NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Round 1

NCAA TOURNAMENT POOL STANDINGS

Round 1 

First off, my apologies for no post yesterday.  I did do the scores, but then St. Patrick's Day happened.  I hope that everyone understands.  This update is complete through all of  round 1.  

We have 109 official entries in the pool.  The standings only contain 108, as I entrant has sent her entry via mail and I have not yet received it.  So long as it is postmarked correctly, she will be included in the first update after I can score her bracket.

We had 6 unanimous picks in the first round, and all advanced:  Villanova, North Caronlina, Gonzaga, Arizona, Kentucky and Duke.  That is right, that means Kansas was not a unanimous selection.  Samantha Sheehan selected UC Davis.  (To be fair, so did her mother, Traci Sheehan.)  We will give her a little credit for being risky, as she is only 15 months old.  This was an especially  gusty pick as only one 16 seed has ever defeated a 1 seed in NCAA Tournament History.  Who knows which team pulled of that feat?

We have fourteen different champions selected, and 13 survived the first round.  The unlucky selectors - Steven Usma 2 and Jessica Koch - of the University of Miami must be hating this tournament, but made the same mistake we all make every year, underestimating Michigan State and Coach Tom Izzo.  The champions from our group (remaining teams in bold:  Arizona, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Oregon, UCLA, Villanova, Wisconsin.  This list will remain the same throughout all of the updates, but I will remove the “bold” from teams as they lose.

I looked through last year's first round commentary, and interestingly enough nobody picked Middle Tennessee State to defeat Michigan State last year, but lots of entrants had them to defeat Minnesota this year.  Even though MTSU was a 12 seed, they were actually the betting favorite being favored by 2 in Vegas.  MTSU was one of four teams that earned bonus points for upsets in the first round, two each day:  Middle Tennessee State, Xavier, USC and Rhode Island.  Two entrants had all four upsets selected correctly, including Adam Jorgensen 2, who scored the maximum of 31 points on Thursday.  His Friday was good, but not enough to keep him in the lead as Jonathan Wasserman followed up a solid day Thursday (25 points) with 30 on Friday.  (Interestingly enough, Adam and Jonathan play on the same softball team.) [Ed. Note - Their team is not that good.] Given his perfect Thursday, Adam wins the "Picks of the Day(s)" Award.

I was all set to chastise Alex King for selecting Rhode Island, since I know he only picked them because his son attends the school, but enough of the entrants selected Rhode Island for this not to have been a fluke, so he gets a pass this time.

Other than Miami, the other worst loss was for Glen Merchant, as he had Vermont going to the FInal Four.He was close as  Vermont did in fact end up in the Final Sixty-Four.  

Some interesting games today, as Villanova-Wisconsin (which is on currently) involves two potential champions.  Middle Tennessee State seeks to make the Sweet Sixteen against Butler and Northwestern, in its first ever NCAA Tournament, looks to win its second round game to advance.  

As always, please review the standings and double check my math, as I may have missed something, missed an upset, or just simply miscalculated.  I try to be accurate, but sometimes I do mess up.  I will listen and change things as necessary.  If you point out a potential mistake, I will not take offense, but I will go re-score your entire bracket to make sure everything is accurate.

Please remember to pay, if you have not.  Payment instructions are on the rule sheet, or you can make other arrangements with me as necessary.

Good luck to everyone, and happy game watching.  Now, on to the standings.

1.  Jonathan Wasserman - 55

2.  Adam Jorgensen 2 - 53

3.  Greg Kummerlen - 48

4.  Jim Coleman - 47
     Carolyn Fowler - 47
     Colleen Hamilton - 47
     Alex King - 47
     Vic LaPira - 47
     Eric Sain - 47
     Christian Searcy - 47
     Measha Williams 5 - 47

12.  Measha Williams 3 - 46

13.  Katie Kollmeyer - 45
       David Peterson - 45

15.  Jennifer Armstrong - 44
       Jeff Plamondon - 44

17.  Silas Nichols - 43

18.  Thomas Bean 2 - 42
       George Walks 5 - 42
       Amy Zdrowak - 42
       Joshua and Katie Zdrowak - 42

22.  Steffan Alexander - 41
       Phil Doherty 1 - 41
       Matt Nieman - 41
      Kyle Sheehan - 41
      Pepe Sosa - 41
      Jason Spuhler - 41
      Katie Zdrowak - 41

29.  Phil Doherty - 40
      Adam Jorgenson 1 - 40
      Anthony LaPira - 40
      Rich Samuels 1 - 40
      Rich Samuels 2 - 40
      Steven Usma 2 - 40

35.  Dan Barsky - 39
       Allison Parker - 39
       Ashley Poer - 39
       Debbie Searcy - 39
       George Walks 2 - 39
      Hershey Zdrowak - 39

41.  Eric Inge - 38
       Day Yi 1 - 38

43.  Koma Gandy Fischbein - 37
      Steven Usma 1 - 37
      Measha Williams 2 - 37
      Measha Williams 4 - 37

47.  Kent Armstrong - 36
       Matt Hopps - 36
       Mac Kroesen - 36
      George Walks 4 - 36
       Kulwadee Yung - 36
      Joshua Zdrowak - 36

53.  Ty Leatherman 1 - 35

54.  Thomas Bean 2 - 34
       Thomas Bean 3 - 34
       Phil Doherty 4 - 34
       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 34
       Jessica Koch - 34
       Eddy P - 34
       Jane Reynolds - 34
       Keith Zdrowak - 34

62.  Martha Kroesen - 33
       Ty Leatherman 2 - 33
       Max Macon - 33
      Sasha Moon - 33
      Roxy Sheehan - 33
      Steven Usma 3 - 33
      Day Yi 2 - 33

69.  Abigail Sosa - 32
       Cheryl Spuhler - 32

71.  Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 31
        Jacey Fowler 1 - 31
       Arlene Amo Hopps - 31
       Jason Murray - 31

75.  Paul Cummings - 30
        Jamie Foreman - 30
       Jacey Fowler II - 30
       Justin Young - 30

79.  Thomas Bean 4 - 29
       Jessica Ervin-Hang - 29
      Glen Merchant (with Mango and Duncan) - 29
      George Walks 1 - 29
       Wes Wiggins - 29

84.  A.J. Rippin - 28
       Hannah Sosa - 28

86.  Brent Bellinger - 27
       Emily Lawson 3 - 27
       Samantha Sheehan - 27
       Measha Williams 1 - 27

90.  Brian Badger Spatchek - 26
       Chris Kroesen - 26
       Emily Lawson 2 - 26
       Max Macon 1 - 26
       Traci Sheehan - 26

95.  Emily Lawson 1 - 25
       John Wiederhold - 25

97.  Phil Doherty 3 - 24
       Colleen Hamilton 2 - 24
       Kingfish Parham - 24

100.  Alvaro Gonzalez - 23
         Albert Harper III - 23
         Barkley Sosa - 23
         Keith Zdrowak - 23

104.  Luke LaPira - 22
         Colonel Kareem Montague - 22
         George Walks 3 - 22

107.  Jeremy Spuhler - 21

108.  Philip Kroesen - 20