A Sad Day One Notebook: The NCAA Tournament Squares Pool

As many of you know, I am a proud alumnus of America's University - also known as Syracuse. Unfortunately, our men's basketball program is currently in a down period and while this is my favorite time in the sports calendar, this is a sad time.

Despite it all, I have to believe that this situation will all work itself out and we will get back to prominence. Eventually. I hope. Damn, I really hope it happens soon! 

Why did I start this post this way? Well, it informs how I have to watch the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament this year. I have the goal of doing some advance scouting of potential coaches to help recover the glory of America's University. With that, here are some of my notes from the first day of games:

• First, watching 16 games each on Thursday and Friday, and 48 games total over the first weekend is a job. I am out here grinding! Yesterday featured three different bars and my basement for viewing. Thirteen HARD hours.
• The first bar of the day, Walters Sports Bar was live! High Point University had the largest watch party yesterday with at least 25 bougie, purple clad alumni losing their minds. There was a lot going on in this game. High Point played from behind and in critical situations without fear and with great confidence. Definitely a sign of outstanding coaching. Is the next stop for Flynn Clayman an interview at America's University?
• Also, what about Wisconsin. My lord! Wisconsin has lost in the first or second round of the tournament in 6 of the last 8 years. And, one of the years that they didn’t make the tournament was because there was no tournament due to COVID. They are a disaster for a major conference program! 
• Nebraska? The only early window blowout? As noted by friend of the blog Kev-O, Nebraska basketball has existed since 1896. This was their first NCAA tournament win.
• Louisville survived the University of South Florida yesterday, but they are in trouble in this tournament! USF couldn't buy a basket in this game and we discovered that Louisville can't handle full court pressure. USF shot just 39% from the field and 15% (5 for 33) from 3 yesterday. Putrid. And they were still in this game. Solid coaching performance from Upstate NY native Bryan Hodgson. Is his next stop an interview at America's University?
• What an effort from Sienna yesterday. They simply ran out of gas at the end of that due to a lack of depth. Four of the five starters played all 40 minutes of the game and Gerry McNamara only made his first substitution with 0:10 left in the game to give a foul. Even Jon Scheyer had to admit he had been outcoached by the Syracuse alumnus. Does this mean that the next stop for Gerry McNamara is an interview to be the next coach of America's University?
• How about McNeese? Also a valiant effort that waned late. I would be willing to entertain a interview with Billy Armstrong to lead America's University, but only if Amir Khan is hired also as a paid graduate assistant. You remember our favorite student manager from last year, don't you?
  
  
• How about the old guys? Tom Izzo is still getting it done. He is only 71? He has been head coach at Michigan St for 31 years. And talk about stability, the school has only had two coaches since 1975. On the other end of the spectrum is John Calipari. Everywhere he lands, he builds the exact same long, athletic team. Acuff and that Arkansas team are going to be a tough out.
• BYU's AJ Dybantsa is a beast! He scored 50% of his teams points and it needed to be more. Also, did anyone else note that the BYU basketball team represents like the French National Soccer Team?

  

  
  
• St. Louis! And Robbie Avila! I wonder if we can get Josh Schertz out of his extension and get him into America's University for an interview. 
• After watching that North Carolina debacle, I feel like I am going to have to start talking about them like I do the University of Virginia. As a dumpster fire. If you don't remember my tirade about that, you can revisit it here.
• What about Michigan, Texas A&M, Houston, Illinois and Gonzaga you ask? Yeah, I watched them. 

With the first day of games completed, we have our first slate of winners. Congratulations to Mick Magee and Kyle Armstrong for being multiple winners on Day 1. 

On to Day 2!

--Your Tournament Host

NCAA Tournament Pool - Round 1/Day 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stats of the Day:

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

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

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

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

Best Social Media Posts

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

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

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

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

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

1.  William Pujals - 32

2.  Katie Kollmeyer - 27

     Silas Nichols 1 - 27

     Jeff Plamondon - 27

5.  Silas Nichols 2 - 26

     Ashley Poer 1 - 26

     George Walks 2 - 26

8.  Kingfish Parham - 25

9.  Justin Yung - 24

10.  Eric Inge - 23

       George Walks 3 - 23

12.  Matt Hopps - 22

       Chris Igtiben - 22

       Sasha Moon - 22

       Amanda Staudt - 22

       Steven Usma 2 - 22 

       Keith Zdrowak - 22

18.  Jacey Fowler Reynolds 1 - 21

       Colleen Hamilton - 21

       Braeden Helland 1 - 21

       Stephanie Henderson - 21

       Colonel Kareem Montague - 21

       Edy Pecan - 21

       Steven Usma 4 - 21

       Amy Zdrowak - 21

26.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 20

       Rich Samuels 1 - 20

       Cheryl Spuhler - 20

       Measha Williams 2 - 20

       Measha WIlliams 4 - 20

31.  Nancy McInerney - 19

32.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 18

33.  Jenna Finkelstein - 17

       Braeden Helland 2 - 17

       Martha Kroesen - 17

       Rich Samuels 2 - 17

       Brandon Satterwhite - 17

       Joshua Ward - 17

       Day Yi 2 - 17

40.  Liz Carew - 16

       Carolyn Fowler - 16

       Colleen Hamilton 2 - 16

       Braeden Helland 3 - 16

       Adam Jorgensen 1 - 16

       Adam Jorgensen 2 - 16

       Adam Jorgensen 3 - 16

       Dan Laishley - 16

       Ty Leatherman - 16

       Max Macon 4 - 16

       Steven Usma 1 - 16

51.  Brent Bellinger 1 - 15

       Rachel Bornn - 15

       Paul Cummings - 15

       Dave Marzouca 1 - 15

       Dave Marzouca 2 - 15

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 15

       Javier Rodriguez - 15

       Brittany Sosa - 15

       Hannah Sosa - 15

       Jason Spuhler - 15

       George Walks 1 - 15

       Measha WIlliams 3 - 15

63.  Guy Hughes - 14

       Michael McNally - 14

       Jane Reynolds - 14

       Rich Samuels - 14

       Jeremy Spuhler - 14

       Jonathan Wasserman - 14

       Katie Zdrowak - 14

70.  Colleen Hamilton 3 - 13

       Emily Lawson 2 - 13

       Ashley Poer 3 - 13

       George Walks 4 - 13

       Day Yi - 13

75.  Scott Bieterman - 12

       Larry Green - 12

       Ken Ward - 12

78.  Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan 2 - 11

       Karen Katz - 11

       Mac Kroesen - 11

       Skip Laforte - 11

       Ashley Poer 2 - 11

       Pepe Sosa - 11

       Joshua Zdrowak - 11

85.  Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 10

       James Garvin - 10

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 10

       Braeden Helland 4 - 10

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 10

       Chris Igtiben 2 - 10

       Quinn Jackson - 10

       Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan 1 - 10

       Max Macon 3 - 10

       Kisha Marzouca 2 - 10

       Sean McInerney - 10

       Carey Taylor - 10

       Steven Usma 3 - 10

       Wes Wiggins - 10

99.  Dan Barsky 1 - 9

       Luis Briones - 9

       Colleen Hamilton - 9

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 9

       Brian Hinaman - 9

       Blake Jackson - 9

       Miles Jackson - 9

       Greg Lieberman - 9

       Max Macon 2 - 9

       Brian McMahon - 9

       Barkley Sosa - 9

       Measha Williams - 9

       Bubba Zdrowak - 9

112.  Jessica Samuels - 8

         Dan Barsky 2 - 8

         Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 2 - 8

         Marcus Jackson - 8

         Emily Lawson 1 - 8

         Max Macon 1 - 8

118.  Justin Hallack - 7

         Chris Laforte - 7

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 7

NCAA Pool Standings - Final Four

NCAA TOURNAMENT POOL STANDINGS

Elite 8 Day 2

The Elite 8 is complete, and Syracuse is the surprise of the ball.  Most people did not think that Syracuse should have even been in the tournament, and now they are one of four teams left, which includes the top seeded North Carolina Tar Heels.  See you in Houston Tar Heel and Orange fans (excepting Donald Trump).

North Carolina was an overwhelming selection to make it to the Final Four, so if you did not pick the Tar Heels, you lost ground in the pool.  Nobody had Syracuse in the Final Four, so everybody that selected North Carolina wins the “Pick of the Day” award.

The “Worst Pick of the Day” goes to Keith Bornhorst, who had North Carolina into the Elite 8, and then did not select a Final Four winner from that quadrant.

Greg Kummerlen and Glen Merchant remain in the lead, but Greg has maxxed out his points, as he has no remaining points to earn.  In fact, a large number of entrants have reached the highest amount of points that they can.  In the standings below, I have noted who has winners/runners-up remaining.  For possible winners of the pool, you will receive 10 points for a correct semi-final selection, and 12 points for having the Finals correctly.

Our pool has 3 remaining champions, as all but Syracuse have been selected by various entrants.  For the many of you that had Virginia, you join the rest of us. The remaining champions in the pool are:  Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Villanova and Virginia. 

Since I will be at the Final Four, I will not be updating the pool after Saturday’s games, or immediately after Monday’s final.  Instead, I will be live blogging with my cohorts from Houston, so look for those entries.

It appears to me that the winners will be (I did not calculate the tiebreakers yet):

If Villanova beats North Carolina – Glen Merchant; Greg Kummerlen; Jonathan Wasserman 2

If Villanova beats Syracuse – Glen Merchant; Greg Kummerlen; Kevin McAlister

If Oklahoma beats North Carolina – Karen Katz; Greg Kummerlen/Glen Merchant (Tie)

If Oklahoma beats Syracuse – Karen Katz; Greg Kummerlen/Glen Merchant (Tie)

If North Carolina beats Villanova – Glen Merchant, Measha Williams 2; Colleen Hamilton 1

If North Carolina beats Oklahoma – Joshua and Katie Zdrowak; Measha Williams 2; Collen Hamilton 1

If Syracuse beats Villanova – Glen Merchant; Greg Kummerlen; Kevin McAlister

If Syracuse beats Oklahoma – Greg Kummerlen/Glen Merchant (Tie); Anthony LaPira

I will do the final standings of the entire pool sometime next week.

Please remember to pay, if you have not.  Payment instructions are on the rule sheet, or you can make other arrangements with me as necessary.

Good luck to everyone, and happy game watching.  Now, on to the standings.  (All caps is champion, only capitalized is runner-up).

1.         Greg Kummerlen – 116

            Glen Merchant – 116 - VILLANOVA

3.         Kevin McAlister – 108

4.         Jonathan Wasserman 2 – 102 – North Carolina

5.         Duncan Merchant – 101

            Kareem Montague – 101 – North Carolina

7.         Anthony LaPira – 100 - Oklahoma

            Measha Williams 2 – 100 – NORTH CAROLINA

9.         Steven Usma 3 – 99

            Justin Yung – 99 - Oklahoma

11.       Kent Armstrong – 98

            Kim Bancsi – 98

            Colleen Hamilton 1 – 98 – NORTH CAROLINA

            Eric Inge – 98

            Allison Parker – 98 – North Carolina

            Rich Samuel 2 – 98

17.       Rebecca Seelig – 97

18.       Alex King – 96

            Jane Reynolds – 96

20.       Keith Bornhorst – 95

            Karen Katz – 95 - OKLAHOMA

            Joshua Zdrowak – 95

23.       Carolyn Fowler – 94

            Mango Merchant – 94

            Joshua and Katie Zdrowak – 94 – NORTH CAROLINA/Oklahoma

26.       Debbie Niemann – 93

27.       Measha Williams 4 – 92 – NORTH CAROLINA

            Martha Kroesen – 91 – North Carolina

            Measha Williams 3 – 91

30.       Bryan Apolinar – 90

            Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds – 90 – NORTH CAROLINA

            Lee Seelig – 90

            Roxy Sheehan – 90 – NORTH CAROLINA

            Amy Zdrowak – 90 – NORTH CAROLINA

35.       Cory Mauro – 89 – NORTH CAROLINA

36.       Kline Kroesen – 88 - Oklahoma

37.       Jacey Fowler II – 87

38.       Brent Bellinger – 86

            Pepe Sosa – 86 - Oklahoma

            Steven Usma 1 – 86 – North Carolina

41.       Jacey Fowler I – 85

            George Walks 2 – 85

            Hershey Zdrowak – 85

44.       Andrew Giannone – 84

            Matt Hopps – 84

            Hilary Kroesen – 84 – VILLANOVA

47.       Jen Armstrong – 83

            Jonathan Wasserman 1 – 83 – NORTH CAROLINA

            Measha Williams 1 – 83 – NORTH CAROLINA

50.       Ty Leatherman – 82

            George Walks 3 – 82 – OKLAHOMA/North Carolina

52.       Vic LaPira – 81

            Rich Samuel 1 – 81 – NORTH CAROLINA

            Abigail Sosa – 81

            Jason Spuhler – 81

            Kulwadee Yung – 81 – NORTH CAROLINA/Oklahoma

57.       Kyle Sheehan – 80

            Day Yi 1 – 80 - OKLAHOMA

59.       Phil Doherty 1 – 79 – NORTH CAROLINA

            Matt Nieman – 79

61.       Katie Kollmeyer – 78

            Steven Usma 2 – 78

63.       Stephanie Aichele – 77 – North Carolina

            Chris Kroesen – 77

            Mac Kroesen – 77

66.       Emily Lawson – 75

            Barkley Sosa – 75 - OKLAHOMA

            Cheryl Spuhler – 75

69.       Colleen Hamilton 2 – 74 – North Carolina

            Jason Murray – 74

71.       Day Yi 2 – 72 - VILLANOVA

72.       Kingfish Parham – 71

73.       Charli Aichele – 70

            Steffan Alexander – 70 – Oklahoma

75.       Michael Litsey – 69

            Hannah Sosa – 69

            Katie Zdrowak – 69

78.       Kyle Henderson – 68

            Jeff Plamondon – 68

            Ashley Poer 1 – 68

81.       Jessica Koch – 65 – North Carolina

82.       Jack Henderson – 64

            Traci Sheehan – 64

84.       Samantha Sheehan – 63

85.       Serena Davila – 61

86.       Phil Doherty 3 – 61 – North Carolina

            Ashley Poer 2 – 61

88.       Alvaro Gonzalez – 60

            Silas Nichols 1 – 60

90.       Silas Nichols 2 – 58

            George Walks 4 – 57

            Keith Zdrowak – 57

93.       Phil Doherty 2 – 56

            Phil Doherty 4 – 56

            George Walks 1 – 56 – North Carolina