Day 2 UMTailgate Tournament Challenge Roundup

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While it rarely translates to overall greatness, first round game picking greatness is something that should be revered.  And yes, I'm aware that the powers that be are attempting to shove the idea that the play-in games are round 1 and what we witnessed on Thursday and Friday was round 2.  But there's literally no one that thinks that isn't stupid.  Anyway, a shout out to bracket entry "Digger's Maize Highlighter" for getting 29 of 32 in a round of 64 that was complete madness.  His bracket has a two-point lead on the entire field.  He picked all three 12 seed upsets...and even picked the one 5 seed (St. Louis) that advanced.  He also had all the 7-10 match ups correct.  So, ya, raise a glass. some other bullet points:

  • Close:  One bracket went 27 of 32, good enough for 2nd place, and 8 brackets are tied at 26.
  • Loveable Retard: Only one bracket took Mercer over Duke...and that bracket belongs to our own Baby Gorilla (pictured above)
  • Next time flip a coin:  Five brackets only managed to get 20 of the 32, good for the very back of the pack
  • Future Mortgaged:  12 people lost a Final Four team when Duke went down, 8 of those took them as far as the championship game, and 3 had them winning the whole damn thing.  One bracket had Oklahoma St in the Final Four.

And finally, our "Thanks for your $20" bracket of the day is the only participant that lost two Final Four teams in the round of 64, as the Duke vs. Oklahoma matchup in Dallas just isn't going to happen.  This bracket is also starting the day today having lost 12 of the sweet sixteen before the teams even take the court...

Round 1 Comes to a Close

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That was uninspired, or at least uninspiring.  The WOLVERINES, and due to the new Adidas alternates there's no doubt that's who we are, mailed in a 17-point victory against Wofford, playing much of the second half just a small Terrier run from having an "upset alert" broadcast from the NCAA tournament app.  It's tough to pretend it doesn't matter, but it doesn't.  There are no style points here.  Tournament play, especially the one game elimination variety, does not require you to be good...or motivated.  It only requires you to win.  We just have to have our shit together enough to make it to the next round.  No doubt a time will come in the next week (or two) where we will need to be good AND motivated, hell that time might be tomorrow at 5:15pm, but fortunately that time was not last night.

Recaps:  Maize and Go Blue  |  UMHoops  |  Maize and Brew

Michigan moves on to play Texas, and I won't pretend I've seen them play at all this year.  But Johnny Cleveland and I did see the TJ Ford led Longhorns fall to Carmello Anthony in New Orleans in 2003, and they have the same coach as they did then (Rick Barnes), so there's that.  I also remember with great clarity falling to Texas in the first round of the 1996 tournament.  So let me give you my expert opinion:  Worry about rebounding and what we might do if our shooting goes cold.  And you may feel free to copy-paste that into all future 2014 NCAA tournament games.

Previews:  SI.com  |  Rant Sports  |  MLive  |  Bleacher Report  

I am also a expert in classic porn.  Texas has a player named Jon Holmes.  This could be a problem.

Go Blue!

UMTailgate Tournament Challenge

One man stands alone at the top of the list after day one...Digger's Maize Highlighter got 15 of the 16 day one games correct.  Eight participants behind him are tied for second with 14 of 16.  Three participants bursting with Big 12 love lost a Final Four team (Oklahoma), one of which became the "Thanks for your $20" Bracket of the Day:

Ahhh, yes, taste the tears.  Gotta say though, I've seen MUCH worse after previous year's day ones.  We're all still in it, and that's saying something.

Enjoy the games!

UMTailgate.com Tournament Challenge By the Numbers...

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Interesting facts about the 14th annual UMTailgate.com tournament challenge:

  • 93 brackets got in before the first game tipped off, the 3rd most in history
  • With the suggested donation increase, this will be the largest prize pool we've ever had
  • Homers: 30 people, nearly 1/3 of the participants, have Michigan in the Final 4, 19 have them in the final game, and 12 have them winning the National Championship.
  • Savvy or Hating Ohio?  16 people had it right, picking Dayton over the Buckeyes.  Only two Big Ten lovers took Ohio to the Elite 8...nobody took them further.
  • 12 Teams were chosen as National Champions:
    • Florida 24, MSU 19, UM 14, Louisville 9, Arizona 7, Virginia 4, Wichita State 4, Syracuse 4, Duke 3, Kansas 3, Villanova 1, Iowa St, 1
  • The highest seed selected to make it to the Final Four is 7th seeded Oregon.
  • Three hours in to the tournament and only 16 of 93 brackets remain perfect.