2013 is below here
April 8, 2013
NEW RULE: When Louisville wins, the pool is retroactively canceled. Well, OK, that wouldn't really be fair to the winners but it would be better than having to ackowledge that garbage. It was really a great game until Louisville took control of it in the last six minutes or so. Naturally there were a couple of calls that I thought went Louisville's way, but they won't be remembered for long.
So after all the craziness of the season...all the teams who couldn't hang on to the #1 ranking.....all the fun of Dunk City and the South Philly Floater and Wichita State and Harvard and on and on.....the overall #1 seed won the tournament. Boooooooooring. And yes, a whole lot of bitterness.
Much like last year when Pitino's partner in slime John Calipari won a national championship, I know have seven months to wait for next season. I did get a good laugh out of how scared Pitino got when the fireworks went off just prior to his post-game handshake with John Beilein. The only thing that will get me through the offseason is imagining that what really happened here was a guy with a blowgun hit Slick Rick in the back of the neck with a poison dart.
April 7, 2013
CHILD GENIUS????
Hello everyone. My name is Turner Armstrong, and I thought I would tell you a little bit about myself. I'm five going on six and my daddy runs this pool. He loves basketball and is teaching me a lot about it. Like for instance I already know for a fact that North Carolina is an awful team with a crybaby coach and we don't like Kentucky or Louisville either becuase their coaches are stinky slimeballs. There are some other teams he doesn't like too, like Alabama and Mississippi but they are irrelvant in basketball so no big whoop.
As you might have noticed, I am now in second place in the pool. Did you know I am the only person in the pool to correctly predict the final game? How about that?? And I am only five years old!!! Going on six. Anyway, you might be wondering how I got both of those teams. Well, even though my daddy told me he hated Louisville, he also knows they are very good. So when I asked permission to pick them, he said it was OK and it was a good pick even if that meant they had to beat Duke. And Daddy says someone other than Duke has to win sometimes to keep it fair for all the other little teams.
On the other side, I picked Michigan, not just to the final game, but to win it all! I picked Michigan because my daddy loves guards. He says he always has, even as far back as Magic Johnson -- that dude on the AT&T commercial. And to me, Michigan has the best guards. Even when Daddy and I watched Indiana beat Michigan in the last game of the regular season, I liked how Michigan's guards played. Trey Burke is awesome and Daddy let me stay awake on the couch to watch that historic comeback against Kansas. Daddy had to carry me to bed that night because I was sooooo sleepy! Every time Tim Hardaway shoots the ball I think it's going in, and Daddy says that his daddy was a good player too back in the old days. Throw in Stauskas and Albrecht and that's a lot of guards! I will admit I never saw the Mitch McGary factor coming into play, but boy am I glad he's there even though he's not a guard!
So tomorrow night you have a choice. You can pull for Louisville with their yucky coach and know that if they win the game that some guy named Brian in Texas will win my daddy's pool. My daddy says they don't know anything about basketball in Texas anyways because they've had Tom Penders and Rick Barnes as coaches for the last 25 years. So there's that, or you can pull for Michigan with me and Daddy! Even if Louisville wins, I am still gonna finish 14th in the pool so 90% of you can't beat me no matter what, so you bout as well hop on board with me. Good luck to meeeeeeeeeee!!!!
April 6, 2013
That was a great evening of basketball. I was pulling like crazy for Wichita State and wow were they close. Louisville just had a little too much. Then in the nightcap Michigan seemed in control until the last few minutes and Syracuse nearly made them pay. So much drama....just a great day of hoops.
So now we go to Monday night....Louisvlille vs Michigan. Let's clear this up right now. If Louisville wins, there is a tie in the score for the pool so we go to the tiebreakers. In the tiebreaker, Brian Clark wins, so he would be first, Brian Clark would be second, and Todd Pribianic #1 third. If Michigan wins, Turner Armstrong takes first place (more on that tomorrow), John Bonelli #1 is second, and Tammy Jang is third.
In the Sweet 16 Pool, a Louisville win give first to Brook Graham. Richard Armstrong and Rob Kulick would split the second place prize because they earned the same amount of points in every round. If Michigan wins, Michael Hardy is first and Turner Armstrong (there's that girl again!) finishes second.
I am still a few hundred bucks away from having everyone's entry fee - so please tend to that if you have not already done so. I sent email earlier today to those of you who have not paid.
April 1, 2013
I despise Louisville and Rick Pitino. Yes, I am sorry Kevin Ware suffered that gruesome injury, and even with my disdain for the name on the front of his jersey, the name on the back belongs to someone's son, a college student not that different from those wtih whom I work. For that reason I wish him the best as do all.
Honestly, the game went almost exactly like I anticipated. Duke fought hard and struggled to stay in it early. Every single offensive possession was a challenge. Meanwhile, Louisville scored with ease. Had they made any threes in the first half, the game would have been over earlier. But I knew Louisville would hit a streak, and if they got any separation, that Duke did not have what it took to catch them. It's going to take a heck of an effort for Wichita State, Michigan or Syracuse to beat them, but you can bet your bottom dollar I will be a Shocker on Saturday night and either a Wolverine or Orange on Monday night.
Ok, I think I have logged every payment that I have received. If you still see the yellow bar, then either you paid and I don't have it logged or you didn't pay. Either way, you need to take action. Either let me know my mistake or get off your you know what and pay up.
Sorry if that sounds bitter. I'm still a little pissed about Duke losing.
March 31, 2013
Michigan Fan?
That was immmmmmpressive. Michigan punched Florida in the mouth right out of the box and the Gators never bothered to get off the mat. Michigan becomes the third piece of the Final Four. Surely by now you have figured out where my loyalties (and picks) lie in the last game. I'm out until that's over.
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Syracuse's zone and Wichita State's confidence carried each of them into the Final Four. Syracuse doesn't do things pretty, but they sure as heck make it difficult for the opponent. Marquette couldn't get anything going yesterday, and I mean nothing. Even when it was a 4-7 point lead, it almost felt out of reach. You knew that if one team had a brief offensive spurt that team was likely to win. It was Syracuse, and once the lead reached double figures, it was over.
Wichita State must feel invulnerable right now. In therir first round matchup, Pitt was a popular pick amongst the efficiency crowd, as they graded out well in the offensive and defensive efficiency metrics, but Wichita State managed to hold on to win that one. Then they took out a #1 seed in Gonzaga, then one of the tournament Cinderellas in LaSalle. None of those were teams the caliber of Ohio State, but Wichita State never once looked rattled, even when Ohio State made their late run to cut it from 20 to three. I'm very happy for Wichita State, and that they along with George Mason, VCU, and Butler have reached the Final Four in recent years.
I guess you have also all figured out where the report is that tells you what your best scenario is at this point. If not, go to reports, then Possible Finish, and you can see what all your possible scenarios are.
March 30, 2013
Sorry for the lack of update yesterday. I was too into the games to take a break. Louisville and Florida did as expected and won with a minimal challenge put up. Louisville has certainly looked the part of the overall #1 seed, but that doesn't mean I have to like them. Florida has now advanced to the Elite Eight by beating a 14, 11 and 15. I'm gonna have to do some research on that, but I don't recall anyone having an easier path. Tomorrow they get their biggest challenge when they play Michigan. Oh Michigan. Did you SEE that game? Kansas did everything they needed to do to win the game....for 36 minutes. But the last four minutes was allllll Michigan. Stupid turnovers and missed free throws on the KU end and some aggressive offense led Michigan back, and when Trey Burke drained a 30 footer to send it to overtime, you had a feeling Michigan had it.
In the much anticipated Duke-Michigan State game, Seth Curry provided Duke with the separation they needed to hold off Michigan State. It just doesn't get much better than Krzyzewski-Izzo, but if Duke is to win the national championship, the run might be Izzo-Pitino-Matta-(Boeheim/Donovan). If Duke wins it, they will have earned it. OF course I guess most any team could say the same, except Florida.
March 28, 2013
That was as dominant a defensive performance as you will ever see. The gap in athleticism as basically every position prevented Indiana from being able to do any of the things that allowed them to earn a #1 seed. Syracuse just made everything so difficult for Indiana, and IU had no answer. Think about it this way. Syracuse scored only 61 points and quite honestly was never threatened in the game. Syracuse and Marquette in the Elite Eight?? Anyone have that? Why yes, in fact they did. Ken"Shaky" Engebretson #1 has that matchup in his Elite Eight. Care to predict the total points that will be scored in that game? I say about 105 max.
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What was that I said about Syracuse last Saturday? Oh yeah...
"Last thought of the day. Because they have played the last game of Thursday and today, Syracuse is about to make the most under the radar Sweet 16 appearance ever. Beware. They have played well."
So impressed with Syracuse was I that I went right out and picked Indiana in the Sweet 16 pool. But don't say I didn't warn you. So between that and believing in Buzz Williams, which I did do in the Sweet 16 pool, I am giving good advice here lately. So let's try something....bet all your life savings on Duke tomorrow!! Hopefully that will work.
March 24, 2013
OK, I can breathe again. That foul trouble on Plumlee and Kelly had me very, very worried for a while. But the cream rose, at least for this night. Duke-Michigan State in the Sweet 16.....that's big boy basketball. But let's have a history lesson.
LA SALLE
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643-1687) was a French explorer. He was sent by King Louis XIV to travel south from Canada and sail down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first European to travel the length of the Mississippi River (1682). His mission was to explore and establish fur-trade routes along the river. La Salle named the entire Mississippi basin Louisiana, in honor of the King, and claimed it for France on April 9, 1682.
Everyone has heard about La Salle, right? Did you know that La Salle University is NOT named after him? Me either. It's named after Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the Patron Saint of Teachers of Youth. Among other things, he's considered the founder of Catholic Schools, and in 1685 he founded what is considered the first normal school (teacher training school.)
OTHER LA SALLE
As near as I can tell, La Salle University was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, an organization which was itself founded by....you guessed it....La Salle. The mission of the organization is “to provide a human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor, according to the ministry entrusted to them by the church.” Sounds good right? Providing human and Christian education is plenty reason enough to like them in my book, but now I have even more reason......
THEY TOOK DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY REBEL BLACK BEARS!!!!!! HAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA.
Oh that was awesome. A dagger to the heart with two seconds left. It was just so so nice.
Thank you La Salle. Thank you for wanting to educate the poor so you could start an organization that would eventually start a university in Philly that would eventually make it into the NCAA First Four and beat Boise State and Kansas State and then on an unforgettable Palm Sunday would take down the team I love to hate. You La Salle.....are the man.
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Kansas? Boring. Florida? Yaaaawn. Florida Gulf Coast Uinversity???? YES. Give me more. What a story. First 15 seed to ever advance to the Sweet 16, and by a school that opened its doors in 1997. Their two wins were no flukes either. They outplayed Georgetown and San Diego State, and I bet there is a certain two-time national championship coach who is very, very concerned about matching up with his new in-state rival.
Todd Pribianic #1 somehow made this pick. Not only that, but he has them beating Florida and going to the Elite Eight. I'm gonna need an email from you Todd, explaining how you made this pick.
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Too bad Bill Raftery was not calling that game. ONIONS!!
It took us into the fourth day to get a buzzer beater, but Aaron Craft was happy to provide just that. That was another great second round game. It seems like we've had either great games or ones that were somewhat laborious to watch because they were blowouts or just sloppy. With seven more games to go today, I have high hopes for some more quality basketball, particularly for the #2 seed in the East in the last game of the day.
March 23, 2013
Aaaaaaaaand down goes a #1!! That jacks up some brackets and with Wisconsin, K-State and New Mexico also gone, Ohio State has to be considered the favorite from the West. Out of 152 brackets, exactly ONE had Wichita State in the Sweet 16. The one....Baby Magnolia, who is like four months old. I think whoever she drooled on is who she picked. But give her credit - she nailed it!
If a 1 seed was going to fall today, I was hopeful that it would be Louisville. That was not to be, as they clearly had Colorado State outclassed. For the second time this tournament, Marquette played maybe the game of the day, this time against Butler. If you pay attention, you know that Buzz Williams is on the Trust List. And voila....three straight Sweet 16 trips. I've also liked Dana Altman for a while, except for that hour and a half that he was the Arkansas head coach. He's now moved on to Oregon, and took his vastly underseeded Ducks to the Sweet 16 today as well, with a relatively easy win over St. Louis. His Pac-12 rival Arizona had an even easier time with Harvard, but the Crimson exit the tournament with their first ever NCAA win and the knowledge that they will have Harvard degrees one day. All of that set the stage for yet another of my favorite coaches, Gregg Marshall, to upend Gonzaga. If only I had translated that like for Gregg Marshall into at least one win. Not picking them to beat Pitt cost me the 8/9 bonus points, and not pulling the trigger on them to then beat Gonzaga, which I thought about doing, will haunt me until next March.
Your team's tournament performances are a real head scratcher.
Meanwhile, it's time to move Mark Few to the Do Not Trust List. That four straight second round exits, and six of the last seven years they have bowed out on the first weekend. All year we were force fed "This is a different Gonzaga team" and "Going undefeated in conference play is impressive no matter which conference it is." Sorry, but St. Mary's, BYU and Santa Clara are not Indiana, Michigan, and Michigan State. You get better when you consistently play better competition. Doesn't mean someone like Gonazaga, or more recently Butler, VCU and George Mason, can't make a tournament run, but unless it is clearly a really special team, I'm not buying one of those teams as a 1 seed. Gonzaga was a good team. Top 25 yes. Maybe a top 15 team. But after rarely being tested in the last two months, they nearly fell Thursday night and did so tonight. I'm sure they will be back next year, with 25+ wins and a nice seed. But unless they are playing Georgetown or some other coach I don't trust, I won't be picking them for any more than one win.
One thing I meant to do earlier today was pay homage to those who managed to lose their champion in the first round. They are the ones cheering for every possible upset from this point on so still have a chance.
Georgetown took down Randy Joplin, Dr. Bo Mantooth, Lauren Leathers, and the aforemetioned Baby Magnolia. New Mexico spoiled the day for John Bonelli #2, and Wisconsin ended the dreams of Don "Shorty" Douglas and Leslie Neslage. Yes, a few more lost their champion with Gonzaga, but at least that was the second round. It's forgiveable. First round....no. You get public embarrassment.
Last thought of the day. Because they have played the last game of Thursday and today, Syracuse is about to make the most under the radar Sweet 16 appearance ever. Beware. They have played well.
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I don't know what else you would really have expected there. That was typical Michigan State basketball. Nothing overly flashy, just solid and strong. It's what they do, and they often do it well somewhere around mid-March of every year. They may not win it all, but they're going to be a tough out for someone next week. I hope that someone is Duke, but they have some major work to do tomorrow before worrying about that.
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Everyone who picked Michigan beyond that potential Sweet 16 game with Kansas has got to feel really, really good right now. I don't think anyone could have possibly seen that coming. Michigan dominated that game after about the first five or six minutes, and imposed their will on VCU. See ya next year Shaka. I'm sure you will be back.
Next up: Memphis vs Michigan State. Speed and athleticism vs brute strength. A Memphis win would certainly do some damage to a lot of brackets.
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If you are wondering where the outstanding commentary has been the last two days, then you might be the only one. I have no idea how many people even read what I write. The main thing is the standings and where you rank, and you can get that without reading my ramblings. But if you have been wondering, I don't even know where to start with the last two days. I suppose the beginning is as good a place as any, so here goes.
Meet Henrietta Lacks. There's a good chance you've never heard of her, but she's had an impact on your life. Henrietta Lacks grew up a poor tobacco farmer and died in 1951 of cervical cancer at age 31. What makes her life immortal though, are cells from the tumor that killed her. Taken without her knowledge, a researcher discovered he could isolate a single cell and have it multiply. He named the cells HeLa cells after Henrietta Lacks. Since that time, HeLa cells have played a crucial role in research into cancer, polio, AIDS, and many other areas. Why am I telling you all of this and what does it have to do with the pool?
Well, you might notice the gap in coverage started Thursday afternoon. That's because Thursday night my office, which helps sponsor Auburn's common reading program for freshmen, hosted two of Henrietta's grandchildren along with a bioethicist for the evening. I don't often get invited to the President's Mansion on campus, but I went to a dinner there, and then to the event. It was absolutely packed to the gills - probably better than 500 people turned out. The Lacks family was a pleasure to host and their humility about their grandmother's contributions to the world was refreshing. As her granddaugthter Kim said at one point when being asked if there was any resentment to people getting rich off of Henrietta, her response was basically "We'd all like to be millionaires. Who wouldn't? But we don't focus on that part. This all started because my aunt wanted to know more about her grandmother. And because of that we have learned so much about who Henrietta Lacks was."
Anyway, that was Thursday night. I got home and was able to catch most of the second tier of games that night, but I was a little worn out and I had to get ready for Friday.
So Friday....well on Friday morning I had to go to work about 6:15 because I had stupidly allowed another event to be scheduled on that day. Those of you who know me well know I would never, and I mean NEVER, allow something to be scheduled on Thursday and Friday of the tournament's first two rounds. It should be noted that I did not schedule the Lacks family event, so I can claim innocence on that one. But I did do the Friday one, and I have no one to blame but myself.
All would have been fine had the weather cooperated, but naturally, just to spite me, the weather turned bad meaning we had to scramble around and put our backup plan into action. My planned departure time of 10:45 am turned into 12, then 1, then 3 pm. By the time I got home I was damp and exhausted. For one final dose of salt in the wounds, the weather was making DirecTV very testy, so a lot of what I saw was on line, but at least I was able to watch.
That's what happened Thursday and Friday, but I hope to be back in the swing of things now. I still have some thoughts on the pool and the games, but I wanted to at least explain why I have been AWOL the last 36 hours or so.
THE GAMES: There have been some pretty entertaining games in the first two rounds, and of course some moments that will stick with us throughout the tournament. VCU building nearly a 50 point lead on Akron. We see you VCU, we see you. Syracuse beating Montana nearly that badly. LaSalle blowing a huge lead then coming back to take down Kansas State. Illinois scoring a total of two points (two free throws) in the first 11 minutes of the second half, yet still managing to take down Colorado. Doug McDermott's excellent performance against Cincinnati (27 pts, 11 rebs, 11-11 FT) when his team needed every bit of it. And yes, even the Mississippi Rebel Black Bears. But obivously the performance of the tournament thus far has been Florida Gulf Coast and their impressive win over Georgetown.
Did you see that?? And with that dunk, John Thompson III officially entered the "Do Not Trust List" referenced way down the page. Note that the "must trust list" went 2-1 while the "Do Not Trust" list went winless since one of them got fired/retired and the other two missed the tournament altogether.
Back to JT3......I can hear the complaints. He went to the Final Four when they beat Carolina a few years back! They won the Big East this year after their second best player got suspended in January! This is a what have you done for me lately tournament, and lately JT3 ain't done much. Since going to the Final Four in 2007, Georgetown has been to the NCAAs five times with one NIT. In those five NCAAs, they have yet to see the second weekend. Did you hear that? Not one time. In 2008, Steph Curry an Davidson took them out (10 vs 2). In 2010, it was Ohio doing the job as a 14 seed. In 2011 Georgetown helped introduce us all to Shaka Smart by falling to the 11th seeded Rams from VCU after VCU had won a game in the inaugural First Four, which is still stupid by the way. Last year Georgetown found a way to lose to a Mark Gottfried-coached team, when 11th seeded NC State beat 3rd seeded Georgetown in round two. Now JT3 has topped all of those by losing a 2-15 matchup. If Georgetown is somehow a 1 seed next year, are you going to feel really safe in picking them????
THE POOL: With the first round now in the books, and we at Mark's Madness steadfastly refuse to call Thursday and Friday the second round, let's take a look at the standings and how we got where we are.
The leader of the pool is none other than John Bonelli. The spawn of Andy Kennedy and Ed Orgeron earned 10 bonus point for having not one but two perfect regions, and nearly earned five more in another region but missed the Temple-NC State game. That reminds me...Mark Gottfried for can't trust? Perhaps. Bonelli also correctly picked his beloved Rebels to take down Wisconsin. But as I examine his pool-leading bracket, I have to ask.....if you are going to have the gumption to take a 12 seed to the Final Four, why do you then have them losing to Louisville? What makes one or two more wins any more improbable at that point? I know Louisville is the overall #1, and picking Mississippi to beat Wisconsin, K-State, Gonzaga and New Mexico is not in the league with beating Louisville, but come on......go with your heart man.
Trailing Bonelli in the standings are three former Mark's Madness winners...including Mark! That's right, for the first time in a few years I find myself in actual contention at the end of the first round, having turned in a 24-8 record and scoring five big bonus points for a perfect region. It wouldn't be a pool without someone named Dossett competing for the money. It happens to be Chris right now, but Guy and Brad aren't that far back, and you can never count out Irby or Missy. Jonathan Bates matched my 24-8 plus five mark to also be in the tie for third, as did Matt Callum, Jeff Fortner and Mary Grandgeorge.
A few spots down in the pool, in a tie for 12th, you will find Lori Clark. Lori had a so-so bracket of 21-11 in the first round, but stands at 26 points. And why is that because out of 152 people, she is the only person to have picked the combination of Wichita State, Colorado State, Temple, and North Carolina, earning her the five bonus points for getting all the 8 vs 9 games correct. How impressive is that? Look at the totals for the 8/9 games.
4-0: 1 person
3-1: 32 people
2-2: 35 people
1-3: 53 people
0-4: 10 people
Of the four games, only North Carolina was a heavy favorite by the pool, with 73% of us picking the Tar Heels. No other 8/9 winner was picked by more than 38% (Temple). Wichita State was only picked by 33% of us, and Colorado State 28%.
So nice job Lori. You are truly one of a kind!
Here's everyone who got bonus points in the regions.
Earned bonus for picking all Midwest Region 1st round games
· Mark Armstrong
· John Bonelli #1
· Chris Dossett
· Guy Dossett
· Kevin Edwards #2
· Jeff Fortner
· Mary Grandgeorge #1
Earned bonus for picking all South Region 1st round games
· John Bonelli #1
Earned bonus for picking all East Region 1st round games
· Jonathan Bates #2
· callum7024 #1
· Robert Clark
· Ken Engebretson #2
· Fatboy Slim #2
· Eddie Walls
March 22, 2013
It was December of 1983, and my family was in North Carolina spending Christmas with my mother's side of the family. As part of the trip, we somehow got tickets to a Duke basketball game. Lower level, not too far behind the opponent's bench, who I think was Colorado. Duke had a young coach with an impossible to spell name, and a young team that seemed to be getting better. I had quickly become a fan of Johnny Dawkins, who would go on to be Duke's alltime leading scorer and is not the Head Coach at Stanford. But I distinctly remember a family sitting near us (behind us maybe?), and the father in that family asked his son who he liked or who was playing the best or something like that. That kid's answer is as clear in my head today as it was that night: "Number 4 for Duke." That, of course, was Tommy Amaker. While Johnny Dawkins will always be my favorite from that team, I've always liked Tommy Amaker and have followed his career from Duke assistant, to head coaching jobs at Seton Hall, Michigan, and now at Harvard. Even though I picked New Mexico, as did most everyone else in this pool, I couldn't help be happy for #4 from Duke.
March 21, 2013
More on this man tomorrow.
Good night New Mexico, and good night y'all.
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Wow what a finish at Rupp. A great arena like Rupp deserves to have at least one great game a year, right? Davidson had that game. I mean HAD it. HAD. IT. Three Marquette threes, a turnover and a layup turned it around for Marquette though, and Buzz Williams showed once again why he is on my personal "Trust List." He gets a lot out of his teams, and almost always gets a great effort from them in the tournament. With that in the books, we can now direct our attention to the good ol' 1-16 matchup. I am sure that this halftime score is closer than the Zags prefer.
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Memphis and St. Mary's provided the first nail biter of the day, thanks in large part to Memphis's inability to close out St. Mary's with ample opportunity to do so. But the Tigers survive and move on to face Michigan State on Saturday. The next storyline is coming from Lexington, where Davidson and Marquette appear to be headed down to the wire. Stay tuned.
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No real surprises in the first two games, as Michigan State advanced rather easily and Butler withstood a strong challenge from Bucknell. But now we're getting into the nitty-gritty. Wichita State looks like they are going to polish off Pitt, and that means about 100 folks are about to be out of the running for the 8/9 bonus points and the bonus points for that region too.
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Here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Michigan State and Valpo are kicking things off right now (forgive the mixed metaphor), so the long wait is over!!
There are 152 brackets in the pool. Scores will update automatically as games end.
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We are at 135 brackets at almost 9 am. Two hours left for people to take their best shot.
You can also edit your bracket(s) until 11 am, and as always, look under the report tab to see the picking trends of your fellow poolers. Final Four Picks, Prediction Index, Final Game picks....those are all good. Or you can look at the individual bracket of anyone in the pool by going to Player Brackets and selecting a name.
Also remember your bonus point opportunities. Five points for picking all the 8/9 games correctly, five points if you have a perfect region, and five points for gettingn all the Final Four teams. Any of those could be the difference in first and second place!
March 19, 2013
At long last that wonderfully symmetrical piece of annual artwork has been released. I trust you've all seen it by now, right???? A mere two and a half weeks from now, the final piece to the puzzle will be filled in. While I have little doubt that at least a few of us will correctly pick that final team, this contest will likely be won by someone who also earns points a plenty between now and Sunday.
Since we all want to win, we all look for ideas of some sort to give us an edge. Picking the team with the better seed is always a good idea, if you think there won't be any upsets. Good luck with that. Going with teams from a specific conference is an option, but this ain't football, and the SEC ain't walking through that door. Remember recently when the Big East had all of those supposed powerful teams, and barely any advanced past the Sweet 16? So yeah....conference loyalty might not be the best way. Perhaps you will depend on experts! Some of them are self-proclaimed, but experts nonetheless. Surely the experts know more about what's going to happen, right?
Well....
The great thing about experts is their egos require them to show off all the time, even if in doing so they expose their lack of expertise. To that end, I give you the pre-season conference predictions from the ESPN crew of experts. Seventeen of the World Wide Leader's (another self-proclaimed title) experts provided their insights into this season way back in November. Their results are less than spectacular.
THE GOODish
Kudos to Chad Ford and Jason King, two of the lesser known ESPN personalities. Each of them managed to predict the winners of six out of 10 major conferences.
| Chad Ford | Jason King | |
| ESPN Insider | ESPN.com writer | |
| ACC champ | NC State | NC State |
| A-10 champ | Saint Louis | Saint Louis |
| Big East champ | Louisville | Louisville |
| Big Ten champ | Indiana | Indiana |
| Big 12 champ | Kansas | Kansas |
| C-USA champ | Memphis | Memphis |
| MWC champ | UNLV | UNLV |
| Pac-12 champ | UCLA | UCLA |
| SEC champ | Kentucky | Kentucky |
| WCC champ | Gonzaga | Gonzaga |
| TOTAL | 6 | 6 |
| National POY | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Doug McDermott, Creighton |
| Sleeper team | UNLV | West Virginia |
| Final Four | Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, UCLA | Indiana, Louisville, Missouri, UCLA |
| National title game | Indiana over Michigan | Louisville over Missouri |
Honestly the big difference in these two and the rest of the nincompoops to follow was their accurate picks of St. Louis in the Atlantic 10 and UCLA in the Pac 12. Ford loses points for having Kentucky in the Final Four, King for having West Virginia as a sleeper team. Kentucky is a #1 seed, but in th NIT, and WVU finished 13-19 and lost their last seven games. I give the overall nod to Ford since Indiana-Michigan is a much more plausible finals matchup than Louisville over Missouri (disregarding the actual brackets of course, since these picks were made five months ago).
THE BAD
If getting half of your predictions right makes you an expert....then sign me up as an expert! Seriously, if that's the criteria, I have nearly unlimited expertise.
| Joe Lunardi | Bruce Pearl | Robbi Pickeral | |
| ESPN Bracketologist | ESPN analyst | ESPN.com writer | |
| ACC champ | Duke | NC State | NC State |
| A-10 champ | VCU | VCU | St. Joe's |
| Big East champ | Louisville | Louisville | Louisville |
| Big Ten champ | Indiana | Indiana | Indiana |
| Big 12 champ | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas |
| C-USA champ | Memphis | Memphis | Memphis |
| MWC champ | UNLV | UNLV | UNLV |
| Pac-12 champ | UCLA | Arizona | UCLA |
| SEC champ | Kentucky | Florida | Kentucky |
| WCC champ | Gonzaga | Gonzaga | Gonzaga |
| TOTAL | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| National POY | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana |
| Sleeper team | Northern Iowa | Tennessee | UNLV |
| Final Four | Florida, Gonzaga, Louisville, Michigan | Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisville | Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State |
| National title game | Louisville over Florida | Indiana over Louisville | Indiana over Kentucky |
I'll give my man Bruce Pearl the slight edge in this group and the overall #3 ranking because Indiana-Louisville is a very possible final game, moreso than Lunardi's Louisville-Florida, and I am just having a hard time getting over the Kentucky pick. You are an expert, and the team you picked to win one of the biggest conferences in America is in the NIT. I don't know who Robbi Pickeral is, or where to start with those picks. First of all, there's Kentucky in the finals. Second, you can't pick your sleeper team as the winner of a conference. Maybe you and Chad Ford didn't get that memo. Then there's St. Joe's. The Atlantic 10 is a fine league, and though they are numerically challenged with 16 teams in a conference named 10, they put five teams into the NCAAs, their most ever. All of them are a threat to win some games. But the thing is, St. Joe's is not one of these teams. After all the tiebreakers were applied, guess where St. Joe's finished? Tenth! Thank you expert Robbi Pickeral, and you should add this next group to your Christmas card list because they managed to make your picks look good.
THE UGLY
Now we're really into some big name experts. Why look, there's Jay Bilas, and Dick Vitale, and Andy Katz. And some other guys. And Dana O'Neil.
| Stephen Bardo | Jay Bilas | Fran Fraschilla | John Gasaway | |
| ESPN analyst | ESPN analyst | ESPN analyst | ESPN Insider | |
| ACC champ | NC State | NC State | North Carolina | Duke |
| A-10 champ | UMass | St. Joe's | VCU | VCU |
| Big East champ | Louisville | Louisville | Louisville | Notre Dame |
| Big Ten champ | Michigan | Indiana | Indiana | Indiana |
| Big 12 champ | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas |
| C-USA champ | Memphis | Memphis | Memphis | Memphis |
| MWC champ | UNLV | UNLV | UNLV | UNLV |
| Pac-12 champ | Arizona | Arizona | Arizona | Arizona |
| SEC champ | Florida | Kentucky | Missouri | Kentucky |
| WCC champ | Gonzaga | Gonzaga | Gonzaga | Gonzaga |
| TOTAL | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| National POY | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Jeff Withey, Kansas |
| Sleeper team | Missouri | Davidson | Cincinnati | Stanford |
| Final Four | Florida, Kansas, Ohio State, UNLV | Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville | Indiana, Louisville, Kansas, Missouri | Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse |
| National title game | Kansas over Florida | Louisville over Indiana | Louisville over Indiana |
Kansas over Kentucky |
| Andy Katz | Myron Medcalf | Dana O'Neil | |
| ESPN.com writer | ESPN.com writer | ESPN.com writer | |
| ACC champ | NC State | NC State | Florida St. |
| A-10 champ | Temple | VCU | Butler |
| Big East champ | Louisville | Louisville | Louisville |
| Big Ten champ | Michigan St. | Indiana | Indiana |
| Big 12 champ | Kansas | Kansas | West Virginia |
| C-USA champ | Memphis | Memphis | Memphis |
| MWC champ | San Diego St. | San Diego St. | San Diego St. |
| Pac-12 champ | Arizona | Arizona | Arizona |
| SEC champ | Florida | Kentucky | Florida |
| WCC champ | Gonzaga | Gonzaga | Gonzaga |
| TOTAL | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| National POY | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana |
| Sleeper team | Tennessee | Colorado | Cincinnati |
| Final Four | Florida, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State | Florida, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan | Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, UNLV |
| National title game | Louisville over Kansas | Louisville over Indiana | Louisville over Michigan State |
| Miles Simon | Dick Vitale | Jay Williams | |
| ESPN analyst | ESPN analyst | ESPN analyst | |
| ACC champ | NC State | NC State | NC State |
| A-10 champ | VCU | VCU | VCU |
| Big East champ | Louisville | Louisville | Louisville |
| Big Ten champ | Indiana | Indiana | Indiana |
| Big 12 champ | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas |
| C-USA champ | Memphis | Memphis | Memphis |
| MWC champ | San Diego St. | San Diego St. | UNLV |
| Pac-12 champ | Arizona | Arizona | Arizona |
| SEC champ | Missouri | Kentucky | Kentucky |
| WCC champ | Gonzaga | Gonzaga | Gonzaga |
| TOTAL | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| National POY | Doug McDermott, Creighton | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana |
| Sleeper team | Cincinnati | Gonzaga | Michigan St. |
| Final Four | Arizona, Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State | Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State | Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, Syracuse |
| National title game | Indiana over Arizona | Louisville over Indiana | Louisville over Indiana |
I honestly don't know where to start with this. North Carolina, Fran Fraschilla? A fine year no doubt, but below their normal high standards. Florida State, Dana O'Neill? West Virgina, Dana? Neither are in the tournament, and neither was particularly close. Vitale....Gonzaga as a sleeper? They were in the top 25 in the PRESEASON POLL!!! Jay Williams...Michigan State?? They were TOP 15!!!!
THE INEXPLICABLE
These two should be embarrassed, but given another of Eamon Brennan's works this year, at least he probably is not. Poor Seth is still just wondering how he got fired from Virginia Tech last year.
| Eamonn Brennan | Seth Greenberg | |
| ESPN.com writer | ESPN analyst | |
| ACC champ | Duke | Duke |
| A-10 champ | VCU | St. Joe's |
| Big East champ | Syracuse | Louisville |
| Big Ten champ | Michigan St. | Michigan St. |
| Big 12 champ | Kansas | Kansas |
| C-USA champ | Memphis | Memphis |
| MWC champ | UNLV | UNLV |
| Pac-12 champ | Arizona | Arizona |
| SEC champ | Kentucky | Kentucky |
| WCC champ | Gonzaga | Gonzaga |
| TOTAL | 3 | 3 |
| National POY | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Doug McDermott, Creighton |
| Sleeper team | Pittsburgh | Texas |
| Final Four | Gonzaga, Indiana, Kentucky, Syracuse | Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State |
| National title game | Indiana over Kentucky | Michigan State over Kansas |
Kansas, Gonzaga, and Memphis. That's what these two cats picked right. Want to know how difficult that was? The first thing you can do is check and see that every single person picked Memphis and Gonzaga to win their leagues, and everyone but Dana O'Neil, who was clearly on crack, picked Kansas. Need more evidence? Google "Conference USA pre-season basketball poll." Then do West Coast Conference. Then do Big 12. For every poll you find that doesn't list Memphis, Gonzaga and Kansas to win those conferences this year, I will give you a free entry into the contest (not really). Take those three out and Eamonn and Seth struck out completely. For good measure, Eamonn has Kentucky in the finals, and we've already covered them. Seth has Texas as his sleeper team. The Horns ended the regular season at 16-17, which "earned" them an invitation to the CBI, who should be ashamed of themselves for inviting them.
All that to say this.....experts are not always experts. You know as much about what is going to happen in the next two weeks as they do. Take all the blathering with a grain of salt. Make your picks, pull for them to win, and maybe you will luck up. Someone in our pool will probably pick the champion but it doesn't always happen. Someone may get all of the Final Four right, but that's rare. One thing is certain though: someone is going to be verrrrry happy two weeks from yesterday. It just as well be you.
Good luck to all.
March 8, 2013
Last weekend I started prepping the site and getting ready for THE TOURNAMENT. Feel free to sign up now if you would like and when the bracket is released all you have to do is fill it out. Props to Chris Pogue, who visited the site this past Monday and signed up. I'd say he is ready! He even remembered the passcode you have to have to sign up, which will be emailed to all past participants. If you want a hint, it is my daughter's first name.
