NCAA Tournament Pool - Round 1

 

Welcome one and all to the first update of this year's NCAA Tournament Pool.  Just to let everyone know there are two simultaneous pools being run on this site by co-hosts, but both are different styles.  This is a more traditional bracket format, and the other is a "Super Bowl Squares" type format.  If you filled out the bracket - this is the site for you.

For those in this pool, I would like to thank you for following the rules.  And, it might not have been you, as it is a lot fewer people than you think.  Four entries didn't have their name, 2 people forgot to pick a champion, about a dozen submitted a final score tiebreaker, about two dozen just replied to my initial e-mail, and it goes on-and-on and on.  Oh well, I still love this even anyway!

Before I begin, I would be remiss without mentioning the passing of George Foreman, an Olympic gold medalist and a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in boxing, including his second title after coming out of retirement at 76 years old - like his idol Joe Louis!  What does that have to do with this basketball pool?  Well, I know my bracket feels like it went a few rounds with Foreman in the past two days.  And I know I am not the only one, as we have entries that have already lost their champions, but more on that later.

Another unrelated - but at least it is basketball - fact, I want to give some kudos to Alyssa Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts, who recently finished her high school career as the co-leading scorer in her high school's history!  

And, once again we have James Coleman of Boynton Beach, Florida, who has somehow mastered the art of competing and winning in tournament pools, just not winning ours.  His story is here, if you would like some tips for next year, or if you would just like a fun and interesting read.  How to guarantee a win in a March Madness NCAA Tournament pool

Now, back to our pool.  The fact that more entries chose the University of Florida as their champion is not surprising, giving that they are the Co-Betting favorite (with Duke), and we have a number of UF alumni in this pool.  But I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we have an actual alligator participating as well.  I mean, technically he might be a Caiman (I forget, honestly), but it is about as close to a Gator as possible.  Even though he has participated before, I do not think that I have had the occasion to mention him, so welcome this year to Bubba Zdrowak of Orlando, Florida.

Since we are on the topics of champions, right behind Florida in selections are Duke and Houston, with Auburn a bit behind.  All told we have 13 different champions, which I will keep listing with each blog post.  In each listing, the champions remaining will remain in bold and caps.  Our potential champions are:

Alabama, Auburn, Arizona, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Houston, Kansas, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Tennessee

Tough opening round for three of our entrants who lost Kansas, Marquette, and Mississippi State in the first round.  I cannot speak for the Kansas and Marquette selectors, but Barkley Sosa of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida selected Mississippi State because she chose all dog mascot teams to win, and if a dog team was not playing, she chose against all cat mascot teams.  I can only assume that whomever selected Connecticut did so because, well hey, they won the last two and have now won 13 tournament games in a row!!!

Since I know standings is what everybody really wants to see, I will give you a little taste as we celebrate our leaders.  Max Macon 3 of Jupiter, Florida and Measha Leonardo Williams of Houston, Texas are our Co-Leaders.  Right behind in third place is Katie Kollmeyer of Lake Worth Beach, Florida.  We have three weekends of basketball to see if they can hold their respective places, or fall back down to the pack.

Part of the reason these brackets are in the lead is because Max Macon 3 and Katie Kollmeyer both selected all three upsets correctly - Colorado State, Drake, and McNeese State, all why selecting one of those as their guaranteed upset.  That is a whole lot of bonus points.  Joining them for the Pick of the Day(s) is Max Macon 1 of Jupiter, Florida and Amanda Staudt of Reston, Virginia.  They also selected all 3 upsets correctly as well as their guarantee.  You will see them high in the standings as well.

The Worst Pick of the Day goes to anyone and everyone that chose Liberty. as Liberty University has a strict no dancing policy for its students, and even attendance at a dance can result in disciplinary action, and a $15 fine.  Hard to dance in the tournament when it is against school rules!

Some frequently chosen upsets that didn't hit largely include UC-San Diego, North Carolina, and Yale.  Serves all of us that selected Yale right (and yes, I typed us - ugh).  Nobody should ever select Yale for anything, even though their promising guard Bez Mbeng did lead the NCAA in triple-doubles this year, with 3.  Too bad they were saddled with an oaf of a power forward in Nick Towsend, who legitimately drug that team down.  Anyway, I digress.

With apologies to McNeese State, the story of the first round was Drake, who hired coach Ben McCollum from Division II Northwest Missouri State at the conclusion of last season.  All McCollum did at Northwest Missouri State was win 4 national championships, and he brought 4 of his players with him to Drake.  I guess these proves the old adage of "What do winners do?  Winners win!"

The other story - which will be harped upon a lot today as the game tips-off at 2:40, is that Rick Pitino and John Calipari will match up as Arkansas - fresh off its "upset" of Kansas - takes on St. John's.  Pitino and Calipari are, of course, legendary Kentucky coaches that both won national titles for the Wildcats and are both in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.  Kentucky fans will easily be rooting for ... Sunday to come for their second-round game.

Today's Trivia:  This question comes to me by virtue of the legendary coaching matchup just mentioned:  What two coaches have faced each other the most times in the NCAA Tournament.  (Answer below, immediately before the Standings.)

It should be noted that Rick Pitino's son, Richard Pitino, is the head coach of New Mexico, and with the Lobos' upset of Marquette yesterday, Rick and Richard became the first father-son duo to win games in the same NCAA Tournament.  

And speaking of coaches, did anybody notice Tyler Perry coaching Norfolk State last night?  No Hollywood magic as the Spartans were annihilated by the 1-seed Florida Gators 95-69.

The story from the first round - which is not being publicized that much, interestingly - is that the ratings for Thursday night's primetime games were the highest EVER, with an average of 12.2 million viewers.  The games in that time-slot were:  Arkansas-Kansas; Wofford-Tennessee; Yale-Texas A&M; and Drake-Missouri.

And since we are back to Drake, everybody that knows me knows that I am no fan of Drake - of the Aubrey Graham variety, and I have hated on him a decade or so before Kendrick Lamar himself took aim on the Canadian musician (I will not call him a rapper.)  But, I do have to give credit to whomever came up with this Meme:

Kendrick still won the beef!

Best Stats from the First Round

The best stat from the first round was obviously the tv viewership from Thursday night, but here are the most interesting ones from the games.

5.  The Top 4 seeds went 16-0 for the first time since 2017!

4.  University of Florida had 21 offensive rebounds!  OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS!

3.  Big Ten went 8-0 in the first round.  And since the SEC went 8-6, exactly half of the remaining teams are from the Big Ten and SEC.

2.  The University of Florida had 20 assists on 29 made field goals.

1.  Clemson, which McNeese State defeated 69-67, had scored only 26 points with 10:02 remaining in the second half.  Only 26.  That is a 32.6 points per game pace.  This means they scored 41 in the last 10 minutes.  That is a 164 points per game pace!

And speaking of McNeese State, they just won the school's first NCAA tournament game - ever!  And this even occurred with their head coach - Will Wade - verbally agreeing to take the head coaching job at North Carolina State on Wednesday, the day before their big upset win over Clemson.  So, that brings me to today's bit of (Non-Tournament) History.

Since McNeese State has never won an NCAA Tournament game before, they do not have much tournament history to report, but they do have one of the great shooting guards in basketball history - Joe Dumars.  Dumars attended McNeese State from 1981-1985, averaging 22.5 points per game, and 28.5 per game as a senior - which placed him fourth in the nation.  (Side note - the scoring leader that year was Xavier McDaniel from Wichita State, who also led the nation in rebounding.)  When Dumars left McNeese State he was the 11th leading scorer in NCAA history.  Dumars concluded his college career as a 4-time first team All-Southland Conference player.  He was drafted 18th by the Detroit Pistons, in what became an incredible draft for the NBA (Patrick Ewing, Wayman Tisdale, Xavier McDaniel, Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Charles Oakley, Karl Malone, A.C. Green, Terry Porter, John "Hot Rod" Williams - at least for his nickname, Michael Adams, Arvydas Sabonis, and Spud Webb.  So basically, some of the best big men, and best little men ever).

Once on Detroit, Dumars settled in as the starting shooting guard - and eventual captain - of a great Pistons team whose guard rotation included Isaiah Thomas and Vinny Johnson. If you add in their big men - Bill Laimbeer, James Edwards, John Salley, and Dennis Rodman, and their scoring wings Adrian Dantley and mark Aguirre, they had talent, which ultimately won two NBA titles.

Dumars individual accolades include being the 1989 NBA Finals MVP, a 6-time All-Star, All-NBA second team in 1993, All-NBA third team in 1990 and 1991 (when Michael Jordan was the perennial 1st-team shooting guard), 4-time All-NBA Defensive first team and 1-time All-NBA Defensive second-team.

After his playing career ended, Dumars became an executive, and won NBA's Executive of the Year with the Pistons in 2003, and won an NBA title in 2004.  Dumars is currently the Executive Vice-President and Head of Basketball Operations for the NBA.

He was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

I usually list the best players of the previous day, but since we have two days of action, I am going to make separate lists for those that excelled for winning teams, and those that shone in losing matchups, please the best women's performances from yesterday.

Best Men's Players in Losing Efforts

8.  Zeb Jackson, Virginia Commonwealth - 23 points

7.  John Poulakides, Yale - 23 points, 3 rebounds

6.  Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State - 26 points, 2 assists

5.  Dain Dainja - Cue Mystikal, Memphis - 22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks

4.  Tyler McGhie, UC-San Diego - 25 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

3.  Dailyn Swain, Kansas - 27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

2.  David Joplin, Marquette - 28 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

1.  Amarrion Dickerson, Robert Morris - 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks

Best Players in the Women's Tournament

10.  Trinity San Antonio, Grand Canyon - 27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

9.  Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame - 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals

8.  Aronette Vonleh, Baylor - 25 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist

7.  Sonia Citron, Notre Dame - 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists

6.  Joyce Edwards, South Carolina - 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals - in only 21 minutes!

5.  Jordan Hobbs, Michigan - 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

4.  Audi Crooks - Iowa State - 28 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

3.  Sammie Puisis - South Florida - 28 points, 7 rebounds

2.  Georgia Amoore - Kentucky - 34 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

1.  Maggie Doogan - Richmond - 30 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists

Best Men's Players - Winning Edition

10.  Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois - 16 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists

9.  Otega Oweh, Kentucky - 20 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals

8.  Sean Pedulla, Mississippi - 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals

7.  R.J. Luis, St. John's - 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists

6.  Walker Clayton, Jr., Florida - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

5.  Kerwin Walton, Texas Tech - 27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

4.  Mark Sears, Alabama - 22 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists

3.  Pharrel Payne, Texas A&M - 25 points, 10 rebounds

2.  Chaz Lanier, Tennessee - 29 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

1.  Jumiya Neal, Creighton - 29 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists

As we move to the standings, may we all have as much fun as AMIR KHAN, the team manager for McNeese State - the only team manager with his own NIL deal!!!  Seriously!

As we turn to the standings, please understand that I am hand-scoring all of the brackets, so mistakes will likely be made.  E-Mail me, Call me, Text me, or whatever you want if you think I have a problem with your bracket.  I will check it out.  But, please note, if I catch any mistakes, either pro or con, those mistakes will be rectified.  Please note - all ties are listed alphabetically.  Next week I will be integrating champions and runners-up into the standings.

Trivia Answer:  Mike Krzyzweski and Tom Izzo - they have met 6 times in the NCAA Tournament.

Standings After Round 1

1.  Max Macon 3 - 44

     Measha Leonardo Williams - 44

3.  Katie Kollmeyer - 43

4.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 42

     Marcus Jackson - 42

     Amanda Staudt - 42

7.  Ty Hedgpeth - 41

     Shane Jernigan - 41

     Chris LaForte - 41

     Salvatore Plamondon - 41

     Measha Donatello Williams - 41

12.  Paul Cummings - 40

       Bill Ganoe 3 - 40

       Martha Kroesen - 40

       Dan Laishley - 40

       Dustin Lansing - 40

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 40

       Brittany Sosa - 40

       Steven Usma 4 - 40

20.  Guy Hughes - 39

       Jeff Plamondon - 39

22.  Dan Barsky 2 - 38

       Brent Bellinger - 38

       Mark Holbert - 38

       Preston Holbert - 38

       Steven Usma 3 - 38

27.  Justine Frank - 37

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 37

       Max Macon 1 - 37

       Mike Wolff 1 - 37

       Christine Zanzig - 37

32.  John Hedgpeth - 36

       Alyssa Hopps - 36

       Eric Inge - 36

       Marcus Spruill - 36

       Lily Spuhler - 36

       George Walks 2 - 36

       Jonathan Wasserman - 36

39.  Dan Barsky 1 - 35

       Christina Gomez - 35

       Matt Hopps - 35

       Jane Reynolds & Carolyn Fowler - 35

       Steven Usma 2 - 35

       George Walks 3 - 35

45.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 34

       Jonathan Cox - 34

       Kevin Dick - 34

       Jazz Piasecki - 34

       Ashley Poer 2 - 34

       Mike Wolff 2 - 34

       Day Yi - 34

52.  Colleen Giamberini - 33

       Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan - 33

       Silas Nichols - 33

       Rich Samuels 3 - 33

       Day Yi 2 - 33

57.  Xavier Conway - 32

       Measha Raphael Williams - 32

       Bubba Zdrowak - 32

60.  Rachel Bornn - 31

       Karen Katz - 31

       Natalie Moon - 31

       Javier Rodriguez 2 - 31

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 31

65.  Quinn Jackson - 30

       Sasha Moon - 30

       Allison Parker - 30

       Justin Yung - 30

69.  Joel Chernoff - 29

       James Coleman - 29

       Jacey Fowler 1 - 29

       Adam Jorgensen - 29

       Karen Katz 2 - 29

       Dave Marzouca - 29

       Kingfish Parham - 29

       Rich Samuels 1 - 29

       Brandon Satterwhite - 29

       Barkley Sosa - 29

       Measha Michaelangelo Williams - 29

80.  William Pujals - 28

       Jessica Samuels - 28

       Hannah Sosa - 28

83.  Kline Kroesen - 27

       Dave Piasecki - 27

       Ashley Poer 1 - 27

       Ferris Spuhler - 27

87.  Paul Cummings 2 - 26

       James Garvin - 26

       Max Macon 2 - 26

       Si Nichols - 26

       Pepe Sosa - 26

       Jason Spuhler - 26

       Jeremy Spuhler - 26

       George Walks 4 - 26

95.  Jenna Finkelstein - 25

       Stephanie Henderson - 25

       Arlene Amo Hopps - 25

       Dan Wilson - 25

       Katie Zdrowak - 25

100.  Benny Frank Finkelstein - 24

         Jacey Fowler 2 - 24

         Alvaro Gonzalez - 24

         Kyle Henderson 2 - 24

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 24

         Kisha Marzouca - 24

         Vincent Plamondon - 24

         Jane Reynolds - 24

         Javier Rodriguez 1 - 24

         Steven Usma 1 - 24

         Joshua Zdrowak - 24

111.  Tyler Giamberini - 23

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 23

         Chris Simmons - 23

         Caroline Spuhler - 23

         Logan Spuhler - 23

         George Walks 1 - 23

         Chuck Whitcomb - 23

         Keith Zdrowak - 23

119.  Luna Frank - 22

         Theo Frank - 22

         Stacia Wilkaitis - 22

         Amy Zdrowak - 22

123.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 21

         Braeden Helland - 21

         Max Macon 4 - 21

         Wes Wiggins - 21

127.  Carolyn Fowler - 20

         Cheryl Spuhler - 20

NCAA Tournament Pool - Round 1/Day 1

 Welcome Tournament Players to the Road to Indianapolis 2021.  It feels weird saying "road" to Indianapolis, since all of the players are already in Indianapolis and some of the coaches and CBS staff are probably already at St. Elmo Steakhouse, the bastards.  (Yes, I am jealous).  I know for a fact that Jim Nantz has his own whiskey shelf behind the host stand.

Some of the referees apparently went out to eat and it cost 6 of them their tournament officiating jobs as they were sent home.  When they arrived at their hotel on Monday to check-in (with a mandatory 48 hour quarantine period like everyone else associated with the tournament), there room was not ready and not food was available to eat. So, like any hungry person would do, the ventured out for some dinner.  Turns out, the next day one of the officials tested positive for Covid-19, meaning all 6 of them were sent home.  Weird times.

But also good times.  And by good, I mean GOD DO I MISS THIS TOURNAMENT.  They canceled one year and it feels like an enternity since I was in Minneapolis in 2019.  Can you believe that technically Virginia is still the defending tournament champions.  Unless you cound the fact that UCF claims last year's title because, well, that is what UCF does.  Virginia is also seriosly affected by Covid, having had to withdraw from the ACC Tournament last week due to positive tests within the program.  They self-quarantined in Charlottesville becasuse they are some very fine people, arriving in Indianapolis just yesterday.  Everyone has to pass 2 pcr tests to play, 1 yesterday and 1 today  And yes, I hope this is the last Covid reference of the tournament.  Unless, of course, a team has to withdraw.  Fingers crossed THAT doesn't happen.

We have 120 entries in the pool, from near and far.  And, a large number of you failed to follow directions.  Most notably Wes Wiggins of Tucson, Arizona and Colleen Hamilton I, II, III, and IV, of West Palm Beach, Florida (or at least nearby), all forgot to put their names on their entries.  Thankfully it only took a minute or two for me to figure out the culprits.

I do want to give credit to Arlene Amo Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts for having the best penmanship.  I note this because some of you should seiously work on your writing.  On one entry I could just barely determine that the person picked Winthrop over Villanova.  

Although mostly 2-legged entrants, we do have a handful of 4-legged entrants, including our first ever gator, Bubba Zdrowak from Orlando, Florida.  Interestingly, he did not pick the actual Florida Gators.

But 2 entrants did (both in my household - good grief!)  Florida is one of 13 championship picks in our bracket.  The overwhelming favorites are Gonzaga and Illinois, which makes since as the 1 and 3 overall seeds.  The list of the champions selected are (teams remaining in bold):  Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Virginia.

Yes, that means a number of participants have already lost their champion.  On DAY 1!  Particularly hurt by Ohio State are Luis Briones of Foxborough, Massachusetts, Collen Hamilton 3, and 4 of West Palm Beach-ish, Florida, and Dave Marzouca 2 of Boynton Beach, Florida.  But that all pales in comparison to Skip Laforte of Greenacres, Florida (it's the place to be), who selected Michigan State as his champion, and thus was out of the tournament before it officially started yesterday.

And speaking of Ohio State, that game knocked out a number 2 seed, as the Buckeyes just couldn't put away Oral Roberts.  And yes, we had one person select Oral Roberts, and that was Steven Usma 4 of Miami, Florida.  For being the only person to select Oral Roberts, Steven wins the "Pick of the Day" award, with all due apologies to Stephanie Henderson of (if I had to guess north/northeast Texas), and Kingfish Parham of Atlanta Georgia, who both not only selected North Texas, but also guaranteed North Texas!  Great work.

Oral Roberts and North Texas were not the only two upsets of the day as 5 double digit seeds advanced.  Rutgers, a 10-seed, doesn't count as bonus points under our definition, so that means that 4 upsets worth bonus points were available.  And nobody took advantage of the bonus points more than William Pujals of Charlotte, North Carolina, who not only selected 3 of the 4 upsets correctly (North Texas, Oregon State, and Syracus), but he also guaranteed Syracuse.  He received more in bonus points (20) than most people received points.  Lots of entries selected Syracuse, and even guaranteed Syracuse (one of the 2 most popular upset selections, along with Georgetown), so no special mention to those players, but congrats and take your bonus points.

Which brings us to today's history lesson.  I try to come up with my history lesson based upon a memory that is triggered by the day's play, and two things came to mind that led to one tournament memory specifically:  (1) Oral Roberts winning as a 15-seed over a 2-seed; and (2) Syracuse upsetting San Diego State.  What single memory could these two results bring together?

We have to go way back, well before any of us had even heard of University of Maryland-Baltimore City, back to mid-March 1991, when even a 15 seed had never defeated a 2 seed.  Interestingly, that 1991 Final Four was also held in Indianapolis.  But before the Final Four, an important first round game was held in Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland, between the number 2 seed Syracuse Orangemen (now Orange) and the 15 seed Richmond Spiders.  The game featured legendary coaches Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Dick Tarrant of Richmond, and Richmond won 73-69 to become the first 15 seed to ever win a tournament game.  Richmond jumped out early scoring 44 points in the first half, and held on for their four point margin.  Richmond was led in scoring by Curtis Blair's 18 points, while Kenny Wood also had 12, with Terry Connolly adding 14 off the bench.  They defeated a loaded Syracuse team that included Billy Owens - who would become the 3rd overall pick in the NBA draft by the Sacremento Kings - LeRon Ellis, and Adrian Autry.  Richmond's advantage was its bench, paced by Connolly's 14 points and 30 minutes, and had 3 players play 13 minutes or more, 13 being the minutes played by Syracuse's sixth man Conrad McCrae.

Since then, 8 other 15-seeds have been victorious, including Santa Clara (1993), Coppin State (1997), Hampton (2001), Lehigh (2002), Norfolk State (2012), Florida Gulf Coast (2013), Middle Tennessee (2016) and Oral Roberts (yesterday).  Oral Roberts has a big hurdle this next round, as only Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 won their second round game.

And, there is nothing like a historical upset over the Orange to keep Syracuse alumni Silas Nichols of Washington, D.C., and Javier Rodriguez of Coral Gables, Florida from celebrating last night's Syracuse win too much.

Back to yesterday's action, we had some great performances from players yesterday, including Justin Smith from Arkansas who scored 29 points, had 13 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks in 20 minutes, Brad Davison from Wisconsin who scored 29 on 5-7 shooting from 3-point range, Javion Hamley who had 24/11 for North Texas, and Max Abumas who had 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for Oral Roberts.  But, the leading performances yesterday were Kevin Obanor from Oral Roberts who scored 30 points and had 11 rebounds, Miles McBride of West Virginia who scored 30 points (with 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals) on 11-17 shoorting, and Buddy (maybe I am not JUST) the coache's son Boeheim who scored 30 points while going 7-10 from 3-point range.

Stats of the Day:

4.  Houston had 6 players score in double figures.  Now that is some balanced scoring.

3.  Oregon State secured their first NCAA Tournament win since 1982.  That was so long ago the Beavers in 1982 were led by Sophomore Charlie Sitton and Freshman A.C. Green.  Yes, THAT A.C. Green.

2.  Oral Roberts had only 6 turnovers against Ohio State.  That is the way to upset a higher seed.  Take care of the ball.

1.  The average age of the starting lineup of the Wisconsin Badgers is older than the starting lineup of the Chicago Bulls.  You read that correctly.

Best Social Media Posts

3.  From PFTCommenter on Twitter:  Oral ironically just absolutely refuses to go down

2.  From RossTuckerNFL on Twitter:  Oral Roberts has more wins over Ohio State than Jim Harbaugh.

1.  From Tim Reynolds on Twitter:  Breaking:  Terry Porter just called a foul on Oral Roberts and awarded Ohio State six free throws.  (For those that don't know, Terry Porter is the official that threw the [extremely] late pass interference flag against Miami and in favor of Ohio State in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl.)

The only two unanimous selections from yesterday were both number 1 seeds:  Baylor and Illinois.

So, enough chit-chat.  Here are the standings.  If you think there is a discrepancy between your listed score and the score you believe you earned, just send me an e-mail and I will be more than happy to re-visit and re-score your sheet. I do make mistakes and I will be happy to correct them.  Just know that if in re-scoring your sheet I find an error, no matter which direction, I will use the appropriate score - so there is the possibility of moving backward.  On to the standings (ties listed alphabetically):

1.  William Pujals - 32

2.  Katie Kollmeyer - 27

     Silas Nichols 1 - 27

     Jeff Plamondon - 27

5.  Silas Nichols 2 - 26

     Ashley Poer 1 - 26

     George Walks 2 - 26

8.  Kingfish Parham - 25

9.  Justin Yung - 24

10.  Eric Inge - 23

       George Walks 3 - 23

12.  Matt Hopps - 22

       Chris Igtiben - 22

       Sasha Moon - 22

       Amanda Staudt - 22

       Steven Usma 2 - 22 

       Keith Zdrowak - 22

18.  Jacey Fowler Reynolds 1 - 21

       Colleen Hamilton - 21

       Braeden Helland 1 - 21

       Stephanie Henderson - 21

       Colonel Kareem Montague - 21

       Edy Pecan - 21

       Steven Usma 4 - 21

       Amy Zdrowak - 21

26.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 20

       Rich Samuels 1 - 20

       Cheryl Spuhler - 20

       Measha Williams 2 - 20

       Measha WIlliams 4 - 20

31.  Nancy McInerney - 19

32.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 18

33.  Jenna Finkelstein - 17

       Braeden Helland 2 - 17

       Martha Kroesen - 17

       Rich Samuels 2 - 17

       Brandon Satterwhite - 17

       Joshua Ward - 17

       Day Yi 2 - 17

40.  Liz Carew - 16

       Carolyn Fowler - 16

       Colleen Hamilton 2 - 16

       Braeden Helland 3 - 16

       Adam Jorgensen 1 - 16

       Adam Jorgensen 2 - 16

       Adam Jorgensen 3 - 16

       Dan Laishley - 16

       Ty Leatherman - 16

       Max Macon 4 - 16

       Steven Usma 1 - 16

51.  Brent Bellinger 1 - 15

       Rachel Bornn - 15

       Paul Cummings - 15

       Dave Marzouca 1 - 15

       Dave Marzouca 2 - 15

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 15

       Javier Rodriguez - 15

       Brittany Sosa - 15

       Hannah Sosa - 15

       Jason Spuhler - 15

       George Walks 1 - 15

       Measha WIlliams 3 - 15

63.  Guy Hughes - 14

       Michael McNally - 14

       Jane Reynolds - 14

       Rich Samuels - 14

       Jeremy Spuhler - 14

       Jonathan Wasserman - 14

       Katie Zdrowak - 14

70.  Colleen Hamilton 3 - 13

       Emily Lawson 2 - 13

       Ashley Poer 3 - 13

       George Walks 4 - 13

       Day Yi - 13

75.  Scott Bieterman - 12

       Larry Green - 12

       Ken Ward - 12

78.  Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan 2 - 11

       Karen Katz - 11

       Mac Kroesen - 11

       Skip Laforte - 11

       Ashley Poer 2 - 11

       Pepe Sosa - 11

       Joshua Zdrowak - 11

85.  Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 10

       James Garvin - 10

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 10

       Braeden Helland 4 - 10

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 10

       Chris Igtiben 2 - 10

       Quinn Jackson - 10

       Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan 1 - 10

       Max Macon 3 - 10

       Kisha Marzouca 2 - 10

       Sean McInerney - 10

       Carey Taylor - 10

       Steven Usma 3 - 10

       Wes Wiggins - 10

99.  Dan Barsky 1 - 9

       Luis Briones - 9

       Colleen Hamilton - 9

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 9

       Brian Hinaman - 9

       Blake Jackson - 9

       Miles Jackson - 9

       Greg Lieberman - 9

       Max Macon 2 - 9

       Brian McMahon - 9

       Barkley Sosa - 9

       Measha Williams - 9

       Bubba Zdrowak - 9

112.  Jessica Samuels - 8

         Dan Barsky 2 - 8

         Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 2 - 8

         Marcus Jackson - 8

         Emily Lawson 1 - 8

         Max Macon 1 - 8

118.  Justin Hallack - 7

         Chris Laforte - 7

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 7