This is a critical time to be high in the standings – for while each game is worth a lot of points, there are only 3 games left in the tournament. However, if you still have Duke, UNC, Kansas and Villanova into the championship game, the 120 points for a semi-final victory can move you up in the standings very quickly.

A ton of credit at this point has to go to Ann Hawkins – she is dominating with her picks. Not only is she winning both the standard and upset pools, but she also has her second chance picks in a tie for 2nd place. It has been a very impressive job of picking the games.

In the Standard Pool, Ann’s 890 points are ahead of 2nd place Edward Zhang by 30 points. Steve Manley is in 3rd place at 790 points, followed closely by Jen Miller in 4th at 780 points, John Howarth in 5th at 770 points, and Edward Zhang’s 2nd picks at 760 points. We have a tie for 7th place at 730 points between Richard Urban and Adrian Young. Rounding out the Top 10 is our three way tie for 9th at 720 points between Red Shepley, Dan Miller, and Keith Dudley.

In the Upset Pool, Ann leads with 301 points. This is extremely impressive, considering that no one has scored 300 points in the upset pool since 2013. Tanmay Gautam’s 282 points would be crushing people in most years, but right now, it is all alone in 2nd. John Howarth is in 3rd at 277 points, Gregg Farber, our 2021 Upset Pool champion, is in 4th at 255 points, and Viviemme is in 5th at 248 points.

Andrew Picciano is making the best out of his second chance – as he is leading the second chance pool with 520 points. There is a four way tie for second place between Ann, Noah Franklin, Dan Miller, and Jim Carini.

There is one prize that is unofficially locked (nothing is official until the final standings come out). Kristian Schmidt’s upset picks of Texas Tech, Tennessee, Iowa and Indiana only ended up getting 290 points and are locked in last place in the money pool. As is tradition, Kristian, you should not have challenged the Lunatic this year. But truthfully, with the Lunatic’s picks being in a tie for 74th, the more accurate statement is you should not have challenged Ann Hawkins this year. However, if I remember from the comments, Kristian is probably still happy as the Cyclones made it to the Sweet 16 this year, which is amazing for a team that only won 2 games the year before.

Some might remember from earlier in the tournament where a ball got stuck on top of the backboard in the Indiana / St. Mary’s game, and after multiple tries including the referee bringing out a chair, two Indiana cheerleaders managed to get the ball to cheers from the crowd.

Just now, Arkansas shot up a three pointer, and sure enough, the ball hit the front of the rim, bounced high and got stuck on the top of the backboard. But this time there was no hesitation. Two Arkansas cheerleaders stood up, and the crowd erupted. Everyone knew what was going to happen. The male cheerleader effortlessly lifted the female cheerleader in the air, she smiled and waved to the crowd to tons of cheers, and then they carefully moved closer to the backboard so she could tap the ball back to the floor.

It is amazing what the athletes on the court do – watching them fly to the hoop to dunk the ball, or some of the amazing dribbling that they do to get by a defender. But for a moment, we have to give some credit to the amazing athletes who are off the court. It is incredible what the cheerleaders do – I can’t even imagine lifting a person up in the air like they do, the precision to be able to balance on someone’s hands. And that is just their starting point – they make it look so effortless, and then they start doing aerial tricks. Just amazing!!!!!

Anyways, thank you to the Arkansas cheerleaders – they were ready and did not throw away their shot!!!

So, I have a couple problems with these picks. Unlike normal situations, my picks are doing great – but they are also completely dependent on Purdue winning. It makes me uncomfortable for lots of reasons. But that is part of the ride. I always try to pick my Boilers, because I know that sometimes the most effective way of winning the pool is simply being a fan of the school that wins. The Lunatic would never forgive himself if the Boilers won the National Championship, and didn’t pick them.

But the second chance picks are designed to give you a second chance – picking Purdue would basically continue to ride my current picks. And then I will have nothing to root for if my Boilers get beat. And amazing as the 16 remaining teams are, 15 of them are going to get beat But if you don’t pick them all the way, how far do you take them. So many hard decisions.

So, I am going to go with history. There is a post that tends to always happen every year. In the first two rounds, the tournament is always about Cinderella. It is fun to watch teams like St. Peter’s, New Mexico State, Richmond and Iowa State upset a team or two. But at this point in the tournament, it is about teams that won championships that continue. It is hard to win 6 games in a row – typically, the teams that pull that off are ones that won their regular season championship or made a run and won in the pressure of the conference tournament. It also always seems to be a power conference that comes out on top. There are a couple places where I don’t have that luxury – and so I will use it to support teams from my family.

In the West, Gonzaga is the #1 team in the country, so they will continue moving on against Arkansas. Duke is the ACC Regular Season Champion, and something odd happened. They are no longer the favorite. Vegas odds actually list Texas Tech as the favorite. Does giving the Blue Devils a chip on their shoulder change the dynamic. I don’t know – but they are the team who won a championship, and so they beat Texas Tech. Then, I will go with the regular season again. Duke beat Gonzaga – they do it again to reach the Final Four.

In the East, there are no regular season champs or conference tournament champions – well except for St. Peter’s, which would be insane. Purdue takes care of Cinderella – as with the Texas game, I suspect that Zach Edey and Trevion Williams will be too tough to handle inside, and if they put all their attention there, Jaden Ivey destroys them. Between UCLA and UNC, UCLA is probably the better team. But UCLA without Jaime Jaquez Jr – who injured his ankle in the win against St. Mary’s – is not. I have to assume that even if he plays, he is not going to be at his best. I will pick the team I want to see win – which is obviously North Carolina. Who wouldn’t want to see this final anyways – you have two teams in the Boilers and Tar Heels who can go on 20 point runs and then watch as their opponent completely comes back. I will go with my Boilers in this fun game of runs (it also goes along with the strategy of when in doubt, pick the team that is more likely to make it to the game).

In the South, the Pac 12 champs of Arizona play the American champs of Houston. Both teams have multiple weapons, but I still have the image of Bennedict Mathurin scoring almost at will against a really good defensive team in TCU just to watch the one time he missed end up with Christian Koloko coming in an slamming home the rebound. Not to mention, the champions selection tends to always go to the power conference school. Then, you have Villanova – who just came off beating Ohio State – beating Michigan. Villanova totally controlled the game against the Buckeyes. Based on conference standings, the Buckeyes were better than the Wolverines. Transitive theory and champions theory says take the Big East tourney champs. In the final, we will take Arizona since I think that they have more talent (and they won both their regular season and tournament championship). While I technically feel that Villanova did as well in the Big East, due to some games getting cancelled for Providence, the Fryars at 14-3 were the regular season champions compared to Villanova at 16-4.

In the Midwest, Kansas is the Big 12 regular season co-champ and the tournament champ. As mentioned above, technically Providence is the regular season Big East champ. But lets remember that Kansas just beat the Creighton team that crushed Providence by 28 points in the Big East tourney. While it is clear that game was a little bit of a fluke, you still have to figure the Jayhawks will win this game. In the other game, you have two double digit teams in Miami and Iowa State. Miami is the better offensive team, and Iowa State is the better defensive team. For this one, I have to go root for the team many of my family will. I think I might still have relatives on my dad’s side living in Ames – so I will go with Iowa State. In the final, Kansas beat the Cyclones twice in the regular season, so I have to expect that they will win the third game as well.

In the Final Four, Duke has the conference championship – so they sadly beat my Boilermakers. I feel the Big 12 might be playing the best basketball in the tournament, and I think Kansas’ road against Providence and Iowa State is easier than Arizona’s road against Houston and Villanova, so I will take the Jayhawks over the Wildcats. And then, under the same theory of easiest path to be in the game, Kansas will beat Duke to win the championship.

For those who don’t want to have to read through my ramblings, the full picks are below:

Gonzaga
Duke	Duke
UNC	Purdue
Purdue		Duke	Kansas
Arizona		Kansas
Villanova	Arizona
Kansas	Kansas
Iowa State

I will be happy for all of these picks but 2 obvious ones to be wrong. I will give up all my picks if it would mean Purdue wins the championship. And then, Taylor’s voice starts to ring in my head again – This hope is treacherous. This daydream is dangerous. This hope is treacherous. I-I-I LIKE IT!!!!

What a wild start of the day. So, lets set some context. My daughter Katie is playing rugby for the first time. And their game this morning was in Alexandria. So, the family climbed into the car at 7 am, and headed up to D.C. Katie’s rugby team did great, and I am so proud of her for trying a new sport. The Richmond Strikers rugby team won their first 15 vs. 15 rugby game of the season 66-15 over Alexandria. So, we were all very happy and tired and on our way home.

We stopped in Fredricksburg for lunch, and I realized the first game of the day had started – so I checked in on the score. And I tell Elizabeth and the kids, “you will not believe it, North Carolina is beating Baylor 42-29 at halftime. If UNC wins, I might have to go back through the blog to remember the lyrics that your dad taught the kids of the UNC Fight Songs.”

And Elizabeth said, “Oh – you don’t need to look up the lyrics. We can help” And without missing a beat, Elizabeth and the kids start singing.

To be fair, only Elizabeth yelled out the last line – we didn’t teach the kids that part when they were young. Charlie asked if they really sing that, and Elizabeth said yes, especially when they are playing Duke. And then she led them back into song

I’m a Tar Heel Born, I’m a Tar Heel Bred

And when I die, I’m a Tar Heel Dead

So It’s RAH RAH Car’lina ‘lina

RAH RAH Car’lina ‘lina

RAH RAH Car’lina RAH RAH RAH!!!

So, I pulled out my phone and said, “Great, I guess I can post it now!” And Elizabeth said, “NO!!!! You will jinx them!!!!”

When we get home, I turn on the game. And I look to see the game is still a 9 point lead, and I think they have got a chance here. And before they go to commercial, the announcer says “Baylor is on a 20-4 run!!! This one isn’t over yet!!!” I pause confused for a minute, and then realize that UNC had been up by 25 points, and now it is 9. Now, I am thinking what the heck is happening in this game.

I learn that after going up 25, the Tar Heels Brady Manek was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul – and the Bears have gone on a tear ever since. Their pressure was relentless and UNC really struggled with it, turning the ball over multiple times.

Each time, Baylor sneaks up on what would be a historic comeback – 25 points would have tied the record ever comeback in the tournament, Charlie cheers on the Bears as I sadly watch the Tar Heels lead slip away. Then, confused, I said – “Wait a second!!!! Are you rooting for Baylor!!!!” And Charlie goes, “Yeah – I picked Baylor to win this game before losing to UCLA, and I want to win!”

I said, “You know as you cheer each time of a Baylor basket that I picked UNC in both of my picks and your mom and I always support the Tar Heels!” and he looked at me in shock that I would have picked UNC. “Well – then I really want them since it will give me 20 more points than you.” I couldn’t decide at that point if I should be disappointed in Charlie for picking against one of his Grandpa’s schools, and wouldn’t root for a huge upset simply over 20 points in the pool, or if I should be proud that Charlie wanted to beat me so badly that he cares about every single point.

Regardless, I get a little more comfortable when UNC went up by 6 points with just 38 seconds left. But Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan hit a three pointer, UNC’s Armando Bacot missed both free throws, and Baylor’s James Akinjo drive to the basket, lays it in while getting fouled, and ties the game from the line. UNC holds for the final shot, but RJ Davis waits too long and has to settle for a long three pointer that misses. We are heading to overtime.

As Dontrez Styles hits a three pointer to start overtime and give UNC back a 3 point lead, all I can think to myself is “This is all my fault! I was all ready to write this fun post!!! I picked them which we all know is a jinx!!! I guess I still would get to write about how Baylor had tied the largest comeback in NCAA history – but what fun is that!!! It wasn’t simply about the Basketball Pool or my Blog – as a fan, I really wanted to see the Tar Heels win. Fortunately, UNC wasn’t ready to give in. And RJ Davis put the lead away for good with a drive to the basket, and made a circus type shot while being fouled, which made both Charlie and me shout out in excitement – he may have been rooting for Baylor, but it was the type of athletic layup that was incredible. Davis hit the free throw as well to put the Tar Heels up 6 – and this time, Baylor had no answer.

Our first #1 seed has been knocked out of the tournament, and the North Carolina Tar Heels will be heading to Philadelphia for the East Regional Sweet 16. Meanwhile, as I type this, #1 Kansas is hanging on to a 1 point half-time lead over Creighton. Looks like we might have some more excitement – and it is only the first two games of the day!!!!

What a game!!!!! With Rutgers down 3 and 22 seconds and the play that was designed appearing to break down, Ron Harper Jr gets the ball at the NBA the point line by the bench, and somehow drains the three to tie the game.

But one unfortunate thing happened. The clock struck midnight – and now, it is the start of St. Patrick’s Day. Blake Wesley drove to the basket trying to duplicate what he did at the end of overtime, but Rutgers plays great defense and stops him. But the defense had committed to stopping Wesley. Paul Atkinson, Jr. from the Irish pulled down the offensive rebound, went back up, and hit the lay-up to win at the buzzer. Rutgers had a second to try to get off one last prayer – but Geo Baker couldn’t get the shot off in time (and it didn’t go in anyways).

This was not how my vision was – there is some irony that Rutgers, the team of buzzer-beaters had their season end by a buzzer-beater. But once it hit midnight, you had to know that the Fighting Irish playing on St. Patrick’s Day in an amazing game were going to find a way to get lucky and win. Although to be fair, in a way it wasn’t luck. Atkinson was in the right place to get the rebound, and he calmly hit the lay-up. It might feel like luck – but he was in the best position to make a play.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of St. Patrick’s Day brings. The First Round of March Madness is ready to begin. We have had over 80 entries come in the last 4 hours – as we are now at 230. There is still 12 hours for you to join the fun!!!! Don’t miss your chance to STOMP THE LUNATIC!!!!!

The selection committee has made their decisions, and the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is set. And so that means it is Time to STOMP THE LUNATIC!!!!

The entry form is now available – despite my technical issues. Please remember that you must re-register to enter the 2022 contest – my site does not remember your login from previous years. It is simple to register, and it leads you straight to the page where you can enter your picks.

I have also put out their the rest of the 2022 schedule through all the games including today. And for those of you who don’t want to do that level of work, I have created a cheat sheet link in research. This document goes through each game and puts interesting statistics about how they have played and their schedule side by side so you can compare them.

Whether you do research or simply pick your teams, make sure you join us for the fun. It is time to STOMP THE LUNATIC!!!!

Well – it wasn’t meant to be. Iowa ruined my hopes for some type of Big 10 title, as they just played better basketball today. Purdue turned the ball over too many times and ended up playing catch-up most of the game. Congratulations to the Hawkeyes.

So at that point, I have my final bracketology. Because I was watching the game, I didn’t put teams into regions – I might go back and do that based on the bracketing rules. But with it being so close to before the bracket gets released, I didn’t want to get caught up with that task.

I believe that the top seeds will be Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Baylor. As for the bubble, I think the bubble breakdown in

Final 4 At-Large before Play-ins: Texas A&M, Marquette, Seton Hall, Davidson

Final 4 At-Large Teams: Indiana, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Miami FL

First 4 Out: SMU, Rutgers, Wake Forest and Dayton

Next 4 Out: Xavier, Florida, Wyoming, BYU

Here is the bracket broken up by the Lunatic’s S-curve – I am sure the committee probably will disagree with me. But so exciting – the Selection Show is in 6 minutes!!!!!!!!

1) Gonzaga (WCC)	2) Arizona (Pac 12)	3) Kansas (Big 12)	4) Baylor (AL 1)
5) Auburn (AL 2)	6) Kentucky (AL 3)	7) Villanova (Big East)	8) Tennessee (SEC)
9) Duke (AL 4)	10) Purdue (AL 14)	11) UCLA (AL 5)	12) Texas Tech (AL 6)
13) Wisconsin (AL 7)	14) Arkansas (AL 8)	15) Illinois (AL 9)	16) Houston (American)
17) St. Mary’s (AL 10)	18) Providence (AL 11)	19) Connecticut (AL 12)	20 Iowa (Big 10)
21) Texas (AL 13)	22) Murray St (OVC)	23) USC (AL 15)	24) North Carolina (AL 16)
25) Boise St (Mt West)	26) Alabama (AL 17)	27) Colorado St (AL 18)	28) Ohio St (AL 19)
29) LSU (AL 20)	30) TCU (AL 21)	31) Memphis (AL 22)	32) Creighton (AL 23)
33) Iowa St (AL 24)	34) Michigan St (AL 25)	35) Virginia Tech (ACC)	36) Loyola IL (MVC)
37) Michigan (AL 26)	38) San Diego St (AL 27)	39) San Francisco (AL 28)	40) Texas A&M (AL 29)
41) Marquette (AL 30)	42) Seton Hall (AL 31)	43) Davidson (AL 32)	44) Indiana (AL 33) / Notre Dame (AL 34)
45) Oklahoma (AL 35) / Miami FL (AL 36)	46) UAB (Conf USA)	47) Chattanooga (Southern)	48) New Mexico St (WAC)
49) Vermont (Am East)	50) South Dakota St (Summit)	51) Richmond (Atl 10)	52) Akron (MAC)
53) Colgate (Patriot)	54) St Peter’s (MAAC)	55) Montana St (Big Sky)	56) Jacksonville St (Atl Sun)
57) Longwood (Big South)	58) Delaware (Colonial)	59) Yale (Ivy)	60) CSU Fullerton (Big West)
61) Norfolk St (MEAC)	62) Georgia St (Sun Belt)	63) Wright St (Horizon) / Texas Southern (SWAC)	64) Bryant (NEC) / Texas A&M – CC (Southland)

Can’t blog long because I have the bracketology to finish. But Richmond as the 6 seed of the Atlantic 10 has just upset regular season champion Davidson 64-62. It was a great game where the Spiders found themselves down 60-54 with just 1 1/2 minutes to play. But they kept fighting back, and somehow took the lead on a layup and foul from Matt Grace. The Spiders played great defense to get the ball with 2 seconds left. And after hitting a free throw, they survived one last three pointer from the corner by Davidson.

Congratulations to the Richmond Spiders for making the NCAA Tournament. But now Davidson falls onto the bubble – which likely knocks someone else out of the tournament.

Don’t know how I am going to finish my bracketology and watch the Purdue / Iowa game. Oh well – that is the typical problem for the Lunatic on Selection Sunday afternoon.