The hopes for a massive double digit upset over a top seed died with the completion of the round of 64. With the exception of number 11 Drake over number 6 Missouri, and a couple of the somewhat predictable 12 over 5 upsets, there were not that many surprises, resulting in a plethora of high scoring brackets grouped together at the top. Tyrone Shoelaces’ picks, with three losses on day two, were rather mundane in comparison to the perfect run of yesterday, but his bracket leads all entries at this point with all but three results having been picked correctly. Behind Tyrone is a six-way tie for second, just one game back, and behind that group is a seven-way tie just one game back of that group. Suffice it to say that there is really no true favorite at all at this point.
The battle for the Brandy Award is almost as closely contended as the battle being waged at the top, with picks being uncommonly accurate, the “worst” record being 18 of 32 winners. The two leaders, sorted by possible points remain unchanged from yesterday, but a new name……….well, let’s say familiar name to be more accurate, has joined the contest. That would be none other than our old friend, Pope’s Picks. If that entry sounds familiar, it was Pope’s Picks that snared last year’s Brandy award.
Pope and Basketball – Bad Pairing?
The Pope has a reputation for favoring the Catholic schools, a strategy that ranks right up there with relying on Charles Barkley for bracket advice. Sadly, the Pope’s hopes suffered a couple of tough blows as three of his Elite Eight picks, one of them also a Final Four pick, failed to make it past the first round, making some question his commitment to, or more importantly, his knowledge of basketball. While some claim that this is proof of God’s disdain for Catholic schools participating in hedonistic events such as the NCAA tournament others are encouraged that schools portraying sainthood have survived and seem poised to forge onward in the tournament. Meanwhile, the only entry that has BYU going all the way, subtley carrying the name of “Polygamy Picks” looks on in amusement.