the greatest argument they ever had, which involves the Canterbury Hotel and Mike Tyson.  Simcox asks, why didn't you just look it [the answer to the argument] up?  Sinickal's response of "That isn't what we do. In 20 years, I hope to be sitting in the corner of a black barbershop having a similar argument with someone" prompts an immediate spit-take from Simcox.  Unfortunately for Pepster, Simcox was sitting right across the table from him!  It is only 9:30!

9:45 - Simcox realizes that the conductor walked by and did not ask for his ticket.

10:02 - Random out-of-context quotation, "If you can't fuck up a step kid, who can you?

10:39 - As we approach Newark, New Jersey, we have officially drank the cafe car out of Stella Artois.

10:42 - The conductor walks by us, points at his watch and says, "Your 15 minutes in the Cafe Car is almost up.  It has been 2 1/2 hours.

10:49 - Random discussion about arson.

10:50 - Kev-O arrives at Bourbon and Branch, followed shortly by Tony and Pete.  Tells the rest of us he is posted up at the back of the bar.

11:15 - Tony orders cheesesteak egg rolls and other assorted appetizers to be waiting for us when we arrive.

11:18 - Arrive at NY Penn Station (under MSG), and head to Bourbon and Branch (one block away).

11:38 - Pepster, Sinickal, Bill, Mick, Brian, and Simcox arrive at Bourbon and Branch.  We are now officially 9.  Bourbons all around.  No chance of drinking this place out of Bourbon - especially for a noon tip-off.

12:01 p.m. - Guy in the MSG concourse wearing a Colorado "Prime" Hoodie.

12:21 - In our seats for the St. John's - Creighton game.  Creighton isn't at their best, but they did just beat UConn earlier in the week in a game that featured a brawl and ejections for both teams.

12:34 - Woman sitting behind us proclaims, "We didn't get tickets for Wicked so we ended up here!

13:51 - With 8:00 left in the game, Pepster calls "Time of Death" for Creighton.  Head back to Penn Station for group drinks and maybe some food.

14:07 - Post up at "Irish Exit" in Moynihan Hall.

14:14 - As Pepster saunters up to the counter of the pizza place in the food hall, Pete methodically approaches Pepster and says to follow him.  They exit the station, cross the street, and go to another pizza place.  "Best slices in the city," says Pete.  They were.

14:54 - Board the Amtrak train to Philly sans Kev-O, who had to stay in New York.  We are now 8!

15:17 - Random discussion around us in which the phrase, "I threw the olive in there to confuse you" is heard.  Sinickal - "That's what she said!"

15:29 - I like pictures.

15:32 - Our group is now arguing with National Park Service volunteers who have commandeered a single table in the Cafe Car, leaving Pepster to have to stand in the aisle.  At least they start inundating us with National Park trivia.  They are angry as we are questioning everything they ask (and rightfully so - poorly worded questions).  For example, they ask how many Americans were killed at a specific battle in the Civil War.  We ask if they are counting the Confederate soldiers, and if certain of the killed are only counted as 3/5ths of a person.  They hate us.  Oh, and we are also answering almost every question correctly.  This continues through Philly.

15:33 - We have to text Kev-O about the trivia arguments so he feels a part of the remainder of the trip.

15:40 - Kev-O is pissed that he just went to the restroom and discovered his fly was down.  I think he is pissed that none of us told him, but none of us really checked to be honest.

15:40:28 - Brian does a "safety" check of his own.

15:45 - "We call it Amtrak but some call it the train!"

15:58 - Brian is the first to fall asleep.

16:02 - Kev-O arrives at Long Room in the theater district for a dinner by himself, as he waits to meet up with his wife for a show this evening.

16:33 - A Pediatrician is giving out candy.  What is a better cover than that?  Also, someone was talking about their friend being a JetBlue flight attendant and asking, "What is better than that?"  We immediately reply, "A Delta flight attendant!"

16:35 - Uber to Live Casino.  Takes longer than it should.  We immediately take a free shuttle to XFinity arena.  In short, we paid $25 to take a free shuttle.

17:27 - Enter Xfinity Arena.

17:30 until 19:48 - Not really good basketball.  All told, we saw 23 minutes of good basketball in two games.

18:15 - Kev-O texts asking for Proof of Life in Philly.

18:28 - Kev-O texts that he is getting some very discerning looks from a bartender who may or may not serve him another drink.

18:29 - Sinickal's response to Kev-O, "You should have just gotten on the train."

19:22 - Leave Xfinity arena.  Heading to the SEPTA to go to The Post downtown near 30th Street Station.

19:25 - Kev-O texting asking if their is a Norwegian form of seppuku.  Turns out he is watching the 50km freestyle cross-country skiing race and a Norwegian athlete - who will win the bronze medal as the third best in the world and is 2 minutes faster than 4th place - is still only the third best in his country.  Pepster calls this the "Evgeni Malkin," who was easily a top 5 hockey player of his generation, but never the best on his club (Sidney Crosby) or in his country (Alex Ovechkin).

19:45 - Kev-O, again referencing the Cross-Country race, "I hope Klaebo is Norwegian for punching cervixes in the Olympic village!"

19:53 - Brian - "I think Kev-O is the drunkest out of all of us, and he still has to make that show!"

20:00 - Kev-O made the show!!!

20:20 - Enter The Post.  For a University of Pennsylvania/Drexel University sports bar, this place is deserted.

21:45 - Hop on the train heading south to DC.  This train is packed.  NO space in the Cafe Car.  We have to spread out in one car after Sinickal purchased 12 Stellas.  There are only 2 left.  Tony and Pete head back to NYC.  We are now 6 again!

22:00 - People leave the train at various stops, and we start to consolidate into adjacent rows.

22:09 - Now in a row by himself, Bill becomes the second to fall asleep.

Time Unknown (forgot to look at our watches/phones) - Simcox exits in Baltimore.  We are back to being 5.

23:21 - Brian goes to the cafe car to get one last round of beers in New Carrolton before we have to exit.  They won't sell anything to him as the bar is closed.

23:40 - Exit at Union Station.  Bid adieu to Mick.  The remaining 4 (Sinickal, Bill, Brian and Pepster) head to Union Pub.

23:46 - Enter Union Pub.  I swear there must have been a Heritage Foundation mixer (its offices are across the street.)

Time Unknown - Say goodbye to Brian, as Pepster, Sinckal and Bill head back to Silas' home.

Sunday, February 22

4:05 a.m. - Sinickal is out of bed to ride with Allison and Bill to the airport. Allison rolls over and is clearly not going to the airport.

4:20 - Bill and Sinickal leave for DCA. Sinickal and Allison's dog Dobber loudly expresses his disapproval of the noise on the lower level of the house. Pepster is unaware that any of this is going on.

6:00 - Bill's flight to PBI takes off.  OMG it's early.

8:08 - Kev-O at the train station in NYC to complete his weekend trip.  Mentally ill person screaming, "Tiger up your butt; prostitutes cost $100!"

8:10 - Puck drop for the Men's Olympic gold medal hockey game!

8:51 - Kev-O remarks on the Naloxone ads at Newark Penn Station.

9:05 - Brian wants to know what the Over/Under was on the mentions of the Miracle on Ice game during the gold medal match.  Notes they are at 9 already midway through the second period.

9:12 - Wayne Gretzky is shown on the television as being in the audience with the announcer stating "The Greatest Canadian of All-Time."

9:12:11 - Pete textually exclaims, "That's John Candy you dumbass!"

10:34 - Heading to OVERTIME!  FREE HOCKEY!

10:55 - JACK HUGHES!!!

11:40 - Sinickal, Pepster, and Allison enter Bar Chinois for bottomless brunch.

11:47 - Brian joins.

11:49 - Brad, Pepster's law school roommate, joins.

GREAT BRUNCH!  HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

13:59 p.m. - Enter Irish Times. Chosen because it is a really convenient to drive Pepster to the airport and it is super nostalgic for Pepster and Brad.

16:06 - Pepster through security at DCA.

16:11 - Pepster at cafe near his gate, they sell Cafe Cubano!!!  Feels compelled to buy one!

20:20 - Pepster arrives at home.

All - Already contemplating next year's trip.  The Palestra has to be included in Philly instead of the Xfinity Center, as its proximity to downtown and the train station allows for less wasted time in travelling to the arena.  Unless the Brightline allows for some combination of UCF (Orlando), FAU (Boca Raton), and University of Miami (Coral Gables).  Stay tuned!