My Ugly Bracket

Most of the March Madness upsets I predicted didn’t pan out. The slam-dunks didn’t happen either.  My draw sheet in this annual game of chance looks much like my tests from Mr. Harvie’s math class back in high school: far too many X’s and too few check marks.  Life can be so unfair, don’t you think?  Hey, I put way too much careful analysis and thoughtful reasoning into my selections to have this happen. It took me 90 whole seconds to make my picks. No lie. That’s plenty of time.  Right?  I even used the scientific method just like I learned back in 8th grade.  Mr. Craig would be so proud.

First, I made my selections based on analytics: won-loss record, strength of schedule, and recent tournament history. Next, I picked teams with funky nicknames. Then, I went with cool color combinations and finally with gut feeling. For some strange reason, none of the above worked, I’m sad to say.

For example, I picked UNC-Wilmington over Duke.  My stepdaughter Taylor went to UNCW. My liver came from the hospital next door to the campus. And they’re the Seahawks, for gosh sakes. How could anybody at Collegiate not pick the Seahawks?  Really!

I violated my own rules when I picked against Stephen F. Austin (Lumberjacks), Hawai’i (Rainbow Warriors), and Middle Tennessee (Blue Raiders) and got badly burned.  By the way, isn’t “Rainbow Warriors” an oxymoron?  Think about it.  I should get at least half credit.

All wasn’t lost, though. I actually picked a few winners.  

Long ago, I learned never to dis Wichita State. That the always-gritty Shockers won their play-in game, then knocked off Arizona shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

I learned never to underestimate Gonzaga, another rawhide-tough mid-major. The Zags, seeded 11th in the Midwest, made quick work of No. 6 Seton Hall and No. 3 Utah to advance to the Sweet 16.  

I learned never to pick against Northern Iowa. Why? I once stayed in a Holiday Inn near the Cedar Falls campus. If that’s not reason enough, UNI is  traditionally a giant killer.  Friday, the Panthers dispatched Texas on a stunning, half-court buzzer beater. Sunday, alas, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when Texas A&M roared back from a 12-point deficit in the final 33 seconds of regulation and won in double overtime. What a long trip home that must have been!

I learned never to pick against Butler, but this time I did.  Silly me. The Bulldogs knocked off Texas Tech, which I picked because their coach, Tubby Smith, was once a VCU assistant, and gave Virginia all it could handle.

And I learned never to pick against my dog in the fight, VCU. My son Dave earned a degree from there, my grandson Wyatt thinks Mo Alie-Cox is awesome, and I’ve spent much quality time as a guest at VCU’s East Marshall Street location. Plus, the Rams are really fun to watch, especially when they took Oregon State to the woodshed and refused to capitulate against Oklahoma when a lesser team might have crumbled.

OK, so I picked Purdue, Michigan State, Baylor, West Virginia, and Dayton.   They were done deals. So I thought. My bad.  And the Xavier Musketeers. Certainly they’d go deep into the tournament. No dice.  A strike from the deep corner at the buzzer by Wisconsin’s Brandon Koenig sent them packing.

Considering my first-week flubs, my Final Four selections – Kansas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Oregon – are miraculously still in the mix.  Who’ll win it all?  Oregon, of course. Why?  That’s easy.  They’re talented, athletic, and well coached. They’re the Ducks.  Cool nickname. And they wear green and gold. Is there a better reason?
                                                                    -- Weldon Bradshaw