Look At Me, I Can't Make Free Throws With The Game On The Line

Geez! Too much pressure for Memphis at the end of the championship game, missing free throws, can't make a basket to save their lives, bad decisions. Kansas was too much for Memphis and until the last two minutes of regulations, didn't show the same spark they had during their match up against North Carolina. Kansas wins in Over Time, 75-68.

Your Top Ten Pick Sheets for the 2008 Office Pool

1. 176 - Michael Wittchow - <--- made picks while on vacation in Florida
2. 174 - Jay Erickson - <--- 2004 winner, also finished 2nd in 2003
3. 173 - Jessie Forga <--- finally a top three finish!
4. 163 - Cort Lundeen - 2 <--- 30th in 2007
5. 154 - Cort Lundeen - 1 <--- 30th in 2007
6. 153 - Steve Mason - 2 <--- 2007 winner
7. 152 - Nick V <--- first year in pool
8. 151 - Cory Ross - 2 <--- first year in pool
9. 150 - David Borgman <--- screaming at Memphis for missing free throws
10. 148 - Richard Tisdel <--- screaming at Memphis for missing free throws

*** Last Place with 80 points - Anne Woolson <--- one free pick sheet in the 2009 Office Pool

Kansas Jayhawks Versus Memphis Tigers

Memphis Tigers from Conference USA versus the mighty Kansas Jayhaws of the Big 12 Conference.

Memphis Tigers [38-1] are the only team in NCAA history to earn 38 victories in one season. This is the second time Memphis has played in the Championship game. Their other appearance was in 1973 against UCLA which was a loss. They are also the first team from Conference USA to advance to the Championship game.

Kansas is in the Championship game for the eighth time, their first since 2003. Kansas's 18 point victory over North Carolina is the second largest over a team ranked #1 in tournament history.

Monday's Championship Game - Tipoff @ 8:21 [CT]

#1 Kansas Jayhawks [36-3] - 8 pick sheets selected Kansas
#1 Memphis Tigers [38-1] - 6 pick sheets selected Memphis

See if your name is on the list

Monday's Scenarios - Only two remain

Kansas defeats Memphis
Memphis defeats Kansas

Semi-Final Round Of Games

This is it, we've waited for 51 weeks to get to this point of having four teams in the finals. The first time all four number one seeds have advanced. Which goes against one of my personal rules for filling out my bracket sheet, never advance all four teams into the final weekend of games. Another rule that I use for picking my championship team is only pick the winner from the big conferences. I wanted to take Memphis when I was filling out my bracket, but since they are from a conference that only sent one team [Conference USA], I took Georgetown as my championship team. Arrgh. So I will be rooting for Memphis this weekend. My main reason is they are not from a power conference and it would be a huge testimony for a smaller conference to win the championship game. I would be I'm not alone in rooting for them.

Here are the games for tonight

@ 5:07 pm [CT]
#1 UCLA Bruins
#1 Memphis Tigers

@ 7:47 pm [CT]
#1 Kansas Jayhawks
#1 North Carolina Tar Heels

It's Anyone's Office Pool To Win

Well, at least for seven of you that can take first place. I do believe that is a record for the final weekend of games. Typically, the final weekend, if first place has not been decided, it's usually a race between two, sometimes three people.

This year it's seven. The one person who has two of the eight scenarios locked is Dave Borgman, he's taken Memphis for his Champion team. If Memphis wins, regardless of the opponent, he in turn wins the office pool.

Another odd scenario would be if UCLA defeats North Carolina, if this were to happen, SeanQ would take first and third in this years office pool. Not a bad payout if you ask me.

Ahhh, the payouts you potential winners are wondering about the payouts. Let me give you the breakdown. There are 47 pick sheets in the pool [48 counting the test picks]. There are nine new people in this years tournament, 39 of the 47 pick sheets are paying pick sheets for $390 dollars. The remaining 8 pick sheets are free pick sheets for recruiting new players into our office pool. Thank you for spreading the word!

Payouts
1st Place	60%	$234.00
2nd Place	25%	$97.50
3rd Place	15%	$58.50
Totals	100%	$390.00

** Last Place receives 1 free pick sheet in the 2009 Office Pool

Only 8 Scenarios Remain

Well, after two weekends of games, sixty team eliminations, we are down to the final four teams. What I found amazing was eight of you correctly selected all four teams. That has to be a record for our small office pool.

Here is what it comes down too, the eight scenarios that can happen will be for the championship game. Follow each link to see where you will finish of Team A beats Team B:

• If N. Carolina beats Memphis
• If Memphis beats N. Carolina
• If N. Carolina beats UCLA
• If UCLA beats N. Carolina
• If Kansas beats Memphis
• If Memphis beats Kansas
• If Kansas beats UCLA
• If UCLA beats Kansas

It Was A Good Run For 'Test Picks'

They journey came to an end today, as Memphis downed Texas, for 'Test Picks'. Losing Georgetown in round two, there was still a slim chance for no one to take first place, but having maxed out at 130 points, the worst place finish will be 34. Not bad for a 30 second pick sheet selection.

Having said that, your current Top 10 is as follows:

1. 146 - Jay Erickson
2. 139 - Kim Ross
3. 138 - David Borgman
4. 136 - Richard Tisdel
5. 136 - Michael Wittchow
6. 135 - Cort Lundeen 2
7. 135 - Christine Nelson
8. 133 - SeanQ1
9. 133 - Jessie Forga
10. 132 - SeanQ3

32,768 Possible Scenarios Exist

With sixteen teams remaining in this years tournament, there are still 32,768 possible scenarios that still exist for the outcome. I ran the scenarios last night, which took between five to six hours to complete. In the future, you can check the link from the Office Pool Menu on the right under 'Player Scenarios'. The scenarios page will also update after each game completes when the current results page updates.

If you're new to my office pool reports, this report will show you your best possible finish. In turn, it also shows you your worst possible finish. To see what teams you need to root for, under the 'Root For' column, your teams are listed in this order: Champion, Runnerup, Other Field of 8 Teams.

The key item to pay attention to under the 'Root For' column is the number of other combinations. From my years of using the software, the higher that number is, the better your odds of winning the office pool. The current leader is SeanQ1 at 6160 other combinations. As teams are eliminated, the possible scenarios drop, the 'other combinations' number also will drop.

Quick Link: Player Scenarios

The End Of Round 2

Another first weekend of games have completed and yet ANOTHER year of me losing one of my final four teams of the tournament during the first weekend of games. This year it's my championship team I've lost.

It was an interesting weekend of games, a lot of higher seeded teams have survived. Of course we lost a couple higher seeded teams. Two of the number 2 seeds, but all four number 1 seeds advanced.

Duke losing to West Virginia - 4 of you selected that one
Georgetown losing to Davidson - 4 of you selected that one too

The current standings after round two

1. 87 points - Richard Tisdel
2. 84 points - test picks [yep, thats all they are]
3. 84 points - Jay Erickson
4. 82 points - SeanQ1
5. 82 points - Cort Lundeen
6. 82 points - Kim Ross

NOTES: During the upcoming week I'll figure out what everyone owes the pool and how much the payouts will be this year.

Early Exit Again For Duke

For the second year in a row, Duke bows out early from the tournament. Four of you had predicted this on your pick sheets.

Find out who the geniuses are

Round 1 Completed - Kim Ross Takes The Lead

Correctly selecting 29 of 32 games [58 points] in the first round, Kim Ross surges into the lead. That's a 91% success rate. Not surprising, Kim Ross also has the most potential points [212 points]for the remainder of the tournament.

The current Top 5 in the standings are as follows:

1. 58 points - Kim Ross
2. 54 points - Richard Tisdel
3. 52 points - Court Lundeen
3. 52 points - Steve Mason 2
5. 50 points - Nick V

Round two games have begun. For a quick glance on everyone's picks for each match up, head to the Tournament Results page and click on the pencils next to each game.

Tournament Games Begin

We ended with 45 pick sheets in the tournament. The tournament games have begun with Xavier vs Georgia, Kansas vs Portland State and Michigan State vs Temple.

The current standings updates happen automatically at the top of each hour. You'll find the links to the standings on the column to the right.

Submit Your Picks

Welcome to Steve's Office Pool 2008.

Entry Page Is Closed

[Make sure to hit the SUBMIT PICKS button at the bottom of the entry page]

Entry Fee: $10.00 - per pick sheet
Picks Due: Thursday, March 20 @ 12:00 PM

31 Automatic Bids

31 automatic bids are earned by the Conference Tournament Champions. Here is the list of conferences, schedule and winner when known.

	Dates-Winners [record]	Conference [record]
1.	North Carolina Tar Heels [32-2]	ACC [14-2]
2.	UMBC Retrievers [24-8]	American East [13-3]
3.	Belmont Bruins [25-8]	Atlantic Sun [14-2]
4.	Temple Owls [21-12]	Atlantic 10 [11-5]
5.	Pittsburgh Panthers [26-9]	Big East [10-8]
6.	Portland State Vikings [23-9]	Big Sky [14-2]
7.	Winthorp Eagles [22-11]	Big South [10-4]
8.	Wisconsin Badgers [29-4]	Big Ten [16-2]
9.	Kansas Jayhawks [31-3]	Big 12 [13-3]
10.	Cal St. Fullerton Titans [24-8]	Big West [12-4]
11.	George Mason Patriots [23-10]	Colonial [12-6]
12.	Memphis Tigers [33-1]	Conference USA [16-0]
13.	Butler Bulldogs [29-3]	Horizon 16-2]
14.	Cornell Big Red [20-5]	Ivy League [12-0]
15.	Siena Saints [22-10]	MAAC [13-5]
16.	Kent State Golden Flashes [28-6]	MAC [13-3]
17.	Coppin State Eagles [16-19]	MEAC [12-9]
18.	Drake Bulldogs [28-4]	Missouri Valley [15-3]
19.	UNLV Rebels [26-7]	Mountain West 15-4]
20.	Mount St Mary's Mountaineers [18-4]	Northeast [11-7]
21.	Austin Peay Governors [24-10]	Ohio Valley [17-4]
22.	UCLA Bruins [31-3]	Pac-10 [19-2]
23.	American Eagles [21-11]	Patriot [10-4]
24.	Georgia Bulldogs [17-16]	SEC [4-12]
25.	Davidson Wildcats [26-6]	Southern [20-0]
26.	UT-Arlington Mavericks [21-11]	Southland [7-9]
27.	Oral Roberts Golden Eagles [24-8]	Summit [16-2]
28.	Western Kentucky Hilltoppers [27-6]	Sun Belt [16-2]
29.	Mississippi Val. Delta Devils [17-15]	SWAC [13-6]
30.	Boise St. Broncos [25-8]	WAC [12-4]
31.	San Diego Toreros [21-13]	West Coast [11-3]

Tournament Schedule

Key Tournament Dates courtesy of NCAA Sports

Pre-Tournament Events
March 16 - Selection Sunday @ 5:00 CST on CBS
March 18 - Opening Round game [play in game]

First Weekend Of Games
March 20-21: Round One Games
March 22-23: Round Two Games

Second Weekend Of Games
March 27-28: Round Three Games
March 29-30: Round Four Games

Final Weekend Of Games
April 5: Round Five, Semi-Finals
April 7: Round Six, Championship Game