College basketball

[O Really]

Hard not to root for someone who's called the Ducks. Do the basketball uniforms have feathers on them like one of the football versions did? Last year somebody's kid picked based totally on team names she liked. Finished higher than all the adults in her family.

[Vrede too]

Hard not to root for someone who's called the Ducks. Do the basketball uniforms have feathers on them like one of the football versions did? ...

I hadn't noticed, but sometimes:



And sometimes they are the:

[Vrede too]

1 NCAA tournament bracket stays perfect into Sweet 16 for first time ever. Here’s how it happened

Through 48 of the 63 games of the 2019 NCAA tournament, there is just one perfect bracket left across all major online bracket games: “center road," entered in our Capital One NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge game.

By reaching the Sweet 16 unblemished, "center road" now owns the longest streak of correct bracket picks we have ever seen, shattering our reported record of 39 games, which happened in 2017 (we explain why we're so sure of that number below)....

This is the fourth year that we have tracked tens of millions of brackets from the largest online bracket games across the country, including our Bracket Challenge Game, ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, Fox, and Sports Illustrated, to see when the last perfect bracket busts.

Usually, that tracking ends on Friday, or sometimes — if we're lucky — Saturday. This year, it will last until at least the second Thursday of the tournament, when play picks back up with the Sweet 16 and game No. 49.

For reference, if every game were a coin toss, the odds of predicting 48 in a row are 1 in 281,474,976,710,656. So, yeah, this is kinda impressive.

Monday, we talked with Gregg Nigl, the man who created the "center road" bracket. He had absolutely no idea that he had a perfect bracket.

"So wait, you’re saying I’m the first person to have ever done this?" Nigl asked when we told him the news. "This is wild. I can't even believe it.

"I had no idea that this was even happening." ...

The guy correctly picks Murray St. > Marquette, Liberty > Mississippi St. and 2nd round OR > UC Irvine and hasn't even been paying attention.

[billy.pilgrim]

Hard not to root for someone who's called the Ducks. Do the basketball uniforms have feathers on them like one of the football versions did? ...

I hadn't noticed, but sometimes:



And sometimes they are the:

Isn't duck fighting illegal?

[Vrede too]

Ouch, 2 seed Clemson was relegated to the also-ran NIT, worse than Gardner-Webb, for example. Then, it wins just 1 game then loses to 6 seed Wichita St. 63-55. Awww, poor kitties.

[Vrede too]

1 NCAA tournament bracket stays perfect into Sweet 16 for first time ever. Here’s how it happened



The guy correctly picks Murray St. > Marquette, Liberty > Mississippi St. and 2nd round OR > UC Irvine and hasn't even been paying attention.

Someone bought him and his son (?) seats at the Zags - FSU game, maybe even a flight to get there.

Edit, he got the Zags win correct. The article has been updated:

After 50 games of the 2019 NCAA tournament, the streak is over. There are no more perfect brackets.

The briefly famous “center road" bracket, which had correctly predicted the first 49 games of March Madness, suffered its first loss in the second game of the Sweet 16 when 3-seed Purdue beat 2-seed Tennessee in overtime.

May be a long, long time before 49 is matched or beaten, if ever.

[Vrede too]

We're now up to 95 pool entries. I'm in 34th with "Picks by Seeds", 45th with President Obama and
Snoop Dogg, 84th and 87th place x 2. However, none of my brackets are out of the money, yet.

Couldn't bring myself to exclude #2 Virginia. So, 5 pick sets at $5 each.

Duke > Gonzaga
North Carolina > Tennessee
Duke > North Carolina (state of NC & ACC, represent!)
42% of the pool picked Duke to win it all. The best this bracket can do is 3rd, $69.75.

Michigan > LSU
Virginia > Kentucky
Michigan > Virginia
4% of the pool picked Mich to win it all. The best this bracket can do is 2nd, $116.25.

North Carolina > Wisconsin
LSU > Gonzaga
North Carolina > LSU
(Auburn reaches the Sweet 16, gets beaten by UNC)
17% of the pool picked North Carolina to win it all. This bracket can still take 1st, $162.75.

Virginia > North Carolina
Duke > Michigan
Virginia > Duke (ACC, represent!)
8% of the pool picked Virginia to win it all. The best this bracket can do is tie for 2nd, $116.25 or $69.75 after the tiebreaker.

Gonzaga > Duke
Houston > Virginia
Gonzaga > Houston (Gonzaga is the only Western team I have in the Final 4 )
(Auburn reaches the Sweet 16, gets beaten by UNC)
9% of the pool picked Gonzaga to win it all. This bracket can still take 1st, $162.75.

I also entered Yahoo!'s free $1M game.

Houston > Wisconsin
Gonzaga > LSU
Houston > Gonzaga
32/48, 2,022,169th place out of 3,077,061 members

We'll see.

I'm sure there are also ways where I can get $5 back for having the worst bracket.

20% of the pool picked someone else to win it all:
Michigan St (6)
Tennessee (4)
Kentucky
LSU
Houston
Villanova (2, already out)
Kansas St. (already out)
Kansas (already out)
Marquette (already out)

As is true for almost everybody, I want Duke and UNC in all of my brackets in Round 3, both play on Friday. My other wishes are mixed, but prioritizing the brackets where I can still take 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd, on Thursday I want:

7:09 PM EDT CBS
1 Gonzaga > 4 Florida State, mostly
Excellent, got close for a bit, but then the Zags pulled away. They are now 245-1 when leading by 11+ at the half! Only hurts my Mich bracket, but it can still take 2nd.

7:29 PM EDT TBS
3 Purdue > 2 Tennessee, upset!
But it actually helps my potential 1st UNC bracket if Tennessee wins.
Wow!!!! Purdue tied it up in regulation on 2 of 3 FTs (I’m not sure that it was a foul) with less than 2 seconds left, dominates OT! First seed upset since Round 1.
This helps my Zags, Mich and VA brackets. Duke's best dropped from 3rd to 5th. My UNC bracket can still take 1st.

9:39 PM EDT CBS
2 Michigan > 3 Texas Tech
But it actually helps my potential 1st UNC bracket if Texas Tech wins. I personally like Michigan more.
Announcer 10.5 minutes into the game: "The shooting has been ridiculously bad ,Texas Tech 2 of 12, Michigan 3 of 15." It was 6-6 at that point.
16.5 minutes into the game: "The leading scorer has 5 points, one basket, each team shooting 27%."
24-16 Texas Tech at the half, a middle school score.
64-44. Can't even be upset when your team gets thumped that badly, it's pure resignation. Crushing TT D. Michigan got its 1st three with 20 sec. left, made by a garbage time sub, 1-19. If it had made just a pedestrian 1/3 of them, it's a 2 point game. Worst ever Michigan score in MM.
My Michigan bracket is done, no surprise .

9:57 PM EDT TBS
1 Virginia > 12 Oregon
But it would be really cool to see the Ducks win, and it actually helps my potential 1st UNC bracket. So, screw the money (maybe), go Ducks!
49-53. Good for OR to keep it that tight.
My Duke bracket's best dropped from 5th to a tie for 7th and just $5 back, it's done .

My UNC bracket can still tie for 1st! $162.75 or $116.25.
My Zags bracket can still win 1st! $162.75
My VA bracket best drops from a tie for 2nd to 6th, $23.25 . Watch, all this effort to lose $1.75.
The other brackets no longer matter.

7:09 PM EDT CBS
3 LSU > 2 Mich St
It helps my potential tie for 1st UNC bracket if LSU wins.
It helps my potential 1st Zags bracket if Mich St wins.
So, going with who I want, but either pool-wise.

7:29 PM EDT TBS
1 North Carolina > 5 Auburn
All brackets.

9:39 PM EDT CBS
1 Duke > 4 Virginia Tech
All brackets.

9:57 PM EDT TBS
3 Houston > 2 Kentucky, upset!
A Kentucky win drops my:
UNC best bracket from a tie from 1st to a tie for 2nd, $116.25 or $69.75 after the tiebreaker.
Zags best bracket from 1st to 4th, $55.80.

[billy.pilgrim]

Seems weird to me that there's so little love for Auburn and was so much for Tenn. since Auburn beat Tenn every time we played - and last time by 20.
I enjoyed watching what I thought was going to be a repeat with Purdue. It looked like they were using Auburn's game plan in the 1st half and were up by 18, then they fell apart and almost lost.

[billy.pilgrim]

WDE

[Vrede too]

Seems weird to me that there's so little love for Auburn and was so much for Tenn. since Auburn beat Tenn every time we played - and last time by 20....

C'mon, Auburn was OUT of the rankings. Amazing run, but it had a deep hole to climb out of.

Go Blue.
Only 3% of us picked Auburn, but a win by it will still hurt. 5% picked VT > Duke.

[billy.pilgrim]

Seems weird to me that there's so little love for Auburn and was so much for Tenn. since Auburn beat Tenn every time we played - and last time by 20....

C'mon, Auburn was OUT of the rankings. Amazing run, but it had a deep hole to climb out of.

Go Blue.
Only 3% of us picked Auburn, but a win by it will still hurt. 5% picked VT > Duke.

I agree - mostly. My point is only about all the press over the great Tenn that Auburn beat by 20.

Loved seeing them go down. Purdue came out playing Auburn's game plan and looked like it would humiliate them, but for some reason changed their game at the half and almost lost.

[Vrede too]

Can't say that I read many articles and I barely watch TV sports news. I did see headlines about TN's stumbles and Auburn's recovery.

Yeah, Purdue can't come any closer to choking without actually choking.


If Auburn beats UNC and then goes on to win the championship, my best UNC bracket still ties for 1st.
If Auburn beats UNC, my best Zags bracket still wins 1st whether either Auburn or Houston takes 2nd.
I did not run all possibilities, but I think that pool-wise I don't care about today's game. So, Go Blue still, but not as desperately. I can pretend to be a good sport about gambling and wish you good luck.

Not running the possibilities, but given that almost everyone picked Duke at this stage like they did UNC, could be that a VT win also has little affect on my brackets.

[billy.pilgrim]

Can't say that I read many articles and I barely watch TV sports news. I did see headlines about TN's stumbles and Auburn's recovery.

Yeah, Purdue can't come any closer to choking without actually choking.


If Auburn beats UNC and then goes on to win the championship, my best UNC bracket still ties for 1st.
If Auburn beats UNC, my best Zags bracket still wins 1st whether either Auburn or Houston takes 2nd.
I did not run all possibilities, but I think that pool-wise I don't care about today's game. So, Go Blue still, but not as desperately. I can pretend to be a good sport about gambling and wish you good luck.

Not running the possibilities, but given that almost everyone picked Duke at this stage like they did UNC, could be that a VT win also has little affect on my brackets.

I feel sure you mean this Blue


BODYGETTA CHEER
Bodygetta Bodygetta Bodygetta Bah
Rah Rah Rah
Sis Boom Bah
Weagle Weagle
War Damn Eagle
Kick em in the butt, Big Blue
Hey!

[O Really]

Or, equally silly -

Aye zigga zoom ba zoom ba zoom ba
Aye zigga zoom ba zoom ba zay
Roll 'em down, you Tarheel warriors
Roll 'em down and fight for Car -o - lin -a

But not as silly as...

In the slums of Philadelphia,
Lies a crumbling wreck.
God created Hell on earth
and named it Drexel Tech.
So let's go down and Pee on the U of P, Pee on the U of P...

[Vrede too]

Or, equally silly - ...

Gotta bracket? Who are your Final 4 and who wins their semi besides UNC?

[billy.pilgrim]

But those didn't turn out so well did they? On the other hand, your guys really kicked ass on North Florida, MS College, and UNC-Asheville.

(Just kidding, m'friend - Auburn's got a class program)

It comes from the top

https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2 ... tournament


"When the room empties, Clay Sanders, a Salt Lake City-based bus driver whose employer provides chauffeurs to the eight teams at this regional, boasts about his plum assignment. All week, his colleagues have had to wait in their parked buses, outside the arena, during practices and games. Pearl invited Sanders to Auburn’s practices and gave him tickets to their games. Good seats, too.

“When the other [drivers] drive their teams to dinner, they stay on the bus while the [players and coaches] eat.” The Tigers have eaten at Benihana the last two nights. (Pearl let the players choose.) When Sanders stayed on the bus the first night, Pearl looked at him quizzically. “What are you doing? Come with us. You’re part of this thing.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/c ... 301783002/

I scanned a few of her other articles. Seems to have a huge chip on her shoulder.

With all the money in college basketball - kids getting cars and parents getting stacks of cash, new homes and jobs, this person uses Pearl as an example of all that is wrong in basketball because he had a recruit over for a BBQ with the team.

Or could it have had something to do with Pearl turning over a real honest to goodness fucking audio tape of a recruit turning him down because Illinois had offered him money and her being from Illinois?

As Vrede said, "your coach is insane", As I believe until I see anything different, he's also a great guy.
Just ask the Vegas bus driver quoted above.

Pearl loves what he's doing and he enjoys and respects the kids, even if he did break the coaches "blue wall" by informing the NCAA when a player said a team was paying him to play.

[O Really]

Or, equally silly - ...

Gotta bracket? Who are your Final 4 and who wins their semi besides UNC?

I'm not playing this year. Missed the deadline for reasons totally under my control.

[Vrede too]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/c ... 301783002/

I scanned a few of her other articles. Seems to have a huge chip on her shoulder....

NO opinion on the contents, which I barely skimmed - she may be FOS - but her tone reminds me of your posts about Urban Meyer.

... No doubt Pearl has touched lives and helped many young men along the way. But at what cost? Bottom line, he has survived scandal because he wins. There's something to be said for that but, as we're reminded constantly by guys like him, the game is supposed to be about more than just winning and losing.

Unless that's all a fraud, too.

[billy.pilgrim]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/c ... 301783002/

I scanned a few of her other articles. Seems to have a huge chip on her shoulder....

NO opinion on the contents, which I barely skimmed - she may be FOS - but her tone reminds me of your posts about Urban Meyer.

... No doubt Pearl has touched lives and helped many young men along the way. But at what cost? Bottom line, he has survived scandal because he wins. There's something to be said for that but, as we're reminded constantly by guys like him, the game is supposed to be about more than just winning and losing.

Unless that's all a fraud, too.

But my tone on urban and other sports people and events totally disqualifies me as a USA Today journalist.

Comparing a single meal to tens of thousands in payoffs. She has problems.

My son says she also wrote an article saying that Petrino was a changed man.

[billy.pilgrim]

I guess they could be baiting us.