Stomp The Lunatic

My family has a very busy weekend ahead of us. Katie is playing in her first rugby tournament with the Richmond Strikers, so we are all very excited for her. So, the official email announcement will need to likely wait until Monday.

But once Ruggerfest is over, the Lunatic is back for another month of sleep deprivation, looking through stat sheets in a foolish attempt to show he can predict college basketball games.  This will likely end in a thorough stomping, but it should be a wild and entertaining ride. 

But have no fears, the Website is currently ready for the NCAA Tournament to start. While it is certainly not necessary, the registration link is live for this year’s tournament (that being said, it is typically easier to register when you enter your picks). And I have managed to pull all the box scores through Thursday’s games. The smaller conference tournaments have begun as bubble teams are hoping that teams like Murray State and Gonzaga don’t let a bid get stolen. And we all get ready – because it is time to watch an amazing month of college basketball. And it is time to Stomp the Lunatic!!!

Well – I guess they are killing my Boilermakers. With three games left, Purdue had control of their destiny of winning the Big 10 Regular Season title. And then there was a last second three pointer by Michigan State over the weekend to give the Spartans a much needed victory after a tough run of losses. But Purdue still had a chance to regain a share of the title. The Boilers fell behind early, fought their way back including an amazing shot with 8 seconds left by Jaden Ivey.

Then, as the Boilers season has seemed to go, Chucky Hepburn came racing down the court, and hit a wild three pointer off the glass to send the Boilers home with another last second loss and give the Badgers a share of the Big Ten title (they will likely clinch it for themselves as all they have to do is beat last place Nebraska for the out-right title).

So, demoralizing for a Lunatic trying to get ready for March. To be 24-6 and knowing that three of your losses happened on baskets in the last 2 seconds (including Rutgers’ miracle half-court buzzer beater earlier in the season). I know that there is still the conference tournament and of course the Big Dance, but still just a little tough.

Anyways, I am still testing out the site links – looks like all the standings links are set up, but I have to test that all the connections to the database work. So, don’t be surprised if you click on one of the 2022 links and find that Dick Vitale or Joe Lunardi are winning the pool (have to make sure when I test that everyone knows it is fake). It will probably take a couple more days, but I should have it set up by the weekend. Not even last second losses can stop the Lunatic from ranting in March.

Hi everyone – I found myself watching games last weekend, and saw the fight that was started in the handshake line at the end of the Michigan / Wisconsin game. And the Lunatic got all riled up – ready to go on one of his rants. I might still at some point.

And then it occurred to me – my desire to go on a rant means the games are starting to mean more and more – we start to get the daily articles about what teams are on the dreaded bubble, teams celebrate amazing victories, and then of course, we have this Saturday when 7 of the top 10 teams in the country lost for the first time in history (#8 Villanova must have been extremely happy that they did not have a game this weekend – they improved their position simply by not playing).

And of course, that means that March is almost here. I am currently working on the website to get it ready for the 2022 Stomp the Lunatic contest. You should be able to still visit past blogs and standings, and remind yourself about how well you did one year. But please don’t register for this year’s tournament just yet. While I test the entry and registration forms, these tables will get deleted a few times to make sure all the scripts behind them are working correctly. I will let everyone know when the site is ready!

Congratulations to the Baylor Bears, who completely dominated the previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs.  They played amazing defense and their guards scored at will.  They jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game, and it never really got closer than that, as the Bears won the 2021 National Championship with a 86-70 victory. 

Congratulations also to our 2021 Stomp the Lunatic Champion – John Greene.  His correct prediction of Baylor beating Gonzaga gave him a 60 point victory over John Greene. 

In the Upset Pool. Gregg Farber managed to jump out to a lead thanks to predicting UCLA to the Final 4, and held off Joe Chapman by 3 points as Joe needed Gonzaga to win to pass Gregg. 

In the Second Chance Pool, Sarah Ahles and Chris Kelly tied for first place in the second chance pool by predicting that Baylor would beat Gonzaga. Based on the tie-breaker (Sarah missed the total score by only 3, while Chris missed by 26), Sarah is the second chance pool champion.

Here is a list of all our prize winners. 

STANDARD POOL
1)	John Greene	1210
2)	Kelly Woods	1150
3)	Karl Knox	1110
4)	Andrea Zimmerman	1100
5th Tie)	Lowell Isaacs	1090
5th Tie)	Kelly Woods	1090
7th Tie)	Cooper Bradley	1070
7th Tie)	Christie Olenic	1070
7th Tie)	Josh Glass	1070
10)	Martin Poteralski	1060
LAST)	Kyle Kelly	170
UPSET POOL
1)	Gregg Farber	269
2)	Joe Chapman	266
3)	Ryan Callahan	252
4)	Adam Davis	240
5)	Hailey Peterson	237
6)	Amy Hattaway	236
SECOND CHANCE POOL
1 TIE)	Sarah Ahles	880
1 TIE)	Chris Kelly	880
3 TIE)	Kevin Busby	840
3 TIE)	Evan Goldstein	840
3 TIE)	Mark Horgan	840

As for the Lunatic, he was thoroughly stomped this year.  He was sadly sitting in a tie for 166th place – his picks did about as well as the Big 10 did this year.   But despite the stomping, I am sure that the Lunatic will be back again to try to prove his ability (or inability) to predict college basketball games.   

Thank you to all of you for continuing to make this such a fun basketball pool and giving me a chance to rant about the sport that I love to watch. 

Congratulations once again to all our prize winners, and congratulations to the Baylor Bears – the 2021 NCAA Champions. 

That was an incredible game by the Baylor Bears! The game never got close. Baylor jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. I think at one point Gonzaga got the lead down to 9 in the second half, but it never got closer. Baylor’s defense held the top offense in the country to just 70 points. Gonzaga’s defense isn’t bad – and yet, Baylor scored 86.

Baylor’s star back-court just dominated the game. Jared Butler led the way with 22 points, Macio Teague added 19, and Davion Mitchell scored 15 points to lead the way. But it was really the defense that was on display by the Bears – Baylor had 8 steals and 5 blocks against the Bulldogs.

Unfortunately, Gonzaga’s undefeated season was not to be. I really was hoping to see a perfect season. But to be fair, we still saw perfection. The Baylor Bears played a perfect game and there was no doubt who was the best team tonight.

Congratulations to the Baylor Bears – the 2021 NCAA National Champions!!!!!

Gonzaga definitely doesn’t look like they are going to go away. With a little over 7 minutes to play, Baylor was winning 33-14. But Gonzaga finished the half on an 11-4 run over the last 3 minutes, including a nice drive down the court and pass to Anton Watson for a layup to end the half.

So, the Bears lead 47-37. I don’t know that anyone can come back 10 points against the Baylor Bears – but if anyone could, it would be Gonzaga. We are 20 minutes away from a national champion. Lets see if the Baylor Bears can hang on.

Baylor is dominating Gonzaga. The Bears defense is playing amazing. Suggs got two quick fouls. The Bears are getting more offensive rebounds. Gonzaga is turning the ball over and missing layups. At one point, Baylor was up 19 points!!!!! That certainly is not something that has happened to the undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs this year.

Of course, as I decided what to type, the Bulldogs have cut the lead to 12. They score so quickly. Well – and then Baylor rattles off 5 to expand the lead back to 17. Crazy…..

Not ruling the Bulldogs out – but I did not expect Baylor to come out and dominate like this. I thought they could be winning – but not like this.

I am torn on how to write this. Normally, I do this article in between the Elite 8 and the Final 4. I can rate how the tournament has gone up to that point, and not worry about how the rest of the team goes. But with it being so close to the championship, I feel a little uncomfortable with it. And part of the reason is how the Big 12 has done as a whole. At the end of the day, it is a very true statement that teams win championships – not conferences.

But we can’t break with tradition. So, here we go!!!! I will do any conference that got multiple teams in the tournament — and then, we will have a catch-all for the rest.

Pac 12 – A+++. The Pac 12 was the story of this tournament. According to the seeds, Colorado, USC and Oregon were supposed to win their first round games, and then the conference would disappear from the tournament. So, what happens. The top seeded Pac 12 team, Colorado actually did lose in the second round as expected. Oregon and USC both made the Sweet 16 – forcing USC to eliminate one of their conference foes. 12 seeded Oregon State that only got in by winning the Pac 12 tournament beat Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Loyola-Chicago to get to the Elite 8. And of course, we all know what 11 seeded UCLA almost did in the Final Four. They might not have won the championship – but as a conference, they were the stars of the tournament.

American – A+. Sure – Wichita State lost in the First Four in a close game to Drake. And Houston was a 2 seed, so they were supposed to do well. But any time, the American Conference has a team make it to the Final 4 like the Cougars did, that is an A+ in my book.

SINGLE BID CONFERENCES – A+. 15 seed Oral Roberts made it to the Sweet 16. And 14 seed Abilene Christian, 13 seed North Texas and 13 seed Ohio all won their first games. Having a 15 seed in the Sweet 16 is easily an A+ for a group that isn’t supposed to win a game in the tournament. Cinderella lasted a lot longer than usual this year.

West Coast – A. I almost gave them an A+ as well for the same reason. The only thing that stopped this is that Gonzaga was undefeated and the number 1 team in the country. Expectations are slightly higher than they were for Houston. Also, BYU was supposed to win their first round game, and while they were not the only favorite that lost to UCLA, it doesn’t change that they were expected to win that game.

Missouri Valley – A-. Drake won their First 4 game against Wichita State. And Loyola-Chicago’s upset of top seeded Illinois earns them a top grade. Normally, I would give the Missouri Valley an A or A+ for making the Sweet 16 – but the fact that the Ramblers were suddenly the favorites to make it to Elite 8 when Oregon State also advanced drops them slightly to an A-.

SEC – B+. The SEC deserves the next best grade of the Power 5 conferences, so I almost gave them an A-. But at the end, I dropped them to a B+. They basically did what they were expected to. Based on seed, they were supposed to have one Elite 8 team and one Sweet 16 team, Alabama got upset in the Sweet 16 but Arkansas made up for it by getting to the Elite 8. Tennessee got upset as a 5 seed, but LSU and Florida both won their first round games like they were supposed to. Missouri was a 9 seed and lost a close game to Oklahoma. Not a bad tournament – but at the end, it didn’t feel like they exceeded expectations to deserve an A. But compared to the other Power 5 conferences, meeting expectations is still pretty good.

Big East – B. Villanova, Creighton and UConn were supposed to win their first round games and then bow out of the tournament. UConn was upset, but Villanova and Creighton both advanced to the Sweet 16. Georgetown wasn’t supposed to win their game – but they weren’t supposed to be blown out either. I would say because they got two Sweet 16 teams, they exceeded expectations, but a major conference like the Big East needs at least an Elite 8 team to get an A.

ACC – C+. With Florida State and Virginia being 4 seeds, the ACC weren’t supposed to make the Elite 8. But despite seeds, that is never the expectation for the ACC – they are supposed to be playing late in March. Florida State got to the Sweet 16 as expected. And Syracuse as an 11 seed getting to the Sweet 16 was great. But Virginia got upset by 13 seed Ohio, and Clemson, UNC, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech all lost. They might not have had high expectations this year, but 4 wins by 7 ACC teams can’t get anything other than a C.

Big 12 – C. The only thing that makes this a passing grade is Baylor. They might have been supposed to make the Final 4 – but I can’t fail a conference when they have a representative in the Championship game. But Texas got upset by 14 seed Abilene Christian, and Kansas, West Virginia and Oklahoma State all got upset a round early – with West Virginia and Oklahoma State losing to double digit seeds. And while Texas Tech and Oklahoma got to the second round as they were supposed to, they also couldn’t pull an upset to make up for the top half of the lead. When you are supposed to have 5 teams in the Sweet 16 and you only get one, you don’t typically get a passing grade. That is how much that Baylor is carrying the Big 12. (And as I watch Baylor beat Gonzaga by 19 points, I am questioning if I have to give them a B simply based on the Bears).

Atlantic 10 – C-. To be fair, St. Bonaventure and VCU weren’t supposed to win. But St. Bonaventure losing by double digits isn’t really meeting expectations. And I don’t really know what to say about VCU. On one side, they didn’t get to play which is terribly sad. On the other side, they were the only team that couldn’t pass the protocols. Can’t really give worse than a C- since they weren’t supposed to win a game, but this wasn’t what the Atlantic 10 wanted.

Mountain West – D. Both Utah State and San Diego State lost their games by double digits. But as the 6 seed, San Diego State was supposed to win their game. I don’t feel right giving an F to a conference that was only supposed to win one game to begin with – but this was a really bad performance for them.

Big 10 – F. The Big 10 had 4 of the top 8 seeds and 5 of the top 16. Then Ohio State loses in the first round to 15 seed Oral Roberts. Then Purdue loses in the first round to 13 seed North Texas. Illinois and Iowa both lose in the second round unexpectedly. Michigan at least got to the Elite 8 – but they were supposed to get to the Final 4. You have to give a little credit to Wisconsin, Maryland and Rutgers for their upsets. But the entire tournament was played in Indianapolis in the heart of Big 10 country. When you are supposed to have 2 of the Final 4 teams and 5 of the Sweet 16 – and you only get 1 team to the Elite 8, that is a big failure.

Charlie remembered that we tried to do a HORSE tournament to declare the 2020 champion. So, since we only had one game, and it was getting dark, we decided to quickly go. Charlie represented Baylor, and Katie and I represented Gonzaga. The way we do this is that Katie only gets to be on the offense. She likes to play – and while she is pretty decent at hitting layups, she can’t shoot from too far away from the basket. So, if Charlie makes it, I have to make it. Otherwise, Katie and I switch turns. We also have the special rule that you have to miss twice to get E.

Neither one of us started well, Charlie made a shot from the outside that got me a letter. I hit a shot from near the free throw line to get Charlie a letter. Then, Charlie got hot and hit a couple shots. Baylor was up R to H.

But Katie was going to try to carry us. She hit a layup that gave Charlie his second letter. And then after both of us missed a shot, Katie took a couple steps back from her last shot and drilled it again. Charlie missed, got upset that Katie was the one causing him to get letters, and we were tied at R.

I would strike next from outside, and soon, Gonzaga was up S to R. Katie almost got Charlie on one of her layups. He missed the first one. Then, he hit the ball hard off the backboard, it hit the edge of the rim, and rolled in. He was still alive. The turn got back to me, and I decided it is the only way the game should end. I went out to the middle of the court, took a few steps and shot the long shot. And it went off the backboard and in!!!! I was so proud of myself. It wasn’t as far as Suggs shot it from, but it was definitely at least an NBA three-pointer.

Charlie shot the first one and missed. And then, on his second one, he turned the script. That’s because Charlie hit the shot as well. Baylor was still alive.

This also renewed Charlie’s energy. At this point, it was also got pretty dark. Katie said we should use the glow-in-the-dark ball (one of Charlie’s birthday gifts). He hit a deep shot from the left side of the basket to tie the game at R. Both of us hit some shots that the other matched. And then finally, the moment came.

Charlie hit a three-pointer from the right side of the basket. My first try hit the front and missed. And then, I folded to the pressure – my shot went up, looked like it was going in, but it rattled around on the rim, hit the back-board, hit the front of the rim again and bounced away. Katie said, I should have used the original ball that I was doing better with. Of course, she was right – the third time was the charm and it hit nothing but net.

But you don’t get three chances. Charlie rose to the pressure and won the NCAA HORSE prediction championship. Our HORSE games says Baylor will win in a tight game that goes down to the final shot.