ATH Bracket Challenge: Final Four Update

So with the Final Four this weekend, here's a little look at how we've all done, with nifty graphics. Click the pictures for a full view of every bracket.

First thing you should know: we all suck.

Matt

Matt's doing pretty well, leading the group with 45 correct picks and 88 points (19 ahead of second place); though he's second by a small margin in potential points remaining. He got half his Final Four correct, but he's hurt by his champ, Louisville, getting eliminated in the Elite Eight.

If North Carolina loses -- even though he has them in the title game -- Matt wins.


Goose

Goose solidly going in to the Elite Eight (5/8, one Final Four team lost). Then, in two days, his bracket fell apart, losing his entire remaining Final Four in those games.

He did well enough through the early rounds he could still finish second, but he doesn't have a chance to move beyond that anymore. That's rough.


Grif

The only games that matter for ATH are games involving North Carolina. Grif is in third, despite a historically bad showing getting just one of his Final Four correct. He is the only person whose champ is still alive, so if North Carolina wins it all, Grif wins the Challenge of Fail. If UNC beats Villanova, he clinches second. If they lose, the standings are set with Matt in first, Goose in second, Grif in third and. . .


Skye

Skye actually did the best in the opening weekend, but lost advancing teams at a high rate. She lost Final Four cinderellas Maryland and Texas in the second round, and the rest of her F4 was eliminated in the Elite Eight. With no teams still playing, she's doomed to last.


We should all bury this and pretend it never happened.

March Madness Day 2 Live Blog

March Madness Day 1 Live Blog (Noon Eastern, 9 A.M. Pacific)

Well, since this is the first day we have the blog for the Single Greatest Day in All of Sports, I thought I'd see how a live blog goes. I make sure to always keep my schedule open for the first round of the tournament, so I'll be here all day if anyone is stuck at work and has any questions or just wants to read my ramblings.

Should be good times! Come on in and bother me if you're around.

If the KenPoms Determined the Tournament (Today)

You'd think on my first day with nothing to do, I'd catch up on all the bloggy stuff I haven't done lately. But no, instead, I do this.

If you've never been to KenPom.com, you should go. It's the most thorough site available for all your college basketball statty needs. Trust me, if you're just one of those people who likes to win bracket pools, it will help you. If you like college basketball like me, then it's a gold mine.

Anyway, I decided, out of curiousity, to see what, today, the tournament would look like if Pomeroy determined it. The auto-bids are the teams projected to have the best conference records, with the tie-breaker being the rating. Then the best 34 teams left based on Pomeroy Ratings are chosen to fill out the field, and all those teams are ranked from 1-65, based, again, on rating. This is not what the seeding would actually look like, more it's the field of 65 you would start with and their rough seeds before you went through placing them in brackets.

It's not any sort of statement or anything poignant, just supposed to be interesting.


1. Duke (ACC)
2. Gonzaga (WCC)
3. North Carolina
4. Georgetown
5. Pittsburgh (Big East)
6. Wake Forest
7. Missouri
8. Connecticut
9. Arizona State (Pac 10)
10. Memphis (Conference USA)
11. UCLA
12. West Virginia
13. Louisville
14. Oklahoma (Big XII)
15. Purdue
16. Illinois
17. Xavier (A-10)
18. Michigan State (Big 10)
19. Kentucky (SEC)
20. Washington
21. Kansas
22. Clemson
23. BYU (Mountain West)
24. Marquette
25. California
26. Texas
27. Utah
28. Villanova
29. Syracuse
30. Butler (Horizon)
31. Miami FL
32. Kansas State
33. Oklahoma State
34. Baylor
35. USC
36. Tennessee
37. Florida
38. Stanford
39. Wisconsin
40. Ohio State
41. San Diego State
42. Davidson (Southern)
43. Minnesota
44. Notre Dame
45. Houston
46. Tulsa
47. Utah State (WAC)
48. Virginia Commonwealth (CAA)
49. Illinois State (Missouri Valley)
50. Miami OH (MAC)
51. Siena (MAAC)
52. North Dakota State (Summit)
53. Belmont (Atlantic Sun)
54. Portland State (Big Sky)
55. Steven F. Austin (Southland)
56. MTSU (Sun Belt)
57. Cornell (Ivy League)
58. Vermont (America East)
59. American (Patriot)
60. Long Beach State (Big West)
61. Liberty (Big South)
62. Robert Morris (NEC)
63. Austin Peay (Ohio Valley)
64. Morgan State (MEAC)
65. Alabama State (SWAC)

Last Four In
1. Minnesota
2. Notre Dame
3. Houston
4. Tulsa

First Four Out
1. St. Mary’s
2. Arizona
3. Cleveland State
4. Northwestern

Next Four Out
1. Maryland
2. Rhode Island
3. LSU
4. Washington State