Welcome to the 2004 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament
Final Results.... are now posted.
UConn...t Beat them!
UConn...vincible!
UConn...tastic!
Avenging an early season loss, UConn rolled over the Ramblin Wreck in a yawner. Alot of people were talking about the dominance displayed by the Huskies, and while I don't want to take anything away from their accomplishment, I'm not sure that Tech just wasn't happy to be there. They certainly didn't appear (from my lounge chair) to bring their "A" game, and that allowed the Huskies to play loose, which helped them look that much more dominant. I think the 4 for 11 free throw performance in the first half (MANY of those misses the front of 1 and 1's, pretty much sealed the deal for Tech. If they make half the the freebies they blew, it's a 7 or 8 point game at halftime instead of 15, and the 2nd half has a different complexion. In the end though, it probably wouldn't have made a difference, except in the score, as UConn was able to completely control the paint with their big men.
Winner's Summary
Champion: SBB aka "The Green Ranger" - at one point, "The Green Ranger" was tied for 43rd!
2nd Place: jam n john
2nd Chance Winner: CoachK-2nd
2nd Round Leader: tie (BearHen, JustTheFavorites)
1st Round Leader: UCONNBob
Thanks to everyone for playing. Hope y'all had fun... even if you didn't win.
Semi-Finals
In the National Semi-Finals, Georgia Tech was the first to join the party holding off a late surge from the Oklahoma State. Ga. Tech continued the string of teams winning the quaterfinal game in OT then continuing to win the semi-final... all this with BJ Elder still hobbled and posting 2 points. For 35 minutes it appeared that the Yellow Jackets were firmly in control, but OK St. rallied late, and only a last second shot by Will Bynum extended the season for Tech. They get to face a team they beat earlier in the year as UConn staged a furious comback to upend the Dukies. The Huskies shut down Duke over the last 4 minutes scoring 12 straight points to post the win. Duke, which had led for most of the game after Emeka Okafor was hit with two early fouls, appeared to have a stranglehold on the game, up 75-67. UConn continued to pound the ball inside with Okafor, fouling out all 3 of the Blue Devils centers and leaving no one capable of stopping him.
The Tech / UConn final leaves us with no suspense as far as the pool goes. The top five positions remain unchanged regardless of who wins. The "Green Ranger" is our big winner. Amazingly she correctly predicted the Ga Tech / UConn final, and for that she will be justly rewarded. jam n john will cruise home in 2nd, and jfsemmer is locked in to show. While not making the top 5, Supeaux also correctly predicted Tech to play on Monday.
QUARTERFINALS
Be sure to check out the "Player Scenarios" report (link below) to see what you best and worst finish can be and who YOU should be rooting for! "jam n john" and "Little Z" have come from no where to surge to a tie for first place. jfsemmer and bsjack have also worked their way up the leader board into a tie for 3rd.
In the round of 8, you can complain about the results, but you can't complain about the level of competition and excitement. UConn continued to roll, but St. Joe's dream season came to an abrupt end short of the goal, much like Nelson's last second shot to tie the game at the buzzer. On Sunday, Ga Tech, continuing to play close games outlasted Kansas in overtime in somewhat of an upset. Not only were they without their top scorer, BJ Elder, but they had to play Kansas nearly at home. Duke had it's hands full for 40 minutes barely outlasting a game Xavier squad that had already dispatched the 2nd and 3rd seeded teams. Duke became the only number 1 seed to make the Final Four, and are returning to the Semi's for the 14th time.
The Atlantic 10 (NOT one of the so called "Power" conferences!) had a 2nd team punch it's ticket to the Elite 8. This is the first time in conference history that the A-10 has had two teams make it this far. The Xavier Musketeers, now riding a nine game winning streak defeated 3rd seeded Texas after dispatching 2nd seeded Mississippi St. last weekend. They held the lead throughout most of the second half, but were never really able to put the Longhorns away. It was 72-71 with under a minute to play. Free throws and a double-technical foul on the Texas coach resulted in the final score. Thumbs up to Big Al, jill and stinger1 who foresaw the Musketeers surprise run. Xavier will face Duke who held off a game Illini team.
In the St. Louis bracket, Kansas rolled over UAB in the early game. The Jayhawks shot an impressive 53% from the field (40% from behind the arc) against the "40 minutes of hell" defense. Congrats to Pokey and stinger1 who picked the Jayhawks to make the Elite 8! In the second game, it seemed like everytime I noted the score, the lead had been changed. When it was all over however, Nevada found that the glass slipper DID NOT in fact fit as Ga. Tech held off the Wolf Pack.
The King is dead! Long live the King!
Last years surprise champions, Syracuse Orangemen were eliminated last night by this years Cinderalla team, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama bombed the Orangemen from outside going 8 of 15 from 3 point land in the first half. In the 2nd half, the Tide got roughed up on the inside with Chuck Davis who put in 17 over the final 20 minutes. Pokey gets all the honor for being the only participant to select Alabama to make the Elite 8.... WAY TO GO!
Connecticut cruised, as did Oklahoma St. after putting together a late 17 - 5 run that put the Panthers away.
Probably the most entertaining game of the night was St. Joe's and Wake Forest. Falling behind early, the Hawk fought back and then traded the lead back and forth through the first half. Wake went into the break with a one point advantage. St. Joe's came out in the second half and seemed to have control of the game for most of the 2nd half. In the last minute, the Demon Deacons got as close as 2. Nelson made 1 of 2 and West (Martha Spenser's husbands nephew!) made 2 of 2 free throws to close it out. "The Hawk will never die". And I guess Billy Packer got crow for dessert.
Congrats to BearHen and JustTheFavorites who share the 2nd Round prize for most points after the 2nd round.
Congrats to UCONNBob who wins the first round prize with an amazing 29 of 32 correct picks. Hey Bob... got any thoughts on the lottery?
|
|
