March Madness

[O Really]

Final Four: Louisville, Indiana, Florida, Gonzaga.
Louisville to win.

[O Really]

Through yesterday and half of today, I'm #2 in my pool of 40. Lots more to go, though.

[O Really]

My picks are largely Nate Silver based. In previous years that I've either won or did very well, I've generally used an ESPN consensus, with minor personal modification. We'll see if Nate is as good at basketball as he is at elections. So far, so meh.

[O Really]

Obama's still in a tie for 57th ....

In a tip of the hat to the late great Detective, could we say he has one place per state?

[O Really]

I survived the 'zag disaster, since everybody else (maybe in the world) had picked them. So far, at the end of yesterday, Nate and I are still in first.

[O Really]

Who do you have losing to Louisville, Indiana or Florida?

Indiana, who at least to me still smells like Bobby Knight, and gives me great pleasure every time they lose.

[O Really]

IN dodged the bullet, you almost crashed and burned today.

.

But dodge it they did. And Mostly Nate is looking pretty good. Highest maximum score, currently, and 5 points up on the second place guy. Of course, if Louisville tanks, then it's another story entirely.

[Stinger]

I didn't get in one. I'm trying to get a Sweet 16 bracket going with some friends. Would either of you pick FGCU over my Gators? Those boys are playing really good basketball and they're going to sell it all out when they play the Gators.

[O Really]

I don't know if anyone else is using CBS Sports Bracket Manager for their pool, but if so, here's my numbers:

Place in pool of 40 after first weekend: First
Points: 206
Correct: 36
Max Points: 326
Max Correct: 49

Winner Louisville, total score 175

[O Really]

Historically, that's a pretty high total score guess - would make for a fun game unless it's something like 100-75. Only one of our 84 went as high as 175 and none went higher. My total score guesses for the tiebreaker, based on the last championship scores minus 2 outliers, are 143, 159, 120 and 126.

Yeah, it's probably too high, if it comes to that. I tend to have overly high expectations that two teams of basketball players half of whom will play in the NBA maybe next year should actually be able to get the ball in the hoop.

Our pool only pays first and second. Up until this year it was winner take all. Increased the nail-biting factor getting toward the end.

[O Really]

The good news is the second place guy also guessed 174, but has Kansas to win. The third place guessed 147 and Louisville and could be trouble, but is currently 23 points below me in total possible points. The fourth place guy will be dropping like a rock when games resume, because she picked Georgetown to win.

[O Really]

...The fourth place guy will be dropping like a rock when games resume, because she picked Georgetown to win.

Only if FGCU stops winning.

They call them "Cinderella" for a reason. Eventually, they turn into pumpkins. It would be fun to see FGCU go all the way, but Gatorland will be the end of their ride. Either that, or the Apocalypse really is upon us.

[O Really]

There's a worse apocalypse than Jesuit Georgetown getting beat in the 1st round?

I hope you're correct, I've got FL in my 2 best brackets while only 49% of our pool does. It'll either give me a bump or compensate some for losing ground on the 70% that picked OH St. to win the next game if AZ can't swing the upset.

Not that FGCU isn't talented. They clearly are. But those other teams were surprised and unprepared. Gators won't be. Alley-opps.

[O Really]

I picked Oregon in the first round to beat OK State, and I picked them to get past St. Louis, which is in itself shaky. But their chances of getting past St. Louis and Louisville I'd say are worse than a three-legged greyhound.
(or, I guess more appropriately, a lame Duck)

[O Really]

:?: Or already trounced St. Louis, 74-57. I agree that Louisville is likely to win, but I think they have the best shot out of the Cinderella's playing teams ranked #3 or above.

My mistake. Failure to actually pay attention. As I said, I know nothing about the teams and don't watch the games. I just like to win or compete to win the pool. I still say they're sitting Ducks for Louisville, though.

[O Really]

I'm in trouble if my 'Canes don't pick up the pace soon. But I picked Indiana to beat whoever wins this one, so all is not lost.

[O Really]

No real harm done, apparently. Everybody down to 6th, and maybe below, picked 'Canes. One guy from Milwaukee picked Marquette, but he's had a really bad run so far.

[O Really]

Well, Mostly Nate and I are still hanging in at first, due at least in part to bad guesses on the ones next down the line. The second place guy picked Kansas to win, and is 40 points behind my best possible. The third place guy picked Ohio State, and number four picked Indiana. Still probably comes down to Louisville, at this point. but even if somebody else gets it, I could still win.

[O Really]

Mostly Nate and I are still hanging in. We're in first, with a substantially higher max possible than anyone else (288 v. next closest 270). We've got 40 right, with a max right of 44, higher than anyone else. I haven't looked at all possible variations and I suppose there are things that could occur to toss me off the bus, but for now, we're looking real good. We pay first and second place only - first is somewhere around $300 but the bragging rights (in my case 4 wins and a second in the last 7 years) are worth as much as the money.

[O Really]

Yep -Mostly Nate and I seem to be a lock for the pool this year. The republicans in my pool are already claiming I "rigged" the tournament.