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Currently at 98.8%, ranking 57,816 out of 4.7 million.
Okay, a lot of that is dumb luck. Correctly guessing every overtime game that's happened isn't totally a matter of skill. But I hope some of it has been skill. For instance since it seems like Tom Izzo has a pact with the Devil to get Michigan State deeper into the tournament than they ought to go every year, I might as well cash in on it.
Part of the reason I rate so high is that though my remaining bracket looks like swiss cheese, millions of brackets look just as bad or worse. Without the winner, indeed, without half my final four I can't believe I'll remain very high, overall. But it was fun getting here. It's been picking games here and there that's got me so high, while the mid-major terrors have been doing great bodily harm to the seeding.
Really seeding has been one of the keys to everything this year. It looked very much as if the committee paid a lot of attention to the conference tournaments this year in seeding. "Rewarding" teams who did better and "punishing" those that did worse. Take my Tigers for instance from the season that they had they deserved a 7th or 8th seed. They take a dive in the Big 12 tournament and get a 10th seed. Big deal. If they were good enough to be a 7th seed, they'd show it against a 7th seed, which they did. Missouri wasn't an unpopular pick in that game. Not surprisingly when they faced a top-2 seed in the next round they were finished. It didn't take much to figure that the Big 12 teams that got pushed ahead of Missouri were in trouble. Texas had played like a top-2 seed the first half of the season and like an NIT team the second half. Who cares if they won a game or two in the conference tournament? Didn't take a crystal ball to figure out they'd be in trouble when it mattered.
Look at St. Mary's. Why was Gonzaga a #8 and St. Mary's a #10? St. Mary's was probably a better team than Gonzaga last year, but lost in their conference tournament. This year they won, and the committee still rewarded Gonzaga more for years past, not this year. As I said before I wanted to pick St. Mary's for at least one game, but I'm not surprised they've won twice.
Every region has its mid-major horror/ Cinderella this year. I knew Northern Iowa was going to cause problems. Didn't know KU was going to play below par their the first two games. I knew Butler had way too many wins this year for a team that's made its money by being a patsy for the bigs year after year. I knew nothing about Cornell, but they were no surprise to President Obama. Xavier won one less game than I hoped last year so I left them one win short this year. I think this is as far as Butler, Xavier and Cornell will get. But with Michigan State banged up, Northern Iowa still has a chance, and I don't think Baylor is much better than what I've seen from St. Mary's.
I heard some serious gripes from reporters about the tournament just before the start this year. They were all saying how weak the middle of the field was, and how few great teams there were, implying Kansas was a sure thing. What they were really griping about though was the lack of easily identifiable superstars they could point to in their reporting. There has been nothing wrong with the games this year. But the reporters have had to do a little more investigaing than just skimming other reporters' copy. Everyone knows the lack of superstars is the result of the NBA's draft decisions over recent years. If the reporters need to gripe about parity in the college ranks, they should aim their gripes at the pros where they belong
But why gripe? College sports is about fun, going to the game, having a chance for your home team to win against all odds. Perennial powers, the darlings of the reporting world are a giant bore. The first time I sat in Ohio Stadium, I didn't get the feeling, 'this is going to be great.' Instead I got the creepy feeling, "this is like cheering for Oklahoma." This takes no commitment; this takes no hope, just greed and a desire for more and more.
I for one am happy the have-nots of the basketball world like Baylor and the mid-majors are having a great tournament this year.
Okay, a lot of that is dumb luck. Correctly guessing every overtime game that's happened isn't totally a matter of skill. But I hope some of it has been skill. For instance since it seems like Tom Izzo has a pact with the Devil to get Michigan State deeper into the tournament than they ought to go every year, I might as well cash in on it.
Part of the reason I rate so high is that though my remaining bracket looks like swiss cheese, millions of brackets look just as bad or worse. Without the winner, indeed, without half my final four I can't believe I'll remain very high, overall. But it was fun getting here. It's been picking games here and there that's got me so high, while the mid-major terrors have been doing great bodily harm to the seeding.
Really seeding has been one of the keys to everything this year. It looked very much as if the committee paid a lot of attention to the conference tournaments this year in seeding. "Rewarding" teams who did better and "punishing" those that did worse. Take my Tigers for instance from the season that they had they deserved a 7th or 8th seed. They take a dive in the Big 12 tournament and get a 10th seed. Big deal. If they were good enough to be a 7th seed, they'd show it against a 7th seed, which they did. Missouri wasn't an unpopular pick in that game. Not surprisingly when they faced a top-2 seed in the next round they were finished. It didn't take much to figure that the Big 12 teams that got pushed ahead of Missouri were in trouble. Texas had played like a top-2 seed the first half of the season and like an NIT team the second half. Who cares if they won a game or two in the conference tournament? Didn't take a crystal ball to figure out they'd be in trouble when it mattered.
Look at St. Mary's. Why was Gonzaga a #8 and St. Mary's a #10? St. Mary's was probably a better team than Gonzaga last year, but lost in their conference tournament. This year they won, and the committee still rewarded Gonzaga more for years past, not this year. As I said before I wanted to pick St. Mary's for at least one game, but I'm not surprised they've won twice.
Every region has its mid-major horror/ Cinderella this year. I knew Northern Iowa was going to cause problems. Didn't know KU was going to play below par their the first two games. I knew Butler had way too many wins this year for a team that's made its money by being a patsy for the bigs year after year. I knew nothing about Cornell, but they were no surprise to President Obama. Xavier won one less game than I hoped last year so I left them one win short this year. I think this is as far as Butler, Xavier and Cornell will get. But with Michigan State banged up, Northern Iowa still has a chance, and I don't think Baylor is much better than what I've seen from St. Mary's.
I heard some serious gripes from reporters about the tournament just before the start this year. They were all saying how weak the middle of the field was, and how few great teams there were, implying Kansas was a sure thing. What they were really griping about though was the lack of easily identifiable superstars they could point to in their reporting. There has been nothing wrong with the games this year. But the reporters have had to do a little more investigaing than just skimming other reporters' copy. Everyone knows the lack of superstars is the result of the NBA's draft decisions over recent years. If the reporters need to gripe about parity in the college ranks, they should aim their gripes at the pros where they belong
But why gripe? College sports is about fun, going to the game, having a chance for your home team to win against all odds. Perennial powers, the darlings of the reporting world are a giant bore. The first time I sat in Ohio Stadium, I didn't get the feeling, 'this is going to be great.' Instead I got the creepy feeling, "this is like cheering for Oklahoma." This takes no commitment; this takes no hope, just greed and a desire for more and more.
I for one am happy the have-nots of the basketball world like Baylor and the mid-majors are having a great tournament this year.
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I sort of felt that way when I went to Michigan games as a grad student. Beyond which, I'd been a Maryland fan for so long (with the inferiority complex and pessimistic baggage that came along with it) that I would have felt like a phony if I rooted hard for the Wolverines. I left that kind of fan-hood to the locals. I didn't have right to claim Michigan that way and I didn't need Michigan.
That Maryland-Michigan State game was a big ol' punch to the gut. To work all the way back from so far down, take the lead, and leave just enough time for them to win. Since we sure as heck weren't guarding any of the shooters... And I'm just sad knowing Kansas was out of the way, and that this is the end of our run with Greivis Vasquez - who was an amazingly colorful player to have on our team.