Oh So Sweet

The Sweet Sixteen kicks off today following an opening weekend light on upsets and heavy on top seeds.  Three of my Final Four picks are still intact, which is better than usual.

Things look good here in the South region, as I have a clean bracket heading into this weekend.

A few picked upsets that didn’t happen mar the bottom half of this region, but the top half, including my reginal champion, is clean.

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Dancing Time

The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today.  I found myself joining a free pool at work this year, so while most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, there is some personal pride on the line.  Things are not looking good for me to attend any game should a certain school from West Lafayette manage to make another run this year.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

My selections here are mostly chalk, with a couple early upsets but with the top two seeds heading to the Sweet Sixteen.  Michigan State is my pick to advance to the Final Four, though that may be some inherent bias towards the Big Ten.

Old friend Mason Gillis shows up with top seed Duke, who I have heading to San Antonio for the Final Four.

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It’s Time To Dance

The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today.  I’m not in any pools this year, so most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride.  I do have the potential to purchase tickets for future rounds should a certain school from West Lafayette manage to get out of their own way and not embarrass themselves this weekend.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

My selections here are mostly chalk, with a couple early upsets but with the top four seeds heading to the Sweet Sixteen.  Iowa State is my pick to advance to the Final Four.

Fun fact: the first men’s college basketball game I ever attended was Purdue versus Houston at Market Square Arena back in 1993.  Both teams are once again top seeds in this tournament.  I’m hoping Nebraska continues to pull off upsets against teams they have no business beating.  In the end, though, I have Marquette going on to Phoenix.

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Down To Sixteen And Still Dancing

The Sweet 16 kicks off today following an opening weekend with upsets galore, but, thankfully, with my champion pick still alive.  Unfortunately, half of my Final Four was wiped out, but, hey, that’s the fun part.

Only a couple of Xs in this region, though one of them I had going to the regional final.  Michigan State allowed Coach K’s last go-around to continue and helped contribute to the Big 10’s supposed flameout during the first weekend.

Well, this side of the bracket is where my Final Four picks have flamed out, so nothing here really matters.  Continue reading →

It’s Dancing Time

The NCAA tournament returns in full force after a year break in 2020 and a bubble tournament centered in Indianapolis in 2021 due to the pandemic.  I’m not in any pools this year, so these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

Gonzaga is the overall #1 and my pick to come out of this region and moving on to the Final Four.  I did throw the occasional upset in the earlier rounds, so we’ll see how those pay off.

A bit of an upset here, as I have #3 Tennessee advancing. Continue reading →

Socially Distanced Dancing

Because money is more important than the health of their so-called student athletes, the NCAA tournament returns after a year break caused by the outbreak of the corona virus.  For reasons that I’m sure make some sort of sense, games this year will be Friday through Monday instead of Thursday through Sunday.  As the nation’s attention is grabbed for the next few weeks, let’s take a look at my picks for this year’s tournament.

A few minor upsets, but the overall #1 seed, Gonzaga, makes it out on their way to the Final Four.

Purdue finds themselves the #4 seed, playing tomorrow night at Lucas Oil Stadium.  Again, there’s a few minor upsets early in the going, but I have things chalk in the Elite Eight, where Ohio State, the #2 seed, gets through. Continue reading →

16 Left Standing

We enter the Sweet 16 without the major upsets of last year, but also without the Cinderella team for the nation to rally around.  My Boilermakers are still alive, thanks to their thrashing of defending champion Villanova last weekend, which makes me cautiously optimistic about their chances this weekend.

Things look pretty good in the East, with only one of my Sweet Sixteen picks already out of the running.

Things aren’t looking so hot here, where I only have 2 picks still alive and none of them picked to pass through to the Elite 8.  On the plus side, this may mean an easier road to the Final Four for the old alma mater.

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Time To Go Dancing

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just one pool this year; one at my mom’s work.  Without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

I’m not seeing much in the way of upsets here, with overall #1 seed Duke my pick to make it to the Final Four.

Purdue finds themselves the #3 seed, playing the first weekend in Hartford.  Given Virginia’s historic poor showing last year, I don’t see them doing much with the #1 seed, so I expect quite a few upsets in this region.

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Keep On Dancing

As we enter the Sweet 16, brackets across the nation are busted thanks to upsets galore, including the first ever 16 seed knocking off a 1 seed.  Thankfully, my Boilermakers are still alive, and thanks to my trip to Vegas this week, I have some money riding on them to win the whole thing.  Crazier things have already happened in this year’s tournament.

I’m in trouble here, as only 1 team I picked heading in to the Sweet 16 is still alive.  Virginia, the overall #1 seed, lost in the first round to the upstarts from UMBC.  Exciting times all around.

I’ve got 2 out of the remaining 4 teams still alive, and my final four slot here is still in play.  Hopefully I lose that, though, on my way to paying off the Vegas bet.

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