march2madness

The 23rd annual contest for the casual hoops fan

march2madness standings

Gator Boys Stay Hot

(March 7, 2025) It was a National Championship which featured the two best teams from the two top conferences and at the end of the night, it was the Gator Boys Staying Hot and cutting down the nets. Houston was block city tonight, and built a 12 point lead before Florida turned the tables and clamped down on the defensive end. Florida turned Houston over four times in the final 2:05, completing the their fourth tournament comeback and taking the NATTY 65-63. The final turnover was with the clock ticking down, and Houston couldn't even get a shot off, as Emmanuel Sharpe and the Coogs have a Not So Shiny Moment. Part of the reason Houston didn't get a shot off, was Walter Clayton Jr. closeout on the shooter. Clayton had an off night getting shutout in the first half, nut scored 11 in the second half and took home the MOP trophy.

Although the top two slots in march2madness were locked in, the next three payouts came down to the last possession. The top 25 entries had Florida, but Adam Lovelace also had the most points. Adam is from West Chester, OH, and like other UK fans, watching Duke collapse locking up 1st place was his favorite moment of the tournament. Adam will take home $3225 for his entry. Casey Collins, who like Adam has been participating in march2madness for 10+ years, is a resident of Union, KY and finishes only .5 back. That is crazy how close this contest has been the last two years. Casey is a big Dayton Flyers fan, and avid college hoops fan, keeping a spreadsheet on all transfers in the off-season. Casey will take home $645 for second. Third place goes to Tony Dirr ($215), fourth is Anthony Theetge ($129), fifth is Jeff Diebold ($86) and last place goes to Jerry Johnson who was -221pts but will get a FREE ENTRY into march2madness 2025-26.

Adam scored 382 out of a possible 431 points. That entry would have been Houston (66) Auburn (50.5) Michigan St (46) Florida (89) New Mexico or St Mary's (38.5) Kentucky/Louisville (57) and Drake (47.5). The top Cinderella was Arkansas with 25 tournament points. I will be double checking the scoring, and ask any of you to do the same. The contest will become official Wednesday and payouts will go out at noon.

CLUTCH CITY (April 6, 2025) Well it's not always about the most talented team, but the team that comes up clutch at crunch time. This was on display Saturday night when the veteran led Cougars took down thew Blue Devils, and all tournament long for Walter Clayton Jr, who should be handed the MOP trophy regardless of Monday night's outcome. In the last two games, trailing to both Texas Tech and Auburn, Walter Clayton, Jr took over the game in the second half scoring 30 against the Red Raiders and 34 against the Tigers. The Gators controlled the second half versus Auburn, for Houston, it was about the last 10 minutes. Looking form answers on how to shut down Duke all game, the Cougars found themselves down by 11 points after Flagg's dunk at the 10:31 mark. Little did we know that the Blue Devils would only get one more field goal the rest of the way. Getting to the free throw line when buckets were not falling, Duke still had a 9 point lead with 2 minutes, and 7 point lead with 1:15 left. Then in the final 33 seconds, the collapse happened as the Houston defense clamped down and finished the game on a 9-0 run that send them to the finals and Duke fan crying memes all over the internet.

These fun and memorable games had a lot of impact on the march2madness standings. Adam Lovelace who went into the game in the lead, but could easily slide to out of the money as he picked UConn over Duke in the Big Mac, will now survive the charge of all others. Casey Collins, who would have taken the top spot with a Duke win, will now have to live with missing out by 0.5 points. The second straight year that the contest has been this close. How about the Cougar entries? Well, Larry Brock is 30 points back with Houston, but needed an Auburn victory to take the top spot. Larry and Robert Bernecker will try to get into the money with a Cougar win. The top four spots will remain the same with a Gator championship. It's always good to see a few spots riding on the championship game. ENJOY!

Four Aces

(March 31, 2025) The Final Four is set with all four #1 seeds advancing for only the second time. The last time all the #1 seeds advanced, the Final Four was played on April 5th and 7th in San Antonio, a little Deja vu. Duke and Auburn will showcase the two top player of the year candidates in Cooper Flagg and Joni Broome. Houston, probably the top defensive team in the nation and one of the top defenders in Milos Uzan. Florida has Walter Clayton Jr, who has ice in his veins. Clayton dropped 30 points in the Gators come from behind win over Texas Tech.

Looking at march2madness, we had another shuffle of the leaderboard with Adam Lovelace back on top. However, Adam has only two Final Four teams in Florida and Auburn who will square off against each other on Saturday. The next couple of entries has those two teams plus Duke. So the Houston Cougars will play the deciding factor in this year's contest. First, can their defense dominate against the red hot Blue Devils, and second, can they score enough to keep up with the three remaining hot shooting teams. The Coogs seem like the forgotten team in this Final Four, but I am not counting them out. They did dominate the Big 12 and were declared conference champs with two weeks left in the regular season. So, who is the highest teams with Houston? Larry Brock is -30 points and has Houston and Auburn. Next, would be Robert Bernecker at -43.5 points but has Houston and Florida. The Final Four is worth +15 points + seed, and the Championship game next Monday worth an additional +25pts plus seed. So still a few different combinations out their for the payouts.

Coogs Win! & Devils vs Tide Today

(March 29, 2025) Houston punched the last ticket to the Elite Eight last night with a well drawn inbound play that resulted in a Milos Uzan's lay-in with .9 seconds. The 62-60 win sent the Cougars on to the Elite Eight were they will play Tennessee. The Vols had an easier time with Kentucky, defeating their neighbors 78-65. This will be one of three 1vs2 seeds playing each other in the Elite Eight. Texas Tech, a 3 seed, will play #1 Florida in the West Region, with tipoff scheduled for 6:09 EST tonight on TBS. That will be followed by the Alabama vs Duke contest, and if those two teams are as efficient on offense as they were on Thursday, then we are in for a treat. Both teams got to a 100 points in the Sweet 16, while giving up 93 and 88 points.

It looks like the march2madness contest may come down to the Big Mac and Whataburger groupings. Stephen Collins has came from 21 points back to the top of the leaderboard. His Big Mac team is Alabama, but five of the next six entries have Duke. Then there is Larry Brock who is 31 points back with Houston. In the Whataburger grouping, Larkin Moore, who is only a point back has Texas Tech, with the next four with Florida. So the results of today's games will give us a clearer picture of what needs to happen next week. And although they do not play each other, the Classic Smash is littered up top with Tennessee and Auburn entries. Several entries, including yours truly, have four teams left, although either Michigan State and Auburn will be eliminated on my sheet. The last thing I want to point out is Ethan Clark's entry at 26.5 back can obtain 15 NIT points from UC Irvine, who is in the NIT Final Four. It's been a long time since the NIT points made a difference. There are a couple entries ahead of him who dropped UC Irvine.

Finally! BUZZER BEATER

(March 24, 2025) Well it took until Sunday evening for us to have our first buzzer beater, as Derik Queen banks in a fade away runner at the buzzer to down Colorado State 72-71. Just 6 seconds earlier Jalen Lake drained a rainbow three pointer to put the Rams up a point in a back and forth battle, but the 6-10 freshman snatched those 12 Cinderella points away as the Crab Five heads to the Sweet 16. The tournament that has been full of chalk, is now down to four Cinderellas; #5 Michigan, #6 BYU, #6 Ole Miss and our only double digit seed, #10 Arkansas. There are some interesting story lines coming up in the Sweet 16, as Caleb Love has made a habit of beating Duke, including sending Coach K home from the Final Four when he was a Tar Heel. BYU and Arizona may set a Vegas record for highest Sweet 16 point total. Kentucky will face off against rival Tennessee, while Florida and Maryland play after close calls in round 2. The next two rounds will ultimately decide the march2madness contest as Alabama, Duke and Houston are all in the Big Mac, while Arizona, Auburn, Tennessee, and Purdue make up Sweet 16 Classic Smash. Florida, Ole Miss, and Texas Tech are all Whataburger, and Kentucky and Michigan have carried their Roadside Double duet past the Marquette/Wisconsin duo that dominated this category throughout the year. This should be SWEET!

Underdogs, Big Ten, Sweet 16 Highlight First Round

(March 21, 2025) It wasn't a dominate first round for the underdogs, but McNeese, Colorado State, Drake, New Mexico and Arkansas all advance to the second round as double digit seeds. McNeese probably pulled off the biggest upset, holding off a late charge from Clemson 69-67. Anthony Theetge was the only person to pick McNeese as his wildcard, and two others picked up McNeese as Cinderellas. Anthony is now within 20 points with Florida and Duke in his arsenal. Clemson was the second most picked Cinderella, and those picks are not within 25 points. Can McNeese do it again on Saturday against Purdue? If so, it will be the first loss for the Big Ten in the tournament. After Michigan State, Oregon and Illinois won their late caps, the Big 10 moves to 8-0. The top 16 seeds all advanced to the second round, hoping to see some big time upsets and buzzer beaters this weekend.

Please take a look at the scoring and make sure your entry is being calculated correctly and your Cinderella drop/add is correct. The Red numbers are teams that were replaced, not a negative number. I could have chosen that color better but didn't think about it until it was too late. The Cinderella UNC64 are the selections that picked North Carolina after their win on Tuesday night. Those selections did not receive the 11 points from the first four, and would have received points if Carolina were to win anymore games. However, the Tar Heels did what they have done all season, come out of halftime flat, go down big, make a miraculous comeback only to fall short in the last minute. 1-13 in Quad 1 after that one. The standings are updated, so take a look. There are several new faces in the top half of the standings, including a bunch with Gonzaga after the Zags have went on a tear these past couple weeks.

Cinderella Time

(March 16, 2025) We still have five championships to be decided today, but I wanted to get the Cinderella information posted prior to the brackets. I will have updated standings posted tonight around 8pm, at which time you can pick your Cinderella teams. Per the rules: Before the start of the NCAA Tournament, entrants will be allowed to substitute one team that did not make the NCAA tournament with a “Cinderella” tournament team. A “Cinderella” team will be considered any team seeded lower than a #4 seed. The “Cinderella” team’s tournament points will be added to the regular season point total of the substituted team. If an entry has all eight teams make the tournament, entrants will still be allowed to substitute one team with a “Cinderella” tournament team.

Also, per the original post on November 17, 2024 about the Roadside Double category: "Here you will get two teams for the price of one. You will score points for both teams, but when Cinderella time comes around you can't split them. You either keep both or release both for a Cinderella." Therefore, if you want to drop Texas, you will also be dropping Texas A&M.

Remember anything goes come tournament time, as only one person has ever been in the lead at this point and won the contest. That is because the scoring favors the underdog at this point. See below:

NCAA TOURNAMENT SCORING (includes “First Four” games)

+Seed number for each NCAA Tournament win (if #6 seed wins three games=18 points)

+5 Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and Final Four Appearances

+10 Final Four Win

+25 NCAA Tournament Champ

+15 NIT Champion

SUBMIT CINDERELLA TEAM

Punch the Ticket

(March 15, 2025) We have already seen 14 teams, including Drake and Gonzaga, punch their ticket to the Dance. On Saturday, we will see 24 teams battle for that same opportunity. Out of today's twelve championship games, seven of them will pair the conference's #1 and #2 seeds including the ACC, which pairs Duke, who escaped UNC last night thanks to a lane violation call, against Louisville who lost to Duke way back on December 8th. Crazy that these two conference foes have not tipped-off during the traditional conference play. Two of the hottest teams in the country playing in the Ivy and MAC championships today are Yale and Akron. Both of these teams have only lost once this calendar year. The Zips are a guard heavy team and have made 360 3-pointers versus their opponents 236. Today, they play Miami (OH) who they beat 102-75. Yale will play their rival Princeton, who they defeated byb 27 last time out. Grand Canyon, who many of you have selected in march2madness, have an opportunity today to make the NCAA tournament, but will have to defeat #1 seed Utah Valley. The game this basketball fan wants to watch tonight is the Big West battle between UC-Irvine and UC-Sand Diego. The Tritons are playing really good basketball, winning 13 in a row behind senior guard Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, but split the series with the Anteaters. This should be a fun day of hoops with more championships on deck for Selection Sunday.

Talk about Selection Sunday. That is when the next March2Madness update will be posted. It will include all the automatic and at-large points. At this time I will also have a link posted for each of you to submit your Cinderella teams. Please do this on the website instead of sending me an email. It is much easier to input the data from one location.

Champ Week

(March 10, 2025) It's Champ Week and we should have some real interesting tournaments. I could see several upsets this week and would not like to be on the bubble as the tournaments play out. Conference winners St Mary's, Drake, UC-San Diego, High Point, Akron, McNeese, and New Mexico all have the resumes to challenge the mediocre mid-level teams in the SEC, Big12, and Big10. Better not lose your first round game Miss St, Vandy, Texas, Arkansas, West Virginia, Baylor, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue, Illinois.

The standings were updated tonight with the conference winners and the group with the most conference winners in it was the Whopper Jr with Memphis, St Mary's and New Mexico. Conference winners get +3 bonus points. I will have a google sheet for your Cinderella again this season. That will be posted shortly after the tournament draw on Sunday.

"Always Delivers"

(March 8, 2025) Well maybe not the first time they played, but as Jay Bilas says Duke vs Carolina "Always Delivers!" There was talk after the first game of Hubert Davis losing his job, but since then, the Tar Heels have extended Coach Davis's contract, hired a General Manager, and have won six in a row, scoring 90+ in their last three. The Blue Devils have topped that six game streak with a seven game win streak of their own. However, Duke will need a victory today to claim the ACC outright as Clemson and Louisville remain a game back with seven and eight game win streaks of their own. I look at these four ACC teams dancing next Sunday, with UNC playing a first four game.

Several teams on the bubble will play today, including a couple double bubble games. Mike Woodson's will coach his last home game today, as his Hoosiers host the Buckeyes on CBS at 3:45pm. Similar to the Tar Heels, this Indiana team has taken care of teams outside of Quad 1, but have struggled games against the better competition. The Buckeyes are on the outside of the bubble looking in, and at 17-13 today's contest feels like a must win for them. Another double bubble game features a former Big12 rivalry, as SEC newcomers Texas and Oklahoma tips-off at 8pm on the SEC network. Their has been times this season where both teams appeared dead in the water. Texas got a big win at Mississippi State this week, and Oklahoma got it's fifth Quad 1 victory, but has several bad losses outside of Quad 1. The winner of this game will probably need another couple wins in the SEC tournament, and the loser may need a semi-final appearance to advance. Other bubble teams playing themselves into the dance today include another couple SEC schools in Georgia and Arkansas, Skip Prosser Classic teams Wake Forest and Xavier, Mountain West foes SDSU and Boise State, along with Big 12 hopefuls Baylor and West Virginia. Baylor could definitely help themselves today with a win over a Top 5 Houston team.

Adam Lovelace has now taken over the top line in march2madness and is the only one near the top of the leaderboard with defending champion UConn on his squad. Over half of the entries are within 25 points currently, however, scores will tighten a bit when I update the results on Monday with the conference winners. The top of the standings are loaded with SEC teams and only Auburn will be receiving those conference champion points. As far as Cinderella is concerned, I will send out and post instructions for selecting your team next weekend.

What did DELIVER on Saturday was the Alabama-Auburn OT thriller. 100% better than the UNC-Duke game.

Resume Builder for Red Hot Muskies

This weekend is set to be a thrilling one for march2madness, especially for teams on the bubble. With the NCAA Tournament just weeks away, every game counts for these teams as they fight to secure their spot in the bracket. Here are some of the key matchups to watch:

Creighton at Xavier

Time: 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app
What to Expect: This game is likely to be played with pace and fewer fouls than most games. Creighton commits just 11 fouls per game, the fewest in the Big East, and Xavier's 15.7 fouls per game are the fourth-fewest in the conference. Both teams rank second and third in assists per game, so expect offensive efficiency.
Key Stat: The 3-point shot will be crucial. Xavier is the second-best team defending the 3 in the Big East, allowing just 6.8 per game, while Creighton averages 9.5 makes from deep per game.
Trends: Creighton has won three consecutive meetings and four of the past five between the two teams. Xavier has won four straight games overall and four of the past five games at home against the Bluejays.

No. 22 Arizona at No. 9 Iowa State

Time: 9 p.m. ET
What to Expect: Both teams score 80 points or more per game in the Big 12 this season, making efficiency all the more important. Both teams rely heavily on free throws to help buoy their offense.
Key Stat: Arizona grabs four more rebounds per game than Iowa State. When the Wildcats outrebound their opponents by four rebounds or more, they're 15-5 this season.
Trends: Iowa State has been ranked in the top 10 for 25 straight weeks, the longest active streak in the nation. Arizona is one of just two Big 12 teams to have five or more wins against teams ranked in the AP top 25 at the time of the game.

Aggies and Gators caps off Saturday's Action

No. 12 Texas A&M at No. 3 Florida

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
What to Expect: Florida's offense is as good as any in the country, while Texas A&M is more comfortable playing in the high 60s to low 70s. The Aggies are just 5-7 this season when allowing 70 or more points.
Key Stat: Florida is one of only four teams to average 83 points per game and 40 or more rebounds per game.
Trends: Texas A&M has won five of the previous six meetings against Florida, but the Gators won the most recent matchup in last year's SEC tournament.

Georgia vs. Texas

What to Expect: Georgia and Texas are both on the bubble. Georgia has just two wins since the middle of January but recently upset No. 3 Florida. Texas is in a similar situation with a game against No. 24 Mississippi State next week.
Key Stat: Georgia needs to run the table to avoid putting all their eggs in the basket of winning the SEC Basketball Tournament.
Trends: Texas has a bit more opportunity moving forward, while Oklahoma, another bubble team, will face Ole Miss on Saturday.

Boise State vs. Utah State

What to Expect: Boise State has played its way back onto the NCAA Tournament bubble with victories in six of its last seven games. Utah State, which fought back for an 81-79 January victory over Boise State, enters Wednesday tied atop the MWC standings with New Mexico.
Key Stat: Boise State has played much better defense during its 6-1 stretch, holding opponents to 63 points per game.
Trends: Boise State's defense has improved significantly, and they got two big stops down the stretch in their recent victory at Nevada.

These games are sure to be exciting and could have significant implications for the NCAA Tournament and march2madness. Enjoy the weekend games and the beginning of a few of the smaller conference tournaments this upcoming week. Only two weeks until Selection Sunday.

Time to Bubble Watch

(February 22, 2025) We are down to the last three weekends of the regular season and bubbles are going to start popping for a lot of teams. The SEC was looking at 12 tournament teams a couple weeks ago, but that list has dwindled, and their are now eight teams that look like locks, and several fighting for a seat at the adults table. Oklahoma was 16-5 before dropping five straight and now must run the table. Texas, Georgia, Vandy, and Arkansas also looked good a couple weeks back, but need quality and quantity of wins as the season winds down. Each of these four teams have had a February to forget. You would think Kentucky and Ole Miss are shoe ins, but they both face brutal schedules. The Wildcats will travel to face Alabama today, Auburn next Saturday, and at Mizzou to finish off the Saturday trio. Ole Miss is 8-5 in conference play but have Florida, Auburn and Tennessee. They better not drop today's game at Vandy or it could end in a total collapse.

In the Big 12, it seemed that West Virginia's comeback over Cincinnati on Wednesday was an elimination game for the losing Bearcats. WVU still has some work to do. TCU NET ranking of 72 does not give them much wiggle room. They need to win at Cincinnati this afternoon. In the Big East, Marquette, St Johns, Creighton, and UConn look like they are in, while Xavier is listed as one of the Last Four in. Xavier's schedule is favorable for winning 3 of 4 which should put them in. A victory of Creighton next Saturday would probably put them as a lock. The ACC has Duke, Louisville, and Clemson in, UNC, Wake Forest and SMU on the bubble. The problem for these four teams is the weakness of the ACC and lack of Quad 1/2 wins available. SMU gets a crack at Clemson today, while both Wake and UNC gets their chance for a quality win against the Blue Devils the next two weekends. The Big Ten has strong NET rankings from their top eight schools. I don't see any bubble teams here. Out west we do have Gonzaga as a bubble team, along with Boise State and San Diego State. The Zags of course will win the Big West tournament, the Cowboys just beat the Lobos to improve thier resume, and the Aztecs have maybe the best two wins of any of these bubble teams, beating Houston and Creighton.

Sparty is Back!

(February 22, 2025) Anyone that has watched Michigan State this season, they have seen that old clamp down defense and motion offense that we came to expect from Tom Izzo teams that had fallen a little stale over the past few seasons. This Spartan team is tough, fast, is big on the boards, and gets its fair share of steals. Dusty May got a taste of it last night, right after signing an extension with the Wolverines, as his team turned it over 15 times. Both Michigan and Michigan State came into last night's contest ranked in the Top 15. After a Spartans 13 point win, Tom Izzo is now 6-2 against UM when both teams are ranked that high. The player to watch going forward for the Spartans is Jase Richardson, son of Spartan legend, Jason Richardson. Jase scored 21 points on the road last night and 29 in a come from behind home win versus Oregon a week ago. Michigan State now finds itself in first place in the Big 10 but still has Wisconsin and a rematch with Michigan in Lansing.

The Michigan vs Michigan State contest was much watch basketball on Fox Friday Night, but Saturday's action has a February non-conference battle to watch. Duke will play Illinois tonight at 7pm on Fox. I wish all teams would have a non-conference game in February.

Iron Bowl moves Indoors

(February 15, 2025) Today we get the Iron Bowl on the hardwood, as #1 Auburn travels to Tuscaloosa to take on #2 BAMA (4pm EST ESPN). Auburn held onto the top spot despite last Saturday's loss to Florida as 7 of 10 TOP 10 dropped a game during the week. Alabama was the recipient of the others misfortunes and climbed to #2 and have now rolled off seven straight SEC wins. Both of these squads come into today's contest with a 10-1 SEC record and look to take control of the driver's seat. Johnni Broome is also looking to take control of the POY race with a decisive Tiger's victory today. Broome is averaging 18 ppg, 10 boards, and 2.7 blocks.

This weekend is somewhat of a championship week, as several other teams battle for control of their conference. Two teams that many of us wrote off in November are playing for first place in the Big 12 today when #13 Arizona (11-2 Big 12) host #6 Houston (12-1 Big 12). Arizona might have looked ahead in this one, as they are coming off a road loss to K-State, while Houston has put the clamp down defensively again, holding 11 of their 13 Big 12 opponents under 70 points, which includes WV (49pts), TCU(46 pts), and Utah (36 pts). After writing about St John's last week, they dropped a game to Nova. That put them back in reach of Creighton who will host the Johnnies tomorrow afternoon on FS1. The Blue Jays will need a win to erase the difference between the two in the Big East standings. Michigan holds a 1 game lead on Michigan State in the Big 10, and these two will take on each other in the next Big 10 Friday night matchup. Again this season, the Mountain West has four teams in the top 50 in NET looking to make the show. The two leading the way will tip-off against each other on Sunday in Logan Utah. Utah State (11-2) loss by 19 to New Mexico (12-1) just two weeks ago, but look to change things around on their home court. Meanwhile, the other Pitino has the Lebos playing their best basketball, taking seven straight. New Mexico guard Donovan Dent leads the way for the Lebos averaging 19.6 ppg on 49% shooting.

Pitino and Johnnies are Back!

(February 8, 2025) St John's made it official last night with a comeback win in Storrs that gives the Red Storm a two game cushion in the Big East, and back in the national spotlight. Their 21st win was the most since 2001. The Johnnies trailed the Huskies 26-12 early on Friday night, but then the nations #2 defensive team slapped on a full court press and outscored UConn by 20 points the rest of the way. The clinching shot was a beautifully design out of bounds play that saw RJ Luis drain a 18 footer from the baseline. Hopefully, I have not jinx the Red Storm, as 4 of 5 teams I highlighted last week lost this past week.

Super Bowl Saturday always brings us some interesting matchups to watch. Michigan and Indiana always seem to give us a good game this time of year and they usually are wearing their all-red and all-yellow uniforms. Michigan is playing well under Dusty May and only a half game back in the Big Ten standings, while Indiana may be in desperation mode and really need this one. The loser of Marquette and Creighton will most likely be eliminated from Big East title hopes. Marquette held home court in the first matchup, lets see if Creighton can return the favor. Duke travels to Clemson which has always been a tough game for the Blue Devils. However, the Blue Devils have roled ACC competition all season. We will see if this is a trap game or not starting at 6:30 on ESPN. Two big SEC games today pairs Alabama against an Arkansas team coming off wins against Kentucky and Texas this week. The other game is probably the biggest game of the weekend. No 6 Florida at No 1 Auburn at 4pm on ESPN2. This will be a tough get for the Gators as Auburn has been dominant in four games since Johni Broome's return. Auburn is looking for it's ninth victory over a ranked opponent.

After a 3 week run by Craig Paul, Tony Dirr has taken over the top slot in the march2madness contest. Please remember, the regular season is only about half of the points in the contest, as anything can happen come tournament time.

And finally my pick for the Big Game on Sunday. Philadelphia 28 Kansas City 17

Starting Five: Best Non-SEC Teams

(February 1, 2025): I have written enough about the SEC this season, so let's dive into the teams that will send them packing come March. These are the best non-SEC teams:

Duke: The nations hottest team is riding a 14 game win streak into tonight's rivalry game with North Carolina, were the Blue Devils are favored by 13.5 pts. Cooper Flagg is averaging 26.7 points per game in his last three.
Michigan State: Sparty is back! Tom Izzo's team is 9-0 in Big Ten play and the Spartans (18-2) are off to their best start since the 2018-19 team that advanced to the Final Four.
Houston Cougars: It seemed that we all wrote off the Cougars at the beginning of the season, but here they are atop the Big 12 after a thrilling double overtime win over Kansas last week. The Cougars are right behind Duke with their own 13 game win streak.
Marquette: The Golden Eagles are flying high leading the Big East with a 9-1 record. Shaka Smart's squad is led by Player of the Year candidate Kam Jones, who is averaging 18.9 ppg and 6.3 assist. They may move up this list if they knock off an inconsistent but talented UConn team today.
St Mary's: Yes, I know the Gaels are not ranked, but if this was Gonzaga sitting at 19-3, 9-0 in the WCC, we would all be talking about them. The Gaels have won nine in a row, 8 of them by double digits, six of them by 20+ points. Yes, you guessed it, they play Gonzaga tonight on the ESPN night cap.

On the wood

(February 1, 2025) Well I talked about the good teams that have helped rise you to the top of the standings, but how about those bench warmers that have left you at the bottom?

North Carolina: Like a couple seasons ago, North Carolina was considered one of the top teams in the country pre-season. The fact is UNC (13-9) plays to their competition, and are now 5-5 in 1 score games. They seem to have the same script of getting down, making the comeback, and unable to close out games. Hubert Davis needs a victory over Duke today to quite his critics.
Miami: The Hurricanes have a abysmal 4-17 record and would have been ranked #1 on this list if it wasn't Duke UNC gameday. The Canes are 0-10 in the ACC this season, and have now lost a staggering 20 games in a row to ACC opponents dating back to last season. They have not responded well to the in season resignation of Coach Larranaga.
Rutgers: The Scarlett Knights are 11-10 despite having two possible lottery picks in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. These two dynamic freshman are averaging just under 40 pts per game combined, but the next highest is Jordan Derkack at 7.8 ppg.
Providence: The Flyers (11-10) have not been able to repeat their run from a year ago. They have won two in a row and have a manageable February schedule to get back into the dance conversation, but must start that today when they take on St Johns.
UC/Xavier: The crosstown rivalry has not done anyone any favors since league play began. The Bearcats(12-8) are 2-7 in Big 12 play and on a 0-3 skid, while the Musketeers(13-9) are sitting in eigth placve in the Big East. It appeared the Muskies have beaten both UConn and Marquette this season and yet stand 5-6 in the conference. This paid is the lowest of our Roadside Double grouping.

Showdown Saturday in SEC

(January 25, 2025) It seems like every Saturday is showdown Saturday in the SEC, but this Saturday the SEC will pair their top two teams against each other when #6 Tennessee heads down to #1 Auburn. The Vols have struggled on the road this season getting demolished by Florida and upset at Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, the Tigers have owned Neville Arena, winning all of it's home games by double digits. This one could be a little tough without Johni Broome, who will set this one out with an injury. The game will tip at 8:30pm on ESPN. The world's larget outdoor tailgate gets moved inside this week when #5 Florida takes on a hungry Georgia Bulldog team. It has been a while since these two teams played a meaningful game on the hardwood, but tomorrow's 3:30 tip will feature a Gators team that squeaked out a two point win over South Carolina their last time out, and a Georgia team that has lost a couple heartbreakers, and three in a row. Asa Newell continues to shine for the Bulldogs. Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin form a fearsome trio for the Gators. This should be an intense rivalry matchup but I'm going with the Dawgs. Two unlikely teams a top the SEC standings will pair up Saturday with #16 Ole Miss will take on #22 Missouri. Both teams are coming off heartbreaking losses, but Mizzou is a different team at home (14-0), going with the Tigers. The Kentucky Wildcats are coming off a tough home loss and Mark Pope's team thought this would be a get healthy game when the schedule came out. However, Vanderbilt is no cupcake this season as they have already knocked off the Vols on their home court. I just think UK has too much talent in this one and get it rolling in the second half. Talk about Kentucky, Wildcats fans were ecstatic to see Coach Cal start off the SEC season 0-5. The Razorbacks did get their first SEC win earlier this week, and the return to Rupp Arena next Saturday. Could Saturday's game be a look ahead game? Better keep them focus Calipari. I feel bad for a LSU Tigers team that started 11-2, but are now 12-6 and have #4 Alabama and #1 Auburn on tap this week. The final SEC game I am going to talk about is Texas A&M vs Texas. The Aggies have already knocked off 5 ranked teams, but can't add to that total as Texas has dropped out of the Top 25. Zhuric Phelps is one of the most unherald players in the country. Tune in to ESPN2 Saturday afternoon to watch this electric guard.

Please don't read too much into this article on the SEC, I would rather watch Big East, Big 12 and ACC basketball over any other conference, and will be at Xavier tomorrow to watch the Muskies take on UConn. I hope you get a chance to be entertained with some hoops this weekend. Please check out the latest standings under the Scoreboard tab. Craig Paul continues to hold on with his SEC heavy entry.

Rebels with a cause

(January 15, 2025) Ole Miss has finally done it Led by another Malik Día double-double, the Rebels have their first ever road win against a top 5 team after Tuesday's 74-64 win over no. 4 Alabama. This Ole Miss team is one of the top defenses in the country bringing their physicality and elite athleticism onto the court each night. During this 4-0 run to start SEC play they haven't given up more than 66 points, including stopping the roll of a Tide team that had scored 88+ points in SEC opponents. This year's Chris Beard team feels different from last year when Ole Miss started 15-1 and proceeded to drop 11 of their last 16 and missed the tournament. The win pulls them within a point of Florida in the very competitive Whataburger category. Florida (15-2) dropped it's second SEC game to Missouri last night 83-82. Illinois (13-4) is definitely hanging around after a 60 point first half and a 94-69 win in Bloomington. Clemson (14-4) has got gotten off to a 6-1 start in the ACC, winning each of those six games by 10+ points. Texas Tech (12-4) are road warriors, as the Red Raiders have won their 3 Big 12 road games, but dropped both home games including an overtime heartbreaker to Iowa State. So which Whatburger should you have not ordered? How about Rutgers (9-8)? Yes, the Scarlet Knights have tempting toppings of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, but time is ticking away for these two lottery picks to make the dance before their one and done season is over.

Happy New Year!

(January 1, 2025) The calendar has flipped and the conference schedules are starting to separate some of the pretenders. The Christmas Eve update was much tighter than the current standings. Craig Paul remains on top of the scoreboard with 97 out of a possible 101 points. Craif is one of a few people who selected Bradley as his Whopper Jr. The Braves enter the new year with a 11-2 mark. In fact, everyone in the Whopper Jr division has double digit wins. In fact, this is the only category were every team has 10+ wins. The Roadside Double was certainly going to be the most interesting grouping this season. The Texas/Texas A&M duo leads the way with 20 m2m points, but only 4.5 points separate them from the other five duets. Some really good picks in the Wildcard selections, including West Virginia (11-2) who just knocked off Kansas, a Utah State (31-1) who survived a scare against SDSU, undefeated Oklahoma (13-0) and Drake (12-0) teams, and one loss Furman (12-1), Liberty (12-1), Mississippi State (12-1).

There hasn't been a whole lot of action between the holidays, but next week conference matchups start getting real interesting. We have Florida vs Kentucky, Tennessee vs Arkansas, Iowa State vs Baylor, Tennessee vs Florida, Texas A&M vs Oklahoma, Ohio State vs Michigan State. But for today, set back and relax with the bowl games. My predictions for today are Georgia, Ohio State, and Arizona State with the upset over Texas.

College basketball broadcast legend, dies at 78

(December 28, 2024) Greg Gumbel passed away last night after a long battle with cancer. My heart goes out to the Gumbel and CBS families. Greg was a broadcast legend with over 50 years in the industry, serving most of those years as the studio host of CBS and the Selection Sunday Show. I would like to think Greg would have enjoyed our little contest.

I posted an update on 12/24/24 and there really was no need to update again as very few games have been played. I plan to update again on New Year's Day. I can't remember the contest being this tightly contested as the calendar flips. We turn to the west coast for today's best matchup, as UCLA will try to get over their collapse against UNC last Saturday when they face off against the Zags. This game will be aired at 4pm and will take place in the Intuit Dome, home of the Clippers. Memphis will host Ole Miss in another game with march2madness implications. Another interesting game is Utah State vs San Diego State as the Mountain West tips off their season.

We are down to the FINAL FOUR, that is the final four undefeated teams. Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Drake. I have to say that I am really surprised by all of them except Tennessee. Drake was supposed to be in a rebuilding year after their roster and coaching staff was flipped this off season, Oklahoma was picked 15 (out of 16) in many SEC preseason polls, and Todd Golden's Gators have played better than advertised.

MERRY CHRISTMAS - Results updated 12/24/25

More Roadside Doubles

(December 14, 2024) There are two helpings of Roadside Doubles today as the Crosstown Shootout and the Battle for the Bluegrass headline an exciting day of college hoops. After "little brother" beat up on big brother in last weeks battle in Milwaukee, we will see if Xavier and Louisville can continue that trend. The UC vs Xavier matchup is at 2pm (ESPN+) where we know two things. 1) it will be a close game 2) someone who goes by Coach Miller will win the game. In Lexington at 5:15 (ESPN) first year coaches Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey will start their bluegrass rivalry. Kentucky is coming off a strong come from behind win over Gonzaga this week, but I have to like Louisville at +12pts.

Rocky "on" Top

(December 14, 2024) Tennessee finds themselves in an unfamiliar spot today, and that is playing as the #1 team in the country. The Vols are off to a 9-0 start but they have only played one true road game defeating Louisville 77-55. Traveling to Champaign to face the Illini will be a tougher task, especially now they have the bullseye on their back. Game is at 5:15pm (Fox). There are plenty of other games on tap as well with this football free Saturday. UConn vs Gonzaga, UCLA vs Arizona, Texas A&M vs Purdue are a few of the games which will shake up the march2madness standings. This past week the m2m standings really tightened up. Please take a look as 80% of the entries are now within 10 points of this week's leaders Dan Lenihan, David Niehaus, and Alan Sand.

march2madness has tipped off

(December 7, 2024) The first results for 23rd edition of march2madness are now posted under the scoreboard tab. This year's contest has 216 entries, with 5 pairs of entries having the same selections, which is up from last season. These entries will have the Cinderella pick later in the season to differentiate themselves. I try hard to group teams in the correct category but cannot forecast the tournament runs that Auburn and Iowa State went on during the Thanksgiving break. Auburn was picked in 56% of the entries and Iowa State 61%. Both have loss games since this past week. You can view the breakdown by category by going to the STATS tab. The current standings can be viewed under the SCOREBOARD tab or click the button at the top of the homepage. Please take some time this week to view your entry and let me know if there is anything incorrect including the scoring. I have spot checked my work, but I have made a mistake or two in the past. I like to catch those early on. Currently Dana Sand is on top of the standings bucking the Classic Smash trend and going with Tennessee instead of Auburn.

Today we have a couple interesting games being played including a Roadside Double matchup in Milwaukee between Marquette and Wisconsin. Butler is 7-1 but received no love, despite 35 different wildcards being selected this season. The Bulldogs will travel to Houston to take on the Cougars later today. Then a fun nightcap for those tired of watch football, as Kentucky #4 plays #7 Gonzaga tonight on ESPN2.

Only cash payments have been posted. The PayPal payments will be listed on next week's results.

Commissioner's Picks: To keep as transparent as possible here are my two selections:

imcommish: Gonzaga, North Carolina, Arkansas, Rutgers, New Mexico, VCU, Marquette/Wisconsin, Drake

imcommish2: Duke, Auburn, Michigan State, Florida, St Mary's, SDSU, Texas/Texas A&M, Furman

Maui Invitational: It was a classic

(November 28, 2024) Day 1 of the Maui Classic started with a bang. Memphis upset UConn in overtime, thanks in part to a late technical called on Coach Hurley. North Carolina stormed back from 20+ points down to Dayton to win 92-90. Auburn slipped by Iowa State 83-81 and Michigan State beat Colorado. Several story lines here including Johni Broome's dominance in leading the Auburn Tigers to the championship, he is a double-double machine. Johni scored 23 pts, pulled in 19 boards and blocked 3 shots against the Tar Heels. Auburn looks like the class of the "Classic Smash" category, but the Tigers have a tough SEC schedule to navigate and Bruce Pearl needs to figure out how to escape the Sweet 16. The next biggest story in this tourney was definitely UConn who fought their butt off against Memphis and looked disinterested in the 7th/8th place game as the Huskies get throttled by the Dayton Flyers 85-67, Hurley's squad went 0-3 on the Island. North Carolina finished in 4th place but in each game they found themselves significantly down in the first half. They remind me of this year's Cincinnati Bengals (4-7) who have as much talent as anyone, but always finding a different way to lose a close game. Penny took Memphis to the final game, and ran up against a buzzsaw in Auburn. However, the Memphis Tigers look to be back with another revamped roster. They may be the good "Whopper Jr" team, however, Dayton beatdown UConn and should have beaten UNC is also a good choice. "Jack in the Box" teams Iowa State and Michigan State both went 2-1 in the tournament. The only "wildcard team in the tournament was Colorado who went 2-1 but with a second round win over UConn.

WILDCARDS: Here is a list of undefeated wildcard teams as of Turkey Day 2024:

Columbia (Ivy League) Furman (SoCon) Louisiana Tech (CUSA) Oregon (Big Ten) DePaul (Big East) Drake (MVC) Loyola Chicago (Atlantic 10) Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) St. Bonaventure (Atlantic 10) BYU (Big 12) Mississippi St. (SEC) NC State (ACC) Oklahoma (SEC) UC Irvine (Big West) Utah St. (Mountain West) Wichita St. (The American)

And a list of Top 1 loss teams as of Turkey Day 2024:

Florida St. (ACC) Liberty (CUSA) Boston College (ACC) California (ACC) East Carolina (The American) George Washington (Atlantic 10) Georgia (SEC) Iowa (Big Ten) Maryland (Big Ten) Missouri (SEC) Nevada (Mountain West) Penn St. (Big Ten) Pittsburgh (ACC) Stanford (ACC) Vanderbilt (SEC) Wake Forest (ACC)

m2m 2024-25: Bob's Burgers Edition

(November 17, 2024) March2madness is back for a 23rd season. This year's edition will be a salute to Bob's Burgers which can be seen Sunday's on Fox. The animated sitcom is in it's 15th season and centers on the Belcher family (Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene, and Louise) who own a hamburger restaurant. Bob's burgers are really delicious and appear to be better than his rivals' but his kids aren't really helpful at selling them, as more customers head over to Jimmy Pesto's restaurant.

This year's march2madness will use this hamburger theme with the Big Mac category being those top tiered teams that will likely include a couple of this year's Final Four. The Classic Smash are those perennial powerhouses that will contend for their league titles. Jack in the Box are those wildcard teams that if luck swings their direction, NCAA Championship is not out of the question. Whataburger are those teams that you may say "What? I have to take one of these teams." The Whopper Jr are those small time schools that can rack up the tournament points. In-N-Out teams are those currently projected to be among the "Last Four In, First Four Out". Finally, there is the Roadside Double, a delicious sandwich from Shake Shack that includes Swiss cheese, grilled onions, and two patties. That double patty in this case are two teams that don't particularly like each other, but they will have to get along for you to score in this category. Here you will get two teams for the price of one. You will score points for both teams, but when Cinderella time comes around you can't split them. You either keep both or release both for a Cinderella. This one should be interesting. A recap of each category is below this article.

Click on the ONLINE ENTRY FORM to submit your picks, RULES AND ENTRY FORM for the rules and teams, and STUDY HALL for several links to research and Holiday Tournament listings. The DEADLINE to submit your picks is 5pm EST on Monday December 2, 2024. And YES, all games played prior to the deadline count. Please spread the word with others. ENJOY!

BIG MAC: Duke has the best freshman in the country in Cooper Flagg, UConn is poised and confident in their chase for a 3peat, Hunter Dickson is around for his 10th? year of playing college hoops and gives Kansas a leg up in the loaded Big 12, Nate Oat thinks he has too much talent at Bama, and Houston returns sour starters for a team that went 32-5 last season.

CLASSIC SMASH: Scott Drew is in Waco to stay, and the Baylor Bears should be a final four contender for years to come. North Carolina looks to be better balanced this season, and former Tar Hill Caleb Love is back again for to lead a talented and experienced Arizona team. Johni Broome is a Player of the Year contender for Auburn. Rick Barnes lost four starters, but has a strong class of transfers coming to Knoxville. Purdue is still favored to win the Big 10 post Edey

JACK in the BOX: The Jack in the Box category is the wildcard of the categories this year. I feel that any of these teams could be a Final Four team while a couple will miss the tournament. Calipari has lose purse strings at Arkansas, Izzo looks to get MSU back to Top 10 relevance, Iowa State is list anywhere from 5 to 12 in preseason rankings, Indiana and Creighton had a good runs in 2024, and Rick Pitino has another year in St John's to get his style of play rolling.

WHATABURGER: What? I have to select one of these? Yes, not the sexiest burger, but Rutgers has two freshman players that could go top 5 in next year's NBA draft. Chris Beard now has his players at Ole Miss while his former team, Texas Tech is also in this category. Todd Golden got the Gators back in the tournament in his second year at the healm in Gainseville, while Clemson(46.5) and Illinois(46) were a couple teams that put up large m2m points last season.

WHOPPER JR: I really like all these mid-majors. Richard Pitino already has a couple big wins this season for the Lobos. Bradley, Dayton, Saint Mary's and Grand Canyon look to duplicate their success from a season ago, while another year brings another rebuild for Penny and the Memphis Tigers.

IN-N-OUT: Animal style always at In-N-Out burger. This list of teams came from ESPN's braketology Last Four In and First Four Out list. Boise State was preseson favorite in the Mountain West, San Diego State may have something to say about that. Maryland, Miami, VCU are predicted IN, while Providence, Boise State, and SDSU are projected on outside of bubble. Like anyone knows.

ROADSIDE DOUBLE: A must try at Shake Shack along with a chocolate shake. However, our doubles this year include friendly (yeah right) rivals paired up for one selection. Ohio State and Michigan, Cincinnati and Xavier, Kentucky and Louisville, Texas and A&M, UCLA and USC, Marquette and Wisconsin. This is the first time I have paired up teams since 2017 and we will see how it goes. Come tournament time, you have to keep your selection together, Keep BOTH or cut BOTH.

WILDCARD: Here you select one team that does NOT appear anywhere else in the contest. Oregon, Kansas State, Mississippi State, McNeese State, Georgia, TCU, UCF, Iowa, Oklahoma, Princeton, Pittsburgh, Indiana State, Loyola-Chicago are just some of the teams to consider. Others will definitely rise to the top over the next two weeks.

2024-25 march2madness info

(November 7, 2024) March2madness contest will be returning for the 2024-25 season. This year's contest will kick off a week later. The contest will be posted on Sunday, November 17th and the entry deadline will remain the Sunday after Thanksgiving which this year falls on December 1st.

So please check back or for returning players, check your emails over the next couple weeks. It should be another entertaining season of college hoops with buzzer beaters, blowouts, upsets, and someone taking home the march2madness grand prize.

2023-24 march2madness

UConn Dominance

(March 8, 2024) There is one shining moment for some teams, but for the 2024 UConn Huskies there were six dominant games. Their 75-60 thrashing of Purdue on Monday night increased their tournament point differential to a record +140 points. Dan Hurley squad won each game by 13+ and has now covered all 12 games during this back to back championship run. The UConn plan was not to double team Zach Edey, who scored 37 points and 10 rebounds, but to stop the Boilermakers sharp shooters from hitting threes. That sure worked, as Purdue goes 1 for 7 from behind the arch. UConn was only 6 of 22 from behind the arch, but that is a 15 point difference which matched the game score. Tristen Newton was special on this night for a second straight year, taking home back to back championships on a 20 pts, 5 reb,7 ast night. A sensational season for this Huskie team.

Unlike the National Championship Game, march2madness was as close as it gets. Jerry Johnson came from behind to catch Chris Clark at the wire. They end up tied with 345.5 points. Unfortunately for Chris, Jerry holds the tiebreaker being -2.5 back on Selection Sunday, while Chris was -16.5 back. Therefore, Jerry Johnson takes home the first place prize of $3300. Jerry's love of the game came playing basketball for Eastern High School in Russellville, OH and many years late is retired and lives in Mt Carmel, OH. His favorite moment was Virginia losing, making his decision to replace the Cavilers with McNeese a wash. Chris Clark will take home $660 for second place. Chris also lives in the Cincinnati area. Chris and I played men's slow-pitch softball together for years. Another one of my slow-pitch buddies is Larry Prine who took held on to take 5th place of $88. In Third place is Daniel Reed of Mt Orab, OH who retired from Western Brown LSD a few years ago. Daniel will take home $220 for third place. Fourth place and our only non-Ohio resident is Silvio Bohannon. Silvio vaulted up the standings with NC State's 59+ tournament points and finished off the night as the second highest UConn finisher. Silvio will take home $132.

This year, the perfect sheet would have been Duke, UConn, Colorado, San Diego State, North Carolina, Alabama, Clemson, and NC State. It has been enjoyable. I hope to see everyone back again next season for year 23 of march2madness.

2022-23 march2madness

One Shining Tournament

(April 4, 2023) Hello friends, it was more than one shining moment for the UConn Huskies as they shined the entire tournament. They won all six contest by double digits and were clearly the best team on the court in Houston this weekend. Led by big man and tournament MOP, Adama Sanogo (17pts, 10 rebounds), the Huskies take home their fifth national title, drawing them even with Duke and Indiana, and fourth all-time. I liked what Clark Kellogg said after their 76-59 victory, "UConn was worthy, dominant, and deserving." Congratulations to Coach Hurley and the UConn program.

Also congratulations to Bryan Lee, our worthy, dominant and deserving march2madness winner. The UConn win put Bryan Lee back at the top where he found himself most of the season. In fact, Bryan becomes our first champion to have been at the top of the standings entering the tournament. He was one of three sheets that were the same, but were separated with the Cinderella selections. The other two, Jeff Merrill and Nelson Prosper will split the forth/fifth place money ($225). Bryan will be put in the Hall of Champions and receive $3375 for his dominant performance. Second place ($675) will go to Craig Paul who picked UConn in the beginning and added SDSU as a Cinderella, the only person to do so. Craig is a resident of West Harrison, Indiana and is a big time Florida Gator fan. A long time participant in m2m, Craig's favorite moment was Lamont Butler hitting that game winning shot that locked up a payout. Third place ($225) goes to Silvio Bohannon, who started the tourney 38 points back, road his Cinderella FAU, along with SDSU and Miami all the way to the top. Silvio just needed an Aztec championship but fell short. Silvio is a sports nut that was born and raised in SoCal and has recently moved to Florida. He is also the son-n-law of our forth place finisher and two time champ Nelson Prosper. Greg Lueders finishes last and is awarded a free entry into next year's m2m.

The perfect sheet for the season: Gonzaga (51) Arkansas (37.5) Xavier (34.5) UConn (98) Miami, Fl (61) Creighton (46) Purdue (34.5) and FAU (80.5). I always give a couple days for anyone to review the results but have never had a problem. The posted results will become OFFICIAL on Thursday, 4/6/23. Thank you everyone for your participation and hope to see you back next season.

2021-22 march2madness

ROCK CHALK COMEBACK

When Caleb Love missed the game tying 3 pointer at the buzzer, Kansas completed the comeback victory to take home the title. The comeback was the theme for this year's march2madness contest, as our winner, Larry Brock, made a comeback of his own. Larry, a teacher at Talawanda Middle School in Hamilton, OH trailed by 31.5 points coming into the dance. Larry said round two of the tournament, when UNC knocked off Baylor, and Miami beat Auburn, was when he knew he had a shot. He will be taking home $4050 for his winning entry. Matt Wells, who is a big Kentucky Wildcat fan and spends several days a year visiting his daughter on the Lexington campus, took home second place. Matt had the lone entry with Kansas and UNC and will take home $810. Matt started 34 points out and it took a Kansas victory to finish in the money. Tyler Meyer got the inside scoop serving as a student manager at Ohio State under Coach O'Brien and Coach Matta. Has that been the difference in winning march2madness in 2015 and taking third place ($270) this season? Well running the contest has never paid of for Mick McMullen, until this season. After 20 seasons, I finally get $162 return. A fellow parishioner at St Mary's Church, David Kamphaus finished fourth ($108) behind his UNC wildcard selection. I will be reviewing the results in detail over the next 24 hours. The contest will become official at midnight on 4/6/22 if I (or anyone else) don't find any mistakes.

Here is what the perfect sheet would have looked like: Kansas (87.5), Michigan (40), Michigan State(26), Houston (59.5), Xavier(26.5), Arizona(44.5), UNC (89) and St Peters(50)

Hope to see everyone back next season.

ROCK CHALK COMEBACK!

Monday April 4, 2022 Kansas Jayhawks became the first team to comeback from a 16 point deficit to win the National Championship, defeating North Carolina 72-69 ending a thrilling tournament. The Jayhawks started the game on a 7-0 run, then the Tar Heels settled in, got the Kansas MicCormack and Lightfoot in foul trouble, and cruised into halftime up 15 points. In the second half, Kansas again came out on fire and played with a sense of urgency that was not there the first half. Martin, Wilson, Braun struggled shooting in the first half, but were 13 of 18 from the field in the second half. However, it was the bigs play that won the Championship for the Jayhawks. McCormack stayed on the floor in the second half, responded with a double double, and made the critical shots at the end of the game. One to take the lead with under two minutes and the other to put the Jayhawks up three with less than 20 seconds to play. Agbaji was solid with 12 points and took home MOP honors.

Caleb Love struggled shooting long range on Monday night but still had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed a long three at the buzzer. He and RJ Davis finished 10 for 41. Armando Bacot became the first player to get a double-double in each of the six tournament games, but was hobbled and eventually turned his ankle again late in the contest. With prices so high, we shouldn't be surprised that they ran out of gas.

2020-21 march2madness

The Buzz Saw (April 5, 2021) Gonzaga ran into a buzz saw known as the Baylor Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday night. The Zags were looking to become the first undefeated team in 45 years, but the Bear's got off to a quick start and never looked back. They were up by 15 before the second tv timeout, stretched the lead to 19 points and never let Gonzaga within nine points the rest of the way. Tournament MOP Jared Butler led the Bears in scoring with 22 points, MaCio Teague added 19, Mark Vital had 11 rebounds, and Davion "Off Night" Mitchell got it started with a charge against Suggs and 7 points before the 16:00 timeout. The athleticism and strength of Baylor was just too much for Gonzaga on this night. The Bears head back to Waco with a 86-70 championship. They join Texas Western as the only two Texas teams to win the NCAA title.

The march2madness title was already decided before the ball was tipped. Jeff Diebold from Edgewood, KY and big UK fan took first place ($3045). Jeff has been playing march2madness for 8 years and scored a total of 360 out of a possible 420 points. He had four of the eight highest scoring teams from the pandemic categories. The perfect sheet would have been Baylor (78pts), Creighton (34pts), UCLA (85 pts), Michigan (37pts), Arkansas (41pts), Oregon (42pts), Houston (51pts), and Loyola-Chicago (51pts). The most impressive here was UCLA and their 85.5 points. Our winner selected UCLA from the beginning over Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke, and Ohio State and so did our next two. Tim Roberts has now finished in the money three times since 2017 but second place ($609) will be his biggest payout. Tim is a Cincinnati Bearcat fan and maybe he could use this money to help buy out Coach Brannen's contract. Third place ($203) will go to Tim Lang who was hanging out towards the top all season. Tim is an avid golfer and Michigan fan who lives in Cincinnati. Fourth place ($132) goes to Sara Korsnak and fifth place ($81) to Larry Brock. Sara and Larry moved up into the money tonight as the highest Baylor entries. Mark Thiem may have landed 227 points back but he will get a free entry into next season march2madness contest as the lowest scoring paid entry. I will be double checking my math and invite each of you to do the same. The results will become OFFICIAL on Thursday at noon. I will be contacting the winners by email.

I want to thank each of you for hanging with the contest in this uncertain year, especially after the abrupt end to last season's contest. I hope next season we can get back to growing march2madness. Please check back a couple weeks before Thanksgiving for the 19th edition of march2madness.

march2madness is back for a 23nd season, and the website will be updated every two weeks during the season and weekly during the tournament. It's simple, It's fun, and for five people, it's profitable.

The march2madness contest is for fun only. 100% payout to the winners. No profit is taken by administrator.

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