The Wildcats never gave up.  When Kentucky was down 18-5 to the defending National Champions, they slowly worked their way back in the game to be down by 3 at half.  With just 4 and a half in the game, Louisville extended the lead to 7.  But there is no quit in these Wildcats.

Alex Poythress kept hitting layups or free throws, and then, Aaron Harrison hit a three-pointer from the corner with 40 seconds left in the game.  And suddenly, it was the defending champs that found themselves looking up at the scoreboard.

And Kentucky hit their free throws down the stretch to finish off the game – so instead of the trendy pick out of the Midwest going to the Final, it will be 8 seeded Kentucky who will go up against the Michigan Wolverines.

The other late game was fantastic as well – as Michigan State and Virginia traded leads back and forth in a defensive battle.  But it was the Spartans at the end who got out to a late lead and then held off an amazing streak of three pointers for the Cavaliers (Virginia scored only 51 points in the first 39 minutes and 20 seconds to then put up 8 points in the last 40 seconds…)

So, the Elite 8 are set – Saturday will see Florida try to finally break the Elite 8 barrier and get to the Final 4 by ending Dayton’s Cinderella season.   And then, Arizona will be put to the test out West against Wisconsin.   Then Sunday, will have Michigan State and Connecticut battle in Madison Square Garden for the East region and surprising Kentucky trying to take down one more elite team in the Michigan Wolverines.

At this stage in the game, the Lunatic is nowhere to be seen (as is expected) – but we do have some amazingly good picks.

Stacy Dooms is leading the standard pool with 690 points.  She is closely followed by Chris Franklin and Steve Glass, who are just 10 points behind.  And don’t forget last year’s champion Kyle Kelly, Chuck Brugh, James Franklin and Amy Lancette who are 20 points behind, and Neeti Vetter, Michael Strange, and Bill Murphy are just 30 points behind.  Considering the Elite 8 games are worth 80 points, this is obviously still anyone’s game.

While it isn’t a lock, Michelle Horgan took major control of the Upset Pool – as her backing of Kentucky has propelled her to 279 points.  Justin Gorman (30 points behind), Christy Lindvall (32), David Gatewood – the amazing, awesome creator of the Loser Pool (34), and Brian Lawton (37) will be the closest competitors trying to catch Michelle.

In the Second Chance Pool, we have only 2 people who were able to get 280 points (7 of 8 games correct) – that was Ayanna Richardson and Will Caldwell.  There is then way too many people tied for 3rd at 240 points for me to type.

Finally, we have our first prize of the tournament.  Sadly, it was a member of the Lunatic’s family who has claimed the last place in the Standard Pool.  With having Wichita State and Cincinnati in the Final Four, the picks qualified as eligible – and with only 210 points and no potential to score any more points, my step-mom, Barbara Hodgson has claimed the prize.  My guess is she just didn’t want to have to wait until I come back to Chicago to visit to pay me her entry fee – so she didn’t really try.

And while it is ridiculous to say this since the Lunatic is no where close to the lead in a tie for 112th place, it is still tradition – congratulations on your prize – but you should not have challenged the Lunatic!!!!

If the Sweet 16 games were any indicator, the games on Saturday and Sunday should be fantastic – enjoy the games, especially if your favorite team is still hanging in there.