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.