The action does not pick up until Saturday so lets relive how each team punched their ticket to the Final 4 in San Antonio.
LOYOLA CHICAGO
MICHIGAN
VILLANOVA
KANSAS
The final tally of paid entries 124 with one disqualified for non-payment.
Here’s the official prize breakdown:
| Rank | Winnings |
| 1 | $300 |
| 2 | $150 |
| 3 | $95 |
| 4 | $50 |
| 5 | $25 |
Check out PickHoops.com’s What If to see how well your bracket(s) will finish.
Good luck to everyone.
8 teams. 7 games. 1 champion to be determined.
A wild tournament has resulted in a Jekyll and Hyde bracket. On one side it’s chaos and anarchy. On the other side is calm and order. On one side we have one team seeded 3 or lower (Michigan), two 9 seeds and an 11 seed. On the other side all four teams are seeded 3 or lower including both number 1’s.
12 brackets still have a chance to win this pool. Some with better chances than others since their champion is still alive (Villanova (22), Kansas (9), Duke (7) and Michigan (3)).
We had only one entry disqualified for non-payment which means the total prize pool is $620 (124*5). I will have the payout breakdown after this weekend’s games. Good luck to everyone.
Arizona. Goodbye. Virginia. Godspeed. Michigan State. So long. North Carolina. Adios. Cincinnati. Auf Wiedersehen. Xavier. Ciao.
(The last two are especially tough. I’m still in shock that both of these teams are out before the second weekend even started. I’m even more stunned how those two games unraveled for both teams. A dream of a Final 4 Crosstown Shootout will be another great “what if” in Cincinnati sports history. Alas the tournament rolls on.)
Six of the nine most selected champions have been sent packing BEFORE the Sweet 16. The carnage is deep.
Look at all the red on that report. It’s like the Red Wedding. Villanova, Kansas and Duke better be aware.
Yet 45 brackets have a chance to win this pool. 45!!
Using the Best Results Report, you see the best possible finish for every bracket under the Best Finish column. Click How to see what scenario would achieve it.
Reminder that the payment deadline is Wednesday.
It happened! It finally happened. A 16 seed knocked off a 1 seed. UMBC shocked the sports world last night and subsequently trashed a lot of brackets in the process. The best thing I learned about UMBC is that their mascot is the Retrievers. Who doesn’t love a retriever? #RetrieverNation
Before I get into the effects of this game to our pool, I want to share the post game interviews with Virginia’s Head Coach Tony Bennett. It’s pure class. My level of respect jumped to a higher level. He gets it.
https://twitter.com/kg_holler/status/974856007485739008
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSG8YYOoZlQ
In the wake of this historic upset, lets breakdown the carnage from Virginia’s early exit.
Virginia was our most selected champion. Their early departure along with Arizona’s is music to the ears of those that select Cincinnati, Tennessee or Kentucky to advance from the South region.
Now we move onto the Sweet Sixteen over the next two days. Lets see which Cinderella punches it’s ticket.
March Madness is synonymous with upsets and day one did not disappoint. The University of Buffalo “bull rushed” the University of Arizona en route to a 89-68 win. This upset knocked out our ninth highest selected champion.
With the help of PickHoops.com’s Stats, we can get an even bigger picture of the effects from Arizona’s stunning departure.
Yes. I was the only one to pick Buffalo to beat Arizona. I also picked Davidson on that bracket for full disclosure. However the takeaway is the detailed data PickHoops offers. I suggest you play around with the site when you have some free time.
The only other upset of the day finished in classic tournament fashion.
Loyola Chicago’s Donte Ingram’s buzzer-beater three stunned Miami and sent the 11th seed onto the next round.
As for our pool, we have 125 submitted brackets. I will announce the payout once I have verified payment for each bracket.
Here’s the link for the standings after day one.
Good news: William Keller’s leads after day one.
Bad news: He selected Arizona as the champion. Ouch.
Lets see what day two brings. Good luck to everyone and enjoy the games.
First let me welcome you back to HoopsHysteria for another fun tournament.
Second I made the decision to move to a new bracket manager this year after having some issues with the CBS Bracket Manager the past couple of years. I like the clean look and ease of use PickHoops.com provides. Additionally they offer a lot of additional reporting options we’ve not previously had which I believe will add to the overall experience.
Last, but not least, the waiting is over and the brackets are out. It’s now time to analyze the matchups and select your champion. Please pass along this invite to HoopsHysteria to your family, friends and co-workers.
Go to pickhoops.com/HoopsHysteria to join. You’ll be asked for your name and email address and to create a new user password for yourself. Then you’ll be asked for the group password. This group’s password is nothingbutnet
Good luck to everyone and enjoy the action this week.