We're down to a half dozen folks! An Arizona upset of Duke (which I am rooting for) would knock out the most remaining folks. Otherwise it's a person here or a person there - though with a BYU and a Florida pick at least one person is out after tonight.
BYU - Maggie
Duke - Heather, Jamie and Jacky
Florida - Patrick
Wisconsin - Jon R
Good luck everyone! For those that survive - Friday picks are due by noon tomorrow!
Sunday's games were nothing short of a blood bath topped off by a Florida State victory over Notre Dame. With the Irish loss nine more folks exit the pool (John A, Kelley, Gary, Allison, Vincent, Heather P, Sarabeth, Rachael and Megan). All together 33 people went out with yesterday's upsets! By far a Danvegas Survivor Pool single day record.
There are now only six folks left standing - Heather B, Jamie, Patrick, Maggie, Jon R and Jacky. Good luck to the remaining folks. Don't forget to get your picks in by noon on Thursday!
Five more dreams were crushed with Syracuse's loss to Marquette. I, unfortunately, am among those losers. I am joined by John E, Josh M, John Pollom and Shana. There are now only 15 people left in the race for the cash. Six people know they are through. Will the luck of the Irish be with the other nine? We shall see. . . .
Either way, we started the weekend with a record number for the most players and will be ending it with a record number for the least players making it through the first weekend.
There was a lot of talk a week ago about VCU not belonging in the field. Well, they just stomped Purdue for their third straight victory so maybe they do belong. Who knows maybe they'll be the Butler of this year's tournament. They are definitely the Cinderella so far . . . .
Unfortunately, 14 people now need a fairy godmother to make their dreams come true because they are out! The clock has struck for Annie, Klint, Jason, Cameron, Vickie, Jean, Laura G, Laura H, Jenny, Rob, David, Will P, Jay and last year's winner John Mesplay.
We know we will crown a new champion - who will it be? There are 20 folks left that are eligible.
Arizona brought their A-game tonight to beat Texas. The Longhorns loss takes out another five contenders. Adios Tim, Adam, Ponsoll, Alex and Brent.
Purdue is trailing - that could knock out several more folks. Syracuse is locked in a tight battle that has my house captivated. Campbell is off to bed in the Syracuse shirt her cousin gave her - hopefully it will bring some luck to the Orangemen.
Our number is down to 34 - how low will it go tonight? Stay tuned to find out!
Here are the picks for today. We have lost one more person as Doug did not submit a pick before the noon deadline. Doug, if you think I've made a mistake, forward the original email to me with the pre-noon time stamp and I will correct it. The same goes for any team mix-ups.
Today's biggest upset would be Purdue, by far, as a Boilermaker loss would eliminate almost half of the remaining 39 folks.
Good luck!
Duke - Patrick, Jon R
North Carolina - Heather B, Jamie, Jacky
Notre Dame - John A, Kelley, Gary, Allison, Vincent, Heather P, Sarabeth, Rachael, Megan
Ohio State - Maggie
Purdue - Annie, Klint, Jason, Cameron, Vickie, Jean, Laura G, Laura H, Jenny, Rob, David, John M, Will P, Jay
Syracuse - John E, Josh M, John Pollom, Krista, Shana
Texas - Tim, Adam, Ponsoll, Alex, Brent
We say goodbye to Campbell (aka Adam #2) and Greg after BYU gets the best of Gonzaga. As much as I like Gonzaga you can't blame BYU for not wanting to go home - what's a Mormon college kid to do after basketball season? No caffeine, no chocolate, no booze, no . . . . . . .
41 people are still in the hunt . . . .
Six more are headed home after Butler's streak of crazy close tournament wins continues for a second year. Jared, Ken, William, Les, Bill and John S are packing it in with Pitt - incidentally the first #1 to lose.
Meanwhile, 18 people are still recovering from San Diego State's double overtime victory. A Temple upset would have greatly reduced the number of folks still playing. As of right now that number is 43.
Stay tuned . . . .
Three of our number are going home as Morehead's Cinderella dream comes to an end . . . . Goodbye Brandon, Mary Kay and Ben.
With their departure we have 49 folks still vying for the winner's pot. Speaking of which - after all of our buy-backs the winner's pot stands at an even $600 and the charity pot will be $150. A friendly reminder - if you haven't gotten your money in yet pay up so you don't get eliminated and/or fined!
And I can go back to hating Florida and not cheering for them!
So far nobody has been eliminated yet today and we still stand at 51 . . . .
Go Cats!
