But for the Oregon fans… (Yes, I’m still bitter…)

S-upset Sunday followed S-upset Saturday, leaving many brackets in shambles. The result of today’s carnage is most visible in the standings with the first appearance of the dreaded “asteriks of elimination” [AOE]. If you see an AOE next to your entry you can now relax and enjoy the tournament without being troubled by how the game will impact your retirement plan.

The opposite side of this coin is that if your entry isn’t tagged with an AOE there is a teaser indicating the highest finish possible for your entry. For example, DD2, currently ranked 104 in the status report, can still finish in first place. Given that DD2 was the only entry to pick Michigan to win it all I’m pretty sure that DD2’s fortunes ride solely on the backs of the Wolverines.

To get an idea of how tumultuous this weekends games were on our pool one only has to look at the Distribution report. Duke was the most favored team in our pool to win it all (22 entries) followed by Villanova (20). Doing some quick math these two losses represent over 1/3 of the pool having had their bracket champion lose in the 2nd round.

The Brandy award is still a conceptually wide open race – PadRat has a total possible score of only 105, and picked only 1/2 of the games correctly this round. 5 entries had a worse 2nd round, having picked 7 of the game winners. Ouch. Also at the bottom of the heap are “Boom Goes The Dynamite” and “BBJones”.

Among those entrants that had a slightly better weekend, the “Shizcity” series are looking particularly good in the possible points rankings (1, 3, and 5th place). “Big 10 Love” had the best weekend having picked 13/16 correct winners with Duke being the one blemish (picked to lose in the championship). “Team America” currently maintains a clean Final 8, impressive at this stage of the tournament.

If you are looking to get a probabilistic view of your chances, and your entry is still AOE free, the “Pool possibilities” report will give you the chances (assuming that each of the remaining possible 32,768 outcomes are equally probable. Which they’re not) of finishing in first or in the top 5. Based on this report, “Shizcity 4” and “Big 10 Love” (the top two most probable winners) together represent 21% of the winning game outcomes.

If the top seeded teams ALWAYS won their games you’d have saved a ton of time by clicking the “pick higher seeds to win” button and been done with it. As yesterday demonstrated this isn’t always a winning strategy. Without bemoaning the fact that Northwestern ALMOST won (almost happens all the time), the following significant upsets DID occur:
A) #8 Wisconsin defeated #1 and defending champ Villanova
B) #11 Xavier sent #3 FSU packing
C) #4 Purdue defeated #5 Iowa State (not technically an upset, but tell that to Purdue fans)

Looking at our distribution report, there were 7 entries that picked ‘Nova to bow out in the 2nd round, though 31 having them making it to the championship, 20 winning it all. You can guess who’s happier now!

Given the upsets the sorted by possible report is probably a better indicator than the standard status report- in the current point ranking 2 entries in the top 15 leaders have Villanova winning it all. That being said the leader, “Big 10 Love” DOES have a clean slate in the Great 8 (including Wisconsin). “Boiler Pete” was the beneficiary of two of the aforementioned upsets, but is going strongly against archetype picking Purdue to win it all (one of three such entries).

All 4 of the top entries in the status report sorted by possible points currently have clean G8s, 2 wistfully thinking of a Purdue victory, one Duke, and one UNC. Which is to say to the remaining 117 entries that there are many games left to play before you can give up on your entry.

Even current cellar dwellers “Starbucks Fan” and “rather be knitting” have respectable possible scores of 141 and 145 respectively. If you go to the hoopness site you can perform “Dynamic Status” reports to see what would happen if, for example, UCLA wins it all. Enjoy…

For many, it’s called disbelief. (This account hijacked by Admin…who is currently out and about…)

The Round of 64 is now complete and there is a five-way tie for first place, all of whom picked every contest but three of the 32 games correctly.  With no real notable upsets, perhaps this isn’t all that surprising.  We say “notable” because so many of the so-called upsets were actually somewhat predicted by Hoops Madness participants.  Indeed, 85 of 121 entries correctly picked number 10 Wichita State’s “upset” over Dayton, while 52 also went with number 12 Middle Tennessee State over number 5 Minnesota.  The inclusion of three “Kaos” entries among the five “Current” leaders appears to be somewhat suspicious in that there is a very close connection to control of the tournament.  The watchdogs that keep the administrators honest have been summoned.

If you rank the standings by Possible Score, you’ll see an ominous name among the four that are tied for first.  That TKC1 and TKC2 you see is none other than defending champion Tom Chan, also our only two time champion.  Fellow first place “possibles” J1 and BCG2 stand advised.  Evidently the secret to doing well is to ensure that your entry has a number in it.

As for the other end of the competition…….all we can say is poor Tom Crean.  Two crushing events, only 36 hours apart.  First he gets fired within the first hour of the commencement of the tournament, and after a special one-time late admission allowing him to get a Hoops Madness entry in, he goes and blows it when his championship pick, Marquette, gets blown out in their first game.  All of this and the embarrassment of being John Harbaugh’s brother-in-law.  How much misfortune can one person sustain?  Obviously Tom shoots to the bottom of the pile in possible points.  And we’ve made sure all forks and knives have been collected from his house.

OK, so you picked Middle Tennessee State to beat Minnesota, you only missed one pick at this point and you’re feeling even better about yourself that you did at lunch time.  Guess what?  You’re not alone – even remotely.  30 entries are among the leaders, having picked seven of eight games so far.  And there are two perfect entries at this point, both seemingly related.  Both Ren and Stimpy have defied the odds and have a clean bracket.  Uh oh!

It might be described as the most widely predicted upset ever as 52 or our entrants picked number 12 Middle Tennessee State to defeat the number 5 Middle Minnesota Tech.  That’s just short of half of all picks.  Are our tournament participants smart or what?  Wait, hold that thought, as one of our entries had the Golden Gophers going all the way to (ahem) the Final Four.  Cue the Price Is Right fail horn, Waa Waa!  That shoots entry 2Legit right into an impressive early lead in the race to the Brandy Award.  Still plenty of time though.

We’ll be back after the second half of the first half or if there’s breaking news.  Like Seth Davis admitting he made an errant prediction.

OK, so you picked the first four games correctly and you’re feeling pretty good about your picks.  Well, you have company, because 86 others are similarly perfect at this point.  The predictable “12 seed beats 5 seed” upset (as 37 entries predicted), though close, has not panned out after two tests.  Oh, and we made a rare exception allowing one special late entry under very special circumstances.  Suddenly finding himself with nothing to do, former Indiana Coach Tom Crean begged to get into the EQE March Madness Tournament.  Although we viewed his pick, Marquette, as nothing more than a patronizing attempt to get rehired, we still figure he’ll do nothing more than add to the kitty.

Good news!  Your odds of winning the tournament are the best that they’ve been in years!  Each person has a 1 in 120 chance of taking the grand prize.  Of course those odds will settle themselves out more precisely as the tournament progresses and as the 22% who picked Duke to win it all slink back to their mother’s basements.

Links to all of the picks and up to the hour tournament standings can be accessed by clicking on the “Quick Reports” menu item on the banner above.  In the meantime, please be sure to submit your payments so that you can continue to participate.  A reminder that entries without corresponding payments by the time the Sweet Sixteen rounds begin will not count.  If you need any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact tournament headquarters at hoopsmaster@eqemarchmadness.com.

[Snarky Comment added by Admin]

As the midnight hour passes, we have an even 100 entries in this year’s tournament.  But as procrastinators throughout our midst know well, the rules are always bent to allow even later entries – all the way up to tip-off of the first game on Thursday in fact.  That REAL deadline is 9:30 a.m. when the first game (not to mention the endless Capital One commercials) gets under way.  Don’t be a Dougie and try to sneak an entry in post-tipoff.  And don’t forget to get your payment in via our PayPal link, which seems to be flying well under the PayPal fun sucker police force radar.

The brackets for the 2017 March Madness Tournament have been revealed, and you are now free to make your official Hoops Madness Contest picks.  Simply click above on the “Create or Review Entry” link above and begin entering away!

There are a few changes that your Hoops Madness Administrators have instituted this year.  One is a new email address.  Our old email domain died, so if you desire to communicate with us via email, please note that the new address is hoopsmaster@eqemarchmadness.com.  We no longer have access to the prior email domain, so please update your address books.

Second, and most important, is a change in the way we will be collecting your “contributions.”  The past logistics and the accounting process have resulted in a lot of financial complications, so we are instituting one single collection point, and that is a PayPal account, the link to which is displayed below.  Because of tardiness by an increasing number of entrants (and admitted failures on the part of your administrators) we are establishing a hard deadline by which we will require payment.  And that deadline is a short one – March 22nd.  That is the day prior to  the start Sweet 16 rounds.  If we do not have your payment in hand your entry will be deleted.  Please help us in the accounting process (and your chances to win) by making your contribution promptly.

Make payment here.  (Note that PayPal will indicate that you are “purchasing Custom Hoop Rings,” a technicality that we have had to implement.  Don’t ask, just play along, and no, you will not be getting a ring.)

So with that, we urge you to get started on your entries (or if you see fit you may wait until the play-in games have completed – the website will automatically update and adjust for the play-in winners).  Good luck in this years contest!

Well that was one heck of a second Round 2 half! Simultaneous last minute buzzer beaters, a miracle comeback for Texas A&M, and Spike, Samuel, and Chuck still haven’t gotten out of that car as they head to the games! In the end few of the favorites have been eliminated, but those who are out have shaped possibilities greatly. And if you are dismayed about all of the red marks on your bracket, here’s some encouraging news – even the top spots in our pool have at least two red marks in their Elite Eight. With the second number two seed, Xavier, going down, brackets have become as jumbled as Charles Barkley’s analysis. The best any entry did was 12 correct Round 2 picks and only three did that well.

Sitting at the top (using the Possible Points sort exclusively now) is DWG4, although likely related entry, DWG1, moved strongly into contention as one of those few that nailed twelve of the sixteen Round 2 picks.

As for those picking the underdogs, only ten entries have Wisconsin going to the Sweet Sixteen and only four have Syracuse moving on that far.

Notable at the bottom of the selections is the fact that contender Bekbil2sr got four picks right while DD3, who managed only three correct Round 2 picks, greatly enhanced his chance of nailing another free entry when finalist choice Iowa was knocked out of contention. The lone remaining Elite Eight pick for DD3 is Indiana and with North Carolina as their next opponent, the Brandy Award is just about locked up.

The brackets somewhat righted themselves with only 2 upsets- Gonzaga(11) beating Utah(3) and Indiana (5) beating Kentucky (4). Reviewing the pac-12’s performance this was perhaps not such an upset, and since when did Gonzaga fall back to Cinderella status ?

The top 5 entrants all have 7 of the final 8 still viable – pretty impressive at this point! The Michigan State loss has had immense impact tournament-wide, the result being that every Hoops Madness entry has at least one incorrect Elite Eight pick.

Meanwhile, the race for the Brandy Award has taken on new urgency with Bekbil2sr swooping in from out of nowhere to contest DD3 for the lead. His/her predicted champion, Butler, faltered like a Kentucky three point attempt and with six of eight Elite Eight teams gone, presents a real challenge to early favorite DD3. They both got a mere two picks right in the first half of the second round and at this point DD3 is just two points ahead, but they’re tied in the Possible Points option. We’re happy to report, though, that the original Brandy total score is safe once again as both teams managed to surpass the threshold score of 30.

Holy cow, what a first round! 13 of the 32 lower seeded teams came out on top including a 13, a 14, and a 15, all on the same day – the first time that’s ever happened! And can you believe that our current first place entry, TKC2, picked 27 of the first 32 correctly? Don’t be surprised – that’s a former Hoops Madness champion. But now that we have those very high profile red/slashed marks in the Standings Reports, you’ll note that two of his Elite Eight picks have been knocked out, and that’s more than 23 other entries that still have seven entries alive. Perhaps most promising are the six entries whose Elite Eights are all still alive.

The DD3 entry has a very firm grasp on last place now that six of his final eight choices have been eliminated. The best possible score for DD3 is 79, despite having accurately selected 13 of the first round winners. Ominously DD3 is solidly in last in both the Current and Possible Points sorts.

On a positive note, the dreaded asterisks have yet to make an appearance on anyone’s entry, so it’s fair to say that it’s still anyone’s contest to win! Yes, even those who had Cal and Michigan State matching up in the Championship Game. Don’t break out your piccolos and tears just yet.

So you’re checking the standings and now you see teams marked in red in strike-through font. Yes, this is a new feature that provides a visual indication of just how many picks you screwed up. You may also take heart by realizing that many others also have many red marks among their selections, especially the entry labeled “Pac 12,” whose four total “red” teams demonstrates just how ill-advised it was to pick Pac 12 teams among the finalists. In general, more red marks to the left mean you’re probably not going to do too well. BUT!!!! With the huge number of upsets that seem to be occurring, that’s not in any way an absolute.

Another handy change is the fact that the Current Standings report and the Possible Points Standings report are now combined into one report. A handy little drop-down box allows you to toggle back and forth between the “sorted by score” option and the “sorted by possible score” option. Very revealing for entries like “Risky Business” who stands solidly on top in the “sorted by score” display yet is far down the list in the “sorted by possible points” display. Then again all of those red marks, primarily the one on the far left, might have foretold that discrepancy.

Finally don’t forget the Dynamic Report option that allows you to pretend that Stephen F Austin beats West Vir….ooops, bad example. With this report you can input any scenario and see how it might affect your entry and standings. Pretty cool, especially when you’re trying to justify to the family CFO how your entry might blossom into an untold fortune! You can access that report by clicking on the “Review or Print Entry” option on the banner menu then choosing View Reports.

The standings have shifted dramatically due to the plethora of upsets that have occurred today. And now the differences between the rankings by Current Points and Possible Points are significant. For instance under Current Points Risky Business stands alone in first place with 19 of 24 picks being correct. Unfortunately in the Possible Points sort, Risky Business stands alone in 87th place, ironically two places below Upset Central. Even the upset pickers can’t pick the upsets!

However, two DWG entries, DWG1 and DWG4, dominate the standings on both sorts! In fact by Current Points DWG entries constitute another three picks tied at ninth! It’s good to be a DWG…..right now.

In the race for the Brandy Award the competition is even fiercer. We have a new strong contender, yanncancook, whose two finalists, Michigan State and Baylor both got bounced in their first games. Former contender DD3 has jumped all the way to 95th place, but coming on strong is DD2 holding down position number 129. It’s not good to be a DD….right now.

With Michigan State going down to 15th seeded Middle Tennessee, every entry, yes EVERY entry in the Hoops Madness Tournament, got the pick wrong. With 119 entries predicting MSU going to at least the Elite 8, including 32 having Sparty going all the way to the title, bracket selectors throughout the Hoops Madness tournament resemble last year’s Villanova crying piccolo girl.

With lower seeded teams taking seven of the sixteen contests yesterday it should be no surprise that the entry labeled Risky Business is among the top entries. A look at the picks shows some bold choices indeed, but that’s what you have to do to stand out in the race for Hoops Madness glory. Along with TKC2 and Fensterrapin, only one incorrect pick exists among the leaders. Close on the heels are 16 more entries that got 14 of the 16 games right.

We are now able to provide you with the rankings by Possible Points in addition to the leaders by Current Points. This is unfortunate news for four of the bottom ranked entries that had Purdue either going all the way or in the finals. This also means that there is a temporary reprieve for leading Brandy Award contender, DD3, who staged a huge comeback in the late games, having now picked seven total games correctly. Also noteworthy is 130th ranked zona zoo, who predicted a now departed U of A win plus a tiebreaker final tally of 15 points. In the Dean Smith days of the four corners offense this might have been possible, but today it would make for a very unpopular Championship game.

The highlight of the day, at least to viewers who frequent Twitter and to courtside announcers, was the abuse sustained by Arizona coach Sean Miller’s shirt. The nattily attired coach quickly became quite unnatty by thoroughly soaking through his shirt, leading many to compare his endocrine system to that of Airplane pilot Ted Striker. Admittedly it is Spring Break for many right now, but Sean would do well to refrain from the wet t-shirt contest participation until after…..oh, that’s right, he is in fact free to participate in such frivolities.