March Madness Update 1 March 18, 2023

“Who Needs A House Out in Hackensack?”

I’m moving in, not moving out. Billy Joel asked back in 1977 with his chart topping song, Moving Out, is that all you get for your money? Well if you had Fairleigh Dickinson, the boiler room needs a lot of work, but 16 points for you. Stunning #1 Purdue, the Knights became only the second #16 seed to take down a #1 (UMBC, the Retrievers, that’s Maryland, Baltimore County, took out Virginia in 2018. That took 33 years to happen). Yes what a gutsy performance from a student body campus of 12,000 in New Jersey, for which most could not locate, let alone spell correctly. 4-22 last year, FDU was a 23 point dog.

In what briefly was the biggest upset of the tournament, Princeton # 15 shocked #2 Arizona 59-55, breaking more brackets for many of you. Arizona could like not score in the final 11 minutes and in addition to missing 5 shots and turning the ball over twice in the final two minutes. Another dismal finish for a marquee team.

And finally, Where is Furman you ask? Greenville, South Carolina, and the oldest private university in South Carolina, founded in 1826. Their enrollment is a paltry 2400 students. Only takes 5, right? #13 Furman stunned #4 Virginia 68-67 despite UVA leading by double digits in the second half. Late turnover and a 3-pointer at the end spelled doom for the Cavaliers. In case you did not know, most did not, a Paladin (the Furman Paladins) is any of Count Palatine’s court of Charlemagne. A knight, simply put. Mascot used to ride a white horse called Fury in a full suit of armor in days gone by.

A good two days of games and upsets. That’s why they call it “Madness”!!

Pool Notes

490 (unofficial) entries. What do you think of that? Not the most ever, but pretty close. Accounting remains a work in progress. Email list is largely updated. If you are aware of any change in email addresses, or if I missed an email, please advise. If you have not paid your entry fees/donations please do so at once. Financial are good, but far from complete.

On to the field of 32. Hoosiers won, Boilers lost. LOL