Our 2023 Conference Tournament Champion: Heffron (Pool Closing & Payouts)

Congratulation to Heffron for winning the 2023 conference tournament pool, without needing to use any tiebreakers! 19 points and a 53.1% accuracy is impressive. The top 4 were all at or above a 50% accuracy. 🏆

Below are the final standings:

1. Heffron (19 points)
2. Tom Eskew (18 points + Won SEC score tiebreaker)
3. Napervillains (18 Points + Lost SEC score tibreaker)
4. Rory & Webb (17 points)

Now for the fun part, the payouts. The screenshot below shows how much money everyone is owed and you can open the standings located here (or use the attached spreadsheets if you're reading the e-mail) to see the detailed breakdown. Please reach out to me and confirm how you would like to be paid out. I'm happy to see that almost half of the pool has some sort of payout coming to them. Hoping everyone had fun and can't wait to do it again next season! 💰

Selection Sunday 2023!

Happy Selection Sunday! We have reached the last day of our conference tournament pool and we have 5 games remaining. 7 people are jockeying for the top 4 spots, which is a bit less than previous years, but we should still have an excising finish to the pool. Although the "Bonus Point" and "Lowest Winning Seed" pot of money is wrapped up, many people are still in the running for the "Power Conference" pot of money, and everyone is alive for the "Closest to the SEC Score" bonus money. This will be our last preview of conference tournament games. 🏀

Ivy League

We begin today at 11:00 AM CST in the Ivy League with (1) Yale vs. (2) Princeton and this is a critical game for Heffron. He is surrounded by Yale picks, so a Princeton win sends him to 1st and a loss sends him to 5th. Yale is a 3.5 favorite, but we know how this works, the spread is not an indicator if a team is going to win or lose. 🐯

SEC

At noon CST we have (1) Alabama vs. (2) Texas A&M in a game with literally no impact to the pool standings. An Alabama win could make the 4th place fight interesting, but nothing worth covering here. However, this is the game where the person that is closest or gets the total points accurate wins $50. The Vegas total is 145 points which is our pools average. We have a bunch of handicappers participating in the pool! 💰

Atlantic 10

In our 3rd all chalk matchup of the day (1) VCU plays (2) Dayton in the Atlantic 10 championship today at noon CST. VCU is favored by 2.5 points and 1st place is looking attainable. 💥

American Athletic 

At 2:15 PM CST, you guessed it, we have another chalk matchup between the best team in the country (1) Houston and (2) Memphis. This game is totally meaningless to our pool as anyone that is remaining, 80% of us, has Houston. Literally nothing else to cover with this game. 😒

Big Ten

Finally, at 2:30 PM CST today, we have our last conference tournament game as "Cinderella" (10) Penn State takes on (1) Purdue in the B1G. This game could have significant meaning to the final standings depending on how the previous games finish. 4 of the top 10 are already eliminated in this conference which could mean a Purdue win allows people to leapfrog into 1st place. I am very excited to watch this game and I hope the ending comes down to a buzzer beater. 🏀

Our last preview of conference tournament games is now complete, let's review how the rest of today is going to work. As each game ends, I will update and post the latest standings, if it warrants a blog entry, I will post one. The current standings are located here and are completely updated, hang on to the link. If the games are not breaking in a way that are exciting, or if I am busy, the next blog entry you'll see is the final standings. I had a blast every night (and afternoon) group watching games with Tim, Whit, DD, Chris, Andrew, and a bunch of others, and now we prepare for Vegas! Thank you for participating in the pool and I'll leave you with the AQ list. 😀

Saturday Wrap Up: UC Santa Barbara, UCLA and Southern Utah Win

We made it through Saturday and the night wrapped up with two-seed UC Santa Barbara beating four-seed CS Fullerton in the Big West, two-seed Arizona winning a thriller against one-seed UCLA in the PAC 12 and in the WAC five-seed Grand Canyon destroyed three-seed Southern Utah. We are down to our last 5 conference tournament championship games scheduled to take place Sunday before 5:00 PM CST. It's hard to believe we are at the end of our 2 weeks of conference tournaments. 

                    

The current standings are located here and are updated through all Saturday games. We did not see any change to the standings since our last analysis. Tom and Napervillains are still tied across every metric, Heffron is holding on to 3rd place and Rory & Webb are in 4th place. In sadder news, if you have been eliminated from being able to finish in the top 4 your name has been grayed out, sorry. In better news, every single person in the pool is still alive Sunday to potentially win a bonus pot of money! Tomorrow morning, I will post a blog entry with the Selection Sunday preview.

10 of 13 Saturday Tickets Punched Including A 14-20 Texas Southern Team

We have had an amazing evening of college basketball conference tournament championship games and we still have 3 games remaining tonight. Excluding the one seeds, a few highlights include a 14-20 eight-seed Texas Southern winning the SWAC, two-seed Texas beating Kansas for the Big 12 championship and two-seed Kent State took out a really good Toledo team in the MAC. Finally, in the ACC, four-seed Duke beat two-seed Virginia spewing out bonus points all over the pool. 💰

The current standings are located here and are updated through the Duke/Virginia game. Tom and Napervillians are in a dead heat with the same number of points, same ccuracy and same Max Points. Heffron rounds out 3rd place with the same number points as Tom and Napervillians, same Max Points, but lower accuracy. And coming out of absolutely nowhere is the amazing duo of Rory and Webb! Let's finish the night strong! 👊

Vermont and Howard are Going Dancing

Early Saturday afternoon gave us two more teams punching tickets to the NCAA tournament that starts in 3 days! Starting in the America East, as expected one-seed Vermont cruised to an easy victory over two-seed UMass-Lowell. Heffron ended up as the biggest loser on this game as he was riding UMass-Lowell, overall, not much change to the standings with this one. In the MEAC we had a wild finish as three-seed Norfolk State had a bad late turnover that allowed one-seed Howard to win the game. The turn of events that led to a Howard victory was devastating to everyone in the pool that picked Norfolk State.

In pool related non-championship games this afternoon we watched (4) Saint Louis lose to (1) VCU and (3) Fordham lose to (2) Dayton in the Atlantic 10, (3) Penn lost to (2) Princeton in an Ivy League semifinals battle and (4) Cincinnati got crushed by (1) Houston in the American Athletic conference. For those that don't follow college basketball super close, it was a fantastic season by Fordham. Finally, in the Big Ten, the hottest team right now (10) Penn State beat up on (3) Indiana, a popular pick in our pool.

 

 

The current standings are located here and updated through the afternoon games to ensure we're caught up as the next 11 championship games start to tip off. A few reminders as many people start to fall out of contention, you're not out of it yet and have a reason to watch these games. We reward a $150 bonus for those that have the most Power 5 Conference points, most Bonus Points and Lowest Winning Seed. Tomorrow, we reward $50 for the person closest to the SEC game total. Sit back, relax, and enjoy these games regardless of where you are in the standings. We have Selection Sunday tomorrow and the tournament in a few days, plenty to be excited about! 😁

Selection Sunday Eve: 13 Conference Tournament Championship Games

This is going to be a massive preview of the remaining 11 conference tournament championship games, but we still have plenty of other basketball to be played in semifinals games, and finally the Ivy League tipped off this morning.  In total, we have 13 conference tournament championship games today. I'll preview these championship games in order of tip off. and we will have significant changes in the pool standings after today is over. It will be  clear who the contenders are going to be into Selection Sunday. 🏀

SWAC

At 4:30 PM CST the SWAC championship game will tip off with (2) Grambling State vs. (8) Texas Southern.  57% of our pool picks are on Grambling State, but we do have 3 people with Texas Southern. A Grambling State win helps the top half of the standings while a Texas Southern win will help some mid pack people move towards the top. Grambling State is favored by 3.5 points, this should be a close game that has significant impacts to our pool. 😓

Big 12

At 5:00 PM CST the chalky Big 12 matchup tips off with (1) Kansas vs. (2) Texas. Almost 32% of our pool is on Kansas, however we do have a few scattered people on Texas. A Kansas win is bad for Tim and Heffron as it gives the middle class an opportunity to get back into the running. Kansas is only favored by 2.5, which indicates we should have another close conference tournament championship game. 

Mountain West

In an early start for Mountain West conference standards, we have (1) San Diego State vs. (3) Utah State in yet another important championship game for our pool. This is becoming a theme. Sure, over 50% of our picks are backing San Diego State, San Diego State was the huge favorite coming into the tournament, however they are only favored by 2 points tonight. A Utah State win would be monumental for Team TNT, DD and Sohler. This is a game to keep a close eye on that can muck up the top of the standings or create separation. 🌄

Big East

Finally, we have a conference tournament championship game that is not critical to our pool! At 5:30 PM CST we get the chalk matchup of (1) Marquette vs. (2) Xavier in the Big East and much of the pool was eliminated trying to get some bonus points. This game is important to DD and Novak, but without bonus points being awarded it doesn't become super critical. 🤷

MAC

That didn't take long. We're back to a super critical important game with (1) Toledo vs. (2) Kent State in the MAC. More chalk. Of the remaining people in this conference the picks are split evenly between these 2 teams, with the top 13 people all alive and hoping for a win. I love the line on this game, EVEN! 

MAAC

Also, at 6:30 PM CST, we have an odd matchup in the MAAC. The perennial Pitino led favorite (1) Iona is facing "Cinderella" (11) Marist. Yes, an eleven seed. Marist got half its seasons conference wins over the last 3 days, that is an insane stat. Obviously nobody has Marist, which means 69% of us are going to get a win here or 100% of us get nothing. Looking at the top of our standings, an Iona win is going to hurt DD and Jenn, hopefully they have a good day up until this game to keep up. 🤞

ACC

This is an awesome matchup for the ACC championship! (2) Virginia will face (4) Duke at 7:30 PM CST. Half the pool is still in this one and the picks alternate between Virginia and Duke. I've definitely used this phrase too much, but this game is HUGE for our pool standings, and I can't wait for this one. 😂

Conference USA

I am fatigued at this point writing all these summaries, but I signed up for this, let's keep going. Also, at 7:30 PM CST, (1) Florida Atlantic will face (3) UAB for the Conference USA championship. 43% of our picks are on Florida Atlantic, but UAB is not that far behind. As good as Florida Atlantic is, UAB is favored by 1.5 points and if UAB wins the top half of the pool is going to start to separate themselves from the pack. 

Big West

Getting later into the night, at 8:30 PM CST the Big West conference tournament championship will tip off as (2) UC Santa Barbara plays (4) CS Fullerton. The people at the top of the standings are on UC Santa Barbara, but as you scroll down the standings you will see many people with CS Fullerton. This could be a nice late-night win for some mid pack people if things break the right way. UC Santa Barbara is favored by 2.5 points, it's reasonable to think CS Fullerton could win this game. 

PAC 12

We are getting close to the finish line with today's preview. In the PAC 12 we'll have a chalk matchup with (1) UCLA taking on (2) Arizona, no bonus points will be available for this 9:30 PM CST game. All but 2 people are in this one and we're evenly spread across UCLA and Arizona. This should be a super fun late-night matchup with almost all of us involved from a pool perspective. I love that again we have a  line on this game that is EVEN! 

WAC

We made it to the end! Our night ends with a 10:30 PM CST tip off time in the WAC with (3) Southern Utah vs. (5) Grand Canyon. This game is all about Tim Husted and only Tim Husted. While most of the pool is eliminated, Tim has Grand Canyon, and a win here could clinch a pool victory for him, or at least put him in a great position for Selection Sunday. Southern Utah is a 1-point favorite, so it's not out of the question for Grand Canyon to win.

That was a ton to go over, now it's time to sit back and watch the games! I will be posting shorer blog entries throughout today so we can keep up with the every changing standings. The current standings are located here for those that don't yet have the linked saved. Enjoy the games! 😃

Emergency MEAC Championship Game Preview

The MEAC conference tournament championship game is about to tip off coming up at noon CST, so again I needed to get this preview out quickly. As mentioned in the last emergency blog entry, we will have 13 conference tournament championship games today. I still plan to preview the other 11 conference championship games today, be on the lookout for a follow up blog entry. Fortunatley, the next conference tournament championship game doesn't tip off until 4:30 PM CST, gving me some time to pull together the analysis. 🏀

Focusing on the MEAC, this game between (1) Howard and (3) Norfolk State is extremely important to our pool. Towards the top of the standings, Tim, Eskew and DD all have Norfolk State and a win here changes the landscape of the standing. A loss by Norfolk State only helps those that have already been eliminated as only a handful of people have Howard. Norfolk State is favored by 2 points in this game, I expect a close and exciting game. 😬

As previously mentioned above, be on the lookout for an early afternoon blog entry detailing out the remaining 11 championship games, as well as multiple blog entries and standings updates throughout today. I am so excited to watch all these games today and hoping our pool standings stay tight!

Emergency America East Championship Game Preview

The America East conference tournament championship game is  tipping off now, at 10:00 AM CST so I needed to get out a preview. We will have 13 conference tournament championship games today, I'll preview the other 12 early this afternoon, be on the lookout for a quick follow up blog entry.  The current standings are located here and are updated through the games that finished up late last night, which did have an impact to our pool. 🏀

The America East matchup is all chalk with (1) Vermont vs. (2) UMass-Lowell. Over 71% of our pool is on Vermont, the computers gave Vermont a greater than 50% chance to win this tournament and they are favored by 6.5 points. This is a great game to start the day as Heffron, who is in 1st place, has UMass-Lowell and a loss her really jams up the standings, while a win outs him in fantastic shape. Enjoy the early morning game! 🌅

As previously mentioned, be on the lookout for an early afternoon blog entry detailing out the championship games, as well as multiple blog entries and standings updates throughout today.

Warning! Long List of Losses by Baylor, Nevada, UNC, Southern, Miami, Arkansas, Tennessee, UConn, Sam Houston, UC Irvine & NC Central

Welcome back to the blog, the last 36 hours of basketball have been wild, and we still have a full evening of great games ahead of us. Everyone in our pool has been taking losses and now we only have 4 people with a 50% or greater win rate, down from our Wednesday night high of 18 people. The current standings are located here for those that have not been keeping up. As I foreshadowed in the last blog entry, Thursday and Friday is always a bloodbath. 💥

A few significant losses that impacted our pool, starting with Thursday's action, include popular Big 12 bonus pick (4) Baylor losing to (5) Iowa State, another popular pick, (4) Nevada lost to (5) San Jose State in the Mountain West quarterfinals and in the ACC (2) Virginia knocks (7) North Carolina out of the conference tournament and likely the NCAA tournament. Some big names went down Thursday. Additionally, popular SWAC pick (4) Southern was blown out by (5) Alabama A&M.  🏀

    

Friday afternoons key pool losses include (1) Miami losing to (4) Duke in the ACC, popular SEC bonus pool picks (10) Arkansas going down in flames to (2) Texas A&M and (5) Tennessee losing to (4) Missouri, and yet another popular bonus pick (4) UConn losing in a close one to (1) Marquette in the Big East. In the WAC we saw (1) Sam Houston State lose to (4) Grand Canyon, which is a big bonus pick in the pool, and then (1) UC Irvine went down to (4) CS Fullerton in the Big West. The one seeds are falling! Finally, (2) North Carolina Central lost to (3) Norfolk State in the MEAC. 🏀

                   

                    

On Saturday we will have 13, unlucky or lucky, conference tournament championship games, I'll do my best to preview most of them Saturday morning and then look for 2-3 Saturday blog entries with standings updates. We'll end this entry with a review of the current standings, don't get discouraged if you're not towards the top. Heffron is still alone in 1st place, but his accuracy has dropped to 50% and max points are 25, he is easily catchable. Napervillians are in the best spot on the board with 10 points, the best accuracy at 58.8% and 27 max points. Finally, Tim and Team TNT are neck and neck with 10 points and 27 max points, however Tim's accuracy is better. Also, everyone with 9 points is still in it, especially DD with 29 max points. We're in the home stretch!