LEADERBOARD
DAY 2 PICK FORM it's all the way at the bottom...
Day 1 is in the books. Two years ago we got to 260 entries, which seemed pretty cool. Last year it grew to 357 entries, which was even better. But, this year we all came together, we worked hard as a community, and we were able to do even better - 485 entries for a prize pool just shy of $10,000. Really, I'm a little disappointed a few of you didn't buy some last minute entries to make sure we hit five figures.
With 20 picks on Rhode Island and 21 on Oklahoma we were guaranteed to lose some people in the first game of the day. It was a pretty exciting match up between a team that had a 2-8 record since February 1st, and a team that got beat by 30, at home, on their own Senior night, by a team with a losing record two weeks ago. In other words, it's the kind of dream match-up you only find in a Championship crowning single elimination tournament. Trae Young wasn't able to knock down contested 45 foot jumpers, so Oklahoma's offensive gameplan didn't work out today and Rhode Island moved 21 people on with 7 tiebreaker points.
In other early games Tennessee destroyed Wright State which left 34 people advancing while thinking, "Did I just burn my Tennessee pick too early?" while one person, Jim Uhl, was left thinking, "Maybe Wright St. was a bad choice." Meanwhile, Gonzaga escaped by 4 in a game where literally no one picked against them, advancing 15 entrants that had far more anxious moments than they expected today. And, Kansas got lucky and ran into the first Ivy League tournament team ever that couldn't make free throws. This allowed the Jayhawks to walk away with a win that advanced three entrants who apparently have no concern for tiebreaker points or having the Jayhawks available next weekend.
The second session kicked off with everyone's favorite double digit seed, Loyola and no one's favorite 6 seed, Miami. Loyola was among the most popular picks of Day 1 with 39 people unable to resist the allure of those 11 tiebreaker points. Alternatively, Miami captured the hearts of a mere 9 entries. But what those 9 entrants, and Jim Larranaga, didn't account for was the level of scouting that Loyola did on each and every opponent. And in the end, Loyola walked away with an easy two point win.
Oh, also, Duke destroyed Iona advancing 7 people that probably wanted to burn Duke before they face Michigan State. Ohio State also advanced 38 participants that took a stand against South Dakota St. and THE DAUMINATOR. That's right, THIS GUY is one of the best offensive players in the tournament...but, his 5 threes weren't enough and, to add insult to injury, now they have to return to South Dakota. Seriously, they're the only team in America that's disappointed that they have to spend less time in Boise, Idaho. And, Seton Hall knocked out the 8 entrants that trusted NC State and helped 19 combatants to advance.
The third session highlight was obviously Houston v San Diego State. If you were planning on starting a March Madness boy band, and really, who isn't, you should have started with this game. It featured the perfect leading man, Max Montana, with a perfect stage name and those delightful curls. More importantly it also featured a tough, but adorable, bad boy in Rob Gray. He sports a man bun and gets plenty of street cred for being a rule breaker that even served a suspension this season. He must have done something pretty tough and bad ass. Oh, and he's also ok at basketball. Houston won by 2 advancing 34 entries while Rob Gray broke the 12 hearts that picked SDSU.
Villanova also destroyed Radford. Kentucky got extraordinarily lucky and advanced 41 contestants who felt UK could not possibly beat any team in the tournament other than Davidson. Six beautiful souls picked Davidson, they may have lost their entries, but they earned my love and respect. And, Texas Tech pulled out a late win over Stephen F Austin moving on another 28 warriors.
The final set of games kicked off with Alabama knocking out Virginia Tech and sending yet another ACC team packing, they also sent 22 participants home while advancing 13 others to Friday.
Twenty-Nine entrants decided to take the easy free pass today and play Arizona who trounced a completely overmatched Buffalo team by 21, thrashing them 89-68....wait....what? Arizona got beat by Buffalo by 21!? Oh. LOL. I wonder how Sean Miller is taking it? At least now they have time to focus on a great off season full of rest and relaxation.
The last couple games of the night brought very little drama. Michigan pwned Montana advancing 22 brave souls and knocking out no one. And Florida and my Louisville coaching search man crush advanced 34 combatants while sending 10 people home who backed St. Bonaventure, the only team that brought a blemish to an otherwise undefeated day for Catholicism...seriously, just a day of domination by Catholicism. Villanova, Gonzaga, Seton Hall, and Loyola all move on, Catholicism hasn't dominated like this since the Middle Ages.
All in all it was a pretty good first day. In the last couple years the entries have been spread thin on the opening weekend, so no one game blows stuff up quite like a few years back. But, Day 1 still found a way to knock out 131 of the 485 entries, meaning 27% of the entries are already dead. Not so easy after all is it! Buckle in boys and girls, because we've only just begun!
Oh, and here's a nifty little infographic brought to you by BryanH that illustrates who people have erroneously put their trust in...oh Arizona:
Daily recap idea.
ReplyDeleteCall out the person who resent their entry the most times not knowing if you received it. Call it the Daily Knox.