Finishing second was Sean Carline with his shizcity3 entry, with contest co-administrator Shin taking third place with his Stealth Entry. Fourth was Jonathan Riley and Jeff Baum basically recouped his investment with a fifth place showing.

And let’s not forget Brandy Award winner, maluri fernandez, who finished with an overall score of 47, a respectable showing that would have been better had Mal’s championship contenders, Connecticut and North Carolina (yes, you read that right), not been ousted in their first games of the tournament.

Thanks for the awesome showing in this year’s tournament despite a rather bumbling start by your administrators this year. We hope you had fun, and we hope to be back at it in a little more orderly fashion next season. Winners, we’ll be in touch with you regarding your winnings in short order.

See below for the overall final standings.

2021 Final Ranking

It’s a real free for all at second through fifth, where 13 other entries still have a chance to finish in the money, while tie-breakers are a factor in five of the eight possible combinations. The possibilities are almost as endless as those pondered by that wolf girl mulling the possible combinations of Cherry, Vanilla, and Coke.

The upset win by UCLA over Michigan did more than knock a host of entries out of the tournament, it also cemented the Brandy Award for Maluri Fernandez with 47 points, still 17 points higher than Brandy’s 25 year old record low. Pending another pandemic disaster, Mal gets a free entry in next year’s tournament.

For a west coast based contest, the popularity of west coast teams is on a par with that of Tom Brady dessert recipes. Only five entries had Oregon State getting to the Sweet Sixteen, and none of those had them advancing to the Elite Eight. Meanwhile, only three contestants predicted UCLA getting to the Sweet Sixteen, and none of those had them advancing further. The best performance for the Sweet Sixteen was five correct picks, and only eight entries pulled that off.

But that has not greatly affected the 37 entries still alive as we approach the Elite Eight. The leader in the Current Points sort is Eyebrian3, with a solid 97 points. But with two Final Four teams gone, one of them Brian’s finalist pick, the likelihood of winning it all could be considered slim. The strongest looking entry at this point is BCG2, the leader in the “Possible Score” sort and second in the “Current Score” sort. Most of the possibilities seem to center around some combination of Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, and Houston in the Final Four.  But a “favorite” in this year’s tournament is really more of a subjective choice than logic might predict.

But why speculate? The Reports on our home page now have the “Dynamic Possibilities” feature active. Just plug in your predicted scenario and see instant results! The Reports also show best possible finishes for each of the surviving picks. Unfortunately only 17 entries have any possibility of finishing in first place, but there’s still pride (and a little profit) in finishing in the money.

At the other end of the standings the race for the Brandy Award has become very interesting. The hold that heavy favorite Mulari Fernadez’s had on the title slipped a bit when supposed long shot, Michigan, survived. Should Michigan overcome UCLA in the Elite Eight matchup, Mal will vault out of last place, likely to be replaced by either English Bulldog, the earliest leader or Mandalorian1. Hey, you don’t see coverage like this from Barkley and pals.

(LeBron James shows up in the audience at 7:23)

(Been there… Got the T-Shirt.)

If you feel like crying, like our sad friend Luka here, feel free.  Kenny Smith and Tom Hanks may not allow crying in their sports, but this year, of the 16 top seeds in the NCAA Tournament, ten have fallen by the wayside. And those results are reflected in the standings of the EQE March Madness Tournament where all but one entry has seen at least three Elite Eight choices get eliminated. Things are looking pretty good (at the moment) for N8DaGr8, who sits in first place in current points and in second place in possible points. But his choice of Baylor over Florida State in the Championship game goes against the grain of most of the other top entries, most of which have some combination of Gonzaga and Baylor. The way things are going, the chances for those two teams to advance in the tournament could legitimately be considered questionable.

Oddly, BCG2, who picked only half of the second round games correctly, sits atop the Possible Points standings, but sits in a six-way tie for eighth in Current Points. Only five entries bettered .500 in the Round of 32, the best showing coming from long time participant, EyeBrian, the only one to pick ten correct Round 2 games. Yeah, it’s been that kind of tournament.

Unfortunately, the dreaded asterisks have made their first appearance. 16 entries have been deemed to have no chance of finishing in the money. However, the race for the Brandy Award is far from settled. Maluri Fernandez has a commanding lead with 42 points and four teams still alive, but if Michigan can overcome the Big Ten curse and advance, look for Mal to climb out of the basement to salvage some small bit of dignity.

“Please don’t ask me what’s on my mind,
I’m a little mixed up but I’m feelin’ fine”

Elvis sang it, but it could easily apply to anyone who’s submitted an entry in this year’s tournament.  Yours and everyone else’s entry is certainly mixed up, but you have to be feeling fine after one of the most entertaining days of March Madness ever! Every game had either an upset win or came down to the final few seconds. And it is truly anyone’s tournament to win here at EQE March Madness. Of the eight games played today, only one entry fared better than .500, Shizcity3. Junior Gman still sits atop the standings….for current points. But change that sorting to best possible showing and Junior drops down to a tie for 40th.

All but four entries have lost at least one of their Final Four picks, and not surprisingly, those four lead in the Possible Standings sort, Pad Rat, BCG2, ThunderSnowGod3, and fittingly, SisterJeansNurse, in that order.

Should Gonzaga and/or Baylor falter, the standing will be thrown into such a tizzy that last place Maluri Fernandez could take it all. Indeed, the dreaded asterisks have failed to appear, so take heart – even though one entire side of your bracket displays those little red X’s, you still have a chance to place on the podium!