NCAA Tournament Pool - Sweet Sixteen/Day 2 Results

 

First of all - a reminder that 9 of you still need to submit your payment.  Nine isn't very many, so I am happy about that.  Also know that on Thursday and Friday of last week, payments fly-in to various sources - Zelle, Venmo, Paypal, CashApp, so I may miss one hear-or-there.  If I contact you next week inquiring about payment, and you have already paid, please do not take offense, just let me know the method by which you paid and I can look it up to discovery my mistake.  However, if you haven't paid, it is just a friendly reminder for you to do so, as the winners after next weekend are going to want to be paid themselves!

So not a lot of change, with all four 1-seeds and all four 2-seeds winning yesterday.  What that does is sets up some HUGE games for today and tomorrow.  For today, the game to watch for this pool is Duke-Alabama.  Duke is the champion in the second most set of entries, but a good share also have Alabama in the Final Four.  This is a big, and I mean BIG, swing game.  And although nobody - that I can recall offhand - has Texas Tech in the Final Four (if they make it and somebody does; I will apologize then), more people have Florida winning than any other team, so if you don't have Florida, the Red Raiders are your new favorite team.  And remember, today's games are worth 8 points each!

Our champions are:  ALABAMA, AUBURN, Arizona, Connecticut, DUKE, FLORIDA, HOUSTON, Kansas, Marquette, Maryland, MICHIGAN STATE, Mississippi State, TENNESSEE.  So, seven of the remaining 8 teams are champions on at least someone's bracket.

And, since we had all chalk again yesterday - no Picks of the Day today.  The couple of entries with Mississippi in the Elite 8 almost had that opportunity to be immortalized here, but I learned by lesson from yesterday's blog post that I am not typing that many perfect brackets again.  So, no award.

I can announce that we have a bit of a change near the top.  Max Macon 3 of Jupiter, Florida is still in first place and Bill Ganoe 1 of Jupiter, Florida remains in second, but Preston Holbert of Jupiter, Florida has jumped into third place. They all have different champions so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have two contenders for the last place spot.  Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida is currently in next-to-last place, but is ineligible to receive any more points.  Luna Frank of Charlotte, North Carolina is behind her, currently in last, but can receive points if Houston is victorious over Tennessee tomorrow.  Remember, last place receives their entry fee back!

As for the games, we had two great, close games, one game that was better than the final score indicated, and Tennessee put it on Kentucky.  But, as a Kentucky fan, I was not expecting UK to defeat a really good Tennessee team for a third time this year, and I felt vindicated in that selection (and my pick of Tennessee into the Elite 8), when the two University of Kentucky alumni in this pool - Guy Hughes in Lexington, Kentucky and Kevin Dick of Alexandria, Virginia, both also had Tennessee defeating Kentucky.  That is basically the wrap-up except for one thing:  "The most dangerous offensive player on an inbounds pass is the passer.  Braden Smith of Purdue - as great as he is - forgot that axiom, leading to the game-winning layup for Houston.  (More on Smith later).  Even with great athletic talent, sometimes it still comes down to the fundamentals.  Here is a look at Milos Uzan's GAME WINNER with1 second left!  Pay particular attention to Smith, who is guarding Uzan inbounding the basket.  

Players of the Day

15.  Lamont Butler, Kentucky - 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4-5 from three

14.  Oluchi Okananwa, Duke - 12 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist

13.  Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn - 20 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

12.  Denver Jones, Auburn - 20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

11.  Danny Wolf, Michigan - 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block

10.  Zoe Brooks, North Carolina State - 21 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

9.  Jace Richardson, Michigan State - 20 points, 6 rebounds

8.  Sean Pedulla, Mississippi - 24 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

7.  Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee - 18 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists, 1 steal - The numbers do not even come close to showing how much Zeigler dominated this game; He also set the SEC record for most assists in a single season in this game

6.  Sa'Myah Smith, LSU - 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks

5.  MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

4.  Johni Broome, Auburn - 22 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals - This was honestly Broome's best game since before the SEC tournament began.  Could spell trouble for everyone else.

3.  Aneesah Morrow, LSU - 30 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks

2.  Lauren Betts, UCLA - 31 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks

1.  Milos Uzan, Houston - 22 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 game-winner

Stats of the Day

5.  Tennessee had 13 offensive rebounds!

4.  Felix Okpara, Tennessee - He had 7 offensive rebounds!

3.  With Auburn up 51-50 over Michigan, Tiger Denver Jones scored 8 straight points

2.  Braden Smith of Purdue had 15 assists, becoming the first player ever to have two games with 15 or more assists.

1.  With Michigan State winning the game over Mississippi 73-67 with virtually no time left on the clock, Mississippi's Matthew Murrell just heaved the ball toward the goal as the buzzer expired.  As it went in the basket changing the score to 73-70 I had to look up something, and yes, that basket allowed Mississippi to cover the 3 1/2 point spread.  3 1/2 being the Stat of the Day.

Smith's proficiency at passing the ball to teammates in position to score, i.e. an assist, led me to this ...

Trivia Question:  What player holds the record for the most assists in an NCAA tournament game?  NCAA Tournament?  NCAA career?  Hey look, it's a 3-pointer!

I really struggled with what to use for my history section.  Tennessee has never been to the Final Four, so I could write something about their team that advance the furthest, or maybe just describe my all-time Tennessee basketball squad (Chris Lofton at the point, Allen Houston at the wing, Bernard King as the small forward, Grant Williams as the power forward, Admiral Schofield as the center, with Dale Ellis, Tobias Harris, Ernie Grunfeld, Zakai Zeigler and Ron Slay off the bench).  But, that is pretty cheap.  Or, for the very few that will understand this completely, their Mt. Rushmore of sports, which for me is:  Reggie White (football); Bernard King (men's basketball); Candace Parker (women's basketball); and Justin Gatlin (men's track).  IYKYK.  But, that isn't going to cut it either.  You should all expect more from me.  Houston I have written previously about the 1983 Phi Slamma Jamma team.  Michigan State was a prominent part of the write-up from just the other day.  Auburn - even during the Charles Barkley Chris Morris days, always seemed to underperform, with Barkley's 1984 team losing to Richmond in the first round.  [Auburn's Mt. Rushmore by the way is STACKED!!!  Charles Barkley (men's basketball); Bo Jackson (football); Frank Thomas (baseball); and Sunisa Lee (gymnastics)]  Even last night's losing teams are too memorable, have been too good recently, or I have written about them recently to make for a good story.

So where do we go, what do we do?  That is what I have been asking myself since the games started last night.  And, until this very moment, I did not have an answer, or a plan.  But then I did some searching, and it turns out Mississippi (the state not the university) does have a pretty historic Sweet Sixteen matchup. 

We all know - or at least most of us know - about the UTEP - University of Kentucky 1966 national championship game that was immortalized by the movie Glory Road.  But, before that game, in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 1963 NCAA Tournament, Loyola of Chicago - a team featuring 4 black starters - faced off against the University of Mississippi, a team consisting of all-white players that had never even played in the NCAA Tournament before because the school refused to play in games with black players.  This was the first meeting of any Mississippi college (white Mississippi college I should say, because HBCUs obviously did) against any team with even a single black player.  So when Mississippi State's captain Joe Dan Gold shook at hands at midcourt with Loyola captain Jerry Harkness pre-game, the enormity of the situation was palbable.

"When those flashbulbs went off -- boom, boom, pop, pop -- you felt the history of it right there," Harkness said, "but I don't think many people even know about it now. That game, if you ask me, was key. I felt like it was the beginning of things turning around in college basketball. I truly believe that. I just don't know how many other people know about it."  A Game That Should Not Be Forgotten, Dana O'Neil, ESPN.com, December 13, 2012.

Keep in mind that this occurred during the same school year that U.S. Marshals had to escort James Meredith into the University of Mississippi as the first black to student to matriculate at the University of Mississippi.

Loyola would jump out to a halftime lead, and extend it to a final margin of 10 to defeat Mississippi State 71-61 to advance to the Elite 8.  Harkness led all scorers with 20 points and 9 rebounds, while teammate Vic Rouse scored 16 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.  Les Hunter contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Gold himself scored 11 for Mississippi State, which was led by Leland Mitchell's 14 points and 10 rebounds.

In the Elite 8 Loyola defeated Illinois behind Harkness' 33 points (with 11 rebounds).  Ron Miller added 15 points and 11 rebounds, Les Hunter scored 12 with 11 boards, and Vic Rouse had 19 rebounds once again.  Despite Dave Downey's 20 points, Illinois goes home while Loyola advances to the Final 4, where they would face Duke in the semi-finals.  Loyola annihilated Duke 94-75, this time led by Les Hunter's 29 points and 18 rebounds.  Harkness, Miller, Egan, and Rouse added 20, 28, 14, and 13 respectively) to easily outdistance the Blue Devils, who received 29 points and 12 rebounds from star player Art Heyman, who would be named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Loyola faced a much tougher game in the finals against the Cincinnati Bearcats, and even fell behind 29-21 at the half.  But, Loyola's toughness and skill shone through in the second half and overtime as all 5 Loyola starters played all 45 minutes.  Les Hunter led the team in scoring with 16, and Vic Rouse chipped in 15 to go with his 12 rebounds.  Captain Jerry Harkness scored 14, and the Ramblers were the national champions.

Trivia Answer:  Marquis Nowell, Kansas State - 19 versus Michigan State 2023/Mark Wade, UNLV - 61 in 1987/Bobby Hurley, Duke - 1,076 from 1989-1993

For the women it is: Tasha Pointer, Rutgers - 18 in 2001/Suzie McConnell, Penn State - 1,307 from 1984-1988 (not easy to find most assists for a single tournament)

Sweet Sixteen Standings

1.  Max Macon 3 - 99 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

2.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 98 - FLORIDA/DUKE

3.  Preston Holbert - 94 - TENNESSEE/FLORIDA

4.  Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 92 - AUBURN/TENNESSEE

     Measha Leonardo Williams - 92 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

6.  Ty Hedgpeth - 91 - DUKE/MICHIGAN STATE

7.  Brent Bellinger - 90 - DUKE/FLORIDA

     Salvatore Plamondon - 90 - ALABAMA/AUBURN

     Marcus Spruill- 90 - DUKE/St. John's

10.  Guy Hughes - 89 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

       Shane Jernigan - 89 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       Katie Kollmeyer - 89 - FLORIDA/Kentucky

13.  Bill Ganoe 3 - 88 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Marcus Jackson - 88 - HOUSTON/MICHIGAN STATE

15.  Alyssa Hopps - 87 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

       Matt Hopps - 87 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Christina Zanzig - 87 - MICHIGAN STATE/DUKE

18.  Paul Cummings - 86 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Mark Holbert - 86 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Dan Laishley - 86 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Dustin Lansing - 86 - ALABAMA/MICHIGAN STATE

       Measha Raphael Williams - 86 - DUKE/AUBURN

23.  Dan Barsky 1 - 85 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       Rich Samuels 2 - 85 - DUKE/MICHIGAN STATE

       George Walks 3 - 85 - FLORIDA/DUKE

26.  Dan Barsky 2 - 84 - HOUSTON/MICHIGAN STATE

       Jonathan Cox - 84 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Eric Inge - 84 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jazz Piasecki - 84 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

       Mike Wolff 2 - 84 - FLORIDA/DUKE

31.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 83 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Justine Frank - 83 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Christina Gomez - 83 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jane Reynolds & Carolyn Fowler - 83 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Measha Donatello Williams - 83 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Measha Michaelangelo Williams - 83 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

37.  Max Macon 1 - 82 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Steven Usma 3 - 82 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

39.  Rachel Bornn - 81 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Jacey Fowler I - 81 - MICHIGAN STATE/TENNESSEE

       Javier Rodriguez 2 - 81 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Rich Samuels 1 - 81 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Steven Usma 2 - 81 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Day Yi 2 - 81 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

45.  Xavier Conway - 80 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 80 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

       Allison Parker - 80 - AUBURN/ALABAMA

       George Walks 2 - 80 - ALABAMA/FLORIDA

49.  Silas Nichols - 79 - FLORIDA/DUKE

50.  Kevin Dick - 78 - FLORIDA/ALABAMA

       John Hedgpeth - 78 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Martha Kroesen - 78 - FLORIDA/ALABAMA

       Kingfish Parham - 78 - AUBURN/HOUSTON

       Lily Spuhler - 78 - FLORIDA/Purdue

       Jonathan Wasserman - 78 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

56.  Jenna Finkelstein - 77 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

       Shane Dogmillionaire - 77 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Natalie Moon - 77 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jeff Plamondon - 77 - DUKE/MICHIGAN STATE

    

60. Theo Frank - 76 - DUKE/FLORIDA

      Sean & Barbie McInerney - 76 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

      Sasha Moon - 76 - DUKE/FLORIDA

63.  Kyle Henderson 1 - 75 - FLORIDA/Clemson

       Adam Jorgensen - 75 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Karen Katz 1 - 75 - DUKE/Maryland

       Dave Wilson - 75 - FLORIDA/DUKE

67.  Paul Cummings 2 - 74 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       Barbie McInerney - 74 - FLORIDA/Arizona

       Vincent Plamondon - 74 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Ashley Poer 2 - 74 - FLORIDA/Arizona

       Jane Reynolds - 74 - ALABAMA/AUBURN

       Javier Rodriguez 1 - 74 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Chris Simmons - 74 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Brittany Sosa - 74 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

       Jason Spuhler - 74 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Day Yi - 74 - DUKE/St. John's

77.  Joel Chernoff - 73 - AUBURN/DUKE

       Jim Coleman - 73 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Karen Katz 2 - 73 - HOUSTON/MICHIGAN STATE

       Kline Kroesen - 73 - HOUSTON/AUBURN

       Dave Piasecki - 73 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Mike Wolff 1 - 73 - FLORIDA/DUKE

83.  Steven Usma 1 - 72 - DUKE/FLORIDA

84.  Chris LaForte - 71 - MICHIGAN STATE/ALABAMA

       Sean McInerney III - 71 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Sean McInerney IIII - 71 - FLORIDA/DUKE

87.  James Garvin - 70 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Si Nichols - 70 - HOUSTON/MICHIGAN STATE

       Pepe Sosa - 70 - FLORIDA/HOUSTON

       Cheryl Spuhler - 70- FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

91.  Colleen Giamberini - 69 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Ashley Poer 1 - 69 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Quinn Jackson - 69 - ALABAMA/MICHIGAN STATE

94.  Max Macon 2 - 68 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Kisha Marzouca - 68 - DUKE/FLORIDA

       Jeremy Spuhler - 68 - FLORIDA/DUKE

       Justin Yung - 68 - DUKE/FLORIDA

98.  Tyler Giamberini - 67 - Maryland/ALABAMA

       Kisha Marzouca 2 - 67 - DUKE/AUBURN

       Chuck Whitcomb - 67 - TENNESSEE/FLORIDA

101.  Braeden Helland - 66 - FLORIDA/ALABAMA

        Jessica Samuels - 66 - DUKE/Texas A&M

        Amanda Staudt - 66 - MICHIGAN STATE/Purdue

        Stacia Wilkaitis - 66 - FLORIDA/DUKE

        Joshua Zdrowak - 66 - DUKE/FLORIDA

106.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 65 - DUKE/Connecticut

         Max Macon 4 - 65 - FLORIDA/DUKE

         Brandon Satterwhite - 65 - FLORIDA/ALABAMA

         Bubba Zdrowak - 65 - FLORIDA/ALABAMA

         Katie Zdrowak - 65- DUKE/St. John's

111.  Benny Frank Finkelstein - 64 - FLORIDA/ALABAMA

         Jacey Fowler II - 64 - ALABAMA/FLORIDA

         Hannah Sosa - 64 - FLORIDA/ALABAMA

         George Walks 4 - 64 - TENNESSEE/FLORIDA

115.  Sean McInerney 1 - 63 - TENNESSEE/FLORIDA

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 63 - HOUSTON/Iowa State

117.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 62 - HOUSTON/FLORIDA

         William Pujals - 62 - FLORIDA/DUKE

119.  Ferris Spuhler - 61 - Kansas/DUKE

         George Walks 1 - 61 - AUBURN/TENNESSEE

 

121.  Steven Usma 4 - 60 - FLORIDA/Kentucky

122.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 59 - HOUSTON/St. John's

         Sean McInerney II - 59 - FLORIDA/St. Mary's

         Caroline Spuhler - 59 - FLORIDA/DUKE

125.  Carolyn Fowler - 58 - AUBURN/DUKE

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 58 - Connecticut/ALABAMA

         Amy Zdrowak - 58 - AUBURN/ALABAMA

128.  Dave Marzouca - 57 - AUBURN/Arizona

 

129.  Stephanie Henderson - 55 - AUBURN/Clemson

130.  Logan Spuhler - 53 - FLORIDA/TENNESSEE

         Keith Zdrowak - 53 - DUKE/FLORIDA

132.  Wes Wiggins - 51 - Arizona/Louisville

133.  Barkley Sosa - 41 - Mississippi State/Connecticut

134.  Luna Frank - 36 - Marquette/HOUSTON

2023 NCAA Tournament Pool - Round 2/Day 2

 

Thank you for your patience, as I had to return to work today after a full weekend of basketball, and World Baseball Classic!!!

Our leader, Rich Samuels 1 of Palm Beach Gardens, FL lengthened his lead over still second place Silas Nichols of Washington, DC, and they are joined on the podium by Rich Samuels 2 of Palm Beach Gardens, FL.  All three of those entries have both of their finalists remaining.  This reminds me that this week I will update the standings with Final picks of each entry, so that we can all see where we stand in relation to other teams that have the same champions or finalists.

We also have a clear leader for a return of her money - Lily Spuhler of Acworth, Georgia, but her champion is still alive, as well as 3 of her Final Four, so there is a good chance that she can rise up the rankings a bit, so as not to finish last.

And speaking of finalists, we lost two more champions in games that matched up champions against each other:  Indiana lost to Miami, and Marquette lost to Michigan State.  Our champions are:  Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Gonzaga, Houston, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Marquette, Miami, Michigan State, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA.  That means that of the 16 teams remaining in the tournament, entrants have chosen 11 of them to win the tournament outright.  That means a whole lot of movement in the standings!

The interesting one for me is Michigan State.  Of course, Florida Atlantic is the answer, but they got through by winning the 8-9 matchup, which is supposed to be close, and then playing the 16 seeded Fairleigh Dickinson.  Michigan State was supposed to lose their last game to the 2 seed Marquette, but Tom Izzo always does this.  His teams always win 1 or 2 games more than they should.  In fact, this is one of our interesting stats of the day!

Interesting Stats of the Day

4.  St. Mary's lost their second round game to Connecticut in large part because they had no double digit scorer in the game.

3.  Creighton shot 22-22 from the free throw line.

2.  Xavier led the NCAA in assists averaging 19.2 per game.  They had 22 assists in victory over Pittsburgh.

1.  Tom Izzo passed Jim Boeheim of Syracuse for most tournament wins ever by a lower-seeded team.

Michigan State's win also earned bonus points for several brackets that had them beating Marquette - all 17 of you.  For the few that had Michigan State over Vermont - no bonus points.  The other stunning Sweet Sixteen team - Florida Atlantic University - won the battle of FU schools (FAU over FDU) - 9 total.  Eight of those - Guy Hughes of Lexington, KY, Shane Jernigan 1 of Denver, Co, Jonathan Cox of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Bennie Merchant of Asheville, NC, Duncan Merchant of Asheville, NC, Savannah Grace Pressly of Boca Raton, FL (and our current FAU student), Hannah Sosa of Riviera Beach, FL and Day Yi 1 of Forest Hills, NY all deserve mention.  But, their picking prowess pales in comparison (at least for one day) to Arlene Amo Hopps of Quincy, MA, who not only has selected FAU into the Sweet Sixteen, but also received bonus points for choosing Michigan State over Marquette, the only person to do so.  For that - Arlene receives the Pick of the Day!

Arlene Amo Hopps had some serious competition for best penmanship this year, with Drew Foster of Lake Worth Beach, Florida and Max Macon of Jupiter, Florida making it really easy for me to see which teams they picked.  Thank you you three!!!

One of the intriguing matchups from yesterday was Pittsburgh playing against Xavier, coached by Pittsburgh basketball star and alumnus Sean Miller.  Sean Miller started at point guard his freshman year, with powerhouse forwards Charles Smith and Jerome Lane.  Smith would go on to win Big East Player of the year in 1988, win a bronze medal in the Olympics for Team USA in 1988 (the impetus for the "Dream Team,") and then play 10 years in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers, the New York Knicks, and San Antonio Spurs.  Jerome Lane  led the Big East in rebounding in 1988, then went pro where he was drafte d by the Denver Nuggets.  He played 5 seasons in the NBA, and twelve professional seasons on various teams in various leagues.  Miller finished his collegiate career starting all four years of college, averaging 10 points a game. 102 total steals, and 5.8 assists per game.  None of his steals and assists were better than THIS PLAY!!!

And I know that this play did not occur in the tournament - but boy was it amazing.  I remember fondly.  Since it isn't exactly tournament history, I will tell you that Pittsburgh entered the 1988 tournament as a 2 seed in the midwest, where they defeated Eastern Michigan 108-90 with CHarles Smith scoring 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, Jerome Lane adding 22 points and 17 rebounds, Demetreus Gore adding 24 points, and Sean Miller scoring 3 points, but dishing out 9 assists compared to only 1 turnover.  They then lost 80-74 in overtime to Vanderbilt in the second round as Barry Goheen (from my dad's hometown in Kentucky) led the Commodores with 22 points, and the future NBA'er Will Perdue contributing 15 points and 5 rebounds.  For Pittsburgh,  Charles Smith scored 21 with 10 rebounds, Jerome Lane scored 8 points but had 20 rebounds, and Sean Miller played all 45 minutes and had 7 points, 7 assists with only 3 turnovers.  But despite losing to Vanderbilt, Sean Miller and Jerome Lane had the play of the season.  Go back and watch it again!

Social Media Post of the Day!

1.  Although this had to do with Saturday's game and not yesterday's, I saw it yesterday, so here it is.  Credit to Silas Nichols of Washington, DC for the find.

Players of the Day

Honorable Mention:  Norchad Omier - Miami - 7 points/17 boards

10.  Oscar Tshiebwe - Kentucky - 25 points/18 rebounds

9.  Mike Miles - TCU - 24 points/1 rebound/4 assists/2steals/1 block

8.  LJ Cryer - Baylor - 20 points/2 rebounds/1 assist

7.  Tyson Walker - Michigan State - 23 points/2 rebounds/ 2 assists/1 steal

6.  Adama Sanogo - Connecticut - 24 points/8 rebounds

5.  Drew Timme - Gonzaga - 28 points/8 rebounds/3 assits/1 block

4.  Isaiah Wong - Miami - 27 points/8 rebounds

3.  Ryan Nembhard - Creighton - 30 points/2 rebounds/2 assists/2 steals

2.  Markquis Nowell - Kansas State - 27 points/2 rebounds/9 assists/3 steals - and, he scored 7 points, and assisted on 2 3-pointers during a 13-2 Kansas State run late in the second half in their victory over Kentucky.

1.  Johnell Davis - FAU - 29 points/12 rebounds/5 assists/5 steals - only person with this state line in the history of the NCAA tournament.

Now, on to our players.  Feel free to double check my scores, and let me know if you think that i need to change something.

STANDINGS

1.  Rich Samuels 1 - 65

2.  Silas Nichols - 57

3.  Rich Samuels 2 - 54

4.  Mitch K (Lamb) - 53

     Colonel Kareem Montague - 53

     Javier Rodriguez 2 - 53

7.  Sal DiSanza - 52

     John Hopps - 52

     Guy Hughes - 52

10.  Skip LaForte 1 - 51

       Dana Williams - 51

       Bubba Zdrowak - 51

13.  Karen Katz - 50

       Pepe Sosa - 50

       Steven Usma 4 - 50

16.  Carolyn Fowler - 49

       Jacey Fowler II - 49

       Marcus Jackson - 49

       Ty Leatherman - 49

       Jessica Samuels - 49

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 49

22.  Matt Okell 1 - 48

       Allison Parker - 48

24.  Kyle Henderson - 47

       Shane Jernigan 1 - 47

       Kisha Marzouca 2 - 47

       Sean McInerney 4 - 47

       Ashley Poer 2 - 47

       Brittany Sosa - 47

30.  Drew Foster - 46

       Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 46

       Justin Gaeta - 46

       Edy "Almond" Pecan - 46

       Jeff Plamondon - 46

       Jeff 2 Plamondon - 46

36.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 45

       Matt Hopps - 45

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 45

       Adam Jorgenson - 45

       Kisha Marzouca 3 - 45

       Sasha Moon - 45

42.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 44

       Jacey Fowler I - 44

       Stephanie Henderson - 44

       Blake Jackson - 44

       Max Macon 2 - 44

       Steven Usma 3 - 44

       Steven Usma 5 - 44

49.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 43

       George Fox 2 - 43

       Bill Ganoe 1 - 43

       Bill Ganoe 2 - 43

       Quinn Jackson - 43

       Gracie Kroesen - 43

       Martha Kroesen - 43

       Dan Laishley - 43

       Max Macon 1 - 43

       Brian McMahon - 43

       Jane Reynolds - 43

       Chris Simmons - 43

       Steven Usma 2 - 43

       Jonathan Wasserman - 43

63.  Jim Coleman - 42

       Jonathan Cox - 42

       Paul Cummings 2 - 42

       Sean McInerney 3 - 42

       Javier Rodriguez 1 - 42

       Jason Spuhler - 42

       Joshua Zdrowak - 42

70.  George Fox 3 - 41

       Bill Ganoe 3 - 41

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 41

       Braeden Helland - 41

       Eric Inge - 41

       Mac Kroesen - 41

       Bennie Merchant - 41

       Javier Rodriguez 4 - 41

78.  Jim Baruffi - 40

       Paul Cummings - 40

       Liam Gray - 40

       Chris Kroesen - 40

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 40

       Javier Rodriguez 3 - 40

       George Walks 4 - 40

85.  Aly Baruffi - 39

       Brent Bellinger - 39

       Jenna Finkelstein - 39

       George Fox 1 - 39

       Alyssa Hopps - 39

       Miles Jackson - 39

       Katie Kollmeyer - 39

       Sean McInerney 1 - 39

       George Walks 3 - 39

       Day Yi 1 - 39

       Day Yi 2 - 39

       Amy Zdrowak - 39

97.  Dawn Lamb - 38

       Matt Okell 2 - 38

       Jamie Toole - 38

       Steven Usma 1- 38

101.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 37

         Max Macon 4 - 37

         Matt Okell 3 - 37

         George Walks 1 - 37

         Justin Yung - 37

106.  James Garvin - 36

         Skip LaForte 2 - 36

         Duncan Merchant - 36

         Sean McInerney 2 - 26

         Kingfish Parham - 36

         Geoge Walks 2 - 36

         Mike Wolff - 36

113.  Justine Frank - 35

         Mark Holbert - 35

         Savannah Grace Pressly - 35

         Rich Samuels 3 - 35

         Logan Spuhler - 35

         Katie Zdrowak - 35

119.  Annabelle Fowler - 34

         Keith W 2 (Lamb) - 34

         Dave Marzouca 1 - 34

         Ashley Poer 1 - 34

123.  Max Macon 3 - 33

         Dave Piasecki - 33

         William Pujals - 33

         Barkley Sosa - 33

         Hannah Sosa - 33

         Cheryl Spuhler - 33

         Amanda Staudt - 33

130.  Keith W 1 (Lamb) - 32

         A.J. Ripin - 32

         Jeremy Spuhler - 32

         Keith Zdrowak - 32

134.  Mango Merchant - 29

135.  Dave Marzouca 3 - 28

136.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 27

137.  Lizzy W (Lamb) - 25

138.  Lily Spuhler - 21

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Sweet Sixteen/Day 2

And we have our first number 1 seed knocked out of the tournament as Auburn is still hitting three pointers against North Carolina.  Auburn has been absolutely red hot as they ran through the SEC tournament before winning their first three games in the NCAA.  North Carolina definitely missed the usual contributions from Nassir Little, who only played 13 minutes after being stricken with the flu.  This was the last collegiate game for Luke Maye, who has left his impression in NCAA Tourney lore with his last second shot to beat Kentucky in what seems like 1967 in the Elite 8, sending North Carolina to the Final Four, which they would win.  It should be noted that it was nice that Luke Maye stayed at UNC long enough for his grandson to see him play.  (Ok - the shot was in 2017).

Auburn likely lost starting power forward Chuma Okeke, however, with a torn ACL suffered late in the game.  That will affect their chances of earning a place in the Final Four.

North Carolina was a champion in our pool, and in the finals and final four in a lot of brackets that did not have them winning it all.  Auburn's run has wrecked a bunch of pools, but not those of Dave Piasecki #1 of Gainesville, Florida, Barkley Sosa of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Hilary Kroesen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, Arlene Amo Hopps, of Quincy, Massachusetts, Michael Litsey of Los Angeles, California and Samantha Sheehan of Jupiter, Florida, all of whom selected Auburn at least into the Elite 8.  But, none of them had Auburn, Michigan State, Duke and Kentucky yesterday like the joint bracket for Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds of Greenacres, Florida.  They win the "Pick of the Day".

In the second game in Kansas City, the Houston Cougars brought 33 wins into the Sweet Sixteen, but could not make it 34 as Kentucky defeated Houston 62-58.  Houston was a champion in our pool, and a couple of other entrants had them either in the Final 4 or in the finals itself.  The Wildcats took the lead for good on an aptly named  Tyler Herro 3 pointer with 25 seconds remaining.

In the Washington, D.C. regional, Michigan State pulled ahead from LSU to win 80-63 as four players scored in double figures for the Spartans.  In the late game the Duke Blue Devils seem to be playing a "How many games are we going to let our opponents have a tip-in at the basket to tie/win as Virginia Tech's Ahmed Hill missed a tip-in off a missed Ty Outlaw 3 pointer with 4 seconds left that would have tied the game and sent it to overtime.  Duke's Cam Reddish missed the game with an injury, and will be a "game time decision" for tomorrow's game against Michigan State.

Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State survived, but we lost the aforementioned champions, leaving us with 6 remaining.  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 are guaranteed to lose one of our champions today as Virginia plays Purdue in Louisville.  Gonzaga plays Texas Tech in the first game from Anaheim.  If watching the games tonight, pay attention to the rims in the KFC Yum Center during the Virginia/Purdue game.  I don't know what it is, but they make an inordinate amount of noise, or at least they did on Thursday night.  I sure hope that they get that fixed before tonight's game.

OK, I admit that I phoned in the history lesson yesterday, but nothing from Thursday's games stood out to me.  With traditional blue bloods Duke, Michigan State and Kentucky advancing, that leaves Auburn for today's tournament history lesson.  Since Auburn's best - and most well known - player is Charles Barkley, I could write about him, but most people know about Barkley (namesake of pool entrant Barkley Sosa in fact).  What you may not know is that this is only Auburn' second appearance in the Elite 8.  So for our trip down memory lane, I give you the 1986 Auburn Tigers, War Eagle, Plainsmen.  A school so good it has 3 nicknames.

Auburn, behind senior sharpshooter Chuck Conners Person (of course a sharpshooter, or Rifleman if you will, is named Chuck Conners), and sophomore Chris Morris finished second in the SEC behind Kentucky.  Person would go on to a prolific 12 year NBA career, notably with the Indiana Pacers were he won Rookie of the Year in 1987.  Despite such a strong season, Auburn lost its opening game in the SEC Tournament to Mississippi State 65-63, and were penalized by earning a 8 seed and being shipped out west.  (This was before the NCAA assigned games via the "pod system" as they do now - which I can explain if anyone wants to know how this works now.

Auburn beat the 9th seeded Arizona Wildcats 73-63 in Long Beach, California, giving them a matchup with the top seeded St. John's Redmen (their mascot then, not now).  St. John's was paced by future NBA Star Mark Jackson, along with Walter Berry, Willie Glass and Matt Brust, but even with that collegiate star-power, St. John's was no match for Auburn which defeated St. John's 81-65 behind Chuck Person's 27 points.  Auburn advanced to the regionals in Houston, Texas, where they first matched up with the 4th seeded UNLV Running Rebels.  who were loaded with talent.  UNLV was led by future number 2 overall pick Armen Gilliam, Jarvis Basnight, Freddie Banks and Gary Graham.  As an aside, Gary Graham played on perhaps the greatest high school basketball team of all-time, the 1981-1982 Baltimore Dunbar High School team consisting of Tyrone "Mugsy" Bogues (Wake Forest/NBA), Reggie Lewis (Northeastern/NBA, Reggie Williams (Georgetown/NBA) and David Wingate (Georgetown/NBA), along with Graham.  Tim Dawson, Keith James and Mike Brown also played collegiately at Miami, UNLV and Syracuse.  This team was so loaded that Reggie Lewis - who became a 2-time conference player of the year at Northeastern, a first round NBA pick of the Celtics, an NBA All-Star and captain of the Celtics - could not even break into the starting lineup.  If you would like to know more about this team, please go read The Boys of Dunbar by Alejandro Danois - it is AMAZING.

But, I digress.  So Auburn handled UNLV 70-63 behind Person's 25 points and 11 rebounds, along with 10 assists for point guard Gerald White.  Armen Gilliam scored 21 and Freddie Banks added 20 for the Runnin' Rebels, but it was not enough as the Tigers advanced to the Elite 8 to face Louisville.

Louisville defeated Auburn 84-76 despite a game-high 23 points from Chuck Person, as all 5 Louisville starters scored in double digits.  Louisville - led by senior do everything point guard Milt Wagner, senior big man Billy Thompson, and freshman phenom and future #1 overall NBA pick "Never Nervous" Pervis Ellison, would go to Dallas and defeat 11 seed LSU and 1 seed Duke to win the national championship.

Auburn has not returned to the Elite 8 until now.

And for now - good luck in your brackets tonight.  Each of tonight's games are worth 8 points.

One note - I apologize to Tara Elliott of Asheville, North Carolina, as I thought her name was Tara Telliott (at least that is what it looked like to me on your bracket).  That has been corrected.

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

1 - Measha Williams #3 - 100 - Gonzaga/Virginia

2 - Matt Hopps - 98 - Duke/North Carolina
     Carolyn Fowler - 98 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

4 - Max Macon #2 - 96 - Tennessee/Michigan State

5 - Marcus Jackson - 94 - Virginia/Duke

6 - Ty Leatherman - 93 - Duke/Virginia
      Justin Yung - 93 - Gonzaga/Virginia

8 - Melanie Scherr - 92 - North Carolina/Duke
     Measha Williams #2 - 92 - Gonzaga/Virginia

10 - Max Marion #2 - 91 - Duke/North Carolina

11 - Katie Kollmeyer - 90 - Tennessee/Duke
       Steven Usma #3 - 90 - Kentucky/Duke

13 - Mac Kroesen - 89 - North Carolina/Duke
       Steven Usma #4 - 89 - Duke/Kentucky

15 - Chris Kroesen - 87 - North Carolina/Michigan State
       Max Macon #4 - 87 - Duke/Houston

17 - Bill Ganoe #1 - 86 - North Carolina/Duke
       Steven Usma #1 - 86 - Duke/North Carolina
       Measha WIlliams #1 - 86 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

20 - Brian Hinaman - 85 - Duke/North Carolina
       Colonel Kareem Montague - 85 - Virginia/Duke
       Ashley Poer #2 - 85 - Virginia/Michigan State

23 - Scott Bieterman - 84 - Duke/Kentucky
       Paul Cummings - 84 - North Carolina/Duke
       Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 84 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 84 - Duke/North Carolina
       Dave Piasecki #1 - 84 - Florida/Kentucky

28 - Karen Katz - 83 - Gonzaga/Houston

       Philip Kroesen - 83 - North Carolina/Duke
       Silas Nichols - 83 - North Carolina/Michigan
       Barkley Sosa - 83 - Kentucky/LSU

      Brittany Sosa #1 - 83 - Duke/North Carolina

      Steven Usma #5 - 83 - Virginia/Gonzaga

34 - Alvaro Gonzalez - 82 - Duke/Tennessee

       George Walks #2 - 82 - North Carolina/Duke

       William Pujals - 82 - Duke/North Carolina

37 - Alyssa Ave - 81 - Purdue/Michigan

       Dan Barsky #2 - 81 - Duke/North Carolina
       Chad Phillips - 81 - Florida State/North Carolina

       Kyle Sheehan - 81 - Duke/Kentucky
       Amy Zdrowak - 81 - Duke/Virginia

42 - Coby Kroesen - 80 - North Carolina/Duke

       Jonathan Wasserman - 80 - North Carolina/Duke

44 - Sean McInerney - 79 - Duke/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #2 - 79 - Florida/North Carolina
       Annette Pritchard #2 - 79 - Duke/North Carolina

       Pepe Sosa - 79 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Krystal Travers - 79 - Kansas State/Florida State
       Harrington Wax III - 79 - North Carolina/Michigan State

50 - Duncan Merchant - 78 - Duke/Houston

        Rich Samuels #2 - 78- North Carolina/LSU
        Mike Zachary - 78 - Duke/North Carolina

53 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 76 - North Carolina/Florida State
       Adam Jorgensen - 76 - Michigan State/Virginia

       Hilary Kroesen 76 - Kentucky/Gonzaga

       Martha Kroesen - 76 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Jason Spuhler - 76 - Duke/North Carolina
       Jeremy Spuhler - 76 - Tennessee/LSU

59 - Arlene Amo Hopps - 75 - Villanova/Virginia Tech
       Michael Litsey - 75 - Michigan/Virginia
       Max Macon #1 - 75 - Virginia/LSU
       Mango Merchant - 75 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Allison Parker - 75 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Annette Pritchard - 75 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Robert Tanen #2 - 75 - Gonzaga/Virginia

66 - Jenna Finkelstein - 74 - Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Eric Inge - 74 - Duke/North Carolina
       Max Marion - 74 - Duke/Virginia

69 - Scott Hansel - 73 - Duke/Kentucky
       Anthony LaPira - 73 - Duke/Tennessee
       Matt Nieman - 73 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Chris Petit - 73 - North Carolina/Duke
       Jane Reynolds - 73 - Duke/Kentucky
       George Walks #3 - 73 - Florida State/Kentucky
       Wes Wiggins - 73 - Gonzaga/Virginia

76 - Sasha Moon - 72 - Duke/Tennessee
       Traci Sheehan - 72 - Michigan State/Tennessee
       Michael Spicer - 72 - North Carolina/Buffalo
       George Walks #5 - 72 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

80 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 71 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Dana Mandelbaum - 71 - North Carolina/Duke
       Jeff Pamondon - 71 - Duke/Tennessee

       Brittany Sosa #2 - 71 - Gonzaga/Virginia

84 - Dan Barsky #1 - 70 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

      Jacey Fowler #1 - 70 - Villanova/Texas Tech

       Ashley Poer #1 - 70 - Duke/Tennessee
       Steven Usma #2 - 70 - Virginia/Michigan State
       Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 70 - North Carolina/Duke

89 - Glen Merchant - 69 - Duke/Houston
       John Santucci - 69 - Kansas/Michigan
       George Walks #4 - 69 - Duke/Virginia

92 - Rachel Bornn - 68 - Duke/Kentucky
       Edy Pecan - 68 - Syracuse/Kentucky

94 - Skip LaForte - 67 - Michigan State/North Carolina
       Max Macon #3 - 67 - Gonzaga/Kentucky

      Cheryl Spuhler - 67 - Duke/Tennessee

       Joshua Zdrowak - 67 - North Carolina/Michigan

98 - Jordyn Sheehan - 66 - Duke/Tennessee

        Samantha Sheehan - 66 - Duke/Tennessee

        Robert Tanen #1 - 66 - Florida State/North Carolina

101 - Jean Calixte - 65 - Duke/North Carolina

         Kingfish Rod Parham - 65 - Duke/Tennessee

         George Walks #1 - 65 - Kansas/Duke

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 65 - Virginia/Michigan State

105 - Abigail Sosa - 64 - Tennessee/Duke

106 - Tara Elliott - 63 - North Carolina/Duke

         James Garvin - 63 - Duke/Virginia

         Rich Samuels #1 - 65 - Duke/Kentucky

         Meredith Tanen - 63 - Gonzaga/Virginia

110 - David Olson - 62 - North Carolina/Duke

111 - Liz Carew - 61 - Kentucky/Duke

        Hilary Kroesen #2 - 61 - Kansas/Marquette

         Ira Schulteis - 61 - Duke/North Carolina

         Hannah Sosa - 61 - Virginia/Duke

115 - Jennifer Armstrong - 59 - Duke/Wisconsin
          Robert Hosmer - 59 - Duke/Virginia

117 - Kline Kroesen - 58 - North Carolina/Michigan

118 - Luis Briones - 57 - Duke/Villanova

119 - Griffey Parker - 56 - Houston/Duke
         Katie Zdrowak - 56 - Duke/Tennessee

121 - Jessica Samuels - 52 - Virginia/Gonzaga

122 - Keith Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/North Carolina

123 - Cubbie Kroesen - 47 - Kentucky/Marquette