2025 NCAA Tournament Pool Semi-Finals Results

 

Elite 8/Day 2 Standings

1.  Measha Leonardo Williams - 156 - FLORIDA

2.  Max Macon 3 - 147 - HOUSTON

3.  Paul Cummings - 142 - FLORIDA

4.  Brent Bellinger - 138

5.  Steven Usma 2 - 137 - FLORIDA

6.  Matt Hopps - 135 - FLORIDA

7.  Preston Holbert - 134 - Tennessee/FLORIDA

8.  Dan Barsky 1 - 133 - HOUSTON

      George Walks 3 - 133 - FLORIDA

10.  Jonathan Cox - 132

11.  Justine Frank - 131 - FLORIDA

       Jane Reynolds & Carolyn Fowler - 131 - FLORIDA

       Measha Donatello Williams - 131 - FLORIDA

14.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 130 - FLORIDA

15.  Guy Hughes - 129 - FLORIDA

       Shane Jernigan - 129 - HOUSTON

17.  Alyssa Hopps - 127 - FLORIDA

18.  Kingfish Parham - 126

       Pepe Sosa - 126 - FLORIDA

20.  Theo Frank - 124 

       Mike Wolff 2 - 124 - FLORIDA

22.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 123 - FLORIDA

       Christina Gomez - 123

       Adam Jorgensen - 123

25.  Vincent Plamondon - 122 - FLORIDA

26.  Rachel Bornn - 121 - FLORIDA

       Javier Rodriguez 2 - 121

       Rich Samuels 1 - 121

       Day Yi 2 - 121

      

30.  Xavier Conway - 120 - FLORIDA

        Bill Ganoe 3 - 120

        Alvaro Gonzalez - 120

        Marcus Jackson - 120 - HOUSTON

34.  Sean McInerney III - 119

       Sean McInerney IIII - 119 - FLORIDA

       Silas Nichols - 119 - FLORIDA

37.  Mark Holbert - 118 - FLORIDA

       Dan Laishley - 118

       Measha Raphael Williams - 118

40.  Shane Dogmillionaire - 117 - FLORIDA

41.  Dan Barsky 2 - 116 - HOUSTON

       Eric Inge - 116

       Kisha Marzouca - 116

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 116 - AUBURN

       Jazz Piasecki - 116 - FLORIDA

46.  Kyle Henderson 1 - 115 - FLORIDA

       Measha Michaelangelo Williams - 115 - HOUSTON

       Dave Wilson - 115 - FLORIDA

49.  Max Macon 1 - 114 - FLORIDA

       Chris Simmons - 114

       Marcus Spruill- 114

       Steven Usma 3 - 114

53.  Katie Kollmeyer - 113 - FLORIDA

       Kline Kroesen - 113 - HOUSTON

55.  Steven Usma 1 - 112

56.  Kevin Dick - 110 - FLORIDA

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 110 - HOUSTON

       James Garvin - 110 - FLORIDA

       Lily Spuhler - 110 - FLORIDA

       Jonathan Wasserman - 110 - FLORIDA

61.  Jenna Finkelstein - 109 - FLORIDA

       Colleen Giamberini - 109

       Natalie Moon - 109

64.  Sean and Barbie McInenery - 108 - FLORIDA

       Sasha Moon - 108

       Jeremy Spuhler - 108 - FLORIDA

67.  Ty Hedgpeth - 107

       Chuck Whitcomb - 107

69.  Paul Cummings 2 - 106 - HOUSTON

       Salvatore Plamondon - 106

       Jason Spuhler - 106 - FLORIDA

       Joshua Zdrowak - 106

73.  Joel Chernoff - 105

       Karen Katz 2 - 105 - HOUSTON

       Dave Piasecki - 105 - FLORIDA

       Mike Wolff 1 - 105 - FLORIDA

77.  Benny Frank Finkelstein - 104 - FLORIDA

       George Walks 2 - 104

79.  Christina Zanzig - 103

80.  Martha Kroesen - 102 - FLORIDA

       Dustin Lansing - 102

       Si Nichols - 102 - HOUSTON

83.  Rich Samuels 2 - 101

84.  Max Macon 2 - 100

       Justin Yung - 100

86.  Caroline Spuhler - 99 - FLORIDA

87.  Barbie McInerney - 98 - FLORIDA

       Ashley Poer 2 -98 - FLORIDA

       Javier Rodriguez 1 - 98

       Brittany Sosa - 98 - FLORIDA

       Stacia Wilkaitis - 98 - FLORIDA

92.  Max Macon 4 - 97 - FLORIDA

93.  Jacey Fowler II - 96

       Allison Parker - 96

       Hannah Sosa - 96 - FLORIDA

       George Walks 4 - 96

97.  John Hedgpeth - 94

       William Pujals - 94 - FLORIDA

       Cheryl Spuhler - 94 - FLORIDA

100.  Jeff Plamondon - 93

101.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 91 - HOUSTON

         Karen Katz 1 - 91

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 91

104.  Braeden Helland - 90 - FLORIDA

         Day Yi - 90

106.  Jim Coleman - 89

         Brandon Satterwhite - 89 - FLORIDA

         Bubba Zdrowak - 89 - FLORIDA

         Katie Zdrowak - 89

 110.  Sean McInerney 1 - 87

          Biscuit Zdrowak - 87 - HOUSTON

112.  Ashley Poer 1 - 85

        Logan Spuhler - 85 - FLORIDA

        Keith Zdrowak - 85

115.  Quinn Jackson - 84

         Steven Usma 4 - 84 - FLORIDA

117.  Sean McInerney II - 83 - FLORIDA

118.  Carolyn Fowler - 82

         Jane Reynolds - 82

120.  Jacey Fowler I - 81

121.  George Walks 1 - 77

122.  Tyler Giamberini - 75

123.  Jessica Samuels - 74

         Amy Zdrowak - 74

125.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 73

         Dave Marzouca - 73

127.  Chris LaForte - 71

128.  Ferris Spuhler - 69

129.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 66

         Amanda Staudt - 66

131.  Stephanie Henderson - 63

132.  Luna Frank - 60

133.  Wes Wiggins - 59

134.  Barkley Sosa - 41 - Mississippi State/Connecticut

The Final Four Chronicles: Day 3 - The Interregnum

 

It is the day off between the games, which is the most unpredictably fun day of the entire weekend.  No tip-off time, no specific plans.  We could do a little, or we could do a lot.  Who knows?!

07:30 - Pepster comes downstairs.

07:52 - Sinickal awakens.

08:14 - Tony rises.

09:45 - The Distinguished Gentlemen in on television. We always seem to find an Eddie Murphy movie on television, year-after-year.

09:57 - "Zeke, you sunbitch.  I'm runnin' around here crazier than a dog in a hubcap factory."

10:10 - "Except for this one.  That woman got her shoes back!"

10:27 - Enter Nola for brunch.  On time for our 10:30 reservations.

10:32 - Remember that our last Uber driver from the night before had her car just riddled with hail damage.  And driver discussing how her 18-yr old daughter bought a motorcycle before she even had a license.  And she made the daughter change the breaks, and re-paint it before she could ride it.  Which happened BEFORE she got her license.

10:40 - As we order our first course at brunch, Sinickal tells the waitress that Tony is going to need another fork.

10:44 - So, for our first round of drinks, Sinickal had a bloody Mary and Pepster, Tony and Kev-O had various types of mimosas.  Kev-O decided he needed a change and asked for a screwdriver.  It was then - and only then - that we learned Nola does not have a liquor license, only a beer and wine license.  Since the Bloody Mary obviously confused us, waitress explains that it isn't technically made with vodka, but with a wine-based alcohol, at 11 ABV.  Kev-O asks if he could have that "vodka" with OJ.  Waitress says she will ask "our very superficial bartender."

11:12 - Tony drops fork.

11:14 - We ask waitress for another fork.

11:16 - We ask waitress for another fork.  She says, "Oh, you were serious?!"  Believes we somehow manifested Tony dropping it.

11:34 - Leave Nola.  It was great.  Gumbo, Boudin Balls, Catfish Po'Boys, Fried Chicken and Collard Greens Po' Boy.  Almost as if we were in New Orleans.

11:39 - Enter River North Icehouse.  Turns out this is the sports bar in town where Barstool Sports hosted shows Friday and Saturday night.  Glad we weren't there then.  This place is HUGE.  It must have been a zoo!

11:40 - Tony orders a Topo Chico, and they are out.  Seems like everywhere is out of Topo Chico.  The stadium on Saturday ran out.  What is up with this town and Topo Chico?  Anyway, because of the Barstool parties, apparently this place was out of a lot, but not necessarily anything we wanted.

12:00 - We have the Chicago Bulls game on; the Valero Open on, the Washington Capitals game is on, and most of the bar to ourselves (for now).  This is the start to a good day.  We might be here for awhile.

12:20-12:45 - We have a way too long discussion on brothers in sports, and which brothers have the largest disparity between their talents and/or impacts on the game.  Conversation starts as Sinickal brings up Seth Curry, and just that no matter how good Seth really is, he can't live up to the talent/impact of Steph.  Kev-O points out that in Charlotte, Seth isn't even the second-most admired basketballing Curry, because of his dad, Dell.  As we are thinking of brother combos, most are pretty similar - the Barbers, the Lopezes, the Mannings.  Then we discover two of Rob Grokowski's brothers made the NFL.

12:53 - OVI BREAKS GRETZKY'S RECORD!!!  Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th goal against the New York Islanders.

13:02 - Sinickal asks about Ovechkin's wife, "Is she capable of tears?"

13:03-13:09 - We come up with scenarios that would make the celebration more interesting:  (1) Ovechkin takes the microphone and praises Putin; (2) A Ukranian sniper somewhere in the arena looking for his shot; (3) Ovechkin just takes off his skates and pads and retires right then; and (4) Gretzky sucker-punching Ovechkin starting a brawl in which all the Capitals come onto the ice and all of Gretzky's old teammates come out of nowhere.  Spoiler alert:  None of those happened.

13:32 - The Houston Astros are on television now, Tony looks up and sees Ronel Blanco pitching.  "Funny, he doesn't look like a blanco!"

13:41 - We all have a discussion about Racecar!

13:57 - Lady comes up to the bar and orders three beers.  Bartender asks if she needs help taking them to her table.  She puts both hands around all three beers and says, "This isn't that big!"

14:16 - Tipoff of the Women's NCAA Championship game.

14:18 - Leader in the Clubhouse!

14:21 - Dude has been sitting next to Tony since we got here.  He hasn't looked up from his phone except to order drinks the entire time.  We feel his attitude is such that he was rooting for Duke last night!

15:16 - See a "Fudd Around and Find Out" t-shirt in the stands of the women's game.

15:18 - Azzi Fudd's mother's pheromones are coming through the television!

16:10 - The UConn |Huskies are your 2025 Women's National Champions - although this game has been over for a long time.

16:12 - We ask each other if there is a One Shining Moment for the Women's Tournament.

16:25 - We don't know if it is One Shining Moment, as we don't have sound - but it is a montage of highlights.

16:29 - This bar must have like a Royal Rumble type of schedule for its workers, as another bartender just seems to show up out of nowhere every 45 minutes.

17:35 - Leave for downtown/Riverwalk.  As we make our way to the parking lot, Kev-O receives an e-mail that our parking is about to expire.  Perfect timing.

17:52 - Enter Yardhouse.

17:53 - Our bartender is Jaime Jacquez, Jr.

17:55 - As Prince's Raspberry Beret comes on through the Music system.  Sinickal tells a story that starts, "One of the first stalkers I ever had ..."

17:55:30 - Kev-O states, "One of?"

18:43 - 3 Stalkers.  The total was 3 stalkers.

18:49 - Enabler!  Us to Jacquez.

19:10 - Young dude sitting at the bar next to Pepster didn't just outkick his coverage, he outkicked the coverage of everyone he knows!

19:12 - To Fogo de Chao!

19:14 - Enter Fogo.

19:23 - While waiting for our table, we notice that there is a button to press to activate the hood by the front door in case of fire.  Tony states, "Who knew that Fogo de Chao was uncircumsized?"

19:26 - Kev-O remarks, "I couldn't tell you the number of times I have made reservations under the name 'Kevin Parker'".

20:54 - Waitress asks if we might want some more food or look at the dessert menu.  Sinickal tells them yes, if they have a wheelbarrow to take us home.  Pepster immediately starts the company, "UBarrow."

21:41 - Head home from Fogo de Chao.  Yes, an early evening, but we ate A LOT!

The Southwestern Central Scorpions: An Origin Story

There is a lot going on in the blog right now with two tournament pools and a chronical of our trip to San Antonio to attend the Final Four. If you are reading the Chronicles, you have probably noticed that Southwestern Central University Scorpions have a prominent role in the proceedings. So, let's answer some frequently asked questions

Who are the Southwestern Central Scorpions?

Southwestern Central University is the brainchild of this blogs founders. We represent as a small National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school approximately located near the Northeastern Panhandle of Oklahoma. The Fighting Scorpions don the red and black as primary colors and boast a proud basketball tradition dating back nearly 20 years.

Is Southwestern Central is a fake college?

That depends. While we do not play a traditional schedule of games, or maintain academic facilities and a paid faculty, our administration is serious about our status as a premier, small school basketball power.

How was Southwestern Central founded?

In 2007, Sinickal, Pepster and Hopps were at the Final Four in Atlanta GA. During an unplanned social event at a bar called Jack's and Jill's, your blog team was having an animated debate about the future professional prospects of University of Kansas freshman center Cole Aldrich. After a Final Four debut with 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks against Tyler Hansbrough and the North Carolina Tarheels, this is exactly the debate you are supposed to have. Anyway, some assistant coaches overhear our conversation and ask us where we coach. An idea was born.

Did the Southwestern Central coaching staff really attend the National Association of Basketball Coaches Convention?

Well, sort of. In 2015, the Southwestern Central coaches did arrive in Indianapolis IN with the intention of crashing the convention. We were able to get into the convention center and wandered by a conference session on Managing Player Social Media Use. We ultimately decided to go a different direction with our time at the final four.

Do you really hold an annual coaches meeting?

Of course we do! Generally in conjunction with the Final Four. The planning meeting occurs on the Sunday of the weekend and involves good food and drink. It is a great way for us to understand evolution in the game such as the intricacies of working in the transfer portal as an NAIA school.

How many Final Fours have you been to as a coaching staff?

For Sinickal, this is the 17th Final Four attended in person. As you know this is my favorite event every year. As for Southwestern Central, the staff has attended nine Final Fours together since 2015. The staff has changed over the years as we have added and lost coaches, but Sinickal and Pepster have attended all of them.

Which was your favorite Final Four?

Hard to say all of them have been a lot of fun. If I had to pick one, I would say it was Indianapolis in 2015. The coaches planning meeting was at St Elmo Steakhouse. Shortly after the meetings, Southwestern Central was validated in its quest for recognition when a couple of assistants from Yale University engaged us in a long conversation about our school and staff. 

Pepster and Sinickal had arrived!

Does the University have gear, and is there a place for fans of the Scorpions to purchase gear?

Of course we have gear. In fact, below are some pictures from coaches meetings over the years. While our primary colors are red and black, we have several alternate uniforms. Those are in black, green and blue. Unfortunately, there is no team store yet, and we have not made gear available to the public.

What's next for the Scorpions?

We will continue to represent the university at upcoming Final Fours and we will continue to innovate in our look and feel as a basketball factory.

We look forward to the remaining chronicles here in San Antonio, then next year in Indianapolis IN!

--Sinickal

The Final Four Chronicles: Day 2 - The Semifinals

 

Yes, we are here for fun and camaraderie, but it is all about the games - AND BOY WERE WE TREATED TO TWO GREAT ONES (at least the endings).  But, we will get to that.

07:00 - Sinickal awakens.

07:30 - Pepster comes downstairs.

07:42 - Liz, who was too tired to drive home last night, stayed in our spare bedroom.  She departs for home.

08:00 - Kev-O comes downstairs, all showered and ready for the day.

08:44 - Talking football and in somehow defending Bryce Young in that he just has a horrible team around him.  To prove it, Kev-O starts asking us (a) if we know who some of the players on their roster are; and (2) if we know where they went to college.  Pepster gets way more right (3) than he should have, but we went through like 20 people on the roster.  It is putrid.

0:900 - Nothing like a pre-10:00 Fat Joe reference.

09:45 - 8 mile is on, and it is the final rap battle scene!

10:12 - Everybody screaming "3-1-3.  Fuck Free World!"

10:30 - No Crossover:  The Trial of Allen Iverson.  Got to start off with a basketball 30-for-30.

11:00 - Heading to the Pearl for breakfast.

11:12 - Find $14 per 24-hour parking.

11:24 - Enter Southerleigh.  It turns out that Southerleigh received a Michelin Bib Gourmand.  And they are very proud of that.  Something "Michelin" is on every apron, and other accoutrements of the employees.

11:25 - See a Happy Hour table tent that advertises $1 wings.  Sinickal asks the bartender if those are available now.  Bartender says no, only on happy hour during the week.  Sinickal goes - well that was my next question.

11:42 - Tony drops fork, with sausage link still attached. Tony nearly jumped out of his skin trying to catch the falling fork. This was way funnier than it should have been.

11:52 - Our primary orders arrive (2 chicken and waffles, 1 sausage hash and 1 fried chieken-egg-cheese-bacon sandwich), and it is good.

13:03 - Tony comes back from the restroom and says, "You should never take a phone call while you are grunting in the bathroom."

13:05 - Sinickal and Tony's friends arrive, whom they know from "The Profession." Rozbeh and Krystina have their 2-year daughter Riley with them and although she is super tired, she is high fiving, toasting, and giving kisses to everyone. She is having a ball and so are we. 

13:25 - Sinickal relays the story from Krystina and Rozbeh's wedding of another of their geotechnical engineering friends, who asked Allison "Do you work outside of the home?"  Allison only is able to reply with, "Do you mean do I have a job?"

13:53 - A group of Houston fans walk in with a shirt that reads:  "Ready 4 more" - More what?  Final Four losses?

13:58 - Great discussion on the overrated academic credentials of the University of Virginia.

14:28 - Group picture before we all have to spilt up.

15:21 - Uber Ordered.  Not giving up this precious parking space.

15:37 - Driver immediately calls us to negotiate a route and a drop off point. He takes a weird route, but gets us really close to where we wanted to be in the Riverwalk!

15:41 - Holey Moley?  Kev-O asks.  "You mean like the Steph Curry tv show?"

15:41:15 - Yes, it is.  We are not here for indoor mini-golf, but they do have beer!

15:58 - Start our way up out of the Riverwalk and toward the Alamodome.

16:27 - Stop into Francis Bogside Irish Pub, one of a string a bars just a couple of blocks from the dome.  Turns out it is the Duke home bar.  Interestingly, the bartender only pours Kev-O, who is wearing his Kentucky shirt - a half pour.

16:30 - Sinickal walks out back to discover that Duke has used the patio areas in the back to link four bars together. All one big Duke bar. This makes Kev-O very unhappy. He doesn't need another reason to hate private equity.

16:34 - Discussed possible majors of some of the Duke fans we see.  That is all.

16:42 - Stop one Duke fan to ask, "Why are you wearing Carolina blue Jordans?"

16:43 - Tell another group of Duke fans to, "Not get cocky.  You only have Cooper Flagg for a few more days.  Maybe 1!"

16:49 - Discuss possible reactions by Duke fans if Kev-O makes, and wears, his "Christian Laettner was offsides" t-shirt.

16:54 - In Alamodome.

17:08 - In seats!!!  We are way up!

17:09 - Dude about 12 rows in front of us wearing a Harvard Jeremy Lin jersey.  Sinickal remarks that you couldn't even buy one of those when he was playing for Harvard.

17:10 - Tipoff of Florida-Auburn!

17:11 - Radio Silence for the first half.

17:11:05 - Pepster says, "A 7'9" guy would have won that tip!"

17:12 - Who are we kidding.  Kevin had this gem, "Is there a limit on ear size for males to be admitted to Auburn?"

17:13 - And, we found the blimp parking!

17:19 - From up here we can't tell the difference between Condon, Haugh, and Handlogten.  Chinyelu, though ...

17:52 - The McNeese State team manager comes up the stairs.  He is two seats in front of us and is a star.  We watched him take pictures with practically everybody.

18:39 - Auburn player flops.  Tony says, "Shoot him like a horse!"

18:57 - An older Duke fan was walking down the stairs.  He stops, puts on his sunglasses, and then puts two hands on the railing as he goes step-by-step, Kev-O asks if he is repelling.

19:49 - Florida wins behind Walter Clayton, Jr.'s 34 points and Alijah Martin's mesmerizing slam over two defenders.

20:25 - Auburn kids sitting next to Tony do not return to their seats for game 2.

20:26 - Tipoff Game 2.

21:19 - Kev-O, observationally, "Do they not teach college guys to wear a belt anymore?"

21:44 - On the concourse, Sinickal encounters members of the USA Basketball Under 19 team. They are trying to pick up some University of Houston students. Elite work from the young men.

22:43 - Put back dunk!!!!  WOW!!!

22:50 - HOUSTON WINS!!!

22:57 - As we are outside the Alamodome making our way off the campus, we pass an older guy with a really big Southern drawl talking on the phone.  he says, "They were crying like a little bitch!" Kev-O then walks into a pole.

23:04 - Head back to Francis Bogsides - Duke's home bar.  The bourbon tastes just a little sweeter.  Tony orders a vodka - ginger ale - with Duke tears!

23:42 - Head to Yardhouse, as it is the closest above-street access point to the Riverwalk.

23:43 - On our way out of Bogsides, Pepster starts a "Fi-re.  Shey-er!" Chant.

23:51 - Enter Yardhouse.  It is crowded!

23:52 - Exit Yardhouse.

00:09 - Pass by a Mobile smoke shop.  Think food truck, but for weed!

00:15 - Enter Dick's.

00:23 - We are in the streetside entrance, which has a bar for about 15 people.  Lots of Houston fans in this area of Dick's.  One of the particularly friendly Houston fans is from South Africa.  We tell him to take Elon back.

00:23:20 - "Elon is f'in American.  He is yours now!"

00:29 - White boy walks into Dick's wearing a "White Boy of the Year" hat!

00:57 - Acquiesce.  It's a big word like mayonnaise.

01:10 - Sinickal and Pepster explain the story behind Pepster's 2003 R. Kelly joke to Kev-O.

01:25 - Head home.

01:40 - Kev-O orders Taco Cabana breakfast tacos. Shooting for Bacon,egg and cheese. Uber Eats shows that the delivery person is on a bike. on the interstate. Shows up completely wrong order, but hey free tacos...

Bobby Hurley Doesn't Lose That Game: NCAA Block Squares Pool

I am tired and a little hungover, so this will be short.

That was something you just didn't know could happen. A Duke basketball star was called for a late foul then missed a late shot to tie a game late? What? I was there and I still don't believe what I saw. 

Houston is a relentless defensive team. It looks like there are 7 defenders on the floor at times. Here are some notes from the 2nd half of that game:

• Houston outscored Duke 25-8 over the last 8:02 of the game and 9-0 over the last 33 seconds
• Duke had one made basket over the final 9 minutes of the game
• Prior to last night, Jon Scheyer was 79-0 when Duke let by more than 10 points at any time during a game
• This was the 5th largest comeback in Final Four history
• Duke led by 14 or more points in all 5 NCAA tournament games it played this year

So much was going on in this game that just didn't make sense. With 1:14 left, Joseph Tugler committed an insane technical foul and I loudly declared the game over. Houston only shot 38% from the field for the game, but was +11 in rebounding margin and had 18 offensive rebounds! It was a wild game and startling result. 

Of course, Twitter went crazy. Duke fans complaining about foul call on Cooper Flagg. A ton of White Lotus memes (those will never not be funny). And of course, the Cougar jokes. This was my favorite.

Oh yeah, Florida won also. 

On to the blocks. Two games, two first time winners. One game remaining!

Off to play some more in San Antonio. Good luck on Monday

--Your Commissioner 

The Final Four Chronicles: Day 1 - The Arrival

One of the best events in the world, in a very interestingly, fun city, with the four number 1 teams in the country - let's get after it.  As always, all times listed in the time zone in which they occur.

Thursday, April 3

Time unknown - Tony leaves for Austin, and eventually arrives!

Friday, April 4

05:27 (E.D.T) - Pepster leaves for FLL.

05:50 - Sinical arrives at DCA after a morning that includes putting on the same shirt backwards.  Twice.

06:05 - Delta agent at the Sky Club in DCA is first person today to ask what Sinickal's shirt means.

06:09 - Sinickal has a bourbon and soda at the bar in the Sky Club with a guy on his way to Tulum.  Guy says it's OK for him to drink since he was awake at 1:30 am and has already had a flight from Dulles canceled that morning.

6:27 -  Pepster spills his drink on his shirt as he is exiting his car at the airport.  This is only being listed here in case it becomes some sort of theme or we can look back on this as an omen of sorts.  At least he hadn't checked his bag yet so he could change.  Bye-bye "Eric B. and Rakim 1988" shirt.

6:29 - Kev-O walking by Sinickal's first class seat to the steerage section of the boat. Kev-O has to get his Delta numbers up as this is becoming a yearly tradition and he was only one slot behind Sinickal for upgrades this year.

6:31 - Guy from the Delta Sky Club ends up in a seat next to Sinickal.  He kept tapping to get Sinickal to take out his earbuds so that he could talk his ear off about nothing.

06:38 - Pepster sees the world's skinniest bachelorette party.  Five of the young ladies have pink/purple wigs; one has a tiara.  They collectively weigh 321 pounds.  Not skinny-shaming, just noticing.  I would have thought they were going to Nashville, but they were at the gate for a flight to Las Vegas.

06:59 - Kev-O has boarded the plane and the guy in the aisle seat in his row is watching Fox News and just blurted out loud, "Go get 'em Trump," like he was watching Alabama play and Trump had a third-and-7.

07:14 - Pepster boards and passes two rows of guys all decked out in Florida gear, and they are clearly travelling together.  Much larger man, not with them on the aisle.  He tells them he is not going to the Final Four, but the flight to San Antonio was the closest he could get to Houston after his original flight got canceled.  He then starts giving them the business about rooting for Florida.  Turns out he played for Florida State.  I cannot confirm whether he was on the 2020 National Championship team or not.

07:38 - Pepster wheels up to San Antonio.

09:22 - Flight from Atlanta to Austin delayed.  So, Sinickal and Kev-O jump on some work calls in Atlanta Terminal A.

09:22 (C.D.T.) - Pepster lands early!

09:35 - After deplaning, Pepster walks past a gate in which the San Antonio Fire Department EMTs are tending to a woman.  I don't think she is going to San Diego as originally planned.  But, she did look OK from my perspective, so hopefully they were able to take care of her!

11:08 (E.D.T.) - 40-something Duke Frat Bro next to Sinickal on the flight to Austin won't stop coughing.

10:14 (C.D.T.) - Pepster enters Wild Barley Kitchen and Brewery, a breakfast spot that makes its own beer!

10:17 - Starting light - a Tripel Knot Triple

11:50 - Call Uber to get closer to the AirBnB.  Idle Beer Hall it is.

11:59 - Uber driver - Brandon - asks if Pepster is coach in town for the Final Four.  Pepster explains to him the situation where we created a school so we can walk around the Final Four talking ball with other coaches here for the NABC.  He laughs and then asks what we named it.  After Pepster told him "Southwestern Central," he responds with, "Where is it located?  Damn, you just told me it was fake!"

12:08 - Pepster arrives at the destination and Brandon says, "Have a good day Coach!"

12:08:30 - Pepster walks into Idle Beer Hall.

12:11 - Pepster, asks the bartender what he recommends.  He says that the Dad Bod light lager is really good.  Pepster says, "I already have one of those!"  Manager, who was sitting at the other end of the bar drinking a beer, does a spittake.

12:13 - Pepster drinks his beer, opens up his computer to do some work while he waits for the rest of the crew.

12:21 - Sinickal and Kev-O arrive in Austin.  Delta airlines is handing out free Final Four hats.  Sinickal approved.

12:35 - Tony who has been in Austin already for other purposes, picks up Sinickal and Kev-O at the airport.  Off to San Antonio and to meet Pepster.

14:03 - WE ARE WHOLE!

14:51 - Kev-O tells a story about how he ended up playing in a 3-v-3 tournament in Vegas during the 2017 Final Four.  Tony asks, "Weren't you a little old for college?

14:56 - Silas relays the story of the time he ended up in Des Moines, Iowa at the Marriott and the Convention Center was hosting the Iowa Pork Queen Competition.  Kev-O, "The noun or the verb?"

15:27 - Discussing foreign basketball players in the NBA and Jaime Jacquez, Jr. of the Miami Heat came up as the best Mexican player.  Kev-O then discusses whether Edward Navarro of Oklahoma was any better.  Pepster goes, "You mean Eduardo Najera?"

15:38 - Baseball conversation ensues, and this line came up from Pepster:  "Trevor Bauer is a less articulate Curt Schilling."  Sinickal adds, "And a more articulate John Rocker!"

16:21 - Blondequito.  That is all.

16:32 - Enter house.  It is really nice.  Five bedrooms, three baths, weird setup to the kitchen, but at least we won't really need it (except the refrigerator!).  The 5th bedroom - the one that is unused - has 2 sets of bunkbeds!

17:12 - Stumble on to Harlem Nights.  We must watch.  It's the pinky toe scene!

17:29 - See the announcement that Julio Jones retired.  Sinickal says, "I don't know.  If you look outside Julio Jones is open.

18:21 - To Riverwalk.

18:33 - Woman wearing a black t-shirt with the word "Cougar" on it, and nothing else.  Not sure if she even knows Houston is in the Final Four.

18:57 - Found the Auburn home bar on the Riverwalk.  The trees on the property are tp'd.  Sinical asks one of the kids standing by the trees if he is worried about someone coming and poisoning the tree.

19:10 - Into Agave Bar for dinner.  You guessed it "Tex-Mex."

19:15 - Liz, who Sinickal and Tony know through work, and who happened to have given a speech at a conference in San Antonio this morning, joins us at Agave Bar.

20:07 - South Carolina wins 74-57.

20:15 - Straight up pouring outside.  OK, well have another round.

20:24 - Venture out of Agave Bar walk around some of the Riverwalk before going topside.

20:45 - See Club Sirius, has tvs on, and the bouncer says, "No cover!"  We're in.

20:46 - We might have made a mistake.  Everything is fine, but definitely not our crowd.  And, for a really small place, it looks like they are setting up for a birthday party which will take up virtually the whole bar.  OK, just one.

21:18 - Enter Dick's, but upstairs, not the downstairs entrance by the River Walk.  Much more serene upstairs and it seems as if the people at the bar are regulars, as they are very comfortable talking smack to the bartendress.

21:30 - One particular regular notices the bartender yawning and yells at her to "Go home if you want to sleep!"

21:31 - "I wish I could!"

21:32 - "I am only yawning because you people up here are so f'in boring.  I want to be working downstairs instead of this fuckin' retirement home!"  She told him!

21:48 - To Yardhouse and to watch the end of the UConn-UCLA game.  Ah, it's over.  It's in the third quarter.

23:40 - Walking back to the car and see some Auburn people which leads to the conversation in which we decide there might be some redeemable areas in Alabama.  Tony goes, "It's called Atlanta!"

23:48 - C'mon Kayleigh get out of the way, Kev-O yells to a young girl who just starts walking out in front of our car and right behind a Kia Sorrento backing into the spot ahead of us.  Kevin insists her name is spelled K-a-y-l-e-i-g-h, since he "knows his people!  Now, we were inside the car so she heard none of this conversation, but still.

23:49 - Circle K for supplies as grocery stores are closed.  Have you ever spent $99 at Circle K without getting gas?

23:50 - Young lady opens up the door, and barely utters to the clerk, "Public bathroom?"  He tells her back to the right and Kev-O and Pepster just hopes she made it.

23:52 - Back home for the night.  Eat snacks, drink water, go to bed.

NCAA Tournament Pool - Brief Update

 

All, just a brief update.  Here are the top 3 brackets for each outcome in the Final Four.  Keep in mind I am not actually doing the math to determine that these will be the final winners per each outcome, but just that these are the highest-ranking brackets right now with the various potential outcomes.

Auburn over Duke

1.  Joel Chernoff 

Auburn over Houston

1.  Kingfish Parham

2.  Day Yi 2

3.  Alvaro Gonzalez

Florida over Duke

1.  Matt Hopps

2.  George Walks 3

3.  Justine Frank

Florida over Houston

1.  Measha Leonardo Williams

2.  Paul Cummings  

3.  Brent Bellinger 2

Duke over Auburn

1.  Measha Raphael Williams

2.  Javier Rodriguez 1

3.  Kisha Marzouca 2

Duke over Florida

1.  Brent Bellinger

2.  Jonathan Cox

3.  Theo Frank

Houston over Auburn

1.  Max Macon 3

2.  Dan Barsky 1

3.  Shane Jernigan

Houston over Florida

1.  Kyle Henderson 2

NCAA Tournament Pool - Elite 8/Day 2 Results

 

The Elite 8 is completed, and the Final Four has been determined on the Court - with all Top 4 seeds advancing to San Antonio.  A bit boring for our pool, so no Pick of the Day Award - again - but some shuffling at the top.  Max Macon 3 of Jupiter, Florida remains in first, but behind him is now Measha Leonardy Williams of Houston, Texas in second, and Brett Bellinger 1 of Austin, Texas third.  All three have different champions, so it is highly likely that only one of them will finish in the money; so it will be interesting to see how this will all play out.

Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida finishes in last place in the pool.  So she will receive her entry fee back, so that is $5 in dog treats for you.  When asked to comment about this dubious honor by Your Tournament Host, Barkley responded, "My bracket has gone to the dogs ... literally."  It seems as if a Final Four with a champion of Mississippi State Bulldogs, runner-up of UConn Huskies, and semi-finalists of Gonzaga Bulldogs and Yale Bulldogs, was not conducive to winning.

I should note that this will be the last comprehensive post on the tournament pool.  After the Final Four I will update the standings, but no analysis or the like.  I may also post some fun tidbits this week as well, but nothing lengthy or comprehensive.  As Your Tournament Host will be traveling to San Antonio for the festivities, we will be pseudo-live blogging the trip right here, so you can still follow the adventures.

With Tennessee and Michigan State bowing out, we did lose two more champions, but entrants in the pool have selected each of the Final Four teams as champions, so we will see a lot of activity on the leaderboard this weekend.  Our champions are:  Alabama, AUBURN, Arizona, Connecticut, DUKE, FLORIDA, HOUSTON, Kansas, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Tennessee.

As for yesterday's games, Houston just absolutely bullied Tennessee, and Auburn practically did the same to Michigan State (but to a lesser extent).  Neither game was really close, but they set up some fascinating match-ups as all four 1 seeds advance.

Trivia Question:  Today we have multiple questions:  How many times have all four 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams?  When was the last time?  Which teams advanced that year?  Who won?  Who was the MOP of that Final Four?

Stats of the Day

4.  Johni Broome Of Auburn had 17 points at 11 rebounds - AT HALFTIME!

3.  Tennessee shot 5-29 from 3-point range for the game.

2.  Tennesse was 0-14 from 3-point range in the first half.

1.  Houston had 3 turnovers for the entire game!

Players of the Day

10.  Emmanuel Sharp, Houston - 16 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal

9.  Jordan Gainey, Tennessee - 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2-5 from three-point range

8.  LJ Cryer, Houston - 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

7.  Jaxon Kohler, Michigan State - 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block

6.  Sania Feagin, South Carolina - 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

5.  Toby Fournier, Duke - 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 blocks

4.  Lauren Betts, UCLA - 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 6 blocks 

3.  Gabriela Jacquez, UCLA - 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals

2.  Flau'Jae Johnson, LSU - 28 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

1.  Johni Broome, Auburn, 25 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block 

Although his play did not rise to the level of a "Player of the Day," I do want to mention Jahmai Mashack, who apparently was a recipient of the University of Tennessee's Torchbearer Award, the first male basketball player to win the award since 1953.  The award is given to a student "who demonstrates leadership, academic excellence, and commitment to serve UT and the Knoxville community."  It is the highest student honor awarded by the University of Tennessee, and is an award given to someone from the entire student body, not just athletics.

With all 1-seeds making the Final Four, you would think that it would be difficult to determine what tournament history I would like to regale us all, or at least one that was triggered by yesterday's games.  But nope, it wasn't difficult at all, and it has nothing to do with the last time all four 1-seeds winning their respective regions.  And, even though I always look for a reason to tell the JOAKIM NOAH IS UGLY story from 2006 (God do I LOVE this story), I have mentioned it before during the tourney - hence the link.  So what could be the story related to yesterday's tourney games, one might ask.  Well, I saw Terrance Arceneaux playing for Houston, which immediately triggered the question in my mind as to if he was related to another famous NCAA-playing Arceneaux.  Turns out he is not.  So that means that I get to tell the story of Harold "the Show" Arceneaux myself.

Harold Arceneaux was a 6'6" wing player for Weber State in Ogden, Utah from 1998-2000.  He averaged 22.3 points and 6 rebounds in the '98-'99 season, and 23 points and 7.4 rebounds the following season.  He had a career 51.1% shooting percentage from the floor, and he shot 35$ from three-point range.  His first season at Weber State the team finished 25-8; and 13-3 in the Big Sky Conference; good enough for first place.  Arceneaux was the team's leading scorer and second-leading reabounder; the unquestioned best player on a really good team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament with the Big Sky's automatic bid.

In the NCAA tournament, Weber State was given a 14-seed in the west, where it would meet perennial power North Carolina - the 3 seed.  Back then all of the first and second round games were played in the geographical area of the region, and a such, North Carolina had to travel to Seattle Washington to face Weber State.  By recognizable names, this was not one of UNC's more prominent teams, but Ed Cota was a fantastic point guard, and Brendan Haywood was a large, talented big man.  Ademola Okulaia, Max Owens, and Kris Lang rounded out the starting five, and uber-athletic Ronald Curry - the QB on the football team, played big minutes off the bench.  But from the get-go it was apparent that Weber State was not going to roll-over for the favorite Tar Heels.

Arceneaux was spectacular throughout, finishing with 36 points, including 5-7 from three point range, and chipped in 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block.  Eddie Gill was the only other Wildcat in double digits, as he scored 16.  North Carolina meanwhile was led by the ever-present Ed Cota, who scored 20 points and dished 10 assists, while gathering 4 rebounds.  Okulaia added 17 and Vasco Evtimov contributed 13 off the bench.  The aforementioned Haywood - however - did not have his best game, scoring only 1 point on 0-3 shooting, grabbing 0 rebounds, and playing only 24 minutes, as North Carolina was forced to go small to try to match up with Weber State.  It did not work for the Tar Heels as Weber State won 76-74 to advance to the second round.  

Weber State would meet the Florida Gators in the second round.  The Gators that year were lead by Eddie Shannon, Kenyan Weeks and Major Parker in the backcourt, with Brent Wright and Greg Stoltin the front court.  Interestingly, the bench for this team would in time eventually develop to be way more successful that the starters.  Names like Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, and Teddy DuPay filled reserve roles for Florida.  Even with all the big names, it was Stolt who came up big for the Gators, pouring in 26 points on 4-5 from three-point range.  Teddy Dupay (14) and Weeks (11) were the only other Gators in double digits.  Arceneaux was once again unstoppable for the Wildcats, as he scored a game-high 32 points with 9 rebounds (also a game high).  But, it wasn't enough for Weber State as Florida advanced, winning 82-74.  

Florida would eventually fall to the Gonzaga Bulldogs 73-72 in the Sweet Sixteen, but laid the groundwork for their finals appearance the next year - which I wrote about earlier this tournament.  The tournament that year was won by UConn, which defeated Duke 74-77 in St. Petersburg, Florida, behind the stellar play of Richard Hamilton (27 points) and Ricky Moore (13 points) and Khalid el-Amin (12 points).  How that Duke team consisting of Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Trajan Langdon, William Avery, Chris Carrawell and Corey Magette didn't win the title is a testament to just how good Richard Hamilton was!

Weber State fell off the next year, finishing 4th in the Big Sky Conference, and thus Arceneaux never made another tournament appearance, finishing his tournament career with a 34 points per game average.  

Arceneaux went undrafted in the 2000 draft, and bounced around professionally playing in Argentina, Australia, France, Portugal, the Phillipines, Venezuela, Mexico, and various minor US leagues.  He played for the Utah Snowbears of the American Basketball Association in 2004-2005 where he scored 42 in the championship game (Dude could SCORE!) before making his way later that year to Marinos de Anzoategui in the Venezuelan league, which he also led to a tile.

He is now VP of From the Ground Up Records, whose artists include Mullage (Trick'n), Mr. Magic and They Boyz Next Door featuring Maie Ray - none of whom I have ever heard of.  (These last two paragraphs have been brought to you by Wikipedia, and all of its cites therein).

Trivia Answer:   Once.  2008.  Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA.  Kansas Jayhawks.  Mario Chalmers of Kansas.  Interestingly, that Final Four was also in San Antonio, Texas.

HAVE A GREAT FINAL FOUR EVERYBODY!

Elite 8/Day 2 Standings

1.  Max Macon 3 - 131 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

2.  Measha Leonardo Williams - 124 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

3.  Brent Bellinger - 122 - DUKE/FLORIDA

4.  Matt Hopps - 119 - FLORIDA/DUKE

5.  Preston Holbert - 118 - Tennessee/FLORIDA

     Measha Raphael Williams - 118 - DUKE/AUBURN

7.  Dan Barsky 1 - 117 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

      George Walks 3 - 117 - FLORIDA/DUKE

9.  Jonathan Cox - 116 - DUKE/FLORIDA

     Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 116 - AUBURN/Tennessee

11.  Justine Frank - 115 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Measha Donatello Williams - 115 - FLORIDA/DUKE

13.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 114 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Marcus Spruill- 114 - DUKE/St. John's

15.  Guy Hughes - 113 - FLORIDA/Tennessee

       Shane Jernigan - 113 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

17.  Alyssa Hopps - 111 - FLORIDA/DUKE

18.  Paul Cummings - 110 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Kingfish Parham - 110 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

20.  Theo Frank - 108 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Mike Wolff 2 - 108 - FLORIDA/DUKE

22.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 107 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Christina Gomez - 107 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Ty Hedgpeth - 107 - DUKE/Michigan State

       Adam Jorgensen - 107 - DUKE/FLORIDA

26.  Salvatore Plamondon - 106 - Alabama/AUBURN

       Vincent Plamondon - 106 - FLORIDA/DUKE

28.  Rachel Bornn - 105 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Joel Chernoff - 105 - AUBURN/DUKE

       Javier Rodriguez 2 - 105 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Rich Samuels 1 - 105 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Steven Usma 2 - 105 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Day Yi 2 - 105 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

      

34.  Xavier Conway - 104 - FLORIDA/DUKE

        Bill Ganoe 3 - 104 - DUKE/FLORIDA

        Alvaro Gonzalez - 104 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

        Marcus Jackson - 104 - HOUSTON/Michigan State

38.  Sean McInerney III - 103 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Sean McInerney IIII - 103 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Silas Nichols - 103 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Christina Zanzig - 103 - Michigan State/DUKE

42.  Mark Holbert - 102 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Dan Laishley - 102 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Dustin Lansing - 102 - Alabama/Michigan State

45.  Shane Dogmillionaire - 101 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Rich Samuels 2 - 101 - DUKE/Michigan State

47.  Dan Barsky 2 - 100 - HOUSTON/Michigan State

       Eric Inge - 100 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Kisha Marzouca - 100 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jazz Piasecki - 100 - FLORIDA/Tennessee

51.  Kyle Henderson 1 - 99 - FLORIDA/Clemson

       Jane Reynolds & Carolyn Fowler - 99 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Measha Michaelangelo Williams - 99 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       Dave Wilson - 99 - FLORIDA/DUKE

55.  Max Macon 1 - 98 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Javier Rodriguez 1 - 98 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Chris Simmons - 98 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Steven Usma 3 - 98 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

59.  Katie Kollmeyer - 97 - FLORIDA/Kentucky

       Kline Kroesen - 97 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

61.  Allison Parker - 96 - AUBURN/Alabama

       Steven Usma 1 - 96 - DUKE/FLORIDA

63.  Kevin Dick - 94 - FLORIDA/Alabama

       James Garvin - 94 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       John Hedgpeth - 94 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Pepe Sosa - 94 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Lily Spuhler - 94 - FLORIDA/Purdue

       Jonathan Wasserman - 94 - FLORIDA/Tennessee

69.  Jenna Finkelstein - 93 - FLORIDA/Tennessee

       Colleen Giamberini - 93 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Natalie Moon - 93 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jeff Plamondon - 93 - DUKE/Michigan State

73.  Sean and Barbie McInenery - 92 - FLORIDA/Tennessee

       Sasha Moon - 92 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jeremy Spuhler - 92 - FLORIDA/DUKE

76.  Karen Katz 1 - 91 - DUKE/Maryland

       Kisha Marzouca 2 - 91 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Chuck Whitcomb - 91 - Tennessee/FLORIDA

79.  Paul Cummings 2 - 90 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       Jason Spuhler - 90 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Day Yi - 90 - DUKE/St. John's

       Joshua Zdrowak - 90 - DUKE/FLORIDA

83.  Jim Coleman - 89 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Karen Katz 2 - 89 - HOUSTON/Michigan State

       Dave Piasecki - 89 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Mike Wolff 1 - 89 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Katie Zdrowak - 89- DUKE/St. John's

88.  Benny Frank Finkelstein - 88 - FLORIDA/Alabama

       George Walks 2 - 88 - Alabama/FLORIDA

90.  Martha Kroesen - 86 - FLORIDA/Alabama

       Si Nichols - 86 - HOUSTON/Michigan State

92.  Ashley Poer 1 - 85 - DUKE/AUBURN

93.  Max Macon 2 - 84 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Justin Yung - 84 - DUKE/FLORIDA

95.  Caroline Spuhler - 83 - FLORIDA/DUKE

96.  Carolyn Fowler - 82 - AUBURN/DUKE

       Barbie McInerney - 82 - FLORIDA/Arizona

       Ashley Poer 2 - 82 - FLORIDA/Arizona

       Jane Reynolds - 82 - Alabama/AUBURN

       Brittany Sosa - 82 - FLORIDA/Tennessee

       Stacia Wilkaitis - 82 - FLORIDA/DUKE

102.  Jacey Fowler I - 81 - Michigan State/Tennessee

         Max Macon 4 - 81 - FLORIDA/DUKE

104.  Jacey Fowler II - 80 - Alabama/FLORIDA

         Hannah Sosa - 80 - FLORIDA/Alabama

         George Walks 4 - 80 - Tennessee/FLORIDA

107.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 78 - HOUSTON/FLORIDA

         William Pujals - 78 - FLORIDA/DUKE

         Cheryl Spuhler - 78 - FLORIDA/Tennessee

110.  George Walks 1 - 77 - AUBURN/Tennessee

111.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 75 - HOUSTON/St. John's

         Tyler Giamberini - 75 - Maryland/Alabama

113.  Braeden Helland - 74 - FLORIDA/Alabama

         Jessica Samuels - 74 - DUKE/Texas A&M

         Amy Zdrowak - 74 - AUBURN/Alabama

116.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 73 - DUKE/Connecticut

        Dave Marzouca - 73 - AUBURN/Arizona

        Brandon Satterwhite - 73 - FLORIDA/Alabama

        Bubba Zdrowak - 73 - FLORIDA/Alabama

120.  Chris LaForte - 71 - Michigan State/Alabama

         Sean McInerney 1 - 71 - Tennessee/FLORIDA

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 71 - HOUSTON/Iowa State

123.  Ferris Spuhler - 69 - Kansas/DUKE

         Logan Spuhler - 69 - FLORIDA/Tennessee

         Keith Zdrowak - 69 - DUKE/FLORIDA

126.  Quinn Jackson - 68 - Alabama/Michigan State

         Steven Usma 4 - 68 - FLORIDA/Kentucky

128.  Sean McInerney II - 67 - FLORIDA/St. Mary's

129.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 66 - Connecticut/Alabama

         Amanda Staudt - 66 - Michigan State/Purdue

131.  Stephanie Henderson - 63 - AUBURN/Clemson

132.  Wes Wiggins - 59 - Arizona/Louisville

133.  Luna Frank - 44 - Marquette/HOUSTON

134.  Barkley Sosa - 41 - Mississippi State/Connecticut

On to San Antonio: The NCAA Block Squares Pool

I don't have much to say today about the Elite 8 games. The #1 seeded teams did what they were supposed to do, and we have a Final Four of the top 4 AP ranked teams and 3 conference tournament champions. Your commissioner will be traveling to San Antonio for the Final Four next week, and hopefully we get some really good games. In the meantime, here are the results from Elite Eight games.

Three games left, and a lot of money still to be won!

--Your Commissioner

NCAA Tournament Pool - Elite 8/Day 1 Results

 

So, as expected, the two number 1 seeds, the two overall betting favorites, and the two favorites in our pool both advanced to the Final Four.  But man did Duke and Florida advance in way different ways.  Duke just obliterated Alabama from the jump.  Perhaps the Crimson Tide should have saved some three-pointers from the Sweet Sixteen.  Florida, in quite the opposite fashion, was all-but-eliminated by being down 9 with 4 minutes left.  But then Walter Clayton, Jr. took over - as 1st team All-Americans are wont to do.  Two three-pointers near the end of the game gave the Gators the victory to join me and my crew in San Antonio.  To quote Florida's best player yesterday Thomas Haugh about Clayton, "That's a cold man right there!"  Indeed he is.

Today's games are incredibly important as Auburn and Michigan State are both picked by many to go to the Final Four, as are Houston and Tennessee.  We should see lots of movement in the standings tomorrow.

The Houston - Tennessee game is incredibly important for the bottom part of the standings as well.  If Houston wins, Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida locks up last place; but if Tennessee wins, Justine Frank of Charlotte, North Carolina, secures last place.

With Alabama's loss, we lose another champion.  Our champions are:  Alabama, AUBURN, Arizona, Connecticut, DUKE, FLORIDA, HOUSTON, Kansas, Marquette, Maryland, MICHIGAN STATE, Mississippi State, TENNESSEE.

There was more basketball yesterday than just the Division I tournament, as the men's Division II tournament final took place in Evansville, Indiana, where the Nova Southeastern Sharks added to their 2023 championship with another by defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills.  Nova was led by MJ Iraldi's 27 points (and 9 rebounds), but the game was controlled by point guard Dallas Graziani who - when he has the ball is attack, attack, attack.  Attack his defender; attack the pick-and-roll; attack the rim.  The defense cannot let up when Graziani has the ball, and when, like CSDH you only go about 6 deep, that is a problem.  Between Nova's two championship they sandwiched a finals loss on a buzzer beater last year, so they are clearly building a program.

So yesterday I mentioned that the Duke-Alabama game would be a big difference maker in our pool - and it was - but I didn't realize that as many people had Texas Tech in the Final Four as actually did.  So, even though the Red Raiders fell to the Gators, I will award that gutsiness with the Pick of the Day (but no extra points, though!).  So, Congratulations to Ty Hedgpeth of Wilmington, North Carolina, Marcus Jackson or Reston, Virginia, Alyssa Hopps of Quincy Massachusetts, Richa Samuels 2 of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Measha Michaelangelo Williams of Houston, Texas, Jane Reynolds of West Palm Beach, Florida, Ashley Poer 1 of Lake Worth Beach, Florida and Stephanie Henderson of Ft. Worth, Texas.

Stats of the Day

3. Florida won its 29th consecutive game when leading at halftime - the longest active streak in the country.

2.  Duke's Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel are the first pair of freshmen to have 20-5-5 games in the same tournament.

1.  Mark Sears of Alabama, one game after hitting 10 three-pointers, shot 2-12 from the field (1-5 from three) for 6 points against Duke.

Trivia Question:  I mentioned above that Florida's 29 consecutive winning streak when leading at halftime is the longest active streak.  Before yesterday, they were tied with which program?

Players of the Day

15.  Labaron Philon, Alabama - 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

14.  Sarah Strong, Connecticut - 11 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

13.  Madison Booker, Texas - 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

12.  Liatu King, Notre Dame - 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists

11.  Kennedy Smith, USC - 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

10.  Sedona Prince, TCU - 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

9.  JT Toppin, Texas Tech - 20 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block

8.  Kon Knueppel, Duke - 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

7.  Serena Sandell, Kansas State - 22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

6.  Walter Clayton, Jr., Florida - 30 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

5.  Derrion Williams, Texas Tech - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 steals

4.  Cooper Flagg, Duke - 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

3.  Hailey van Lith, TCU - 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

2.  Thomas Haugh, Florida - 20 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

1.  Paige Bueckers, Connecticut - 40 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 blocks

And now for today's walk down (NCAA Tournament) history lane.  Before I begin, I must admit that I have avoided writing about Duke in the past - unless it was to bring out their foibles - primarily because I absolutely loathe their basketball team.  AND I STILL HATE CHRISTIAN LAETTNER.  But even I have to admit it is one of the more storied programs in NCAA basketball history.  Last night they earned their 18th Final Four trip, tied for second most with UCLA (foreshadowing).  So, it is time that I gave the program their due, before I get back to cracking jokes about Christian Laettner and his Stomp Heard Round the World, or Grayson Allen's love of the Dave Mathews Band (he is always "Tripping Billies," and Johns, and Andres, and anyone else).  Sorry, I digress.  Duke's first title came in 1991, but that was a memorable run, so I don't really want to write about that, (UNLV blowout in 1990, beat UNLV in semis in 1991).  And, completely on purpose, I swear, Duke's first Final Four appearance occurred in 1963, but I already wrote about that Final Four from Loyola's perspective all the way back in ... yesterday!!!  So let's examine Duke's second Final Four Appearance, and first final appearance ... 1964.

The 1964 Blue Devils were led by legendary coach Vic Bubas, and the team, fresh off the school's first Final Four appearance the previous year, and with losing 1963 Final Four Most Outstanding Player Art Heyman, had a tremendous regular season.  The team was led by leading scorer Jeff Mullins and his 24.2 points per game and 8.9 rebounds, with significant contributions from Jay Buckley and his 13. 8 points per game and 9 rebounds, and Hack Tison with his 11.8 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game.  The team went 2-56, and 13-1 in the ACC, which was good enough for first place and to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Duke, being in essence the #1 seed in the east, received a first-round bye, where they would play the winner of the Villanova-Providence game in the Sweet Sixteen, where Duke had to travel all the way to Raleigh, North Carolina to play.  Duke was all over Villanova from the beginning, building a 49-33 halftime lead, and then they coasted to a 87-73 victory.  Duke was led by Jeff Mullins and his 43 points.  The only other Blue Devil in double figures was Hack Tison, who scored 13.  This win propelled Duke into the Elite 8, where they would meet Connecticut.

Well, "meet" is a relative term as UConn didn't really show up.  Duke led 62-27 at halftime.  Yes, you read that right.  62-27.  The Blue Devils coasted to a 101-54 win, behind 30 points and 8 rebounds from Jeff Mullins, 14 points and 8 rebounds from Hack Tison, and Steve Vacendek added 14 off the bench.  Connecticut's Tony Kimball was valiant in defeat, with his 18 points and 14 rebounds, but he received absolutely no help.  Duke had made its second consecutive Final Four, which was hosted by Kansas City.

In Kansas City, Duke would face Michigan, which had defeated defending champion Loyola and Ohio in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8, respectively.  In the Final Four, Michigan was led by star Cazzie Russell, who scored 31 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.  Bill Buntin added 19 and 9 for the Wolverines.  It was not enough, as Jay Buckley scored 25 points with 14 rebounds, and Jeff Mullins chipped-in 21 points and 8 rebounds as the Blue Devils defeated the Wolverines 91-80 to reach the school's first championship game.

For those of you that remember I used the word "foreshadowing" earlier, will know that waiting for Duke in the finals was the UCLA Bruins.  UCLA was 30-0 and coached by soon-to-be legend John Wooden.  On the court, future NBA stars Gail Goodrich (21.5/5.2) and Walt Hazzard (18.6/4.7) led the team with their play on the court.  UCLA, despite their undefeated dominance, had a tougher road in the NCAA tournament than Duke did.  They beat Seattle 95-90, and then squeaked by San Francisco 76-72 to make it to the Final four.  In Kansas City UCLA defeated Kansas State 90-84, with Keith Erickson leading the way with 28 points and 10 rebounds.  Hazzard and Goodrich added 19 and 14 for the Bruins, propelling them into the finals.

With having played much closer games in the tournament that Duke, UCLA was tested, and they passed jumping out to a 50-38 halftime lead, and extending that to a 98-83 final score for its first championship.  Gail Goodrich scored 27 for the Bruins, and Kenny Washington contributed 26 off the bench for the champions.   Jeff Mullins led Duke, as he had all year, with 22, and Jay Buckley added 18.  Hazzard was named the Most Outstanding Player, and Jeff Mullins ended up the tournament as the leading scorer.

With its first championship in 1964, UCLA burst onto the national scene, and would ultimately win 10 of 12 championships, falling only in 1966 (Texas Western) and 1974 (North Carolina State) in one of the most dominant sporting runs we have ever seen.

Trivia Answer:  University of California - San Diego, which disappointed a lot of people who had them as their guaranteed upset this year!

Elite 8/Day 1 Standings

1.  Max Macon 3 - 115 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

2.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 114 - FLORIDA/DUKE

3.  Preston Holbert - 110 - TENNESSEE/FLORIDA

4.  Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 108 - AUBURN/TENNESSEE

     Measha Leonardo Williams - 108 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

6.  Brent Bellinger - 106 - DUKE/FLORIDA

7.  Guy Hughes - 105 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

8.  Bill Ganoe 3 - 104 - DUKE/FLORIDA

9.  Matt Hopps - 103 - FLORIDA/DUKE

     Christina Zanzig - 103 - MICHIGAN STATE/DUKE

11.  Paul Cummings - 102 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Mark Holbert - 102 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Dan Laishley - 102 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Measha Raphael Williams - 102 - DUKE/AUBURN

15.  Dan Barsky 1 - 101 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       George Walks 3 - 101 - FLORIDA/DUKE

17.  Jonathan Cox - 100 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Eric Inge - 100 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Mike Wolff 2 - 100 - FLORIDA/DUKE

20.  Justine Frank - 99 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Christina Gomez - 99 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Ty Hedgpeth - 99 - DUKE/MICHIGAN STATE

       Measha Donatello Williams - 99 - FLORIDA/DUKE

24.  Max Macon 1 - 98 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Marcus Spruill- 98 - DUKE/St. John's

26.  Rachel Bornn - 97 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Shane Jernigan - 97 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       Katie Kollmeyer - 97 - FLORIDA/Kentucky

       Javier Rodriguez 2 - 97 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Rich Samuels 1 - 97 - DUKE/FLORIDA

31.  Xavier Conway - 96 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Marcus Jackson - 96 - HOUSTON/MICHIGAN STATE

33.  Alyssa Hopps - 95 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Silas Nichols - 95 - FLORIDA/DUKE

35.  Dustin Lansing - 94 - Alabama/MICHIGAN STATE

       Kingfish Parham - 94 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

       Jonathan Wasserman - 94 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

38.  Shane Dogmillionaire - 93 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Natalie Moon - 93 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jeff Plamondon - 93 - DUKE/MICHIGAN STATE

       Rich Samuels 2 - 93 - DUKE/MICHIGAN STATE

42.  Dan Barsky 2 - 92 - HOUSTON/MICHIGAN STATE

       Theo Frank - 92 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Sasha Moon - 92 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jazz Piasecki - 92 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

46.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 91 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON      

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 91 - FLORIDA/Clemson

       Adam Jorgensen - 91 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jane Reynolds & Carolyn Fowler - 91 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Dave Wilson - 91 - FLORIDA/DUKE

51.  Salvatore Plamondon - 90 - Alabama/AUBURN

       Vincent Plamondon - 90 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Chris Simmons - 90 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jason Spuhler - 90 - FLORIDA/DUKE

55.  Joel Chernoff - 89 - AUBURN/DUKE

       Dave Piasecki - 89 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Steven Usma 2 - 89 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Mike Wolff 1 - 89 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Day Yi 2 - 89 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

60.  Alvaro Gonzalez - 88 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

       Allison Parker - 88 - AUBURN/Alabama

       George Walks 2 - 88 - Alabama/FLORIDA

       Steven Usma 1 - 88 - DUKE/FLORIDA

64.  Sean McInerney III - 87 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Sean McInerney IIII - 87 - FLORIDA/DUKE

66.  Kevin Dick - 86 - FLORIDA/Alabama

       James Garvin - 86 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       John Hedgpeth - 86 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Martha Kroesen - 86 - FLORIDA/Alabama

       Pepe Sosa - 86 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Lily Spuhler - 78 - FLORIDA/Purdue

72.  Jenna Finkelstein - 85 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

       Colleen Giamberini - 85 - DUKE/FLORIDA

74.  Max Macon 2 - 84 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Kisha Marzouca - 84 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Sean & Barbie McInerney - 84 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

       Jeremy Spuhler - 84 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Justin Yung - 84 - DUKE/FLORIDA

79.  Karen Katz 1 - 83 - DUKE/Maryland

       Kisha Marzouca 2 - 83 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Chuck Whitcomb - 83 - TENNESSEE/FLORIDA

       Measha Michaelangelo Williams - 83 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

83.  Barbie McInerney - 82 - FLORIDA/Arizona

       Ashley Poer 2 - 82 - FLORIDA/Arizona

       Javier Rodriguez 1 - 82 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Brittany Sosa - 82 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

       Steven Usma 3 - 82 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

       Stacia Wilkaitis - 82 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Day Yi - 82 - DUKE/St. John's

       Joshua Zdrowak - 82 - DUKE/FLORIDA

91.  Jim Coleman - 81 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Jacey Fowler I - 81 - MICHIGAN STATE/TENNESSEE

       Karen Katz 2 - 81 - HOUSTON/MICHIGAN STATE

       Kline Kroesen - 81 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       Max Macon 4 - 81 - FLORIDA/DUKE

96.  Si Nichols - 78 - HOUSTON/MICHIGAN STATE

       William Pujals - 78 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Cheryl Spuhler - 78 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

99.  Ashley Poer 1 - 77 - DUKE/AUBURN

100.  Caroline Spuhler - 75 - FLORIDA/DUKE

101.  Paul Cummings 2 - 74 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

         Carolyn Fowler - 74 - AUBURN/DUKE

         Braeden Helland - 74 - FLORIDA/Alabama

         Jane Reynolds - 74 - Alabama/AUBURN

         Jessica Samuels - 74 - DUKE/Texas A&M

 

106.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 73 - DUKE/Connecticut

         Brandon Satterwhite - 73 - FLORIDA/Alabama

         Bubba Zdrowak - 73 - FLORIDA/Alabama

         Katie Zdrowak - 73- DUKE/St. John's

110.  Benny Frank Finkelstein - 72 - FLORIDA/Alabama

         Jacey Fowler II - 72 - Alabama/FLORIDA

         Hannah Sosa - 72 - FLORIDA/Alabama

         George Walks 4 - 72 - TENNESSEE/FLORIDA

114.  Chris LaForte - 71 - MICHIGAN STATE/Alabama

         Sean McInerney 1 - 71 - TENNESSEE/FLORIDA

116.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 70 - HOUSTON/FLORIDA

117.  Ferris Spuhler - 69 - Kansas/DUKE

         Logan Spuhler - 69 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

         George Walks 1 - 69 - AUBURN/TENNESSEE

         Keith Zdrowak - 69 - DUKE/FLORIDA

121.  Quinn Jackson - 68 - Alabama/MICHIGAN STATE

         Steven Usma 4 - 68 - FLORIDA/Kentucky

123.  Tyler Giamberini - 67 - Maryland/Alabama

         Sean McInerney II - 67 - FLORIDA/St. Mary's

         Amanda Staudt - 66 - MICHIGAN STATE/Purdue

         Amy Zdrowak - 66 - AUBURN/Alabama

127.  Biscuit Zdrowak - 63 - HOUSTON/Iowa State

128.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 59 - HOUSTON/St. John's

129.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 58 - Connecticut/Alabama

130.  Dave Marzouca - 57 - AUBURN/Arizona

 

131.  Stephanie Henderson - 55 - AUBURN/Clemson

132.  Wes Wiggins - 51 - Arizona/Louisville

133.  Barkley Sosa - 41 - Mississippi State/Connecticut

134.  Luna Frank - 36 - Marquette/HOUSTON