2024 NCAA Tournament Pool Sweet 16/Day 2

 

The Sweet 16 is over, and we already have a mathematical winner.  That's it - Pool is over.  Wait, it is a winner for last place.  Congratulations to Alyssa Hopps of Quincy, Massachussetts, who is currently in 137th place, with no possibility of earning any additional points.  You will be receiving your entry fee back (or at the least person that paid your fee will).  Before making fun of Alyssa's performance just note that she is likely the best current basketball player in this pool.  And that includes the few of you that hooped in college.  With regard to the other end of the pool, we have a lot of movement at the top.  But I will get to that later.

Social Media Post of the Day

1.  Michigan State Representative Matt Maddock, the self-proclaimed "Trump Endorsed, Ranked Most Conservative State Representative, Freedom Caucus, Anti-communist, Husband of Michigan's Most Wanted Republican" posted this on Thursday ...

For those that can't, don't know how, or won't enlarge that, it is a picture of three buses at Detroit Metro airport with a police escort.  The post reads, "Happening right now.  Three busses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro.  Anyone have any idea where they're headed with their police escort?"

Well, I actually do, because it was the Gonzaga basketball team that landed in Detroit to play in last night's Sweet Sixteen game against Purdue.  Now, to be honest, throughout the last couple of decades many higher-seeded teams have considered the Gonzaga Bulldogs to be illegal invaders into the bastion that is the upper-echelon of the NCAA basketball elite.  See, you all thought I was going to get political with this, but it is all about the baskeball.

Sadly, it isn't all about the basketball anymore for Gonzaga, which fell to the number 1 seed Purdue 80-68, behind the stellar play of Zach Edey - who along with Terrence Shannon has been the best player in this tournament.  Gonzaga, on the other hand, is back on its way to invade Spokane, Washington.

Purdue will move on to play the Tennessee Volunteers, who eliminated Creighton 82-75 despite a fantastic game from Baylor Scheierman, who had 25 points and 6 boards.  He was no match for Tennessee's Dalton Knecht, who scored 24, and added 6 rebounds, 5 assists, two steals, and 1 block.

On the other side of the bracket Duke outlasted Houston 54-51, after Houston's All-American leader Jamal Shead left with approximately 16 minutes left due to an ankle injury sustained in the game.  Not to say that the game would have been different, but Jeremy Roach, whom Shead was primarily guarding, scored 12 of his 14 points after Shead's injury.  Yes, injuries are part of the game, but they are also part of the story.

Duke advances to play its old ACC foe North Carolina State, who continued its surprise run defeating Marquette 67-58.  This was a weird game to watch as NC State took a big lead and as Marquette kept chipping away, they just couldnt' get close enough.  NC State was offensively discombobulated the entire lsat 12:30, but from about the 12:30 mark until the under 8 minute time-out, Marquette could barely score either. 

With North Carolina State being an 11-seed  and defeating 2-seed Marquette, bonus points were in play.  However, none of the 4 people that selected North Carolina State into the Elite Eight had them defeating Marquette.  So no bonuses awarded.  But kudos to Logan Spuhler of Acworth, Georgia, Clair Bullock of Columbus, Ohio, Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida and Colleen Giamberini of Boynton Beach, Florida for selecting the Wolfpack.  Wait, did I say 4?  I meant 5.  The Pick of the Day is awarded to John Hedgpeth of Wilimington, North Carolina who not only selected North Carolina State, but also chose Duke, Purdue and Tennessee.  He had a perfect 4 for 4.  His only flaw was that he also did not have North Carlina State over Marquette, so no extra 5 bonus points.  Either way, John passed a lot of of entries as he flew up the Leaderboard.  Congratulations, John.

We lost four champions last night, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston and Marquette, leaving us with 7 possible champions - basically everybody but Clemson.  Our remaining champions are ALABAMA, Auburn, Arizona, Baylor, CONNECTICUT, Creighton, DUKE, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Gonzaga, Houston, ILLINOIS, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State, North Carolina, NORTH CAROLINA STATE, PURDUE and TENNESSEE.  So, out of the 12 remaining teams in the tournament, entries have each of them as their champion, except Clemson.

Stats of the Day

2.  North Carolina State's Mohamed Diarra had 11 rebounds in the first half; Marquette had 12.

1.  Indiana's women's basketball team hit more three-pointers (13) in their loss to South Carolina yesterday than South Carolina has ever given up in a single game since Dawn Staley became their coach in the 2008-2009 season.  Also, Dawn Staley has been the coach since the 2008-2009 season!

Players of the Day

10.  Kyle Filipowski, Duke - 16 points, 9 rebounds

9.  DJ Horne, North Carolina State - 19 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

8.  Kam Jones, Marquette - 20 points

7.  Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina - 22 points on 10-12 shooting

6.  Graham Ike, Gonzaga, 18 points, 10 rebounds

5.  Braden Smith, Purdue - 14 points, 8 rebounds, 15 assists

4.  Dalton Knecht, Tennessee - 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

3.  Aziaha James, North Carolina State - 29 points, 5 assists

2.  Baylor Scheierman, Creighton - 25 points, 6 rebounds

1.  Zach Edey, Purdue - 27 points, 14 rebounds

I don't know how I failed to mention this.  Nobody is talking about it, but I am pretty sure that Jamal Shead of Houston was injured when Duke's Kyle Filipowski tripped him.  Filipowski, knowing that you cannot fully embrace your inner Grayson Allenness until you have multiple trips in one year, needed at least one more after his intentional hit job on North Carolina's Harrison Ingram.  Now, he claims he didn't do it on purpose and didn't even know Ingram was there, but the video doesn't lie; Filipowski BE TRIPPIN'!

So, maybe Filipowki didn't actually trip Shead, but Grayson Allen does have multiple trips.  Here is a walk down memory lane with a GRAYSON ALLEN TRIPPING COMPILATION.

Of course, none of that compares to the travesty surrounding the greatest non-ejection in NCAA Tournament history, which happened in the Elite 8 in Philadelphia in 1992 when wannabetoughguy (yes, all one word) Christian Laettner stomped on all around nice guy and great citizen Aminu Timberlake and SHOULD HAVE BEEN EJECTED!

And no, I am not bitter.

Here is what we have to look forward to today, Illinois is an 8 1/2 point underdog to defending champion - and rolling like they are in Ibiza - Connecticut.  Both are champions in our pool, so this is a big game.  Illinois is going to have to come out of the gates firing, and it needs a big game from Terrence Shannon who, along with Purdue's Zach Edey, is playing the best of anybody in this tournament.

In the second game, 6-seed Clemson and 4-seed Alabama meet for the first time since Clemson upended Alabama on 44-16 on January 7, 2019 in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.  Alabama is an incredibly high-scoring team that can be very exciting.  Can Clemson slow them down to crash the party?

Have fun watching the games, and always double check your brackets in case I made a scoring error.  Remember today's games are worth 8 points each.  And, as you will see, there is room to make up on the leaders, if you have your championship game intact, as well as most of your Final Four.  For now, here is your Leaderboard.

Tournament Standings after Sweet Sixteen/Day 2

1.  Blake Jackson - 96 - DUKE/Arizona

2.  Bill Ganoe 3 - 91 - North Carolina/Houston

     Max Marion 3 - 91 - PURDUE/Baylor

4.  Allison Parker - 90 - North Carolina/DUKE

5.  Ty Hedgepth - 86 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

     Marcus Jackson - 86 - Kansas/ALABAMA

7.  Miles Jackson - 85 - Kentucky/CONNECTICUT

     Brian McMahon - 85 - CONNECTICUT/Kentucky

     Jeff Plamondon - 85 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

10.  Braeden Helland - 84 - Auburn/Creighton

11.  George Fox 2 - 83 - CONNECTICUT/DUKE

12.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 82 - NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE

       Javier Rodriguez - 82 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Chris Simmons - 82 - TENNESSEE/CONNECTICUT

       Measha Williams 3 - 82- PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Justin Yung - 82 - North Carolina/PURDUE

17.  Jody Cox - 81 - Marquette/Arizona

18.  Rich Samuels 4 - 80 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

19.  Lee Pagan - 79 - Arizona/PURDUE

       Cassi Spruill - 79 - Houston/ILLINOIS

       Jeremy Spuhler - 79 - CONNECTICUT/TENNESSEE

       Bubba Zdrowak - 79 - DUKE/Arizona

23.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 78 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Rich Samuels 2 - 78 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Measha Williams 1 - 78 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       Josh Zdrowak - 78 - Arizona/Kentucky

27.  Paul Cummings 2 -77 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 77 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       John Hedgpeth - 77 - DUKE/North Carolina

       Marcus Spruill - 77 - North Carolina/PURDUE

       Cheryl Spuhler - 77 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       Amanda Staudt - 77 - Arizona/PURDUE

33.  Kevin Dick - 76 - Kentucky/North Carolina

       Carolyn Fowler - 76 - North Carolina/TENNESSEE

       Mark Holbert - 76 - North Carolina/Kentucky

       Matt Hopps - 76 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Max Macon 2 - 76 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Si Nichols - 76 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       William Pujals - 76 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

40.  George Walks 3 - 75 - PURDUE/Baylor

       Amy Zdrowak - 75 - PURDUE/Baylor

42.  Joel Chernoff - 74 - North Carolina/Houston

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 74 - Creighton/CONNECTICUT

       Jacey Reynolds 2 - 74 - North Carolina/TENNESSEE

       Rich Samuels 5 - 74 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Measha Williams 2 - 74 - Houston/Auburn

47.  James Coleman - 73 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Sean McInerney 2 - 73 - CONNECTICUT/Creighton

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 73 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Matt Okell - 73 - North Carolina/Houston

       Dave Piasecki - 73 - Florida/Auburn

       Keith Zdrowak - 73 - PURDUE/Baylor

53.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 72 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 72 - Auburn/PURDUE

       Brittany Sosa - 72 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Logan Spuhler - 72 - Arizona/DUKE

57.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 71 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Ashley Poer - 71 - Iowa State/Houston

       Silas Nichols - 71 - CONNECTICUT/Kentucky

       Jane Reynolds - 71 - ALABAMA/TENNESSEE

       Pepe Sosa - 71 - Arizona/Kentucky

62.  Paul Cummings 3 - 70 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

       Justine Frank - 70 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       George Walks 4 - 70 - PURDUE/North Carolina

65.  Paul Cummings 1 - 69 - PURDUE/Iowa State

       Derrick Lowe - 69 - Kentucky/North Carolina

       Ryan Rodriguez - 69 - DUKE/Auburn

       Katie Zdrowak - 69 - Arizona/PURDUE

69.  Skip LaForte - 68 - Michigan State/Houston

       Max Marion 2 - 68 - Kentucky/CONNECTICUT

       Sasha Moon - 68 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Rich Samuels 1 - 68 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Rich Samuels 3 - 68 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 68 - Kentucky/Iowa State

75.  George Fox 1 - 67 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 67 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

77.  Melissa Gaynor - 66 - ILLINOIS/South Carolina

       Tyler Giamberini - 66 - Arizona/Kansas

       Quinn Jackson - 66 - Iowa State/Gonzaga

       Dan Laishley - 66 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

       Lily Spuhler - 66 - Kansas/North Carolina

       Mike Wolff 1 - 66 - DUKE/North Carolina

       Jonathan Wasserman - 66 - Kentucky/ILLINOIS

84.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 65 - Kentucky/Auburn

       Jenna Finkelstein - 65 - Florida/CONNECTICUT

       Dawn Lamb - 65 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

       Chris O'Neil - 65 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

       Kingfish Parham - 65 - Auburn/Oregon

       Jessica Samuels - 65 - Florida Atlantic/Houston

       Day Yi - 65 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

91.  Jacey Fowler 1 - 64 - North Carolina/PURDUE

       Cheryl Spuhler - 64 - Iowa State/Marquette

93.  Max Macon 1 - 63 - CONNECTICUT/TENNESSEE

       Max Marion 2 - 63 - North Carolina/Marquette

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 63 - Arizona/DUKE

       George Walks 1 - 63 - North Carolina/Kentucky

       Keith Wynne - 63 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

98.  Michael McNally - 62 - Gonzaga/Baylor

       George Walks 2 - 62 Baylor/Gonzaga

       Coco Wynne - 62 - Creighton/ILLINOIS

101.  Max Macon 3 - 61 - Florida/North Carolina

         Max Macon 4 - 61 - Houston/North Carolina

         Jamie Toole - 61 - Houston/Arizona

104.  Clair Bullock - 60 - NORTH CAROLINA STATE/North Carolina

         James Garvin - 60 - PURDUE/Iowa State

         Natalie Moon - 60 - CONNECTICUT/PURDUE

107.  Brent Bellinger - 59 - ILLINOIS/PURDUE

        Adam Jorgensen 1 - 59 - CONNECTICUT/Creighton

        Adam Jorgensen 2 - 59 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

        Nick Kuehl - 59 - Auburn/Marquette

        Max Marion 4 - 59 - Houston/Iowa State

        Noel Martinez - 59 - PURDUE/CONNECTICUT

113.  Daniel Barsky 2 - 58 - PURDUE/Baylor

         Barbie Curlett 1 - 58 - Houston/CONNECTICUT

         Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 58 - TENNESSEE/Arizona

         Katie Kollmeyer - 58 - Arizona/Houston

         Sean McInerney 1 - 58 - Marquette/North Carolina

         Chris Pettit - 58 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

119.  Barbie Curlett 2 - 56 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

         Arlene Amo Hopps - 56 - North Carolina/DUKE

         Karen Katz - 56 - PURDUE/Auburn

         Savannah Grace Pressly - 56 - Florida Atlantic/Marquette

123.   Shane Jernigan 1 - 54 - CONNECTICUT/Marquette

124.  Kisha Marzouca 2 - 52 - Arizona/Houston

         Jason Spuhler - 52 - CONNECTICUT/Houston

126.  Guy Hughes - 51 - Houston/Iowa State

         Anne-Marie O'Neil - 51 - PURDUE/Arizona

         Barkley Sosa - 51 - CONNECTICUT/Gonzaga

         Mike Wolff 2 - 51 - North Carolina/Florida

130.  Colleen Giamberini - 50 - CONNECTICUT/NORTH CAROLINA STATE

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 50 - Arizona/DUKE

132.  Noel Martinez 2 - 49 - Auburn/TENNESSEE

         A.J. Ripin - 49 - North Carolina/Houston

134.  Stephanie Henderson - 48 - Marquette/CONNECTICUT

135.  Dave Marzouca 1 - 47 - Wisconsin/CONNECTICUT

         Hannah Sosa - 47 - Florida/Arizona

137.  ALYSSA HOPPS - QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, 35 - North Carolina/Kentucky - CLINCHES LAST PLACE AND ENTRY FEE RETURNED

2024 NCAA Tournament Pool Results Round 1/Day 2

 

Welcome back all.  We have concluded the first round with some more surprises, but before we get to the tournament update, I have an update to the pool  We now have 137 entries.  "So Pepster, how did we increase in entries after the tournament has started" some you might ask.  Well, it is because I received the bracket from Karen Katz of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mail, postmarked March 19.  She is now included in the standings.

Day 2 gave us some incredibly exciting games, the kind we missed on Thursday.  It all started in the 8/9 game pitting last year's darling Florida Atlantic against Northwestern and we got some free basketball.  Although Northwestern curb-stomped FAU in overtime, the game was back-and-forth most of the day.

Northwestern was not the only smart boys advancing to the second round as Yale outlasted SEC champion Aurburn 78-76, as Auburn Tre Donaldson missed 2 free throws with six seconds remaining that would have tied the game despite John Poulakidas of Yale pulling his best Jack Grohlke.

Another incredibly close - and exciting - game was Colorado over Florida 102-100 with Florida's Walker Clayton, Jr. making a three-pointing to tie the game at 100 with 9 seconds left followed by KJ Simpson rushing dow to hit the eventual game-winner with 3 seconds remaining.  A last-ditch heave by Clayton, who had 33 points in this game - came dangerously close as it hit the backboard.

All three of these games have one thing in common, they knocked out a champion in our pool.  Multiple people selected Florida Atlantic, Auburn and Florida.  Our remaining champions are:  ALABAMA, Auburn, ARIZONA, BAYLOR, CONNECTICUT, CREIGHTON, DUKE, Florida, Florida Atlantic, GONZAGA, HOUSTON, ILLINOIS, IOWA STATE, KANSAS, Kentucky, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN STATE, NORTH CAROLINA, NORTH CAROLINA STATE, PURDUE and TENNESSEE.

Other close games include last year's finalist San Diego State defeating UAB 68-65, and Grand Canyon defeating Saint Mary's 75-66.  Grand Canyon joins Yale as being upsets worth bonus points in our pool, as was James Madison with its 11-point victory over 5 seed Wisconsin.  People in our pool had everyone of the upsets, and each of these upsets was guaranteed by multiple people, meaning lots of movement in the standings.  Another game of note is that 6th-seeded Clemson handily beat New Mexico 77-56 to be the only 6 seed to advance to the second round, as the 3 other 11 seeds all won on Thursday.

As I mentioned, multiple people selected each of yesterday's three bonuses, and several even selected each as a guarantee.  But, since way more people selected James Madison and Grand Canyon that Yale, those that selected Yale get special mention.  Those include George Walks 1 of West Palm Beach, Florida, Jeff Plamondon if Lincoln, Rhode Island, Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida Coco Wynne of Delray Beach, Florida and Rich Samuels 1 of Palm Beach Gardens, FL.  They receive special mention, but the "Picks of the Day" Award goes to Cassi Spruill of Fairfax, Virginia, Day Yi of Forest Hills, New York, and Max Marion 4 of West Palm Beach, Florida.  Congratulations and now - You are all dead to me.  On a side note, I asked Barkley Sosa how on earth she can live under my roof and select Yale - FOR ANYTHING - and she responded, "I pick all the dog and wolf mascots that I can."  I went back and reviewed her bracket, and although accurate - still not an excuse.

In fact, entrant Kisha Marzouca of Boynton Beach, Florida, a college classmate of mine, texted me to say "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IVY LEAGUE BASKETBALL?!?! yasssss this is the only time a Harvard person will be happy for Yale"  She is a much better person than I.

Day 1 Kentucky loses; Day 2 Yale wins.  This tournament got me feeling like a Mint Condition song, which coincidentally was on the radio when I did a breakfast run this morning.

And yes, I was at a red light when I took that picture.

And, since I am obviously in a cheerful mood, I will give an "Anti-Pick of the Day" award.  In the running was Colleen Giamberini of Boynton Beach, Florida and Alyssa Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts who both slected Grambling over Purdue, but, that pick took guts.  Going out on a limb should be rewarded, not ridiculed, especially since we all know Purdue can lose a first round game as a 1-seed; they did it last year.  So, instead, the "Anti-Pick of the Day" award goes to Joshua Zdrowak of Tallahassee, Florida by way of Orlando, Florida who picked Auburn.  Why was this such a bad pick?  It is because he picked Auburn to win the Florida Atlantic-Northwestern game!  Congratulations Joshua!

Social Media Posts/Random Quotes of the Day

5.  Facebook post from a college classmate ... "It's weird to root for Yale for any reason.  I have a reflexive distaste for Yale -- until March Madness starts up.  And then Ivy League prode takes over.  It feels very unnatural but, to paraphrase Whitman, 'Do I contradict myself?  Very well then I contrdaict myself (I am large.  I contain multitudes...)"  - Much bigger person than me.

4.  Auburn basketball alumnus Charles Barkley, "We're not gonna lose to the smart kids, I'll tell you that!"

3.  When a play from Auburn-Yale game comes on the television and a zoom-in on a Yale player, Hannah Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida commented, "He looks like he goes to Yale."  That's my girl.

And, since I am still not over the Kentucky loss

2.  From Twitter sent to me by Kevin Dick of Alexandria, Virginia, calling John Calipari the "Italian Doc Rivers."

1.  This was posted in the other pool run by this blog, but it needs mentioning here ...

Yeah, this tournament is killing me.

Stats of the Day

6.  Tre Donaldson from Auburn was shooting 82.9% from the free throw line when he stepped up and missed two free throws with 6 seconds left in game and Auburn down 2 to Yale.

5.  Zach Edey of Purdue pulled down 21 rebounds.

4.  Ryan Langborg from Northwestern scored 12 points - IN OVERTIME - as Northwestern downed Florida Atlantic.

3.  Iowa State Freshman Audi Cooks scored 40 points as Iowa State came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat Maryland in the women's tournament.

2.  Colorado had 14 assists in its first 14 made field goals in the first half against Florida.  (Finsihed the half 14 assists/17 made field goals).

1.  Northwestern scored 19 total points in overtime over Florida Atlantic.  That is the same exact number of points as they scored the ENTIRE FIRST HALF!

 Players of the Day

Honorable Mention - Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn -Ejecting for hitting a Yale player.

10.  Eddie Lampkin, Colorado - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

9.  Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M - 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists

8.  Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State - 32 points, 8 rebounds

7.  Johni Broome, Auburn - 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

6.  Will Clayton, Jr., Florida - 33 points on 10/17 shooting and 7/7 free throw line

5.  Kam Jones, Marquette - 28 points

4.  Ryan Langborg, Northwestern - 27 points - 12 in overtime

3.  John Poulakides, Yale - 28 points on 10/15 shooting; 6/9 from three point range

2.  Mark Sears, Alabama - 30 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists

1.  Zach Edey, Purdue - 30 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks

So, looking at this list gives me the thought for the NCAA Tournament history lesson.  I watched a lot of the Florida-Colorado game, and Colorado's Eddie Lampkin is a force.  He is listed at 6'11 and 265 pounds, but I would bet his a good 25 pounds heavier than that, but not really fat.  He is super-light on his feet, and possesses a devasting bump-and-spin move which is virtually unguardable.  He reminds me a bit of former Boston College standout Danya Abrams, who albeit a bit shorter than Lampkin, was every bit as stocky and light on his feet.  He played at Boston College from 1993 - 1997, and during the 1993-1994 year Boston College had some very unique and interesting sports successes.

It all started on November 20, 1993, when the number 1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team traveled to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to play the 17th-ranked BC Eagles.  Boston College built a 38-17 lead into the fourth quarter with only 11 minutes left in the game.  Notre Dame came roaring back to take the lead 39-38.  Eagles quarterback Glenn Foley led the team on a last-minute drive that almost never happened as one of his passes bounced right off the hands of Notre Dame linebacker Pete Bercich.  Two completions to tight end Pete Mitchell and one to Ivan Boyd set up a 41-yard field goal which David Gordon converted as time expired to knock off the top ranked Irish.

Later that winter, the Boston College Eagles defeated the then number 1 ranked Boston University Terriers in hockey, setting up this story ...

Boston College entered the tournament as the 9-seed, and opened in the first round against 8th-seeded Washington State in Landover, Maryland.  Washington State was paced by Isaac Fontaine's 17 points as the Cougars narrowly lost to the Eagles 67.  Boston College had a monster game from Bill Curley with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while getting 17 points and 7 assists from point guard Howard Eisley.  Freshman Danya Abrams contributed 7 points and 9 rebounds in 37 minutes played for a team that was not very deep.  This victory advanced Boston College into the second round - where number 1 seed North Carolina awaited.

This Tar Heel team was loaded, and after playing a 71-51 warm-up game against Liberty in the first round, North Carolina's stars looked like they were just going to waltz into the Final Four.  Future NBAers all over the roster, UNC started Derrick Phelps at the point, Donald Williams and Brian Reese on the wings, Rasheed Wallace at the four and Eric Montross in the middle.  Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis came off the bench, as did sharpshooter Dante Calabria - who I have played against in league ball - to make the Heels way more talented and deeper than the Eagles.

But, I probably wouldn't be including this game in this post if the normal happened, and the Eagles shocked the basketball-watching world, winning 75-72.  North Carolina was paced by Eric Montross scoring 16 points, and Jerry Stackhouse contributing 15 off the bench.  Rasheed Wallace and Jeff McInnis also finished with double digit points.  Boston College, however, rode its starters as they scored all 75 of the teams points - led by Gerrod Abram's 21.  Bill Curley had 18 with Howard Eisley and Malcolm Huckaby adding 11 each.  The reason for the post - Danya Abrams scored 14 and had a team-high 10 rebounds - all while guarding Rasheed Wallace.

From there Boston College advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in Miami, Florida, where they defeated the 5th-seeded Indiana Hoosiers 77-68.  Abrams only scored 6 points in this game, but Eisley scored 18, Huckaby and Abram 15, and Curley 11 to defeat the Alan Henderson led Hoosiers.

Advancing to the Elite 8, the Eagles lack of depth and the SEC Champion Florida Gators ended BC's hope of a Final Four 74-66.  Abrams contributed 14 points and a team-high 9 rebounds to go along with Bill Curley's 20 and Howard Eisley's 19, but it wasn't enough.  For Florida, Craig Brown had 21 and Andrew DeClerq had 16 to pace the Gators.  For basketball fans, though, the highlight was watching Danya Abrams go head-to-head with Gator behemoth Dametri Hill, both of similar size and stature.  More wrestling than basketball, these two giants definitely pushed each other throughout the entire game.

Florida went on to lose to Duke in the Final Four, which in turn lost to Arkansas in the championship game 76-72.  That Arkansas team was one of the most exciting teams I have watched, Scotty Thurman, Corliss Williamson, Corey Beck and Dwight Stewart, but that is a story for another day.

Abrams was named first team All-Big East his next three seasons, and went on to play professionally for 11 years in various leagues around the world, and is currently in Massachussetts coaching.

So, back to the interesting year for Boston College, they defeated teh number 1 team in football, hockey, and basketball in the same season.

So, enough history...  on to the Standings... Please double-check your results as I do make mistakes.  I am happy to go back and review if you think I missed something.

Standings After Round 1/Day 2

1.  Braeden Helland - 56

2.  Blake Jackson - 54

     Marcus Jackson - 54

4.  Brian McMahon - 53

5.  Allison Parker - 50

6.  Jody Cox - 49

     Bill Ganoe 3 - 49

8.  Measha Williams 3 - 48

     Joshua Zdrowak - 48

10.  Miles Jackson - 47

       Rich Samuels 4 - 47

12.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 46

       Quinn Jackson - 46

14.  Jeff Plamondon - 45

15.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 44

       Ty Hedgpeth - 44

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 44

       Chris Simmons - 44

19.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 43

       Amanda Staudt - 43

       Max Marion 3 - 43

       Bubba Zdrowak - 43

       Katie Zdrowak - 43

24.  Joel Chernoff - 42

       Kevin Dick - 42

       Skip LaForte - 42

       William Pujals - 42

       Justin Yung - 42

29.  James Coleman - 41

       Paul Cummings 2 - 41

       Bill Ganoe - 41

       Kingfish Parham - 41

       Dave Piasecki - 41

       Ashley Poer - 41

       Pepe Sosa - 41

       Cassi Spruill - 41

       Jeremy Spuhler - 41

       Day Yi - 41

39.  Paul Cummings 3 - 40

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 40

       Mark Holbert - 40

       Rich Samuels 5 - 40

43.  George Fox 2 - 39

       Silas Nichols - 39

       Cheryl Spuhler - 39

       Keith Wynne - 39

47.  Carolyn Fowler - 38

       Justine Frank - 38

       Matt Hopps - 38

       Michael McNally - 38

       Si Nichols - 38

       Jacey Reynolds (2) - 38

       Javier Rodriguez - 38

       Rich Samuels 2 - 38

       Lily Spuhler - 38

       George Walks 4 - 38

       Measha Williams 1 - 38

58.  Paul Cummings 1 - 37

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 37

       Max Macon 3 - 37

       Marcus Spruill - 37

       George Walks 3 - 37

       Amy Zdrowak - 37

       Keith Zdrowak - 37

65.  Melissa Gaynor - 36

       Shane Jernigan - 36

       Dan Laishley - 36

       Max Marion 1 - 36

       Sasha Moon - 36

       Rich Samuels 3 - 36

       Brittany Sosa - 36

       Logan Spuhler - 36

       Measha Williams 2 - 36

74.  Matt Okell - 35

       Lee Pagan - 35

       George Walks 1 - 35

77.  Karen Katz - 34

       Max Macon 2 - 34

79.  John Hedgpeth - 33

       Max Marion 4 - 33

       Sean McInerney 2 - 33

       Ryan Rodriguez - 33

       Jessica Samuels - 33

84.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 32

       Clair Bullock - 32

       Jacey Fowler 1 - 32

       James Garvin - 32

       Tyler Giamberini - 32

       Rich Samuels 1 - 32

       Cheryl Spuhler - 32

       George Walks 2 - 32

       Jonathan Wasserman - 32

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 32

94.  Jenna Finkelstein - 31

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 31

       Nick Kuehl - 31

       Dawn Lamb - 31

       Derrick Lowe - 31

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 31

       Chris O'Neil - 31

       Jane Reynolds - 31

       A.J. Ripin - 31

       Jamie Toole - 31

104.  Colleen Giamberini - 30

105.  Adam Jorgensen 1 - 29

         Adam Jorgensen 2 - 29

         Max Macon 1 - 29

         Max Macon 4 - 29

         Max Marion 2 - 29

         Kisha Marzouca 1 - 29

         Barkley Sosa - 29

         Mike Wolff 2 - 29

113.  Katie Kollmeyer - 28

         Chris Pettit - 28

         Savannah Grace Pressly - 28

         Mike Wolff 1 - 28

117.  George Fox 1 - 27

         Coco Wynne - 27

119.  Guy Hughes - 25

         Hannah Sosa - 25

121.  Daniel Barsky - 24

         Barbie Curlett 2 - 24

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 24

124.  Anne-Marie O'Neil - 23

125.  Barbie Curlett 1 - 22

         Arlene Amo Hopps - 22

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 22

         Natalie Moon - 22

         Jason Spuhler - 22

130.  Brent Bellinger - 21

         Noel Martinez 1 - 21

         Dave Marzouca 1 - 21

133.  Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 20

         Sean McInerney 1 - 20

135.  Alyssa Hopps - 19

         Noel Martinez 2 - 19

137.  Stephanie Henderson - 18

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Sweet Sixteen/Day 1

To reference yesterday's post, my Marlins are now mathematically eliminated from the baseball playoffs this season, so I can turn all of my attention this weekend to our basketball pool.  To quote Matt Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts, "The Marlins are just short an arm".  God I hate him.  The good thing for me is that he fell from a tie for first place, so that is a start.  Our two NEW leaders are Max Macon 2 of Jupiter, Florida Measha Williams #3 of Houston, Texas.  Astute veterans of this pool may recognize Measha Williams # 3 as our third place finisher in the 2017 pool, the same year that Measha Williams #2 won the pool.  Welcome back to the top of the pool Measha.  For Max, however, yesterday was a bittersweet day as (1) Yes he did ascend into the lead; but (2) he lost his champion.  For that Max gets the "Hard Luck Bracket of the Day" Award, which I just made up.

Biscuit Zdrowak, of Orlando, Florida seems to be doing just fine after getting over the UCF loss to Duke, as he was one of a few brackets to go 4-0 yesterday.  With that stellar 16 point day, Biscuit dramatically rises to 100th place. The highest placed entrant with all four games correct yesterday was Max Marion #2, of Delray Beach, Florida.  With his 16 points, Max Marion - and yes we have multiple brackets from Max Macon and Max Marion, jumps up to 11th place.  Max MARION is our "Pick of the Day".

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Scott Bieterman of West Palm Beach, Florida.  Scott, who is an alumnus of Purdue University, was the highest ranking bracket to receive 0 points yesterday.  That is right folks, Scott picked Tennessee over his alma mater.  Now I do appreciate people who do not blindly select their own school to win even when they do not have a realistic, or even a possible, chance of winning - I am looking at you 2019 Florida fans - but Scott lost out on some important points and plummeted to 32nd place. For that he is awarded the "Worst Pick of the Day".

Now, plenty of others also received 0 points yesterday, and for those that fall into that category please note, this means that you will not receive any points after Saturday's games, either.

Three champions were defeated yesterday (we could have lost 4 maximum), so a bunch of brackets took a hit.  You can celebrate by seeing your champion unbolded from our list below.  Our champions - with the 8 remaining champions in bold - are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

We have five potential champions playing tonight, culminating in a battle of picked champions in Kansas City, Missouri as #2 seed Kentucky - with or without P.J. Washington we do not know - plays #3 seed Houston.  The precursor to that game in Kansas City is top seeded North Carolina playing red-hot Auburn.  North Carolina might be without heralded freshman Nassir Little, who might be the most athletic player on the Tar Heels team. He participated in the shootaround today, but even if he plays he is likely to be slowed by a flu-like illness,  In the Washington, D.C. regional the #3 seed LSU Tigers play the Big 10 Champion and #2 seed Michigan State Spartans, with the closing game being top seeded Duke against fellow ACC rival Virginia Tech.

Hopefully these games are more interesting than last nights, which although two were fairly close at times, the games themselves were not very competitive.  Florida State - Gonzaga led off with Gonzaga holding a 8-11 point lead most of the game.  Florida State had a late flurry to pull within 3, but Gonzaga held serve and pulled away for the victory.  Although the game was not generally close, the dunks, blocks and steals were absolutely amazing.  For that reason this game was worth it.

The second game - Purdue and Tennessee - should have been eventful as it went to overtime.  But, Purdue jumped out to an 18 point lead and Tennessee seemed lucky to bring the game back to even, and actually took the lead before Carsen Edwards hit 2 out of 3 free throws to force overtime, where Tennessee ran out of steam, and players as multiple starters/contributors fouled out.

I am not even going to justify the late games with words as Michigan and Oregon were destroyed by Texas Tech and North Carolina, respectively.

Since I wrote last year about Texas Tech, and have already written about Purdue and Oregon this year, we are going to take a walk down memory lane and visit history of Gonzaga basketball in the NCAA Tournament.  Those of you as old as I remember that Gonzaga wasn't always a top-4 seed that perennially made Sweet Sixteens and Elite 8s (this is their 5th consecutive Sweet Sixteen - tops in the NCAA).  Gonzaga started as the plucky, small school underdog.

Way back in 1999, after some previous close calls, the Bulldogs  led by Matt Santangelo and Richard Frahm earned a 10th seed in the west regional.  Gonzaga received a scheduling break, though, as the team from Spokane, Washington only had to travel to Seattle to play against the 7th seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers, who they defeated 75-63.  Up next were the 2 seed, the Stanford Cardinal, which Gonzaga beat 82-74.  A much closer 73-72 win over the 6th seeded Florida Gators in Phoenix put Gonzaga into the Elite 8, where they lost to the top seeded and eventual champion Connecticut.

Gonzaga returned to the NCAA Tournament the following year behind star player Casey Calvary, and again earned the 10 seed in the West.  This time, Gonzaga had to travel to Tucson, Arizona and entertain the 7th seeded Louisville, Cardinals, which they dispatched 77-66, and followed that game with a victory over the second seeded St. John's 82-76 to earn a second consecutive Sweet Sixteen birth.  The Bulldogs, however, lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Purdue 75-66.

In 2001, Gonzaga returned again to the NCAA tournament, and would not miss another tournament through 2019, but this time as a 12th seed in the South Region, meaning the tournament committee did not think Gonzaga was even as good as the past two years and Gonzaga had to travel.  And travel they did as they defeated Virginia 86-85 and Indiana State 85-68 to return to the Sweet Sixteen for a third straight year.  Unfortunately, despite returning star players Casey Calvary and Dan Dickau, Gonzaga fell to a Michigan State team led by Charlie Bell and Zach Randolph.

A 2002 tournament firs round loss to Wyoming as a 6 seed showed the Gonzaga was not yet ready for life as a higher seed.  The Bulldogs followed that up with a first round victory in 2003 over Cincinnati as a 9th seed, then a 2004 first round victory over Valparaiso as a 2 seed and a 2005 victory over Winthrop as a 3 seed.  These tournament wins were short-lived as Gonzaga fell in the second round in each of these tournaments.

2006 would prove to be more successful for Gonzaga.  The Bulldogs returned to the tournament as a 3 seed, and defeated Xavier and Indiana before falling to UCLA in the Sweet 16, but at this point, Gonzaga is no longer the plucky underdog.

Gonzaga advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2009, 2016 and 2018, and to the Elite 8 in 2015 and 2019 and to the Final Four, where they finished second, in 2017.

For all of the Belmonts, UC-Irvine's and Liberty's out there, look to Gonzaga as your road map.  Hire a great coach (first Dan Monson, the Mark Few - who has been at Gonzaga for 20 years - and hope those coaches can continually bring in good players.

Enough history for today and boy do I hope something better happens in tonight's games that trigger a better - and more interesting - history lesson.  Plus, the NCAA Hockey Tournament is on with Harvard playing the #1 seed UMass Minutemen.  GO CRIMSON!!!

Feel free to check your scores.  Let me know if you see a discrepancy.  Otherwise, enjoy the start of the Sweet Sixteen.

1 - Max Macon #2 - 88 - Tennessee/Michigan State
     Measha Williams #3 - 88 - Gonzaga/Virginia

3 - Carolyn Fowler - 86 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

      Matt Hopps - 86 - Duke/North Carolina

      Marcus Jackson - 86 - Virginia/Duke

6 - Justin Yung - 85 - Gonzaga/Virginia

7 - Measha Williams #2 - 84 - Gonzaga/Virginia

8 - Max Macon #4 - 83 - Duke/Houston

9 - Ty Leatherman - 81 - Duke/Virginia

10 - Melanie Scherr - 90 - North Carolina/Duke

11 - Karen Katz - 79 - Gonzaga/Houston
       Max Marion #2 - 79 - Duke/North Carolina

13 - Katie Kollmeyer - 78 - Tennessee/Duke
       Steven Usma #3 - 78 - Kentucky/Duke
       Measha Williams #1 - 78 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

16 - Brian Hinaman - 77 - Duke/North Carolina

       Mac Kroesen - 77 - North Carolina/Duke

       Ashley Poer #2 - 77 - Virginia/Michigan State

       Steven Usma #4 - 77 - Duke/Kentucky

20 - Paul Cummings - 76 - North Carolina/Duke
       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 76 - Duke/North Carolina

22 - Chris Kroesen - 75 - North Carolina/Michigan State

        Silas Nichols - 75 - North Carolina/Michigan

        Brittany Sosa #1 - 75 - Duke/North Carolina

        Steven Usma #5 - 75 - Virginia/Gonzaga

26 - Bill Ganoe #1 - 74 - North Carolina/Duke

       Duncan Merchant - 74 - Duke/Houston

       Steven Usma #1 - 74 - Duke/North Carolina

       George Walks #2 - 74 - North Carolina/Duke

30 - Alyssa Ave - 73 - Purdue/Michigan

       Kareem Montague - 73 - Virginia/Duke

32 - Scott Bieterman - 72 - Duke/Kentucky

       Coby Kroesen - 72 - North Carolina/Duke

       Martha Kroesen - 72 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #1 -72 - Florida/Kentucky

36 - Philip Kroesen - 71 - North Carolina/Duke

       Max Macon #1 - 71 - Virginia/LSU
       Barkley Sosa - 71 - Kentucky/LSU
       Krystal Travers - 71 - Kansas State/Florida State
       Harrington Wax III - 71 - North Carolina/Michigan State

41 - Alvaro Gonzalez - 70 - Duke/Tennessee
       William Pujals - 70 - Duke/North Carolina
        Rich Samuels #2 - North Carolina/LSU
       Mike Zachary - 70 - Duke/North Carolina

45 - Dan Barsky #2 - 69 - Duke/North Carolina
       Anthony LaPira - 69 - Duke/Tennessee
       Mango Merchant - 69 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Chad Phillips - 69 - Florida State/North Carolina
       Kyle Sheehan - 69 - Duke/Kentucky
       Amy Zdrowak - 69 - Duke/Virginia

51 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 68 - Kentucky/Michigan State

       Jacey Fowler #2 - 68 - North Carolina/Florida State
       Michael Spicer - 68 - North Carolina/Buffalo

       Jeremy Spuhler - 68 - Tennessee/LSU

       George Walks #5 - 68 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Jonathan Wasserman - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

57 - Dana Mandelbaum - 67 - North Carolina/Duke

       Sean McInerney - 67 - Duke/North Carolina

       Allison Parker - 67 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 67 - Florida/North Carolina
       Annette Pritchard #2 - 67 - Duke.North Carolina
       Brittany Sosa #2 - 67 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Pepe Sosa - 67 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Robert Tanen #2 - 67 - Gonzaga/Virginia

65 - Jenna Finkelstein - 66 - Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Max Marion - 66 - Duke/Virginia
       Steven Usma #2 - 66 - Virginia/Michigan State

68 - Glen Merchant - 65 - Duke/Houston
       Chris Petit - 65 - North Carolina/Duke
       George Walks #3 - 65 - Florida State/Kentucky
       George Walks #4 - 65 - Duke/Virginia

72 - Adam Jorgensen - 64 - Michigan State/Virginia

       Hilary Kroesen 64 - Kentucky/Gonzaga

       Sasha Moon - 64 - Duke/Tennessee
       Traci Sheehan - 64 - Michigan State/Tennessee

        Jason Spuhler - 64 - Duke/North Carolina

77 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 63 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Arlene Amo Hopps - 63 - Villanova/Virginia Tech

       Michael Litsey - 63 - Michigan/Virginia

       Annette Pritchard - 63 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

81 - Eric Inge - 62 - Duke/North Carolina
       Ashley Poer #1 - 62 - Duke/Tennessee
      Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 62 - North Carolina/Duke

84 - Jean Calixte - 61 - Duke/North Carolina

       Scott Hansel - 61 - Duke/Kentucky

       Matt Nieman - 61 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Jane Reynolds - 61 - Duke/Kentucky

       John Santucci - 61 - Kansas/Michigan

       Wes Wiggins - 61 - Gonzaga/Virginia

90 - Rachel Bornn - 60 - Duke/Kentucky
       Edy Pecan - 60 - Syracuse/Kentucky

92 - Skip LaForte - 59 - Michigan State/North Carolina
       Jeff Pamondon - 59 - Duke/Tennessee
       Meredith Tanen - 59 - Gonzaga/Virginia

95 - Dan Barsky #1 - 58 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Jacey Fowler #1 - 58 - Villanova/Texas Tech

       Kline Kroesen - 58 - North Carolina/Michigan
       Jordyn Sheehan - 58 - Duke/Tennessee
       Robert Tanen #1 - 58 - Florida State/North Carolina

100 - Kingfish Rod Parham - 57 - Duke/Tennessee
         Ira Schulteis - 57 - Duke/North Carolina

         George Walks #1 - 57 - Kansas/Duke

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 57 - Virginia/Michigan State

104 - Tara Elliott - 55 - North Carolina/Duke
         James Garvin - 55 - Duke/Virginia

         Robert Hosmer - 55 - Duke/Virginia

         Hilary Kroesen #2 - 55 - Kansas/Marquette

         Max Macon #3 - 55 - Gonzaga/Kentucky

         Rich Samuels #1 - 55 - Duke/Kentucky

         Cheryl Spuhler - 55 - Duke/Tennessee

         Joshua Zdrowak - 55 - North Carolina/Michigan

112 - David Olson - 54 - North Carolina/Duke

         Samantha Sheehan - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

114 - Liz Carew - 53 - Kentucky/Duke
         Hannah Sosa - 53 - Virginia/Duke

116 - Griffey Parker - 52 - Houston/Duke
         Abigail Sosa - 52 - Tennessee/Duke

118 - Luis Briones - 49 - Duke/Villanova

119 - Jessica Samuels - 48 - Virginia/Gonzaga

         Katie Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/Tennessee

121 - Jennifer Armstrong - 47 - Duke/Wisconsin

122 - Keith Zdrowak - 40 - Duke/North Carolina

123 - Cubbie Kroesen - 39 - Kentucky/Marquette