It is pretty clear that the Lunatic is out of practice with the sleep-deprivation of March. As I watched the start of the game between Loyola-Chicago and Oregon State, I felt happy as I made the last couple of updates to the website on payments.

Happily, I got myself a snack and continued to happily enjoy the game. Then, I made a realization. I never revealed my second chance picks. Shame on the Lunatic. So, without any further delays, I will take advantage of halftime to reveal my picks.

At first, I thought with all the upsets, I should go crazy with my upset picks. I was ready to have some teams make some unexpected runs. And then, I had a realization. With great power comes great responsibility. I have already ended Purdue’s and Illinois’ seasons. How can I ruin a double-digit team’s chance to because this year’s darling of the tournament? Lets face it – if our bracket is destroyed, we all want Cinderella to keep dancing.

So, I changed my mind. I have already ruined the lives of fans from Gonzaga, Alabama and Baylor. So – I should only use my powers on the Midwest region, where I have already taken out Illinois. Unfortunately, if I pick the second chance, I have to ruin someone’s chances anyways.

In the West, Gonzaga will advance by beating USC. Figured USC beat Oregon in the regular season, that was the more likely event.

In the East, I hedged a little. I still have Alabama winning the region, but this time, I took Michigan to make it to the Elite 8 instead of Florida State. I took out the rest of the Big 10, might as well finish the job.

In the South, I have Baylor beating Arkansas to get to the Final Four. As in the West, Arkansas beat Oral Roberts in the regular season – not to mention I couldn’t bear to take out a 15 seed.

The Midwest was the most difficult for me. I was so impressed with Loyola-Chicago, and remember their Final 4 run in 2018 – and so I took the Ramblers to advance over Oregon State. On the other Sweet 16 game, I took Syracuse to beat Houston – I have seen Syracuse do this so many times, just figured I had to pick at least one upset.

Then, I had my longest debate. I am not a fan of Syracuse – Jim Boeheim is an amazing coach, but he has said so many things to bother me that I can’t support them. I thought very seriously about picking Syracuse to apply the Lunatic curse to them. But unfortunately for me, the Lunatic Curse is too smart for that. It knows that I would be picking them to knock them out. So, as much as I hated to do it, I picked the team I thought would win the Midwest – Loyola-Chicago.

In the Final Four, I have Gonzaga beating Alabama, Baylor beating Loyola-Chicago, and Gonzaga beating Baylor. I had Gonzaga, Alabama and Baylor in my initial sane picks – if I thought they were 3 of the best 4 teams in the country before the tournament, I don’t know what should change that opinion. And this way, I have only jinxed Loyola-Chicago.

Of course, as I look up at the game that has started its second half, I see Oregon State up 33-22 on the Ramblers. It is powerful – the Lunatic Curse. I am sorry to any fans of the Missouri Valley champions.