March Madness - 12 games into Day 2

I mentioned in the last post that Oregon gets the points for the walkover against VCU.  I haven’t added those points into the scores yet.  I figured I’d just add them after the game was scheduled to be played – which is in this last set of 4 games.  So, just know that there’s one game that is technically finished that isn’t part of the scoring yet.

This set of games was certainly more entertaining than a lot of the earlier games.  We wound up with 2 upsets, including one upset of a team that was supposed to make the Sweet 16.  Maryland also beat Connecticut, which hurt more people than I thought it would.  There are definitely a lot of people in my pool that love UConn.  As for Virginia, they are an interesting team.  They either flame out spectacularly or win it all.  To be fair, this wasn’t a vintage Virginia team, and they did have that COVID shutdown to deal with.  Still, Ohio looked really good and they made a lot of plays down the stretch.

By the way, can I just I just say that the thing that kills me about upsets – you have to make free throws.  Oral Roberts was 1^st in the NCAA in team Free throw percentage.  That absolutely helped them.  Ohio cinched the upset because they made their free throws.  I don’t know why more people don’t practice this non-stop.

So, there were a lot of games that are only worth 1 point right now, but will serve as a tiebreaker at some point down the road – especially if you have Gonzaga-Illinois in the finals.  So many people have that that you need to get ahead on points early on so you can be ahead when there are a lot fewer teams alive in the tournament.  Here are the pick distributions for the last 4 games:

4 wins: 8

3 wins: 63

2 wins: 73

1 win: 36

0 wins: 1 (Ouch Brad R. #4)

Here are the total points rankings:

1. Jared B.: 23 (-15) - Gonzaga

2. Colston W.: 22 (-12) - Michigan

3. Hutch H. #2: 22 (-14) - Baylor

3. Jace D.: 22 (-14) - Florida

5. Klei R. #3 - Jay B.: 22 (-16) - Gonzaga

6. Brandon B.: 22 (-18) - Illinois

7. Dennis R. #2: 22 (-24) - Michigan

8. Dennis R. #1: 22 (-28) - Illinois

9. Peter J. #3: 22 (-38) - Michigan

10. Tina H.: 22 (-42) - Michigan

11. James P.: 21 (-11) - Illinois

12. Peter J. #4: 21 (-13) - Baylor

12. Chris T. #2: 21 (-13) - Illinois

14. Howard S. #1: 21 (-15) - Baylor

14. Chris T. #1: 21 (-15) - Gonzaga

14. Mason A. #2: 21 (-15) - Illinois

17. Jim D. #2: 21 (-17) - Gonzaga

17. Dianna A.: 21 (-17) - Arkansas

17. Hutch H. #3: 21 (-17) - Kansas

20. Harrell R. #2: 21 (-19) - Iowa

21. Jackson I.: 21 (-21) - Baylor

22. Dylan B.: 21 (-23) - Illinois

23. Dustin B.: 21 (-29) - Illinois

24. Valerie D.: 21 (-31) - Gonzaga

24. Jaxon S.: 21 (-31) - Gonzaga

26. Harrell R. #1: 21 (-43) - Gonzaga

26. Harrell R. #3: 21 (-43) - Michigan

26. Rob I.: 21 (-43) - Gonzaga

29. Irene H. #4: 21 (-45) - Texas

30. Mike N.: 21 (-49) - Gonzaga

31. Bret K. #1: 21 (-51) - Gonzaga

32. Tomas L. #2: 20 (-12) - Baylor

33. Adam E. #1: 20 (-14) - Oklahoma State

33. Tomas L. #1: 20 (-14) - Baylor

33. Elizabeth N. #2: 20 (-14) - Illinois

33. Mike Wi.: 20 (-14) - Iowa

37. Mark A. #1: 20 (-16) - Baylor

37. Scott K.: 20 (-16) - Baylor

37. Peter J. #1: 20 (-16) - Gonzaga

40. Daisy N. #2: 20 (-18) - Gonzaga

40. Hutch H. #1: 20 (-18) - Gonzaga

40. Irene H. #3: 20 (-18) - Baylor

40. Scott H. #1: 20 (-18) - Gonzaga

40. Craig G.: 20 (-18) - Baylor

45. Dan Dz.: 20 (-20) - Illinois

46. Jason S.: 20 (-22) - Gonzaga

47. Ann K.: 20 (-24) - Illinois

47. Zach V.: 20 (-24) - Illinois

49. Missy W.: 20 (-26) - Baylor

49. Irene H. #1: 20 (-26) - Illinois

51. Paul W.: 20 (-30) - Houston

52. Nate R.: 20 (-32) - Gonzaga

53. Keal B.: 20 (-42) - Michigan

54. Alyssa B.: 20 (-44) - Gonzaga

55. Daisy N. #9: 20 (-50) - Texas

56. Chun W. #4: 20 (-54) - Alabama

57. Brandon H. #1: 20 (-62) - Gonzaga

58. Chad L.: 20 (-76) - Ohio State

59. Cicely K.: 20 (-80) - Ohio State

60. Irene H. #6: 19 (-13) - Michigan

60. Jay H. #3: 19 (-13) - Kansas

60. Ben W.: 19 (-13) - Gonzaga

63. Justin M.: 19 (-15) - Gonzaga

64. Karen C.: 19 (-17) - Gonzaga

64. Brent E. #2: 19 (-17) - Michigan

64. Brett G. #3: 19 (-17) - Illinois

67. Andrew D. #2: 19 (-19) - Illinois

67. Jay H. #1: 19 (-19) - Gonzaga

67. Klei R. - BO: 19 (-19) - Gonzaga

67. Andrew D. #1: 19 (-19) - Baylor

67. Brent E. #3: 19 (-19) - Illinois

67. Brent E. #4: 19 (-19) - Baylor

67. Marc R.: 19 (-19) - Gonzaga

74. William G. #2: 19 (-21) - Illinois

74. Irene H. #2: 19 (-21) - Gonzaga

74. Bret K. #2: 19 (-21) - Baylor

77. Roth W.: 19 (-23) - Baylor

77. Brain K. #1: 19 (-23) - Alabama

79. Gigi I.: 19 (-27) - Gonzaga

79. Alex I.: 19 (-27) - Gonzaga

81. Brad R. #1: 19 (-33) - Illinois

82. Klei R. - WaPo: 19 (-35) - Illinois

83. Daisy N. #4: 19 (-43) - Gonzaga

83. JoJo D.: 19 (-43) - Oklahoma State

85. Brad R. #4: 19 (-49) - Michigan

86. Kirt R. #1: 19 (-51) - Gonzaga

87. John M. #4: 19 (-75) - Georgetown

88. Irene H. #5: 19 (-77) - Ohio State

89. Owen R.: 19 (-97) - UC Santa Barbara

90. Brain K. #3: 18 (-14) - Gonzaga

90. Mike S.: 18 (-14) - Illinois

90. Brain K. #2: 18 (-14) - Oklahoma State

93. Jonathan J.: 18 (-16) - Gonzaga

94. Ray M. #2: 18 (-18) - Kansas

94. Adam E. #2: 18 (-18) - Illinois

94. Tyler B.: 18 (-18) - Michigan

97. Jim D. #1: 18 (-20) - Gonzaga

97. Virginia L.: 18 (-20) - Texas

97. Kirt R. #2: 18 (-20) - Gonzaga

97. Ally H.: 18 (-20) - Gonzaga

97. Matt N.: 18 (-20) - Baylor

102. Elliot N.: 18 (-22) - Illinois

102. William G. #1: 18 (-22) - Baylor

102. Ryan W.: 18 (-22) - Illinois

102. Chris E.: 18 (-22) - Iowa

106. Shawn M.: 18 (-24) - Illinois

107. Daisy N. #1: 18 (-26) - Gonzaga

107. Klei R. - Seth D.: 18 (-26) - Gonzaga

109. Howard S. #2: 18 (-28) - Houston

109. Clifton H. #2: 18 (-28) - Gonzaga

109. Mike McQ.: 18 (-28) - Texas

109. Peter J. #2: 18 (-28) - Illinois

113. Drew R.: 18 (-32) - Gonzaga

113. Chun W. #1: 18 (-32) - Illinois

115. Michael Wh.: 18 (-36) - Illinois

116. Steve D.: 18 (-38) - Illinois

117. Brain K. #4: 18 (-42) - Florida State

118. Dave M.: 18 (-44) - Illinois

119. Eric G. #1: 18 (-48) - Gonzaga

120. Chrissy I.: 18 (-50) - Gonzaga

121. Nick V.: 18 (-54) - Gonzaga

122. Mark A. #2: 18 (-56) - Michigan

123. Amanda R.: 18 (-80) - Ohio State

124. Addie H.: 18 (-88) - Ohio State

125. Peter J. #5: 17 (-15) - Oklahoma State

126. Michelle L. #2: 17 (-17) - Houston

127. Eric V.: 17 (-19) - Gonzaga

127. Klei R. #1: 17 (-19) - Gonzaga

129. Elizabeth N. #1: 17 (-21) - Gonzaga

129. Jim W.: 17 (-21) - Illinois

129. Chun W. #3: 17 (-21) - Iowa

132. Noah N.: 17 (-23) - Illinois

132. Stefon K.: 17 (-23) - Gonzaga

134. Brett G. #2: 17 (-25) - Gonzaga

134. Chun W. #2: 17 (-25) - Gonzaga

136. Matt M.: 17 (-27) - Gonzaga

137. Josh C.: 17 (-29) - Baylor

137. Brett W.: 17 (-29) - Gonzaga

137. Brent E. #1: 17 (-29) - Gonzaga

140. Brad R. #2: 17 (-31) - Gonzaga

141. Becky H: 17 (-33) - Michigan

142. Dan C.: 17 (-35) - Gonzaga

142. Brandon H. #2: 17 (-35) - Houston

142. Damien R. #2: 17 (-35) - Illinois

145. Juju Suki I.: 17 (-37) - Oklahoma State

146. Damien R. #4: 17 (-111) - Ohio State

147. Cindy R.: 17 (-115) - Virginia

148. Scott H. #2: 16 (-18) - Gonzaga

148. Molly R.: 16 (-18) - Michigan

150. Daisy N. #3: 16 (-22) - Baylor

150. Jay H. #2: 16 (-22) - Baylor

152. Brett G. #4: 16 (-24) - Baylor

153. Gary W.: 16 (-28) - Gonzaga

153. Daniel E.: 16 (-28) - Illinois

153. Daisy N. #5: 16 (-28) - West Virginia

156. Clifton H. #1: 16 (-30) - Michigan

157. Daisy N. #6: 16 (-34) - Illinois

158. Daisy N. #8: 16 (-38) - Iowa

159. Paul Kr.: 16 (-40) - Gonzaga

160. John M. #1: 16 (-42) - Gonzaga

160. Avery S.: 16 (-42) - Gonzaga

162. Michelle L. #1: 16 (-52) - Gonzaga

163. Daniel Du.: 16 (-56) - Oregon

164. John M. #3: 16 (-62) - Florida State

165. Daisy N. #7: 16 (-84) - Ohio State

166. Mason A. #1: 15 (-21) - Gonzaga

166. Klei R. #2: 15 (-21) - Illinois

168. Eric S.: 15 (-25) - Baylor

169. Eric G. #2: 15 (-27) - Illinois

170. Daisy N. #10: 15 (-31) - Kansas

171. Ray M. #1: 15 (-33) - Gonzaga

172. Brett G. #1: 15 (-35) - Gonzaga

173. Michelle L. #3: 15 (-39) - Illinois

174. John M. #2: 15 (-127) - Connecticut

175. Damien R. #1: 14 (-36) - Gonzaga

176. Alyssa N.: 14 (-62) - Gonzaga

177. Tucker D.: 14 (-64) - Alabama

178. Brad R. #3: 14 (-84) - Ohio State

179. Andy M.: 14 (-88) - Connecticut

180. Nick I.: 13 (-45) - Gonzaga

181. Damien R. #3: 12 (-42) - Gonzaga

 …and the net points rankings:

1. Colston W. (10)

1. James P. (10)

3. Jared B. (8)

3. Hutch H. #2 (8)

3. Jace D. (8)

3. Peter J. #4 (8)

3. Chris T. #2 (8)

3. Tomas L. #2 (8)

9. Klei R. #3 - Jay B. (6)

9. Howard S. #1 (6)

9. Chris T. #1 (6)

9. Mason A. #2 (6)

9. Adam E. #1 (6)

9. Tomas L. #1 (6)

9. Elizabeth N. #2 (6)

9. Mike Wi. (6)

9. Irene H. #6 (6)

9. Jay H. #3 (6)

9. Ben W. (6)

20. Brandon B. (4)

20. Jim D. #2 (4)

20. Dianna A. (4)

20. Hutch H. #3 (4)

20. Mark A. #1 (4)

20. Scott K. (4)

20. Peter J. #1 (4)

20. Justin M. (4)

20. Brain K. #3 (4)

20. Mike S. (4)

20. Brain K. #2 (4)

31. Harrell R. #2 (2)

31. Daisy N. #2 (2)

31. Hutch H. #1 (2)

31. Irene H. #3 (2)

31. Scott H. #1 (2)

31. Craig G. (2)

31. Karen C. (2)

31. Brent E. #2 (2)

31. Brett G. #3 (2)

31. Jonathan J. (2)

31. Peter J. #5 (2)

42. Jackson I. (0)

42. Dan Dz. (0)

42. Andrew D. #2 (0)

42. Jay H. #1 (0)

42. Klei R. - BO (0)

42. Andrew D. #1 (0)

42. Brent E. #3 (0)

42. Brent E. #4 (0)

42. Marc R. (0)

42. Ray M. #2 (0)

42. Adam E. #2 (0)

42. Tyler B. (0)

42. Michelle L. #2 (0)

55. Dennis R. #2 (-2)

55. Dylan B. (-2)

55. Jason S. (-2)

55. William G. #2 (-2)

55. Irene H. #2 (-2)

55. Bret K. #2 (-2)

55. Jim D. #1 (-2)

55. Virginia L. (-2)

55. Kirt R. #2 (-2)

55. Ally H. (-2)

55. Matt N. (-2)

55. Eric V. (-2)

55. Klei R. #1 (-2)

55. Scott H. #2 (-2)

55. Molly R. (-2)

70. Ann K. (-4)

70. Zach V. (-4)

70. Roth W. (-4)

70. Brain K. #1 (-4)

70. Elliot N. (-4)

70. William G. #1 (-4)

70. Ryan W. (-4)

70. Chris E. (-4)

70. Elizabeth N. #1 (-4)

70. Jim W. (-4)

70. Chun W. #3 (-4)

81. Dennis R. #1 (-6)

81. Missy W. (-6)

81. Irene H. #1 (-6)

81. Shawn M. (-6)

81. Noah N. (-6)

81. Stefon K. (-6)

81. Daisy N. #3 (-6)

81. Jay H. #2 (-6)

81. Mason A. #1 (-6)

81. Klei R. #2 (-6)

91. Dustin B. (-8)

91. Gigi I. (-8)

91. Alex I. (-8)

91. Daisy N. #1 (-8)

91. Klei R. - Seth D. (-8)

91. Brett G. #2 (-8)

91. Chun W. #2 (-8)

91. Brett G. #4 (-8)

99. Valerie D. (-10)

99. Jaxon S. (-10)

99. Paul W. (-10)

99. Howard S. #2 (-10)

99. Clifton H. #2 (-10)

99. Mike McQ. (-10)

99. Peter J. #2 (-10)

99. Matt M. (-10)

99. Eric S. (-10)

108. Nate R. (-12)

108. Josh C. (-12)

108. Brett W. (-12)

108. Brent E. #1 (-12)

108. Gary W. (-12)

108. Daniel E. (-12)

108. Daisy N. #5 (-12)

108. Eric G. #2 (-12)

116. Brad R. #1 (-14)

116. Drew R. (-14)

116. Chun W. #1 (-14)

116. Brad R. #2 (-14)

116. Clifton H. #1 (-14)

121. Peter J. #3 (-16)

121. Klei R. - WaPo (-16)

121. Becky H (-16)

121. Daisy N. #10 (-16)

125. Michael Wh. (-18)

125. Dan C. (-18)

125. Brandon H. #2 (-18)

125. Damien R. #2 (-18)

125. Daisy N. #6 (-18)

125. Ray M. #1 (-18)

131. Tina H. (-20)

131. Steve D. (-20)

131. Juju Suki I. (-20)

131. Brett G. #1 (-20)

135. Harrell R. #1 (-22)

135. Harrell R. #3 (-22)

135. Rob I. (-22)

135. Keal B. (-22)

135. Daisy N. #8 (-22)

135. Damien R. #1 (-22)

141. Irene H. #4 (-24)

141. Alyssa B. (-24)

141. Daisy N. #4 (-24)

141. JoJo D. (-24)

141. Brain K. #4 (-24)

141. Paul Kr. (-24)

141. Michelle L. #3 (-24)

148. Dave M. (-26)

148. John M. #1 (-26)

148. Avery S. (-26)

151. Mike N. (-28)

152. Bret K. #1 (-30)

152. Daisy N. #9 (-30)

152. Brad R. #4 (-30)

152. Eric G. #1 (-30)

152. Damien R. #3 (-30)

157. Kirt R. #1 (-32)

157. Chrissy I. (-32)

157. Nick I. (-32)

160. Chun W. #4 (-34)

161. Nick V. (-36)

161. Michelle L. #1 (-36)

163. Mark A. #2 (-38)

164. Daniel Du. (-40)

165. Brandon H. #1 (-42)

166. John M. #3 (-46)

167. Alyssa N. (-48)

168. Tucker D. (-50)

169. Chad L. (-56)

169. John M. #4 (-56)

171. Irene H. #5 (-58)

172. Cicely K. (-60)

173. Amanda R. (-62)

174. Daisy N. #7 (-68)

175. Addie H. (-70)

175. Brad R. #3 (-70)

177. Andy M. (-74)

178. Owen R. (-78)

179. Damien R. #4 (-94)

180. Cindy R. (-98)

181. John M. #2 (-112)

 We are down to our last 3 games (see Oregon, above).

Picks for Gonzaga: 181

Picks for Norfolk State: 0

Vegas Line: Gonzaga -34

I’ve been tracking Gonzaga all season, and I will tell you that I have seen points spreads for Gonzaga like this all season, and they almost never cover them.  They obviously win, and I think they are the best team in the country, I just don’t think they are as good as this.  That being said, it’s entirely possible that they get up really big and then coast in most of their games and therefore don’t cover the spread.  I’m guessing that’s what it is because they did schedule some really good teams early in the season and clobbered all of them too.  I also think this is the only game where we all picked the same thing.  Makes sense though.  Why would you take Norfolk State over Gonzaga.  There is no practical good reason to take a #16 or even a #15 seed to win in the first round.  You only get 1 point if you are right, and you have the potential to lose a ton of points if that #1 or #2 seed goes on a run.  Still, people do it.

Picks for BYU: 86

Picks for UCLA: 95

Vegas Line: BYU – 4.5

Like San Diego State, a lot of people that enter my pool root pretty hard for Michigan State.  I’m sure a lot of them picked UCLA here hoping it would be MSU.  The good thing for them is that they still have a chance to get some points with UCLA, since you get whoever is the play-in winner.  If history is any indication, UCLA should win this game.  I usually really like Play-in winners, and this is the last one we have.  Plus, the Pac-12 has been doing really well as a conference.  I don’t think they’ve lost a game, and that includes at least one upset.  Still, I had BYU as a ranked team at the end of the season, so I think they are legit.  Plus, they are a fun team to watch.  Kinda looking forward to this one.

Picks for Texas: 173

Picks for Abilene Christian: 8

Vegas Line: Texas -9

I don’t know what to make of Texas.  Are they any good?  I think they are overrated, but then they went out and won the Big 12 conference tournament.  However, they didn’t have to beat Baylor or Kansas to do that.  I think they should be good enough to win this game, but I’m still not sold on them.  Heck, they might even be good enough to make the Final 4, especially in this region.  Maybe the results of this game will help straighten this out for me.

Picks for Oregon: 135

Unlucky people that take an L with VCU: 46

Vegas Line: No Line

Sorry Ram fans…..

 

Good luck everyone!!!!