Brackets Update: Don't Take Advice From Me
Except for when it comes to Big Ten men's basketball distrust
The Round of 64 has never been my strong suit when making brackets.
In the one year where I won my men’s NCAA Tournament group, it was really only because I correctly picked a Michigan-Villanova final, then the Wildcats winning. I just do not have the mindset to properly predict upsets in the early stages.
This year, though, was maybe my worst showing yet. I was hovering around last place of my group for the majority of the first round, and now sit at 47th out of 70 brackets and in the 30th percentile across all of ESPN thanks to a sort-of-OK Round of 32.
Here’s what i got right and wrong of the Sweet 16. The bolds are correct to this point, and the italicized are the ones I got wrong with what I guessed in parentheses.
Gonzaga, Champion
Arkansas, Sweet 16
Texas Tech, Elite Eight
Duke (Davidson, Sweet 16)
North Carolina (Baylor, Elite Eight)
UCLA, Sweet 16
Purdue, Sweet 16
Saint Peter’s (Kentucky, Final Four)
Arizona, Elite Eight
Houston, Sweet 16
Michigan (Tennessee, Final Four)
Villanova, Sweet 16
Kansas, Final
Providence (South Dakota State, Sweet 16)
Iowa State (LSU, Elite Eight)
Miami (Auburn, Sweet 16)
That, in total, is just 9 of 16 correct. I have lost half of my Elite Eight and Final Four, but still have my championship in tact. Yay.
With all those exits and with my champion being the one that everyone picked, I’m pretty much just hoping for good games and wild upsets at this point.
So far, I have enjoyed the men’s tournament, except for the second day of the Round of 64 which was just not good for some reason. The Saint Peter’s run has been a delight thanks to Rusty Ranks Beers and the gang just splashing shots against Kentucky, then Murray State.
The Midwest region has also been full of upsets, something I thought would happen, but something I picked almost completely incorrect. I thought someone would take down Auburn and Wisconsin early, I just didn’t predict Miami and Iowa State. I thought a lesser team would make the Sweet 16, I just thought it would be South Dakota State, not Providence. Tough luck.
Turns out the only thing I did know is that the Big Ten is bad at men’s basketball. After a fraudulent Round of 64 that saw six of the teams advance, there are now just two: Purdue and Michigan. Credit to the Wolverines, because I had predicted there would be just the Boilermakers at this point, but the point remains: this conference stinks.
Illinois looked terrible against Chattanooga and was outmatched by Houston. The Badgers proved to be fraudulent by not cracking 50 against the Cyclones. Iowa lost to the damn Richmond Spiders in the Round of 64, a team that got absolutely trounced by Providence. Providence!!
Again, credit to the Wolverines, who have made a fun run thanks to Hunter Dickinson’s dominance and the steady hand of vet Eli Brooks. I’m excited to see that Villanova game. I’m also excited to see Coach K’s final game tonight. Hopefully.
In the women’s tournament, thank you to everyone who joined The Hoopla Groupla, I wasn’t expecting to get 10 entries, let alone 25, so thanks.
And thank you to the majority of you who are beating me so far, very cool! I’m 17th out of 25 and in the 41st percentile thanks to some bad upset picks. Here’s my Sweet 16 (same rules apply as the men’s above).
South Carolina, Final
North Carolina (Arizona, Sweet 16)
Iowa State, Sweet 16
Creighton (Iowa, Elite Eight)
Louisville, Sweet 16
Tennessee (Oregon, Elite Eight)
Michigan, Final Four
South Dakota (Ole Miss, Sweet 16)
Stanford, Champion
Maryland (Florida Gulf Coast, Sweet 16)
Ohio State, Sweet 16
Texas, Elite Eight
NC State, Final Four
Notre Dame (IUPUI, Sweet 16)
Indiana, Sweet 16
UConn, Elite Eight
I’m doing a little better here: 10 of the Sweet 16 are there which still is not great, but still having six of the Elite Eight and all of the Final Four teams keeps me in it.
Again, I picked upsets, just the wrong ones. South Dakota’s win over Baylor was beyond impressive, but I was right in spirit when I picked Ole Miss to do the same thing. IUPUI and UMass both gave the higher seeds fights before falling short, then Notre Dame put Oklahoma in pure, relentless hell from start to finish in a beatdown for the ages.
Of the picks I have currently, I may be least confident in UConn getting past Indiana. Yes, this will basically be a home game in Bridgeport, but the Huskies struggled mightily against UCF. Indiana might not have quite the defense of the Golden Knights, but the veteran experience and offensive firepower should make this a fantastic battle. And hey, if I’m wrong on that one, I’ll take a Big Ten team in the Elite Eight as a consolation prize.
Past that matchup, both games in the Spokane region have the chance to be absolutely electric. Stanford and Maryland have faced off in a lackluster game this year already, but the Terps were not full strength. Now, both teams appear to be rolling and it could lead to some real fireworks if Maryland’s offense can get things moving against a stingy Cardinal defense.
Ohio State and Texas almost has to be a banger based on what I’ve seen from these teams. Both squads shoot very well from the field and can back it up with great D on the other end. The Longhorns have been the better team most of the year, but the Buckeyes played like a juggernaut last time out against LSU, so look for this one to be good.
Alright everyone, please keep rooting for the success of my brackets like I know you’ve been doing this whole time. We can get to the top of the leaderboards I swear.
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