(I'm too lazy to go back and look up how many... I think it's the 6th, unless we're counting the 'old place' and then I'm up to running my 8th or 9th of these things)
Here's a primer to help get you ready for your picks
https://theringer.com/college-basketball-power-rankings-kansas-ucla-villanova-b6f6504599b6#.sxb90kikc
I'll post the group info to join on Sunday evening after the bracket is announced
Reminder: you need an ESPN acc't / login to join.
Second reminder: Other than Airboy winning last year, Bison and I keep alternating wins, breaking KyzBP's seemingly unbreakable half-decade hammerlock on the tournament.
Here's the info for this year's NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge
Here's the page to enter your bracket (http://games.espn.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2017/en/group?groupID=1616637)
The group is up - we're "Grogheads 2017" and the password is "Bison" (no quotes) O0
You can't enter anything before this weekend when the brackets are announced.
It's set for 2 entries / person, but that's only so I can create the usual "Straight Chalk" bracket that lets you compare against the tournament seeding. Anyone entering 2 'legit' brackets will have both DQ'ed.
No idea what the prizes will be, but we'll come up with our usual "something" out of the grab-bag
Thanks, Brant, for organizing this each year. O0
Hey, this is a lot easier than the baseball league :)
I made it easy for you guys this year. I picked UCLA to win it all, beating Villanova in the championship game.
Here's one of the more entertaining previews you'll read
https://theringer.com/ncaa-tournament-march-madness-bracket-regional-breakdown-1930260ed287#.qlf86dpbk
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 12, 2017, 10:27:13 AM
The group is up - we're "Grogheads 2017" and the password is "Bison" (no quotes) O0
You can't enter anything before this weekend when the brackets are announced.
Hey! That's because K-State made the tourney isn't it? ;D I don't see them making it past the round of 32, but I'll just be happy if they don't choke in the play in round.
There's only 4 in so far, plus the Straight Chalk
I'm in. I have even less confidence than last year.
where do you join?
Brant put a link in the post with the password.
I found the site but don't see where I create my brackets in the league. Do I just click the ESPN tournament challenge banner?
figured it out. had to log into to ESPN.
I just updated my picks. As badly as I want Dayton in the Elite Eight, I just don't see them getting past WSU.
I'm not lacking upsets, they're just usually higher up where I've got 4s beating 1s and such.
I'm going to put some faith in UNC-W though.
I think between Archie Miller, Gregg Marshall, and Kevin Keatts, the coach who lasts longest in the tournament gets the NC State job. Which is kind of a punishment, but the 'Pack will back up a Brinks truck for one of them, assuming Sean Miller isn't available (and he won't be, 'Zona's a better gig than State these days).
You've got about 5 minutes to get your brackets locked in!
Any last minute changes? Make 'em now!
And yes, I'm taking UNC-W, Winthrop, and MTSU to win in the first round. Why the hell not?
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 16, 2017, 11:13:26 AM
You've got about 5 minutes to get your brackets locked in!
Any last minute changes? Make 'em now!
And yes, I'm taking UNC-W, Winthrop, and MTSU to win in the first round. Why the hell not?
UNC-W won. I had UVA picked.
yeah, but Winthrop is letting me down :(
Quote from: OJsDad on March 16, 2017, 02:27:13 PM
UNC-W won. I had UVA picked.
No, they didn't - UVA won 76-71.
I had UNC-W into the Sweet 16, too, so that
really hurts.
Yep. Was glancing at it too quick. And i had uncw also.
Am i looking at the group correctly, no 2 of us picked the same team to win.
Quote from: OJsDad on March 16, 2017, 02:47:34 PMAm i looking at the group correctly, no 2 of us picked the same team to win.
wow - you're right!
And 'Nova doesn't really count b/c even though that bracket "belongs" to me, it's just the straight favorite seedings that I put in there for us to compare against.
I picked the turtles to lose. Turtle soup is excellent!
This is really weird. We had 8 people enter a bracket. Everyone picked a different winner.
Admittedly, Metal Dog picked Arizona which is the same as my picking my 14 year old deaf and blind dog - but everyone picked a different team.
There are 15 people in my office pool, and only 5 teams picked to win.
We'll see. Who knows, maybe Duke will win it all?
FGCU v FSU is turning into a dunk-fest...
All over now. FGCU Got dunked last. :'(
Day 1 standings
My PPR took a serious hit w/ UNC-W and Winthrop both going out
RANK BRACKET R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 NCG CHAMPION PPR TOTAL PCT
1 Bison 150 0 0 0 0 0 Gonzaga 1760 150 99.2
2* Straight Chalk 140 0 0 0 0 0 Villanova 1760 140 93.6
2* dook sucks 140 0 0 0 0 0 UNC 1760 140 93.6
4* KyzBP 130 0 0 0 0 0 Kentucky 1760 130 73.7
4* MetalDog 130 0 0 0 0 0 Arizona 1740 130 73.7
4* bayonetbrant 130 0 0 0 0 0 Louisville 1720 130 73.7
7 Marty Ward 120 0 0 0 0 0 Kansas 1760 120 51.0
8 OJsDad 110 0 0 0 0 0 UCLA 1740 110 30.6
None of my picks that lost yesterday are going to hurt too much, as I picked them all to lose in the second round, except for VCU, I picked them to lose in the sweet 16.
I found a reason for Mirth to care about the tournament! Apparently Bill Murray's son is an ass't coach for Xavier.
http://www.goxavier.com/coaches.aspx?rc=199&path=mbball
Ouch! SMU let me down.
Creighton was my biggest loss so far had them making it to the sweet 16.
How the &$%#@ am I in first place? Won't last, of course - notice who has the fewest PPR....
RANK BRACKET, OWNER R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 NCG CHAMPION PPR TOTAL PCT
1 bayonetbrant 270 0 0 0 0 0 Louisville 1480 270 94.9
2* Straight Chalk 260 0 0 0 0 0 Villanova 1600 260 86.1
2* Marty Ward 260 0 0 0 0 0 Kansas 1600 260 86.1
2* Bison 260 0 0 0 0 0 Gonzaga 1580 260 86.1
2* MetalDog 260 0 0 0 0 0 Arizona 1580 260 86.1
6 dook sucks 250 0 0 0 0 0 UNC 1540 250 68.2
7* KyzBP 240 0 0 0 0 0 Kentucky 1600 240 51.3
7* OJsDad 240 0 0 0 0 0 UCLA 1560 240 51.3
Wisconsin beat Villanova. That'll screw up a lot of brackets.
The Big10 teams have been hurting me this week. Winning when I picked them to lose and losing when I picked them to lose.
Well that was fun. >:(
Same time next year?
I picked Villanova to make it to the finals. Unless the Tar Heels win it all I'm probably out.
Quote from: KyzBP on March 18, 2017, 07:19:16 PM
Well that was fun. >:(
Same time next year?
Don't give up hope yet. If Kentucky wins it all you will win the pool.
Quote from: airboy on March 18, 2017, 07:29:48 PM
Quote from: KyzBP on March 18, 2017, 07:19:16 PM
Well that was fun. >:(
Same time next year?
Don't give up hope yet. If Kentucky wins it all you will win the pool.
True but I have Michigan and AZ as my other 2 Final Four teams. :idiot2:
Two of my final 4 teams are out, Villanova and FSU. Need Michigan and UCLA to make it the Final 4 and for UCLA to win it all.
Iowa State losing hurt. Good game at the end, but they put themselves in a deep hole with their first half play.
I think Villanova probably f'ed everyone equally, since we all had them making a deep run
Straight Chalk is in the lead, but won't last into next weekend with 'Nova going out.
RANK BRACKET, OWNER R64 R32 S16 CHAMPION PPR TOTAL PCT
1 Straight Chalk 260 120 0 Villanova 840 380 97.3
2 dook sucks 250 120 0 UNC 1100 370 91.1
3 Bison 260 100 0 Gonzaga 1260 360 86.3
4 bayonetbrant 270 80 0 Louisville 1240 350 79.4
5* MetalDog 260 80 0 Arizona 1320 340 70.7
5* Marty Ward 260 80 0 Kansas 1120 340 70.7
7* KyzBP 240 80 0 Kentucky 1120 320 50.4
7* OJsDad 240 80 0 UCLA 1020 320 50.4
Well down goes another of my Final Four teams. I'm actually ok with it, because I cannot stand Rick Pitino. He's one of the bigger douchebag coaches in collegiate athletics.
well, I'm out.
Louisville didn't make it out of the first weekend. Hard to win the title when you can't win a second round game...
Anyone know why all of the West bracket games are being played on the same day and not spread out over 2 days like the other brackets. All 1st round were played Thursday, 2nd round were played Saturday. If you look at Sweet 16, they're both played on the same day. The other brackets have 1 games each day.
My other alma mater is giving Duke all they can handle right now
Go Gamechickens Go! :DD
Successful NCAA Tourney already! UNC made the sweet 16 again and dook lost! <:-)
[Brant - I did not know you had a gamechicken connection. I got my Ph.D. there - but have no sports affiliation.]
I think that Brant is the only one left who cannot win the pool. Everyone else has a shot.
And more idiots (or worshipers of evil) picked Dook in my office pool than any other team. :uglystupid2:
I got my Masters there, but I don't really follow their sports at all. During the 2-1/2 years I was there, I went to one USC game - a dreadfully bad basketball game btw USC and Ole Miss.
RANK BRACKET, OWNER R64 R32 CHAMPION PPR TOTAL PCT
1 Straight Chalk 260 240 Villanova 600 500 97.9
2 dook sucks 250 220 UNC 920 470 85.0
3* KyzBP KyzT333 240 220 Kentucky 920 460 79.4
3* Marty Ward 260 200 Kansas 920 460 79.4
5* OJsDad 240 200 UCLA 880 440 64.8
5* Bison36 Bison 260 180 Gonzaga 800 440 64.8
7 bayonetbrant 270 140 Louisville 520 410 41.0
8 MetalDog's Year 260 140 Arizona 1040 400 33.9
yeah, I'm pretty fooked
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 20, 2017, 05:55:07 AM
RANK BRACKET, OWNER R64 R32 CHAMPION PPR TOTAL PCT
1 Straight Chalk 260 240 Villanova 600 500 97.9
2 dook sucks 250 220 UNC 920 470 85.0
3* KyzBP KyzT333 240 220 Kentucky 920 460 79.4
3* Marty Ward 260 200 Kansas 920 460 79.4
5* OJsDad 240 200 UCLA 880 440 64.8
5* Bison36 Bison 260 180 Gonzaga 800 440 64.8
7 bayonetbrant 270 140 Louisville 520 410 41.0
8 MetalDog's Year 260 140 Arizona 1040 400 33.9
yeah, I'm pretty fooked
Woot! In striking distance. Take that Straight Chalk.
Yeah, Straight Chalk is always just for entertainment – to see how your picks do against the NCAA seeding :)
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 20, 2017, 10:34:27 AM
Yeah, Straight Chalk is always just for entertainment – to see how your picks do against the NCAA seeding :)
Well, as usual, Straight Chalk is kicking our behinds but this year it looks like we'll get the upper hand.
There is no way Straight Chalk stays on top this season. The Villanova loss sunk its chances. My goal is simply to place higher than the committee picks, which may end up being a challenge.
Quote from: KyzBP on March 20, 2017, 10:51:58 AM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 20, 2017, 10:34:27 AM
Yeah, Straight Chalk is always just for entertainment – to see how your picks do against the NCAA seeding :)
Well, as usual, Straight Chalk is kicking our behinds but this year it looks like we'll get the upper hand.
Just out of curiosity, I went back and checked how Straight Chalk / Straight Faves finished in previous years:
2016: tied for 2nd w/ 40Cent, but just barely
2015: 4th out of 10, but that was the year Kentucky was expected to roll the field and Wisconsin saved Western Civilization by kneecapping a team with 7 first-round picks in the national semis
2014: The last bracket I posted had them on top, but Bison ultimately won it. Not sure where Straight Chalk finally finished
2013: I won with an insane amount of points, thanks largely to picking UofL to win, and Michigan to make the Final Four. Straight Chalk finished in a 3-way tie for third. But did I mention that I racked up over 1300 points, for the most dominant win in GH history? If not, I really should. I mean, it's not that often that someone kicks the tournament's ass that badly, and we really should celebrate it when it happens. I mean, the winner finished
240 points clear of 2nd place, which is like, almost the entire Round of 32 total that most folks max out with!
2012: Chalk finished second, behind Bison,
who somehow managed to score more points that year than our un-named Dominator Of All Brackets™ did in 2013. FWIW, the margin of victory wasn't as big as 2013, so I'm claiming that feather-in-the-cap for myself ::) I'm sure there's Common Core math to blame there. That was the year Kentucky rolled and over half of us picked someone else to win.
events held prior to 2011 are null and void due to their association with somewhere we'd rather not claim if we can help it. Sorry, KyzBP. :coolsmiley:
"events held prior to 2011 are null and void due to their association with somewhere we'd rather not claim if we can help it. Sorry, KyzBP. :coolsmiley:"
I had a good run on that other site. As long as you remember it, it will be almost immortalized. I'm feeling like I could make a run for it now.
Huh. I've won more of these brackets than I would have ever thought.
Unless I've lost my mind, I've won a couple of times here and "elsewhere."
I've only won my office pool twice in the last 10 years - but it has a lot more members.
I won here last year. My wife and I have already "won" this year since UNC made the Sweet 16 and Dook tanked again because Grayson has trouble tripping chickens. We "win" again because the finals will be played when we are on a cruise.
Airboy - just to clarify, the listing above was where the "Straight Chalk" bracket had finished over the years, comparing the NCAA seeding to our picks.
Well, I'm pretty much done. Three of my final four teams are out (thanks Michigan!). So far, none of my elite 8 picks have made it.
Quote from: OJsDad on March 23, 2017, 09:29:50 PM
Well, I'm pretty much done. Three of my final four teams are out (thanks Michigan!). So far, none of my elite 8 picks have made it.
You are still in it. If UCLA wins, you will win. Nobody else picked UCLA to make it to the final four. If you are right on UCLA you will win going away.
Wow what an outstanding performance by Xavier tonight. Great game.
Quote from: OJsDad on March 23, 2017, 09:29:50 PM
Well, I'm pretty much done. Three of my final four teams are out (thanks Michigan!). So far, none of my elite 8 picks have made it.
Ditto. :(
With Arizona going down, I'm now out of both of my title game teams.
RANK BRACKET, OWNER R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 NCG CHAMPION PPR TOTAL PCT
1 Straight Chalk 260 240 80 0 0 0 Villanova 480 580 94.6
2 avery knows dook sucks 250 220 80 0 0 0 UNC 800 550 81.8
3 Marty Ward 260 200 80 0 0 0 Kansas 720 540 77.4
4 KyzBP 240 220 40 0 0 0 Kentucky 640 500 56.2
5* Bison 260 180 40 0 0 0 Gonzaga 720 480 45.2
5* OJsDad 240 200 40 0 0 0 UCLA 680 480 45.2
5* MetalDog 260 140 80 0 0 0 Arizona 360 480 45.2
8 bayonetbrant 270 140 0 0 0 0 Louisville 160 410 17.0
What's crazy is that I had a better first round than anyone - even the Straight Chalk bracket - and have completely fallen off the map after that.
I'd like to thank Arizona for making this *NOT* my year L:-)
Airboy, your right. I have 3 teams that play today, that if they win, will help me a lot.
KyzBP and I go head to head with our picks for national champions tonight. One will continue one with a chance of overall victory and the other will be left a bloody pulp lying in a muddy puddle in a cold spring rain.
At least I only need to check one side of the brackets. I am completely done on the left side!
Yeah the top half of my bracket is all crossed off too. I was really hoping Kansas would lose to Iowa State for the third time this year.../sigh/
Quote from: OJsDad on March 24, 2017, 06:38:46 AM
Airboy, your right. I have 3 teams that play today, that if they win, will help me a lot.
KyzBP and I go head to head with our picks for national champions tonight. One will continue one with a chance of overall victory and the other will be left a bloody pulp lying in a muddy puddle in a cold spring rain.
I feel cold and wet already. :-\
I cannot be the sacrificial goat this year. I've at least got Brant beat if everything else goes to hell.
Quote from: airboy on March 24, 2017, 02:32:33 PM
I cannot be the sacrificial goat this year. I've at least got Brant beat if everything else goes to hell.
It looks like you are sitting in the best position as far as final four teams go. Ultimately it's going to depend on who picked the winner, unless some how a dark horse team like Xavier wins it all.
Tonight's south bracket is really going to go a long way in sorting out who the winner will be. Kentucky v. UCLA and Butler v. UNC. Three of those teams are someone's pick for the winner. Eek! Don't let me down Butler!
Quote from: airboy on March 24, 2017, 02:32:33 PM
I cannot be the sacrificial goat this year. I've at least got Brant beat if everything else goes to hell.
that's setting the bar pretty low this year!
Quote from: Bison on March 24, 2017, 02:36:59 PM
Quote from: airboy on March 24, 2017, 02:32:33 PM
I cannot be the sacrificial goat this year. I've at least got Brant beat if everything else goes to hell.
It looks like you are sitting in the best position as far as final four teams go. Ultimately it's going to depend on who picked the winner, unless some how a dark horse team like Xavier wins it all.
They way the scoring goes if you just pick the final 4, the final and the winner and you probably win. Out of the 130+ games you really only need to pick the right 15.
Quote from: Marty Ward on March 24, 2017, 03:52:43 PM
Quote from: Bison on March 24, 2017, 02:36:59 PM
Quote from: airboy on March 24, 2017, 02:32:33 PM
I cannot be the sacrificial goat this year. I've at least got Brant beat if everything else goes to hell.
It looks like you are sitting in the best position as far as final four teams go. Ultimately it's going to depend on who picked the winner, unless some how a dark horse team like Xavier wins it all.
They way the scoring goes if you just pick the final 4, the final and the winner and you probably win. Out of the 130+ games you really only need to pick the right 15.
Yep. Somewhere "else" I got the final four, the finals, and the winner right. I was in the top 0.5% of the country at ESPN. Killed everyone in my office pool.
I stopped sweating this years ago. I try to figure out who the final 8 will be. Then the final 4, finals and winner. I do the rest of it pretty quick. I admit that I picked Xavier to reach the sweet 16, but that was part and parcel of my picking dook to get knocked out early.
Well Butler is not playing well in the 1st half so far.
Yeah Baylor laid an egg in that one. However, I felt that Baylor was overrated all season.
I'm amazed that South Carolina made it to the Final 8. My wife told me that SC had never won an NCAA Tournament Mens BB game until this year. I still find that hard to believe.
Brant - as a Gamechicken alum you have no idea how many bad gamechicken things that I can throw out there. I've known tons of Clemson people for 35 years and I've seen it all.
With Kentucky winning I can't finish any lower than middle of the pack.
For those of you poor Sods that didn't stay-up to 1am this morning, you missed maybe the best BB game ending in history. Florida scores 3 to win at the buzzer beating Wisconsin by 1 point. :bd:
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 25, 2017, 10:34:25 AMyou missed maybe the best BB game ending in history
There is only one correct answer to that statement
[yt]https://youtu.be/_K3UJUmHREQ[/yt]
but yes, I did flip over from the US 6-0 thrashing of Honduras in time to catch the OT winner and can't believe that Wisconsin didn't put someone in front of him!
True enough. They only needed to throw him off stride or slow him down. The buzzer sounded with the ball in the air after his shot. :o
One of my buddies at work picked Oregon to beat Kansas. If the Heels win it all, he may show up on the ESPN top 50 leaderboard. I'm a dead man walking in the office pool.
at this point, I don't care how badly I finish ;D
Down to me and Bison. :bd:
Yes, I finished last :nerd: <:-)
RANK BRACKET, OWNER R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 NCG CHAMPION PPR TOTAL PCT
1 Straight Chalk 260 240 160 160 0 0 Villanova - 820 97.9
2 avery knows dook sucks 250 220 160 160 0 0 UNC 480 790 92.7
3 Marty Ward 260 200 160 0 0 0 Kansas - 620 53.1
4 stophro 260 140 120 80 0 0 Arizona 160 600 46.4
5 KyzBP 240 220 120 0 0 0 Kentucky - 580 39.9
6 Bison 260 180 40 80 0 0 Gonzaga 480 560 33.6
7 bayonetbrant 270 140 40 80 0 0 Louisville - 530 25.5
8 OJsDad 240 200 40 0 0 0 UCLA - 480 15.2
I want to thank OJsDad for making me feel better. I know it was a big ask, but we're so proud of you for being up to the task.
It's still mathematically possible for Straight Chalk to finish on top of the heap.
I shouldn't do any worse than 5th. At least I will be in front of Brant :-"
Well Airboy is sitting in a much better position than I am for sure. I need Gonzaga to win it all, since those are the only points I have remaining. Should be an exciting final four finish next week end.
Well, it looks like it's baseball season.
If the Heels win one more game, Straight Chalk goes down. If Gonzaga takes it all, Bison will beat straight chalk.
I'm hoping for an all Carolina Finals. One of my alma maters would be national champs.
I'm not sure how the points breakdown, but I think for me to win I need Gonzaga to win it all and North Carolina to lose against Oregon.
Quote from: Bison on March 27, 2017, 04:58:18 PM
I'm not sure how the points breakdown, but I think for me to win I need Gonzaga to win it all and North Carolina to lose against Oregon.
If it is a Carolina-Gonzaga finals and the Heels fall short again this year - you would clip me by 10 points. That would be an epically close finish.
But hopefully UNC will win it all again!
I'll be ecstatic as long as the chickens don't choke!
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 28, 2017, 02:20:53 PM
I'll be ecstatic as long as the chickens don't choke!
There's a joke to be made about this statement, but I try to keep this place family friendly.
Quote from: airboy on March 28, 2017, 01:09:49 PM
Quote from: Bison on March 27, 2017, 04:58:18 PM
I'm not sure how the points breakdown, but I think for me to win I need Gonzaga to win it all and North Carolina to lose against Oregon.
If it is a Carolina-Gonzaga finals and the Heels fall short again this year - you would clip me by 10 points. That would be an epically close finish.
But hopefully UNC will win it all again!
Really? Wow that would be epic.
Great games tonight. I thought that the North Carolina and Oregon game was pretty sloppy in comparison to the South Carolina and Gonzaga game. It should be a great championship game between North Carolina and Gonzaga.
Congrats to Airboy for winning the bracket this year.
I'm not upset that Gonzaga lost, but that was one of the worst officiated championship games. The Zags killed themselves in the second half with too long a scoreless drought. But good god did the officiating really dictate the pace and tempo of the game. Just a shame considering how well played a game it was in the first half.
Yes, neither team looked too good tonight and the Refs kind of took over the game. Some bad calls too. Congrats to UNC-- NCAA Champs.
Congrats to the Tar Heels and airboy!
Congrats to Airboy, who isn't even in town to celebrate :)
I honestly dozed off in the first half, went to bed at halftime, and didn't find out what happened until about 10 minutes ago.
Congrats Airboy.
I didn't see any of the game, but it looks like the officiating was pretty bad in the second half, as Bison stated above.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/referees-absurdly-take-over-national-title-game-twitter-revolts/ar-BBziyJN?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp
one stat I saw said there were 74 possessions and 44 fouls called, so over half of the possessions...
Congrats airboy.
Way to go Airboy! U-Da Man. :notworthy:
Thanks!
One of the best tourneys with UNC and SC winning. The women had the same final as the SEC final that I went to.
Very poor internet on the ship.