Inside the hotel room, which is more of a suite, are Whiting, Wojenski, and the beefy Gary. Jurgensen is nowhere in sight because he isn’t part of the scheme. Jurgensen, it turns out, is good. Wojenski made Chip, Stevie, and Susan Carol think Jurgensen was a bad guy to buy himself more time until he figured out a better plan. Now, the men intend to hold Stevie and Susan Carol hostage until the championship game finishes. If Chip doesn’t play well and Minnesota State loses, the young reporters won’t face further harm.

Chip wants to know why the men are doing this, and Wojenski boils down their motives to one word: money. Together, the dean, Feeley, and Whiting bet around $5 million on tonight’s game. They made their bets in different places so as not to generate suspicion.

Gary has a gun and a roll of duct tape to restrain the teen journalists. Susan Carol tries to dissuade him from further involvement, but she fails. Gary turns on the TV, and Stevie and Susan Carol lighten the mood by making fun of the ESPN announcers and their analysis of tonight’s game.

The game starts, and Chip plays unevenly.