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
