2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Elite 8/Day 1

Now yesterday is what we have been waiting for all tournament.  Two games to determine who goes to the Final Four.  Two games with absolutely incredible plays and incredible players.  Two games that went down to the wire; one in overtime.  Two games featuring number 1 seeds; one advances, one goes home.  What a phenomenal day of basketball.

The appetizer was Gonzaga and Texas Tech from Anaheim, California.  This game had it all.  Athleticism, big shots, and turnovers.  Boy were there a lot of turnovers.  And the stars showed up for both teams.  For Gonzaga, first team All-American Rui Hachimura scored 22, Brandon Clarke had 18, and point guard Josh Perkins hit four three pointers - most of them in big spots.  For Texas Tech, defense was the name of the game as they held Gonzaga - which averages 90 points a game - to just 69.  Jarett Culver led with 19 points and 3 steals, and Davide Moretti is the first Italian to hit big three pointers since Manu Ginobili.  Wait, you say Ginobili is Argentinian and not Italian?  Well, you get what I am saying.

The play of the game, and of the tournament through that point in time occurred when human pogo stick Tariq Owens of the Red Raiders skied to block a Rui Hachimora three pointer from the right corner, and on his second jump managed to grab the rebound out of the sky to keep it from going out of bounds and saving it to Braonde Francis, who was subsequently fouled by Hachimora.  Never mind that Owens had a full foot out of bounds after blocking the shot, thus making his save irrelevant, since he should have been ruled out of bounds.  The referees missed that one as everyone - and I mean everyone - was simply astounded at the athleticism on the play.  If you don't believe me, check out the play here.

Although this play by Tariq Owens was more important, it is by no means the most spectacular play by Texas Tech in NCAA Tournament play.  That play was made by Darwin Ham on March 17, 1996 in the second round against North Carolina.  You can see that play HERE.

Congratulations Texas Tech.  See you in Minneapolis.

This game was huge as Gonzaga was a common final four pick, and a good number of entrants had them winning the whole tournament.  None was more affected that Measha Williams of Houston, Texas, who has the Bulldogs as the champion in two separate brackets that are currently in the Top 10.

The second game was even more amazing.  Top seeded Virginia advances to the Final Four after securing an overtime victory over Purdue in Louisville.  After leading for the majority of the second half, Virginia gave up the lead as Purdue rode red-hot Carsen Edwards and his 42 points - including 10 three pointers.  Edwards set NCAA Tournament records for most 3 pointers in one tournament, most points in first 4 NCAA Tournament games and probably a ton more as well.  But, Virginia has the ball down 3 when Purdue fouls Ty Jerome with 5.9 seconds left.  This sends Jerome to the line to shoot 2 free throws.  Jerome hits the first, then misses the second.  Not being able to secure the rebound, Namadi Diakite taps the ball to the other end of the court knowing that his teammates would be the only ones there.  The ball is recovered by Kihei Clark, who takes one dribble and passes the ball about half the length of the court back to Diakite, who immediately releases a shot at the buzzer, that goes in to send the game to overtime, which Virginia controlled.  See Diakite's play, here.

Those that have Virginia in the Final Four - or further - can rest a bit easier as the Cavaliers advance.  See you in Minneapolis as well.

Alyssa Ave from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida suffered the worst from the Purdue loss as she had the Boilermakers as her champion.  Welcome to the pool Alyssa - hope you enjoyed it while it lasted!

Not everyone suffered the heartbreak that Measha Williams and Alyssa Ave did.  Doing particularly well yesterday were Marcus Jackson of Reston, Virginia, Ty Leatherman  of  Morehead City, North Carolina, Steven Usma #3 of Miami, Florida, Mac Kroesen of West Palm Beach, Florida, Brittany Sosa of Orlando, Florida and Max Macon 1 of Jupiter, Florida all had BOTH Virginia and Texas Tech advancing.  You all earn the "Pick of the Day".

Purdue's Carsen Edwards had a helluva tournament run, hitting 28 three-pointers, the most in a single tournament.  He broke the record of 27 set by Glen Rice in 1989.  Rice, who would ultimately be drafted 4th overall in the 1989 draft had enormous range.  In fact, when in town for a pre-draft workout he put on such a shooting display that the assistant coaches claimed his range on three pointers was "out of bounds".  Anyways, Rice started off the 1989 tournament strong, scoring 23 in a 92-87 first round victory over Xavier in Atlanta.  Rice continued his hot shooting by scoring 36 in Michigan's second round victory; defeating South Alabama 91-82.  Rice headed to Lexington for the regionals where he scored 34 in a 92-87 defeat of North Carolina, and then followed that with 32 in a 102-65 shellacking of Virginia.  In the national semi-finals in Seattle, Michigan defeated Illinois 83-81 behind Rice's 28, and won the national championship against Seton Hall after Rice scored 34.  Rice's 184 points are the most scored in a single NCAA tournament, and it should go without saying he was named Most Outstanding Player.

Glen Rice went on to play 15 years in the NBA, earning an All-Star nod 3 times, including the All-Star game MVP in 1997.  He was second team all-NBA in 1997 and third team all-NBA in 1998.  He won the NBA' three point contest in 1995 and more importantly, he won an NBA title in 2000 with the Lost Angeles Lakers.

Virginia survived, but we lost Gonaza and Purdue, leaving four possible champions remaining.  Our champions - with the 8 remaining champions in bold are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

We are guaranteed to lose one of our champions today as Duke plays Michigan State from Washington, D.C. in our late game.  In our early afternoon matchup we have a battle of the SEC as Auburn takes on the Kentucky Wildcats in Kansas City.

And for now - good luck in your brackets tonight.  Each of today's games are worth 8 points.

For those that view all of the standings and do not just look for your own name - WE HAVE A NEW LEADER.  Marcus Jackson of Reston, Virginia vaults into the lead.  Congratulations, for now.  Let's see what happens today. We also have a battle for last place, which is currently occupied by Cubbie Kroesen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, but 7 of our bottom 9 still have their respective champions alive.  Who knows what could happen.

Feel free to double check your scores.  Let me know if you see a discrepancy.  Otherwise, enjoy the start of the Sweet Sixteen.

1 - Marcus Jackson - 110 - Virginia/Duke

2 - Ty Leatherman - 109 - Duke/Virginia

3 - Measha Williams #3 - 108 - Gonzaga/Virginia

4 - Carolyn Fowler - 106 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
     Steven Usma #3 - 106 - Kentucky/Duke

6 - Mac Kroesen - 105 - North Carolina/Duke

7 - Justin Yung - 101 - Gonzaga/Virginia

8 - Melanie Scherr - 100 - North Carolina/Duke
     Measha Williams #2 - 100 - Gonzaga/Virginia

10 - Max Marion #2 - 99 - Duke/North Carolina

       Brittany Sosa #1 - 99 - Duke/North Carolina

12 - Matt Hopps - 98 - Duke/North Carolina

13 - Steven Usma #4 - 97 - Duke/Kentucky

14 - Max Macon #2 - 96 - Tennessee/Michigan State

15 - Chris Kroesen - 95 - North Carolina/Michigan State

16 - Bill Ganoe #1 - 94 - North Carolina/Duke

       Steven Usma #1 - 94 - Duke/North Carolina

       Measha WIlliams #1 - 94 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

19 - Colonel Kareem Montague - 93 - Virginia/Duke
       Ashley Poer #2 - 93 - Virginia/Michigan State

21 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 92 - Kentucky/Michigan State

       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 92 - Duke/North Carolina

23 - Philip Kroesen - 91 - North Carolina/Duke

       Max Macon #1 - 91 - Virginia/LSU
       Barkley Sosa - 91 - Kentucky/LSU

       Steven Usma #5 - 91 - Virginia/Gonzaga

27 - Katie Kollmeyer - 90 - Tennessee/Duke

28 - Dan Barsky #2 - 89 - Duke/North Carolina

       Amy Zdrowak - 89 - Duke/Virginia

30 - Coby Kroesen - 88 - North Carolina/Duke

31 - Max Macon #4 - 87 - Duke/Houston

       Sean McInerney - 87 - Duke/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #2 - 87 - Florida/North Carolina
       Annette Pritchard #2 - 87 - Duke/North Carolina

       Pepe Sosa - 87 - Kentucky/Michigan State

36 - Duncan Merchant - 86 - Duke/Houston

37 - Brian Hinaman - 85 - Duke/North Carolina

38 - Scott Bieterman - 84 - Duke/Kentucky
       Paul Cummings - 84 - North Carolina/Duke
       Adam Jorgensen - 84 - Michigan State/Virginia
       Dave Piasecki #1 - 84 - Florida/Kentucky

42 - Karen Katz - 83 - Gonzaga/Houston

       Michael Litsey - 83 - Michigan/Virginia

       Mango Merchant - 83 - Gonzaga/Virginia

       Silas Nichols - 83 - North Carolina/Michigan

       Allison Parker - 83 - Kentucky/Michigan

       Robert Tanen #2 - 83 - Gonzaga/Virginia

48 - Alvaro Gonzalez - 82 - Duke/Tennessee

       Max Marion - 82 - Duke/Virginia

       William Pujals - 82 - Duke/North Carolina

       George Walks #2 - 82 - North Carolina/Duke

52 - Alyssa Ave - 81 - Purdue/Michigan

       Matt Nieman - 81 - Virginia/Gonzaga

       Chad Phillips - 81 - Florida State/North Carolina

       Kyle Sheehan - 81 - Duke/Kentucky
       Wes Wiggins - 81 - Gonzaga/Virginia

57 - Jonathan Wasserman - 80 - North Carolina/Duke

58 - Dana Mandelbaum - 79 - North Carolina/Duke

       Brittany Sosa #2 - 79 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Krystal Travers - 79 - Kansas State/Florida State

       Harrington Wax III - 79 - North Carolina/Michigan State

62 - Dan Barsky #1 - 78 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Jacey Fowler #1 - 78 - Villanova/Texas Tech

       Ashley Poer #1 - 78 - Duke/Tennessee

       Rich Samuels #2 - 78- North Carolina/LSU
       Steven Usma #2 - 78 - Virginia/Michigan State

       Mike Zachary - 78 - Duke/North Carolina

68 - Glen Merchant - 77 - Duke/Houston
       John Santucci - 77 - Kansas/Michigan
       George Walks #4 - 77 - Duke/Virginia

71 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 76 - North Carolina/Florida State
       Hilary Kroesen 76 - Kentucky/Gonzaga

       Martha Kroesen - 76 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Jason Spuhler - 76 - Duke/North Carolina
       Jeremy Spuhler - 76 - Tennessee/LSU

76 - Arlene Amo Hopps - 75 - Villanova/Virginia Tech
       Max Macon #3 - 75 - Gonzaga/Kentucky
       Annette Pritchard - 75 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Cheryl Spuhler - 75 - Duke/Tennessee
       Joshua Zdrowak - 75 - North Carolina/Michigan

81 - Jenna Finkelstein - 74 - Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Eric Inge - 74 - Duke/North Carolina
       Samantha Sheehan - 74 - Duke/Tennessee

84 - Scott Hansel - 73 - Duke/Kentucky
       Anthony LaPira - 73 - Duke/Tennessee
       Chris Petit - 73 - North Carolina/Duke
       Jane Reynolds - 73 - Duke/Kentucky
       George Walks #3 - 73 - Florida State/Kentucky
       Biscuit Zdrowak - 73 - Virginia/Michigan State

90 - Sasha Moon - 72 - Duke/Tennessee
       Traci Sheehan - 72 - Michigan State/Tennessee
       Michael Spicer - 72 - North Carolina/Buffalo
       George Walks #5 - 72 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

94 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 71 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       James Garvin - 71 - Duke/Virginia
       Jeff Pamondon - 71 - Duke/Tennessee
       Rich Samuels #1 - 71 - Duke/Kentucky
       Meredith Tanen - 71 - Gonzaga/Virginia

99 - Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 70- North Carolina/Duke

100 - Hannah Sosa - 69 - Virginia/Duke

101 - Rachel Bornn - 68 - Duke/Kentucky
         Edy Pecan - 68 - Syracuse/Kentucky

103 - Robert Hosmer - 67 - Duke/Virginia
         Skip LaForte - 67 - Michigan State/North Carolina

105 - Jordyn Sheehan - 66 - Duke/Tennessee

         Robert Tanen #1 - 66 - Florida State/North Carolina

107 - Luis Briones - 65 - Duke/Villanova

         Jean Calixte - 65 - Duke/North Carolina
         Kingfish Rod Parham - 65 - Duke/Tennessee

        George Walks #1 - 65 - Kansas/Duke

111 - Griffey Parker - 64 - Houston/Duke

         Abigail Sosa - 64 - Tennessee/Duke

113- Tara Elliott - 63 - North Carolina/Duke

114 - David Olson - 62 - North Carolina/Duke

115 - Liz Carew - 61 - Kentucky/Duke

        Hilary Kroesen #2 - 61 - Kansas/Marquette

         Ira Schulteis - 61 - Duke/North Carolina

118 - Jessica Samuels - 60 - Virginia/Gonzaga

119 - Jennifer Armstrong - 59 - Duke/Wisconsin

120 - Kline Kroesen - 58 - North Carolina/Michigan

121 - Katie Zdrowak - 56 - Duke/Tennessee

122 - Keith Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/North Carolina

123 - Cubbie Kroesen - 47 - Kentucky/Marquette

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Sweet Sixteen/Day 2

And we have our first number 1 seed knocked out of the tournament as Auburn is still hitting three pointers against North Carolina.  Auburn has been absolutely red hot as they ran through the SEC tournament before winning their first three games in the NCAA.  North Carolina definitely missed the usual contributions from Nassir Little, who only played 13 minutes after being stricken with the flu.  This was the last collegiate game for Luke Maye, who has left his impression in NCAA Tourney lore with his last second shot to beat Kentucky in what seems like 1967 in the Elite 8, sending North Carolina to the Final Four, which they would win.  It should be noted that it was nice that Luke Maye stayed at UNC long enough for his grandson to see him play.  (Ok - the shot was in 2017).

Auburn likely lost starting power forward Chuma Okeke, however, with a torn ACL suffered late in the game.  That will affect their chances of earning a place in the Final Four.

North Carolina was a champion in our pool, and in the finals and final four in a lot of brackets that did not have them winning it all.  Auburn's run has wrecked a bunch of pools, but not those of Dave Piasecki #1 of Gainesville, Florida, Barkley Sosa of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Hilary Kroesen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, Arlene Amo Hopps, of Quincy, Massachusetts, Michael Litsey of Los Angeles, California and Samantha Sheehan of Jupiter, Florida, all of whom selected Auburn at least into the Elite 8.  But, none of them had Auburn, Michigan State, Duke and Kentucky yesterday like the joint bracket for Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds of Greenacres, Florida.  They win the "Pick of the Day".

In the second game in Kansas City, the Houston Cougars brought 33 wins into the Sweet Sixteen, but could not make it 34 as Kentucky defeated Houston 62-58.  Houston was a champion in our pool, and a couple of other entrants had them either in the Final 4 or in the finals itself.  The Wildcats took the lead for good on an aptly named  Tyler Herro 3 pointer with 25 seconds remaining.

In the Washington, D.C. regional, Michigan State pulled ahead from LSU to win 80-63 as four players scored in double figures for the Spartans.  In the late game the Duke Blue Devils seem to be playing a "How many games are we going to let our opponents have a tip-in at the basket to tie/win as Virginia Tech's Ahmed Hill missed a tip-in off a missed Ty Outlaw 3 pointer with 4 seconds left that would have tied the game and sent it to overtime.  Duke's Cam Reddish missed the game with an injury, and will be a "game time decision" for tomorrow's game against Michigan State.

Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State survived, but we lost the aforementioned champions, leaving us with 6 remaining.  Our champions - with the 8 remaining champions in bold are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

We are guaranteed to lose one of our champions today as Virginia plays Purdue in Louisville.  Gonzaga plays Texas Tech in the first game from Anaheim.  If watching the games tonight, pay attention to the rims in the KFC Yum Center during the Virginia/Purdue game.  I don't know what it is, but they make an inordinate amount of noise, or at least they did on Thursday night.  I sure hope that they get that fixed before tonight's game.

OK, I admit that I phoned in the history lesson yesterday, but nothing from Thursday's games stood out to me.  With traditional blue bloods Duke, Michigan State and Kentucky advancing, that leaves Auburn for today's tournament history lesson.  Since Auburn's best - and most well known - player is Charles Barkley, I could write about him, but most people know about Barkley (namesake of pool entrant Barkley Sosa in fact).  What you may not know is that this is only Auburn' second appearance in the Elite 8.  So for our trip down memory lane, I give you the 1986 Auburn Tigers, War Eagle, Plainsmen.  A school so good it has 3 nicknames.

Auburn, behind senior sharpshooter Chuck Conners Person (of course a sharpshooter, or Rifleman if you will, is named Chuck Conners), and sophomore Chris Morris finished second in the SEC behind Kentucky.  Person would go on to a prolific 12 year NBA career, notably with the Indiana Pacers were he won Rookie of the Year in 1987.  Despite such a strong season, Auburn lost its opening game in the SEC Tournament to Mississippi State 65-63, and were penalized by earning a 8 seed and being shipped out west.  (This was before the NCAA assigned games via the "pod system" as they do now - which I can explain if anyone wants to know how this works now.

Auburn beat the 9th seeded Arizona Wildcats 73-63 in Long Beach, California, giving them a matchup with the top seeded St. John's Redmen (their mascot then, not now).  St. John's was paced by future NBA Star Mark Jackson, along with Walter Berry, Willie Glass and Matt Brust, but even with that collegiate star-power, St. John's was no match for Auburn which defeated St. John's 81-65 behind Chuck Person's 27 points.  Auburn advanced to the regionals in Houston, Texas, where they first matched up with the 4th seeded UNLV Running Rebels.  who were loaded with talent.  UNLV was led by future number 2 overall pick Armen Gilliam, Jarvis Basnight, Freddie Banks and Gary Graham.  As an aside, Gary Graham played on perhaps the greatest high school basketball team of all-time, the 1981-1982 Baltimore Dunbar High School team consisting of Tyrone "Mugsy" Bogues (Wake Forest/NBA), Reggie Lewis (Northeastern/NBA, Reggie Williams (Georgetown/NBA) and David Wingate (Georgetown/NBA), along with Graham.  Tim Dawson, Keith James and Mike Brown also played collegiately at Miami, UNLV and Syracuse.  This team was so loaded that Reggie Lewis - who became a 2-time conference player of the year at Northeastern, a first round NBA pick of the Celtics, an NBA All-Star and captain of the Celtics - could not even break into the starting lineup.  If you would like to know more about this team, please go read The Boys of Dunbar by Alejandro Danois - it is AMAZING.

But, I digress.  So Auburn handled UNLV 70-63 behind Person's 25 points and 11 rebounds, along with 10 assists for point guard Gerald White.  Armen Gilliam scored 21 and Freddie Banks added 20 for the Runnin' Rebels, but it was not enough as the Tigers advanced to the Elite 8 to face Louisville.

Louisville defeated Auburn 84-76 despite a game-high 23 points from Chuck Person, as all 5 Louisville starters scored in double digits.  Louisville - led by senior do everything point guard Milt Wagner, senior big man Billy Thompson, and freshman phenom and future #1 overall NBA pick "Never Nervous" Pervis Ellison, would go to Dallas and defeat 11 seed LSU and 1 seed Duke to win the national championship.

Auburn has not returned to the Elite 8 until now.

And for now - good luck in your brackets tonight.  Each of tonight's games are worth 8 points.

One note - I apologize to Tara Elliott of Asheville, North Carolina, as I thought her name was Tara Telliott (at least that is what it looked like to me on your bracket).  That has been corrected.

Feel free to double check your scores.  Let me know if you see a discrepancy.  Otherwise, enjoy the start of the Sweet Sixteen.

1 - Measha Williams #3 - 100 - Gonzaga/Virginia

2 - Matt Hopps - 98 - Duke/North Carolina
     Carolyn Fowler - 98 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

4 - Max Macon #2 - 96 - Tennessee/Michigan State

5 - Marcus Jackson - 94 - Virginia/Duke

6 - Ty Leatherman - 93 - Duke/Virginia
      Justin Yung - 93 - Gonzaga/Virginia

8 - Melanie Scherr - 92 - North Carolina/Duke
     Measha Williams #2 - 92 - Gonzaga/Virginia

10 - Max Marion #2 - 91 - Duke/North Carolina

11 - Katie Kollmeyer - 90 - Tennessee/Duke
       Steven Usma #3 - 90 - Kentucky/Duke

13 - Mac Kroesen - 89 - North Carolina/Duke
       Steven Usma #4 - 89 - Duke/Kentucky

15 - Chris Kroesen - 87 - North Carolina/Michigan State
       Max Macon #4 - 87 - Duke/Houston

17 - Bill Ganoe #1 - 86 - North Carolina/Duke
       Steven Usma #1 - 86 - Duke/North Carolina
       Measha WIlliams #1 - 86 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

20 - Brian Hinaman - 85 - Duke/North Carolina
       Colonel Kareem Montague - 85 - Virginia/Duke
       Ashley Poer #2 - 85 - Virginia/Michigan State

23 - Scott Bieterman - 84 - Duke/Kentucky
       Paul Cummings - 84 - North Carolina/Duke
       Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 84 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 84 - Duke/North Carolina
       Dave Piasecki #1 - 84 - Florida/Kentucky

28 - Karen Katz - 83 - Gonzaga/Houston

       Philip Kroesen - 83 - North Carolina/Duke
       Silas Nichols - 83 - North Carolina/Michigan
       Barkley Sosa - 83 - Kentucky/LSU

      Brittany Sosa #1 - 83 - Duke/North Carolina

      Steven Usma #5 - 83 - Virginia/Gonzaga

34 - Alvaro Gonzalez - 82 - Duke/Tennessee

       George Walks #2 - 82 - North Carolina/Duke

       William Pujals - 82 - Duke/North Carolina

37 - Alyssa Ave - 81 - Purdue/Michigan

       Dan Barsky #2 - 81 - Duke/North Carolina
       Chad Phillips - 81 - Florida State/North Carolina

       Kyle Sheehan - 81 - Duke/Kentucky
       Amy Zdrowak - 81 - Duke/Virginia

42 - Coby Kroesen - 80 - North Carolina/Duke

       Jonathan Wasserman - 80 - North Carolina/Duke

44 - Sean McInerney - 79 - Duke/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #2 - 79 - Florida/North Carolina
       Annette Pritchard #2 - 79 - Duke/North Carolina

       Pepe Sosa - 79 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Krystal Travers - 79 - Kansas State/Florida State
       Harrington Wax III - 79 - North Carolina/Michigan State

50 - Duncan Merchant - 78 - Duke/Houston

        Rich Samuels #2 - 78- North Carolina/LSU
        Mike Zachary - 78 - Duke/North Carolina

53 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 76 - North Carolina/Florida State
       Adam Jorgensen - 76 - Michigan State/Virginia

       Hilary Kroesen 76 - Kentucky/Gonzaga

       Martha Kroesen - 76 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Jason Spuhler - 76 - Duke/North Carolina
       Jeremy Spuhler - 76 - Tennessee/LSU

59 - Arlene Amo Hopps - 75 - Villanova/Virginia Tech
       Michael Litsey - 75 - Michigan/Virginia
       Max Macon #1 - 75 - Virginia/LSU
       Mango Merchant - 75 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Allison Parker - 75 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Annette Pritchard - 75 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Robert Tanen #2 - 75 - Gonzaga/Virginia

66 - Jenna Finkelstein - 74 - Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Eric Inge - 74 - Duke/North Carolina
       Max Marion - 74 - Duke/Virginia

69 - Scott Hansel - 73 - Duke/Kentucky
       Anthony LaPira - 73 - Duke/Tennessee
       Matt Nieman - 73 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Chris Petit - 73 - North Carolina/Duke
       Jane Reynolds - 73 - Duke/Kentucky
       George Walks #3 - 73 - Florida State/Kentucky
       Wes Wiggins - 73 - Gonzaga/Virginia

76 - Sasha Moon - 72 - Duke/Tennessee
       Traci Sheehan - 72 - Michigan State/Tennessee
       Michael Spicer - 72 - North Carolina/Buffalo
       George Walks #5 - 72 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

80 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 71 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Dana Mandelbaum - 71 - North Carolina/Duke
       Jeff Pamondon - 71 - Duke/Tennessee

       Brittany Sosa #2 - 71 - Gonzaga/Virginia

84 - Dan Barsky #1 - 70 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

      Jacey Fowler #1 - 70 - Villanova/Texas Tech

       Ashley Poer #1 - 70 - Duke/Tennessee
       Steven Usma #2 - 70 - Virginia/Michigan State
       Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 70 - North Carolina/Duke

89 - Glen Merchant - 69 - Duke/Houston
       John Santucci - 69 - Kansas/Michigan
       George Walks #4 - 69 - Duke/Virginia

92 - Rachel Bornn - 68 - Duke/Kentucky
       Edy Pecan - 68 - Syracuse/Kentucky

94 - Skip LaForte - 67 - Michigan State/North Carolina
       Max Macon #3 - 67 - Gonzaga/Kentucky

      Cheryl Spuhler - 67 - Duke/Tennessee

       Joshua Zdrowak - 67 - North Carolina/Michigan

98 - Jordyn Sheehan - 66 - Duke/Tennessee

        Samantha Sheehan - 66 - Duke/Tennessee

        Robert Tanen #1 - 66 - Florida State/North Carolina

101 - Jean Calixte - 65 - Duke/North Carolina

         Kingfish Rod Parham - 65 - Duke/Tennessee

         George Walks #1 - 65 - Kansas/Duke

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 65 - Virginia/Michigan State

105 - Abigail Sosa - 64 - Tennessee/Duke

106 - Tara Elliott - 63 - North Carolina/Duke

         James Garvin - 63 - Duke/Virginia

         Rich Samuels #1 - 65 - Duke/Kentucky

         Meredith Tanen - 63 - Gonzaga/Virginia

110 - David Olson - 62 - North Carolina/Duke

111 - Liz Carew - 61 - Kentucky/Duke

        Hilary Kroesen #2 - 61 - Kansas/Marquette

         Ira Schulteis - 61 - Duke/North Carolina

         Hannah Sosa - 61 - Virginia/Duke

115 - Jennifer Armstrong - 59 - Duke/Wisconsin
          Robert Hosmer - 59 - Duke/Virginia

117 - Kline Kroesen - 58 - North Carolina/Michigan

118 - Luis Briones - 57 - Duke/Villanova

119 - Griffey Parker - 56 - Houston/Duke
         Katie Zdrowak - 56 - Duke/Tennessee

121 - Jessica Samuels - 52 - Virginia/Gonzaga

122 - Keith Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/North Carolina

123 - Cubbie Kroesen - 47 - Kentucky/Marquette

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Sweet Sixteen/Day 1

To reference yesterday's post, my Marlins are now mathematically eliminated from the baseball playoffs this season, so I can turn all of my attention this weekend to our basketball pool.  To quote Matt Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts, "The Marlins are just short an arm".  God I hate him.  The good thing for me is that he fell from a tie for first place, so that is a start.  Our two NEW leaders are Max Macon 2 of Jupiter, Florida Measha Williams #3 of Houston, Texas.  Astute veterans of this pool may recognize Measha Williams # 3 as our third place finisher in the 2017 pool, the same year that Measha Williams #2 won the pool.  Welcome back to the top of the pool Measha.  For Max, however, yesterday was a bittersweet day as (1) Yes he did ascend into the lead; but (2) he lost his champion.  For that Max gets the "Hard Luck Bracket of the Day" Award, which I just made up.

Biscuit Zdrowak, of Orlando, Florida seems to be doing just fine after getting over the UCF loss to Duke, as he was one of a few brackets to go 4-0 yesterday.  With that stellar 16 point day, Biscuit dramatically rises to 100th place. The highest placed entrant with all four games correct yesterday was Max Marion #2, of Delray Beach, Florida.  With his 16 points, Max Marion - and yes we have multiple brackets from Max Macon and Max Marion, jumps up to 11th place.  Max MARION is our "Pick of the Day".

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Scott Bieterman of West Palm Beach, Florida.  Scott, who is an alumnus of Purdue University, was the highest ranking bracket to receive 0 points yesterday.  That is right folks, Scott picked Tennessee over his alma mater.  Now I do appreciate people who do not blindly select their own school to win even when they do not have a realistic, or even a possible, chance of winning - I am looking at you 2019 Florida fans - but Scott lost out on some important points and plummeted to 32nd place. For that he is awarded the "Worst Pick of the Day".

Now, plenty of others also received 0 points yesterday, and for those that fall into that category please note, this means that you will not receive any points after Saturday's games, either.

Three champions were defeated yesterday (we could have lost 4 maximum), so a bunch of brackets took a hit.  You can celebrate by seeing your champion unbolded from our list below.  Our champions - with the 8 remaining champions in bold - are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

We have five potential champions playing tonight, culminating in a battle of picked champions in Kansas City, Missouri as #2 seed Kentucky - with or without P.J. Washington we do not know - plays #3 seed Houston.  The precursor to that game in Kansas City is top seeded North Carolina playing red-hot Auburn.  North Carolina might be without heralded freshman Nassir Little, who might be the most athletic player on the Tar Heels team. He participated in the shootaround today, but even if he plays he is likely to be slowed by a flu-like illness,  In the Washington, D.C. regional the #3 seed LSU Tigers play the Big 10 Champion and #2 seed Michigan State Spartans, with the closing game being top seeded Duke against fellow ACC rival Virginia Tech.

Hopefully these games are more interesting than last nights, which although two were fairly close at times, the games themselves were not very competitive.  Florida State - Gonzaga led off with Gonzaga holding a 8-11 point lead most of the game.  Florida State had a late flurry to pull within 3, but Gonzaga held serve and pulled away for the victory.  Although the game was not generally close, the dunks, blocks and steals were absolutely amazing.  For that reason this game was worth it.

The second game - Purdue and Tennessee - should have been eventful as it went to overtime.  But, Purdue jumped out to an 18 point lead and Tennessee seemed lucky to bring the game back to even, and actually took the lead before Carsen Edwards hit 2 out of 3 free throws to force overtime, where Tennessee ran out of steam, and players as multiple starters/contributors fouled out.

I am not even going to justify the late games with words as Michigan and Oregon were destroyed by Texas Tech and North Carolina, respectively.

Since I wrote last year about Texas Tech, and have already written about Purdue and Oregon this year, we are going to take a walk down memory lane and visit history of Gonzaga basketball in the NCAA Tournament.  Those of you as old as I remember that Gonzaga wasn't always a top-4 seed that perennially made Sweet Sixteens and Elite 8s (this is their 5th consecutive Sweet Sixteen - tops in the NCAA).  Gonzaga started as the plucky, small school underdog.

Way back in 1999, after some previous close calls, the Bulldogs  led by Matt Santangelo and Richard Frahm earned a 10th seed in the west regional.  Gonzaga received a scheduling break, though, as the team from Spokane, Washington only had to travel to Seattle to play against the 7th seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers, who they defeated 75-63.  Up next were the 2 seed, the Stanford Cardinal, which Gonzaga beat 82-74.  A much closer 73-72 win over the 6th seeded Florida Gators in Phoenix put Gonzaga into the Elite 8, where they lost to the top seeded and eventual champion Connecticut.

Gonzaga returned to the NCAA Tournament the following year behind star player Casey Calvary, and again earned the 10 seed in the West.  This time, Gonzaga had to travel to Tucson, Arizona and entertain the 7th seeded Louisville, Cardinals, which they dispatched 77-66, and followed that game with a victory over the second seeded St. John's 82-76 to earn a second consecutive Sweet Sixteen birth.  The Bulldogs, however, lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Purdue 75-66.

In 2001, Gonzaga returned again to the NCAA tournament, and would not miss another tournament through 2019, but this time as a 12th seed in the South Region, meaning the tournament committee did not think Gonzaga was even as good as the past two years and Gonzaga had to travel.  And travel they did as they defeated Virginia 86-85 and Indiana State 85-68 to return to the Sweet Sixteen for a third straight year.  Unfortunately, despite returning star players Casey Calvary and Dan Dickau, Gonzaga fell to a Michigan State team led by Charlie Bell and Zach Randolph.

A 2002 tournament firs round loss to Wyoming as a 6 seed showed the Gonzaga was not yet ready for life as a higher seed.  The Bulldogs followed that up with a first round victory in 2003 over Cincinnati as a 9th seed, then a 2004 first round victory over Valparaiso as a 2 seed and a 2005 victory over Winthrop as a 3 seed.  These tournament wins were short-lived as Gonzaga fell in the second round in each of these tournaments.

2006 would prove to be more successful for Gonzaga.  The Bulldogs returned to the tournament as a 3 seed, and defeated Xavier and Indiana before falling to UCLA in the Sweet 16, but at this point, Gonzaga is no longer the plucky underdog.

Gonzaga advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2009, 2016 and 2018, and to the Elite 8 in 2015 and 2019 and to the Final Four, where they finished second, in 2017.

For all of the Belmonts, UC-Irvine's and Liberty's out there, look to Gonzaga as your road map.  Hire a great coach (first Dan Monson, the Mark Few - who has been at Gonzaga for 20 years - and hope those coaches can continually bring in good players.

Enough history for today and boy do I hope something better happens in tonight's games that trigger a better - and more interesting - history lesson.  Plus, the NCAA Hockey Tournament is on with Harvard playing the #1 seed UMass Minutemen.  GO CRIMSON!!!

Feel free to check your scores.  Let me know if you see a discrepancy.  Otherwise, enjoy the start of the Sweet Sixteen.

1 - Max Macon #2 - 88 - Tennessee/Michigan State
     Measha Williams #3 - 88 - Gonzaga/Virginia

3 - Carolyn Fowler - 86 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

      Matt Hopps - 86 - Duke/North Carolina

      Marcus Jackson - 86 - Virginia/Duke

6 - Justin Yung - 85 - Gonzaga/Virginia

7 - Measha Williams #2 - 84 - Gonzaga/Virginia

8 - Max Macon #4 - 83 - Duke/Houston

9 - Ty Leatherman - 81 - Duke/Virginia

10 - Melanie Scherr - 90 - North Carolina/Duke

11 - Karen Katz - 79 - Gonzaga/Houston
       Max Marion #2 - 79 - Duke/North Carolina

13 - Katie Kollmeyer - 78 - Tennessee/Duke
       Steven Usma #3 - 78 - Kentucky/Duke
       Measha Williams #1 - 78 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

16 - Brian Hinaman - 77 - Duke/North Carolina

       Mac Kroesen - 77 - North Carolina/Duke

       Ashley Poer #2 - 77 - Virginia/Michigan State

       Steven Usma #4 - 77 - Duke/Kentucky

20 - Paul Cummings - 76 - North Carolina/Duke
       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 76 - Duke/North Carolina

22 - Chris Kroesen - 75 - North Carolina/Michigan State

        Silas Nichols - 75 - North Carolina/Michigan

        Brittany Sosa #1 - 75 - Duke/North Carolina

        Steven Usma #5 - 75 - Virginia/Gonzaga

26 - Bill Ganoe #1 - 74 - North Carolina/Duke

       Duncan Merchant - 74 - Duke/Houston

       Steven Usma #1 - 74 - Duke/North Carolina

       George Walks #2 - 74 - North Carolina/Duke

30 - Alyssa Ave - 73 - Purdue/Michigan

       Kareem Montague - 73 - Virginia/Duke

32 - Scott Bieterman - 72 - Duke/Kentucky

       Coby Kroesen - 72 - North Carolina/Duke

       Martha Kroesen - 72 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #1 -72 - Florida/Kentucky

36 - Philip Kroesen - 71 - North Carolina/Duke

       Max Macon #1 - 71 - Virginia/LSU
       Barkley Sosa - 71 - Kentucky/LSU
       Krystal Travers - 71 - Kansas State/Florida State
       Harrington Wax III - 71 - North Carolina/Michigan State

41 - Alvaro Gonzalez - 70 - Duke/Tennessee
       William Pujals - 70 - Duke/North Carolina
        Rich Samuels #2 - North Carolina/LSU
       Mike Zachary - 70 - Duke/North Carolina

45 - Dan Barsky #2 - 69 - Duke/North Carolina
       Anthony LaPira - 69 - Duke/Tennessee
       Mango Merchant - 69 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Chad Phillips - 69 - Florida State/North Carolina
       Kyle Sheehan - 69 - Duke/Kentucky
       Amy Zdrowak - 69 - Duke/Virginia

51 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 68 - Kentucky/Michigan State

       Jacey Fowler #2 - 68 - North Carolina/Florida State
       Michael Spicer - 68 - North Carolina/Buffalo

       Jeremy Spuhler - 68 - Tennessee/LSU

       George Walks #5 - 68 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Jonathan Wasserman - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

57 - Dana Mandelbaum - 67 - North Carolina/Duke

       Sean McInerney - 67 - Duke/North Carolina

       Allison Parker - 67 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 67 - Florida/North Carolina
       Annette Pritchard #2 - 67 - Duke.North Carolina
       Brittany Sosa #2 - 67 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Pepe Sosa - 67 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Robert Tanen #2 - 67 - Gonzaga/Virginia

65 - Jenna Finkelstein - 66 - Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Max Marion - 66 - Duke/Virginia
       Steven Usma #2 - 66 - Virginia/Michigan State

68 - Glen Merchant - 65 - Duke/Houston
       Chris Petit - 65 - North Carolina/Duke
       George Walks #3 - 65 - Florida State/Kentucky
       George Walks #4 - 65 - Duke/Virginia

72 - Adam Jorgensen - 64 - Michigan State/Virginia

       Hilary Kroesen 64 - Kentucky/Gonzaga

       Sasha Moon - 64 - Duke/Tennessee
       Traci Sheehan - 64 - Michigan State/Tennessee

        Jason Spuhler - 64 - Duke/North Carolina

77 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 63 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Arlene Amo Hopps - 63 - Villanova/Virginia Tech

       Michael Litsey - 63 - Michigan/Virginia

       Annette Pritchard - 63 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

81 - Eric Inge - 62 - Duke/North Carolina
       Ashley Poer #1 - 62 - Duke/Tennessee
      Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 62 - North Carolina/Duke

84 - Jean Calixte - 61 - Duke/North Carolina

       Scott Hansel - 61 - Duke/Kentucky

       Matt Nieman - 61 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Jane Reynolds - 61 - Duke/Kentucky

       John Santucci - 61 - Kansas/Michigan

       Wes Wiggins - 61 - Gonzaga/Virginia

90 - Rachel Bornn - 60 - Duke/Kentucky
       Edy Pecan - 60 - Syracuse/Kentucky

92 - Skip LaForte - 59 - Michigan State/North Carolina
       Jeff Pamondon - 59 - Duke/Tennessee
       Meredith Tanen - 59 - Gonzaga/Virginia

95 - Dan Barsky #1 - 58 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Jacey Fowler #1 - 58 - Villanova/Texas Tech

       Kline Kroesen - 58 - North Carolina/Michigan
       Jordyn Sheehan - 58 - Duke/Tennessee
       Robert Tanen #1 - 58 - Florida State/North Carolina

100 - Kingfish Rod Parham - 57 - Duke/Tennessee
         Ira Schulteis - 57 - Duke/North Carolina

         George Walks #1 - 57 - Kansas/Duke

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 57 - Virginia/Michigan State

104 - Tara Elliott - 55 - North Carolina/Duke
         James Garvin - 55 - Duke/Virginia

         Robert Hosmer - 55 - Duke/Virginia

         Hilary Kroesen #2 - 55 - Kansas/Marquette

         Max Macon #3 - 55 - Gonzaga/Kentucky

         Rich Samuels #1 - 55 - Duke/Kentucky

         Cheryl Spuhler - 55 - Duke/Tennessee

         Joshua Zdrowak - 55 - North Carolina/Michigan

112 - David Olson - 54 - North Carolina/Duke

         Samantha Sheehan - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

114 - Liz Carew - 53 - Kentucky/Duke
         Hannah Sosa - 53 - Virginia/Duke

116 - Griffey Parker - 52 - Houston/Duke
         Abigail Sosa - 52 - Tennessee/Duke

118 - Luis Briones - 49 - Duke/Villanova

119 - Jessica Samuels - 48 - Virginia/Gonzaga

         Katie Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/Tennessee

121 - Jennifer Armstrong - 47 - Duke/Wisconsin

122 - Keith Zdrowak - 40 - Duke/North Carolina

123 - Cubbie Kroesen - 39 - Kentucky/Marquette

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Results - Round 2 Day 2

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children and dogs of all ages, my apologies for the delay in posting the standings.  Contrary to popular belief, I do maintain a regular job that requires my attention from time-to-time.  I do appreciate the 8 or 9 of you that contacted me to make sure that I am OK given that these standings were not posted on Monday or Tuesday.  I even appreciate the curse words I received from a couple of you.  (I kid).  (Now, was I kidding about receiving the curse words or about appreciating it, hmmm?)  I especially apologize to Melanie Scherr of Jupiter, Florida, who I think joined the pool this year simply for the write-ups.

So, on this baseball opening day - about which I am extremely pissed.  Random aside, baseball is supposed to start the Monday of the NCAA Tournament finals (or at least one game the Sunday night before).  That way me and the crew can wear our baseball t-shirt/hats and/or jackets as applicable to support opening day baseball.  Silas Nichols of Washington, D.C. and I sat next to a dad/son at the 2006 Final Four in Indianapolis in which the dad took his son to the afternoon baseball game in Cincinnati on Monday afternoon, and then they drove to Indianapolis for the NCAA final between Florida and UCLA (the Joakim Noah is ugly game).  For those that do not know that story at the conclusion of the game Joakim Noah was noticed on camera jawing at a UCLA cheerleader.  When later asked what he was talking about he said that he was bragging to her about winning the championship since she had been calling him "ugly" all game.  Now, Silas Nichols and I may have  run into the UCLA cheerleaders the previous day at the TGI Friday's outside the NCAA Hall of Fame, which doubled as the UCLA host bar for the weekend.  When asked if we were cheering for UCLA or Florida, one of us might have said something along the lines of, "How can we cheer for a team that has a player as ugly as Joakim Noah".  You're welcome America.  Anyway, this calendar is screwy for having the NCAA Finals on the 8th, and baseball starting March 28 (excluding the Japan games, of course).  Damn Global Warming.

Well, I digress. Despite the calendar starting to turn to baseball - at least to the extent anyone cares about baseball anymore - we turn back to Sunday's basketball games, and tonight's Sweet Sixteen.  Sunday's results were uneventful, in that every single higher seed was victorious.  In fact, 15 of the top 16 seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.  The only exception was Kansas State, that lost to UC-Irvine way back in the first round.  UC-Irvine, the 13th seed, lost to much higher seeded Oregon (12th) last round so no bonuses were awarded.  We do have a couple of entries that have Oregon advancing, and moving forward, Oregon is the only team that could possible earn bonus points.  For those of you with Oregon in the Elite 8 - good luck.

Speaking of Oregon, a number of entries had Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen, which led to way more entries than you would think having a perfect 8-for-8 Sunday.  Even more had 7 of 8.  Basically, if you had 6 or less winners from Sunday's games, you lost ground.  Because of the sheer volume of that, I am not awarding any of those brackets the "Pick of the Day".  The Pick of the Day is awarded to Biscuit Zdrowak of Orlando, Florida who had the University of Central Florida Knights defeating the Duke Blue Devils, which even though that upset did not occur, OH MY GOD!!!

Had UCF had one of about 5 plays go their way, literally just one, they win that game.  The Kinght's Aubrey Dawkins (son of coach and Duke star Johnny Dawkins), despite being way behind the entire Duke defense on a fast break, mishandled a wide-open alley-oop that went for naught and turned into a turnover  (that's one).  On the penultimate series with Duke down 3, Duke's Zion Williamson pushes off the defender with the left-hand as he entered the top of the key, which gave him a lane to the basket.  Zion, who is simply a force of nature, sought contact with the 7-6 behemoth from Senegal Tacko Fall, who not only fouled out on the play but allowed Williamson to get a clean look at the basket for a field goal.  If either the offensive foul is called or Fall let's Williamson score, UCF is up 3 or 1 after that possession (that's two).  Williamson missed the potential game-tying free throw, but Duke freshman R.J. Barrett pushed the defender under the basket so that he was able to rebound the miss and lay it in for a Duke 1 point lead (that's three).  UCF however, wasn't done, and had 8.1 seconds remaining.  In going for the win and to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, Knight guard B.J. Taylor dribbles around Duke defensive stopper Trae Jones, gets to the rim and is able to put up a bank shot that was a bit too hard (that's four).  Incidentally, UCF apologists have clamored for a foul on this drive, but this contact was mostly initiated by Taylor, and was minimal compared to the rest of the game so I feel the no-call here was correct.  The aforementioned Dawkins, seeing that Taylor's shot is going to come of the rim, skies around Williamson for the rebound and tips the ball back of the backboard much softer than Taylor, but his tip hits the backboard, hits the rim and falls harmlessly (for the overall number 1 seed) or heartbreakingly (for the 9th seeded Knights) to R.J. Barrett to end the game.  Wow.  Interestingly, a statistician company played 10,000 versions of each game in the tournament and had UCF defeating Duke over 61% of the time.  Too bad the mathematicians calculated this one wrong otherwise our brackets would have become REALLY interesting.

The one good thing about this outcome is the sentiment that due to the referee's no-calls, if Duke wins the championship UCF will hang a championship banner in their gym.

The Tennessee-Iowa game deserves mention only because Tennessee jumped out to a casual 25 point lead, then Iowa came back to ultimately send the game to overtime.  The Hawkeyes were spent by that pint, and the Volunteers ultimately won by 6.  Otherwise, the games were mostly boring.

This made it difficult for me to try to find an applicable tournament history lesson.  But, while reviewing the brackets one thing sticks out - the 12th seeded Oregon Ducks.  Then it dawned on me.  I don't believe anyone in this pool was alive when Oregon won its only basketball national championship.

Amelia Earhart was officially declared dead; Spanish Nationalist troops take Barcelona; Pope Pius XI dies of a heart attack succeeded by Pope Pius XII as the 260th Pope; German troops occupied Bohemia and Moravia, effectively eliminating Czechoslovakia as a country; England and South Africa commenced the longest game of cricket ever played, which only concluded after 12 days because the English team had to catch the last ferry home; and the University of Oregon defeated The Ohio State University 46-33 in Evanston, Illinois to capture the first championship in NCAA Tournament history.  Welcome to the first quarter of 1939.

Oregon, with a 26-5 record bested Texas 56-41 in the first round and Oklahoma 55-37 in the Final Four before winning the championship by beating Ohio State (there were only 8 teams in the tournament).  The Ducks held a definitive height advantage over most teams, and also had a serious experience advantage as all 5 of their starters returned from the previous season.  In the championship game, Oregon received a game high 15 points from John H. Dick (who went on to become a Rear Admiral in the Navy), while three other starters, 6'8" Urgel "Slim" Wintermute, Basketball Hall of Famer Lauren "Laddie" Gale (himself 6'4"), and Bobby Anet were named to various All-American teams.  During the final game, Anet broke the championship trophy while diving for a loose ball during the game and knocking it over - breaking.  Ohio State's Jimmy Hull was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after scoring a tournament-high 58 points in his 3 games.

It should be noted that as big a money-making venture as the NCAA Tournament is now, the 1939 tournament lost $2,531.

Dick, joined the United States Navy as an aviator in 1942 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and remained int he Navy until 1973.  He rose to the rank of Rear Admiral after captaining the USS Saratoga supercarrier from 1967-1969.  This has nothing to do with basketball, but I found it interesting.

Since all of the higher seeds won, for the first full day in the tournament, we did not lose a champion from our pool.  This means we still have 11 different teams that have been selected by at least one entrant to be NCAA Champion.  That number is going to change tonight as we will lose at least two champions given that Gonzaga and Florida State meet as does Tennessee and Purdue.  Our champions - with the 11 remaining champions in bold - are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

As for tonight, we have a Sweet Sixteen rematch between Gonzaga and Florida State kicking things off with the 1 seeded Bulldogs looking for revenge, , and fellow 1 seed Virginia playing late in the evening.  Purdue-Tennessee and Texas Tech-Michigan also are on the agenda.  Plenty of selections on both sides of each of these games, so a lot of jostling could occur in the standings.  In golf parlance this is Saturday, "Moving Day".  Hoping not to move too much are our co-leaders, Carolyn Fowler of Greenacres, Florida, and Matt Hopps of Quincy, Massachussetts.

Feel free to check your scores.  Let me know if you see a discrepancy.  Otherwise, enjoy the start of the Sweet Sixteen.

1 - Carolyn Fowler - 78 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

      Matt Hopps - 78 - Duke/North Carolina

3 - Max Macon #2 - 76 - Tennessee/Michigan State
     Measha Williams #2 - 76 - Gonzaga/Virginia

     Measha Williams #3 - 76 - Gonzaga/Virginia

6 - Max Macon #4 - 75 - Duke/Houston

7 - Marcus Jackson - 74 - Virginia/Duke
      Katie Kollmeyer - 74 - Tennessee/Duke

9 - Ashley Poer #2 - 73 - Virginia/Michigan State
      Justin Yung - 73 - Gonzaga/Virginia

11 - Scott Bieterman - 72 - Duke/Kentucky

12 - Silas Nichols - 71 - North Carolina/Michigan

       Krystal Travers - 71 - Kansas State/Florida State

14 - Duncan Merchant - 70 - Duke/Houston
       George Walks #2 - North Carolina/Duke

16 - Brian Hinaman - 69 - Duke/North Carolina
       Mac Kroesen - 69 - North Carolina/Duke
       Ty Leatherman - 69 - Duke/Virginia
       Chad Phillips - 69 - Florida State/North Carolina

20 - Paul Cummings - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 68 Duke/North Carolina

       Martha Kroesen - 68 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #1 -68 - Florida/Kentucky
       Melanie Scherr - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

       Michael Spicer - 68 - North Carolina/Buffalo

       Jonathan Wasserman - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

27 - Karen Katz - 67 - Gonzaga/Houston
        Philip Kroesen - 67 - North Carolina/Duke

29 - William Pujals - 66 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #3 - 66 - Kentucky/Duke

31 - Alyssa Ave - 65 - Purdue/Michigan
       Anthony LaPira - 65 - Duke/Tennessee

       Kareem Montague - 65 - Virginia/Duke

       Kyle Sheehan - 65 - Duke/Kentucky

       Steven Usma #4 - 65 - Duke/Kentucky

       George Walks #3 - 65 - Florida State/Kentucky

37 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 64 - North Carolina/Florida State

       Coby Kroesen - 64 - North Carolina/Duke

39 - Chris Kroesen - 63 - North Carolina/Michigan State

       Max Macon #1 - 63 - Virginia/LSU

       Max Marion #2 - 63 - Duke/North Carolina

       Barkley Sosa - 63 - Kentucky/LSU
       Brittany Sosa - 63 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #5 - 63 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Harrington Wax III - 63 - North Carolina/Michigan State

46 - Bill Ganoe #1 - 62 - North Carolina/Duke
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 62 - Duke/Tennessee

       Max Marion - 62 - Duke/Virginia

       Rich Samuels #2 - 62 - North Carolina/LSU
       Steven Usma #1 - 62 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #2 - 62 - Virginia/Michigan State

       Measha Williams #1 - 62 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Mike Zachary - 62 - Duke/North Carolina

54 - Dan Barsky #2 - 61 - Duke/North Carolina
       Mango Merchant - 61 - Gonzaga/Virginia

56 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 60 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Adam Jorgensen - 60 - Michigan State/Virginia

       Edy Pecan - 60 - Syracuse/Kentucky

       Jeremy Spuhler - 60 - Tennessee/LSU
       George Walks #5 - 60 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

61 - Sean McInerney - 59 - Duke/North Carolina

       Allison Parker - 59 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 59 - Florida/North Carolina

       Brittany Sosa - 59 - Gonzaga/Virginia

       Pepe Sosa - 59 - Kentucky/Michigan State

66 - Jenna Finkelstein - 58 -  Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Eric Inge - 58 - Duke/North Carolina

       Kline Kroesen - 58 - North Carolina/Michigan

69 - Glen Merchant - 57 - Duke/Houston

       Kingfish Rod Parham - 57 - Duke/Tennessee

       Jane Reynolds - 57 - Duke/Kentucky
       George Walks #1 - 57 - Kansas/Duke

       Amy Zdrowak - 57 - Duke/Virginia

74 - Hilary Kroesen 56 - Kentucky/Gonzaga
       Sasha Moon - 56 - Duke/Tennessee
       Traci Sheehan - 56 - Michigan State/Tennessee

        Jason Spuhler - 56 - Duke/North Carolina

78 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 55 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Arlene Amo Hopps - 55 - Villanova/Virginia Tech

       Skip LaForte - 55 - Michigan State/North Carolina

       Michael Litsey - 55 - Michigan/Virginia

       Dana Mandelbaum - 55 - North Carolina/Duke

       Annette Pritchard - 55 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Robert Tanen #2 - 55 - Gonzaga/Virginia

85 - Jacey Fowler #1 - 54 - Villanova/Texas Tech

       Ashley Poer #1 - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

       Jordyn Sheehan - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

       Robert Tanen #1 - 54 - Florida State/North Carolina
      Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 54 - North Carolina/Duke

90 - Jean Calixte - 53 - Duke/North Carolina

       Scott Hansel - 53 - Duke/Kentucky

       Matt Nieman - 53 - Virginia/Gonzaga

       Chris Petit - 53 - North Carolina/Duke

       John Santucci - 53 - Kansas/Michigan
       Ira Schulteis - 53 - Duke/North Carolina

       George Walks #4 - 53 - Duke/Virginia

97 - Rachel Bornn - 52 - Duke/Kentucky

98 - Robert Hosmer - 51 - Duke/Virginia

       Jeff Pamondon - 51 - Duke/Tennessee
        Annette Pritchard #2 - 51 - Duke/North Carolina
        Meredith Tanen - 51 - Gonzaga/Virginia

102 - Dan Barsky #1 - 50 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
          David Olson - 50 - North Carolina/Duke

104 - Hilary Kroesen #2 - 49 - Kansas/Marquette

         Wes Wiggins - 49 - Gonzaga/Virginia

106 - Katie Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/Tennessee

107 - James Garvin - 47 - Duke/Virginia

         Max Macon #3 - 47 - Gonzaga/Kentucky

         Rich Samuels #1 - 47 - Duke/Kentucky
         Cheryl Spuhler - 47 - Duke/Tennessee

         Tara Telliott - 47 - North Carolina/Duke

         Joshua Zdrowak - 47 - North Carolina/Michigan

113 - Samantha Sheehan - 46 - Duke/Tennessee

114 - Liz Carew - 45 - Kentucky/Duke

         Hannah Sosa - 45 - Virginia/Duke

116 - Abigail Sosa - 44 - Tennessee/Duke

117 - Jennifer Armstrong - 43 - Duke/Wisconsin
         Luis Briones - 43 - Duke/Villanova

119 - Biscuit Zdrowak - 41 - Virginia/Michigan State

120 - Griffey Parker - 40 - Houston/Duke

         Jessica Samuels - 40 - Virginia/Gonzaga

122 - Cubbie Kroesen - 39 - Kentucky/Marquette

123 - Keith Zdrowak - 36 - Duke/North Carolina