2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Sweet Sixteen/Day 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 - Carolyn Fowler - 86 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

      Matt Hopps - 86 - Duke/North Carolina

      Marcus Jackson - 86 - Virginia/Duke

6 - Justin Yung - 85 - Gonzaga/Virginia

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

8 - Max Macon #4 - 83 - Duke/Houston

9 - Ty Leatherman - 81 - Duke/Virginia

10 - Melanie Scherr - 90 - North Carolina/Duke

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

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

16 - Brian Hinaman - 77 - Duke/North Carolina

       Mac Kroesen - 77 - North Carolina/Duke

       Ashley Poer #2 - 77 - Virginia/Michigan State

       Steven Usma #4 - 77 - Duke/Kentucky

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

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

        Silas Nichols - 75 - North Carolina/Michigan

        Brittany Sosa #1 - 75 - Duke/North Carolina

        Steven Usma #5 - 75 - Virginia/Gonzaga

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

       Duncan Merchant - 74 - Duke/Houston

       Steven Usma #1 - 74 - Duke/North Carolina

       George Walks #2 - 74 - North Carolina/Duke

30 - Alyssa Ave - 73 - Purdue/Michigan

       Kareem Montague - 73 - Virginia/Duke

32 - Scott Bieterman - 72 - Duke/Kentucky

       Coby Kroesen - 72 - North Carolina/Duke

       Martha Kroesen - 72 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #1 -72 - Florida/Kentucky

36 - Philip Kroesen - 71 - North Carolina/Duke

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

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

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

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

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

       Jeremy Spuhler - 68 - Tennessee/LSU

       George Walks #5 - 68 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Jonathan Wasserman - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

57 - Dana Mandelbaum - 67 - North Carolina/Duke

       Sean McInerney - 67 - Duke/North Carolina

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

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

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

72 - Adam Jorgensen - 64 - Michigan State/Virginia

       Hilary Kroesen 64 - Kentucky/Gonzaga

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

        Jason Spuhler - 64 - Duke/North Carolina

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

       Arlene Amo Hopps - 63 - Villanova/Virginia Tech

       Michael Litsey - 63 - Michigan/Virginia

       Annette Pritchard - 63 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

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

84 - Jean Calixte - 61 - Duke/North Carolina

       Scott Hansel - 61 - Duke/Kentucky

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

       John Santucci - 61 - Kansas/Michigan

       Wes Wiggins - 61 - Gonzaga/Virginia

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

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

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

       Jacey Fowler #1 - 58 - Villanova/Texas Tech

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

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

         George Walks #1 - 57 - Kansas/Duke

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 57 - Virginia/Michigan State

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

         Robert Hosmer - 55 - Duke/Virginia

         Hilary Kroesen #2 - 55 - Kansas/Marquette

         Max Macon #3 - 55 - Gonzaga/Kentucky

         Rich Samuels #1 - 55 - Duke/Kentucky

         Cheryl Spuhler - 55 - Duke/Tennessee

         Joshua Zdrowak - 55 - North Carolina/Michigan

112 - David Olson - 54 - North Carolina/Duke

         Samantha Sheehan - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

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

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

118 - Luis Briones - 49 - Duke/Villanova

119 - Jessica Samuels - 48 - Virginia/Gonzaga

         Katie Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/Tennessee

121 - Jennifer Armstrong - 47 - Duke/Wisconsin

122 - Keith Zdrowak - 40 - Duke/North Carolina

123 - Cubbie Kroesen - 39 - Kentucky/Marquette

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Results - Round 2 Day 2

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children and dogs of all ages, my apologies for the delay in posting the standings.  Contrary to popular belief, I do maintain a regular job that requires my attention from time-to-time.  I do appreciate the 8 or 9 of you that contacted me to make sure that I am OK given that these standings were not posted on Monday or Tuesday.  I even appreciate the curse words I received from a couple of you.  (I kid).  (Now, was I kidding about receiving the curse words or about appreciating it, hmmm?)  I especially apologize to Melanie Scherr of Jupiter, Florida, who I think joined the pool this year simply for the write-ups.

So, on this baseball opening day - about which I am extremely pissed.  Random aside, baseball is supposed to start the Monday of the NCAA Tournament finals (or at least one game the Sunday night before).  That way me and the crew can wear our baseball t-shirt/hats and/or jackets as applicable to support opening day baseball.  Silas Nichols of Washington, D.C. and I sat next to a dad/son at the 2006 Final Four in Indianapolis in which the dad took his son to the afternoon baseball game in Cincinnati on Monday afternoon, and then they drove to Indianapolis for the NCAA final between Florida and UCLA (the Joakim Noah is ugly game).  For those that do not know that story at the conclusion of the game Joakim Noah was noticed on camera jawing at a UCLA cheerleader.  When later asked what he was talking about he said that he was bragging to her about winning the championship since she had been calling him "ugly" all game.  Now, Silas Nichols and I may have  run into the UCLA cheerleaders the previous day at the TGI Friday's outside the NCAA Hall of Fame, which doubled as the UCLA host bar for the weekend.  When asked if we were cheering for UCLA or Florida, one of us might have said something along the lines of, "How can we cheer for a team that has a player as ugly as Joakim Noah".  You're welcome America.  Anyway, this calendar is screwy for having the NCAA Finals on the 8th, and baseball starting March 28 (excluding the Japan games, of course).  Damn Global Warming.

Well, I digress. Despite the calendar starting to turn to baseball - at least to the extent anyone cares about baseball anymore - we turn back to Sunday's basketball games, and tonight's Sweet Sixteen.  Sunday's results were uneventful, in that every single higher seed was victorious.  In fact, 15 of the top 16 seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.  The only exception was Kansas State, that lost to UC-Irvine way back in the first round.  UC-Irvine, the 13th seed, lost to much higher seeded Oregon (12th) last round so no bonuses were awarded.  We do have a couple of entries that have Oregon advancing, and moving forward, Oregon is the only team that could possible earn bonus points.  For those of you with Oregon in the Elite 8 - good luck.

Speaking of Oregon, a number of entries had Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen, which led to way more entries than you would think having a perfect 8-for-8 Sunday.  Even more had 7 of 8.  Basically, if you had 6 or less winners from Sunday's games, you lost ground.  Because of the sheer volume of that, I am not awarding any of those brackets the "Pick of the Day".  The Pick of the Day is awarded to Biscuit Zdrowak of Orlando, Florida who had the University of Central Florida Knights defeating the Duke Blue Devils, which even though that upset did not occur, OH MY GOD!!!

Had UCF had one of about 5 plays go their way, literally just one, they win that game.  The Kinght's Aubrey Dawkins (son of coach and Duke star Johnny Dawkins), despite being way behind the entire Duke defense on a fast break, mishandled a wide-open alley-oop that went for naught and turned into a turnover  (that's one).  On the penultimate series with Duke down 3, Duke's Zion Williamson pushes off the defender with the left-hand as he entered the top of the key, which gave him a lane to the basket.  Zion, who is simply a force of nature, sought contact with the 7-6 behemoth from Senegal Tacko Fall, who not only fouled out on the play but allowed Williamson to get a clean look at the basket for a field goal.  If either the offensive foul is called or Fall let's Williamson score, UCF is up 3 or 1 after that possession (that's two).  Williamson missed the potential game-tying free throw, but Duke freshman R.J. Barrett pushed the defender under the basket so that he was able to rebound the miss and lay it in for a Duke 1 point lead (that's three).  UCF however, wasn't done, and had 8.1 seconds remaining.  In going for the win and to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, Knight guard B.J. Taylor dribbles around Duke defensive stopper Trae Jones, gets to the rim and is able to put up a bank shot that was a bit too hard (that's four).  Incidentally, UCF apologists have clamored for a foul on this drive, but this contact was mostly initiated by Taylor, and was minimal compared to the rest of the game so I feel the no-call here was correct.  The aforementioned Dawkins, seeing that Taylor's shot is going to come of the rim, skies around Williamson for the rebound and tips the ball back of the backboard much softer than Taylor, but his tip hits the backboard, hits the rim and falls harmlessly (for the overall number 1 seed) or heartbreakingly (for the 9th seeded Knights) to R.J. Barrett to end the game.  Wow.  Interestingly, a statistician company played 10,000 versions of each game in the tournament and had UCF defeating Duke over 61% of the time.  Too bad the mathematicians calculated this one wrong otherwise our brackets would have become REALLY interesting.

The one good thing about this outcome is the sentiment that due to the referee's no-calls, if Duke wins the championship UCF will hang a championship banner in their gym.

The Tennessee-Iowa game deserves mention only because Tennessee jumped out to a casual 25 point lead, then Iowa came back to ultimately send the game to overtime.  The Hawkeyes were spent by that pint, and the Volunteers ultimately won by 6.  Otherwise, the games were mostly boring.

This made it difficult for me to try to find an applicable tournament history lesson.  But, while reviewing the brackets one thing sticks out - the 12th seeded Oregon Ducks.  Then it dawned on me.  I don't believe anyone in this pool was alive when Oregon won its only basketball national championship.

Amelia Earhart was officially declared dead; Spanish Nationalist troops take Barcelona; Pope Pius XI dies of a heart attack succeeded by Pope Pius XII as the 260th Pope; German troops occupied Bohemia and Moravia, effectively eliminating Czechoslovakia as a country; England and South Africa commenced the longest game of cricket ever played, which only concluded after 12 days because the English team had to catch the last ferry home; and the University of Oregon defeated The Ohio State University 46-33 in Evanston, Illinois to capture the first championship in NCAA Tournament history.  Welcome to the first quarter of 1939.

Oregon, with a 26-5 record bested Texas 56-41 in the first round and Oklahoma 55-37 in the Final Four before winning the championship by beating Ohio State (there were only 8 teams in the tournament).  The Ducks held a definitive height advantage over most teams, and also had a serious experience advantage as all 5 of their starters returned from the previous season.  In the championship game, Oregon received a game high 15 points from John H. Dick (who went on to become a Rear Admiral in the Navy), while three other starters, 6'8" Urgel "Slim" Wintermute, Basketball Hall of Famer Lauren "Laddie" Gale (himself 6'4"), and Bobby Anet were named to various All-American teams.  During the final game, Anet broke the championship trophy while diving for a loose ball during the game and knocking it over - breaking.  Ohio State's Jimmy Hull was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after scoring a tournament-high 58 points in his 3 games.

It should be noted that as big a money-making venture as the NCAA Tournament is now, the 1939 tournament lost $2,531.

Dick, joined the United States Navy as an aviator in 1942 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and remained int he Navy until 1973.  He rose to the rank of Rear Admiral after captaining the USS Saratoga supercarrier from 1967-1969.  This has nothing to do with basketball, but I found it interesting.

Since all of the higher seeds won, for the first full day in the tournament, we did not lose a champion from our pool.  This means we still have 11 different teams that have been selected by at least one entrant to be NCAA Champion.  That number is going to change tonight as we will lose at least two champions given that Gonzaga and Florida State meet as does Tennessee and Purdue.  Our champions - with the 11 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.

As for tonight, we have a Sweet Sixteen rematch between Gonzaga and Florida State kicking things off with the 1 seeded Bulldogs looking for revenge, , and fellow 1 seed Virginia playing late in the evening.  Purdue-Tennessee and Texas Tech-Michigan also are on the agenda.  Plenty of selections on both sides of each of these games, so a lot of jostling could occur in the standings.  In golf parlance this is Saturday, "Moving Day".  Hoping not to move too much are our co-leaders, Carolyn Fowler of Greenacres, Florida, and Matt Hopps of Quincy, Massachussetts.

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

1 - Carolyn Fowler - 78 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

      Matt Hopps - 78 - Duke/North Carolina

3 - Max Macon #2 - 76 - Tennessee/Michigan State
     Measha Williams #2 - 76 - Gonzaga/Virginia

     Measha Williams #3 - 76 - Gonzaga/Virginia

6 - Max Macon #4 - 75 - Duke/Houston

7 - Marcus Jackson - 74 - Virginia/Duke
      Katie Kollmeyer - 74 - Tennessee/Duke

9 - Ashley Poer #2 - 73 - Virginia/Michigan State
      Justin Yung - 73 - Gonzaga/Virginia

11 - Scott Bieterman - 72 - Duke/Kentucky

12 - Silas Nichols - 71 - North Carolina/Michigan

       Krystal Travers - 71 - Kansas State/Florida State

14 - Duncan Merchant - 70 - Duke/Houston
       George Walks #2 - North Carolina/Duke

16 - Brian Hinaman - 69 - Duke/North Carolina
       Mac Kroesen - 69 - North Carolina/Duke
       Ty Leatherman - 69 - Duke/Virginia
       Chad Phillips - 69 - Florida State/North Carolina

20 - Paul Cummings - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 68 Duke/North Carolina

       Martha Kroesen - 68 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Dave Piasecki #1 -68 - Florida/Kentucky
       Melanie Scherr - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

       Michael Spicer - 68 - North Carolina/Buffalo

       Jonathan Wasserman - 68 - North Carolina/Duke

27 - Karen Katz - 67 - Gonzaga/Houston
        Philip Kroesen - 67 - North Carolina/Duke

29 - William Pujals - 66 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #3 - 66 - Kentucky/Duke

31 - Alyssa Ave - 65 - Purdue/Michigan
       Anthony LaPira - 65 - Duke/Tennessee

       Kareem Montague - 65 - Virginia/Duke

       Kyle Sheehan - 65 - Duke/Kentucky

       Steven Usma #4 - 65 - Duke/Kentucky

       George Walks #3 - 65 - Florida State/Kentucky

37 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 64 - North Carolina/Florida State

       Coby Kroesen - 64 - North Carolina/Duke

39 - Chris Kroesen - 63 - North Carolina/Michigan State

       Max Macon #1 - 63 - Virginia/LSU

       Max Marion #2 - 63 - Duke/North Carolina

       Barkley Sosa - 63 - Kentucky/LSU
       Brittany Sosa - 63 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #5 - 63 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Harrington Wax III - 63 - North Carolina/Michigan State

46 - Bill Ganoe #1 - 62 - North Carolina/Duke
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 62 - Duke/Tennessee

       Max Marion - 62 - Duke/Virginia

       Rich Samuels #2 - 62 - North Carolina/LSU
       Steven Usma #1 - 62 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #2 - 62 - Virginia/Michigan State

       Measha Williams #1 - 62 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Mike Zachary - 62 - Duke/North Carolina

54 - Dan Barsky #2 - 61 - Duke/North Carolina
       Mango Merchant - 61 - Gonzaga/Virginia

56 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 60 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Adam Jorgensen - 60 - Michigan State/Virginia

       Edy Pecan - 60 - Syracuse/Kentucky

       Jeremy Spuhler - 60 - Tennessee/LSU
       George Walks #5 - 60 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

61 - Sean McInerney - 59 - Duke/North Carolina

       Allison Parker - 59 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 59 - Florida/North Carolina

       Brittany Sosa - 59 - Gonzaga/Virginia

       Pepe Sosa - 59 - Kentucky/Michigan State

66 - Jenna Finkelstein - 58 -  Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Eric Inge - 58 - Duke/North Carolina

       Kline Kroesen - 58 - North Carolina/Michigan

69 - Glen Merchant - 57 - Duke/Houston

       Kingfish Rod Parham - 57 - Duke/Tennessee

       Jane Reynolds - 57 - Duke/Kentucky
       George Walks #1 - 57 - Kansas/Duke

       Amy Zdrowak - 57 - Duke/Virginia

74 - Hilary Kroesen 56 - Kentucky/Gonzaga
       Sasha Moon - 56 - Duke/Tennessee
       Traci Sheehan - 56 - Michigan State/Tennessee

        Jason Spuhler - 56 - Duke/North Carolina

78 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 55 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Arlene Amo Hopps - 55 - Villanova/Virginia Tech

       Skip LaForte - 55 - Michigan State/North Carolina

       Michael Litsey - 55 - Michigan/Virginia

       Dana Mandelbaum - 55 - North Carolina/Duke

       Annette Pritchard - 55 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Robert Tanen #2 - 55 - Gonzaga/Virginia

85 - Jacey Fowler #1 - 54 - Villanova/Texas Tech

       Ashley Poer #1 - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

       Jordyn Sheehan - 54 - Duke/Tennessee

       Robert Tanen #1 - 54 - Florida State/North Carolina
      Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 54 - North Carolina/Duke

90 - Jean Calixte - 53 - Duke/North Carolina

       Scott Hansel - 53 - Duke/Kentucky

       Matt Nieman - 53 - Virginia/Gonzaga

       Chris Petit - 53 - North Carolina/Duke

       John Santucci - 53 - Kansas/Michigan
       Ira Schulteis - 53 - Duke/North Carolina

       George Walks #4 - 53 - Duke/Virginia

97 - Rachel Bornn - 52 - Duke/Kentucky

98 - Robert Hosmer - 51 - Duke/Virginia

       Jeff Pamondon - 51 - Duke/Tennessee
        Annette Pritchard #2 - 51 - Duke/North Carolina
        Meredith Tanen - 51 - Gonzaga/Virginia

102 - Dan Barsky #1 - 50 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
          David Olson - 50 - North Carolina/Duke

104 - Hilary Kroesen #2 - 49 - Kansas/Marquette

         Wes Wiggins - 49 - Gonzaga/Virginia

106 - Katie Zdrowak - 48 - Duke/Tennessee

107 - James Garvin - 47 - Duke/Virginia

         Max Macon #3 - 47 - Gonzaga/Kentucky

         Rich Samuels #1 - 47 - Duke/Kentucky
         Cheryl Spuhler - 47 - Duke/Tennessee

         Tara Telliott - 47 - North Carolina/Duke

         Joshua Zdrowak - 47 - North Carolina/Michigan

113 - Samantha Sheehan - 46 - Duke/Tennessee

114 - Liz Carew - 45 - Kentucky/Duke

         Hannah Sosa - 45 - Virginia/Duke

116 - Abigail Sosa - 44 - Tennessee/Duke

117 - Jennifer Armstrong - 43 - Duke/Wisconsin
         Luis Briones - 43 - Duke/Villanova

119 - Biscuit Zdrowak - 41 - Virginia/Michigan State

120 - Griffey Parker - 40 - Houston/Duke

         Jessica Samuels - 40 - Virginia/Gonzaga

122 - Cubbie Kroesen - 39 - Kentucky/Marquette

123 - Keith Zdrowak - 36 - Duke/North Carolina

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Results - Round 2/Day 1

The first half of round 2 is completed, and it started out amazing.  In Jacksonville, underrated point guard Tremont Waters of LSU finessed his way into the lane with some nifty dribbling and deftly laid the ball in the basket for a game winning layup over Maryland with three seconds left.  Then, in the second game in Jacksonville, seventh-seeded but unheralded Wofford took a P.J. Washington-less Kentucky down to the wire before the Wildcats secured the victory behind free throws from fifth-year senior grad transfer Reid Travis and freshman phenom Tyler Herro (who shot 94% from the free throw line this year).  Wofford's Fletcher Magee, who in round 1 against Seton Hall set the NCAA record for most career three point field goals made after going 7-12, was harassed by Kentucky's defense - particularly the aforementioned Tyler Herro - and went 0-12 from distance in the game.  To quote my friend John Anderson from Chicago, IL (not in the pool), "Just imagine how good a shooter you have to be to be allowed to go 0-12 from three point range!"

And then, anybody who went to any games not in Jacksonville definitely did not get their money worth as the remaining 6 games stunk.  For that Your Tournament Host is thankful as I immediately left after the Kentucky win to go watch the Miami Marlins final home spring training game against the Houston Astros.  Justin Verlander was on the bumb and Jose Altuve uncorked an absolute BOMB!!!  Both of those turned out to be much better than the last six games from yesterday.  Congratulations to Michigan, Florida State, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Purdue and Auburn for advancing, but man, those games were not close. Things were so bad for Kansas (which was down 51-25 at the half to Auburn), that I started my pool scoring at halftime, and never was I threatened to have to re-score that game.    In fact, I was hoping to invite karma to the pool so that the game would get exciting - it didn't.

No big upsets, so no bonus points yesterday.  To move up the leaderboard you had to do so the old-fashioned way, with a steady stream of correct picks (two-pointers this round).  Carolyn Fowler of Greenacres, Florida and Measha Williams #2 of Houston, Texas are tied for first.  On the opposite end of the spectrum is Keith Zdrowak of Orlando, Florida, who is in sole possession of last place.

Since their were no big upsets, a good number of entrants went 8-0.  Those contestants are:  Chad Phillips of Syracuse, New York, Duncan Merchant of Asheville, North Carolina, Alyssa Ave of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Kyle Sheehan of Jupiter, Florida, Mike Zachary of Jacksonville, Florida, Chris Kroesen of West Palm Beach, Florida, Kingfish Rod Parham of Snellville, Georgia, Bill Ganoe of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Dana Mandelbaum of presumably somewhere in central to southern Palm Beach County, Florida and Pepe Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida.  Given that these brackets were perfect yesterday, it was hard to select a "Pick of the Day", but, just kidding, it was easy.  It goes to me.  Again, just kidding, it goes to Alyssa Ave because not only does she have Purdue winning it all, and boy do they look good after putting it on Villanova, but she had the audacity to circle Purdue with the words "Go Boilers!!!" at the top.  Congratulations Alyssa, there is no way that comes back to haunt you this tournament.

Despite a lot of chalk, we still lost not 1, not 2, but 3 champions from our bracket.  Say goodbye to Florida, Kansas and defending champion Villanova.  Their will be no repeat in the NCAA Tournament this year, and the streak from 2006-2007 rolls on.  That leaves us with 11 remaining champions.  I have updated the standings to reflect which entry has which champion and runner-up; if your team is still alive it is in bold.  Our champions (with remaining teams in bold) are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

Speaking of losing their champion, the "Worst Pick of the Day" award goes to Hilary Kroesen of Port St. Lucie, Florida.  Not only did she lose her champion when Kansas lost to Auburn, but she went 1-7 for the day total.  At least she lost her other finalist Marquette in round 1.  Although not in last place as of now, I would predict she will be in the running to have her entry fee returned.  This performance was the only thing that kept me from giving the award to Marcus Jackson of Reston, Virginia for failing to select a winner in yesterday's Florida State/Murray State game.  That is OK Marcus, you also forgot to pic a winner in Purdue's bracket in the Sweet Sixteen.

Also, speaking of losing champions, Villanova's 87-61 dismantling at the hands of Purdue was the second largest defeat by a defending champion ever.  The largest occurred in a second round game on March 18, 1990  at Long Beach Arena where Loyola Marymount thrashed, destroyed, and absolutely obliterated the then-defending champion Michigan Wolverines 149-115.  Yes, you saw that correctly.  Michigan scored 115, and WASN'T EVEN IN THE GAME!!!!  Michigan, "led" by 23 points each from Rumeal Robinson and Terry Mills, could not keep up with the frenetic pace of Loyola Marymount, which itself received 37 points from leading scorer Bo Kimble and 41 from sharpshooter Jeff Fryer (referenced in yesterday's standings).  Jeff Fryer, who set a tournament record with 11 three pointers on 15 attempts, mirrors the performance of Purdue guard Carsen Edwards, who scored 42 points on 9-15 shooting from three-point range yesterday against Villanova.  Incidentally, Jeff Fryer also holds the NCAA tournament record for most three-point shots attempted at 22 - which occurred the prior year in a game against Arkansas. If you do not understand how a team like Loyola Marymount could put up 149 in a game and have another game where a player attempted 22 three pointers, go watch ESPN's 30 for 30 entitled Guru of Go.  It is amazing.

As easy as it would be to transition into a second related NCAA history lesson on Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers, his death, and his best friend and teammate Bo Kimble's honoring of him, but I could not do that justice.  I took number 44 in honor of Hank Gathers for my high school basketball team is all I will say on that subject.

But, we will have a secondary history lesson stemming from Carsen Edwards' performance.  With a big scoring performance from a Bolermaker, I would be remiss if I did not mention Glenn Robinson.  After a redshirt freshman season, Robinson lead Purdue in scoring in the 1992 season averaging 24.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, leading them to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Atlantic 10 champion Rhode Island in the first round.  Not content with "only" averaging 24 points a game, Robinson game back with a vengeance the following year averaging 30.3 points and 11.2 points per game, the first player to lead the Big 10 Conference in both categories since 1978.  Robinson, however, despite scoring 44 in a Sweet Sixteen victory over Kansas, strained his back, and could only muster 13 points against Duke in the Elite 8.  Robinson scored 1,030 points this year which led the nation in scoring and is the most in a single season in Big 10 history.  He was the only Boilermaker to score more than 1,000, 500 rebounds, 100 steals, 100 assists and 50 blocked shots in his career - which only lasted 2 seasons!  He was then selected first in the NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, and played 12 years (despite various injuries) with 4 franchises (9 with the Bucks), and ultimately won an NBA title in 2005 with the San Antonio Spurs.  Glenn Robinson finished his NBA career averaging just over 20 points per game.

Remember, I hand score the brackets, so it is possible that I may have made a mistake.  Feel free to bring any questions you have to my attention at sosalaw@yahoo.com.  I will re-visit your sheet and re-score.  Keep in mind, though, that while if I find a mistake in your favor I will give you your proper points, but if I find a mistake in the opposite direction, I will make the appropriate downward correction.  Also, let me know if I mis-spelled your name.  I would like to correct it if I did so.

Good luck watching today's games, which begin momentarily just like yesterday, with a Big 10 team playing an SEC team, this time it is Iowa and Tennessee!

1 - Carolyn Fowler - 64 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

     Measha Williams #2 - 64 - Gonzaga/Virginia

3 - Matt Hopps - 62 - Duke/North Carolina

     Marcus Jackson - 62 - Virginia/Duke

     Measha Williams #3 - Gonzaga/Virginia

6 - Max Macon #4 - 61 - Duke/Houston

     Ashley Poer #2 - 61 - Virginia/Michigan State

8 - Scott Bieterman - 60 - Duke/Kentucky

     Katie Kollmeyer - 60 - Tennessee/Duke

     Max Macon #2 - 60 - Tennessee/Michigan State

11 - Chad Phillips - 59 - Florida State/North Carolina

12 - Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 58 Duke/North Carolina

       Duncan Merchant - 58 Duke/Houston

14 - Brian Hinaman - 57 - Duke/North Carolina

       Silas Nichols - 57 - North Carolina/Michigan

       Krystal Travers - 57 - Kansas State/Florida State

       Justin Yung - 57 - Gonzaga/Virginia

18 - Martha Kroesen - 56 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

       Michael Spicer - 56 - North Carolina/Buffalo

20 - Philip Kroesen - 55 - North Carolina/Duke
       Steven Usma #4 - 55 - Duke/Kentucky

22 - William Pujals - 54 - Duke/North Carolina
        George Walks #2 - 54 - North Carolina/Duke

24 - Mac Kroesen - 53 - North Carolina/Duke
       Ty Leatherman - 53 - Duke/Virginia
       Max Macon #2 -53 - Duke/North Carolina
       Kareem Montague - 53 - Virginia/Duke
       George Walks #3 - 53 - Florida State/Kentucky

29 - Paul Cummings - 52 - North Carolina/Duke
       Coby Kroesen - 52 - North Carolina/Duke
       Max Marion 52 - Duke/Virginia
       Edy Pecan - 52 - Syracuse/Kentucky
       Dave Piasecki #1 -52 - Florida/Kentucky
       Melanie Scherr - 52 - North Carolina/Duke
       Steven Usma #3 - 52 - Kentucky/Duke
       Jonathan Wasserman - 62 - North Carolina/Duke

37 - Alyssa Ave - 51 - Purdue/Michigan
       Karen Katz - 51 - Gonzaga/Houston
       Anthony LaPira - 51 - Duke/Tennessee
       Kyle Sheehan - 51 - Duke/Kentucky

41 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 50 - North Carolina/Florida State
       Kline Kroesen - 50 - North Carolina/Michigan
       Rich Samuels #2 - 50 - North Carolina/LSU
       Steven Usma #1 - 50 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #2 - 50 - Virginia/Michigan State
       Mike Zachary - 50 - Duke/North Carolina

47 - Dan Barsky #2 - 49 - Duke/North Carolina
       Chris Kroesen - 49 - North Carolina/Michigan State
       Max Macon #1 - 49 - Virginia/LSU
       Mango Merchant - 49 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Kingfish Rod Parham - 49 - Duke/Tennessee
       Allison Parker - 49 - Kentucky/Michigan
       Barkley Sosa - 49 - Kentucky/LSU
       Brittany Sosa - 49 - Duke/North Carolina
       Steven Usma #5 - 49 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Harrington Wax III - 49 - North Carolina/Michigan State

57 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 48 - Kentucky/Michigan State
       Bill Ganoe #1 - 48 - North Carolina/Duke
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 48 - Duke/Tennessee
       Adam Jorgensen - 48 - Michigan State/Virginia
       Jeremy Spuhler - 48 - Tennessee/LSU
       George Walks #@5 - 48 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Measha Williams #1 - 48 - Gonzaga/North Carolina

64 - Sean McInerney - 47 - Duke/North Carolina
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 47 - Florida/North Carolina
       Jane Reynolds - 47 - Duke/Kentucky
       Pepe Sosa - 47 - Kentucky/Michigan State

68 - Jenna Finkelstein - 46 -  Gonzaga/Tennessee
       Eric Inge - 46 - Duke/North Carolina
       Hilary Kroesen 46 - Kentucky/Gonzaga
       Sasha Moon - 46 - Duke/Tennesseeb
       Jason Spuhler - 46 - Duke/North Carolina

73 - Bill Ganoe #2 - 45 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Michael Litsey - 45 - Michigan/Virginia
       Glen Merchant - 45 - Duke/Houston
       Matt Nieman - 45 - Virginia/Gonzaga
       Brittany Sosa - 45 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       Robert Tanen #2 - 45 - Gonzaga/Virginia
       George Walks #1 - 45 - Kansas/Duke
       George Walks #4 - 45 - Duke/Virginia

81 - Jordyn Sheehan - 44 - Duke/Tennessee
       Josh & Katie Zdrowak - 44 - North Carolina/Duke

83 - Robert Hosmer - 43 - Duke/Virginia
       Skip LaForte - 43 - Michigan State/North Carolina
       Jeff Pamondon - 43 - Duke/Tennessee
       Annette Pritchard - 43 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       John Santucci - 43 - Kansas/Michigan
       Ira Schulteis - 43 - Duke/North Carolina
       Amy Zdrowak - 43 - Duke/Virginia

90 - Dan Barsky #1 - 42 - Gonzaga/North Carolina
       Jacey Fowler #1 - 42 - Villanova/Texas Tech
       Traci Sheehan - 42 - Michigan State/Tennessee
       Robert Tanen #1 - 42 - Florida State/North Carolina

94 - Jean Calixte - 41 - Duke/North Carolina
       Scott Hansel - 41 - Duke/Kentucky
       Arlene Amo Hopps - 41 - Villanova/Virginia Tech
       Dana Mandelbaum - 41 - North Carolina/Duke

98 - Rachel Bornn - 40 - Duke/Kentucky
       David Olson - 40 - North Carolina/Duke
       Ashley Poer #1 - 40 - Duke/Tennessee

101 - Chris Petit - 39 - North Carolina/Duke
         Annette Pritchard #2 - 39 - Duke/North Carolina
         Meredith Tanen - 39 - Gonzaga/Virginia

104 - Katie Zdrowak - 38 - Duke/Tennessee

105 - Max Macon #3 - 37 - Gonzaga/Kentucky
         Rich Samuels #1 - 37 - Duke/Kentucky
         Wes Wiggins - 37 - Gonzaga/Virginia

108 - Abigail Sosa - 36 - Tennessee/Duke

109 - James Garvin - 35 - Duke/Virginia
         Hilary Kroesen #2 - 35 - Kansas/Marquette
         Hannah Sosa - 35 - Virginia/Duke
         Tara Telliott - 35 - North Carolina/Duke
         Samantha Sheehan - 35 - Duke/Tennessee

114 - Jennifer Armstrong - 33 - Duke/Wisconsin
         Luis Briones - 33 - Duke/Villanova
         Cheryl Spuhler - 33 - Duke/Tennessee
         Joshua Zdrowak - 33 - North Carolina/Michigan

118 - Jessica Samuels - 32 - Virginia/Gonzaga
         Griffey Parker - 32 - Houston/Duke

120 - Liz Carew - 31 - Kentucky/Duke
         Cubbie Kroesen - 31 - Kentucky/Marquette
         Biscuit Zdrowak - 31 - Virginia/Michigan State

123 - Keith Zdrowak - 28 - Duke/North Carolina

NCAA Tournament Pool Results - Round 1/Day 2

So our first round is complete, and boy was yesterday exciting.  Not necessarily in the "a whole lot of games went down to the wire" exciting, but in a "boy were the favorites a bit overrated" type of exciting.  The lower seeds held their one, literally, but winning exactly half of the games yesterday, going 8-8.  And these were the good kind of lower seeds, with four teams big upsets and earning our pool lots - AND I MEAN LOTS - of bonus points.  Even though they don't count towards our bonuses, it was interesting to me that all four number 9 seeds defeated their 8th seeded opponents in round 1.  Numerically that was interesting to me, at least.

The big upsets were 11th seed Ohio State over Iowa State, 12th seeds Oregon over Wisconsin and Liberty over Mississippi State, and 13th seeded UC-Irvine over Kansas State.  With the guarantee that is a total of 25 bonus points that could be awarded yesterday in any given bracket, and several entries benefited greatly by selecting a number of correct upsets.  A special mention goes to Measha Williams #3 of Houston, Texas, Carolyn Fowler of Greenacres, Florida, Matt Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts, Katie Kollmeyer of Lantana, Florida, Max Macon #s 2 and 4, of Jupiter, Florida, Edy Pecan of West Palm Beach, Florida and Chad Phillips of Syracuse, New York as all 8 of those entries had 3 of yesterday's 4 upsets, with one of those as the guarantee.  Both of Max Macon's entries went 15-1 on the day.

But, they pale in comparison to the dazzling picking skills of Justin Yung of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who selected all 4 of the primary upsets yesterday, betting on UC-Irvine, Liberty, Oregon and Ohio State yesterday.  The only reason that he isn't higher in the standings is that he did not have any of those 4 selections as his guarantee, having missed out when Villanova eeked by Saint Mary's.  Nevertheless, Justin is our "Pick of the Day"!

Despite all of our upsets, this is the first consecutive year that all 4 number 1 seeds advanced to the second round.  Although Virginia, North Carolina and Duke were all incredibly close at the half.  But their talent and depth - well as much depth as they needed - kicked in for the top 3 to advance yesterday (Gonzaga having advanced Thursday).

But, we did lose another champion, when the UC-Irvine Anteaters defeated the Kansas State Wildcats.  That leaves us with 14 remaining champions.  I will update the standings to reflect which entry has which champion later next week.  Our champions (with remaining teams in bold) are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

Given that someone lost a champion, the Worst Pick of the Day goes to Krystal Travers from frankly I have no idea.  If someone wants to enlighten me that would be great.  She lost Kansas State - her champion.  A close second goes to Kline Kroesen of Port St. Lucie, Florida who selected North Dakota State over Duke, but Kline gets a bit of a pass because he is 3 years old.

Which means that Duke was not a unanimous selection yesterday (if you can believe that?!)  The only unanimous picks from yesterday's games was Virginia and North Carolina.  Iona's three-point barrage in the first half was intriguing, but the Tar Heels prevailed to move forward.

Which brings me to today's history lesson.  Admittedly, it was hard for me to decide what was the applicable history lesson to learn from yesterday's games.  I immediately thought that Iona had a chance to break the three point record and I could have discussed Loyola Marymount from 1990, but Iona cooled off.  Then when I saw Kenny Wooten with monster block after monster block, I thought about writing about Oregon's Jordan Bell and his blocked shot barrage from a few years ago, but then they showed Bell in the audience and the announcers discussed that during the game.  UC-Irvine has 3 players with star NBA and NCAA lineage, with the grandson of Walt Hazzard and the sons of Caron Butler and Doc Rivers, but that has been all over ESPN all week.  As an aside, I highly recommend reading Caron Butler's autobiography Tuff Juice:  My Journey from the Streets to the NBA, it is fantastic, and I believed it has been purchased to make a move.  But, I found my historical tangent regarding another smaller school from California that did well in the NCAA tournament.

In 1996 in the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona, tiny little Santa Clara University and its Broncos played the University of Maryland Terrapins in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  Santa Clara, the 10th seed, defeated Maryland 91-79 behind the stellar play of little known Canadian point guard Steve Nash, who had a game high 28 points and 12 assists, and even gathered in 6 rebounds (and 2 steals).  Steve Nash, who in turns out can dribble a little bit, used his skills to get into the lane time and time again, getting to the free throw line 18 times (hitting 17).  Nash defeated a Maryland team that boasted such current and future college stars as Keith Booth, Obinna Ekezie, Exree Hipp - one of my favorite names of all time - Laron Profit and Sarunas Jasikevicius.  Unfortunately for the Broncs, they ran into second seeded Kansas and promptly lost 76-51.  But, Steve Nash was not content to remain a small college player that only starred in the NCAA Tournament, as he went on the NBA as a first round pick (15th overall) of the Phoenix Suns, where he played 19 seasons for 3 franchises, won 2 NBA MVP titles (2005/2006), was an ALl-Star 8 times and will likely be in the basketball Hall of Fame within a few years.

We have a 4-way tie for first among Carolyn Fowlerof Greenacres, Florida, Max Macon #2 of Jupiter, Florida, and Measha Williams #2 and 4 of Houston, Texas.

Welcome to the Pool Karen Katz of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Annette Pritchard of West Palm Beach.  Annette sent her bracket to the participant that invited her instead of me, but the dates on the e-mail chain were sufficient enough for me to include both her entries. Next time, Annette, send the bracket ot me.

I hand score the brackets, so it is possible that I may have made a mistake.  I know, I know, you are surprised that I am fallible.  Feel free to bring any questions you have to my attention at sosalaw@yahoo.com.  I will re-visit your sheet and re-score.  Keep in mind, though, that while if I find a mistake in your favor I will give you your proper points, but if I find a mistake in the opposite direction, I will make the appropriate downward correction.  Also, let me know if I mis-spelled your name.  I would like to correct it if I did so.

Good luck watching today's games, which begin momentarily with Maryland playing LSU!

1 - Carolyn Fowler - 52
     Max Macon #2 - 52
     Measha Williams #2 - 52
     Measha Williams #3 - 52

5 - Max Macon #4 - 51
     Ashley Poer #2 - 51

7 - Marcus Jackson - 50
     Matt Hopps - 50

9 - Silas Nichols - 49

10 - Katie Kollmeyer - 48

11 - Krystal Travers - 47
       Justin Yung - 47

13 - Scott Bieterman - 46
       Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 46
       William Pujals -46

16 - Brian Hinaman - 45

17 - Martha Kroesen - 44
       Edy Pecan - 44
       Michael Spicer - 44

20 - Chad Phillips - 43
       Steven Usma #4 - 43
       George Walks #3 - 43

23 - Kline Kroesen - 42
       Duncan Merchant - 42
       Steven Usma #2 - 42

26 - Karen Katz - 41
       Philip Kroesen - 41
       Mango Merchant - 41

29 - Max Marion - 40
       Dave Piasecki 1 - 40
       Steven Usma #1 - 40
       George Walks #2 - 40
       George Walks #5 - 40
       Jonathan Wasserman - 40

35 - Dan Barsky #2 - 39
       Mac Kroesen - 39
       Anthony LaPira - 39
       Ty Leatherman - 39
       Max Marion #2 - 39
       Colonel Kareem Montague - 39
       Steven Usma #5 - 39

42 - Paul Cummings - 38
       Jacey Fowler #2 - 38
       Hilary Kroesen #1 - 38
       Coby Kroesen - 38
       Rich Samuels #2 - 38
       Melanie Scherr - 38
       Jason Spuhler - 38
       Steven Usma #3 - 38

50 - Allison Parker - 37
       Brittany Sosa - 37
       George Walks #1 - 37

53 - Eric Inge - 36
       Measha Williams #1 - 36

55 - Alyssa Ave - 35
       Max Macon #1 - 35
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 35
       John Santucci - 35
       Kyle Sheehan - 35
       Barkley Sosa - 35
       Harrington Wax III - 35

62 - Dan Barsky #1 - 34
       Jenna Finkelstein - 34
       Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 34
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 34
       Adam Jorgensen - 34
       Sasha Moon - 34
       Jordyn Sheehan - 34
       Traci Sheehan - 34
       Jeremy Spuhler - 34
       Mike Zachary - 34
       Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 34

73 - Robert Hosmer - 33
       Chris Kroesen - 33
       Hilary Kroesen #2 - 33
       Michael Litsey - 33
       Sean McInerney - 33
       Glen Merchant - 33
       Matt Nieman - 33
       Kingfish Rod Parham - 33
      Annette Pritchard #1 - 33
      Jane Reynolds - 33
      Brittany Sosa - 33
      Robert Tanen #1 - 33
      George Walks #4 - 33

86 - Jacey Fowler #1 - 32
       Bill Ganoe #1 - 32
       Robert Tanen #1 - 32

89 - Jean Calixte - 31
       Bill Ganoe #2 - 31
       Skip LaForte - 31
       Jeff Plamondon - 31
       Pepe Sosa - 31

94 - Scott Hansel - 29
       Ira Schulteis - 29
       Hannah Sosa - 29
       Amy Zdrowak - 29

98 - Rachel Bornn - 28
       Ashley Poer #1 - 28
       Katie Zdrowak - 28

101 - Arlene Amo Hopps - 27
         Max Macon #3 - 27
         Annette Pritchard #2 - 27
         Richard Samuels #1 - 27

105 - David Olson - 26

106 - Dana Mandelbaum - 25
         Chris Petit - 25
         Meredith Tanen - 25
         Wes Wiggins - 25

110 - Abigail Sosa - 24

111 - Jennifer Armstrong - 23
         Luis Briones - 23
        James Garvin - 23
        Cubbie Kroesen - 23
        Cheryl Spuhler - 23

116 - Jessica Samuels - 22

117 - Tara Telliott - 21
          Biscuit Zdrowak - 21
          Joshua Zdrowak - 21

120 - Griffey Parker - 20
         Samantha Sheehan - 20
         Keith Zdrowak - 20

123 - Liz Carew - 19

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Round 1/Day 1

Hello all - and welcome to the first report of the 2019 NCAA Tournament Pool hosted by, well, Your Tournament Host.

We have a good pool this year, with a good amount of newcomers and returnees - with two of our newcomers being incredibly precocious, as they were not yet born this time last year.  A number of our entries have four legs (Biscuit, Jacey, Cubbie. Mac, Duncan, Mango, Abigail, Barkley - and maybe some others).  We have expanded into a new state and a new commonwealth this year (New York, Massachusetts) and vastly expanded our representation from North Carolina. 

Speaking of North Carolina - I want to give a shout out to Glen Merchant, Duncan Merchant, and Mango Merchant, who managed to turn int their respective brackets yesterday morning, despite preparing for the GRAND OPENING of their ax-throwing/craft-beer establishment in Asheville, NC called Axeville Throwing Club.  Here's hoping they had a great opening and continued success, all while watching their respective favorite teams in the tournament!

Unfortunately, we have also expanded our inability to follow all of the directions and the rules.  So many people violated one rule or the other, that you can just go ahead and assume that you did.  In fact, Jenna Finkelstein of St. Petersburg, FL wrote to me about her and Jeremy Spuhler , also of St. Pete, "We aren't very good at following directions!.  You aren't the only ones Jenna.  No worries though, as I think everything is sorted out and we are ready to go with our final count of 121 entries.  The standings below only indicate 120, but Karen Katz - as per her usual - she mailed me her bracket.  It was postmarked Monday and arrived yesterday, but after I started scoring.  She will be included in the next update.

All of that is still better than Bradley Deutchman of Washington, D.C., who e-mailed me the following:

I have a few questions to make sure I understand how this works:

1)  Play-In Games 

How many points do I get for correctly picking the winners of the Play-In games?  I didn’t see it in there.

Also, as for the first round Play-In picks, I’d prefer to specify “generally” and I hope you can respect my choice to do so as all our choices must be respected.

2)  Scoring

Is this the same scoring system as last year?

3)  I would like to get 4 points for second round picks and 20 points for 3rd round picks.  Please effectuate these changes for me.

4)  Guaranteed Upset

Two questions.  First is more philosophical.

How can you really quantify “upset”?  I can tell you from, at least, my personal dating experience, when I accuse someone of being upset, I’m usually told I’m wrong.  

Also, I would prefer to designate my “Guaranteed Upset” in a triangle instead of a circle in respect to the “Triangle Offense.”  I do not know what the “Triangle Offense” is but I recall hearing it has something to do with Michael Jackson and winning.

Thank you for your attention to these items.  I expect there will be no problem fulfilling my requests.

He spent more time on the e-mail than he did on his bracket, as he ultimately did not send me one.  (If you did - please re-send with the e-mail time stamp from your original e-mail).

For our champions, we have 16 different teams selected, with most of the love going to the State of North Carolina.  More people selected Duke than any other score, with North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and Gonzaga getting significant love.  Surprisingly we have multiple selections of Florida and Florida State, with single entries selecting Houston, Purdue and Syracuse.  Yes your heard that correctly, we had someone select Syracuse.   That means for the second consecutive year someone lost a champion on opening day!  Sorry Edy Pecan of West Palm Beach, FL, you have the worst selection of the day.  We can't blame you entirely, as there was a significant issue with the Orange that occurred last minute (see below).  Our champions (with remaining teams in bold) are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

In addition to Edy Pecan, I want to make a special note of Colonel Kareem Montague, of Hickham Air Force Base, Hawaii and Justin Yung of Raleigh, North Carolina, for their traitorous selections of Yale to beat LSU.  Alumni of Harvard should never pick Yale for anything - and I mean anything. Serves you right that Yale shot 8-37 from three point range (including 1-10 for Miye Oni, a junior who was considering entering the NBA draft).  After that performance, I want to stress the word WAS.

We like to have a lot of fun here at our tournament pool, and it is fun to look at basketball as a game.  But, sometimes real life intervenes.  That happened twice yesterday, and I mention it because it greatly affected the games (at least one), and perhaps more going forward.  First, Syracuse senior point guard Frank Howard was suspended indefinitely for failing a drug test.  This came out yesterday.  We know how long indefinitely is, though, since Syracuse is out!  The second dose of real life occurred in the Florida State locker room after their first round victory over Vermont, when star Phil Cofer learned of the death of his father after a long illness.  We wish the Cofer family well during this ordeal, and hope that it does not affect the team to negatively going forward.

From real life heartbreak to basketball heartbreak - WHAT ON EARTH WAS UP WITH A.J. HARRIS?  Harris, a guard for New Mexico State, drove the length of the floor with six seconds to go down 2 to Auburn, and got to the basket uncontested where a layup would have tied the game. Instead, Harris passed it back out to a guarded Terrell Brown who proceeded to miss the potential game-winning three.  Brown, however, was fouled by the Auburn defender and would receive 3 free throws to potentially win the game.  After missing the first and hitting the second, Brown missed the third to keep New Mexico State down 1, but Auburn knocked the ball out-of-bounds with 1.3 seconds left giving the Aggies one last shot, which ended in a wide-open corner three, which was airballed.   If Harris hits the layup, they are tied with 3 seconds or so left, and likely go to overtime.

In the karma department, the Louisville Cardinals, which school is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with former coach Rick Pitino, lost to the the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are currently coached by Richard Pitino, Rick Pitino's son.  Somewhere the vampire that is Rick Pitino is smiling. 

Minnesota was a lower seed, and 9th seeded Baylor defeated the aforementioned Syracuse, but the real upset of the day was number 12 Murray State defeated 5th seeded Marquette.  Now, apparently this was not too unforeseen, as this game was by far the most picked guaranteed upset in our pool (followed closely by Oregon).  As you will see in the standings, a lot of people received 5 or 10 bonus points for this win.  Murray State, led by a triple double from guard Ja Morant - who will easily be a top 5 draft pick this year - won 84-63, and frankly it wasn't even that close.  Morant finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists to record only the 9th triple double in NCAA Tournament history and the first since Michigan State's Draymond Green did it in 2012.  Green, now an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, was the first triple double since 2011, when Draymond Green did it.  I do believe that Ja Morant is the best religious leader-named hoopster since God Shammgod played at Providence College.

Today's history lesson brings us to another NCAA tournament triple double involving a soon-to-be top 5 NBA draft pick in a game involving the Marquette Warriors.  Marquette, the three seed in the midwest, played the number 1 seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the regional final in Minneapolis, home of this year's Final Four.   Winner moved on to the Final Four.  As an aside, this was a particularly important game as I was already headed to the Final Four in New Orleans that year, with a chance to cheer for Kentucky (my favorite team for those that don't know).  I was travelling with Silas Nichols of Washington, D.C., who is an alumnus of Syracuse University, which would qualify for the Final Four that year behind freshman sensation Carmelo Anthony.  (Syracuse would ultimately win).  Being on opposite sides of the brackets meant a Kentucky - Syracuse final was possible until, the Flash appeared.  Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 29, with 11 rebounds and 11 assists as Marquette defeated Kentucky 83-69 to earn their trip to the Final Four.  Wade left Marquette after that Final Four appearance and was drafted 5th in the NBA draft by the Miami Heat, behind such other legendary players as the aforementioned Carmelo Anthony (3rd to Denver), Chris Bosh (4th to Toronto), LeBron James (1st to Cleveland) and the immortal Darko Milicic (2nd to Detroit).  There is no way the Pistons don't regret this draft.

As stated earlier, a bunch of people selected Murray State to advance, so that is the best overall single pick, and too many people to name guaranteed that pick as their upset, earning 10 bonus points.  In light of this fact, I will give the coveted "Pick of the Day" Award to Debbie Igdaloff Nieman of Boca Raton, Florida and Kingfish Rod Parham of Snellville, Georgia, both of whom correctly picked 15 of the 16 games from yesterday.  Interestingly, they both had the Murray State upset, but not as their guarantee, and they both missed the Villanova game, as they both selected St. Mary's for the upset.  Villanova won 61-57, to keep alive their hopes for a repeat championship.

Even though they did not win the "Pick of the Day" Award, we do have a six-way tie for first.  Congratulations to Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds of Greenacres, FL, Marcus Jackson of Reston, VA, Duncan Merchant, of Asheville, NC, Steven Usma #1 of Miami, FL, Harrington Wax III, of Asheville, NC, and Mike Zachary of Jacksonville, FL. 

As far as the brackets as a whole, only one team was selected by all of the entrants yesterday, and that was Michigan State.  This means that some people picked Abilene Christian to defeat Kentucky, and Farleigh Dickinson to defeat Gonzaga.  Those didn't happen, but I like the gumption.

I hand score the brackets, so it is possible that I may have made a mistake.  I know, I know, you are surprised that I am fallible.  Feel free to bring any questions you have to my attention at sosalaw@yahoo.com.  I will re-visit your sheet and re-score.  Keep in mind, though, that while if I find a mistake in your favor I will give you your proper points, but if I find a mistake in the opposite direction, I will make the appropriate downward correction.  Also, let me know if I mis-spelled your name.  I would like to correct it if I did so.

1 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 24
     Marcus Jackson - 24
     Duncan Merchant - 24
     Steven Usma #1 - 24
     Harrington Wax III - 24
     Mike Zachary 24

7 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 23
     Philip Kroesen - 23
     Col. Kareem Montague - 23
     Matt Nieman - 23
     Allison Parker - 23
     Ashley Poer #2 - 23
     Steven Usma #3
     Measha Williams #2 - 23

15 - Coby Kroesen - 22
       Skip LaForte - 22
       Brittany Sosa - 22
       George Walks #3 - 22

19 - Kline Kroesen - 21
       Silas Nichols - 21

21 - Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 20
       Kingfish Rod Parham - 20
       Kyle Sheehan - 20
       Measha Williams #3 - 20

25 - Scott Bieterman - 19
       Scott Hansel - 19
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 19

28 - Carolyn Fowler - 18
       Brian Hinaman - 18
       Matt Hopps - 18
       Robert Hosmer - 18
       Katie Kollmeyer - 18
       Max Macon 1 - 18
       William Pujals - 18
       Jeremy Spuhler - 18
       Robert Tanen 1 - 18
       Robert Tanen 2 - 18
       Steven Usma #4 - 18
       George Walks #5 - 18
       Jonathan Wasserman - 18

41 - Eric Inge - 17
       Ty Leatherman - 17
       Max Macon #2 - 17
       Max Marion #1 - 17
       Jane Reynolds - 17
       Brittany Sosa - 17
       Michael Spicer - 17
       Steven Usma #5 - 17

49 - Bill Ganoe - 16
       Hilary Kroesen - 16
       Max Macon #4 - 16
       Max Marion #2 - 16
       Mango Merchant - 16
       Chris Petit - 16
       Steven Usma #2 - 16

56 - Pepe Sosa - 15

57 - Anthony LaPira - 14
       Dana Mandelbaum - 14
       Meredith Tanen - 14
       Krystal Travers - 14
       Measha Williams #1 - 14
       Justin Yung - 14

63 - Jennifer Armstrong - 13
       Rachel Bornn - 13
       Jenna Finkelstein - 13
       James Garvin - 13
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 13
       Martha Kroesen - 13
       Glen Merchant - 13
       Dave Piasecki #1 - 13
       John Santucci - 13
       Barkley Sosa - 13
       Cheryl Spuhler - 13
       George Walks #2 - 13
       George Walks #4 - 13
        Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 13

77 - Alyssa Ave - 12
       Dan Barsky #1 - 12
       Dan Barsky #2 - 12
       Luis Briones - 12
       Paul Cummings - 12
       Adam Jorgensen - 12
       Chris Kroesen - 12
       Michael Litsey - 12
       Max Macon #3 - 12
       Sasha Moon - 12
       David Olson - 12
       Griffey Parker - 12
       Ashley Poer #1 - 12
       Rich Samuels #1 - 12
       Rich Samuels #2 - 12
       Ira Schulteis - 12
       Jordyn Sheehan - 12
       Samantha Sheehan - 12
       Traci Sheehan - 12
       Hannah Sosa - 12
       Tara Telliott - 12
       Biscuit Zdrowak - 12
       Joshua Zdrowak - 12

100 - Jean Calixte - 11
         Liz Carew - 11
         Jacey Fowler #1 - 11
         Bill Ganoe #2 - 11
         Arlene Amo Hopps - 11
         Cubbie Kroesen - 11
         Hilary Kroesen #2 - 11
         Mac Kroesen - 11
         Sean McInerney - 11
        Edy Pecan - 11
        Jeff Plamondon - 11
        Jessica Samuels - 11
        Melanie Scherr - 11
        George Walks #1 - 11
        Wes Wiggins - 11
        Katie Zdrowak - 11
        Keith Zdrowak - 11

117 - Chad Phillips - 10
          Abigail Sosa - 10
         Jason Spuhler - 10

120 - Amy Zdrowak - 9

Picks of the Week

Bets were horrible last week, but thank god for that crazy non-pass interference call, as my casino returned all Saints bets.  Saved me from a horrendously awful week. I will have to do some prop bets to try to catch up for the year however.

The playoffs are different than the regular season in that there are fewer matchup, so because of this I will be selecting my picks via the spread, via the money line and with the over/under.  This allows 12 picks for the weekend.  I will still be selecting one big bet at $250 per, whereas everything else will be $100 (except for the favorites on the money line, which will be selected to try to win $100.  Losses will be calculated including a 10% vig to make the math that much simpler.  On to the picks.

Gladys Knight National Anthem OVER 1:45
We can bet that Atlanta-native Gladys is going to want to really put this one out there for all to remember, especially given all of the pressure for her not to sing over solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

Tom Brady OVER 350 yards passing +$229 (Bet $100 to win $229)
Brady has thrown for 900 yards each of the last two Super Bowls, and the act that the Patriots have been running with Sony Michel gives this bet extra value.  But as great as Michel has been, Belichick is going to rely on Brady when it comes down to a win or lose scenario.

Touchdowns in the first half OVER 1 1/2
As you might recall, last year the teams scored 4 touchdowns in the first half.

Sony Michel Rushing Yards - OVER 80.5
He has gone for over 100 in 3 of his last four games, including in both playoff games. Despite the names on the Rams defensive line, they have not been sufficient run stoppers this year.

Brandin Cooks Receiving Yards OVER 70.5
With the Rams using a 2-headed backfield of Gurley and C.J. |Anderson, I expect Belichick will try to take away Los Angeles's running game.  Although Stephon Gilmore has been amazing this year, Cooks could easily get over 70+ yards, whether the Rams are effective offensively or not.

Roughing the passer penalty will Occur +$105 (Bet $100 to win ($105)
It is called the Tom Brady rule, after all.

Total Touchdowns for the Patriots OVER 2 1/2

Total Touchdowns for the Rams OVER 2/12
Should be some good scoring in this game.

Successful Field Goals in the first Half OVER 1/2 -450 (Bet $450 to win $100)
There has to be at least one field goal, right?

New England Patriots -2 1/2 v. Los Angeles Rams
I just feel that the Patriots are better.  Even though C.J. Anderson has been a revelation, the fact that it seems like the Rams game plan no longer focuses on Todd Gurley might actually hurt them.  Plus, Belichick knows a bit about defense and is likely to concentrate on shutting the running game down anyway.  I bet against the Patriots two years ago when Atlanta choked away the win.  I bet against them last year when I just thought Philadelphia was better.  I do think New Orleans is better, but they are not here. So, the Pats rarely lose when they are better, and often win when they are not.

New England Patriots -130 v. Los Angeles Rams (Bet $130 to win $100)
If I think the Patriots are going to cover the spread, then I definitely think they are going to win outright.  Plus, I think only one Super Bowl has been decided by under 3 points, if I can believe the sports site I was reading earlier.  Rams just are not ready yet.

New England Patriots v. Los Angeles Rams OVER 55 1/2
I foresee lots of points being scored in this one.

Big Bet
Successful Field Goals in the first Half OVER 1/2 -450 (Bet $450 to win $100)
There has to be at least one field goal, right?

Right?

Last Week's Record:  1-2
Last Week's Big Bet:  0-0
Year-to-Date Record:  13-136-11
Big Bet Year-to-Date:  8-11
Last Week's Winnings (Losses):  ($110)
Year-to-Date's Winnings (Losses):  ($1620)