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Thirty-Five players participated in this year’s twenty-first edition of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. With his 75-68 victory in the finals over Bruno Passacantando, Mike Pacheco has earned his first ever championship in this event and his first March Madness laurels since 2017.
Mike’s 9th seeded Houston 2021 squad had three comfortable wins and three close contests. Besides the seven-point win in the finals, he barely outlasted Sean McCulloch’s Connecticut 2011 77-73 in his second game. He also survived his Semifinal game by four points, beating third-place Oliver Searles’ Baylor 2017 squad 63-59.
After two “easy” wins, runner-up Bruno Passacantando’s 16th seeded Florida 2007 had hard fights the rest of the way. In the Sweet Sixteen he survived Alan Heath’s #17 seeded Louisville 1980 77-73. In the Elite Eight, he got past sixth-place Jeff Mullet’ Oklahoma State 2005 71-67. In the Final Four he vanquished fourth-place Derek Landel’s Arizona 2001 88- 84 before falling in the championship contest for the second year in a row.
The championship game was even closer than the seven-point final score indicated. The game was tied at the half, with the highlight being Bruno’s success on seven out of nine attempts to draw a new card. Bruno must have felt good entering the second half with eleven cards in his hand.
Bruno had a 60-58 lead with two positions remaining when the Bench was resolved with 9 minutes on the clock. Mike won the resolution roll 5-3 and added a bonus of 4 points from Bruno’s Double Team to grab a 70-64 lead. Both sides maneuvered cards to set up their Centers before the final resolution occurred with just two minutes remaining. Mike again won the resolution rolls 4-2, thus securing the 75-68 victory.
Mike’s Final Four MVP was his Left Guard, Quentin Grimes, a B-rated player who outscored his opposite number 27-7 in the Semifinal and 25-11 in the championship game.
Here is the entire All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of six of the tournament participants.
All Tournament First Team:
- Center – Paul Hogue (Cincinnati 1962) – B Rating – 3 Games – 22.7 ppg
- Paul was selected by four voters over Houston 2010’s Fabian White Jr., a D player who average 18.0 ppg over three games.
- Left Forward – Ron Thomas (Louisville 1972) – C Rating – 4 Games – 19.0 ppg - This was the most contentious selection, with four players receiving votes. Ron was the only player selected from his Elite Eight squad.
- Right Forward – Gary Trent Jr. (Duke 2018) – C Rating – 3 Games – 19.0 ppg - It was a down year for right forwards as none averaged 20 or more points per game. Gary was the closest, which likely earned him his four votes.
- Left Guard – Quentin Grimes (Houston 2021) – B Rating – 6 Games – 26.7 ppg - The Final Four MVP of the champions, Grimes was the only unanimous choice of the panel. Grimes scored 20 or more points in every game, including 36 in the Elite Eight win over fifth-place Ken Gutermuth’s Louisville 1972.
- Right Guard – Taurean Green (Florida 2007) – C Rating – 6 Games – 20.5 ppg - The only representative of the runners-up, Taurean came within one vote of being a unanimous choice. Taurean upped his game in the Final Four, averaging 22.0 ppg when it mattered most.
- Bench – Baylor 2017 – B Rating – 5 Games – 21.0 ppg - A strong Bench performance led Baylor to the Final Four, but they could only score 15 points in their loss to the eventual champions.
The tournament will be restarted this coming winter (hopefully at the start of December). Come join us in determining next year’s PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
Laurelists were:
- 1st – Mike Pacheco
- 2nd – Bruno Passacantando
- 3rd – Oliver Searles
- 4th – Derek Landel
- 5th – Ken Gutermuth
6th – Jeff Mullet
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36 players participated in this year’s twentieth (yes that is right, this has been run 20 times!) rendition of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. With his 74-69 victory in the finals over Bruno Passacantando, Steve Caler has earned his first ever championship in this event and his first March Madness laurels since 2013.
Steve’s 28th seeded Butler 2011 squad was the Underdog in all six games it played. As is not unusual, the champion faced his toughest challenge in his opening game, pulling out a 66-65 win over Michael Swinson’s North Carolina 1995 squad 66-65. The road immediately became smoother, as the next victims were John Coussis’ Cincinnati 1962 (who went down 83-70), Jeff Finkeldey’s Kansas 1988 (65-49) and Henry Rice’s St. Joseph 2004 (74-56). The trend of increasing margins of victory continued in the Final Four where Steve defeated Sean McCulloch’s Providence 1973 by a score of 107-78 to reach the finals.
Conversely, Runner-up Bruno Passacantando’s 4th seeded Florida 2011 was the Favorite in all six of his games. He also barely survived his opening game, defeating Andy Lewis’ 37th seeded Kansas 2012 crew 72-70. He then earned an easy win over Steve Caler’s 21st seeded Georgetown 1985 (81-67) before surviving by one point against Pete Stein’s North Carolina 1968 (84-83). Dan Leader’s Pittsburgh 2009 was the next victim (80-66) followed by Sean McCulloch’s Georgia 1983 (83-73).
The championship game was a real nail-biter which came down to the resolution of the last position. The largest lead of the first half occurred after both players used their Timeouts on the final position to be resolved, the LG, allowing Steve to jump out to a 44-38 advantage.
The Bench was resolved first in the second half, and Steve was forced to use his Timeout after suffering the dreaded 1/6 resolution rolls. It was a good decision, as the reroll gained him 12 points and the largest lead of the game, 54-41 in favor of Steve’s Butler Bulldogs. Bruno slowly edged back until his Florida Gators were only down by a point, 67-66, with only the LF remaining. Steve had the better ranked player/cards, but Bruno had a Timeout to play with. On the final resolution, the rolls were good enough two straight times to give Steve the 74-69 victory.
Steve’s Final Four MVP was his Right Guard, Ronald Nored, an E-rated player who scored 10 points in the semifinal and another 13 points in the championship game.
Here is the entire All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of nine of the tournament participants.
All Tournament First Team:
- Center – Terry Fair (Georgia 1983) – C Rating – 5 Games – 20.6 ppg - Terry was selected over Western Kentucky 1971’s Jim McDaniels, a AA player who scored 32.7 ppg, but only played in three games.
- Left Forward – Matt Howard (Butler 2011) – C Rating – 6 Games – 14.3 ppg - The only selection from the championship team, he will never have to buy another beer in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- Right Forward – Dennis Scott (Georgia Tech 1990) – AA Rating – 4 Games – 31.5 ppg - A team with a C defense often goes all in on outscoring their opponent, and Dennis Scott led the charge through three tournament wins before bowing out.
- Left Guard – Kenny Boynton (Florida 2011) – C Rating – 7 Games – 16.7 ppg - A member of the runner-up team in the tournament, Boynton bare edged out Georgia 1983’s Vern Fleming (22.2 ppg) and Georgia Tech 1990’s Brian Oliver (26.5 ppg) in the balloting.
- Right Guard – Erving Walker (Florida 2011) – C Rating – 7 Games – 16.3 ppg - Another high scoring member of the runners-up, Walker barely edged out Cincinnati 2002’s Steve Logan, who averaged 26.3 ppg in 4 games. The voters were more impressed with Lawson helping bring his team to the brink of a championship.
- Bench – Cincinnati 2002 – B Rating – 4 Games – 23.8 ppg - In a down year for Bench scoring, the Bearcats ran away with two thirds of the votes.
The tournament will be restarted this coming winter (hopefully at the start of December). Come join us in determining next year’s PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
The laurelists, in order, were Steve Caler, Bruno Passacantando, Sean McCulloch, Henry Rice, Dan Leader, and Bruce Reiff
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38 players participated in this year’s nineteenth rendition of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. With his 77-72 victory in the finals over Jeff Mullet, Allan Jiang becomes the second player to win multiple championships in the PBeM version of this event.
Allan survived six games with his 19th seeded Kansas 2008 team, a team that never won a game by less than five points and was the underdog in three of its six games. Allan had some of his toughest games early, as he defeated Jared Smith’s North Carolina 1957 squad 73-67. Debbie Gutermuth’s 11th seeded Indiana 1992 was the next victim, falling 74-69. Allan then defeated Jeff Mullet for the first time, taking out his 27th seeded North Carolina 77-62 and Bob Hamel’s 26th seeded Louisville 1983 76-60 to reach the Final Four. In that game, Allan took down the top seed in his bracket, Laurie Wojtaszczyk’ UNLV 1990 by a 72-63 score.
Runner-up Jeff Mullet’s 9th seeded Louisville 2014 had to play in the opening round, and defeated Bob Hamel’s 8th seeded Gonzaga 2019 90-82. In the second round he defeated David Schneider’s 33rd seeded Cincinnati 1959 89-80. Jeff’s closest win followed, an 89-86 victory over Allan Jiang’s 32nd seeded Illinois 2001. Next came two seven-point wins: 83-76 over Don Greenwood’s 24th seeded Kentucky 2012; and 82-75 over Henry Rice’s 13th seeded Michigan State 2016. Once in the Final Four, Jeff upset Bryan Collar’s #2 seeded North Carolina 2008 by fourteen points, 87-73, to earn a rubber match game against Allan Jiang in the finals.
Both players had defeated the other in the preliminaries, so their third and final match was for all the marbles. It was a tight game, as both players had the exact same average of 3.75 on their scoring rolls for the game. There would only be one extra die roll in the match, in which Allan’s Hot Shooter rolled a “5”, which would be the scoring difference in the game. Jeff’s Fast Break was nullified by Allan’s play of Controlling the Boards.
Jeff led 35-31 at the half. After the Bench and both guards were resolved, Allan took a one-point lead. After the Right Forward was resolved, Jeff took a one-point lead. Then both Left Forwards were scoreless in the second half.
Finally, the game pivoted on the Center position, which was rated “C” for both players. Jeff had the powerful Second Shots card, but Allan voided it by having Boxing Out in play. This gave Allan had a +3 drm differential, so when Allan out rolled Jeff 6-5, he outscored Jeff’s Center by 6 points, giving him a five-point championship win.
Allan’s MVP of the tournament was his Center, who averaged 5.5 points more in the Final Four than in the rest of the tournament, plus came through at the end of the game when the title was on the line.
Here is the entire All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of the tournament participants.
All Tournament First Team:
- Center – Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina 2008) – A Rating – 6 Games – 22.3 ppg - The high scorer on the fourth-place team in the tournament, Tyler was selected over Indiana 1953’s Don Schlundt, also an A player who scored 22.7 ppg, but only played in three games.
- Left Forward – Larry Bird (Indiana State 1979) – AA Rating – 2 Games – 40.5 ppg - It is unusual for a player who only played two games to be selected, but Bird had by far the highest scoring average in this year’s tournament.
- Right Forward – Denzel Valentine (Michigan State 2016) – B Rating – 4 Games – 19.8 ppg - I thought the honor might go to Baylor 2017’s Johnathan Motley, who averaged 24.0 ppg with a B rating. However, the voters did not appear to be in the mood to reward a second player who had only played two games.
- Left Guard – Russ Smith (Louisville 2014) – B Rating – 7 Games – 23.7 ppg - A member of the runner-up team in the tournament, Smith also won this award in last year’s event. This year he improved by 2.7 ppg over last year’s effort to almost be a unanimous selection.
- Right Guard – Ty Lawson (North Carolina 2008) – D Rating – 6 Games – 13.5 ppg - The voters were split between two D rated players, Lawson and my personal choice, Michigan State 2016’s Eron Harris (16.0 ppg in 4 games). The voters were more impressed with Lawson helping bring his team to the Final Four.
- Bench – Kansas 2008 – A Rating – 6 Games – 27.5 ppg - To the victor goes the spoils. No individual players were honored from this year’s championship team, partly because it was the Bench that did the heavy lifting. North Carolina 1998’s bench scored slightly more (27,8 ppg) but could not match Kansas 2008 for leading its team over and over again during a championship run.
The tournament will be restarted this coming winter (hopefully at the start of December). Come join us in determining next year’s PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
The laurelists, in order, were Allan Jiang, Jeff Mullet, Laurie Wojtaszczyk, Bryan Collars, Bob Hamel, and Henry Rice.
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40 players participated in this year’s eighteenth rendition of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. Flawd becomes the fifteenth different champion in this event, and coupled with his 2018 WBC title, he becomes the sixth person to with both the in-person WBC event and the BPA PBeM tournament.
Harry survived six games with his 29th seeded UCLA 1973 team, a team that was the underdog in five of its six games. The bracket broke well for Harry early, as four of his first five opponents were seeded 21st or lower. As is often the case in the actual NCAA tournament, Harry’s closest game was his first one, as he defeated Haim Hochboim’s Louisville 2012 squad 72-68. Paul Risner’s Houston 1967 was the next victim, falling 97-81. Harry then defeated Max Jamelli’s Louisville 2005 89-82 and Jeff Martin’s UNLV 1991 79-69 to reach the Final Four. In that game, Harry again faced a struggle, surviving 76-71 over Dennis Nicholson’s UCLA 1970 team.
Unlike Harry, runner-up Jared Smith’s 7th seeded Louisville 2014 had to play in the opening round, and barely survived 73-70 over Dave Stiffler’s 14 seeded Arkansas 1994. After a second round bye, Jared survived a two point 89-87 contest against Bruce Reiff’s Michigan State 2016. Easier wins followed: 74-64 over Don Greenwood’s Maryland 1974; 86-77 over David Schneider’s North Carolina 2007; and 99-82 over Kirk Harris’ Gonzaga 2017 in the Final Four.
In the finals, Harry led 42-36 at the half. A 13-1 run by Louisville put Jared up by six points with four positions remaining. Bill Walton then posted a big 14 spot to put Harry back in front 57-56 with three positions remaining. Next came the Bench. Jared earned a big advantage on the scoring roll, and Harry had to use his Timeout. Harry won the re-roll 6-4 which would have increased his lead by five more points. This time Jared took the Timeout. It came down to the third attempt, which was identical to the second, putting Harry up by six points. When Harry then out-rolled Jared 6-1 on the LG position, the crown was his.
Harry’s MVP of the tournament may have been the Injury card, which he twice used to harm his opponent without suffering any ill-effects himself. Harry also may have been the fastest player of the event, along with Max Jamelli. They managed to play 16 practice when they were waiting for their next opponents.
Here is the entire All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of the tournament participants. All Tournament First Team:
- Center – Bill Walton (UCLA 1973) – B Rating – 6 Games – 20.0 ppg - The only unanimous choice on this team, Bill led his squad to the tournament championship.
- Left Forward – Elvin Hayes (Houston 1968) – AA Rating – 4 Games – 27.3 ppg - Some love given to the F rated player, Shavlik Randolph (Duke 2005) who averaged 8.3 points in four games. But Hayes’ total scoring was too much to overlook.
- Right Forward – Larry Farmer (UCLA 1973) – D Rating – 6 Games – 11.0 ppg - Our second player from the championship squad, Farmer’s contributions to the title pushed his past UNLV 1991’s Larry Johnson, who averaged 26.6 point over 5 games.
- Left Guard – Russ Smith (Louisville 2014) – B Rating – 6 Games – 21.0 ppg - A member of the runner-up team in the tournament, Smith edged out his final game adversary, UCLA 1973’s Larry Holyfield.
- Right Guard – Nigel Williams (Gonzaga 2017) – C Rating – 5 Games – 17.8 ppg - Our two finalists provided two contenders in UCLA’s Tommy Curtis and Louisvile’s Chris Jones, but voters were more impressed with Williams’ increased scoring in leading his team to the Final Four.
- Bench – UCLA 1973 – C Rating – 6 Games – 18.0 ppg - Once again, to the winners go the spoils. This bench scored far more than any bench rating the same or lower, and almost as much as higher rated benches. They also scored more than every other position in the championship game.
The tournament will be restarted this coming autumn. Come join us in determining next year’s PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
- 1st – Harry Flawd
- 2nd – Jared Smith
- 3rd – Dennis Nicholson
- 4th – Kirk Harris
- 5th – Jeff Martin
- 6th – David Schneider
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41 players joined the 2020 March Madness email tournament. Despite the COVID-19 crisis shutting down both the WBC and the NCAA versions of the tournament, we played on. Allan Jiang improved from his 5th place finish last year to win the whole tournament with his 11th-seeded Arizona 2003 squad.
After beating Jeff Mullet’s 14th seeded Louisville team handily in the first round, Allan squeaked through his next two matchups, beating Marvin Birnbaum’s 34th-seeded Villanova team and Mark Yoshikawa’s 6th ranked Louisville team by 3 points each. After that it was mostly easy games for the Wildcats, as he beat Kevin Wojtaszczyk’s Ohio State team by 16 and Max Jamelli’s Duke team by 10 to get into the Final Four.
In the other half of that bracket, Rob Kircher’s 12th-seeded Indiana 1953 team advanced with an 82-75 victory over David Schneider’s UCLA team, and then a 61-50 defeat of Steve Caler’s Michigan 2013 team. After squeaking by Bruce Monnin’s 20th-seeded Kentucky team 58-55, Rob beat Haim Hochboim’s 28th-seeded Kansas team 62-50 to secure his place in the Final Four.
Meanwhile, in the B bracket, Doug Galullo’s 33rd-seeded Florida 2000 team took advantage of their first round bye to stay rested into their game with Jeff Mullet’s other Louisville team, knocking Jeff out of the tournament with an 84-69 victory. Doug then beat Paul Pawlak’s 40th-seeded Connecticut team 78-50 before facing Bruce Reiff’s 32nd-seeded Michigan team. We’re still unsure why Bruce took a Michigan team, and are wondering if he had to rescind his Ohio State credentials. Indeed, the Wolverines let him down, and Doug’s Florida team advanced with a score of 93-91. Doug then faced his toughest test yet- Steve Caler’s top-ranked UCLA team. Doug’s team dispatched them 87-70 to reach the Final Four.
Doug’s opponent in the Final Four of the B bracket was Joe Birnbaum’s 27th-seeded Cincinnati 1959 squad, also getting a first-round bye. Joe defeated 2018 PBEM champion Don Greenwood in the first round, moving on to defeat the #2 seed of the B bracket Dave Stiffler’s Indiana team 83-77. Joe then defeated Nicole Reiff’s 10th-seeded Memphis squad 101-70 and Kevin Wojtaszczyk’s 14th seeded Duke team 92-85 to reach the final four.
As near as I can tell, this year marked the first time going back to at least 2010 (the oldest bracket I have) that no single-digit seeds made it to the Final Four. Hopefully this will give some hope to people next year who have to pick low in the draft order.
The A bracket final pitted Allan’s Arizona team against Rob’s Indiana team. The dice were all in Allan’s favor as he cruised to a 101-71 victory. In the B bracket final, Doug had a closer game against Joe, but managed to come out victorious by a score of 81-71.
At this point, though, the charm on Doug’s “Underdougs” faded away. Here is Allan’s account of the final which Allan won 106-79: As you might expect with such a lopsided score, the dice were just cruel to Doug all game long, not only during the scoring rolls but also during the clock rolls. So despite my 2-rated coach getting called for 3 technicals and being able to take 1 coaching move all game long, I was able to effectively use my Box & One on his highest rated player in both halves. It was particularly brutal in the 2nd half, when he had played both Second Shots and Super Effort to his Center with 18 minutes remaining, and he never had an option to score Center until after I played Box & One with 3 minutes remaining.
As is our tradition, we award the All-Tournament team by a poll of interested participants after the tournament has concluded. Here is this year’s All-Tournament Team:
- Center: Don Schlundt, Indiana 1953, rated A. 6 games, 26.7 ppg. Honorable mention to Channing Frye, the champion Arizona’s D-rated player who averaged 17.6 ppg, outscoring Schlundt 31-28 in the semifinals, and Florida’s B-rated Haslem 23-19 in the finals.
- Left Forward: Elvin Hayes, Houston 1968, rated AA. 3 games, 36.3 ppg. The highest ppg of any player in the tournament, despite the early exit.
- Right Forward: Morris Peterson, Michigan State 2000, rated B. 3 games, 24 ppg.
- Left Guard: J.J. Redick, Duke 2006, rated A. 4 games, 25.5 ppg. The voters narrowly chose him over Houston’s Don Chaney, rated C with 22 ppg.
- Right Guard: Jason Gardner, Arizona 2003, rated C. 15.9 ppg. This was a relatively low scoring year for right guards, with no players averaging over 20 ppg.
- Bench: Arizona 2003, rated A, 7 games, 24.4 ppg. The top-scoring position of the National Champions.
With two All-Tournament selections, plus a clutch final two games from their center, it’s easy to see how Arizona’s players carried Allan’s team to the championship. Congratulations, and we’ll see you next year! Let’s all hope we can see some live college basketball before then.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Allan Jiang
- 2nd – Doug Gallulo
- 3rd – Rob Kircher
- 4th – Joe Birnbaum
- 5th – Max Jamelli
- 6th – Kevin Wojtaszczyk
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44 players participated in this year’s sixteenth rendition of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. We have had thirteen different champions in this event, but GM Bruce Monnin bucked that trend by triumphing for the fourth time, his first championship since 2012.
Bruce survived seven rounds with his 11th seeded Arkansas 1994 team, the most “modern” squad to take the title in the last four years. The bracket broke well for Bruce, as his team was the Favorite in all except for his closest game, a 75-70 victory over Pete Stein’s 6th seeded Maryland 2002 squad. He compiled an average winning score of 75-63, a twelve point margin of victory. Defense was en vogue this year as Bruce scored 12 points per game less than last year’s champion, Don Greenwood. After his win over Pete Stein, Bruce beat Paul Risner’s Illinois 2005 90-80 in the Sweet Sixteen and Derek Landel’s Houston 1967
89-72 in the Elite Eight.
Runner-up Ron Emch returned after taking a year off and managed to win a record tying 10 games in the tournament, going 10-2 overall. He was the first contestant to get both of his teams to the Final Four since Jim Gutt in 2005. Ron’s 27th seeded Gonzaga 2018 squad survived his opening matchup against Bryan Collar’s Arizona 2001 83-80, then proceeded to secure easier wins against Bruce and Nicole Reiff. That set up an Elite Eight matchup with Bruce Monnin’s 31st seeded Kansas 1986, the first of three matchups between these two players. Ron won 71-65, then went on to record a one-point 82-81 upset victory over Derek Landel’s 5th seeded Kansas 2003 to reach the final game.
In Ron’s Elite Eight win over Bruce, he triumphed as both players rolled lower than expected on their twelve scoring rolls, with Ron’s average roll being 3.08, while Bruce was slightly better at 3.17. It was a trend that would worsen for Ron in their other two games, while Bruce’s dice improved significantly.
In the Final Four, Bruce jumped out to a 52-27 halftime lead over Ron’s 21st seeded UCLA 1974, rolling almost two higher than Ron on those resolutions. Ron’s dice improved in the second half, but Bruce had slapped down the dreaded Four Corner Stall to hold on for a 68-50 win.
In their rematch in the finals, Bruce jumped out to a small lead early, which Ron closed to within four points after the Bench was resolved early in the second half. But Ron’s dice betrayed him, as his final five scoring resolution rolls were 1, 3, 1, 1 and 2, generating a total of 9 points from his final five positions. Each of Bruce’s three “B” rated players scored 8 second half points, enough to secure the 70-54 victory.
The key player in the game may have been Bruce’s E-rated Arkansas LF Dwight Stewart. While only scoring 4 points, he held Ron’s C-rated Gonzaga LF Johnathan Williams to a mere 2 points for the game. The media, however, prefers scoring, and awarded the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four to Bruce’s B-rated Arkansas RF Scotty Thurman, who average 20.5 points in those two games.
Here is the entire All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of the tournament participants.
All Tournament First Team:
- Center – Nick Collison (Kansas 2003) – B Rating – 6 Games – 20.2 ppg
- The only Center to receive more than one vote
- Left Forward – Jarron Collins (Stanford 2001) – C Rating – 3 Games – 20.3 ppg
- Jarron just edged out UCLA 1974’s Keith Wilkes in the voting
- Right Forward – Scotty Thurman (Arkansas 1994) – B Rating – 7 Games – 19.7 ppg
- A real constant, Scotty topped 20 points in five games in this tournament
- Left Guard – Kirk Heinrich (Kansas 2003) – B Rating – 6 Games – 20.8 ppg
- The second player from this Kansas squad who missed reaching the championship game by a single point
- Right Guard – Ron Brewer (Arkansas 1978) – B Rating – 4 Games – 18.3 ppg
- Ron narrowly edged out Duke 1990’s Phil Henderson who scored 26.0 ppg but whose team only won two games
- Bench – Gonzaga 2018 – B Rating – 6 Games – 23.5 ppg
- Far and away the strength of this team, especially in both games against Bruce, where they scored 22 and 23 points (43% of the total scored by the team)
The tournament will be restarted this coming autumn. Come join us in determining next year’s PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Bruce Monnin
- 2nd – Ron Emch
- 3rd – Derek Landel
- 4th – Doug Galullo
- 5th – Allan Jiang
- 6th – Paul Risner
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40 players participated in this year’s fifteenth rendition of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. Our thirteenth different champion was crowned, as Don Greenwood won his first title in either the PBeM or WBC versions of this event, taking a step up from his Final Four appearance in last year’s PBeM tournament (as has been the trend lately).
Don survived six rounds with his 37th seeded Cincinnati 1959 team, the third consecutive year that a team from the 1950’s took the title. He was the underdog in every game, and compiled an average winning score of 87-79, an eight point margin of victory. Don survived three one point games. After a first round bye and a nine point second round win, Don then secured 77-76 victories over both Sean McCulloch’s Connecticut 2011 and Henry Rice’s Texas 2006. Don got a breather with a 17 point victory in the Elite Eight over Max Jamelli’s Kansas 2010, then outlasted defending champion Bob Hamel’s top seeded Maryland 2002 (in what must have been a bittersweet win for Terp fan Greenwood) by a 93-92 score.
Runner-up Marvin Birnbaum’s 13th seeded Kansas 2008 had a slightly easier run through the tournament as he won his first five games by an average of 20 points. Like Don, Marvin squeaked out a one point 74-73 in the Final Four against Terry Coleman’s Illinois 1989 to setup the championship game.
Marvin jumped out to an early 19-4 lead and immediately slapped down the Four Corner Stall. Partially thanks to two Technical Fouls, Don slowly clawed back, trailing at the half by a score of 35-40.
After two position resolutions in the second half, Marvin’s lead was down to one point. Then it was Oscar Robertson’s turn, and he rewarded down with a 13-0 LF resolution, giving the eventual champion his first lead of the game. Next came the critical LG position, which saw both players use their Timeouts to can highly favorable rolls for the other player. The third and final set of rolls gave Don a 10-2 advantage, and a 20 point lead. The advantage held over the final two positions and Don took home the title with an 80-60 victory.
The key player in the game was Don’s AA-rated Cincinnati LF Oscar Robertson. The legend scored 26 points while holding Marvin’s “D” rated Darnell Jackson to only 4 points. A strong assist went to Cincinnati’s “C” rated LG Ralph Davis, who picked up another 17 points.
Here is the entire All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of the tournament participants.
All Tournament First Team:
- Center – Jerry Lucas (Ohio State 1960) – A Rating – 3 Games – 28.3 ppg - The only Center to receive more than one vote.
- Left Forward – Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati 1959) – AA Rating – 6 Games – 30.8 ppg - One of the all-time greats, “The Big O” led Don Greenwood to the championship.
- Right Forward – Ed O’Bannon (UCLA 1995) – B Rating – 4 Games – 20.5 ppg - His real life NCAA tournament run is often forgotten, but he did a good job of repeating it here.
- Left Guard – Ralph Davis (Cincinnati 1959) – C Rating – 6 Games – 17.5 ppg - The lowest scorer of the all-tournament team, however he had a big championship game for the victors.
- Right Guard – Trey Burke (Michigan 2013) – B Rating – 2 Games – 22.5 ppg - he youngest player on the team, he only got to play twice but shined in both games.
- Bench – Kansas 2008 – A Rating – 7 Games – 28.9 ppg - Marvin’s Bench was key in his runner-up finish.
The tournament will be restarted this coming autumn. Come join us in determining next year’s PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Don Greenwood
- 2nd – Marvin Birnbaum
- 3rd – Bob Hamel
- 4th – Terry Coleman
- 5th – Max Jamelli
- 6th – Bruce Monnin
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46 players participated in this year’s fourteenth rendition of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. Our twelfth different champion was crowned, as Bob Hamel won his first title in either the PBeM or WBC versions of this event, taking a step up from his Final Four appearance in last year’s PBeM tournament.
Bob survived seven rounds with his seventh seeded Indiana 1953 team, the second consecutive year that a team from the 1950’s took the title. His average winning score was 82-73, a nine point margin of victory. Bob had two close calls, both three point wins. The first was in the second round, a 84-81 victory over Chris Bauch’s Cincinnati 1996. The other was in the Final Four as Bob survived a 64-61 challenge from Don Greenwood’s Duke 2011.
Runner-up Haim Hochboim’s 42nd seeded Missouri 2009 had a slightly easier run through the tournament even though he was the underdog in every game he played. After an opening round bye, he won the next five games by an average score of 77-66. His first game was a three point win over Jeremy Billones’ Arkansas 1994, then he later survived a tight 76-75 result against Paul Risner’s Illinois 2001. A 66-53 win over Mike Pacheco’s San Francisco 1956 in the Final Four brought Haim to the championship game.
The key player in the game was Bob’s A-rated Indiana Center Don Schlundt. The star of the team came through when it mattered, scoring 35 points while holding Haim’s “C” rated Leo Lyons to only 12 points.
All Tournament First Team:
- Center – Don Schlundt (Indiana 1953) – A Rating – 7 Games – 26.6 ppg - As true champions do, he had his highest scoring effort in the championship game.
- Left Forward – DeMare Carroll (Missouri 2009) – B Rating – 6 Games – 15.2 ppg - The lowest scorer on the all-tournament team, DeMare led Missouri to the brink of the title.
- Right Forward – Kyle Singler (Duke 2011) – C Rating – 6 Games – 15.8 ppg - Kyle had to beat out the younger 2010 version of himself for the award, a somewhat strange accomplishment only possible in the world of fantasy sports.
- Left Guard – Jim Price (Louisville 1972) – B Rating – 2 Games – 26.5 ppg - Though only playing two games, he lit up the scoreboard in his limited opportunities.
- Right Guard – Bobby Jackson (Minnesota 1997) – C Rating – 4 Games – 19.8 ppg - Never scored less than 16 points in his four games. Not bad for a player of a #45 seeded team.
- Bench – Ohio State 1960 – C Rating – 4 Games – 17.5 ppg - Tough choice with UNLV 1977’s A rated bench averaging 31.7 ppg but the voters went with the C bench which was not trying to employ the Run & Gun in every half of every game.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Bob Hamel
- 2nd – Haim Hochboim
- 3rd – Don Greenwood
- 4th – Mike Pacheco
- 5th – Bruce Monnin
- 6th – Ken Gutermuth
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49 players (which tied with 2013 for our largest field ever) signed up for this year’s thirteenth running of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. Our eleventh different champion was crowned, as Marvin Birnbaum became the fifth player to achieve the WBC/PBeM championship double.
Marvin survived six rounds with his 1956 San Francisco team to earn the championship plaque, after finishing in the runner-up position last year. His average winning score was 80-68, a 12 point margin of victory. Marvin’s closest wins were by five points, a 72-67 victory over Ken Gutermuth’s Louisville 1983 squad in the Sweet Sixteen and a 70-65 win over Nicole Reiff’s Indiana 2013 in the Elite Eight. He then defeated Bob Hamel’s Indiana State 1979 99-77 in the Final Four to reach the championship game.
Runner-up Bryan Collars’ 1st seeded Louisville 2014 had an even easier run through the tournament. His closest game was an eight point win over Robert Kircher’s Arizona 2015 in the Sweet Sixteen, followed by a ten point 76-66 victory in the Elite Eight over Jeff Martin’s Louisville 1975. Bryan then defeated Chris Bauch’s Kansas 1971 83-70 in the Final Four to win his half of the bracket.
In any March Madness game, there is the possibility of eight sets of scoring rolls per half (six positions and two timeout rerolls). In the first half of the final, six of the eight scoring rolls had a differential of at least four between the two dice. In other words, six sets of die rolls were either 6-1, 6-2 or 5-1. Thanks to four of the six going in favor of Marvin, he was able to jump out to a 42-34 halftime lead. However, Marvin had led by six points at the half in last year’s final game, so he certainly was not feeling overly confident at this point.
Bryan wasted no time starting the second half comeback. The Left Guard was resolved first, and Bryan outscored Marvin 11-2 to take a one point lead. However, he had to use his Timeout, in a wise move as it gained him eight points. The Center was resolved next, this time with Marvin effectively using his Timeout to gain eight points and retake the lead, before Bryan played a Technical Foul to tie the game at 55-55.
Bryan survived the next two resolutions at the Right Guard and the Bench with only losing two points to Marvin, partly due to his play of Boxing Out negating Marvin’s Second Shots. However, the Left Forward came up next, and Marvin was on the beneficial end of another 5-1 set of die rolls to vault him ahead 70-63. The game was pretty much decided, and Marvin’s Right Forward outscored the opposition by five points for the final 76-64 victory.
The key player in the game may have been Marvin’s San Francisco Left Forward Mike Farmer. A “D” rated performer, Farmer scored 11 points while holding Bryan’s “D” rated Luke Hancock to just a single point.
Here is the entire All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of eight of the tournament participants. Elvin Hayes was not only our winner for his efforts at Left Forward in 1968, he was also nominated for his efforts at Center in 1967.
All Tournament First Team:
- Center – Bill Russell (San Francisco 1956) – B Rating – 6 Games – 21.7 ppg - Perhaps not a performance up to Russell’s full potential, but it led to a title..
- Left Forward – Larry Bird (Indiana State 1979) – AA Rating – 6 Games – 26.3 ppg - Another great tournament for Larry Legend, the only non “B” rated player on the first team.
- Right Forward – Antawn Jamison (North Carolina 1997) – B Rating – 5 Games – 19.2 ppg - Our lowest scorer, but still a solid five game effort.
- Left Guard – Juan Dixon (Maryland 2002) – B Rating – 5 Games – 20.4 ppg - Nice to finally get a favorite of Don Greenwood’s on the first team..
- Right Guard – Bob Heaton (Indiana State 1979) – B Rating – 6 Games – 22.2 ppg - Indiana State 1979 gets two representatives, as Bob almost outscored the Birdman with only a “B” rating.
- Bench – Louisville 2014 – B Rating – 7 Games – 18.3 ppg - Took the Cardinals to within a step of the title.
The tournament will be restarted this coming autumn. Come join us in determining next year’s PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Marvin Birnbaum
- 2nd – Bryan Collars
- 3rd – Bob Hamel
- 4th – Chris Bauch
- 5th – Nicole Reiff
- 6th – Jeff Martin
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A field of 48 entered this year's 11th anniversary BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. After 95 games, our tenth champion was crowned, as Debbie Gutermuth carried the ladies banner all the way through seven rounds to become our first female champion—earning a bookend plaque to match her 2002 WBC hardware. A dual title possession shared by only three others: Bruce Monnin, Dennis Nicholson and Derek Landel.
Debbie's 10th seeded Arizona 2003 squad ran roughshod over the field—winning all but one contest by double digit margins. Only a 85-83 squeaker over Robert Rund's Illinois '89 squad in the Sweet 16 gave her any trouble. She then defeated Thomas Browne's Michigan '13 squad in the Elite Eight to relegate Tom to fifth place laurels and dropped newcomer Oliver Searles' Kansas '57 team in the Final Four. Oliver finished third overall in the 48-player field.
Marvin Birnbaum also had a relatively easy path to the Final. His top seeded Houston '68 was only slightly threatened by #48 seed Syracuse '13 in the second Round in a seven-point win and an 8-point win over Joe Yaure's Houston '67 squad in the Elite Eight. The 84-76 loss nontheless earned Joe sixth place laurels.
Marvin led at half 48-42 behind 19 points by AA Elvin Hayes. It could have been worse though were it not for a Great Pass that nullified Marvin's Double Team. Debbie took her first lead with only two positions remaining on a Technical Foul and won going away when her Bench outscored Marvin's 14-6 for the winning eight-point margin in a 94-86 victory.
The tournament will be restarted this coming October. Come join us in determining next year's PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
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A field of 44 entered this year's tenth anniversary BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. After 87 games, a new champion was crowned, as Robert Kircher became one of two final four participants to earn his first March Madness laurels.
Robert's 12th seeded Auburn 1999 team had a narrow two-point victory in his first game, an 84-82 win over Dennis Nicholson's Arizona 1997 squad. After an easier 74-59 win over Bob Hamel's Kansas 1988 team, Robert survived another two-point scare, 71-69, over Pete Stein's Arkansas 1994 squad. Robert's stress level then declined, besting Robert Rund (UCLA 1970) 108-97, Derek Landel (North Carolina 1998) 89-62 and Max Jamelli (San Francisco 1956) 70-57.
Runner-up Aran Warszawski's 35th seeded Oklahoma State 2005 team was the underdog in every game but one. Despite that, he had an easier road to the championship matchup. His first victim was John Coussis' Michigan State 1979 squad, which fell by 6 points. This was followed by a 20-point win over Terry Coleman's Loyola Chicago 1963, a 25-point stomping of Mike Pacheco's St. John's 1985 and a tight 5-point win over Jeremy Billones' Oklahoma State 2004. A 7-point victory over Sean McCulloch's UCLA 1975 sent the underdogs into the championship game.
The first half of the final was a back and forth affair with three lead changes. The last position resolved in the half would have given Aran's underdogs a 36-35 halftime lead, so Robert used his Timeout. However, the new die roll was even more in Aran's favor, and he took a 36-32 halftime lead.
Aran maintained this lead for most of the second half, leading 53-50 with just two positions remaining. Meanwhile, Robert had already used his Timeout, making things even dicier for the favorite. The next position resolved was the Bench, and a favorable die roll gave Robert a 20-4 result. Aran did not hesitate to use his Timeout, but the resulting reroll was only a little better, giving Robert a 10-point advantage for a 63-56 lead.
Aran had the advantage in the last remaining position, with his "D" Center taking on Robert's "E". It was not enough; the final die roll gave each player three points, awarding Robert the 66-59 victory.
The "A" rated Auburn bench was the difference, scoring 21 points while holding the Oklahoma State "C" bench to 7. Auburn "C" rated LF Chris Porter was the individual star of the game, outscoring "B" rated Joey Porter 13 points to 9 in the contest.
Earning laurels for their third to sixth place respective finishes were Max Jamelli who garnered his first MMS laurels in the tournament, Sean McCulloch, Derek Landel and Jeremy Billones.
The All-Tournament Team was chosen by a panel of eight of tournament participants. Jimmy Collins repeated with back-to-back selections:
- Center Bill Russell (San Francisco 1956) B Rating 6 games 22.2 ppg
- Left Forward Chris Porter (Auburn 1999) C Rating 7 games 18.0 ppg
- Right Forward Josh Shipp (UCLA 2008) C Rating 5 games 18.0 ppg
- Left Guard Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State 1970) A Rating 2 games 29.5 ppg
- Right Guard Trey Burke (Michigan 2013) B Rating 2 games 31.0 ppg
- Bench Oklahoma State 2005 C Rating 6 games 24.7 ppg
The tournament will be restarted this coming October. Come join us in determining next year's PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
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The largest ever field of 49 players signed up to contest the ninth annual BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. A new champion was crowned, as Derek Landel earned a March Madness PBeM championship plaque to compliment his 2007 WBC championship.
Derek's 16th seeded Duke 1978 team reached the Final Four with a 23 point win over Kevin Wojtaszczyk's Pittsburgh 2003 in his first game. Next came a 13-point win over Dennis Nicholson's North Carolina 2012, a 9-point victory over Buck Karpowitz's Dayton 1967 and a 9-point triumph over Vassili Kyrkos' Houston 1987 squad. Derek's narrow escape came in a 90-89 win over Steve Caler's Illinois 2005, followed by a 7-point win over Jeremy Billones' Michigan State 1979 to earn his trip to the championship game.
Runner-up Ken Gutermuth's 50th seeded Houston 1982 team was the underdog in every game it played in the tournament. Despite that, he had a fairly easy road to the championship matchup. His first victim was Steve Caler's Stanford 2008 squad, which fell by 14 points. This was followed by a 7-point win over Terry Coleman's NC Charlotte 1977, a 23-point walloping of Max Jamelli's New Mexico State 1970 and a solid 9-point victory over Dennis Nicholson's Jacksonville 1970. A tight 5-point victory over Peter Stein's Utah 1998 sent the underdogs into the championship matchup.
The first half of the Final saw the 50th-seeded Houston Cougars take an early lead. Clyde "The Glide" Drexler was exceptional and was a big part of the quick start that the Cougars enjoyed, netting nine points in the half. Despite the lead, Cougars coach Guy Lewis found himself ejected midway through the 1st half! His game plan stayed in place though, which was to Double Team two of Duke's top three scorers. This worked for the most part as Spanarkel and Banks were limited to just 11 points between them. However, PG John Harrell stepped up for Duke, as he had the entire tournament, and scored 10 points off the Double Teams. When the dust cleared Houston found themselves ahead with a 40-37 lead. The clock had not struck midnight yet on their Cinderella story.
The Cougars kept their foot on the gas early in the second half, increasing the lead to nine points. Finally in desperation mode, Duke coach Bill Foster decided to play some Tight Man To Man to attempt to cut into the Houston lead. Timeouts were then swapped over Jim Spanarkel's pivotal 2nd half performance. In the end, Spanarkel was able to get Duke back to within five. Most importantly, this left both coaches without any more timeouts. Duke's bench took over the game midway through the 2nd half with a 14-3 run claiming the Blue Devils their first lead of the game at 66-60. Houston wasn't done though. Drexler once again stepped up, cutting the Duke lead to 67-65. The final matchup was destined to be Akeem "Not Yet The Dream" Olajuwon vs Mike "GMan" Gminski. The Cougars brought in an offensive ringer for Akeem down the stretch. This made the final roll an A (Landel's GMan) versus a B (Gutermuth's Ringer). With a slim two point lead this one was going to go wherever the final die roll decided. Lady luck shined on Duke again and the GMan ended up outscoring the Ringer 11-4. Duke would be crowned champions on this day with a 78-69 win in a game that was worthy of the big stage it was played on. The MVP of the game was undoubtedly Mike Gminski (22 points).
While Gminski was the star of the championship game, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player is given to champion Duke 1978's left guard Jim Spanarkel. With his B rating, he averaged 21 points per game in the Final Four, including 29 points in the semifinal win over 1978 Michigan State, outscoring Magic Johnson by 11 in his team's 7-point win. Here is the rest of the All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of eight of the tournament participants:
All Tournament First Team:
- Center: Artis Gilmore (Jacksonville 1970) - A Rating: 5 games - 23.8 ppg
- Left Forward: Randy Foye (Villanova 2006) - B Rating: 3 games - 21.0 ppg
- Right Forward: Clyde Drexler (Houston 1982) - C Rating: 6 games - 18.2 ppg
- Left Guard: Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State 1970) - A Rating: 4 games - 26.3 ppg
- Right Guard: D.J. Augustin (Texas 2008) - B Rating : 4 games - 26.0 ppg
- Bench: Utah 1998 - B Rating: 5 games - 22.0 ppg
The tournament will be restarted this coming October. Come join us in determining next year's PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
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The largest ever field of 46 players signed up to contest the Ninth Annual BPA March Madness PBeM tournament over the course of 91 games. For the second year in a row, the title game was a real nail biter.
Three-time champion Bruce Monnin's 8th seeded 2005 Washington team reached the Final Four with 29- and 19- point wins in his first two games. Then it got tougher. First came a 3-point win over Bruno Passacantando's 2007 Pittsburgh, where Bruce outrolled Bruno 6-2 on the decisive final die roll. Fate continued to smile on our top-ranked laurelist in the all-important final die roll in the next three games, as Bruce outrolled Kaarin Engelmann 5-2 for a 3-point win over BYU 2011, outrolled Debbie Gutermuth 6-2 for a 5-point win over 1986 LSU and outrolled Sean McCulloch 6-3 for a 4-point win over 1971 Villanova.
Runner-up Bill Edwards' 46th seeded 2006 Wichita State squad had an easier go of it despite being one of the lowest seeds in the tournament. He started with a 6-point win over Debbie Gutermuth's 1974 Marquette, then an 18-point win over Chris Bauch's 1966 Utah, a 4-point win over Doug Galullo's 2003 Notre Dame and a 21-point blowout of Jeff Finkeldey's 1987 Indiana. A 3-point win in the Final Four over Robert Rund's 2011 Louisville landed Edwards in the championship game.
The title game was a story of timeouts gone awry. In the first half, Bill resolved the Left Guard position where he had a D player with a Fast Break card against Bruce's C. Bill rolled two 4's for himself and a 2 for Bruce. Bruce took the timeout, but the reroll was two 6's for Bill and a 1 for Bruce, gaining Bill an extra six points. With just three Positions left to resolve in the game, Bruce resolved his A bench against Bill's C (with a -1). The roll was a 6 for Bruce and a 4 for Bill, a 12-point swing in Bruce's favor. Bill used his timeout and the new roll was a 6 for Bruce and a 1 for Bill, costing Bill four more points that would end up making the difference in the game, a 2-point 75-73 victory for Bruce.
On the luck front, Bill successfully rolled for four extra cards in the game, while Bruce only got one, and it was too late to get into play before the game ended. However, Bill also got stuck doing the majority of resolutions, and, of course, Bruce hit the set of lucky scoring rolls on the critical Bench position near the end of the game.
Final Four Most Outstanding Player is given to champion Washington 2005's right guard Will Conroy. With only a D rating, he averaged 15.0 points per game in the Final Four. Conroy was the only player (besides the bench) on the champions to outscore his competition in the final game. Here is the rest of the All-Tournament Team as chosen by a panel of eight of the tournament participants:
All Tournament First Team:
- Center Don Schlundt (1953 Indiana) A Rating 33.0 ppg
- Left Forward Howard Porter (1971 Villanova) A Rating 28.8 ppg
- Right Forward Gerald Henderson (2009 Duke) C Rating 20.8 ppg
- Left Guard Nate Robinson (2005 Washington) C Rating 17.3 ppg
- Right Guard Billy Donovan (1987 Providence) B Rating 23.3 ppg
- Bench 2009 Duke A Rating 35.0 ppg
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Bruce Monnin
- 2nd – Bill Edwards
- 3rd – Sean McCulloch
- 4th – Robert Rund
- 5th – Debbie Gutermuth
- 6th – Jeff Finkeldey
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The largest ever field of 44 players contested the eighth annual BPA March Madness PBeM tournament with 87 games yielding not only a new MMS champ, but the first ever BPA championship for Bob Menzel. Unlike the lopsided championship games of the last two years, this year's title was awarded in a nail biter.
Champion Bob Menzel's 3rd seeded 1991 Kansas team reached the Final Four in convincing fashion with an average of 23-point wins over Jim Gutt's Illinois 2005, Thomas Browne's UCLA 1964, Debbie Gutermuth's Duke 2004 and Mike Pacheco's Cincinnati 2000 squad. He then defeated Debbie Bell's Houston 1983 Phi Slamma Jamma team 96-86 to move on to the championship game.
Runner-up Thomas Browne's 8th seeded Seton Hall 1989 squad had a slightly more tenuous run to the Final Four. He earned comfortable wins over Dennis Nicholson's NC State 1974, Bruce Reiff's Michigan State 2001, and Daniel Leader's Kentucky 2003 but barely survived a one-point scare over Bill Edward's Duke 2005 squad. A six-point win over Harry Flawd's UCLA 2008 landed Thomas in the championship matchup.
Menzel's Jayhawks opened up an early 35-34 halftime lead in the championship game. The game remained close and was tied at 60-60 with just the RF position remaining. Browne's Pirates seemed to have the advantage with a C rating compared to Bob's D rating. However, Bob was able to get the Box & One card down before the position was resolved, placing a -1 drm on the Seton Hall roll. With the plaque coming down to the final die roll, Bob outrolled Thomas 4-3, providing the one point margin of victory in this 65-64 contest. It is of note that the Box & One defense provided the one point necessary for the win.
In a game this close, it is easy to point out places where a die roll or a card could have changed the result. However, Browne's Seton Hall team's greatest obstacle to overcome was likely only succeeding on 2 out of 18 extra card rolls (an 11% success rate), far below the six cards which normal luck would expect to have been gained by those 18 rolls.
Final Four Most Outstanding Player is given to champion Kansas 1991's center Mark Randall. With only a C rating, he averaged 14.9 points per game throughout the tournament, and 16 points per game in the Final Four. Here is the rest of the All Tournament Team:
All Tournament First Team:
- Center Bill Russell (San Francisco 1956) B Rating 21.5 ppg
- Left Forward Joey Graham (Oklahoma State 2005) B Rating 19.0 ppg
- Right Forward Glen Rice (Michigan 1989) A Rating 22.0 ppg
- Left Guard Michael Young (Houston 1983) B Rating 22.4 ppg
- Right Guard John Lucas III (Oklahoma State 2005) B Rating 23.0 ppg
- Bench Kentucky 2003 A Rating 27.0 ppg
The tournament will be restarted this coming October. Come join us in determining next year's PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Bob Menzel
- 2nd – Thomas Browne
- 3rd – Debbie Bell
- 4th – Harry Flawd
- 5th – Mike Pacheco
- 6th – Dan Leader
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The largest ever field of 42 players signed up to contest the seventh annual BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. For the second year in a row, the championship was won with a runaway victory in the title game.
Champion Dennis Nicholson's 5th seeded 1998 North Carolina team reached the Sweet 16 with nine-point wins over Bob Jamelli's St. Johns 1995, Thomas Browne's Michigan 1976 and Tom Dunning's Oklahoma 2002 squad. He then defeated Mark Yoshikawa's Pittsburgh 2009, Terry Coleman's Michigan 1989 and Harry Flawd's Memphis 2006 teams to reach the championship.
Runner-up Daniel Leader's 8th seeded Duke 2004 squad had a more tenuous run to the all-ACC championship game. He started with a one-point win over Nicole Reiff's NC State 1983, followed by a six-point win over Steve Caler's Memphis 2009 and a two-point win over Ken Gutermuth's Texas 2006. An easier win over Andy Maly's Minnesota 1997 was followed by a one-point win over Don Greenwood's Michigan State 2001 with a reroll of the last dieroll. A two-point Final Four victory over Mark Yoshikawa's Arizona 2001 squad landed Daniel in the championship matchup.
Nicholson's Tar Heels jumped out to an early lead in the championship game, taking a 51-33 halftime lead. Both Mike Krzyzewski and Bill Guthridge were kicked out of the game with two technical fouls apiece. Duke's vaunted defense (or as some would argue, flopping ability) caused North Carolina to suffer two charging fouls, but the Tar Heel express could not be stopped, as they earned a 96-75 victory.
Final Four Most Outstanding Player is given to champion North Carolina 1998's left forward Antawn Jamison. With his B rating, he averaged 20.1 points per game throughout the tournament, including 30 big points in the championship game. Here is the rest of the All Tournament Team:
All Tournament First Team:
- Center Paul Hogue (Cincinnati 1961) C Rating 21.3 ppg
- Left Forward Gene Banks (Duke 1978) B Rating 26.0 ppg
- Right Forward Glen Rice (Michigan 1989) A Rating 24.0 ppg
- Left Guard Shammond Williams (North Carolina 1998) C Rating 17.6 ppg
- Right Guard Louie Dampier (Kentucky 1966) B Rating 25.0 ppg
- Bench Michigan State 2001 A Rating 23.3 ppg
The tournament will be restarted this coming October. Come join us in determining next year's PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Dennis Nicholson
- 2nd – Dan Leader
- 3rd – Harry Flawd
- 4th – Mark Yoshikawa
- 5th – Terry Coleman
- 6th – Don Greenwood
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It took just five days after North Carolina's national championship win for first year player Aran Warszawski to pull off the most dominating Final Four in the six year history of this email tournament event. His Cincinnati 2000 squad won its semi-final game by 51 points, then backed off a little bit to coast to a 50-point 106-56 victory in the championship game over Marshall Collins and his Texas 2006 crew.
The winning team was the #9 seed in its bracket, while the runner-up was a #25 seed. Once again, the teams in the tournament were similar enough in strength to allow any beginning seed to have a chance to compete for the championship.
This was a year for newcomers to show the old hands how things are meant to be done. Runner-up Marshall Collins won his first ever March Madness tournament game at WBC this past summer. Champion Aran Warszawski actually purchased the game at the WBC auction in August and played his first ever game in the first round of this PBeM tournament.
Aran's Cincinnati 2000 team reached the Sweet Sixteen by winning games by an average of 10 points a contest. His next game was his closest, a 80-77 squeaker over John Coussis' Louisville 1975 squad. He followed with a tight 76-71 win over Bruno Passacantando's 1983 version of the Louisville Cardinals before his two lopsided Final Four triumphs.
In the other bracket, Marshall Collins and his 2006 Texas Longhorns survived two separate 2-point victories on his path to the Final Four, where he survived again in a 77-73 win over Derek Landel's 2001 Arizona Wildcats before being the sacrificial lamb in Aran's crowning victory.
Final Four MVP was given to champion Cincinnati 2000's center Kenyon Martin. With his B rating, he led the way with 24 points in the semi-final victory and 25 points in the championship game. Here is the rest of the All Tournament Team:
All Tournament First Team:
- Center: Bill Walton (UCLA 1974) - B Rating - 20.7 ppg
- Left Forward: Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati 1959) - AA Rating - 25.5 ppg
- Right Forward: Lew Massey (NC Charlotte 1977) - B Rating - 25.5 ppg
- Left Guard: Darrell Griffith (Louisville 1980) - A Rating - 28.0 ppg
- Right Guard: Carl Nicks (Indiana State 1979) - B Rating - 28.5 ppg
- Bench: Auburn 1999 - A Rating - 28.8 ppg
For the second year in a row, a definite old school flavor to the All Tournament Team. Also for the second straight year, no members of last year's All Tournament Team repeated.
The tournament will be restarted this coming October. Come join us in determining next year's PBeM champion of the BPA March Madness world and see if you can come closer than 50 points to Aran as he defends his title.
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GM Bruce Monnin won his second championship in this event, surviving a 38 player field in the fifth annual BPA March Madness PBeM Championship. Monnin's 1983 NC State squad defeated Pete Staab's 1985 St. Johns team 89-84 in the final game, the third five point spread for the Wolfpack in the tournament
Both teams in the Final were the #17 seeds in their respective brackets, proving you do not need to grab one of the top teams in the draft to do well in the tournament.
Bruce's 1983 NC State team reached the Final by winning every game by at least five points, and comfortably defeated Harry Flawd's 1981 Indiana squad by 13 in the semi-finals. In the other bracket, Bob Menzel consistently won close games, triumphing by five points in the Sweet Sixteen, three in the Elite Eight and six in the semi-final game over John Coussis' 1966 Kentucky Wildcats.
The Final, saw a wild high scoring first half, as both teams posted 49 points. Bruce's Wolfpack had a slight advantage as Pete's Redmen (they did not become the Red Storm until years later) suffered a first half foul on its bench. The second half had many positions resolved quickly. The key resolution was the left forward, as NC State's Thurl Bailey outscored St. Johns Walter Berry. A St. Johns timeout led to a reroll which was also won by Bailey, this time leading to a foul on Berry. The resulting six point advantage held through the duration.
Final Four MVP is given to champion NC State 1983's left guard Dereck Wittenberg. He averaged 20.7 points a game in the tournament and posted 24 points in the championship game. Here is the rest of the All Tournament Team:
All Tournament First Team:
- Center Cedric Maxwell (NC Charlotte 1977) B Rating 24.0 ppg
- Left Forward Mark Aguirre (DePaul 1979) A Rating 23.0 ppg
- Right Forward David Thompson (NC State 1974) A Rating 25.5 ppg
- Left Guard Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State 1970) A Rating 30.5 ppg
- Right Guard Louie Dampier (Kentucky 1966) B Rating 24.8 ppg
- Bench Michigan State 2001 A Rating 30.0 ppg
Definitely an old school all tournament team, with all five player from 1979 teams or earlier. No members of last year's All Tournament Team repeated this year.
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Jeff Martin's 4th ranked Michigan 1989 team defeated Bob Menzel's 19th ranked Utah 1989 team by a score of 98-83 to capture the 4th March Madness PBeM crown.
Jeff advanced to the final by defeating Alan Heath's Georgetown 1984 squad in an adjudicated final four game 41-31. In reaching the final four, Jeff defeated Michigan State 1985 (Debbie Bell), North Carolina 1977 (Terry Coleman), NC State 1974 (Dennis Nicholson), Virginia 1995 (Steve Caler), and Cincinnati 2000 (Jiohn Coussis).
Bob's road to the championship game saw his squad defeat Bruno Passacantando's UCLA 1995 squad by one point in the first final four game. In reaching the final four, Bob defeated Illinois 2005 (John Coussis), Maryland 2001 (Don Greenwood), North Carolina 1998 (Jeremy Billones), and Providence 1973 (Dennis Nicholson).
The top six finishers in order were Jeff Martin, Bob Menzel, Alan Heath, Bruno Passacantando, Debbie Bell, and John Coussis
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Bruce Monnin emerged victorious over a 32 player field in the third annual BPA March Madness PBeM Championship. Bruce becomes the first player to win both the BPA's March Madness championship at the World Boardgaming Championships as well as the PBeM title.
Bruce's 1975Louisvillesquad jumped out to a 13 point halftime lead and felt good with five quality offensive cards tucked in his hand. But the dice were not so obviously favorable in the second half, and Gene's 1956San Franciscosquad played tight defense and slowly bridged the gap, with the last play of the game being Bill Russell scoring 11 second half points, three points short of what was needed to force overtime. Thus, Bruce won the title by a 83-80 score.
All Tournament First Team:
- Center - Bill Russell (San Francisco1956) - B Rating - 22.0 ppg
- Left Forward - Larry Bird (IndianaState1979) - AA Rating - 31.3 ppg
- Right Forward - Al Wood (North Carolina1981) - B Rating - 22.0 ppg
- Left Guard - Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State 1970) - A Rating - 29.0 ppg
- Right Guard - Carl Nicks (IndianaState1979) - B Rating - 23.3 ppg
- Bench - Minnesota 1997 - B Rating - 28.0 ppg
All Tournament Second Team:
- Center - Bill Walton (UCLA 1973) - B Rating - 16.0 ppg
- Left Forward - Dave Robisch (Kansas1971) - B Rating -16.8 ppg
- Right Forward - Kelenna Azubuike (Kentucky 2005) - C Rating - 20.5 ppg
- Left Guard - Milt Wagner (Louisville1983) - C Rating - 25.0 ppg
- Right Guard - Frank Williams (Illinois 2001) - C Rating - 23.0 ppg
- Bench - Illinois 2001 - A Rating - 27.0 ppg
All Final Four Team:
- Center - Bill Russell (San Francisco1956) - B Rating - 22.0 ppg
- Left Forward - Edgar Lacey (UCLA 1995) - D Rating - 15.8 ppg
- Right Forward - Keith Erickson (UCLA 1995) C Rating- 18.5 ppg
- Left Guard - Junior Bridgeman (Louisville1975) - C Rating -14.0 ppg
- Right Guard - Chris Duhon (Duke 2004) - D Rating - 12.3 ppg
- Bench - Louisville1975 - B Rating -19.8 ppg
Larry Bird took advantage of his AA rating to average 31.3 points per game and become our tournament MVP while leading his team to the Eilite Eight.
Final Four MVP is given to championLouisville1975's right forward Allen Murphy. With his C rating, he averaged 17.0 points a game in the Final Four and outscored his similarly rated adversaries in both games.
Of the 62 games played in the tournament, over half were decided by a margin of victory of 9 points or less, with 17 games being decided by four points or less.
The tournament will be renewed October 15th. Come join us in determining next year's champion of the BPA March Madness world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Bruce Monnin
- 2nd – Gene Gibson
- 3rd – John Coussis
- 4th – Jeffrey Martin
- 5th – Peter Staab
- 6th – Derek Landel
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Jim Gutt emerged victorious over a 29-player field in the 2nd Annual BPA March Madness PBeM Championship. Jim's 1992 Cincinnati squad used defense and strong bench play to defeat 2005 WBC champion Marvin Birnbaum's 2000 Florida squad. It looked like an early runaway, as Jim's Bearcats jumped out to a 41-24 halftime lead. Marvin closed the gap when the Offensive Specialist improved his "F" rated guard to the "AA" bench rating and scored 19 points. The game was tied at 60 with just two positions remaining to be resolved and all timeouts and coaching moves exhausted. But Jim received a two point cushion when Florida coach Billy Donovan received a technical foul, and low scoring rolls allowed him to hold on for a 66-63 victory.
Cincinnati's left forward Herb Jones was named the tournament MVP, as he averaged over 23 points per game for the Bearcats, including 30 in a quarter-final win over Paul Risner's 1972 Tar Heels. Also named to the all-tournament team was center Marvin Barnes of 1973 Providence, forward Mike Miller of runner-up 2000 Florida, guard Kendall Gill of 1989 Illinois, guard Tyus Edney of 1995 UCLA with special mention to the 1992 Cincinnati bench, who scored 26 points per game with their "B" rating and held the "AA" rated 2000 Florida bench to just 10 in the championship game. Of the 57 games played, the average margin of victory was 11 points, with eight decided by three points or less. Also claiming laurels were Pail Risner, Terry Coleman, Sean McCulloch and Ric Manns who finished 3rd thru 6th respectively.
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Congratulations to Peter Staab for winning the first BPA MMS PBeM championship. Peter coached his 1977 Marquette squad via the ACTS website through six victories to win the title, defeating Ken Gutermuth's 1996 Massachusetts squad 78-60 in the final. Dennis Nicholson, Chris Palermo, Bruce Reiff, Derek Landel and Steve Caler also suffered defeat at Peter's hand. The latter's Kansas '74 team fell in the Final Four by 21 points. Tentative plans are to do it all over again next October. Staab improved from 21st to 4th in the 2004 Caesar race while Gutermuth moved up from 15th to 7th. In all, 30 players constituted the initial field with 59 games played in the event. Also scoring laurels were John Coussis 4th (Virginia '81), Carrie Lewis 5th (Cincinnati '63), and Derek landel 6th (Kentucky '78). Marquette's Butch Lee was named the tournament MVP with a 25.5 scoring average for the champion Warriors. Also named to the all-tournament team were Bo Ellis of Marquette, Ralph Sampson and Jeff Lamp of Virginia, and Marcus Camby and Dante Bright of '96 Massachusetts.
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