Step Back You're Dancing Kinda Crose

 CROSE GOES COAST TO COAST

 

  I was trying to network some song puns, but they didn't quite work...

    Don't Stand So Crose To Me feels kinds mean. After all, who doesn't want to hang with a champion?

    This one nearly got the green light since we all... long to be a Crose to a champion.

    If I were Crose celebrating my win, I could see myself singing Crose To You at the top of my lungs in a sweaty college dive bar with Stevie Ray. 

    But no, the right choice was always Step Back You're Dancing Too Crose. Just look at the lyrics. We're dancing like the Big Dance, we're excited and, ooh, how we like it. Actually, I've never looked at the rest of the lyrics. Wildly inappropriate for a family website like this. I can't believe they let us play this at high school dances. 

    LEADERBOARD

    The point is that JDCrose is our champion with 641 points. And it wasn't even Crose. (Sorry, I can't stop.) So how did Crose do it? In tournament full upsets, Crose nailed quite a few of the first round upsets when he hit on his 10, 13, and 16 seed picks. For his 16 pick, only 7 other entries had Demetre Roberts of FDU. 9 other entries had #13 Mike Bothwell from Furman. 15 other entries also had #10 Jalen Pickett and his 30 points with Penn State. Those aren't terribly exclusive picks, but hitting all three gave Crose 46 extra points in the second round. Helpful, but hardly exclusive. 

    Crose did it the old-fashioned way: Just picking the dudes who scored the most points: #2 Jaime Jacquez Jr. (8 points higher than the next highest selection), #3 Drew Timme (33 points higher), #4 Adama Sanogo (20 points higher), #10 Jalen Pickett (13 points higher), #11 Terquavion Smith (5 points higher), #16 Roberts (12 points higher). Plus #1 Jalen Wilson was only one point off of leader Marcus Sasser as was #13 Bothwell. 

    In second place was Colon with 630 points. There's an old Irish saying "Desperation is a stinky cologne." But Colon's pick's were anything but desperate. Colon hit on point leaders #3 Timme, #4 Sanogo, and #7 Tyson Walker (2 points higher than any other 7 seeds). But their biggest hit was on #6 Ryan Kalkbrenner, who was 30 points higher than the second choice. Timme may have had a bigger differential, but almost the whole pool was in on Timme. 

    In third place was DylanNinos with 610 points. Despite hitting on Timme, Sanogo, Jacquez, Kalkbrenner, Walker, and Pickett, DylanNinos was let down by #1 Brandon Miller, #15 Tucker Richardson, and #4 Kyle Flipkowski. 

    Outside of those mentioned, 4 entries out there had #9 Johnell Davis and his 75 points, which was 42 points higher than the second best #9 seed. I'm declaring Mr. Davis the NPPEP MVP, even if he didn't drag anyone to a championship. 

    The biggest differential selection was #15 Tosan Evbuomwan of Princeton, who outscored the the next guy by 45 points. Kudos to the 3 people who nabbed Evbuomwan. 

    Who killed you guys? How about Zach Edey and his paltry 14 points from a #1 seed. 21 of us went down with that pick. A big ouch to the 1 person who picked #3 Keyonte George of Baylor. Missing out on 81 points is going to kill any entry. Unfortunately for 3 entries, they relied on UVA players for their #4 pick. Those two dudes each scored 100 points less than Sanogo. #9 Erik Stevenson let down 7 entries with his 9 points, which was 66 points off of Davis. 

    Winnings: 42 entries (with one being a courtesy entry for the excel architect) equals a pot of $410. Both Crose entries hit the first and second round point leaders, so we're divvying up $390. 

    JDCrose2: $273.00
    Colon: $78.00
    Dylan Ninos: $39.00

    Thanks again to everyone for participating. This is a labor of love and I enjoy writing these things up when the real world gives me time. I appreciate all of the kind words and I look forward to next year! May you go through the next year with the confidence and dominance of Caitlin Clark. 

Just When I Thought I Was Out

 THEY PULL ME BACK IN

 

    Paulie Walnuts is one of my favorite character in television history. He's a great character with simple and relatable motivations that are deftly explained throughout the show. And he's funny as hell. But at his base Paulie Walnuts is a cockroach. There's nothing pretty about him, but he's a survivor. 

    

    Enter Drew Timme. He's a tweener with unconventional moves, doesn't look like a basketball player, but he went full Paulie Walnuts last night and survived. He was there when the team needed him to do the work, but he wasn't the savior because cockroaches aren't the heroes. They're just there surviving. What a game. Timme's 36 points carries 35 entries closer to the gold. 

    Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been playing college basketball longer than I have been alive it seems. His impressive 29 points was a nice parting gift for the people who selected him. 

    Prior to the Zags pulling off that comeback, the Owls of Boca Raton made a nice comeback themselves. Fellow Region Rat Johnell Davis came through when it mattered the most with some clutch free throws despite his off shooting night. If you don't know about The Region, it's the northwest corner of Indiana that relates more to Chicago than it does to the rest of the state. It's also on Central Time Zone, which is God's preferred time zone. Davis hails from Gary, Indiana and anyone who succeeds out of Gary has my respect. Unless you're from Miller Beach. You people need to earn my respect in a different way. The guy was already a hero for trading in northern Indiana for Southern Florida, but my dude keeps winning. And along the way, he helped four of your entries. 

    However, and I did not notice this until now. no one here picked a Volunteer. While the damage was done to the Other Pool that that many of us participate in, you all remained unscathed. 

    Meanwhile, Kansas State ran a updated variation of The Barking Dog Play and it worked. The coach later said that it wasn't chicanery or trickery, but you can see for yourselves. With Arkansas and Kansas now both gone, Kansas State is declared the Best Basketball Team With Kansas In Their Name. (You can look this up.) Woo Pig Illini is the only entry with a KSU player and they'd feel better if it weren't for Drew Timme. Seven entries bet on Sparty and they were rewarded with three games of scoring. 

    For the only game of the night, UConn wiped the floor with Arkansas. I am glad to see Arkansas Basketball being a Thing again. 56 points out of Ricky Council IV as an 8-seed was an optimal result for the two people who picked him. Kudos to the three entries who wrote in Nick Smith Jr. for doing their homework, but he let you all down with only 17 total points. The 14 entries with UConn have to be happy today. 

    Looking at the leaderboard, JDCrose2 is still in the lead with 581 points. The computers are projecting them with 696 points with Timme and Adama Sanogo from UConn left. 

    Right behind JDCrose2 is Kenny Powers Arm with 517 points. They have Timme as well, but they will need UConn to get bounced while Jaden Miller from Miami goes on a tear. The computers have KPA projected to finish 12th at the moment. 

    In third is BryanH with 504 points. Their path to victory is will require FAU's Davis to overcome the gap with JDCrose2 as this entry also has Timme and Sanogo. 

    Outside of the top three that could make a run are DylanNinos and Let It Rain, who both have 4 picks left going into tonight. Zach Hochesong still has his top 4 seeds, which is impressive! That entry can also win this dang thing. And don't sleep on The MAN William Bosta who is sitting in 7th with 3 picks left, one being Houston which gives him a bit of variation. 

Round 2 Winner

Knightro No More

    A quick update after a busy weekend of games. 

    First, congrats to JDCROSE2 (209 points!) for taking home the second round points title and getting their entry fee back. If that names sounds familiar, it's because JDCROSE took the first round points title. Check your PayPal for your winnings and celebrate lavishly. 

    Right behind JDCROSE2 was Kenny Powers Arm, a newcomer to our group. They notched 191 points and moved up 4 spots to settle into second place overall. Our third most successful entrant this weekend was AB Bracket #1, who dropped 185 points on us while jumping up 24 spots to settle into third overall. The biggest losers were myself, Biake, and The Highlander 2, who all dropped 20 spots. 

    If you want all of the weekend movements, you can look at the first tab of the spreadsheet or you can look at the tab labeled First Two Days. 

    If you look at the first tab, you can see some crude projections as well. As of now, JDCROSE 2, Colon, and DylanNinos are projected to finish 1, 2, 3 in our silly game. Take that projection with a grain of salt because I don't even remember how it was formatted. Time permitting, I'll drop in with a pre-weekend post. 

    

Round One WInner

 Did You Survive the First Two Days?

“I’ve lived in a world of death. I tried to come home, but I never really arrived. A part of my mind and soul got lost along the way, but my heart was still here where I was born, where I would defend to the end the only family I’ve ever known, the only home I’ve ever known. All the ones I’ve loved are now ghosts. But I will fight to keep their memory alive forever." -Rambo

    I have gotten a couple of emails about the spreadsheet. It looks like Google is doing a couple of wonky things between the spreadsheet and your computers. I don't know how or why and if I did, I wouldn't be running this pool because that would indicate that I was a smart person. Instead I am just the lowest of the low: a lawyer. 

    All of the below was prepared prior to Saturday's game results. 

    I would like to add some projections, but I am little out of my depth with Excel. My ace assistant, Hart Man, selfishly went on vacation with his family instead of building an overly elaborate spreadsheet for me again. If I thought long enough, I am fairly certain I could figure this out. However, I attended the fifth birthday party of a child of one of our entrants and he plied me with alcohol. My problem solving skills have declined as a result. 

    In first place for the opening round is JDCROSE with 302 points. As a result, JDCROSE will be receiving their entry fee back. Right behind JDCROSE was JDCROSE2. As an Irish-Catholic, I respect the inner two wolves that must be fighting within JDCROSE's body right now. There's nothing in world quite like fighting with your own brain. JDCROSE2 still has 11 selections left while JDCROSE has 7. 

    Right behind the JDCROSE Duo (also the name of a pop folk group out of Austin) is the exotically named Theo's Picks with 284 points. Unfortunately for Theo, they only had 6 picks left heading into today. 

    Outside of the top 3, be on the look out for Colon, who has their top 9 left, Patrick Jones with 11 left, and Kenny Powers Arm with 10 left. 

    

    At the bottom of the barrel 

Just Purdon't

 Purdue Out-Purdues Virginia

And Owls Had No Problems Dunking Ten Feet Off of Beale

       

    Before I even start the analysis, it's really weird seeing all of the 5 and 6 seeds still playing while we're missing a 1, 2, and a 3 seed. Bizarro Tournament!

    Coming into this tournament, I think the general consensus was that Purdue was overrated. 7'4" just doesn't impress us much any more. The fellas at Farleigh Dickerson certainly were not impressed and they decided to send Zach Edey and the Boilermakers packing, knocking out 14 picks along the way. 9 players out there have FDU players, although Anlsey Almonar only scored one point as a write in. Which is 1 more point thant #1 seed pick Bradley Miller, who seemed to try to avoid shooting on Thursday. 

    The Florida Atlantic Owls were not afraid of the ghost of Elvis and bounced 24 picks who selected a Memphis player. Let's pour one out of SUPER SUPER senior DeAndre Williams, who was a part of this upset that occurred before the pandemic. The guy has been in college forever (he's 26) and this Purple Ace will always love him. 4 people out there are happy about their FAU picks. 

   

    In other news, 35 entries have Timme, so don't get too excited. 14 entries had Creighton's Kalkbrenner and his 31 points while 16 of you had Kentucky's Tshiebwe's rebounds (25?!?!) instead of his 8 points. I suspect because this is a largely Midwestern-based entry pool is why 24 of us, myself included, were dumb enough to go back to the well in pick a Hoo-Hoo-Hoosier. But it paid off today. 

    I'll be back later today once I double check the number to announce our leaders and losers amongst our selectors, though you should be able to see the unofficial results on the spreadsheet as of now. 

    

Tiger on Tiger Violence

Don't Be So Cavalier About Your Picks

    We love the first day chaos, don't we? It's one of the best days of the year and the early games did not disappoint. Let's see how bad this hurt our entries. 

    First, yours truly was driving from one work event to the next and had the Maryland feed on in the background instead of the UVA/Furman game. West Virginia almost hit this shot and I don't feel like enough people are talking about it. Great defensive effort by the Maryland defender to make the shooter adjust his shot. Can't believe a Huggins team would exit March so early. This knocked out 7 player picks and the one brave soul who picked a Maryland player is feeling good. 

    Second, Furman knocks off UVA and.... there's not much damage here. You all wisely didn't trust Tony Bennett and only 3 entries went down. 11 entries went with Furman, so a big bonus to them. Pictured above is Drew Charter High School graduate Marcus Foster. That's the high school system my kids are in, so this is pretty cool. Much cooler than whatever this play was. They must have been watching my 8U little league team throw the ball around on Monday night when they came up with this plan. 

    Third we have Arizona going down. Finally a bunch of men who attended Princeton catch a break. This was a bloodbath as 17 entries lost their number 2 seed. 3 entries picked a Tiger and won't let him go. One entry lost his Arizona pick, but also picked a Tiger, which earn him an Alonzo Mourning, Welp, yeah. 

    I haven't had a chance to update the master spreadsheet nor have I had the chance to make replacements for a couple of you. But here are all of the entries. 

NCAA PLAYER PICK EM POOL 2023 IS LIVE

 I HAVE NOT FORESAKEN THEE

    Friends, family, and enemies. I would never forget about you. But my days have been filled with little league baseball, work, and smiting my enemies who are not in this pool. (Side note, if you need any practice plans for 8U baseball, I got you covered you'll really love my Youth Baseball Coach Tik Tok account. )

     If you've never played before, the game is simple. You select 16 players from the tournament teams. You can only select one player from each seed number. You cannot switch out for a lower seed. At the end of the tournament, the entry with the most points from those players wins. 

    1. Each entry is $10. The pool will be split 70-20-10 with a minimum of 10 entries. Less than 10 entries and winner receives entire pool. Your moderator receives nothing in return because he is a hero. If we hit 60 or more entries, the the split will then be 67.5-17.5-10-5. If we hit 70, the split will be 65-17.5-10-5-2.5.

    2. Maximum of 2 entries. 

    3. The high scorer from the round of 64 and the high scorer from round of 32 will get their buy-in returned. 

    3. You must use the Google Form below

    4.  Money can be sent to my paypal: paypal.me/smsetnor or venmo: shanemsetnor. It must be sent tip-off on Friday, March 18. Please leave a note that states which entry yours is. That's important.

    5. I have no skimmed the list for injuries or suspensions. You are on your own there. Like Professor Dumbledore, I can only take you so far. Unlike Professor Dumbledore, I won't hide things that could help you, even if by hiding those things it would make for a great plot. 

    6. If you are choosing a "Write In", fill in the short answer with that write-in name. You may write in as many as you wish. Please use the format: SEED, PLAYER NAME, PPG, SCHOOL. Example: "1, Geoff Setnor, 27.2, Evansville". If you need to write in more than what I allowed for, please feel free to double up. 

    7. The play-in game stats do not count. If you need to change from a player that you selected from the play in list because that player lost, you must email me at smsetnor@gmail.com before tipoff on 3/16 with a replacement player. Don't FB message me, text me, or Myspace message me with the change. It has to go to my smsetnor@gmail.com email. 

    8. I will update the scores when I can. I head coach one baseball team, help with a travel team, and help with another team. Also, I do have a job (somehow). Sometimes I get a bit bogged down, but I will get to updating the scores. Hopefully we can keep providing updates and analysis as well. 

    9. If you see an error in the spreadsheet or in the entry form, stop and tell me right away. 

    10. I might be a bit later with the overall spreadsheet this year. I appreciate your patience!

    If you see any errors, please let me know ASAP! Good luck, everyone!