A reminder that we have two simultaneous pools being hosted by this blog. If you get confused, this is a traditional bracket pool. If you are not confused, you can still feel free to read the other posts, as it does contain some additional insights to the basketball tourney, sports, and other topics. I would be remiss if I did not apologize to Sinickal - the host of the other pool - for using his government name in our previous update. But he shouldn't be too riled up, as anything involving the government right now that doesn't involve the phrases "You're Fired," or "You're Deported," is a plus. Anyway, back to basketball.
Connecticut did not give up its two-time defending champion mantle easily, gamely fighting to the end against the 1-seeded, and co-betting favorite Florida Gators. And when I say to the end, I mean to the end, as Connecticut even hit a last-second three to trim the final deficit to two points. [Ed. Note - this didn't even matter to gamblers, as the spread was 9 1/2.] And although the day was essentially chalk - and I say essentially because a 6th seeded Mississippi did defeat a 3-seed in Iowa State - yesterday did give us the only true buzzer-beater that we have seen in this year's tournament, courtesy of Maryland super-frosh - and potential Top 5 pick - Derik Queen. You can see the play, and an explanation of why it WASN'T a travel, HERE!
And this shot was detrimental to 11 of our entrants that all had Colorado State defeating Maryland. That would have been 7 extra points for all of them (2 for the second-round win and 5 bonus points)!
Going back to Florida-Connecticut, yes Dan Hurley loves his team, and his players, blah, blah, blah. But this quotation shows why he is the Kim Mulkey of the men's game. Rated R warning for strong language .... "I hope they don't fuck you like they fucked us. Baylor, I really hope they don't." Not sure what he is actually talking about. If he is speaking about fouls - UConn was called for 21 total fouls whereas Florida was called for 17. Pretty close, but actually skewed because UConn was intentionally fouling down the stretch to stop the clock. And, if you actually watched the game, there didn't even seem to be any bias. Close calls here-and-there for both squads, but nothing egregious. Looks like Kentucky fans dodged a bullet by Hurley winning last year and taking himself out of the coaching carousel.
Because of Florida's victory, we lost a champion in our pool, as yes, somebody selected UConn. Our champions are: ALABAMA, AUBURN, ARIZONA, Connecticut, DUKE, FLORIDA, HOUSTON, Kansas, Marquette, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN STATE, Mississippi State, TENNESSEE. Nine of the remaining 16, so quite a bit of action for the Regionals!
Since favorites won everywhere yesterday, you better have correctly guessed at least 6 winners or you likely slid in the pool. If you got 7, you were rising up, maybe not as high as CLIFFORD OMORUYI on this alley-oop from Mark Sears, but you are rising!
Without any upsets, the Picks of the Day have to go to those entrants that correctly picked all 8 winners yesterday. They are: Preston Holbert of Jupiter, Florida, Matt Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts, Si Nichols of Scottsdale, Arizona, and my personal favorite, Hannah Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida. Congrats to these 4!
And just like that, we have a new leader in Salvatore Plamondon from Lincoln, Rhode Island, with Max Macon 3 from Jupiter, Florida falling into second place. Bill Ganoe 1 from Palm Beach Gardens, FL remains in 3rd place. But, lots of movement expected next round with most of the top seeds remaining and the games worth 4 points each.
Going 8-for-8 is a great stat, but here are some others from yesterday's action.
Stats of the Day
7. Kentucky finished the game against Illinois with 14 steals. 14 STEALS!!!
6. St. Mary's, in its loss to Alabama, gave up 80 points for the first time in its last 125 games.
5. Florida closed out its win over UConn with 6 straight FGs before UConn hit a last-second three.
4. Duke shot 19 free throws in the first half of its win over Baylor compared to Baylor's 2.
3. Kentucky became the first team to make the Sweet Sixteen returning exactly 0 points from the previous season.
2. Gonzaga's streak of 9 straight Sweet-Sixteen's was snapped by Houston, which was the most since the tourney expanded to 64-teams. (Tied with North Carolina and Duke).
1. THE SEC HAS 7 TEAMS IN THE SWEET SIXTEEN!
Players of the Day
10. Deriq Queen, Maryland - 17 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks - GAME WINNER
9. Sean Pedulla, Mississippi - 20 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals
8. Kylan Braswell, Illinois - 23 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists
7. Kobe Brea, Kentucky - 23 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
6. Nique Clifford, Colorado State - 21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks - Assist on what we all thought was the game-winning three over Maryland (before Deriq Queen happened!)
5. Jackson Shelstad, Oregon - 25 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal
4. Curtis Jones, Iowa State - 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
3. Walker Clayton, Jr., Florida - 23 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 5-8 from three-point range
2. Tyrese Proctor, Duke - 25 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 7-8 from three-point range
1. Caleb Love, Arizona - 29 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
And, speaking of Caleb Love, he transferred to Arizona from North Carolina. If anybody has enough game and hatred of Duke to give the Blue Devils a run in their region, it's Caleb Love. Duke and Arizona meet in the next round.
Today's Trivia: In yesterday's win over Colorado State, Maryland's Julian Reese entered three pantheons: (1) Second-fiddles in their own family named Julian - joining Julian Lennon; (2) NCAA Tournament stars who could not beat their sisters one-on-one - joining Reggie Miller; and (3) Becoming the second Maryland player with 1000 career rebounds. Who was the first?
Women's Players of the Day
Honorable mention to Ashlon Jackson of Duke, who just misses the cut.
10. Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame - 21 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
9. Agnes Emma-Nnopu, TCU - 23 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
8. Liatu King, Notre Dame - 18 points, 15 rebounds
7. Serena Sundell, Kansas State - 19 points, 3 rebounds, 14 assists, 2 steals
6. Kiki Rice, UCLA - 23 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists
5. Ciara Strack, Kentucky - 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
4. Temira Poindexter, Kansas State - 24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 6 blocks
3. Maggie Doogan, Richmond - 27 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks
2. Lauren Betts, UCLA - 30 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
1. Jayda Curry, Louisville - 41 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
Nobody, in either tournament, has made more of a name for themself than Maggie Doogan of Richmond. She can flat-out PLAY!
Trivia Answer: Len Elmore (1971-1974) Side note about Len Elmore, after his 11 year NBA career, he attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1987.
So, for today's NCAA basketball throwback, I wasn't sure what I wanted to include. I first thought about a tie-in to the Len Elmore trivia answer, but the best I could do about Elmore would be to write about the 1974 ACC Championship Game between North Carolina State and Maryland, a/k/a The Greatest College Game ever played, but I did that
LAST YEAR! God was that game GOOD! But, then it came to me, Michigan State and Florida both advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and this is the 25th Anniversary of their NCAA Tournament Championship, so to Flint, Mich ... er, I mean, Indianapolis 2000 we go.
We will start with the Florida Gators. They had a team loaded with future NBA players, led by Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, Donnell Harvey and Matt Bonner. Miller was the leading scorer with 14.1 points per game, but the team was very balanced. Seven different players averaged over 8 points per game: the aforementioned players excepting Bonner - who was a freshman at the time, plus Brent Wright and the feuding point guards Teddy Dupay and Brett Nelson. (Dupay, a sophomore during this season, was later dismissed from the team for gambling and one of the worst-kept secrets around Gainesville was that Brett Nelson - currently a freshman and Dupay's backup - was the informer. But that is a story for another day.)
The Gators finished 20-9 overall, 12-4 in the SEC (tied for first with Tennessee and LSU). The lost in the semifinals of the SEC tournament to Auburn, and strolled into the NCAA Tournament as the 5 seed in the East, where they played 23-7 Butler in in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Butler, the 12 seed, gave Florida a HUGE scare falling 69-68 getting 20 points from reserve shooter Andrew Graves. Butler also played great defense, as only 3 Gators managed double-digit points, led by Miller's 16 (and 13 rebounds), with Kenyen Weakes coming off the bench to add 13 and Udonis Haslem putting in 10. But, the story of the game is to survive-and-advance, and that is what the Gators did - into the second round to face the 4 seed, Illinois. The Gators found that game much more to their liking, coasting to a 93-76 victory. Once again the Mike Miller paced the Gator with 19 points and 9 rebounds; with Teddy Dupay and Brett Nelson adding 16 and Udonis Haslem tossing in 15. Cory Bradford for the Illini led all scorers with 27, but it wasn't enough as the Gators entered the Sweet Sixteen.
In the Sweet Sixteen Florida faced Duke, who had defeated Lamar and Kansas in the first two rounds. This was a Duke SQUAD, as the Blue Devils started Jay Williams at the point, Nate James and Chris Carrawell at the wings, Shane Battier at the 4 and Carlos Boozer in the middle. They brought freshman Mike Dunleavy off the bench. But despite such a strong team, Duke wasn't enough for the Gators who prevailed 87-78 in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. This time it was Brett Nelson off the bench who paced 5 Gators in double figures scoring 15. Udonis Haslem, Teddy Dupay, Mike Miller and Brent Wright scored 13, 12, 10 and 10 respectively. Likewise, Duke starters all played well offensively, led by Shane Battier's 20 points (and 9 rebounds), helped by Carrawell's 16, Williams' 13, James' 12 and Boozer's 11 (also with 9 rebounds). Nelson and his substitute cohorts were the difference, outscoring Duke's bench 35-6. So Florida marches into the Elite 8 where they would face the 3-seed, Oklahoma State. The Cowboys, fresh off a close 2-point win over Seton Hall, were led by absolute gunner Desmond Mason and steady point guard Doug Gottlieb. But, despite 7 assists, Gottlieb was held scoreless by the Gators, and Mason was 2-8 from the field for 9 points, as the Gators won by double-digits 77-65. Another balanced offensive effort for Florida, as they had six different players score at least 8 points, led by Mike Miller's 14, and with Donnell Harvey and Udonis Haslem contributing 14. Next up - Indianapolis and the Final Four.
Waiting for the Gators were the North Carolina Tar Heels, an 18-13 team (22-13 if you include the tournament) that had earned an 8 seed. This was not one of North Carolina's strongest teams, despite having the capable Joe Forte (see what I did there?), the steady Ed Cota, and a reserve named Julius Peppers that would make more of a name for himself in football. The Gators coasted to its second-straight 12-point victory, winning 71-59. Brett Nelson again led the way in scoring with 13 off the bench, and Miller and Haslem contributing 10 each. Brendan Haywood, the big center for North Carolina led all scorers with 20, but the Tar Heels bench could only muster 2 points, those scored by Peppers. Florida advances to the championship game.
Meanwhile, in East Lansing, Michigan, coach Tom Izzo had put together what might be his best team. They had a world class athlete as their leading scorer in Morris Peterson, steady guard play in senior Mateen Cleeves and junior Charlie Bell, with upperclassmen Andre Hutson and A.J. Granger rounding out the starting rotation. And to top that off, they brought one of the best dunkers of all time, and future NBAer Jason Richardson off the bench. The Spartans ended the season 32-7, 13-3 in the Big Ten. The entered the NCAA tournament ranked number 2 in the country after beating Illinois in the Big 10 Championship Game.
Michigan State's first round game in Cleveland, Ohio against 16th-seeded Valparaiso was nothing more than a warmup, winning 65-38. In limited minutes, Mateen Cleaves scored 15 points, with 8 assists, with Morris Peterson contributing 12. Michigan State's bench played a total of 75 minutes!!! Michigan State advanced to the second round where they played 8th seeded Utah, themselves a 48-45 winner over St. Louis in the first round. Utah, behind 16 points from Finnish star Hanno Mottola, played the Spartans tougher than Valpo, but eventually succumbed 73-61. Michigan State was led by Mateen Cleaves and his 21 points, with Andre Hutson adding 19 and Morris Peterson contributing 13. Michigan State expectedly advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, where they had (virtually) home games at The Palace at Auburn Hills.
In the Sweet Sixteen, the Spartans faced the 4-seeded Syracuse Orange nee Orangemen, and Michigan State rode the home crowd to a 75-58 victory. The boys in green were too much, with Mateen Cleaves leading all scorers with 21, A.J. Granger adding 19, and Bell, Peterson and Hutson scoring 12, 11, and 10 respectively. Talented Orange point guard Jason Hart gamely scored 11 with 10 assists, but it was not enough to keep the Spartans from the Elite 8, where they would play the 2nd-seeded Iowa State Cyclones. Now this Cyclone had some serious talent, led by big man Marcus Fizer and guard Jamal Tinsley, who scored 15 and 18 respectively against the Spartans, but Michigan State advances 75-64. A.J. Granger and Morris Peterson paced the Spartans with 18 each, Hutson had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Cleaves also scored double figures with 10 to send Michigan State to Indianapolis.
Like Florida, Michigan State would also face an 8 seed in the Final Four, this time fellow Big 10 school Wisconsin. And since the teams knew each other well from playing so often, this game was a sludge-fest. Wisconsin - with absolutely nobody on their team, held the Spartans to 53 points, but they themselves could only manage 41. Morris Peterson scored 20, but other than that, I wish I didn't have to relive this game at all.
This brings us to the Championship game between Michigan State and Florida. Florida should have known they were in for something different in this game, as Michigan State's best player and athlete - Morris Peterson - was assigned the job of guarding Mike Miller; whereas Mike Miller was not assigned the job of guarding Morris Peterson. Miller managed 10 points while taking only 5 shots (he was 5-6 from the free throw line). This game was only as close as it was because of Udonis Haslem and his 27 points. Michigan State's guards were just too athletic for Florida's combination of Teddy Dupay, Justin Hamilton, Brett Nelson, Kenyan Weakes, Major Parker and Matt Bonner, who combined for 17 points on 6-22 shooting. Brett Nelson scored 11 of those 17. Not only did he lock-up Florida's leading scorer, but the aforementioned Morris Peterson led the Spartans with 21. A.J. Granger had 19 and Mateen Cleaves scored 18, as the Spartans cut-down the nets. This was the last time a team in the Big 10 won a national title while they were a member of the conference, although Maryland - currently in the Big 10 - would win in 2002 while a member of the ACC.
As far as the Morris Peterson versus Mike Miller debate, I still maintain that Peterson was by far the better overall player, but Miller's best skill - shooting - was better than anything Peterson did, and as such even though Peterson had a solid 11 year NBA career, Mike Miller's pro career was much better, playing 17 years and winning 2 NBA championships with the Miami Heat.
As for this game, it is known as a crowning achievement of the Flintstones - so named because Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson both hailed from Flint, Michigan (pre-water incident), with Mateen Cleaves being named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.
Now, back to our pool.
As always, feel free to double-check your scores and let me know if you think I made an error. One entrant did so yesterday, and he was correct as I forgot to give him his 5 bonus points for a 1st round victory.
Please note that the next edition will have 6 more brackets included. After discussion with someone, I found that he timely sent in 6 brackets (for him and others), but they went into my spam folder. The time-stamp is good, so I will add them. I could do it now, but I want to make sure the scoring is correct, which will be best done tomorrow.
Second Round Results
1. Salvatore Plamondon - 74
2. Max Macon 3 - 71
3. Bill Ganoe 1 - 70
4. Katie Kollmeyer - 69
5. Marcus Jackson - 68
Measha Leonardo Williams - 68
7. Preston Holbert - 66
8. Dan Barsky 2 - 64
Bill Ganoe 3 - 64
Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 64
11. Brent Bellinger 2 - 63
Ty Hedgpeth - 63
Matt Hopps - 63
14. Brent Bellinger - 62
Paul Cummings - 62
Mark Holbert - 62
Dustin Lansing - 62
Marcus Spruill- 62
Amanda Staudt - 62
20. Guy Hughes - 61
Shane Jernigan - 61
22. Eric Inge - 60
George Walks 2 - 60
Mike Wolff 2 - 60
25. Christina Gomez - 59
Alyssa Hopps - 59
Jane Reynolds & Carolyn Fowler - 59
Measha Donatello Williams - 59
Christina Zanzig - 59
30. John Hedgpeth - 58
Martha Kroesen - 58
Dan Laishley - 58
Max Macon 1 - 58
Brittany Sosa - 58
Lily Spuhler - 58
Steven Usma 3 - 58
Jonathan Wasserman - 58
38. Dan Barsky 1 - 57
Natalie Moon - 57
Jeff Plamondon - 57
Javier Rodriguez 2 - 57
Rich Samuels 2 - 57
Steven Usma 2 - 57
George Walks 3 - 57
Mike Wolff 1 - 57
Bubba Zdrowak - 57
47. Jonathan Cox - 56
Jazz Piasecki - 56
49. Justine Frank - 55
Kyle Henderson 1 - 55
Chris LaForte - 55
Silas Nichols - 55
53. Kevin Dick - 54
Kingfish Parham - 54
Ashley Poer 2 - 54
Day Yi - 54
Measha Raphael Williams - 54
58. Rachel Bornn - 53
Jacey Fowler I - 53
Shane Dogmillionaire - 53
Rich Samuels 1 - 53
Day Yi 2 - 53
63. Xavier Conway - 52
Alvaro Gonzalez - 52
Allison Parker - 52
Steven Usma 4 - 52
67. Adam Jorgensen - 51
Karen Katz 1 - 51
Measha Michaelangelo Williams - 51
Biscuit Zdrowak - 51
71. Paul Cummings 2 - 50
Si Nichols - 50
Jane Reynolds - 50
Javier Rodriguez 1 - 50
Jessica Samuels - 50
Chris Simmons - 50
77. Joel Chernoff - 49
Jim Coleman - 49
Jenna Finkelstein - 49
Colleen Giamberini - 49
Kline Kroesen - 49
Dave Piasecki - 49
Brandon Satterwhite - 49
84. Quinn Jackson - 48
Sasha Moon - 48
Hannah Sosa - 48
Justin Yung - 48
88. Tyler Giamberini - 47
Chuck Whitcomb - 47
Dave Wilson - 47
91. James Garvin - 46
Braeden Helland - 46
Kyle Henderson 2 - 46
Vincent Plamondon - 46
Pepe Sosa - 46
Jason Spuhler - 46
Stacia Wilkaitis - 46
98. Arlene Amo Hopps - 45
Karen Katz 2 - 45
Dave Marzouca - 45
Ashley Poer 1 - 45
Ferris Spuhler - 45
103. Benny Frank Finkelstein - 44
Jacey Fowler II - 44
Theo Frank - 44
Max Macon 2 - 44
Kisha Marzouca - 44
Jeremy Spuhler - 44
Steven Usma 1 - 44
George Walks 4 - 44
111. Stephanie Henderson - 43
Kisha Marzouca 2 - 43
Caroline Spuhler - 43
Wes Wiggins - 43
115. Dave Marzouca 2 - 42
William Pujals - 42
Amy Zdrowak - 42
Joshua Zdrowak - 42
119. Max Macon 4 - 41
Logan Spuhler - 41
George Walks 1 - 41
Katie Zdrowak - 41
123. Bill Ganoe 2 - 39
124. Cheryl Spuhler - 38
125. Barkley Sosa - 37
Keith Zdrowak - 37
127. Carolyn Fowler - 34
128. Luna Frank - 32
