By Pauly
New York City
32 games. 2 days. Several upsets. Lots of bracket busters. How did you come out after the first 48 hours of March Madness? I finished up 6-4 betting wise.
For my Tao of Poker Pool, I only picked 23 out of 32 teams. I'm in 35th place. Beer and Snausages (B. Fowler) is leading the way. He got 27 teams correct out of 32 in the first round.
Tao of Poker March Madness Pool - Top 5:In my other pool, Pauly's Pub, I have two entries. I got 22 and 24 correct on those.
1 Beer and Snausages (B. Fowler) 270
2 Maranca 1 (A. Maranca) 260
2 McCormack 1 (E. McCormack) 260
2 DE JESUS 1 (G. DE JESUS) 260
2 Magggg (j. kwiecien) 260
There are eight games today to kick off Round 2. There are a couple of gems including four games that featured matchups between two Top 25 teams (last ranked before the tournament began).
3.22 Saturday's Games:
2:10pm (2) Duke -4 (7) West Virginia
4:20pm (3) Wisconsin -4.5 (11) Kansas State
4:40pm (3) Xavier -3 (6) Purdue
6:40pm (4) Washington State -2.5 (5) Notre Dame
6:45pm (3) Stanford -3 (6) Marquette
6:50pm (1) Kansas -13.5 (8) UNLV
9:10pm (4) Pittsburgh -2 (5) Michigan State
9:15pm (1) UCLA -10 (9) Texas A&M
1:18pm... Ah, I found episodes of The OC to watch before tip off.
1:30pm... Today's bets... Kansas State +4.5, Notre Dame + 2.5, and Pittsburgh -2.
1:33pm... Early game previews.
(2) Duke -4 (7) West VirginiaAfter Duke's close call on Thursday, they appeared beatable, hence when the line is only 4. They played like shit. What are the chances that they play like complete ass for two consecutive games? Coach K should have his crew fired up which means they'll not only win, but cover. West Virginia cruised to a ten point win over Arizona. They shot 11-of-19 from three point land. They are gonna have a tough time with Duke's perimeter defense, provided that they actually play solid defense today. I picked Duke on my sheets. I'm not betting the game.
(3) Wisconsin -4.5 (11) Kansas State
(3) Xavier -3 (6) Purdue
I have a feeling that I'm going to have to watch Wisconsin and Kansas State online because Duke will dominate the east coast coverage. Kansas State is in prime position to knock another big dog en route to the Sweet 16. Only Wisconsin stands in their way. Michael Beasley had a solid performance (23 points, 11 rebounds) against USC but Bill Walker stepped up and scored 22. He's the X-factor. Beasley will get his points, but when Walker fades... so does Kansas State. Wisconsin will have to keep Kansas State off the boards. Wisconsin is in the middle of an 11 game winning streak, but it's hard not to go with Kansas State and the points.
Purdue and Xavier is a tough match up. I don't even wanna touch that game. If Xavier plays like they did in the first 30+ minutes against Georgia, then they are doomed. Purdue's last two loses came in overtime. They have been playing tough basketball and easily handled Baylor. Unlike Georgia, Purdue can hold a lead in the tournament. I picked Xavier on most of my sheets, but I wouldn't bet the game. Purdue has a valid chance of winning outright.
2:10pm... Duke/WVU tip off.
2:18pm... Paulus starting to heat up. He drilled a three from waaaaaaaaaaaay downtown.
2:29pm... WV slacking a bit. The scored the first four points and struggled since then. Four turnovers already. Duke playing with confidence and shooting 4-5 from the floor.
2:34pm... Playing an SNG on PokerStars. I won two races (A-K vs. Q-Q and 8-8 vs. A-Q). I'm chipleader with five to go.
2:37pm... Duke up 5 with 10 minutes to go.
2:38pm... A-A holds up. Shocker. I missed a draw with Qs-9s against Ac-Jc and slipped to third.
2:39pm... Sloppy game. WV turns it over and Duke gives it right back. Both teams with 7 turnovers a piece.
2:48pm... Hilton Sisters hold up against 3-3. I'm chipelader with 4 to go.
2:49pm... Duke by 7. Just when they try to pull away, WV scores to keep it within 5-7 points.
2:58pm... I won my SNG. When it was on the bubble, there was a three-way all in... K-K vs. Q-Q vs. 3-3. The flop had a three. The turn was a Queen. Set of Queens won the monsterpotten. I was heads up and only behind by a bit. I won in two hands. I doubled up with a coinflip on the first hand, and finished him off.
3:01pm... Duke up by five at halftime. Both teams with 8 turnovers. West Virginia has yet to connect from behind the arc, shooting 0-6. Duke chilled off from downtown. After hitting their first two treys, Duke missed their next seven attempts.
3:20pm... Saturday with Dr. Pauly is starting in one hour on PokerStars. $10 PLO. Password = taopoker.
3:27pm... Duke's Gerald Henderson is having a rough day. He tossed up an air ball and WV rushed down and drilled a three to crawl back within three points. Ugly shot = 6 point swing.
3:33pm... Alex Ruoff tied it up for WV with a trey. They have seized the momentum.
3:37pm... Alexander drilled another trey. They started 0-6 and are 3-3 in the second half. Alexander has 17 points and 6 rebounds.
3:39pm... WV up by 7 and trying to pull away from Duke with less than 12 minutes to play. Duke's Swiss Cheese defense has led to their downfall. They are on mega-tilt and Coach K needs to stop the bleeding quick. I can hear Dickie V screaming at the top of his lungs in ESPN's studios, "Coach K, get a Teeeeeeeeeee-oooooooooooooooooo, babe-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
3:53pm... Duke is getting outplayed on all fronts. They went cold from the floor. Paulus has not been heard from since the first few minutes of the game. And what happened to Demarcus Nelson? He's been a ghost. The poor performances from Nelson and Paulus are killing Duke.
3:58pm... Britney Spears cameo? I'd definitely watch that show with Doogie Howser in it. Here's my favorite clip from Harold & Kumar...
Click thru to Tao of Poker to view the video via RSS...
4:00pm... Saturdays with Dr.Pauly in 20 minutes.
4:09pm... WV up by 11. "Duke in trouble," said the announcer. No shit, Sherlock. Duke has been in trouble since the second half started and they came out flat. They are on the verge of being picked off by Bob Huggins' squad.
4:20pm... Cards in the air for Saturdays with Dr. Pauly. I'm at my brother's table.
4:25pm... Lost over 2/3 of my stack already!
4:27pm... WV less than a minute away from upsetting Duke. "That's what I like to hear," mentioned Derek.
4:28pm... I doubled up when I rivered Mean G. I got it all in with 8-8-x-x. I had a flush draw and a gutshot against his K-K. The river was an 8 and I won with a set. Mean Gene's reaction? "Barf."
4:29pm... Beasley 2, Wisconsin 1.
4:32pm... West Virginia 73, Duke 67. Final. Favorites start 0-1 today. WV is the first team to advance to the Sweet 16. Duke goes home empty handed. All the Duke haters out there are dancing a jig and screaming a collective, "Fuck Duke!"
4:41pm... Wisconsin up by 4 with 10 minutes to go in the first half.
4:43pm... Beasley with 10 points in 11 minutes of play.
4:57pm... Yeah, it's hard to play in a PLO tournament and live blog and watch hoops and smoke all at the same time!
5:05pm... Wisconsin was up by 10 a few times, but Kansas State kept fighting back and are now within three. Beasley up to 15 points.
5:08pm... I doubled through my brother. I cracked his A-A-10-10 when I rivered a flush. "You're a donkey," said my brother. "The biggest donkey I know."
5:11pm... Xavier went cold to start. Down 9-0 before they finally scored four minutes into the game.
5:12pm... Final two tables left in Saturdays with Dr. Pauly. I'm 5th out of 18.
5:16pm... Wisconsin up by 6 at halftime. Beasley dropped 17 points and added 5 rebounds. KSU's other freshman sensation Bill Walker has 8 points.
5:37pm... Wisconsin on 8-0 run to start the second half. Kansas State looking like chumps.
5:47pm... I made the final table for Saturdays with Dr. Pauly.
5:51pm... Kansas State can't score! The refs have killed the flow of the game. I hate when that happens. Too many whistles and stoppages in play. Let them play!
5:52pm... Thanks Sven.
6:14pm... I tripled up in Saturdays with Dr. pauly. Bubble time. Six players left. I'm third in chips.
6:17pm.. Wisconsin up by 20+. Kansas State is soon to be toast.
6:23pm... Busted out in 5th place. Got in all in with a straight against another straight (with a flush redraw). The flush hit on the river and I was out. I'll write the recap later. Back to watching hoops!
6:30pm... Wisconsin 72, Kansas State 57. Final. The favorites are 1-1 for the day. I lost my first bet of the day. Not good.
6:32pm... Early evening games preview.
(4) Washington State -2.5 (5) Notre DameWashington State was tied with Winthrop at the half. They blew them out in the second half. I credit that to an ineffective Winthrop squad. I still think that they are overrated. Notre Dame plays much better defense than Winthrop and should do a better job containing Aron Baynes. It's gonna be a close game but Notre Dame will pull it out. I bet on the Fighting Irish.
(3) Stanford -3 (6) Marquette
(1) Kansas -13.5 (8) UNLV
Stanford and Marquette are both solid defensive teams. Maybe bet the under? I dunno how well Marquette will match up with the Lopez twins. They are too tough to handle. Marquette can shoot from everyone on the court, that's for sure. If they convert they can keep it close. If they go cold, Stanford could win by double digits. I picked Stanford on all my sheets. At -3 there could be some value there.
Kansas covered on Thursday, but made it close. I dunno if they can beat UNLV by more than ten. The Runnin Rebs were quick and overpowering in their win over Kent State. I picked Kansas on all of my sheets. I'm not betting the game, but I'd be inclined to bet UNLV only because they are getting 13.5.
6:36pm... Congrats to bettercheck4 for winning Saturdays with Dr. Pauly! Stay tuned for the recap and write up.
7:01pm... That Purdue/Xavier matchup ended up being an exciting game. Lead changed back and forth during the few minutes I watched the game. I remember when Sean Miller used to play for Pitt... back in the day... with Charles Smith.
7:17pm... The Purdue/Xavier game is taking forever to finish up. Purdue is hanging in there. They need a miracle to win, but they still have an out or two left.
7:30pm... Xavier 85, Purdue 78. Final. Finally! The end of that game dragged on for twenty minutes. CBS milked their advertisers over the last half hour. Ah, the favorites are 2-1 today. Five games remaining. Three are underway. Wazzu is beating Nore Dame by 12. Guess who I bet on? The losers, that's who. Kansas and UNLV are even, while Marquette surprised Stanford and is up 8.
7:35pm... Halftime for two games. Stanford is down 6 to Marquette. Notre Dame is losing by 13 to Wazzu.
7:54pm... Notre Dame needs to shoot better in the second half if I even have a remote chance of winning my bet.
8:14pm... Stanford coach got tossed from the game and his team responded. Stanford up by 4 with 12 minutes to go.
8:27pm... Wazzu ran off ten straight. Notre Dame's wondering where the hell their luck is. No pot of gold at the rainbow for the Irish, as a second round exit looms on the horizon.
8:39pm... Just hit run for $105 on a 8/6 limit table on Full Tilt. I flopped a set of nines and cracked Aces.
8:49pm... Down by 1 with 8.8 seconds left. It's up to one of the twins... and the hippie twin bricked his first free throw. Derek screamed, "Yes!" He picked Marquette to knock off Stanford.
8:52pm... Hippie twin saved his ass and nailed the second free throw. Marquette couldn't convert on the game headed into overtime.
8:53pm... Washington 61, Notre Dame 41. Final. Favorites are 3-1. I slipped to 0-2 for the day. I'm also stuck $20 playing PLO.
9:08pm... Stanford 82, Marquette 81. Final OT. Favorites are 3-2. Stanford won a thriller and squeaked into the Sweet 16.
9:13pm... Kansas up 19 with three minutes to go. Kansas grinds out their wins. They eventually wear down their opponents. They're up by a few points early on and then pull away in the second half. For a while, I didn't think they would cover against UNLV. At this point the just might...
9:22pm... Kansas 75, UNLV 56. Final. Favorites are 4-2. Kansas cruised into the Sweet 16.
9:25pm... Pitt and Michigan State tipped off. I have Pitt and need them to win to get me unstuck for the day!
9:36pm... I lost my $35 shortstack at my PLO table. It was the battle of the blinds with Bayne. I had Q-Q-x-x and he had A-A-x-x.
9:40pm... UCLA game tipped off. Both late games are under way.
9:52pm... Pitt/MSU is tied and UCLA is up four.
10:10pm... Pitt down by 2 at the half. UCLA only up by five. I've been researching tomorrow's games. Several tough matchups. I like Texas tomorrow for sure...
10:19pm... They must be hootin' & hollerin' in College Station right now after A&M took the lead against #1 seed UCLA. The hicks versus the hip hop hipsters.
10:34pm... UCLA down by 3 at the half. They better get their shit together otherwise they will be the first #1 to get the boot.
10:36pm... The "dude" beer commercial has reached my shit list... Annoying Commercials. I die a small death every time it comes on. The TIAA Cref commercials baffle me. What is it they do again?
10:51pm... MSU went on a run and pulled ahead by ten. Pitt counterattacked and pulled within 2. A little more than 10 minutes left in the game.
10:58pm... Sobering reality for UCLA.... you're on the verge of being bounced by A&M. Get your shit together!
11:00pm... It's not pretty basketball in the MSU/Pitt game, but it's been gripping back and forth action. Pitt finally took the lead, but MSU stormed right back and lead by three with 7:28 to play.
11:03pm... Don't forget about Fantasy Sports Live... we got NASCAR running right now along with NBA and NHL. The MLB season is right around the corner!
11:04pm... A&M now up by 6. Where's the Rooster talking smack about his Bruins now??
11:25pm... MSU in the Sweet 16? Pitt sleeps with the fishes.
11:26pm... Who would have thunkt hat UCLA would be down 1 with five minutes to go?
11:28pm... Michigan St. 65, Pitt 54. Final. The favorites are 4-3 today. I slipped to 0-3. I'm stuck for the day and wiped out all of the profits from Round 1. Time to shake it off and come back strong tomorrow with three really good bets.
11:37pm... UCLA/A&M game is gonna come down to the last possession.
11:38pm... Collison came through with two clutch layups. He powered his way to the hole the last two times down court. His last bicket gave UCLA the lead with nine seconds left.
11:40pm.... UCLA 53, Texas A&M 49. Final. Talk about getting lucky at the right time. UCLA advanced to the Sweet 16. Barely. The favorites went 4-4.
11:41pm... That's it. I'm done. Three straight days of partying and basketball... and I'm spent.
Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker at www.taopoker.com. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
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