2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Results - Round 2/Day 1

The first half of round 2 is completed, and it started out amazing.  In Jacksonville, underrated point guard Tremont Waters of LSU finessed his way into the lane with some nifty dribbling and deftly laid the ball in the basket for a game winning layup over Maryland with three seconds left.  Then, in the second game in Jacksonville, seventh-seeded but unheralded Wofford took a P.J. Washington-less Kentucky down to the wire before the Wildcats secured the victory behind free throws from fifth-year senior grad transfer Reid Travis and freshman phenom Tyler Herro (who shot 94% from the free throw line this year).  Wofford's Fletcher Magee, who in round 1 against Seton Hall set the NCAA record for most career three point field goals made after going 7-12, was harassed by Kentucky's defense - particularly the aforementioned Tyler Herro - and went 0-12 from distance in the game.  To quote my friend John Anderson from Chicago, IL (not in the pool), "Just imagine how good a shooter you have to be to be allowed to go 0-12 from three point range!"

And then, anybody who went to any games not in Jacksonville definitely did not get their money worth as the remaining 6 games stunk.  For that Your Tournament Host is thankful as I immediately left after the Kentucky win to go watch the Miami Marlins final home spring training game against the Houston Astros.  Justin Verlander was on the bumb and Jose Altuve uncorked an absolute BOMB!!!  Both of those turned out to be much better than the last six games from yesterday.  Congratulations to Michigan, Florida State, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Purdue and Auburn for advancing, but man, those games were not close. Things were so bad for Kansas (which was down 51-25 at the half to Auburn), that I started my pool scoring at halftime, and never was I threatened to have to re-score that game.    In fact, I was hoping to invite karma to the pool so that the game would get exciting - it didn't.

No big upsets, so no bonus points yesterday.  To move up the leaderboard you had to do so the old-fashioned way, with a steady stream of correct picks (two-pointers this round).  Carolyn Fowler of Greenacres, Florida and Measha Williams #2 of Houston, Texas are tied for first.  On the opposite end of the spectrum is Keith Zdrowak of Orlando, Florida, who is in sole possession of last place.

Since their were no big upsets, a good number of entrants went 8-0.  Those contestants are:  Chad Phillips of Syracuse, New York, Duncan Merchant of Asheville, North Carolina, Alyssa Ave of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Kyle Sheehan of Jupiter, Florida, Mike Zachary of Jacksonville, Florida, Chris Kroesen of West Palm Beach, Florida, Kingfish Rod Parham of Snellville, Georgia, Bill Ganoe of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Dana Mandelbaum of presumably somewhere in central to southern Palm Beach County, Florida and Pepe Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida.  Given that these brackets were perfect yesterday, it was hard to select a "Pick of the Day", but, just kidding, it was easy.  It goes to me.  Again, just kidding, it goes to Alyssa Ave because not only does she have Purdue winning it all, and boy do they look good after putting it on Villanova, but she had the audacity to circle Purdue with the words "Go Boilers!!!" at the top.  Congratulations Alyssa, there is no way that comes back to haunt you this tournament.

Despite a lot of chalk, we still lost not 1, not 2, but 3 champions from our bracket.  Say goodbye to Florida, Kansas and defending champion Villanova.  Their will be no repeat in the NCAA Tournament this year, and the streak from 2006-2007 rolls on.  That leaves us with 11 remaining champions.  I have updated the standings to reflect which entry has which champion and runner-up; if your team is still alive it is in bold.  Our champions (with remaining teams in bold) are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

Speaking of losing their champion, the "Worst Pick of the Day" award goes to Hilary Kroesen of Port St. Lucie, Florida.  Not only did she lose her champion when Kansas lost to Auburn, but she went 1-7 for the day total.  At least she lost her other finalist Marquette in round 1.  Although not in last place as of now, I would predict she will be in the running to have her entry fee returned.  This performance was the only thing that kept me from giving the award to Marcus Jackson of Reston, Virginia for failing to select a winner in yesterday's Florida State/Murray State game.  That is OK Marcus, you also forgot to pic a winner in Purdue's bracket in the Sweet Sixteen.

Also, speaking of losing champions, Villanova's 87-61 dismantling at the hands of Purdue was the second largest defeat by a defending champion ever.  The largest occurred in a second round game on March 18, 1990  at Long Beach Arena where Loyola Marymount thrashed, destroyed, and absolutely obliterated the then-defending champion Michigan Wolverines 149-115.  Yes, you saw that correctly.  Michigan scored 115, and WASN'T EVEN IN THE GAME!!!!  Michigan, "led" by 23 points each from Rumeal Robinson and Terry Mills, could not keep up with the frenetic pace of Loyola Marymount, which itself received 37 points from leading scorer Bo Kimble and 41 from sharpshooter Jeff Fryer (referenced in yesterday's standings).  Jeff Fryer, who set a tournament record with 11 three pointers on 15 attempts, mirrors the performance of Purdue guard Carsen Edwards, who scored 42 points on 9-15 shooting from three-point range yesterday against Villanova.  Incidentally, Jeff Fryer also holds the NCAA tournament record for most three-point shots attempted at 22 - which occurred the prior year in a game against Arkansas. If you do not understand how a team like Loyola Marymount could put up 149 in a game and have another game where a player attempted 22 three pointers, go watch ESPN's 30 for 30 entitled Guru of Go.  It is amazing.

As easy as it would be to transition into a second related NCAA history lesson on Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers, his death, and his best friend and teammate Bo Kimble's honoring of him, but I could not do that justice.  I took number 44 in honor of Hank Gathers for my high school basketball team is all I will say on that subject.

But, we will have a secondary history lesson stemming from Carsen Edwards' performance.  With a big scoring performance from a Bolermaker, I would be remiss if I did not mention Glenn Robinson.  After a redshirt freshman season, Robinson lead Purdue in scoring in the 1992 season averaging 24.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, leading them to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Atlantic 10 champion Rhode Island in the first round.  Not content with "only" averaging 24 points a game, Robinson game back with a vengeance the following year averaging 30.3 points and 11.2 points per game, the first player to lead the Big 10 Conference in both categories since 1978.  Robinson, however, despite scoring 44 in a Sweet Sixteen victory over Kansas, strained his back, and could only muster 13 points against Duke in the Elite 8.  Robinson scored 1,030 points this year which led the nation in scoring and is the most in a single season in Big 10 history.  He was the only Boilermaker to score more than 1,000, 500 rebounds, 100 steals, 100 assists and 50 blocked shots in his career - which only lasted 2 seasons!  He was then selected first in the NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, and played 12 years (despite various injuries) with 4 franchises (9 with the Bucks), and ultimately won an NBA title in 2005 with the San Antonio Spurs.  Glenn Robinson finished his NBA career averaging just over 20 points per game.

Remember, I hand score the brackets, so it is possible that I may have made a mistake.  Feel free to bring any questions you have to my attention at sosalaw@yahoo.com.  I will re-visit your sheet and re-score.  Keep in mind, though, that while if I find a mistake in your favor I will give you your proper points, but if I find a mistake in the opposite direction, I will make the appropriate downward correction.  Also, let me know if I mis-spelled your name.  I would like to correct it if I did so.

Good luck watching today's games, which begin momentarily just like yesterday, with a Big 10 team playing an SEC team, this time it is Iowa and Tennessee!

1 - Carolyn Fowler - 64 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

     Measha Williams #2 - 64 - Gonzaga/Virginia

3 - Matt Hopps - 62 - Duke/North Carolina

     Marcus Jackson - 62 - Virginia/Duke

     Measha Williams #3 - Gonzaga/Virginia

6 - Max Macon #4 - 61 - Duke/Houston

     Ashley Poer #2 - 61 - Virginia/Michigan State

8 - Scott Bieterman - 60 - Duke/Kentucky

     Katie Kollmeyer - 60 - Tennessee/Duke

     Max Macon #2 - 60 - Tennessee/Michigan State

11 - Chad Phillips - 59 - Florida State/North Carolina

12 - Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 58 Duke/North Carolina

       Duncan Merchant - 58 Duke/Houston

14 - Brian Hinaman - 57 - Duke/North Carolina

       Silas Nichols - 57 - North Carolina/Michigan

       Krystal Travers - 57 - Kansas State/Florida State

       Justin Yung - 57 - Gonzaga/Virginia

18 - Martha Kroesen - 56 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Michael Spicer - 56 - North Carolina/Buffalo

20 - Philip Kroesen - 55 - North Carolina/Duke
       Steven Usma #4 - 55 - Duke/Kentucky

22 - William Pujals - 54 - Duke/North Carolina
        George Walks #2 - 54 - North Carolina/Duke

24 - Mac Kroesen - 53 - North Carolina/Duke
       Ty Leatherman - 53 - Duke/Virginia
       Max Macon #2 -53 - Duke/North Carolina
       Kareem Montague - 53 - Virginia/Duke
       George Walks #3 - 53 - Florida State/Kentucky

29 - Paul Cummings - 52 - North Carolina/Duke
       Coby Kroesen - 52 - North Carolina/Duke
       Max Marion 52 - Duke/Virginia
       Edy Pecan - 52 - Syracuse/Kentucky
       Dave Piasecki #1 -52 - Florida/Kentucky
       Melanie Scherr - 52 - North Carolina/Duke
       Steven Usma #3 - 52 - Kentucky/Duke
       Jonathan Wasserman - 62 - North Carolina/Duke

37 - Alyssa Ave - 51 - Purdue/Michigan
       Karen Katz - 51 - Gonzaga/Houston
       Anthony LaPira - 51 - Duke/Tennessee
       Kyle Sheehan - 51 - Duke/Kentucky

41 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 50 - North Carolina/Florida State
       Kline Kroesen - 50 - North Carolina/Michigan
       Rich Samuels #2 - 50 - North Carolina/LSU
       Steven Usma #1 - 50 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #2 - 50 - Virginia/Michigan State
       Mike Zachary - 50 - Duke/North Carolina

47 - Dan Barsky #2 - 49 - Duke/North Carolina
       Chris Kroesen - 49 - North Carolina/Michigan State
       Max Macon #1 - 49 - Virginia/LSU
       Mango Merchant - 49 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Kingfish Rod Parham - 49 - Duke/Tennessee
       Allison Parker - 49 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Barkley Sosa - 49 - Kentucky/LSU
       Brittany Sosa - 49 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #5 - 49 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Harrington Wax III - 49 - North Carolina/Michigan State

57 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 48 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Bill Ganoe #1 - 48 - North Carolina/Duke
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 48 - Duke/Tennessee
       Adam Jorgensen - 48 - Michigan State/Virginia
       Jeremy Spuhler - 48 - Tennessee/LSU
       George Walks #@5 - 48 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Measha Williams #1 - 48 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

64 - Sean McInerney - 47 - Duke/North Carolina
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 47 - Florida/North Carolina
       Jane Reynolds - 47 - Duke/Kentucky
       Pepe Sosa - 47 - Kentucky/Michigan State

68 - Jenna Finkelstein - 46 -  Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Eric Inge - 46 - Duke/North Carolina
       Hilary Kroesen 46 - Kentucky/Gonzaga
       Sasha Moon - 46 - Duke/Tennesseeb
       Jason Spuhler - 46 - Duke/North Carolina

73 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 45 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Michael Litsey - 45 - Michigan/Virginia
       Glen Merchant - 45 - Duke/Houston
       Matt Nieman - 45 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Brittany Sosa - 45 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Robert Tanen #2 - 45 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       George Walks #1 - 45 - Kansas/Duke
       George Walks #4 - 45 - Duke/Virginia

81 - Jordyn Sheehan - 44 - Duke/Tennessee
       Josh & Katie Zdrowak - 44 - North Carolina/Duke

83 - Robert Hosmer - 43 - Duke/Virginia
       Skip LaForte - 43 - Michigan State/North Carolina
       Jeff Pamondon - 43 - Duke/Tennessee
       Annette Pritchard - 43 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       John Santucci - 43 - Kansas/Michigan
       Ira Schulteis - 43 - Duke/North Carolina
       Amy Zdrowak - 43 - Duke/Virginia

90 - Dan Barsky #1 - 42 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Jacey Fowler #1 - 42 - Villanova/Texas Tech
       Traci Sheehan - 42 - Michigan State/Tennessee
       Robert Tanen #1 - 42 - Florida State/North Carolina

94 - Jean Calixte - 41 - Duke/North Carolina
       Scott Hansel - 41 - Duke/Kentucky
       Arlene Amo Hopps - 41 - Villanova/Virginia Tech
       Dana Mandelbaum - 41 - North Carolina/Duke

98 - Rachel Bornn - 40 - Duke/Kentucky
       David Olson - 40 - North Carolina/Duke
       Ashley Poer #1 - 40 - Duke/Tennessee

101 - Chris Petit - 39 - North Carolina/Duke
         Annette Pritchard #2 - 39 - Duke/North Carolina
         Meredith Tanen - 39 - Gonzaga/Virginia

104 - Katie Zdrowak - 38 - Duke/Tennessee

105 - Max Macon #3 - 37 - Gonzaga/Kentucky
         Rich Samuels #1 - 37 - Duke/Kentucky
         Wes Wiggins - 37 - Gonzaga/Virginia

108 - Abigail Sosa - 36 - Tennessee/Duke

109 - James Garvin - 35 - Duke/Virginia
         Hilary Kroesen #2 - 35 - Kansas/Marquette
         Hannah Sosa - 35 - Virginia/Duke
         Tara Telliott - 35 - North Carolina/Duke
         Samantha Sheehan - 35 - Duke/Tennessee

114 - Jennifer Armstrong - 33 - Duke/Wisconsin
         Luis Briones - 33 - Duke/Villanova
         Cheryl Spuhler - 33 - Duke/Tennessee
         Joshua Zdrowak - 33 - North Carolina/Michigan

118 - Jessica Samuels - 32 - Virginia/Gonzaga
         Griffey Parker - 32 - Houston/Duke

120 - Liz Carew - 31 - Kentucky/Duke
         Cubbie Kroesen - 31 - Kentucky/Marquette
         Biscuit Zdrowak - 31 - Virginia/Michigan State

123 - Keith Zdrowak - 28 - Duke/North Carolina