While most college basketball fans are ripping up their brackets, the folks over at the “Xbox Live Hoop Madness 2 Tournament” are saying “We told you so.”

On Friday, April 2nd San Antonio’s Links Bar and Grill played host to the "Hoop Madness 2 Tournament Final Four,” Xbox Live’s most prestigious college basketball gaming title. To preview the weekend’s matchups, each semifinalist was tasked with competing as one of the 2004 Final Four teams. Despite impressive performances by Duke and Okalahoma State, it came down to UConn and Georgia Tech in the championship game.

In game one of the “Xbox Live Hoop Madness 2 Final Four” freshman Alex Carroll from Georgia Tech led his beloved Yellow Jackets to a hard fought 51-48 victory over University of Kentucky sophomore Carlos “Los” Zavala who was representing the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The NCAA Men’s Final Four outcome was Georgia Tech 67 Oklahoma State 65.

In game two of the “Xbox Live Hoop Madness 2 Final Four” Kris Burgos, a sophomore from Syracuse University, led his archrival UConn Huskies to a 66-61 win over odds-on favorite, sophomore David Muellerweiss from the University of North Carolina who was also representing his archrival, the Duke Blue Devils. The NCAA Men’s Final Four outcome was UConn 79 Duke 78.

In the Tournament Finals, Kris Burgos’s Huskies continued their dominance by handing Georgia Tech’s Alex Carroll a 95-79 defeat. For his efforts, Burgos won the title of “Xbox Live Hoop Madness 2 Tournament Champion,” $1000 cash prize, a $2,500 scholarship and tickets to Monday night’s NCAA Men’s National Championship Game where he witnessed the UConn Huskies defeat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 82-73.

By correctly predicting all three 2004 NCAA Men’s Final Four games, the Xbox Live Hoop Madness Tournament upped its record to an impressive two year record of 5-1. Last season the “Xbox Live Hoop Madness Tournament” correctly predicted the Kansas Jayhawks over the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Syracuse Orangemen over the Texas Longhorns. The only blemish on the “Xbox Live Hoop Madness Tournament” prediction record came in last year’s NCAA Men’s National Championship Game.

The "Xbox Live Hoop Madness 2 Tournament" began in February by crowning 32 campus champions from many of the country's top colleges and universities. From those 32 campus champions, 16 elite gamers received an automatic bid into the "Xbox Live Hoop Madness 2 Tournament" based on the real life success of their NCAA men's college basketball teams. Using Xbox Live, the top 16 ESPN College Hoops gamers battled online in a single elimination tournament for an all expense paid trip to San Antonio where top gamers earned a spot in the "Xbox Live Hoop Madness 2 Tournament Final Four."

For more information on the "Xbox Live Hoop Madness 2 Tournament" or Xbox Live visit http://www.xbox.com .

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Xbox
Xbox® (http://www.xbox.com/) is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the most exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live online service. The new tag line, “It’s good to play together,” captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment lifestyle. Xbox is now available in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia.

About Xbox Live
Xbox Live, which launched in the United States Nov. 15, 2002, allows gamers to play multiplayer Xbox games with other gamers everywhere via a broadband connection. With a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port, the Xbox console is the only video game system built from the ground up for online gaming, negating the need to buy additional, costly peripherals or upgrades. Xbox Live enables gamers to easily find their friends; talk to other players during game play through the Xbox Communicator headset; download current statistics, new levels and characters to their Xbox hard drive; and play online—all exclusive features to Xbox Live.

Posted By: Adam Paoli - 89 Reads

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February 17, 2005