The 2024-25 NCAA Basketball Tip Off Tournament is Final: Our Winner is Dan Sohler (Pool Closing & Payouts)

Congrats to Dan Sohler for winning back-to-back early season NCAA Basketball Tip Off Tournaments in 2024 and now 2025. He should be the newest Nebraska Cornhuskers fan after that Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic championship game where they knocked off Oregon State 78-66 to secure his win. Sohler put together 13 wins, no tiebreaker needed, and had an accuracy rate of almost 45%. The tournaments this year were much more difficult to predict than last year, as we had 3 people at 50% or higher last year. 🏀🥇

Here is the link to the final standings and they are also attached to this email. Overall, we had 6 people win money with the following payouts. 💰

If you won money, please reach out to me and confirm how you would like to be paid out (I'd be happy to apply any winnings to the conference tournament pool coming up in a few months). Be on the lookout for the first communication on that pool later in January. I hope everyone enjoyed this pool, have a Happy New Year! 🥳

Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Championship Game Preview

It all comes down to the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic championship game, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, on Christmas Day to determine the winner of our 2024-25 NCAA Basketball Tip Off Tournament pool. The only college basketball being played on Christmas Day will be the 4 tournament games, with the championship game set with Oregon State taking on Nebraska. I love that we have a great battle for first, second, and third place in our pool! 🎅 

Here is the link to the current standings as we prepare to wrap up our pool and the last of the bracketed college basketball early season tournaments. I have outlined the path for each of the top 4 people. 

• Sohler: If Nebraska wins, Sohler wins. If Nebraska loses, Sohler will need to rely on the third tiebreaker to hold off Jenn, which is the closest Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic championship game total. 🥇🥈

• Jenn: Her only path to victory is a Nebraska loss, and to win the third tiebreaker, which is  the closest Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic championship game total. Jenn can come in first, second, or third. 🥇🥈🥉

• Tim: The best he can do is 2nd place with a Nebraska win (he would have the 2nd tiebreaker over Jenn). Tim can come in second, third, or fourth. 🥈🥉

• Novak: The best he can do is 3rd place with a Nebraska loss + win the third tiebreaker over Tim. 🥉

For everyone else not in the top 4, you will still want to pay close attention to the championship game, as we are all eligible for payouts. 💰

• Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Winner (Christmas Bonus 🎅) - The person who correctly picks the winner of this Christmas Day championship game will win $150. 4 people are still alive for this, including Ryan in 8th place

• Closest Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic championship game final score total (More Christmas Bonus 🎅)  - The person with the closest championship game score wins $50. Even if you're in last place, with no other wins, you will have the opportunity to recoup your $50 on this final early season tournament championship game.

Good luck to everyone as we wrap up the 2024-25 NCAA Basketball Tip Off Tournament pool and move on to conference play after the holidays and gear up for conference tournaments and March Madness! 🏀

Next Up: Don Haskins Basketball Invitational

On Friday, 12/20, the Don Haskins Basketball Invitational will tip off in El Paso, Texas. This is a 4-team tournament featuring Akron, Jackson State, Yale, and UTEP that will be played over two days. Yale and UTEP are the only teams that matter for our pool. 🏀 

A Yale win will knock out Novak from finishing top 3, and allows Jenn, Sohler, and Tim to fight out those top 3 spots. However, a UTEP win will put Novak in a tie for 3rd place with Tim, and on the heels of Sohler and Jenn. With so many unique picks for the last remaining tournament, we could have a fun battle for first place in the pool. 🥇

Here is the link to the current standings as we prepare for this epic Don Haskins Basketball Invitational on Friday. I'll post the next few updates on the blog before sending out the final standings and payouts next week. For everyone else not in the top 4, you will still want to pay close attention to the last tournament taking place over Christmas, the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, as we are all eligible for payouts. The details are below:

• Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Winner (Christmas Bonus 🎅) - The person who correctly picks the winner of this Christmas Day championship game will win $150.

• Closest Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic championship game final score total (More Christmas Bonus 🎅)  - The person with the closest championship game score wins $50. Even if you're in last place, with no other wins, you will have the opportunity to recoup your $50 on this final early season tournament championship game.

We have pool related action on 6 of the 8 teams playing in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, which almost ensures a nice payout for a few people unless we see a substantial upset. Even the bottom feeders like B.I., Balls Boy, and Iannuzzi have a shot at up to $200 on Christmas Day! I will post a future blog entry wrapping up the Don Haskins Basketball Invitational and previewing the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. 🌴

Good luck to everyone as we're at the home stretch of the early season tournaments wrapping up. ☘

Big 5 Classic Championship Game Preview

On Saturday, 12/7, at least one tournament fires back up, and that is The Big 5 Classic championship game in Philly. Saint Joseph's will take on LaSalle, but the only pool significance that this likely has pertains to 3rd place, possibly a run at 1st or 2nd, and maybe some pride for a few others towards the bottom of the standings. 🏀 

Novak is sitting in 4th place with his Saint Joseph's pick, but he is 2 points off 3rd place, and 3 points away from 1st place. Normally, this would be a big hill to climb, but he does have 3 unique picks for the 3 remaining tournaments, which means if he goes 3-0, and wins the tiebreaker, he takes 1st place. I will be rooting for Saint Joseph's just to make Jenn, Sohler, and Tim have to sweat out the final two championship games. 🏆

Here are the current standings as we head into this very important Big 5 Classic championship game, with a lot at stake for 4 people in the pool. I am looking forward to an exciting finish to our pool as we head into conference play and eventually the conference tournament pool! 😄