NCAA Tournament Pool - Champion!!!

 We have a champion!!!  Congratulations to the Baylor Bears, and congratulations to everyone in our pool that selected Baylor!

Baylor was just too fast, too physical, too maniacal, and just better than Gonzaga.  But, we should have known that.  There is no way that Indiana, which professes to be a great basketball state, was going to allow the NCAA's first undefeated champion since 1976, which was Indiana.  Come to think of it, that makes as much sense as anything for the reason why Wisconsonsin was able to defeat Kentucky in the Final Four in Lucas Oil Stadium in 2015 (See, it really is all about Kentucky).

I won't make you all read too much, as I know most of you are just here for the Final Standings, but I am still going to add some information about the game, this tourney, and the history because, well, it's my pool.

Stats of the Day

2.  This was the 6th time in the history of the Associated Press pre-season basketball poll (circa 1961) that the preseason numbers 1 and 2 faced each other in the championship game - and the first since 2001 - with the preseason number 2 winning each of the games.

1.  Mark Vital had 9 offensive rebounds inthe game - and 3 in the first 3 minutes.  He finished with 11 total rebounds.

Players of the Day

6.  Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Baylor.  He had the best name in the tournament.

5.  Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga.  He did finish with 22 points, but his early foul trouble against an agressive Baylor defense (1 of those fouls was a charge) really allowed Baylor to set the early tone and tempo.

4.  MaCio Teague, Baylor.  Sometime overlooked, but oh-so-important to the Bears finished with 19 points, including 2 of 3 from three point range.

3.  Haley Jones, Stanford.  The Stanford star was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Women's Final Four deserves a mention here, even though the best player in the tournament was clearly Aari McDonald of Arizona.

2.  Jared Butler, Baylor.  The men's Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four finished with a game high 22 (with Jalen Suggs), added 3 rebounds and 7 assists while shooting 4-9 from three.

1.  Davion Mitchell, Baylor.  The Bears point guard controlled the game, and although he finished "only" with 15 points, he had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, all while playing stifling defense on Jalen Suggs and whomever else Gonzaga put in front of him.  He set the tone early by taking a charge against Suggs, and was just as aggressive offensively often driving unimpeded to the rim.  Butler is the first team All-American and the MOP, but this team does not win this year without Mitchell.

My All Tournament Teams (Listed Alphabetically)

Honorable Mention

Javonte Smart, LSU

Justin Smith, Arkansas

MaCio Teague, Baylor

Third Team

Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse

Chris Duarte, Oregon

Tanner Groves, Eastern Washington (Scored 35 points in a game, and now in the transfer portal)

Cameron Krutwig, Loyola

Austin Reaves, Oklahoma

Second Team

Luka Garza, Iowa

Quentin Grimes, Houston

Marcus Sasser, Houston

Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga

Ethan Thompson, Oregon State

FIRST TEAM

Max Abmas, Oral Roberts

Jared Butler, Baylor

Johnny Juzang, UCLA

Davion Mitchell, Baylor

Drew Timme, Gonzaga

Since Baylor defeated Gonzaga to keep Gonzaga from becoming the first undefeated basketball champions since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, let's take a look at that squad.

While the football Hoosiers were toiling in the fall under the tutelege of coach Lee Corso, (Yes, THAT Lee Corso), the basketball team was riding high, returning 71% of its minutes played and 68% of its scoring from the previous season which saw it advance to the Elite 8 where it lost to eventual runner-up Kentucky (See, it is all about Kentucky!!!)  (As an aside, that Kentucky team had Rick Robey and Jack Givens as freshman, and were led by Kevin Grevey and his 23.5 points per game.  Those freshman would win the 1978 championship as seniors, behind Jack Givens' 41 points in the championship game.  They beat Duke, by the way).

Back to Indiana.  That team was stacked, returning seniors Scott May and Quinn Buckner as well as junior Kent Benson.  That roster had 4 Parade High School All-Americans (Buckner, Benson, and freshmen Bob Bender and Rich Valavicius), and had 6 future NBAers (May, Benson, Buckner, Tom Abernathy, Bob Wilkerson, and Wayne Radford.

Indiana offensively was led by Scott May and his 23.5 points per game (and 7.7 rebounds), with big man Kent Benson contributing 17.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.  The team was led in assists by Bob Wilkerson;s 5.3 per game and Quinn Buckner's 4.2 per game, but as a team they averaged 20.5 assists a game - with an average of 34 made field goals, constantly sharing the ball in an offense that featured movement under then 36 year old coach Bobby Knight.  For more on Bobby Knight and his time at Indiana, I recommend watching the ESPN 30-for-30 Last Days of Knight.

Indiana was the top seed (well, they didn't technically do seeds, but being undefeated, they were) in the Mideast region played in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  And boy, was that region loaded with coaches - Besides Bobby Knight, C.M. Newton at Alabama, Al McGuire of Marquette, Dean Smith of North Carolina, Lou Carnesecca at St. John's and Don DeVoe of Virginia Tech were other coaches in that region.  Just loaded.  (Also coaching in this tournament - Ray Meyer at Depaul, Peter Carril at Princeton, Terry Holland at Virginia, Johnny Orr at Michigan, Norm Stewart at Missouri, Digger Phelps at Notre Dame, John Thompson at Georgetown, Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV and Gene Bartow UCLA - WOW!)

The first round, however, was not played in Baton Rouge as the Hoosiers had to travel all the way to South Bend, Indiana, where they dispatched St. John's 90-70.  Moving to the regional semifinals in Baton Rouge, Indiana beat Alabama 74-69 and then defeated Marquette 65-56 to advance to the Final Four in the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In the Final Four, Indiana defeated defending champion UCLA 65-51, and advanced to the championship game against Michigan, which they won 86-68, behind Scott May's 26 points and 8 rebounds, Kent Benson's 25 points and 9 rebounds, Quinn Buckner's 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals, and Tom Abernathy's 11 points.  All told, Indiana had 19 assists on its 32 made field goals, and had 10 total steals, led by Buckner's 5.  

Anyway, who cares who won in 1976.  We just care who won in 2021, right?  And not even the tournament - just our pool!!!  Please check and double check if you feel so inclined, I know I did.  And it was important to do so, as we did actually have a tie for first.  As a refresher, rule 20 governs ties, and rule 20 is "Should a tie occur after the championship game, the tiebreaker is determined by number of first round games selected correctly (not total points in the first round); then second round games, etc. until the tie is broken.  Correct score of the Final IS NOT a tiebreaker.  Do not attempt to select the score of the Championship game."  Despite this, 23 of you did submit a championship game score, but none of those involved in the tiebreaker.  So, the tiebreaker is between Edy Pecan of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Steven Usma 3 of Miami, Florida both tied with 142.  Going with the tiebreakers, Steven's first round record was 22-10, and Edy's first round record was 23-9.  So, by the difference of 1 game, Edy Pecan of West Palm Beach is our champion.  Steven Usma 3 of Miami, Florida finishes in second, and Brian Hinaman of Parrish, Florida finishes in third, only 1 point behind our leaders.

With 120 entrants into the pool, and last place reciving their $5 back, ordinarily I would split the total amount for 119 entrants among the top 3, but, since 120 is such an even/round number, I will issue payouts based upon the 120.  So, Edy will receive $360, Steve will receive $150, and Brian will receive $90. A reminder, Sean McInerney of Atlantic Beach, Florida receives his $5 back.  Notice I say each of these four will "receive" certain amounts, not that they won.  That is because this was for AMUSEMENT PURPOSES ONLY!

Also, one entrant in this pool was very generous, and made a contribution for my time and effort in hosting.  That was unnecessary and definitely not required, but, I will continue that generous mood and give some to the highest ranking first-timer in the pool.  This is done because (a) I feel like passing some of that good-will forward (some, not all); and (b) that might encourage that person and others to bring in new people next year.  And to the generous participant, THANK YOU!

The first-time participant with the highest score is ...  Emily Lawson 2, of New York City, New York who finished in 5th place with 134 points.  And this was a closer battle than I anticipated as 5th, 6th and 7th place were all first timers.  Sandwiched in between those 4 winners was Ty Leatherman, of Wilmington, North Carolina, who finished in fourth place.  Also of note, William Pujals of Charlotte, North Carolina was the highest finisher that did not have Baylor winning the championship, finishing in 9th place.  Also of note is Biscuit Zdrowak of Orlando, Florida, that is our highest finishing animal entry, finishing in 19th place.  Also a special mention to Rich Samuels 2 of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, who was the lowest ranking bracket that correctly selected Baylor to win the championship; finishing in 40th place.

BUT REMEMBER, NO M ATTER IN WHAT PLACE YOU FINISHED, SO LONG AS YOU WERE THE TOP IN YOUR FAMILY/FRIENDS GROUP YOU ARE A WINNER!!!

Edy, Steven, Brian, and Emily, bear with me a day or two as I consolidate the payments from my bank account, PayPal, Venmo and CashApp, so that I can conveniently pay you all properly.  Just let me know your preferred method to receive your money.

Thank you all for playing - and Your Tournament Host is looking forward to being at next year's Final Four in person, as the The Road to New Orleans begins now.

Now, on to the standings:

1.  EDY PECAN - 142 - BAYLOR

2.  STEVEN USMA 3 - 142 - BAYLOR

3.  BRIAN HINAMAN - 141 - BAYLOR

4.  Ty Leatherman - 138 - Baylor

5.  Emily Lawson - 134 - Baylor

6.  Justin Hallack - 126 - Baylor

7.  Dave Marzouca 1 - 121 - Baylor

8.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 120 - Baylor

9.  William Pujals - 119

10.  Brent Bellinger 1 - 118

       Matt Hopps - 118

       Steven Usma 4 - 118

13.  Measha Williams 3 - 116

14.  Max Macon 4 - 115 - BAYLOR

       Joshua Ward - 115 - BAYLOR

16.  Ashley Poer 3 - 113 - BAYLOR

       Cheryl Spuhler - 113 - BAYLOR

18.  Kisha Marzouca 2 - 112 - BAYLOR

19.  Biscuit Zdrowak - 111 - BAYLOR

20.  Day Yi 1 - 110

21.  Jeff Plamondon - 109

       Measha Williams 2 - 109

23.  James Garvin - 108

       Colleen Hamilton 2 - 108

25.  Braeden Helland 4 - 106

26.  Stephanie Henderson - 105

       Silas Nichols 1 - 105

       Measha Williams 1 - 105

29.  Dan Laishley - 104 - BAYLOR

30.  Guy Hughes - 103

       Chris Igtiben 1 - 103

32.  Skip LaForte - 101

       Silas Nichols 2 - 101

34.  Emily Lawson 1 - 100

       Javier Rodriguez - 100

       Steven Usma 1 - 100

37.  Ashley Poer 2 - 98

38.  Rich Samuels 1 - 97

       Joshua Zdrowak - 97 - BAYLOR

40.  Kingfish Parham - 96

       Rich Samuels 2 - 96 - BAYLOR

       Pepe Sosa - 96

43.  Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 2 - 95

       Max Macon 1 - 95

45.  Braeden Helland 3 - 94

       Measha Williams 4 - 94

47.  Amy Zdrowak - 92

48.  Martha Kroesen - 91

       Brittany Sosa - 91

50.  Rachel Bornn - 90

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 90

       Jeremy Spuhler - 90

53.  Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 1 - 89

       Larry Green - 89

       Carey Taylor - 89

56.  Jenna Finkelstein - 88

       Colleen Hamilton 3 - 88

       Adam Jorgensen 1 - 88

       Jason Spuhler - 88

60.  Adam Jorgensen 3 - 87

61.  Paul Cummings - 86

       Justin Yung - 86

63.  Dan Barsky 1 - 85

       Ashley Poer 1 - 85

65.  Colonel Kareem Montague - 84

66.  Colleen Hamilton 4 - 83

       Katie Zdrowak - 83

68.  Liz Carew - 81

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 81

70.  Sasha Moon - 80

71.  Keith Zdrowak - 79

72.  Scott Bieterman - 78

       Rich Samuels 3 - 78

       George Walks 2 - 78

75.  Mac Kroesen - 77

       George Walks 4 - 77

77.  Braeden Helland 1 - 75

       Quinn Jackson - 75

        Jess Samuels - 75

        Ken Ward - 75

81. Luis Briones - 74

82.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 73

       Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 73

       Marcus Jackson - 73

       Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan 1 - 73

       Michael McNally - 73

       George Walks 1 - 73

88.  Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan 2 - 72

89.  Dan Barsky 2 - 71

       Nancy McInerney - 71

       Steven Usma 2 - 71

92.  Jonathan Wasserman - 70

93.  Jane Reynolds - 68

94.  Chris Igtiben 2 - 67

       Chris LaForte - 67

       Wes Wiggins - 67

97.  Max Macon 2 - 65

98.  Eric Inge - 64

       Max Macon 3 - 64

100.  Adam Jorgensen 2 - 63

         Brian McMahon - 63

102.  Colleen Hamilton 1 - 60

         Greg Lieberman - 60

         Kisha Marzouca 1 - 60

         Hannah Sosa - 60

106.  George Walks 3 - 59

107.  Carolyn Fowler - 58

         Brandon Satterwhite - 58

         Amanda Staudt - 58

110.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 56

         Miles Jackson - 56

112.  Karen Katz - 55

         Katie Kollmeyer - 55

114.  Blake Jackson - 52

115.  Day Yi 2 - 51

116.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 45

         Barkley Sosa - 45

118.  Bubba Zdrowak - 43

119.  Braeden Helland - 41

120.  Sean McInerney - 39

NCAA Tournament Pool - Final Four

 

WOW!!!  That is all I can say.  Jalen Suggs - welcome to the pantheon of NCAA Tournament memorable last second shots, joinging the likes of Kris Jenkins, Lorenzo Charles, Christian Laettner, Bryce Drew, Tate George, Danny Ainge and Ali Faroukmanesh.  

I, and many others, expected one close game and one blowout last night, and that is exactly what we got - in reverse order.  Baylor, for the majority of the year the number 2 ranked team in the country, just annihilated Houston from the get-go, whereas UCLA gave Gonzaga everything they could handle, taking the Bulldogs to overtime, which culminated in the Jalen Suggs banked-in game-winning three- pointer at the buzzer from Damian Lillard territory.

So, we get the game between the teams that have basically been the best 2 teams all year.  Who would have thought it?

 With Houston out of the tournament, only 2 chamions remain in our pool, and, obviously, whether Gonzaga or Baylor wins will determine the winners of the pool.  If Gonzaga wins, then our current leader, William Pujals of Charlotte, North Carolina wins the pool, with Brent Bellinger 1 of Austin, Texas in second and Measha Williams 3 of Houston, Texas in third.  If Baylor wins, Edy Pecan of the Greater West Palm Beach, Florida and Steven Usma 3 of Miami, Florida tie for first, and Brian Hinaman of Parrish, Florida finishes third.  I have not yet done the computation to break the tie, so if Baylor wins, our winners will be surprised too!  Matt Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts, currently sits tied for second, but has Michigan as the winner.

 While we await tomorrow night's final between Gonzaga and Baylor, Houston joins the rest of our dismissed champions: Alabama, Florida, Florida STate, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Michgan State, Ohio State and Virginia.

Most entrants had at least 1 game correct.  If you had both, you rocketed up the standings.  If you had zero, you fell.

Stats of the Day

 3.  As Juwan Howard was the first person to be a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament as a player and a coach, I then wanted to see if any players of the year had success as coaches on the college level.  As it turns out, South Carolina women's basketball coach was a Naismith Award winner as player of the year, and has also coached in the Final Four.

2.  Speaking of South Carolina women's basketball, although the Gamecocks lost in the Final Four to Stanford, in the Elite 8 South Carolina held Texas to 0 points for the entire fourth quarter.  ZERO POINTS!!!

1.  This is the fifth time that the NCAA championship game has been played by the teams ranked 1 and 2 in the preseason poll since 1961 (when the preseason poll started).  It is, however, the first time since Duke defeated Arizona in 2001.

Players of the Day

8.  Marcus Sasser, Houston.  Sasser was the only Cougar not overwhelmed by Baylor, scoring 20 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

7.  Cody Riley, UCLA.  Riley had 14 points and 10 rebounds, but 6 important points late in the game to keep UCLA close.

6.  Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga.  The freshman phenom finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 asissts, 2 steals and 1 block.

5.  Jared Butler, Baylor.  In an ominous sign for Baylor opponents, Butler is starting to find his shot, finishing 4-5 from 3 points range for 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

4.  Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga.  For long stretches of the game, Ayayi was Gonzaga's best player.  He scored 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

3.  Drew Timme, Gonzaga.  He finished with 25 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, but had 6 straignt Gonzaga points to start overtime.

2.  Johnny Juzang, UCLA.  Scored 29 points on 12-18 shooting, and 3-6 from three point range.  Also added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.  He has been the best player in the tournament.

1.  Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga.  Just for the last buzzer-beating shot that put Gonzaga into the finals and kept UCLA out of the second overtime.

Plays of the Day

3.  Under ordinary circumstances, Andrew Nembhard's three-pointer to send the game into overtime would have been the big shot in a game.  It barely registers last night, which is why I want to mention it.

2.  Under ordinary circumstances, Jalen Suggs' block of Cody Riley's dunk with the game tied 77-77 and 2:01 left, and then his subsequent half-court pass to a streakng Drew Timme would be a player's most memorable play of their college career.  Click through to watch this amazing play.  But then ...

1.  Jalen Suggs calls GAME!!!

Jalen Suggs' shot was preceded by Johnny Juzang's missed shot, offensive rebound putback to tie the game at 90.  Not only did Suggs win the game and rip the heart out of UCLA fans everywhere, he deprived Juzang of his place in tournament history.  Which reminds me ..

The 2016 Final Four took place in Houston, at NRG Stadium about 4,286 miles outside of town.  (OK, slight exaggeration, but it is about as far out of town as a stadium can get and still be listed as being in the same city.  At least State Farm Stadium says it is in Glendale, Arizona and not Phoenix.)  This was a rather boring Final Four as Villanova just dumptrucked Oklahoma 95-51, whil Syracuse kept is semi-final game relatively close, losing to North Carolina 83-66.   But, then we get to the Finals between Villanova and North Carolina.  That game happened on April 4, 2016, exactly 5 years ago.  Villanova won 77-74 behind Phil Booth's 20 points off the bench, whereas North Carolina was led by Marcus Paige's 21 and Joel Berry II's 20 points.  But, this ending was very similar to last night's game.

North Carolina led by 5 at halftime, before Villanova gradually caught up and then took the lead late.  North Carolina then eventually completed their comeback from being down 6 with 1:52 left in the game.  The Tar Heels comeback culminated in a Marcus Paige double-clutch off-balance three-pointer to tie the game with 4.7 seconds left.  Paige was all set to be remembered by history.  Then, Kris Jenkins happened.  To quote Villanova coach Jay Wright when Jenkins put up the shot, Bang!  And yes, he said it before the ball had even went through the hoop.  BANG indeed!

And yes, your Tournament Host was there.  Here is the court immediately after the shot, from behind the Villanova basket.

I would also be remiss if I did not mention a bit about the immediate past history of the Baylor Bears men's basketball team.  While the Bears' women's team has had a ton of recent success, being champions in 2005, 2012, and 2019, and adding another Final Four in 2010, and Elite 8s in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021, Baylor's men's team has not been in a Final Four since 1950, and the Final game since 1948, where they lost to the Kentucky Wildcats.  (See, I made a Kentucky reference without menting the Johnny Juzang transfer.)

Scott Drew took over the program in 2003, and has been the head coach for 18 years.  But what was the state of Baylor men's basketball in 2003 when Drew arrived?  In about as awful a place as any team could be.  See, in the summer of 2003, June 12 to be exact, Baylor player Patrick Dennehy was murdered by Carlton Dotson, his teammate on the Bears.  Dennehy and Dotson were concerned about their safety earlier in the summer, so they each purchased two pistols and a rifle, and practiced shooting outside of Waco, Texas.  Dennehy spoke to one of his friends and mentioned that some threats were made to Dotson, but that they would be going out to a party the next night, but neither arrived at the party.  Over the next few days, Dennehy didn't call his partents of Father's Day, his roomate came home and found his dogs not fed, and nobody had seen Dennehy in over a week.  A missing person's report was filed, and on June 25, Dennehy's Tahoe was found in a shopping mall in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with its license plate removed.  Ultimately, the police were led to Dotson, who spoke with the FBI, and on July 25, Dennehy's body was found in a gravel pit outside of Waco, Texas.  Dotson ultimately pled guilty in 2005, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.  He is eligible for parole later this year.

For more information on this story, Showtime produced a documentary about it called Disgraced.

Not many coaches would have wanted to walk into a situation like that, except Scott Drew did, and now he is in the National Championship game.

Now, on to the standings.  As always, feel free to let me know if you think your score is incorrect, and I will be happy to double-check it.

 1.  William Pujals - 119 - Gonzaga

2.  Brent Bellinger 1 - 118 - Gonzaga

     Matt Hopps - 118 - Michigan

4.  Measha Williams 3 - 116 - Gonzaga

5.  Edy Pecan - 114 - Baylor

     Steven Usma - 114 - Baylor

7.  Brian Hinaman - 113 - Baylor

8.  Ty Leatherman - 110 - Baylor

      Day Yi 1 - 110 - Gonzaga

10.  Jeff Plamondon - 109 - Gonzaga

       Measha Williams 2 - 109 - Gonzaga

12.  James Garvin - 108 - Gonzaga

       Colleen Hamilton 2 - 108 - Gonzaga

14.  Braeden Helland 4 - 106 - Gonzaga

       Emily Lawson 2 - 106 - Baylor

16.  Silas Nichols 1 - 105 - Gonzaga

       Measha Williams 1 - 105 - Gonzaga

18.  Guy Hughes - 103 - Gonzaga

       Chris Igtiben 1 - 103 - Illinois

20.  Skip LaForte - 101 - Michigan State

       Silas Nichols 2 - 101 - Illinois

22.  Emily Lawson 1 - 100 - Gonzaga

       Javier Rodriguez - 100 - Gonzaga

       Steven Usma 1 - 100 - Gonzaga

25.  Justin Hallack - 98 - Baylor

       Ashley Poer 2 - 98 - Houston

27.  Rich Samuels 1 - 97 - Hosuton

28.  Kingfish Parham - 96 - Gonzaga

       Pepe Sosa - 96 - Gonzaga

30.  Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 2 - 95 - Alabama

       Max Macon 1 - 95 - Gonzaga

32.  Braeden Helland 3 - 94 - Gonzaga

       Measha Williams 4 - 94 - Gonzaga

34.  Dave Marzouca 1 - 93 - Baylor

35.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 92 - Baylor

       Amy Zdrowak - 92 - Gonzaga

37.  Martha Kroesen - 91 - Illinois

       Brittany Sosa - 91 - Illinois

39.  Rachel Bornn - 90 - Illinois

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 90 - Gonzaga

       Jeremy Spuhler - 90 - Gonzaga

       Steven Usma 4 - Baylor

43.  Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 1 - 89 - Gonzaga

       Larry Green - 89  Gonzaga

       Carey Taylor - 89 - Gonzaga

46.  Jenna Finkelstein - 88 - Kansas

       Colleen Hamilton 3 - 88 - Ohio State

       Adan Jorgensen 1 - 88 - Illinois

       Jason Spuhler - 88 - Gonzaga

50.  Adam Jorgensen 3 - 87 - Gonzaga

       Max Macon 4 - 87 - Baylor

       Joshua Ward - 87 - Baylor

53.  Paul Cummings - 86 - Gonzaga

       Justin Yung - 86 - Alabama

55.  Dan Barsky 1 - 85 - Gonzaga

       Ashley Poer 1 - 85 - Gonzaga

       Ashley Poer 3 - 85 - Baylor

       Cheryl Spuhler - 85 - Baylor

59.  Kisha Marzouca 2 - 84 - Baylor

       Colonel Kareem Montague - 84 - Gonzaga

61.  Colleen Hamilton 4 - 83 - Ohio State

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 83 - Baylor

       Katie Zdrowak - 83 - Iowa

64.  Liz Carew - 81 - Gonzaga

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 81 - Gonzaga

66.  Sasha Moon - 80 - Gonzaga

67.  Keith Zdrowak - 79 - Ohio State

68.  Scott Bieterman - 78 - Illinois

       Rich Samuels 3 - 78 - Gonzaga

       George Walks 3 - 78 - Illinois

71.  Stephanie Henderson - 77 - Baylor

       Mac Kroesen - 77 - Gonzaga

       George Walks 4 - 77 - Houston

74.  Dan Laishley - 76 - Baylor

75.  Braeden Helland 1 - 75 - Illinois

       Quinn Jackson - 75 - Illinois

       Jessica Samuels - 75 - Gonzaga

       Ken Ward - 75 - Virginia

79.  Luis Briones - 74 - Ohio State

80.  Brent Bellinger - 73 - Illinois

       Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 73 - Illinois

       Marcus Jackson - 73 - Gonzaga

       Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan - 73 - Illinois

       Michael McNally - 73 - Illinois

       George Walks 1 - 73 - Gonzaga

86.  Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan - 72 - Gonzaga

87.  Dan Barsky 2 - 71 - Illinois

       Nancy McInerney - 71 - Alabama

       Steven Usma 2 - 71 - Illinois

90.  Jonathan Wasserman - 70 - Michigan

91.  Joshua Zdrowak - 69 - Baylor

92.  Jane Reynolds - 68 - Alabama

       Rich Samuels 2 - 68 - Baylor

94.  Chris Igtiben 2 - 67 - Michigan

       Chris LaForte - 67 - Michigan

       Wes Wiggins - 67 - Gonzaga

97.  Max Macon 2- 65 - Michigan

98.  Eric Inge - 64 - Illinois

       Max Macon 3 - 64 - FSU

100.  Adam Jorgensen 2 - 63 - Iowa

         Brian McMahon - 63 - Gonzaga

102.  Colleen Hamilton - 60 - FSU

         Greg Lieberman - 60 - Michigan

         Kisha Marzouca 1 - 60 - Illinois

         Hannah Sosa - 60 - Florida

106.  George Walks 3 - 59 - Michigan

107.  Carolyn Fowler - 58 - Illinois

         Brandon Satterwhite - 58 - Alabama

         Amanda Staudt - 58 - Illinois

110.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 56 - Villanova

         Miles Jackson - 56 - Illinois

112.  Karen Katz - 55 - Illinois

         Katie Kollmeyer - 55 - Michigan

114.  Blake Jackson - 52 - Alabama

115.  Day Yi 2 - 51 - Michigan

116.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 45 - Ohio State

         Barkley Sosa - 45 - Florida

118.  Bubba Zdrowak - 43 - Alabama

119.  Braeden Helland 2 - 41 - Iowa

120.  Sean McInerney - 39 - Ohio State

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Round 1/Day 1

Hello all - and welcome to the first report of the 2019 NCAA Tournament Pool hosted by, well, Your Tournament Host.

We have a good pool this year, with a good amount of newcomers and returnees - with two of our newcomers being incredibly precocious, as they were not yet born this time last year.  A number of our entries have four legs (Biscuit, Jacey, Cubbie. Mac, Duncan, Mango, Abigail, Barkley - and maybe some others).  We have expanded into a new state and a new commonwealth this year (New York, Massachusetts) and vastly expanded our representation from North Carolina. 

Speaking of North Carolina - I want to give a shout out to Glen Merchant, Duncan Merchant, and Mango Merchant, who managed to turn int their respective brackets yesterday morning, despite preparing for the GRAND OPENING of their ax-throwing/craft-beer establishment in Asheville, NC called Axeville Throwing Club.  Here's hoping they had a great opening and continued success, all while watching their respective favorite teams in the tournament!

Unfortunately, we have also expanded our inability to follow all of the directions and the rules.  So many people violated one rule or the other, that you can just go ahead and assume that you did.  In fact, Jenna Finkelstein of St. Petersburg, FL wrote to me about her and Jeremy Spuhler , also of St. Pete, "We aren't very good at following directions!.  You aren't the only ones Jenna.  No worries though, as I think everything is sorted out and we are ready to go with our final count of 121 entries.  The standings below only indicate 120, but Karen Katz - as per her usual - she mailed me her bracket.  It was postmarked Monday and arrived yesterday, but after I started scoring.  She will be included in the next update.

All of that is still better than Bradley Deutchman of Washington, D.C., who e-mailed me the following:

I have a few questions to make sure I understand how this works:

1)  Play-In Games 

How many points do I get for correctly picking the winners of the Play-In games?  I didn’t see it in there.

Also, as for the first round Play-In picks, I’d prefer to specify “generally” and I hope you can respect my choice to do so as all our choices must be respected.

2)  Scoring

Is this the same scoring system as last year?

3)  I would like to get 4 points for second round picks and 20 points for 3rd round picks.  Please effectuate these changes for me.

4)  Guaranteed Upset

Two questions.  First is more philosophical.

How can you really quantify “upset”?  I can tell you from, at least, my personal dating experience, when I accuse someone of being upset, I’m usually told I’m wrong.  

Also, I would prefer to designate my “Guaranteed Upset” in a triangle instead of a circle in respect to the “Triangle Offense.”  I do not know what the “Triangle Offense” is but I recall hearing it has something to do with Michael Jackson and winning.

Thank you for your attention to these items.  I expect there will be no problem fulfilling my requests.

He spent more time on the e-mail than he did on his bracket, as he ultimately did not send me one.  (If you did - please re-send with the e-mail time stamp from your original e-mail).

For our champions, we have 16 different teams selected, with most of the love going to the State of North Carolina.  More people selected Duke than any other score, with North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and Gonzaga getting significant love.  Surprisingly we have multiple selections of Florida and Florida State, with single entries selecting Houston, Purdue and Syracuse.  Yes your heard that correctly, we had someone select Syracuse.   That means for the second consecutive year someone lost a champion on opening day!  Sorry Edy Pecan of West Palm Beach, FL, you have the worst selection of the day.  We can't blame you entirely, as there was a significant issue with the Orange that occurred last minute (see below).  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.

In addition to Edy Pecan, I want to make a special note of Colonel Kareem Montague, of Hickham Air Force Base, Hawaii and Justin Yung of Raleigh, North Carolina, for their traitorous selections of Yale to beat LSU.  Alumni of Harvard should never pick Yale for anything - and I mean anything. Serves you right that Yale shot 8-37 from three point range (including 1-10 for Miye Oni, a junior who was considering entering the NBA draft).  After that performance, I want to stress the word WAS.

We like to have a lot of fun here at our tournament pool, and it is fun to look at basketball as a game.  But, sometimes real life intervenes.  That happened twice yesterday, and I mention it because it greatly affected the games (at least one), and perhaps more going forward.  First, Syracuse senior point guard Frank Howard was suspended indefinitely for failing a drug test.  This came out yesterday.  We know how long indefinitely is, though, since Syracuse is out!  The second dose of real life occurred in the Florida State locker room after their first round victory over Vermont, when star Phil Cofer learned of the death of his father after a long illness.  We wish the Cofer family well during this ordeal, and hope that it does not affect the team to negatively going forward.

From real life heartbreak to basketball heartbreak - WHAT ON EARTH WAS UP WITH A.J. HARRIS?  Harris, a guard for New Mexico State, drove the length of the floor with six seconds to go down 2 to Auburn, and got to the basket uncontested where a layup would have tied the game. Instead, Harris passed it back out to a guarded Terrell Brown who proceeded to miss the potential game-winning three.  Brown, however, was fouled by the Auburn defender and would receive 3 free throws to potentially win the game.  After missing the first and hitting the second, Brown missed the third to keep New Mexico State down 1, but Auburn knocked the ball out-of-bounds with 1.3 seconds left giving the Aggies one last shot, which ended in a wide-open corner three, which was airballed.   If Harris hits the layup, they are tied with 3 seconds or so left, and likely go to overtime.

In the karma department, the Louisville Cardinals, which school is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with former coach Rick Pitino, lost to the the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are currently coached by Richard Pitino, Rick Pitino's son.  Somewhere the vampire that is Rick Pitino is smiling. 

Minnesota was a lower seed, and 9th seeded Baylor defeated the aforementioned Syracuse, but the real upset of the day was number 12 Murray State defeated 5th seeded Marquette.  Now, apparently this was not too unforeseen, as this game was by far the most picked guaranteed upset in our pool (followed closely by Oregon).  As you will see in the standings, a lot of people received 5 or 10 bonus points for this win.  Murray State, led by a triple double from guard Ja Morant - who will easily be a top 5 draft pick this year - won 84-63, and frankly it wasn't even that close.  Morant finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists to record only the 9th triple double in NCAA Tournament history and the first since Michigan State's Draymond Green did it in 2012.  Green, now an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, was the first triple double since 2011, when Draymond Green did it.  I do believe that Ja Morant is the best religious leader-named hoopster since God Shammgod played at Providence College.

Today's history lesson brings us to another NCAA tournament triple double involving a soon-to-be top 5 NBA draft pick in a game involving the Marquette Warriors.  Marquette, the three seed in the midwest, played the number 1 seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the regional final in Minneapolis, home of this year's Final Four.   Winner moved on to the Final Four.  As an aside, this was a particularly important game as I was already headed to the Final Four in New Orleans that year, with a chance to cheer for Kentucky (my favorite team for those that don't know).  I was travelling with Silas Nichols of Washington, D.C., who is an alumnus of Syracuse University, which would qualify for the Final Four that year behind freshman sensation Carmelo Anthony.  (Syracuse would ultimately win).  Being on opposite sides of the brackets meant a Kentucky - Syracuse final was possible until, the Flash appeared.  Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 29, with 11 rebounds and 11 assists as Marquette defeated Kentucky 83-69 to earn their trip to the Final Four.  Wade left Marquette after that Final Four appearance and was drafted 5th in the NBA draft by the Miami Heat, behind such other legendary players as the aforementioned Carmelo Anthony (3rd to Denver), Chris Bosh (4th to Toronto), LeBron James (1st to Cleveland) and the immortal Darko Milicic (2nd to Detroit).  There is no way the Pistons don't regret this draft.

As stated earlier, a bunch of people selected Murray State to advance, so that is the best overall single pick, and too many people to name guaranteed that pick as their upset, earning 10 bonus points.  In light of this fact, I will give the coveted "Pick of the Day" Award to Debbie Igdaloff Nieman of Boca Raton, Florida and Kingfish Rod Parham of Snellville, Georgia, both of whom correctly picked 15 of the 16 games from yesterday.  Interestingly, they both had the Murray State upset, but not as their guarantee, and they both missed the Villanova game, as they both selected St. Mary's for the upset.  Villanova won 61-57, to keep alive their hopes for a repeat championship.

Even though they did not win the "Pick of the Day" Award, we do have a six-way tie for first.  Congratulations to Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds of Greenacres, FL, Marcus Jackson of Reston, VA, Duncan Merchant, of Asheville, NC, Steven Usma #1 of Miami, FL, Harrington Wax III, of Asheville, NC, and Mike Zachary of Jacksonville, FL. 

As far as the brackets as a whole, only one team was selected by all of the entrants yesterday, and that was Michigan State.  This means that some people picked Abilene Christian to defeat Kentucky, and Farleigh Dickinson to defeat Gonzaga.  Those didn't happen, but I like the gumption.

I hand score the brackets, so it is possible that I may have made a mistake.  I know, I know, you are surprised that I am fallible.  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.

1 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 24
     Marcus Jackson - 24
     Duncan Merchant - 24
     Steven Usma #1 - 24
     Harrington Wax III - 24
     Mike Zachary 24

7 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 23
     Philip Kroesen - 23
     Col. Kareem Montague - 23
     Matt Nieman - 23
     Allison Parker - 23
     Ashley Poer #2 - 23
     Steven Usma #3
     Measha Williams #2 - 23

15 - Coby Kroesen - 22
       Skip LaForte - 22
       Brittany Sosa - 22
       George Walks #3 - 22

19 - Kline Kroesen - 21
       Silas Nichols - 21

21 - Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 20
       Kingfish Rod Parham - 20
       Kyle Sheehan - 20
       Measha Williams #3 - 20

25 - Scott Bieterman - 19
       Scott Hansel - 19
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 19

28 - Carolyn Fowler - 18
       Brian Hinaman - 18
       Matt Hopps - 18
       Robert Hosmer - 18
       Katie Kollmeyer - 18
       Max Macon 1 - 18
       William Pujals - 18
       Jeremy Spuhler - 18
       Robert Tanen 1 - 18
       Robert Tanen 2 - 18
       Steven Usma #4 - 18
       George Walks #5 - 18
       Jonathan Wasserman - 18

41 - Eric Inge - 17
       Ty Leatherman - 17
       Max Macon #2 - 17
       Max Marion #1 - 17
       Jane Reynolds - 17
       Brittany Sosa - 17
       Michael Spicer - 17
       Steven Usma #5 - 17

49 - Bill Ganoe - 16
       Hilary Kroesen - 16
       Max Macon #4 - 16
       Max Marion #2 - 16
       Mango Merchant - 16
       Chris Petit - 16
       Steven Usma #2 - 16

56 - Pepe Sosa - 15

57 - Anthony LaPira - 14
       Dana Mandelbaum - 14
       Meredith Tanen - 14
       Krystal Travers - 14
       Measha Williams #1 - 14
       Justin Yung - 14

63 - Jennifer Armstrong - 13
       Rachel Bornn - 13
       Jenna Finkelstein - 13
       James Garvin - 13
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 13
       Martha Kroesen - 13
       Glen Merchant - 13
       Dave Piasecki #1 - 13
       John Santucci - 13
       Barkley Sosa - 13
       Cheryl Spuhler - 13
       George Walks #2 - 13
       George Walks #4 - 13
        Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 13

77 - Alyssa Ave - 12
       Dan Barsky #1 - 12
       Dan Barsky #2 - 12
       Luis Briones - 12
       Paul Cummings - 12
       Adam Jorgensen - 12
       Chris Kroesen - 12
       Michael Litsey - 12
       Max Macon #3 - 12
       Sasha Moon - 12
       David Olson - 12
       Griffey Parker - 12
       Ashley Poer #1 - 12
       Rich Samuels #1 - 12
       Rich Samuels #2 - 12
       Ira Schulteis - 12
       Jordyn Sheehan - 12
       Samantha Sheehan - 12
       Traci Sheehan - 12
       Hannah Sosa - 12
       Tara Telliott - 12
       Biscuit Zdrowak - 12
       Joshua Zdrowak - 12

100 - Jean Calixte - 11
         Liz Carew - 11
         Jacey Fowler #1 - 11
         Bill Ganoe #2 - 11
         Arlene Amo Hopps - 11
         Cubbie Kroesen - 11
         Hilary Kroesen #2 - 11
         Mac Kroesen - 11
         Sean McInerney - 11
        Edy Pecan - 11
        Jeff Plamondon - 11
        Jessica Samuels - 11
        Melanie Scherr - 11
        George Walks #1 - 11
        Wes Wiggins - 11
        Katie Zdrowak - 11
        Keith Zdrowak - 11

117 - Chad Phillips - 10
          Abigail Sosa - 10
         Jason Spuhler - 10

120 - Amy Zdrowak - 9

NCAA Tourney Pool - Round 2/Day 2

"Down goes Xavier!  Down goes Xavier!  Down goes Xavier!," said in your best Howard Cosell imitation voice.  Not only did we lose another number 1 seed, we also lost North Carolina - who was obliterated by Texas A&M, Michigan State - who was outplayed and outsmarted by Syracuse, and Cincinnati - who held on to lose after building up a 22 point lead with only 12 minutes left to play snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

This is horrific for the city of Cincinnati, who lost its two major colleges (Cincinnati and Xavier) in the same round, to major upsets at that hands of Nevada and Florida State respectively.

Also horrific is the Nike "Let's Go" commercial, in which the earth stops rotating on its axis - yet everything is still ok.  (I won't get into that as that will take an entire post just on its own, right scientists?)  A female decides that life is now literally a hamster race so she starts to get everyone running to re-start the rotation of the earth, only she is going in the wrong direction.  As one of you pointed out (Brent Bellinger of Austin Texas), is Nike trying to say that women are bad with directions?  I hope not, but it certainly seems one of the themes as Kevin Hart is trying to point out that he was originally running in the correct direction.  Perhaps they are just saying our daily lives are nothing but running around in circles.

Someone who certainly isn't - or at least wasn't - running around in circles was Michael Litsey of Redondo Beach, California, who likely didn't watch much basketball this weekend as he ran 26.2 miles in a (somewhat) straight line from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica Beach.  He ran the Los Angeles Marathon, meaning he ran more yesterday that I have in my life.

The biggest loser of yesterday was our brackets.  If you scored 2 points (meaning you selected 1 game correctly) you generally held your own.  Anyone that had 2 games correctly generally gained ground and if you had 3 games correct, you flew up the standings.  Because of this, I am giving the "Worst Pick of the Day" to everyone, as we all were obliterated in some way shape or form.

Not only did those four favored teams lost, each of them was selected as a champion by at least one entry in our pool.  Tough luck for Bryan van Gorder of Canajoharie, New York and Hollywood, California, who still leads in the pool, but gives himself the dubious distinction of being the highest rated bracket to lose North Carolina as his champion.  Jane Reynolds of Wellington, Florida is the highest rated bracket (2nd Place) to lose Michigan State, Chris Kroesen of West Palm Beach, Florida is the highest rated bracket (33rd Place) to lose Xavier, and Jacey Folwer II of Wellington, Florida is the highest rated bracket (60th Place) to lose Cincinnati.

Things were not awful for everybody, as we had 10 total entries that selected one of the four main upsets from yesterday.  Nobody selected Syracuse, but we had four entrants select Nevada; George Walks 3 of West Palm Beach, Florida, Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida, Dan Laishley of Jupiter, Florida and Day Yi 1, of New York, New York.  We also had four entrants select Florida State; Steven Usma 3 of Miami, Florida, George Walks 2 of West Palm Beach, Florida, Carter Alexander of Portland, Oregon, and Colleen Hamilton 3 of Vero Beach, Florida.

Since Nevada and Florida State each had 4 correct selectors, the "Pick of the Day" award goes to Biscuit Zdrowak of Orlando, Florida and Edy Pecan of the Greater West Palm Beach, Florida area for correctly selecting Texas A&M over North Carolina.  Congratulations.

Today's tournament history brings us to the Nevada Wolfpack, who are making their second trip to the Sweet Sixteen, and first since 2004.  In 2004, the 10th seeded Wolfpack defeated the 7th seeded Michigan State Spartans in the first round, and 2nd seeded Gonzaga in the second round, only to fall to Georgia Tech 72-67 in the Sweet Sixteen.   Nevada was led that year by junior guard and Conference Player of the Year Kirk Snyder, who led the team in scoring with 18.8 points a game, and freshman forward Nick Fazekas, who added 12.6 points and led the team in rebounding at just under 8 per game.  Snyder left Nevada after the tournament and was drafted 16th overall in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.  He played a total of 5 years in the NBA and four additional professional years in various leagues around the world.  Fazekas was the fourth pick in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and stayed in the NBA for 2 years before moving overseas.  He currently plays for the Toshiba Kawasaki Brave Thunders, where he has toiled since 2012.  The Wolfpack roster in 2004 also included seldom used reserve guard Sean Paul, who went on to fame in music, being nominated for 8 Grammy Awards, winning one for Best Reggae Album for Dutty Rock in .... 2004.  Oh wait, not the same Sean Paul; sorry.

We now have only six of the original thirteen different champions remaining.  Those teams will continue to be listed in every update in bold so long as they remain in the pool.  Arizona, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Villanova, Virginia and Xavier.

Each of the top 7 places in our pool have lost their champion, with 4 people in a T-8 that have their champions still alive.  The Thursday and Friday games are each worth 4 points apiece, and next weekend's games are worth 8 points apiece, so expect lots of movement up and down the standings.

For those interested in numerology, 44th Place has exactly 44 points.  Not that that means anything, but it is interesting.

As always, please check and double check your brackets with the standings and let me know if you think something is incorrect.  If necessary, I will go back and re-score your sheet.  I did find an error in the listing of a couple of people in yesterday's standings.  While their sheet was tabulated correctly, three entrants were listed with the incorrect score (all of the errors involved me typing the score incorrectly into the standings and all of the mistakes involved showing the entrants as having one more point than the actually earned - for example they were listed as 19, when they had 18.). The listings below are Place/Entry/Points/Champion.  Ties - for now - are listed alphabetically.

Good luck to everyone, and rest up before we get back after it on Thursday with the Sweet Sixteen!

AN IMPORTANT NOTE - SOME PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED THAT IT IS HARD TO VIEW SOME OF THE STANDINGS VIA A DESKTOP.  I AM NOT SURE WHY THAT IS, BUT OTHERS REPORT THAT ALL IS FINE, AND VIA MOBILE DEVICE EVERYTHING LOOKS NORMAL AS WELL.

On to the standings ...

1.  Bryan van Gorder - 63 - North Carolina

2.  Jane Reynolds - 58 - Michigan State

3.  Max Macon 2 - 57 - Michigan State
     George Walks 3 - 57 - Virginia

5.  Max Macon 4 - 56 - Virginia
     Biscuit Zdrowak - 56 - Michigan State

7.  Greg Kummerlen - 54 - North Carolina

8.  Jen Armstrong - 53 - Michigan State

     Thomas Bean 2 - 53 - Michigan State

     Jim Coleman - 53 - Gonzaga

     Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 53 - Villanova

     Sasha Moon - 53 - Villanova
     Jessica Samuels - 53 - Villanova

     Justin Yung - 53 - North Carolina

15.  Anthony LaPira - 52 - Michigan State

16.  Thomas Bean 1 - 51 - Villanova

       Jacey Fowler 1 - 51 - North Carolina

       Rich Samuels 1 - 51 - Kansas
       Traci Sheehan - 51 - Duke

20.  Albert Harper III - 50 - Michigan State

       Rich Samuels 2 - 50 - Villanova

       Kyle Sheehan - 50 - Duke

       Barkley Sosa - 50 - Kentucky

       Joshua Zdrowak - 50 - Kansas

25.  Steven Usma 2 - 49 - Villanova
       Day Yi 2 - 49 - Villanova

27.  Ty Leatherman - 48 - Virginia
       Noel Martinez 2 - 48 - Villanova

       Cheryl Spuhler - 48 - Duke

       George Walks 2 - 48 - Kansas

       George Walks 6 - 48 - Michigan State

       Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 48 - Villanova

33.  Steffan Alexander - 47 - Florida
       Dan Barsky - 47 - Virginia

       Carolyn Fowler 47 - Kansas

       Chris Kroesen - 47 - Xavier

       Steven Usma 3 - 47 - Michigan

       Measha Williams 3 "Spread" - 47 - Virginia

39.  Jenna Finkelstein - 46 - North Carolina

       Mango Merchant - 46 - Michigan State

       Steven Usma 5 - 46 - Villanova

42.  Brittany Sosa - 45 - Duke
       Wes Wiggins 2 - 45 - Michigan State

44.  Adam Jorgensen 2 - 44 - Michigan State
       Dan Laishley - 44 - Virginia

       Kingfish Rod Parham - 44 - Kentucky

       Allison Parker - 44 - Virginia

       Abigail Sosa - 44 - Michigan State

49.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 43 - North Carolina

       Bill Ganoe 2 - 43 - Virginia

       Adam Jorgensen 1 - 43 - Duke

       Katie Kollmeyer - 43 - Villanova

       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 43 - Virginia
       Edy Pecan - 43 - Michigan

55.  James Garvin - 42 - Villanova

       Jonathan Wasserman - 42 - Duke

57.  Steve Jorgensen - 41 - Arizona

       Karen Katz - 41 - Virginia
       Pepe Sosa - 41 - Villanova

60.  Jacey Fowler 2 - 40 - Cincinnati

       Max Macon 3 - 40 - Villanova

       Samantha Sheehan - 40 - Duke

63.  Brent Bellinger - 39 - Virginia

       Paul Cummings - 39 - Villanova

       Colleen Hamilton 1 - 39 - Virginia

       George Walks 4 - 39 - North Carolina

       Wes Wiggins 1 - 39 - Arizona

       Measha Williams 2 "Upset City"- 39 - Duke

69.  Carter Alexander - 38 - Florida

       Kent Armstrong - 38 - Villanova

       Joe Carter - 38 - Virginia

       Matt Hopps - 38 - Virginia

       Martha Kroesen - 38 - Villanova

       George Walks 1 - 38 - Kansas

       Day Yi 1 - 38 - Virginia

       Keith Zdrowak - 38 - Duke

77.  Cathy Donahue - 37 - Duke
       Duncan Merchant - 37 - Virginia

       Silas Nichols - 37 - Arizona

80.  Bill Foman - 36 - North Carolina

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 36 - Michigan State

       Hannah Sosa - 36 - Florida

       George Walks 5 - 36 - Arizona

84.  Bill Danner - 35 - Virginia

       Arlene Amo Hopps - 35 - Villanova

       Mac Kroesen - 35 - Gonzaga

       Max Macon 1 - 35 - Kansas

       Noel Martinez 1 - 35 - Duke

       David Peterson - 35 - Virginia

       Jeff Plamodon - 35 - Virginia

       Measha Williams 1 - "Gut" - 35 - Virginia

92.  Eric Inge - 34 - Virginia

       Col. Kareem Montague - 34 - Villanova

       Steven Usma 1 - 34 - Kansas

95.  Colleen Hamilton 3 - 33 - North Carolina

       Michael Litsey - 33 - Villanova

       Katie Zdrowak - 33 Villanova

98.  Colleen Hamilton 2 - 32 - Villanova

       Glen Merchant - 32 - Villanova

       Jeremy Spuhler - 32 - Duke

       Doug Tuttle - 32 - Florida

       Steven Usma 4 - 32 - Duke

103.  Ashley Poer - 30 - Virginia

        Amy Zdrowak - 30 - Michigan State

105.  Griffey Parker - 27 - Xavier

Unknown - Matt Nieman - I still need to talk to you about my bracket question!