NCAA Tournament Pool - Round 2/Day 1

So for everyone to keep up, this post is just an analysis of Round 2/Day 1, which was Sunday's games.  No standings will be included at the bottom, as I have tabulated all of the games through yesterday, and as such, the standings will be current through the following post, which I will also be making today.  So, as far as Sunday goes ....

"Down goes Frazier!  Down goes Frazier!  Down goes Frazier!"  Both figuratively and literally.  In game 1 of the day we lose our first number 1 seed, Illinois, including its starting guard -  who is a local kid (well, local to me) - Trent Frazier.  Loyola jumped out to an early lead, and Illinois never challenged after that.  Loyola has done this recently, as they made the Final Four in 2018, and did have the number 1 ranked defense in the NCAA.  So, some people saw this coming, particularly Brian Hinaman of Parrish, Florida, Ashley Poer 2, of Lake Worth Beach, Florida, and Steven Usma 4 of Miami, Florida.  If you don't see your name listed here and you selected Loyola, don't worry, you will get your mention.

Illinois was not our only champion to have been defeated on Sunday, as the late preacher Oral Roberts gave an important enough a homily that his eponymous university defeated the University of Florida Gators late Sunday.  Seriously, Oral Roberts and Loyola of Chicago both get Sunday games?  How is that fair.  At least Oklahoma State spared us from having to see Liberty play on Sunday also.

As a reminder, we had 13 separate champions selected, and now five have been defeated in the opening weekend.  The champions in our pool (remaining teams in bold) are:  Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Virginia.

In addition to the 2 aforementioned upsets, we had 2 additional upsets on Sunday, with Oregon State defeating Oklahoma State and Syracuse beating West Virginia.  Syracuse had its share of fans in our pool, including Silas Nichols 2 of Washington, D.C., Kingfish Parham of Atlanta, Georgia, William Pujals of Charlotte, North Carolina, George Walks 2 of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Day Yi 1 of Forest Hills, New York.  Oregon State's support was even sparser, having been picked by Dave Marzouca 1 of Boynton Beach, Florida.

We did have a few other entrants receive bonus points for picking upsets, and they deserve special mention here as Javier Rodriguez of Coral Gables, Florida guaranteed his selection of Syracuse.  Justin Yung of Chapel Hill, North Carolina earned multiple bonuses by selecting Loyola and Syracuse and Colleen Hamilton of the Greater West Palm Beach, Florida area likewise garnered multiple bonuses by picking Syracuse and Oregon State.

However, none of those entries could keep up with the juggernaut that is first-time entrant Nancy McInerney of Atlantic Beach, Florida.  Nancy selected Loyola, Oregon State AND Syracuse.  For that, Nancy receives the "Pick of the Day" Award.  What was wrong Nancy, you didn't have Oral Roberts?  (Hint:  She didn't.  Nobody had Oral Roberts.)

It would be too easy for me to want to give a historical perspective about Loyola of Chicago in the NCAA Tournament, but I already did that back after day 1 round 1 in 2018, spotlighting Loyola great Alfredrick Hughes.  You can read about that here.

So, for today's history lesson, we will take a look back to legendary Houston Cougar coach Guy Lewis, to honor Houston's run to the Sweet Sixteen. Guy Lewis played collegiately at Houston from 1945-1947, after serving in the army in World War II.  He came back to Houston as an assistant coach in 1953, becoming head coach in 1956.  At Houston, he was one of the first white, Southern coaches to actively recruit African-American players, convincing Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney to attend Houston as its first African-American players in 1964.  Hayes and Chaney led Houston to 2 Final Fours in 1967 and 1968.  In 1968 Houston, behind Hayes and Chaney defeated undefeated and top-ranked UCLA Bruins at the Houston Astrodome in the first nationally televised regular season game and one of the best games in NCAA History.

Under Lewis, Houston had 27 consecutive winning seasons, and 14 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including 3 straight trips to the Final Four from 1982 - 1984, with teams led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.  Houston finished second in 1983, losing to North Carolina State on a last-second rebound/lay-up by Lorenzo Charles on a missed shot by Derek Whittenburg.  In 1984 Houston lost 84-75 to a Georgetown Hoyas team led by Patrick Ewing and coached by legendary John Thompson.

Lewis, who coached through 1986, was a two-time coach of the year (1968, 1983) and entered the College Basketbal Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.  He died in 2015 at the age of 93.

Stat of the Day

1.  The Illinois-Loyola game is only the third time two teams from the State of Illinois have played each other in the NCAA Tournament.  The1 first was Loyola-Chicago defeating Illinois in 1963, and the second was DePaul beating Illinois State in 1984.

Players of the Day

6.  Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse.  For the second consecutive round the coach's son makes an appearance, scoring 25 points on 6-13 shooting from three point range.

5.  Justin Smith, Arkansas.  Smith scored 20, with 6 rebounds in the Razorbacks victory over Texas Tech.

4.  Quinten Groves, Houston.  Houston coasted past Rutgers in large part thanks to Groves scoring 22 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

3.  Ethan Thompson, Oregon State.  Oregon State needed to win their conference tournament just to make the NCAA's, and Thompson is taking advantage of that opportunity scoring 26 points with 7 rebounds.

2.  Cameron Krutwig, Loyola.  Krutwig scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds had 5 assists and 4 steals, including 6 points and 1 assist as Loyola went up 9-2 at the start of the game.

1.  Kevin Obanor, Oral Roberts.  Roberts had a monster game, scoring 28 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and 4 steals, while playing all 40 minutes in Oral Roberts' victory over Florida.  

Best Social Media Post

From both RedditCFB and Rapid Replays:

"Oral Roberts has officially ended Ohio State and Florida's runs, a feat last accomplished by Urban Meyer's health problems"

Standings coming in the next post.

APOLOGIES

Today just got away from me.  I have tabulated the scores after yesterday's games, but I did not get the chance to do a write-up.  So, that being said, I will do a scoring update tomorrow with a report from yesterday's and today's games.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Your Tournament Host. 

NCAA Tournament Pool - Round 1/Day 2

 

And we are back.  Day 2 of round 1 appears and who rears its ugly head?  That's right, Covid-19.  Apparently I was prescient yesterday when I wrote, "And yes, I hope this is the last Covid reference of the tournament.  Unless, of course, a team has to withdraw."  And guess what, a team had to withdraw.  And, although it was not Virginia of the ACC tournament withdrawal due to Covid, it was its in-commonwealth neighbor, Virginia Commonwealth University, giving Oregon an official 1-0 win in a walkover.  That will look great for the defensive stats.

What does that mean for the bracket?  Nothing.  Oregon wins, VCU loses, and that is how it will be scored.  Interestingly, the NCAA had a Covid-19 plan to replace teams.  If a team from a conference with multiple NCAA bids had to withdraw from the tournament, an ordered list of replacements was made to replace the team, if the withdrawal happened before midnight last Tuesday night (12:00 E.D.T. Wednesday morning).  The first team on the list was Louisville.  If a team from a single-bid conference had to withdraw before the same time deadline, the conference could replace it.  Once that deadline passes, we see what happened yesterday - a walkover.

As for the pool, we have a new leader.  Congratulations to Jeff Plamondon of Lincoln, Rhode Island.  Jeff vaulted into the lead by selecting Ohio as his guaranteed upset, but also had a strong day 1 by selecting North Texas, Oregon State and Syracuse as upsets.  You can see how close you are in relation to Jeff in the standings below.

And, speaking of Ohio, the Bobcats upset the aforementioned Virginia Cavaliers, meaning we will not have a defending NCAA tournament champion.  Marcus Jackson of Reston, Virginia is back in the pool this year, so we still have our defending champion in our pool.  And, Ashley Poer of Lake Worth, Florida and Steven Usma of Miami, Florida return as well, so let's see if somebody can repeat "in the money".

With the Cavaliers losing, we lost another championship pick, leaving us with 10 remaining.  As a reminder, the championship picks in our pool are (remaining teams in bold):  Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Virginia.

Ohio wasn't the only upset yesterday, although for most of the day it looked like the day was going to end in straight chalk.  No upsets whatsoever through the first 8 games.  This did not bode well for the many entrants that not only selected Georgetown, but also as their guaranteed upset.  Georgetown repaid your faith in them by being down 24 at halftime, as Colorado led the Hoyas 47-23.  An entertaining 50-49 second hald did nothing to cut Georgetown's lead as the Buffaloes move forward.  

In the late games, 2 of the 3 finished in upsets.  UCLA, who defeated Michigan State in a "play-in" game on Thursday night, continued their hot run defeating BYU, and Abilene Christian defeated Texas 53-52.  So, what looked like was going to be a slow day regarding upsets, gave our pool 3 upsets, and lots of bonus points.

A good amount of entrants selected UCLA, and Ohio had its proponents as well, with both earning some guarantees.  But it was the Abilene Christian choice that was the sparsest, and thus, kudos to Justin Yung of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Colonel Kareem Montague of the DC Metropolitan Area, Braeden Helland of Jacksonville, Florida and Max Macon 2 of Jupiter, Florida for selecting Abilene Christian over Texas.  But, you did not have the prescience to gurantee that pick, like Ty Leatherman of Wilmington, North Carolina and Ken Ward of West Palm Beach, Florida.  Ty and Ken, you have earned the "Pick of the Day."

But, the "Bracket of the Day" has to go to long-time player Karen Katz of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, as she selected Ohio, UCLA, AND Abilene Christian.  Great work Karen.

And since Karen Katz has participated numerous years in this tournament pool, that reminds me that despite the no-contest defeat yesterday, Virginia Commonwealth has participated many years in the NCAA Tournament.  So, today's history lesson is just that, Virginia Commonwealth.

VCU first played in the NCAA Tournament in 1980, losing as a 12 seed to Iowa.  However, returning most of its players the next year, VCU earned a 5 seed, and defeated 12 seed Long Island, before falling to Tennessee 58-56 in overitme.  After missing the tournament in 1982, the Rams continued their run by winning 1 game in 1983, 1984, and 1985 as a 5, 6, and 2 seed respectively.  VCU had a long hiatus until 1996, when it returned as a 12 seed only to lose to Mississippi State 58-51.   Another hiatus followed before VCU returned in 2004, losing by 1 to Wake Forest as a 13th seed.

But, it was the 2005 Rams team that put VCU on the map.  VCU, the 11 seed, played 6 seeded Duke, who should have been known they were in trouble from the day the matchup was announced.  The CBS cameras were at VCU, and when the game was announced, point guard Eric Maynor jumped out of his chair and started clapping, ecstatic with the matchup.  And boy, did Maynor deliver.  Maynor and his teammates overwhelmed Duke with their athleticism, and Maynor scored 22 points, including a jumper with 1.8 seconds left to secure the win 79-77,  Maynor scored 6 of his points in the last 1:24.  VCU then fell in overtime 84-79 to Pittsburgh.  Eric Gaynor went on to be a first round draft pick of the Utah Jazz and spent 7 years in the NBA, before playing 5 professional seasons overseas.  He still possesses the VCU scoring and assist records.

Given Virginia's loss, I initially thought that my tournament history segment was going to be based upon defending champions losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but that has happened more times than I thought, and more recently than I thought.  And besides, how can I pass up a chance to take a shot at Duke.

Stats of the Day

1.  Ohio's defeat of Virginia was Ohio's fourth NCAA Tournament win as 13 seed or higher.  That is tied for the most ever with Richmond.

2.  I know, this isn't really a stat, but it is fascinating.  UCLA defeated BYU in Hinkle Fieldhouse, which is a court on which former UCLA great - and basketball Hall of Famer - John Wooden played some of his high school games.

Players of the Day

5.  Tanner Groves - Eastern Washington.  Although Eastern Washington lost to Kansas, Tanner Groves scored 35 points, the most in a game so far in this tournament.

4.  Joe Pleasant - Abilene Christian.  Pleasant scored 11 points and 8 rebounds.  A very nice game, but Pleasant is here because he hit 2 free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to secure Abilene Christian's 53-52 win over Texas.  Pleasant is a 58% free throw shooter for the season.

3.  Ben Vander Plas - Ohio.  Vander Plas scored 17 points, had 5 rebounds and 4 assist as Ohio defeated Virginia.  Although not a lot of points, Vander Plas did score 10 points in a 4 minute span that saw Ohio go from 1 down to 7 up late in the second half.  The fact that his father was teammates at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with Virginia coach Tony Bennett, and in fact that he is named after Bennett (Bennet Vander Plas) is his full name, just adds to the story.

2.  Covid-19 - Independent.  Defeated Virginia Commonwealth in a walkover.

1.  Johnny Juzang - UCLA.  Juzang, a Kentucky transfer and brother of Harvard player Christian Juzang, scored 27 points on 10-16 shooting, including 3-7 from three-point range, as UCLA defeated higher ranked Brigham Young University, coached by Kentucky legend and 1996 National Champion Mark Pope.  And, if you didn't think I could somehow make this tournament about Kentucky despite its absence, you don't know me well enough.

Best Social Media Posts

1.  Truthfully, I didn't pay much attention to social media while watching yesterday's game.  The golf torunament can be a little tiring.  But, Virginia's loss made me re-visit UMBC's twitter feed from during that 1-16 matchup in 2018.  One of the best twitter runs in history, right up there with the Wendy's twitter roast from earlier this year.  It all started with Seth Davis, the basketball analyst from CBS, tweeted out "Virginia.  Sharpie."  at the start of the game.  Go check it out @UMBCAthletics.

Now, on to the standings.  As always, let me know if you think I made an error in calculations on your bracket.  I will be happy to go back and revisit.  Remember, points double for today's games.  First up is Illinois versus Loyola-Chicago.  Here we go ...

1.  Jeff Plamondon - 49

2.  Silas Nichols 2 - 48

3.  Silas Nichols 1 - 45

4.  Steven Usma 4 - 43

     Ashley Poer 1 - 43

6.  Brent Bellinger II - 41

     Kingfish Parham - 41

8.  William Pujals - 40

     Steven Usma 1 - 40

10.  Chris Igtiben 1 - 39

       Justin Yung - 39

12.  Brent Bellinger 1 - 38

       Dave Marzouca 1 - 38

14.  Liz Carew - 37

       Karen Katz - 37

       Katie Kollmeyer - 37

       Max Macon 4 - 37

       George Walks 2 - 37

19.  Ty Leatherman - 36

       Colonel Kareem Montague - 36

       Amanda Staudt - 36

22.  Larry Green - 35

       Nancy McInerney - 35

       Carey Taylor - 35

       Day Yi 1 - 35

26.  Brandon Satterwhite - 34

       Pepe Sosa - 34

28.  Jacey Fowler-Reynolds I - 33

       Colleen Hamilton 4 - 33

       Stephanie Henderson - 33

       Edy Pecan - 33

       Steven Usma 2 - 33

       Ken Ward - 33

       Measha Williams 4 - 33

35.  Scott Bieterman - 32

       Braeden Helland - 32

       Arlene Amo Hopps - 32

       Matt Hopps - 32

       Chris Igtiben 2 - 32

       Eric Inge - 32

       Dan Laishley - 32

       Steven Usma 3 - 32

       George Walks 3 - 32

       Measha Williams 2 - 32

       Measha Williams 3 - 32

46.  Skip Laforte - 31

       Max Macon 2 - 31

       Rich Samuels 1 - 31

       Amy Zdrowak - 31

       Katie Zdrowak - 31

51.  Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 2 - 30

       Sasha Moon - 30

       Brittany Sosa - 30

       Jonathan Wasserman - 30

       Keith Zdrowak - 30

56.  Braeden Helland 1 - 29

       Braeden Helland 2 - 29

       Guy Hughes - 29

       Max Macon 1 - 29

       Cheryl Spuhler - 29

61.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 28

       Adam Jorgensen 1 - 28

       Ashley Poer 3 - 28

       Rich Samuels 2 - 28

65.  Jenna Finkelstein - 27

       Kyle Hnderson 1 - 27

       Adam Jorgensen 2 - 27

       Adam Jorgensen 3 - 27

       Kisha Marzouca 2 - 27

       Joshua Ward - 27

71.  Paul Cummings - 26

       Carolyn Fowler - 26

       Colleen Hamilton 2 - 26

       Braden Helland 4 - 26

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 26

       Javier Rodriguez - 26

       Jason Spuhler - 26

78.  Martha Kroesen - 25

       George Walks 1 - 25

       Day Yi - 2 - 25

81.  Rachel Bornn - 24

       Colleen Hamilton 1 - 24

       Colleen Hamilton 3 - 24

       Emily Lawson 2 - 24

       Jane Reynolds - 24

       Hannah Sosa - 24

       Jeremy Spuhler - 24

88.  Marcus Jackson - 23

       Mac Kroesen - 23

       Dave Marzouca - 23

       Michael McNally - 23

       George Walks 4 - 23

93.  Alvaro Gonzalez - 22

       Rich Samuels 3 - 22

95.  Dan Barsky 1 - 21

       Quinn Jackson - 21

       Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan - 21

       Chris Laforte - 21

       Ashley Poer 2 - 21

       Wes Wiggins - 21

       Joshua Zdrowak - 21

102.  Luis Briones - 20

         James Garvin - 20

         Miles Jackson - 20

         Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan - 20

         Max Macon 3 - 20

         Barkley Sosa - 20

         Measha Williams - 20

109.  Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 19

         Greg Lieberman - 19

         Sean McInerney - 19

         Brian McMahon - 19

         Jessica Samuels - 19

114.  Brian Hinaman - 18

         Blake Jackson - 18

         Emily Lawson 1 - 18

117.  Dan Barsky 2 - 17

         Bubba Zdrowak - 17

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 17

120.  Justin Hallack - 16

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 Tournament Begins

As the tournament commences, I am placing the three brackets from my household on this site prior to the tip-off of Game 1.  This way, the entire pool has access to those picks so that the entire pool can be assured that I am not cheating in favor of anyone in my household.  Please note that you may see other "Sosa"s in the standings, or other family members, but as they do not live in my household, I do not want them to win.  Imagine someone in your family winning a pool that you host.  Yeah, its like that.  So here are the entries for Barkley Sosa, Hannah Sosa, and Pepe Sosa.

 

Hoops There It Is

It appears that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are indeed going to be held in 2021, and one of the more popular events is always Men's Basketball.   However, Team USA is at a crossroads as some of our superstars and Olympic heroes from recent past are aging or retired (LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul), and the SARS-CoV-2 virus caused a condensed 2019-2020 schedule that finished on October 11, which in turn caused the 2020-2021 season to start late and itself be condensed.  This will likely force a lot of usual players from being available to USA Basketball for these Olympics due to injury, or just fatigue caused by the condensed schedule and the playoff schedules.

Plus, there are a number of young stars in the NBA that are just waiting their turn put on the USA uniform and line up to win medals for love of country in the present, and into the future.

So, given that a number of stars will be unavailable, what could a possible team look like?  Well, here is one man's projections, from start of training camp through successive cut-downs until we reach a squad of 12.  This is not predictions, as injuries and a late playoff run could keep some of these players from playing in the Olympics.  Also, some big names like Lebron, Durant, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the like will likely not accept invitations, paving way for a big new wave of Olympians.

As the roster requires 12, and only 12, players, the team will be made up of 3 point guards, 5 swings and 4 bigs.  Giving the state of the game today, I emphasize the swings more as 3 swings could play at a time (with a larger wing playing the 4 - think Carmelo Anthony in his Olympic stints), and a big man game is essentially being phased out.

ROSTER INVITEES

Point Guards (19)

LaMelo Ball - Charlotte Hornets

Patrick Beverly - Los Angeles Clippers

Mike Conley - Utah Jazz

De'Aaron Fox - Sacramento Kings

Darius Garland - Cleveland Cavaliers

Tyler Herro - Miami Heat

Jrue Holiday - Milwaukee Bucks

Damian Lillard - Portland TrailBlazers

Kyle Lowry - Tortonto Raptors
Donovan Mitchell - Utah Jazz

Ja Morant - Memphis Grizzlies

Immanuel Quickly - New York Knicks

Terry Rozier - Charlotte Hornets

DeAngelo Russell - Minnesota Timberwolves

Fred van Vleet - Toronto Raptors

John Wall - Houston Rockets

Colby White - Chicago Bulls

Lou Williams - Los Angeles Clippers

Trae Young - Atlanta Hawks

Wings (29)

Bradley Beal - Washington Wizards

Devin Booker - Phoenix Suns

Malcolm Brogdon - Indianapolis Pacers

Jaylen Brown - Boston Celtics

Jimmy Butler - Miami Heat

Jordan Clarkson - Utah Jazz

Seth Curry - Philadelphia 76ers

Demar DeRozan - San Antonio Spurs

Hamidou Diallo - Oklahoma City Thunder

Anthony Edwards - Minnesota Timberwolves

Paul George - Los Angeles Clippers

Jerami Grant - Detroit Pistons

Gary Harris - Denver Nuggets

Joe Harris - Brooklyn Nets

Tobias Harris - Philadelphia 76ers

Joe Ingles - Utah Jazz

Brandon Ingram - New Orleans Pelicans

Keldon Johnson - San Antonio Spurs

Kyle Kuzma - Los Angeles Lakers

Caris LaVert - Indianapolis Pacers

Zach LaVine - Chicago Bulls

C.J. McCollum - Portland TrailBlazers

Khris Middleton - Milwaukee Bucks

Dejounte Murray - San Antonio Spurs

Michael Porter, Jr. - Denver Nuggets

J.J. Reddick - New Orleans Pelicans

Landry Shamet - Brooklyn Nets

Collin Sexton - Cleveland Cavaliers

Jayson Tatum - Boston Celtics

Bigs (18)

Bam Adebayo - Miami Heat

De'Andre Ayton - Phoenix Suns

Jarret Allen - Cleveland Cavaliers

Willie Cauley-Stein - Dallas Mavericks

John Collins - Atlanta Hawks

JaMychel Green - Denver Nuggets

Montrezl Harrell - Los Angeles Lakers

Justin Jackson - Oklahoma City Thunder

Nerlens Noel - New York Knicks

Mason Plumlee - Detroit Pistons

Julius Randle - New York Knicks

Mitchell Robinson - New York Knicks

Karl-Anthony Towns - Minnesota Timberwolves

Myles Turner - Indianapolis Pacers

P.J. Washington - Charlotte Hornets

Zion Williamson - New Orleans Pelicans

James Wiseman - Golden State Warriors

Christian Wood - Houston Rockets

Now, there are a lot of people invited to camp, because we need to see some people perform.  Point guards will have to get better playing against Patrick Beverly's defense for example.  And we need big bodies to bang underneath against each other, in addition to performing their normal "stretch-4" role.  Given my earlier parameters, Paul George is likely the biggest surprise, but given his injury playing for USA Basketball in 2014, and limited minutes and effectiveness in 2016, he would likely try to give it one more go.  Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan are two other returning members from the team that won gold in 2016.

FIRST CUTS

We have our first set of cuts, so we are down from 66 players down to 32 players.  Most of these cuts were pretty obvious, but - as you may expect - they only get harder from here on out.  Some interesting positional battles are already shaping up.

Point Guards (10)

LaMelo Ball - Charlotte Hornets

Mike Conley - Utah Jazz

De'Aaron Fox - Sacramento Kings

Damian Lillard - Portland TrailBlazers

Kyle Lowry - Toronto Raptors

Donovan Mitchell - Utah Jazz

Ja Morant - Memphis Grizzlies

Fred van Vleet - Toronto Raptors

Lou Williams - Los Angeles Clippers

Trae Young - Atlanta Hawks

Nothing too shocking here.  Terry Rozier could have added some extra toughness at the position, at least through camp, with a bit more offensive game than Patrick Beverly.  John Wall likely decides to save himself for the regular season.  Tyler Herro is the interesting one, because he has been playing a lot of point and off-guard for the Heat, and is a deadly shooter when hot.  But, he just isn't on this level, at least not yet.

Wings (12)

Bradley Beal - Washington Wizards

Devin Booker - Phoenix Suns

Malcolm Brogdon - Indiana Pacers

Jaylen Brown - Boston Celtics

Jimmy Butler - Miami Heat

Joe Harris - Brooklyn Nets

Jerami Grant - Detroit Pistons

Brandon Ingram - New Orleans Pelicans

Zach LaVine - Chicago Bulls

Khris Middleton - Milwaukee Bucks

Michael Porter, Jr. - Denver Nuggets

Jayson Tatum - Bosston Celtics

No real surprises as to the cuts.  Joe Harris is still here because he is deadly from deep, especially when he is left open because of surrounding talent on the offensive end.  Just watch Brooklyn play to see that.  Jerami Grant has been awesome this year.  Michael Porter, Jr. is scary, because he will always be under-noticed with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in Denver, but his offensive skill set is scary with his length.  If and when he puts it together on defense, watch out.

Bigs (10)

Bam Adebayo - Miami  Heat

Jarrett Allen - Clevelan Cavaliers

John Collins - Atlanta Hawks

Montrezl Harrell - Los Angeles Lakers

Julius Randle - New York Knicks

Mitchell Robinson - New York Knicks

Karl-Anthony Towns - Minnesota Timberwolves

Myles Turner - Indiana Pacers

Zion Williamson - New Orleans Pelicans

Christian Wood - Houston Rockets

De'Andre Ayton and James Wiseman may have their days, but not quite yet.  Montrezl Harrell is still around because the other bigs hate it when Harrell guards them.

SECOND ROUND OF CUTS

This might be the last round of "easy" cuts, meaning that those remaining all will have a serious chance of making the team, and that talent will not be the only factor from here on out, but also, teamwork, spacing, and bringing a specialized skill to the table will also be evaluated.  We go from 32 to 25 at this phase, but most of the wings remain.

Point Guards (7)

LaMelo Ball

De'Aaron Fox

Damian Lillard

Donovan Mitchell

Ja Morant

Lou Williams

Trae Young

Gone from this round of cuts are the Toronto two-some, Lowry and van Vleet and Mike Conley from the Jazz.  Lowry has been there before, but just doesn't have the same speed and long-distance shooting ability of Lillard, Mitchell or Williams and van Vleet, although playing the best ball of his life, doesn't quite make it.

Wings (10)

Bradley Beal

Devin Booker

Jaylen Brown 

Jimmy Butler

Jerami Grant

Joe Harris

Brandon Ingram

Zach LaVine

Michael Porter, Jr.

Jayson Tatum

Brogdon and Middleton are gone, not because they cannot play, but look at the talent assembled here, as neither are the shooters that Booker and Harris are, or the scorers that Beal and Ingram are, or the overall player Butler is.  Once again Porter, Jr. gets through because his length could allow him to be a capable international stretch-4.

Bigs (7)

Bam Adebayo

Jarrett Allen

Julius Randle

Karl-Anthony Towns

Myles Turner

Zion Williamson

Christian Wood

We say goodbye to Mitchell Robinson, John Collins and Montrezl Harrell at this juncture.  Collins is the hardest to cut, but at 6'9" he plays more of a wing than say Bam Adebayo's 6'9".

Two more rounds of cuts to go.

PENULTIMATE CUTS

The team will largely round into shape here, with basically everyone that remains after this round of cuts a legitimate shot to make the team.  

Point Guards (5)

De'Aaron Fox

Damian Lillard

Donovan Mitchell

Trae Young

Lou Williams

We say goodby to Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball here, but I expect them to be on many Team USAs in the future.  Morant just doesn't have that one absolute skill better than the other point guards and Ball is just too inexperienced.  Williams has a shot to do exactly what he always does, be a high volume scorer off the bench in limited minutes.

Wings (7)

Bradley Beal

Devin Booker

Jaylen Brown

Jimmy Butler

Joe Harris

Brandon Ingram

Jayson Tatum

At this juncture we cut Zach LaVine, Jerami Grant and Michael Porter, Jr., with LaVine the most likely of those three to have remained.  LaVine, although coming into his own as a scorer and an athletic monster, just doesn't bring enough to the table.  Harris has pure shooter potential of making this roster, so he stays instead of LaVine.

Bigs (5)

Bam Adebayo

Julius Randle

Myles Turner

Zion Williamson

Christian Wood

Jarrett Allen just isn't in the same class as these bigs, and although Karl-Anthony Towns is as talented as any big in the world, his seems to still be suffering from the effects of Covid-19, and as such, would be better served by sitting out these Olympics and getting fully healthy for the 2021-2022 season.

OLYMPICS TEAM - TOKYO 2020 (2O21)

Point Guards (3)

De'Aaron Fox

Damian Lillard

Donovan Mitchell

Lillard and Mitchell really seem to be the class of the point guards at camp, and easily make the squad.  De'Aaron Fox makes it over Trae Young because he is more of a traditional point guard, and has better on-the-ball defense than Young.  Fox also could run the point with either Lillard or Mitchell sliding over to the 2-spot on occasion if Greg Popovich so chooses.  Plus, we have plenty of shooting on this team on the wings, and with Lillard.  Lillard is named one of the team's two co-captains.

Wings (5)

Bradley Beal

Devin Booker

Jaylen Brown

Jimmy Butler

Jayson Tatum

Harris and Ingram are cut here, and the Ingram cut was the toughest of all.  But, Beal is one of the best scorers in the NBA, and Beal and Booker can shoot with the best of them.  Butler is one of the best all around players, could guard the likes of Doncic and Antetokounpo in the medal rounds, plus, he would be the go to guy whenever the team is in a rut and absolutely needs a shot or free throws.  He is also the co-captain of the team.  Tatum is a likely starter, alongside Beal or Butler, and could slide to the 4 when necessary.  Jaylen Brown is the tough one, but his shooting has vastly improved, and he is just as important to the Celtics as Tatum is.  Plus, they are used to playing with each other which is a bonus.

Bigs (4)

Bam Adebayo

Myles Turner

Zion Williamson

Christian Wood

We lose Julius Randle at this juncture, but he just doesn't give the energy and athleticism of Christian Wood, who is also playing phenomenally.  No big is playing a better overall game than Adebayo, who also happens to defend the pick-and-roll better than any big in the world.  He can also guard the likes of Antetokounpo for streatches.  Myles Turner is quietly one of the best bigs in the league and we certainly cannot miss the opportunity of Zion Williamson terrorizing Olympic rims.

So, there you have it.  Our projected Olympic 12.  "U-S-A!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!!!

Picks of the Week - Super Bowl Sunday

 

It is Super Bowl Sunday, and that means only one game to pick.  But, it also means absolutely ridiculous prop bets!!!  Trying to finish this season strong by betting on far-and-away the best team in the NFL this year.  Too bad Tampa deprived us of the matchup we all wanted to see - Kansas City versus Green Bay.  But, that is why they actually play the playoff games.

As always, any late breaking Covid cancellations will not count, and if some games are moved to Monday or Tuesday, I suppose I will revise as necessary, depending upon who is out with the Covid.  I feel like right now we know a lot of things, but given the craziness of the week, I suppose more could happen.

For those that are new to this site, I will select every game against the spread.  I will be selecting one big bet at $250 per, whereas everything else will be $100.  Winners count as winners, whereasv, losses will be calculated including a 10% vig to make the math that much simpler.  On to the picks.  Although, given that it is the Super Bowl, I might pick one regular bet and one prop bet as my "Big Bet".  Who knows, we could go crazy today!

Kansas City Chiefs -3 v. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Chiefs are the best team this year.  easily.  They did play Tampa in the regular season and won 27-24, but that game was not even that close.  Kansas City destroyed them.  Does KC's loss of Eric Fisher concern me?  Yes.  Does Patrick Mahomes' turf toe concern me?  Not as much as we saw Mahomes perform with the turf toe to the tune of 29-38 for 325 yards and 3 TDs.  Does LAurent Duvernay-Tardif opting-out of this season concern me?  Absolutely not because that mad opted out to put his medical degree and knowledge to help out at health care facilities in his hometown.  That is a man.  What should be concerning to Tampa is that they have the 21st ranked passsing defense.  Kansas City also has a 21st ranked defense, but it is against the run and Tampa doesn't run particularly well (T-28th in the NFL).

Kansas City -150 Money Line over Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Bet $150 to win $100)

Ordinarily I would stay away from this line, as Tampa Bay is offering a better play, but being required to pick using the money line, I might as well select the team I believe will win the game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs OVER 56

I think that we could be at this over in 3 quarters.

National Anthem Length UNDER 130 seconds

Yes, most lines had this at 120 minutes exactly, except a reporter timed a practice singing and reporter 2:16.  Since then, most sites have upped the Over/Under - or taken it off the board.  I think it will still be under the adjusted time frame.

Second Quarter Total Points OVER Serie A Goals Today

Five games today, so I feel like 2 touchdowns could cover it.

LaMelo Ball Total Points OVER Total Kickoffs

Ball averages 13.6 points per game, so that would mean, excluding opening and third quarter kickoffs, I would need six scores each to hit the over from Ball's average.  But, he has scored over 22 in 3 of his last 4 games, and the Hornets play at the awful Wizards, so I will take Ball for about 20 points and win this bet.

Travis Kelce Receptions OVER Cincinnati Bearcats Made 3-Pointers

Cincinnati averages 6 made 3-pointers a game, which means even if they go over their average by 50% I have a legitimate shot at this number.  But, if they have a horrible shooting game and go under .... I'll take that bet.

Antonio Brown Total Yards OVER NHL Total Goals

This was a crapshoot, but I feel if Brown, as the third receiver is going to be open.  Plus, only 25 ot 30 yards gets me this one thanks to some Covid cancellations.

Andy Reid throws in the Punt, Pass, and Kick Contest win he was 13 OVER 1/2

This will be shown a couple of times, I am sure of it.

Big Bet

Kansas City Chiefs -3 v. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Chiefs are the best team this year.  easily.  They did play Tampa in the regular season and won 27-24, but that game was not even that close.  Kansas City destroyed them.  Does KC's loss of Eric Fisher concern me?  Yes.  Does Patrick Mahomes' turf toe concern me?  Not as much as we saw Mahomes perform with the turf toe to the tune of 29-38 for 325 yards and 3 TDs.  Does LAurent Duvernay-Tardif opting-out of this season concern me?  Absolutely not because that mad opted out to put his medical degree and knowledge to help out at health care facilities in his hometown.  That is a man.  What should be concerning to Tampa is that they have the 21st ranked passsing defense.  Kansas City also has a 21st ranked defense, but it is against the run and Tampa doesn't run particularly well (T-28th in the NFL).

Including playoffs, Andy Reid is 24-6 when playing after an extra week of rest (bye week or off week in playoffs).  24-6.  That is an 80% winning percentage.  Dude Can Coach.

Big Prop Bet

Antonio Brown Total Yards OVER NHL Total Goals

This was a crapshoot, but I feel if Brown, as the third receiver is going to be open.  Plus, only 25 ot 30 yards gets me this one thanks to some Covid cancellations.

His development over the second half of the season has been the difference between being in the Super Bowl and being beaten by the Chicago Bears.

Last Week's Record: 3-3

Last Week's Big Bet:  0-1
Playoffs Record:  9-10-1

Year-to-Date Record:  136-136-6

Big Bet Year-to-Date:  9-11
Last Week's Winnings (Losses): ($270)

Playoffs Winnings (Losses):  ($140)

Year-to-Date's Winnings (Losses): ($1265)