WE HAVE A NEW LEADER!!! Stephanie Henderson of Ft. Worth, Texas has surged into the lead thanks to her selections of Arizona and Illinois into the Final Four. As she has them both in her finals, she will definitely want both these teams to continue their winning ways.
Stephanie wasn't the only entrant to choose Illinois, and although there are more than I thought, I will mention them all here. Jim Coleman of Boynton Beach, Florida, Adam Jorgensen of Jupiter, Florida, Mac Kroesen of Greenacres, Florida, Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds of Greenacres, Florida, Shane Jernigan 2 of Denver, Colorado, Steven Usma 3 of Miami, Florida, Shane Jernigan 1 of Denver Colorado, Amanda Staudt or Reston, Virginia, Paul Cummings 3 of Palm City, Florida, Ashley Poer 2 of Lake Worth Beach, Florida, and Quinn Jackson of Reston, Virginia. Since 90% of the pool had the 1-seed Arizona in the Final Four, all of these entries receive the "Pick of the Day" award.
On the flip-side, I need to be completely open about a scoring decision that I made. I consulted several people in the pool - without naming the entrant - and although I disagree with the majority of recommendations that I received, I went against my better judgment. Perhaps I am getting soft in my old age.
So, Measha Williams (Buddy Canes 1 Bracket) of Houston, Texas, has Duke over Arizona in his final game. And, in last night's Western Bracket, he had Arizona and Purdue facing off in the Elite 8. The problem ... he never selected a winner of the Arizona/Purdue game. It is obvious that he meant Arizona to win, as he has the Wildcats winning an additional game. But he did not actually select them to win last night. I awarded him his 8 points. He should really thank my wife, Hannah Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida, for the soft touch and suggestion that I should ask more people than just myself and the host of the other pool on this bracket for the leniency, especially since he is in contention. But, you can all thank Measha for the additional 2 pages of rules that will be added for next year, even though almost every rule gets broken anyway!
A note about Ashley Poer 2's pick, her 16 points vaulted her up the standings ahead of Chris Simmons of Boynton Beach, Florida/Park City, Utah. Why do I mention this? Because when Chris Simmons entered the pool, he did so saying, "I just want to finish ahead of Ashley. Well, Ashley's first bracket has been smoking him all pool long, but her second bracket managed to land just behind Chris's bracket ... until yesterday!
Another note on brackets, Mark Holbert of Jupiter, Florida admitted to me when watching the Round 1 Thursday games together that he used AI to complete his second bracket, using parameters that included "bonus points for upset selections." His second bracket is beating his own bracket. Don't know exactly what this means, but I will let you all draw your own conclusions.
Given Arizona's victory over Purdue, we lost another collective champion in the Boilermakers. We are guaranteed to lose at least 1 more today, as Duke faces Connecticut, in a battle of teams that everyone wants to lose - even if they picked them to win. Our champions, with the remaining selections in bold and all caps, are: Alabama, ARIZONA, CONNECTICUT, DUKE, Florida, Houston, ILLINOIS, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, MICHIGAN, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, St. John's and Virginia. That leaves us with 6 of the remaining Elite 8 - with nobody having selected Iowa or Tennessee.
Speaking of Illinois, they have not made the Final Four since 2005. But that team was interesting - I have written about the Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head team before - but that tournament wasn't very remarkable. So, I looked to Arizona, which made its first Final Four since 2001. But that tournament was also not very remarkable (plus Duke won). Arizona's championship came in 1997, and that game was AMAZING to watch, with loads of talent on the Court, with Miles Simon, Mike Bibby, Michael Dickerson and Jason Terry leading Arizona, and Ron Mercer, Wayne Turner, Nazr Mohammed, Jamaal Magliore, and Scott Padgett for Kentucky. But, Kentucky lost that game so I am mad that I just mentioned it. So, I am really at a creative loss as to what tournament history to write about.
So, then I just started going back into Illinois and Arizona's Final Four history, and I came upon the fact that Arizona's first Final Four was in 1988. Ah, 1988... the last time a truly one-man team one that NCAA Championship. Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce (or re-introduce) you to ... Danny and the Miracles.
Kansas entered the NCAA Tournament that year as the 6th-seed in the Midwest Bracket, with double-digit losses (11) on the season and a 9-5 record in conference. But, what Kansas did have, was Player of the Year Danning Manning and a future Hall of Fame coach in Larry Brown. They traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the 11-seed, Xavier Musketeers in the first round. The Jayhawks won that matchup 85-72, with Danny Manning playing as advertised. He scored 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, had 3 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks. He was everywhere, and he was a key reason why Xavier's future-NBAer Tyrone Hill spent most of the game in foul trouble, and ultimately fouled out scoring only 4 points. For Kansas, Milt Newton did score a much-needed 21 points, and also grabbed 12 rebounds to push the Jayhawks into the second round, where they would face Murray State, the 14th seeded Ohio Valley Conference champion that beat NC State in the first round. Manning again led the Jayhawks in scoring, putting in 25 with 5 rebounds. No other Kansas player scored more than 16, that being Kevin Pritchard, who went 4-6 from three-point range. Kansas advanced 61-58 to go to the Sweet 16.
The Sweet 16 was hosted in the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, and the Jayhawks played the Vanderbilt Commodores, who entered the tournament as the 7th-seed, but defeated Pittsburgh (the 2 seed) in the second round. Kansas won 77-64, and they were lead by Manning's 38 points. Pritchard was once again the second-leading scorer for the Jayhawks with 11, hitting his only three-pointer. Vanderbilt was led by Barry Booker's 22 points. As a side note, Vanderbilt's guard, Barry Goheen, grew up near my grandparents in Kentucky, so I did play some hoops against his younger brother. But Goheen, like I, did not play any hoops in the Elite 8, as Kansas advanced, where they would face conference - and in-state rival - Kansas State (the 4 seed). Kansas State itself was very much led by a single player - future NBA Bucket Mitch Richmond - but in this game Kansas held Richmond to just 11, as the Jayhawks advanced to the Final Four with a 71-58 win. How did Danny Manning do in this game? He had a game-high 20 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Milt Newton chipped in with 18 and 7.
For the Final Four, Kansas did not have to travel far, as the host venue was Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. In the Semi-Finals, the Duke Blue Devils, the number 2 seed in the East, awaited. Duke defeated the Mark Macon-led Temple Owls by 10 to earn the Final Four berth, and its star All-American Danny Ferry had a team-high 19 points and a game-high 12 points. Only Kevin Strickland (who?) joined Ferry with double-digits scoring for the Blue Devils. Meanwhile, for the Jayhawks, Manning was Manning with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 6 blocks. Yes, he had 10 stocks!!! Kansas advanced to the finals, where Conference Champion Oklahoma would wait in an All-Big 8 matchup.
Oklahoma, led by future Pearl Jam muse Mookie Blaylock, Ricky Grace, Harvey Grant, and Stacey King - all future NBA players, defeated Arizona in the Semi-Finals and were 35-3 coming into the finals, including 2 victories over Kansas. But, unfortunately for the Sooners and fortunately for the Jayhawks, Manning showed up and showed out. He finished with game-highs in scoring and rebounds (31 and 18 respectively) and added 2 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks. Milt Newton and Kevin Pritchard added 15 and 13, as Kansas won the national championship by defeating the Oklahoma 83-79. Oklahoma played only 6 players all game, led by Dave Sieger's 22 and King's 17. But, even 5 players in double-figures could not stop the team ultimately dubbed ... Danny and the Miracles. Guess who was named MOP? You guessed it ... Danny Manning.
Danny Manning was selected first overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, and despite his immense talent and a 15-year career, he spent a lot of his career on injured reserve with multiple injuries. He did win the NBA Sixth-Man of the Year Award in 1998, and was a two time All-Star (1993-1994). He averaged over 14 points per game in the NBA and was elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He currently is an assistant coach with the University of Colorado.
Stats of the Day
5. 32-18 - Illinois' rebounding advantage over Iowa.
4. 23 minutes - the amount of time Trey Kaufman-Renn played for Purdue due to foul trouble.
3. 11-4 - Arizona's run in the 4 or so minutes Kaufman-Renn sat after his third foul of the game, early in the second half.
2. 14:02 - The last amount of time in the game in which Illinois DID NOT miss a two-point shot.
1. 79 - The total points scored or assisted by Marta Suarez and Olivia Miles for TCU in their 79-69 victory over Virginia. YES, ALL OF THEM!
Players of the Day
10. Ivan Kharchenkov, Illinois - 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal
9. Madison Booker, Texas - 17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
8. Oscar Cluff, Purdue - 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
7. Paris Clark, Virginia - 20 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
6. Bennett Stirtz, Iowa - 24 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
5. Koa Peat, Arizona - 20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
4. Ta'Niya Latson, South Carolina - 28 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists
3. Keaton Wagler, Illinois - 25 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
2. Marta Suarez, TCU - 35 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
1. Oliva Miles, TCU - 28 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals
And a special mention to the horn in the Illinois/Iowa game, which went off, and stayed off, causing an approximately 11-minute delay in the first half. Serious MVP move by the horn.
As always, check your brackets, and let me know if you think there is a discrepancy that I need to review. Onto the standings.
Standings after the Elite 8/Day 1
1. Stephanie Henderson - 100 - ILLINOIS/ARIZONA
2. Max Macon 2 - 99 - Florida/ARIZONA
Rich Samuels - 99 - ARIZONA/DUKE
4. Jason Spuhler - 94 - Houston/ARIZONA
5. Jim Coleman - 93 - ARIZONA/ILLINOIS
6. Steven Usma 2 - 84 - DUKE/ARIZONA
7. Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 91 - ARIZONA/Michigan State
Measha Williams (Buddy Canes 1 Bracket) - 91 - DUKE/ARIZONA
9. Glen Merchant - 90 - DUKE/ARIZONA
Steven Usma 1 - 90 - ARIZONA/Michigan State
11. Jonathan Cox 2 - 89 - Houston/ARIZONA
Adam Jorgensen - 89 - ARIZONA/ILLINOIS
13. Ashley Poer 1 - 88 - MICHIGAN/Houston
Pepe Sosa 1 - 88 - ARIZONA/Florida
Chuck Whitcomb - 88 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
16. Paul Cummings - 87 - DUKE/Purdue
Crew Ferguson - 87 - DUKE/ARIZONA
Brittany Sosa - 87 - Florida/ARIZONA
19. Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 86 - Alabama/DUKE
20. Karen Katz 2 - 85 - ARIZONA/Michigan State
21. Mitchell K (Lamb) - 84 - ARIZONA/Houston
Jeff Plamondon 1 - 84 - MICHIGAN/Florida
23. Brent Bellinger A - 83 - ARIZONA/Florida
Brent Bellinger B -83 - MICHIGAN/Michigan State
Floyd Fonte 1 - 83 - MICHIGAN/Florida
Mango Merchant - 83 - ARIZONA/DUKE
27. Daniel Barsky 1 - 82 - ARIZONA/Florida
John Hedgpeth - 82 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
Ty Hedgpeth - 82 - DUKE/ARIZONA
Benny Merchant - 82 - MICHIGAN/UCONN
Silas Nichols - 82 - MICHIGAN/UCONN
Justin Yung - 74 - MICHIGAN/DUKE
33. Matt Hopps - 81 - ARIZONA/Michigan State
Shane Jernigan 1 - 81 - MICHIGAN/DUKE
Karen Katz 1 - 81 - ARIZONA/Houston
David Kennedy - 81 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
Mac Kroesen - 81 - MICHIGAN/ILLINOIS
Monte Lambert 1 - 81 - Houston/ARIZONA
Mike Wolff 1 - 81 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
40. Megan Corrado - 80 - Houston/ARIZONA
Amanda Staudt - 80 - ARIZONA/ILLINOIS
Steven Usma 5 - 80 - Florida/Iowa State
Katie Zdrowak - 80 - UCONN/MICHIGAN
44. Daniel Barsky 2 - 79 - Houston/ARIZONA
Kyle Henderson - 79 - UCONN/Gonzaga
Si "Papa Si" Nichols - 79 - ARIZONA/Michigan State
Cheryl Spuhler - 79 - Florida/PURDUE
Josh Zdrowak - 79 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
49. Shane Jernigan 2 - 78 - ILLINOIS/MICHIGAN
Annette Pritchard 1 - 78 - Florida/ARIZONA
Henry Transecki - 78 - Florida/Iowa State
52. Jonathan Cox 2 - 77 - DUKE/ARIZONA
Duncan Merchant - 77 - ARIZONA/DUKE
54. Jenna Finkelstein - 76 - Florida/ARIZONA
Blake Jackson - 76 - ARIZONA/Florida
56. Joel Chernoff - 75 - MICHIGAN/DUKE
Gracie Fonte - 75 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Hazy Frank - 75 - MICHIGAN/Michigan State
59. Colleen Giamberini - 66 - MICHIGAN/Houston
Paul Kludt - 74 - Florida/Purdue
Max Macon 4 - 74 - Purdue/DUKE
Dave Piasecki - 74 - Florida/Iowa State
Steven Usma 3 - 74 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
64. Carolyn Fowler - 73 - UCONN/Purdue
Mark Holbert 2 - 73 - UCONN/Purdue
Guy Hughes - 73 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Martha Kroesen - 73 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Ashley Poer 2 - 73 - ARIZONA/DUKE
Measha Williams (Canes 2 Bracket) - 73 - ARIZONA/UCONN
Day Yi 1 - 73 - St. John's/ARIZONA
Bubba Zdrowak - 73 - Florida/MICHIGAN
72. Randy Bennett - 72 - MICHIGAN/Florida
Paul Cummings 2 - 72 - ARIZONA/Michigan State
Dwayne Cushman - 72 - DUKE/ARIZONA
Natalie Moon - 72 - DUKE/Iowa State
Vincent Plamondon - 72 - DUKE/Purdue
Pepe Sosa 2 - 72 - ARIZONA/Florida
Measha Williams (Canes 3 Bracket) - 72 - DUKE/ARIZONA
79. Trey Angus - 71 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
Sean McInerney 2 - 71 - MICHIGAN/Florida
Sean McInerney 4 - 71 - Florida/MICHIGAN
William Pujals - 71 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
George Walks 4 - 71 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Keith Zdrowak - 71 - ARIZONA/DUKE
85. Paul Cummings 3 - 70 - MICHIGAN/DUKE
Rylee Montague - 70 - MICHIGAN/Michigan State
Sasha Moon - 70 - Florida/ARIZONA
Jeff Plamondon - 70 - ARIZONA/Houston
Lily Spuhler - 70 - Florida/ARIZONA
Jonathan Wasserman - 70 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
Biscuit Zdrowak - 70 - BYU/DUKE
92. Jenna Finkelstein - 69 - Florida/ARIZONA
Javier Rodriguez 2 - 69 - DUKE/ARIZONA
94. Skip LaForte - 68 - Michigan State/ARIZONA
Monte Lambert 2 - 68 - ARIZONA/Florida
96. Barbara Curlett - 67 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Javier Rodriguez 1 - 67 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
Stacia Wilkaitis - 67 - Florida/ARIZONA
Day Yi 2 - 67 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
100. Braeden Helland - 66 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Mike Litsey - 66 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Chris Simmons - 66 - ARIZONA/Florida
103. James Garvin - 65 - Florida/Purdue
Max Macon 1 - 65 - Florida/Purdue
Salvatore Plamondon - 65 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Steven Usma 4 - 65 - MICHIGAN/Florida
George Walks 2 - 65 - ARIZONA/Kansas
108. Max Macon 3 - 64 - Houston/ARIZONA
Kingfish Parham 2 - 64 - DUKE/Arkansas
Annette Pritchard 2 - 64 - ARIZONA/DUKE
111. Floyd Fonte 2 - 63 - Iowa State/Houston
Alyssa Hopps - 63 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
George Walks 3 - 63 - Kansas/Gonzaga
Jonathan Wasserman 2 - 63 - MICHIGAN/DUKE
115. Justine Frank - 62 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Amy Zdrowak - 62 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
117. Megan Cox - 61 - Virginia/DUKE
Jacey Fowler - 61 - North Carolina/Alabama
Keith W. (Lamb) - 61 - Houston/ARIZONA
Jane Reynolds - 61 - Florida/MICHIGAN
Jasmine Tran - 61 - Florida/Alabama
George Walks 1 - 61 - DUKE/ARIZONA
123. Sean McInerney 1 - 60 - DUKE/Iowa State
124. Floyd Fonte 3 - 59 - Michigan State/MICHIGAN
Hannah Sosa - 59 - Florida/Purdue
Matt Thibaut - 59 - Florida/MICHIGAN
127. Quinn Jackson - 58 - Kentucky/MICHIGAN
Stephanie Soplop 2 - 58 - UCONN/Purdue
129. Mark Holbert 1 - 57 - ARIZONA/Florida
Katie Kollmeyer - 57 - MICHIGAN/Michigan State
Caroline Spuhler - 57 - Florida/Texas Tech
132. Arlene Amo Hopps - 56 - UCONN/Virginia
133. Marcus Jackson - 55 - DUKE/MICHIGAN
Dawn Lamb - 55 - Kansas/Gonzaga
135. Stephanie Soplop 1 - 54 - Florida/Miami
Mike Wolff 2 - 54 - DUKE/Texas Tech
137. Kingfish Parham 1 - 52 - ARIZONA/Florida
138. Colbie (Lamb) - 51 - Kansas/Iowa State
139. Keith W 1 (Lamb) - 49 - Kansas/Iowa State
140. Allison Parker - 47 - Virginia/North Carolina
141. Barkley Sosa - 42 - UCONN/Gonzaga
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