Championship Game Wrap - Up

 I was telling my wife after the Championship Game that if that game was played as the 3/14 game in the first round, I would maybe have switched the channel or taken a nap or something.  It was a fun game to watch, but it was never close.  I mean, Baylor jumped out to a 9-0 lead and Gonzaga never got any closer than that for the rest of the game.  I was looking at the stats, and they are very ugly for Gonzaga.  Baylor had 16 offensive rebounds and 38 total rebounds.  Gonzaga had 5 offensive rebounds and 22 total.  Baylor hit 5 more threes than Gonzaga.  Baylor shot the ball 18 more times than Gonzaga.  Any of those stats would have probably been good enough to win most games, but throw them all together and Gonzaga didn’t have much of a chance.

I have another theory and it is this….  All the people that said that the Gonzaga / UCLA game in the Semi-final was the best game they had ever seen, that may be true, but history will not record it that way because Gonzaga lost.  People will remember how dominant Baylor was throughout the tournament, and that Gonzaga was undefeated going into the tournament and didn’t win it, and COVID, but the UCLA / Gonzaga game will be somewhere in the lower ends of the top 10 things people remember about this season.  To be honest, I really think that UCLA game took something out of Gonzaga.  They didn’t look crisp from the very start.  They were making uncharacteristic turnovers.  They were getting beat to the basket.  They just looked out of sorts all first half – and pretty much all game.  I kept expecting Drew Timme to be a big part of the offense, as he has been all tournament long, but he was non-existent for much of the game.  I wasn’t a huge Cory Kispert fan coming into the game, but he also didn’t look anything the All-American he was supposed to be.  I think a lot of that can be attributed to the UCLA win just 48 hours ago.

Plus, it wasn’t that big of an upset.  Gonzaga was about a 5-point favorite.  I keep a ranking throughout the season, and it was a pretty even split between Baylor and Gonzaga pretty much the entire time.  I remember mid-season telling my wife that Baylor looks really good, but that they always let you down.  Year after year, I would see Baylor play during the season and think, “Wow!  This Baylor team looks good.  I’m going to take them in the tournament to do something”.  Then I do, and it was inevitably Baylor losing that would knock me out.  Technically, that happened this year also – but usually it’s them losing that does it.

Anyway, great game by Baylor.  Tough break for the Zags, who now need to carry the mantle of “Team that let’s you down”.  Is it fair?  No.  Is life fair?  Also no.

But, we have a champion to crown, and this year was really, really close as far as points, but not really close if you were paying attention to the stats.  Here’s why: of the 4 people that finished in the Top 4, 2^nd place was knocked out of 1^st place contention when Florida State lost to Michigan in the Sweet 16 and the other 2 were knocked out prior to the Sweet 16 even starting.  Mark A. #1 won the pool by one point over Howard S. #1, 2 points over Tomas L. #2 and 5 points over Hutch H. #2.  That’s pretty close.

Mark A. #1 was pretty close to the top of the standings throughout the tournament.  He was never lower than 20^th place in the standings, and most days in the top 10.  He started off the Sweet 16 with a 2.02% chance of winning it all.  His odds kept going up every game until Syracuse lost to Houston, when they took a slight dip from 4.87% to 4.35%.  He won the next 3 games to stand at 8.98% chance until he took it on the chin in the next two games (USC / Oregon and  Houston / Oregon State) to dip back down to 3.13% chance.  From there he rattled off 4 must win games in a row (Baylor / Arkansas, Gonzaga / USC, UCLA / Michigan, Baylor / Houston) to put him in position to win before winning the last “must-win” game tonight.  If you look at his numbers, it’s hard to see how he was so good, other than the 32 points he got in each of the last 2 rounds.  He got 23 in Round 1, 16 in round 2, 20 in the Sweet 16 and 16 in the Elite 8.  He only got 2 of the Final 4 right.  8 of the sweet 16 and 5 of the elite 8.  Those aren’t amazing numbers, but they are probably above average, and when you combine them with 64 points at the end, they were good enough to win.  Congratulations to Mark A. #1.  I will contact you to see how you want to get your winnings.

So, for those scoring at home, here is the final Matrix of the pool:

Concatenate	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place	4th Place
1. Mark A. #1: 139 (-53) - Baylor	1st Place	Michigan	Michigan	UCLA
2. Howard S. #1: 138 (-54) - Baylor	Flo. State	2nd Place	UCLA	Michigan
3. Tomas L. #2: 137 (-55) - Baylor	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	3rd Place	UCLA
4. Hutch H. #2: 134 (-58) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Or. State	Oregon	4th Place
5. Peter J. #4: 133 (-59) - Baylor	Michigan	Oregon	Michigan	USC
6. William G. #1: 131 (-61) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Michigan	Michigan	Michigan
6. Matt N.: 131 (-61) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Alabama	Or. State
8. Brett G. #4: 127 (-65) - Baylor	O. Roberts	Flo. State	Alabama	Oregon
9. Eric S.: 125 (-67) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State
10. Roth W.: 122 (-70) - Baylor	Michigan	UCLA	UCLA	USC
11. Daisy N. #3: 118 (-74) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
12. Bret K. #2: 115 (-77) - Baylor	Flo. State	Flo. State	USC	USC
13. Andrew D. #1: 113 (-79) - Baylor	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
13. Scott K.: 113 (-79) - Baylor	Flo. State	Alabama	Oregon	Or. State
13. Matt M.: 113 (-79) - Gonzaga	Gonzaga	Houston	USC	Houston
16. Tomas L. #1: 112 (-80) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	O. Roberts
16. Brent E. #4: 112 (-80) - Baylor	Syracuse	Michigan	Creighton	Syracuse
16. Paul Kr.: 112 (-80) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Gonzaga	Houston	USC
19. Jay H. #2: 111 (-81) - Baylor	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama	Oregon
20. Scott H. #1: 110 (-82) - Gonzaga	Michigan	Michigan	Gonzaga	Houston
21. Jackson I.: 109 (-83) - Baylor	USC	USC	USC	USC
22. Klei R. #1: 107 (-85) - Gonzaga	Alabama	Michigan	Michigan	Gonzaga
23. Irene H. #3: 106 (-86) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Creighton
23. Ally H.: 106 (-86) - Gonzaga	O. Roberts	Alabama	Michigan	Michigan
25. Irene H. #2: 105 (-87) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	Michigan
26. Missy W.: 104 (-88) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse
27. Craig G.: 103 (-89) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
27. Jim D. #2: 103 (-89) - Gonzaga	Oregon	Oregon	Or. State	Or. State
29. Mason A. #1: 101 (-91) - Gonzaga	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State
29. Jason S.: 101 (-91) - Gonzaga	Alabama	Or. State	Or. State	Or. State
31. Karen C.: 100 (-92) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Or. State	Or. State
31. Michelle L. #2: 100 (-92) - Houston	Houston	Arkansas	Arkansas	Arkansas
33. Stefon K.: 98 (-94) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
34. Kirt R. #2: 97 (-95) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	Syracuse
34. Brad R. #2: 97 (-95) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse
36. Josh C.: 96 (-96) - Baylor	Sweet 16	Creighton	USC	Alabama
36. Jonathan J.: 96 (-96) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	O. Roberts
38. Chris T. #1: 95 (-97) - Gonzaga	Flo. State	Flo. State	Alabama	Flo. State
39. Justin M.: 94 (-98) - Gonzaga	Flo. State	Syracuse	Flo. State	Flo. State
40. John M. #1: 92 (-100) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
41. Elizabeth N. #2: 91 (-101) - Illinois	Flo. State	Or. State	Or. State	Or. State
42. Ben W.: 90 (-102) - Gonzaga	Or. State	Or. State	Oregon	Or. State
43. Brett G. #2: 88 (-104) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Flo. State
43. Klei R. - BO: 88 (-104) - Gonzaga	Or. State	Or. State	Or. State	Or. State
43. Daisy N. #2: 88 (-104) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
46. Elizabeth N. #1: 87 (-105) - Gonzaga	Houston	Houston	Arkansas	USC
47. Andy M.: 86 (-106) - Connecticut	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
47. Eric V.: 86 (-106) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Oregon	Oregon
47. Brandon B.: 86 (-106) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	Alabama
50. Klei R. #3 - Jay B.: 85 (-107) - Gonzaga	O. Roberts	Syracuse	Syracuse	Alabama
50. Jared B.: 85 (-107) - Gonzaga	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State
52. Harrell R. #1: 84 (-108) - Gonzaga	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State
52. Scott H. #2: 84 (-108) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Syracuse
52. Brian K. #3: 84 (-108) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Syracuse
52. Brandon H. #2: 84 (-108) - Houston	Arkansas	Houston	Houston	USC
52. Zach V.: 84 (-108) - Illinois	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	Syracuse	Oregon
57. Peter J. #1: 83 (-109) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Alabama	Alabama
57. Nick I.: 83 (-109) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
57. James P.: 83 (-109) - Illinois	Syracuse	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State
60. Kirt R. #1: 82 (-110) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Syracuse
61. Jim D. #1: 81 (-111) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts
61. Mike N.: 81 (-111) - Gonzaga	O. Roberts	Or. State	Or. State	Or. State
63. Peter J. #5: 80 (-112) - Oklahoma State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
64. Alex I.: 79 (-113) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	O. Roberts
64. Clifton H. #2: 79 (-113) - Gonzaga	Syracuse	Or. State	Or. State	Or. State
64. Andrew D. #2: 79 (-113) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
64. Chris T. #2: 79 (-113) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
64. Adam E. #1: 79 (-113) - Oklahoma State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
69. Eric G. #1: 78 (-114) - Gonzaga	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	Flo. State	Alabama
69. Hutch H. #1: 78 (-114) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	O. Roberts
69. Brandon H. #1: 78 (-114) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Villanova	Villanova
72. Damien R. #1: 77 (-115) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
72. Rob I.: 77 (-115) - Gonzaga	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	Syracuse	Syracuse
74. Jaxon S.: 76 (-116) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
74. Brent E. #1: 76 (-116) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts
74. Gary W.: 76 (-116) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
74. Daisy N. #1: 76 (-116) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
78. Chris E.: 75 (-117) - Iowa	Sweet 16	Creighton	Flo. State	Flo. State
79. Brett G. #1: 74 (-118) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts
79. Marc R.: 74 (-118) - Gonzaga	Oregon	Oregon	Oregon	Oregon
79. Klei R. - Seth D.: 74 (-118) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
79. Dan Dz.: 74 (-118) - Illinois	Or. State	Alabama	Alabama	Or. State
79. Mike Wi.: 74 (-118) - Iowa	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
84. Nate R.: 73 (-119) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
84. Klei R. #2: 73 (-119) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Alabama	Flo. State
84. Peter J. #2: 73 (-119) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	Syracuse
84. Dennis R. #1: 73 (-119) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Villanova	Villanova
84. Chad L.: 73 (-119) - Ohio State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts
84. Juju Suki I.: 73 (-119) - Oklahoma State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
90. Dan C.: 72 (-120) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Villanova	Villanova	Villanova
90. Valerie D.: 72 (-120) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Villanova	Villanova	Villanova
90. Jim W.: 72 (-120) - Illinois	Alabama	Or. State	Or. State	Alabama
90. Dylan B.: 72 (-120) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse
94. Jay H. #1: 71 (-121) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
94. Nick V.: 71 (-121) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
94. Daisy N. #4: 71 (-121) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
94. William G. #2: 71 (-121) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
94. Dave M.: 71 (-121) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
94. Michael Wh.: 71 (-121) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
94. Noah N.: 71 (-121) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
94. Chun W. #1: 71 (-121) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Syracuse
94. Cicely K.: 71 (-121) - Ohio State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
103. Chun W. #2: 70 (-122) - Gonzaga	Arkansas	Arkansas	Arkansas	Arkansas
103. Mike S.: 70 (-122) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
105. Gigi I.: 69 (-123) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
106. Adam E. #2: 68 (-124) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
106. Harrell R. #2: 68 (-124) - Iowa	Loyola-Chi	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	Creighton
108. Michelle L. #1: 67 (-125) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	O. Roberts
108. Brett W.: 67 (-125) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts
108. Ray M. #2: 67 (-125) - Kansas	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
111. Ray M. #1: 66 (-126) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
111. Elliot N.: 66 (-126) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse
111. Colston W.: 66 (-126) - Michigan	Michigan	Michigan	USC	USC
111. Brent E. #2: 66 (-126) - Michigan	Michigan	Michigan	USC	USC
115. Brian K. #1: 65 (-127) - Alabama	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
115. Bret K. #1: 65 (-127) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
115. Damien R. #3: 65 (-127) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Villanova
115. Brent E. #3: 65 (-127) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Syracuse	Syracuse	Or. State
119. Chrissy I.: 64 (-128) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
120. Avery S.: 63 (-129) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
120. Jay H. #3: 63 (-129) - Kansas	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
120. Keal B.: 63 (-129) - Michigan	Alabama	Alabama	Michigan	Michigan
120. Peter J. #3: 63 (-129) - Michigan	Alabama	Alabama	Michigan	Michigan
120. Dennis R. #2: 63 (-129) - Michigan	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	Michigan	Michigan
125. Alyssa B.: 62 (-130) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Villanova	Villanova
125. Clifton H. #1: 62 (-130) - Michigan	Syracuse	Syracuse	Alabama	Alabama
127. Tyler B.: 61 (-131) - Michigan	USC	Or. State	Oregon	Syracuse
128. Drew R.: 60 (-132) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
128. Brett G. #3: 60 (-132) - Illinois	Alabama	Syracuse	Alabama	Alabama
128. Irene H. #1: 60 (-132) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	O. Roberts
128. Damien R. #2: 60 (-132) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
128. Brad R. #4: 60 (-132) - Michigan	Sweet 16	Arkansas	Arkansas	Arkansas
133. Brian K. #4: 59 (-133) - Florida State	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State
133. Howard S. #2: 59 (-133) - Houston	Alabama	Alabama	Houston	Michigan
133. Mason A. #2: 59 (-133) - Illinois	Or. State	Oregon	Or. State	Or. State
133. Daisy N. #10: 59 (-133) - Kansas	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
137. Ann K.: 58 (-134) - Illinois	Arkansas	USC	USC	Or. State
137. Tina H.: 58 (-134) - Michigan	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Villanova
137. Addie H.: 58 (-134) - Ohio State	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	Creighton
140. Dianna A.: 57 (-135) - Arkansas	Arkansas	Arkansas	Arkansas	Arkansas
140. Paul W.: 57 (-135) - Houston	Villanova	O. Roberts	Michigan	Houston
140. Hutch H. #3: 57 (-135) - Kansas	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
143. Harrell R. #3: 56 (-136) - Michigan	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
143. Amanda R.: 56 (-136) - Ohio State	Oregon	Oregon	Oregon	Oregon
143. Brian K. #2: 56 (-136) - Oklahoma State	Flo. State	Alabama	Alabama	Flo. State
146. Alyssa N.: 55 (-137) - Gonzaga	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
146. Eric G. #2: 55 (-137) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State
146. Virginia L.: 55 (-137) - Texas	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Flo. State	Creighton
146. Mike McQ.: 55 (-137) - Texas	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Flo. State
150. Michelle L. #3: 52 (-140) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	O. Roberts
150. Daisy N. #7: 52 (-140) - Ohio State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
152. Daisy N. #6: 51 (-141) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
152. Daniel E.: 51 (-141) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
152. Irene H. #6: 51 (-141) - Michigan	Syracuse	Arkansas	Arkansas	Arkansas
152. Molly R.: 51 (-141) - Michigan	Oregon	Oregon	Oregon	Oregon
152. Irene H. #4: 51 (-141) - Texas	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
157. Ryan W.: 50 (-142) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
157. Chun W. #3: 50 (-142) - Iowa	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
157. Becky H: 50 (-142) - Michigan	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
160. Daisy N. #5: 48 (-144) - West Virginia	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
161. Mark A. #2: 47 (-145) - Michigan	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
161. Brad R. #3: 47 (-145) - Ohio State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
161. Irene H. #5: 47 (-145) - Ohio State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	Syracuse
164. Daisy N. #9: 46 (-146) - Texas	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
165. Shawn M.: 45 (-147) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Villanova	Villanova	Villanova
165. Owen R.: 45 (-147) - UC Santa Barbara	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	O. Roberts	O. Roberts
167. Dustin B.: 44 (-148) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
168. Steve D.: 42 (-150) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
168. Damien R. #4: 42 (-150) - Ohio State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
170. Klei R. - WaPo: 40 (-152) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
171. Jace D.: 39 (-153) - Florida	Sweet 16	O. Roberts	Syracuse	Flo. State
172. John M. #3: 38 (-154) - Florida State	Creighton	Flo. State	Flo. State	Flo. State
173. Daniel Du.: 37 (-155) - Oregon	Oregon	Oregon	Flo. State	Oregon
174. John M. #4: 36 (-156) - Georgetown	Villanova	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse
174. Daisy N. #8: 36 (-156) - Iowa	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
176. Chun W. #4: 35 (-157) - Alabama	Sweet 16	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
176. Brad R. #1: 35 (-157) - Illinois	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
178. Tucker D.: 34 (-158) - Alabama	Syracuse	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
179. JoJo D.: 28 (-164) - Oklahoma State	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
180. John M. #2: 25 (-167) - Connecticut	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16
181. Cindy R.: 24 (-168) - Virginia	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16	Sweet 16

 For those curious about how this year stacks up with years past, it is quite comparable.  139 points would have gotten 5^th in 2019 (The Virginia Championship).  It would have been 2^nd in 2017, 2016 and 2015.  The real outlier was 2014 when Connecticut won and the Champion only had 127 points (4^th place that year only had 83 points).

Second this year went to Howard S. #1 who told me that he watched zero minutes of college basketball this season prior to the tournament.  As in 2015, we hedged bets in the final game since one of us was going to win something.  Just as in that year, the team I wanted to win also didn’t win, but I still came away with $50 – and no bragging rights.  Ironically, the $50 I’ll get from Howard is going to wind up being a better payout for me than if I had finished 4^th with a Gonzaga win since I would have only won $90-something bucks and had to pay out $50 to Howard.  But then, I could brag, so the $10 was probably worth it.

Third this year went to my father-in-law, who I believe worked for Baylor medical for many years in Texas.  The all-Texas Final 4 kind of worked out for him, as he managed to get Baylor and Houston.  Not so great for UT, however.  Still, third is pretty strong.  Now he and my wife can duke it out to determine who I give the money to.

4th this year went to Hutch H. #2 who I don’t think has won this pool, but has definitely won the bowl pool because he came up with the “Hutch Rule” where you can’t get more than one place if you win 1^st and 2^nd in that pool.  My guess is that he has won more than he has lost playing these things.  It also keeps the Humphries streak alive for payouts, as his brother Jay won in 2019.

So, congratulations to everyone!  I’ll be in touch about payments.  It’s been a fun year and hopefully we can do it all again starting in the fall with actual fans in the arenas.  I always look forward to it and love putting this on every year.  Feel free to tell as many people as you want about it.  I always stress about getting enough people to play every year.  I can handle more people – and the payouts will be bigger, so there is benefit to everyone.

Thanks!!!!!!!!

 Klei